#she does still care about Aster... probably...

[kinbedo]

Soft Diluc Scenarios because imagine retiring in the arms of a big, fluffy man <3 (wc: 1k)

and by "retiring", I mean retiring for the day and not "coming home to him" because there's no guarantee that he will be at home when you return

there is also no guarantee that you will be receiving him when he comes home either because of how unpredictable his schedule (and mood) can be

however, if he hasn't been home for too long, then he's probably sitting by the old well near the winery, facing the lake and the tall mountains marking the beginning of Liyue

Sometimes, he likes hosting a little picnic there during the day for just the two of you. He likes holding your hand and laying on the grass under the tree for hours, daydreaming about a married life in a small cottage, away from the world. The small houses scattered around the winery, usually used for storing wine barrels in the peak season? Yeah imagine if that was all you had. Being rich can be tough, and he sometimes just wants to run away and live in a small cottage with you <3

And sometimes, he likes stargazing from there. The anemo crystalflies slowly approaching the two of you, as you just sit there by the well and look up at the starry sky. Diluc tilts his head upwards and closes his eyes, taking in deep breaths and relaxing. However, you would probably be looking at Diluc and the crystalfly that settled in his hair, making him look all the more ethereal in the night.

But if he hasn't returned home for too long (and you know he isn't busy with Darkknight duties), then he's probably by this well, contemplating life. It's best to go check up on him, because he may be overthinking things and may need someone who can drag him out of that spiral.

I headcanon that one of his favourite de-stressing activities is cooking. When he was younger, him and Kaeya would often watch Adelinde as she cooked, trying to help a bit here and there. Now, he likes to cook with you. He may either dismiss Adeline entirely for the time-being, saying "It's alright, we'll manage this one. Why don't you take a rest? We'll make a portion for you too."

But if it's something complicated, or if he wants to try cooking something new, then you're in for a story time! Because Adeline WILL tell you about some of his childhood deeds like she's his mother

Imagine seeing the richest man in Mondstadt, cooking casually and having his childhood stories being told by his maid, while he's trying not to look too embarrassed- yea that's a rare one, and he wouldn't let just anyone see this side of him, so you better cherish it <3

He loves it when you play with his hair. Feeling your hands through his locks, he sighs, leaning further into your arms

Also loves picking up any tiny trinkets he thinks you might like- a piece of jewellery, a twig with two tiny leaves near the tree at Windrise, a Windwheel Aster in full bloom, any special dish at Good Hunter's or even some abyss monster trophies he collected after defeating them.

If you're a good fighter, he loves sparring with you, but he's careful to not go overboard.

If you don't know how to fight, he's going to teach. He circles to behind you, holding your dominant hand with one of his own hands, while the other rests on your waist, adjusting your posture.

He's very encouraging, you can talk to him about anything and he'll support you through and through... even if it means inviting Kaeya over for a family dinner.

Kaeya definitely uses you as a means to re-establish his bonds with Diluc. He hopes that you'll have enough power to make Diluc at least acknowledge Kaeya as his brother again.

If Diluc is dating you, it means that he truly does love and appreciate you. His love language is primarily acts of service. He's not the best with words, but he's still a lot more open with you.

He feels himself healing around you, and often feels like he's going to owe you a debt that he'll never be able to repay.

One of his favourite things to do is personally put on accessories he bought for you on you- turning you around to place the necklace around your neck, kissing your hand after he rolls the bracelet onto your wrist or the ring onto your finger, kissing you head after placing a flower there, he loves these little acts and loves how flustered it can make you.

Loves ballroom dancing in the middle of the night. Depending on his mood, he may either gently sway you across in his room, or passionately dance with you in the main hall.

If you offer to help at the tavern, he makes sure that you aren't the one serving the drunkards with a bad reputation, he can't stand you getting hurt in any form.

During intimate moments, he loves holding your hand. Prefers any and all positions which lets him hold you close. Your pleasure is his pleasure. He's just a huge softie :(

He makes sure that you never doubt his love-he'll go to any lengths to prove to you that his heart belongs to you and you only. He would even use his power and authority to protect you from any sort of mess.

Being loved by Diluc is like being embraced by the flame at the fireplace on the coldest night- comforting and warm, but you need to keep adding firewood to keep it burning. He often needs to be reassured that you still do love him as much as he loves you.

.

.

.

About (name)- Knights of Favonious Although I was a little hesitant at first, I've come to terms with the fact that (name) and Jean are the only two useful knights… while Kaeya seems to be the most incompetent of all. * sigh * What is a cavalry captain with no horses?

-Diluc probably, if you're part of the Knights

----------

[lazella]

It would be so funny post canon if the gang finds a way to travel back and forth between their world and twst because I know damn well these powered by friendship mfs would pull tooth and nail to be able to stay connected to their new friends

And the reactions of the yu squads friends to the twst gang and the twst gangs reaction to their worlds

The Zexal crew meet Leona and they’re just “ I guess Yumas got a lion for a father now???”

Tell Leona about the barian shit and watch him lose his fucking mind. Also.. just shark and rio and Leona talking about royal stuff would probably be a very cute scenario, Leona’s interactions with the twins would be so fun you already KNOW he’s doing whatever the hell rio wants and you already KNOW he’s teaming up with her to bully shark and call him guppy

Ruggie would be terrified of Rio for his heart DO NOT tell him about her Barian morph he’ll shit himself. He’d get along well with flip me thinks and would teach him some tricks and what not

Cathy is LOOSING HER MIND about the beastmen WHAT DO YOU MEAN PEOPLE WITH CAT EARS AND TAILS EXIST??? if you tell her the octo trio are actually mermen using a potion to be human you already know she’s going to be BEGGING Yuma to get her a potion that gives her REAL cat ears and a tail. She HATES jack though and hisses at him often, He says he doesn’t care (he does. A lot)

A good rest of the cast are just like “WHAT DO YOU MEAN YUMA HAS MAGIC POWERS?!? WHO LET THIS HAPPEN??? WHY???”

The scientific research Chris would wanna do on Yuma 🫠🫠

Meanwhile we go to GX and nobody there is fucking surprised, like “ hey judai what have you been up to” and cut to him telling the entirety of chapters 1-7 and the gangs just like “ yup the usual :)” and the twst cast is like “tf you mean the usual????”

Cater 🤝Chazz/manjoume-> shitty siblings

Somebody stop ace he’s been bantering with aster for the past hour somebody make it stop PLEASE

Judai introduces riddle to Jessie and Jessie immediately going “you are my friend now :)” somebody send riddle a floating he’s drowning in positivity

If I’m gonna be so damn honest treys gonna be interested in the duel spirits dental hygiene crystal beast especially I’m so sorry he’s so cringe I need to bonk him with a comically large rubber hammer 🤺

We cut to Arc-v, and yuyas encouraging Jamil to show off to his friends he was hesitant at first but Yuyas friends started ADORING Jamil thinking he was so cool and he was just having the time of his life and was genuinely interested in learning about duel monsters and Dueltaining thinking up a potential dance routine he could do while dueling was something he genuinely enjoyed doing with yuya

Sylvio DOES NOT like Jamil whatsoever “so he uses magic and comes from another world big whoop, I travelled too MULTIPLE worlds and saved them didn’t I 🙄” he likes kalim though ( mostly his praises but still)

Yuya shows his unique magic to Declan in hopes they can use it in a way to separate the yu boys and bracelet girls from each other, safe to say everyone freaked out about it XD

Over in DM Rook is making Joey PISS 👏HIM👏 SELF👏 he went through hell and back for yug but that creepy ass hunter with the shitty bob is making him lose his GODAMN MIND rook just says or freaking moans smth in French like his freaky ass usual does Joey is standing there losing his mind “IF YOU DONT SHUT—“

You already know Anzu is asking Vil for advice on EVERYTHING fashion, makeup, dancing, hair, NAME IT SHES ON IT and I know vils gonna adore her I feel it in my spidey senses

I’m gonna stop it here before I go insane and make this 100000 words long

I'm already going insane of thinking about post story shenanigans! I have plans and you are not far off in some ideas

[solplease]

i've been very excited to post this but here are my ocs haha!! meet lune, cecilia, nox, and aster!

close ups, more info, and a more detailed relationship chart under the cut! this is gonna be a long post haha. there's also some more info about rowan!

cecilia's twin (he's the older twin) ((by two minutes. lol))

the type to go “here to here, i’ll buy it all”

he's got a temper

possessive, devoted, and jealous yandere

people think he's a tad bit insane (and he's self aware mostly,,)

gets into fights often

“want me to kill that guy for you?” (he’s serious btw)

he’s not nice lmao, but to you he is (in his own special way of course..!)

kind of like a cat who will proudly leave dead rats and leaves on your doorstep as a gift bc it thinks you can’t hunt for yourself

hates nox LMFAO

difficult to approach at first but once you get close he won’t ever let you go.

extroverted

LOUD. someone shut him up, this mf does NOT stop yapping bro

annoying as hell and he doesn’t know that lmao

if he absolutely has to, he’ll behave. but it's... odd

constantly needs to be doing something or he’ll get bored lol

has a bit of a sweet tooth (typical)

Bastard (not literally)

played the piano when he was younger with his sister, but he hated playing it

bad terms with his family except for cecilia

huge rebellious streak

shockingly will not kidnap you! everyone already knows you’re his, and he’s yours. and he won’t let anyone get in between you two. yay..!

hates it when you don’t pay attention to him (will absolutely start sulking too)

he’s impulsive but he’s not completely reckless

you probs shouldn’t trust him too much though he has good (????) intentions lol

seems silly (debatable really) but he’s dangerous.

half of the things he says sound like jokes but trust me, he means it. he’d do anything and everything for you, don’t forget!

shockingly pouty and whiny, only in front of you though

him and cecilia have matching bracelets from when they were younger which they both wear to this day

he’s oblivious as fuck, and an idiot

lune's twin (she's younger)

normal (somewhat) ((not really))

sweet and friendly

really likes giving gifts to people she cares about

jumps to conclusion and freaks out easily, but she’s subtle about it

constantly stressed (lune is her brother, so… i get it)

introverted (runs on a social battery)

says things without thinking sometimes

people pleaser

awkward as hell tbh, but it’s really not obvious because she’s good at putting on a front 

kinda has the ”””””princely””””” persona (i didnt know how to describe that better lmao

has abandonment issues

girlfail tbh

hardworking

shes really protective of her loved ones

likes cute things

has issues with her family but still talks to them (lune does NOT)

on really good terms with lune, they’re very close (even though he’s a huge troublemaker that stresses the shit out of her) ((if he fucks around too much she’ll give him a good smack))

packs a good punch

SENSITIVE…

potential yandere? still not too sure if i’ll make her a fully fledged yan but she def has some of the traits lol

her and lune have matching bracelets from when they were younger! (she wears it everyday!)

she doesn’t mean to put on a front it just kinda happens automatically lmao

could kill someone... probably wouldnt tho

used to play the piano with lune, she still plays it now too (as a hobby)

cunning and annoying

def the type to kidnap you

oddly sweet (???)

but also ominous as hell

docile with the one he loves

isolating and manipulative yandere

dislikes lune

nice but you can tell he’s putting up a wall (with strangers and friends)

introverted

wouldn’t put stalking past him tbh

he’s the type that wants to know everything about you.

he has a tough time interacting with others. he feels awkward in social situations

the type to go to a party and spend the whole time petting the cat in the corner (he would not go to the party in the first place tho lmao)

he’s not misunderstood tho, he just can’t socialize and doesn’t really want to

grabs the end of your shirt in an awkward situation (its kinda cute)

takes time to open up, but when he falls for you, his love is so strong, it’s almost overwhelming. so just accept him, alright?

shittiest sleep schedule known to man, like srsly, what is bro doing

this man’s brain probs short circuits every 5 minutes LMFAO go to bed you idiot

really good with his words, very convincing

loves cats

hidden piercings

careful and patient

is really good at taking care of others (but he would only wanna take care of you) you’ll let him, won’t you?

startles easily lol

elf oc

ditzy and kind (to you)

bit of a mean streak (not to you!) 

wants to appear princely in front of you

kinda stupid (a farce but not completely lol)

has a bit of a temper, but nothing too bad

clingy and cunning yandere

two faced

struggles with empathy (he tries, he’s not human, what’s he supposed to do!)

extroverted (?)

he’s really lonely

when he met you for the first time he was absolutely fascinated as he’s never interacted with a human being before!

BLUNT. he’s not used to convos… just give him some time!

at first it was simple curiosity, but that curiosity turned into something… deeper

he was completely alone before this, but now you’re here, and you’re going to stay, right? 

is obsessed with the idea of you staying here with him forever, so why do you keep talking about going home? can’t you stay here? 

but then you bring up the idea of him coming with you, well why didn’t you say that earlier! he's happy to come with you

It takes him some time to grasp certain concepts so please be patient with him, he’s not used to humans

he’s paranoid and hostile to other humans. it’s not fair, he wants all of your attention, so why is everyone trying to take you from him? he doesn’t like that everyone is getting in his way… 

he’s terrified of bugs. will scream incredibly loudly if he sees one lol

he pulled you through a mirror, that’s how you ended up in his land

so if you wanna go back, just ask and he’ll take you! 

gives you jewelry, expensive jewelry. (maybe he’s slipped on a ring before. haha. jk… unless..?)

prefers to stay inside your place because he really doesn’t like people who aren’t you lmao

don’t stray too far from him, okay? he’s always waiting for you

rowan (who i don't have a new drawing of rn </3 sorry!):

he absolutely hates not being a priority, so please don’t ignore him. please? he just wants you to love him.

clingy, devoted, and obsessive yandere

if you don’t reciprocate he might (unknowingly) try to guilt you into liking him back. will appear like a kicked puppy to really sell it (but it’s not an act lol he’s just like this)

at least his intentions are pure! (?????????) but is that better..?

if when (it will happen) you two end up together, he’ll give you the world if you’d asked for it

used to cut his own hair! :D (not great at it tho tbh)

very attentive and will work hard to keep you happy! just don’t forget that you’ll love only each other for the rest of your life. please don’t leave.

has tripped over nothing, will definitely happen again

here's the shitty relationship chart that i rushed </3 its very ugly im sorry HAHA

i really want to clarify that NONE of them will ever hurt you physically on purpose (they might have to pay up for emotional damages tho. they have your best interest in mind ig)

also i would say that they all share some traits like being clingy, devoted, possessive, obsessive, jealous, protective, and loyal. but if i specifically wrote it, it's probs just a bit more intense... just a bit,,, haha...

[eluxcastar]

The little sisterfication of Signora

── ୨୧：la signora & reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: we're back with the little sibling headcanons let's GOOO

୨୧﹑genre :: fluff

୨୧﹑content :: gn reader, young signora, use of signora’s real name, it's more ambiguous how much older reader is, not proofread

୨୧﹑words :: 1.1k

this has been planned for so long, but I struggle SO bad writing Signora tbh Idk why it's not like I don't know how to write arrogant anguished women. I love arrogant anguished women 😭 while I'm on that thought I came to the realisation reader is probably dead with Rostam which was just what I wanted to think. BUT BUT I DID try to sneak some details in so it can still be cute cough witch's flower of blaze

it feels weird every time I use their real names but also calling them by titles when we know their names feels wrong because if it's from the perspective of their sibling who would know and use their name 😔 I think because I'm not used to it I'm like who the hell is MILBURN PENNYBAGS that's PULCINELLA (I had to look up the Monopoly man's name for that joke you BETTER laugh)

all little siblingification posts

Rosalyne was, as children are, young and interested in learning, eager but never quite aware. She loved to trail along by your side as you took her up the mountains to find a patch of flowers, at which point she would plop down in the grass and get to work making herself a flower crown with an extra one so you could match. Since your mother taught her the secret, she had happily taken to it and off to the races she was, linking flowers and matching colours in pursuit of the prettiest arrangement she could make to be her crown.

She long ago decided that Windwheel Asters are among the best, with an interesting shape and fiery red to contrast her blonde hair. Calla Lilies have a similar colour but a bad shape for flower crowns, and Cecilias are too pale to stand out the way she'd like them to. Windwheel Asters are bold and show off her hard work better than any delicate flower could.

Of course, that means she must also find the perfect flower for you, and that's hard work, but she'll never stop trying. Rosalyne read in a book about an extinct flower called the Padisarah, a beautiful purple flower that even the Dendro Archon couldn't perfectly replicate, and decided it would've been perfect for you if it still existed. You suspect that it's only because she can't have it that she wants it, the allure of something mystical that exists only in the imagination.

She settles instead on the legends of a Liyue flower that blooms at the sound of beautiful music—Glaze Lily or something to that tune. Each time Rosalyne makes a flower crown for you with the next best thing she can find, she claims that one day she'll travel to Liyue, and when she does, she'll bring you back one to see how pretty they are as if she has some greater understanding looking at the same picture in her book as you did. Maybe she does.

There is no dream too big, not for Rosalyne. She is desperate for your approval at every turn and wants you to think she's as cool as she thinks you are. She wants to hear you smile with her despite seeming so far away at times. Her phase of being petty and squabbling with you is over at last, and she seeks the comfort of the one person she looks up to more than anybody for a guiding star to turn to—you.

Your parents are both far away future ideals for an older Rosalyne to aspire to be, maybe with that boy she likes, but you are not so distant. You're like her, if only older and barely wiser. She sees all that she wants in you, and it makes her look up to your guidance above all else. Her parents are the annoying rule makers who preside over her life and ruin her fun; you're the fun troublemaker who sleazes the both of you past the city guards and takes her headfirst into the danger of the mountains just so she can play.

Rosalyne thinks of an ambitious future, and your parents tell her to be careful; you tell her to chase it. Become a scholar and do as she pleases. She's more inclined towards your indulgent way of thinking. You have yet to stifle the burning passion she holds but recognise it, and in your mind, it's about as cool as dragons could ever be. It is not the worrisome uncertainty of instability and hardship that your parents think it is.

Her heart is set in a far-off place—Sumeru, the Akademiya, where she feels everything will fall into place like a fairytale. Rosalyne has it all figured out, down to the number of boys she'll reject in pursuit of that boy she has had a crush on since she was twelve.

Even you're not privy to that, subject to Rosalyne quickly closing her diary or turning away from you, hiding the gifts she managed to get him and letters she wrote out but never could quite work up the nerve to send. It used to be only one of the many instances that would have her yelling at you not to snoop, though it has dwindled to being only one of the very few instances, save for accidentally discovering her in the process of procuring your birthday gifts.

It used to be that you would be searching for your missing things, a few of which had disappeared suspiciously close to your birthday and were found the moment you were proudly presented those very items as gifts from your little sister, sometimes with a daring tale of how she acquired it for you. Most of the time, you acted surprised and grateful, maybe even added a comment about how you were glad you didn't have to get a new one since Rosalyne had gone out and done it for you. You hid your annoyance at her habit of stealing your things behind thoughts of how cute your mother thought it was that Rosalyne didn't want to be left out of getting to give you something.

Rosalyne does, however, realise the possible benefit of asking for your help with this boy once she gets over the embarrassment-driven beet-red cheeks and yelling at you. You cannot find her boy and drag him by the ear to her, but you could help her write a letter to him or teach her to wrap that gift she was holding onto. You can do any number of things to help her chances— except talk to him. You can't do that, or you'll give it away with that big mouth of yours.

You're not quite sure how she came to that conclusion.

Her acceptance to the Akademiya came all too quickly. Years seemed to fly by, and her quirks evened out into a young woman your parents were more comfortable sending away to another nation. Their fears of her immaturity and fiery passion dragging her down settled as she did. By the time you were ready to send her away, the encroaching elegance you had seen forming in her younger self blossomed until she carried herself with more confidence and grace than ever. 

Like your parents, you are ready to watch her pursue that dream and come home to see the boy she likes still waiting for her. You make sure she knows you'll be there too, maybe even come visit every now and then and see Sumeru for yourself.

As she leaves, you reveal what you've been hiding for her—a single red flower. You're not as practised at the art of making flower crowns, but you found her this. This is all you can offer that she can carry with her until it wilts away.

CROSSPOSTED ON AO3

[y010isaghost]

some updates and/or thoughts about my ocs that i want to drop somewhere

Sins in Bloom (original story):

as per the results of the poll, Jade/Lust might have to be dethroned as the pov of SiB to be a supporting character with a weirdly complex backstory, decision still pending

4 out of 8 of the designs of the main cast of SiB has been set in stone. there were originally 5 but i've realized that Cypress doesn't fit with the flower theme and needs to be redesigned too x_x

Cypress/Depression has now been renamed Cyclamen and hit with the genderfluid/any pronouns beam

Infinity (Vs Void OC/AT):

there will no longer be any thoughts about giving Ini a Jet or Accretions. if it happens again, bonk me with a 'you're stupid' hammer

Ini's backstory is the process of her de-masking as opposed to Void's putting on a mask

if Ini were to name the Accretions (which she will), she would ask them what they'd want themselves to be called first, but im not entirely sure how they'd respond. im also too scared to ask Starbreak, so i'll just interpret that they don't really care since they've been letting themselves be called 'the guys' in canon

Ini would probably eventually start calling Accretion One and Two 'Aster' and 'Comet' respectively as nicknames

this isn't an update but more so a reveal: Ini's version of All-Consuming Void is called Fathomless Infinity

'Faker'/Perfect!Void/Cherish!Psychic (free rein OC)

since Faker is only one of many of their kind, i've been considering another Psychic impersonator that's more likely to be successful for longer than the Faker we know, who leans more into replicating Psychic's unthinkingly obedient servant side and completely discarding everything else on the deeper level that OG Psychic doesn't usually show. i don't actually know how successful that would be but im hoping they'd do somewhat better than Faker

Perfect!Void is actually pretty similar in a way to Void that he appreciates showmanship, and he likes to tease people about the fact that he's not the real deal, to the point that he completely discards the Void persona the moment he realizes the jig is up. Perfect!Void really likes being himself more than he does being Void, which makes sense because he doesn't like Void at all

[ask-postcrash-curly]

(The dragon curls up again next to curly)

Ok, moments over, time to start with the Anya thing again, for emphasis, look at me again please

Before we start with the main course, let us clarify something, you did not know that by saving them, you all would, almost, die slowly, hidsight is 20/20 all you cared about at that moment was fixing Jimmy's and your mistake, you put yourself in the line of danger, fully knowing you may die, cause I just won't believe that you didn't know, even subconsciously, that with the ship being a couple of metal scraps and screw but together, that a head on collision could be deadly

Now what do you call someone who puts themselves in the line of danger with the intention of saving everyone, even those who have wronged you?

Now, about Anya, let's recapilute

After the crash, she found you, half dead, probably still actively on fire, and she saved you, which btw, was INSANELY HARD, she is a miracle worker i swear, you have 3-4 degree burns in your entire body, stabilizing that with so little? That's not what a nurse does anymore, that's something a doctor does, but I'm getting of track here

The point is, after that, Jimmy was telling everyone that YOU crashed the ship, nobody had any proof otherwise, yet they kept you alive, when the logical thing would have been to put you out, after all, you "had a death wish" and you "crashed the ship so he is not worth living" and you are in so much pain that it could be justified as a mercy killing

But she didn't, she most likely stopped them even, even Jimmy said so, that there's "only two reasons to keep you alive at that point", do not think about those two reasons please

Because she wanted to believe that you didn't, that you were worth saving, even if she couldn't say it out loud, even when she started to doubt herself

Why do you think it was so easy to convince her that you didn't? Cause she already knew it deep down, not only that, but she was SO distraught after hearing that Jimmy was hitting you, that can't be faked

And now in a more present day, she came to save you, she could have hid from the crazy ass man with the gun and took care of the two other patients, she got the damn axe, and she killed Jimmy with her own two hands, it may have been an accident, but it was instinctual

Let me tell you something really important Curly, no woman on this planet, on this entire damn galaxy would save their rapist with this much fervor, if it have been Jimmy on that cockpit, she would have tried, maybe, but not like you

She likes you curly, at the very least, as a friend

For the record, I apologize if im being too harsh i am quite scared that when this is over, and you are back on earth, and you recover, you are gonna ghost the hell outta her, don't, please, I will bite you

Get some self esteem before I pump 3 straight tons of it through your brains cells

[Also mod, is the blog gonna end after the 5 days remaining? Cause I'm making quite the complicated drawing with my interpretation of at least some of the asters, it includes curly's mum, pickles the cat, nice and rude words and more, also, in case what i just wrote doesnt make a lot of sense, it is two AM and i had to scroll so far down to get to where Anya discoveres the thing with Curly]

Don't want to move my head, it'll hurt. Sorry.

I guess so. And yeah, obviously I knew it could be deadly. Why do you think I tried to stop it?

...Nah.

Yeah, I know. She's amazing.

I don't think she stopped them. From what I've heard it was a group decision.

Could've been guilt. Or empathy, or whatever. You don't have to like someone to feel bad for them, yeah?

Yeah, uh... I don't think you understand how Anya is. She's not the kind of person who lets personal misgivings stop her from doing the right thing. Even when said misgivings are as big as what he did to her. Listen, I'm not saying she hates me. I've gotten to the point where I don't believe that anymore. But I'm not going to accept that she thinks of me as a friend until I hear it from her. I owe her that much.

Why would I ghost her? If she wants to cut contact I won't push, but if she genuinely wants to talk to me there's no way in hell I'd deny her.

[honeypine-the-parrot]

I'm not going to make my ocs as Skybound characters, I'm not going to make my ocs as Skybound characters--

Here are some of my OCs, but if they existed in the Skybound universe!!!

more yapping below the cut

Here are some other fun facts about them:

- The four of them are sisters in this universe :3

- Almond and Bella are twins!

- Bella's full name is Bluebell, because she wanted to keep up the flower theme with her sisters :)

- Bluebells are Almond's favorite flower, because they remind her of Bella ;-;

- Almond is unable to fly after getting her magic stolen (womp womp)

- Iris has a scar over their eye (just like Daisy), but they still have their full range of vision.

- Iris has taken an oath to care for the sick and injured regardless of their own personal opinions, which will definitely conflict with their desire to kill every Avicane member who crosses their path.

- Tbh I don't know a lot about Aster. Estelle is an anomaly to me, and I can't figure out why exactly it is that she makes the choices that she does.

What happened with the Avicane?

- An Avicane member tried to use Almond to recharge an obelisk. They almost succeeded, but Iris showed up and killed them before they could finish. Almond didn't die, but she lost her ability to fly :(

- Aster learned about what was up with the Avicane, and joined them as a recruit with the intention of infiltrating the group and taking revenge for what they did to her sister. But she may have gotten a little bit distracted, and gotten more focused on rising through the ranks than on getting revenge.

- Bella went with her, but she is woefully unprepared to become an Avicane recruit. Aster's status is probably the only thing keeping her alive.

- She does eventually convince Aster to leave the Avicane after the islands start falling.

- Iris will 100% try to kill Bella and Aster when they see them again in the wild, just like Daisy does in canon.

- Almond will forgive Bella and Aster immediately. She probably shouldn't, but she will.

- Aster and Bella joining a death cult and Almond losing her ability to fly is a canon event, unfortunately. It was always going to happen.

- The four of them are so doomed to betray each other, they mean so much to me

- They do eventually all make up in this version though. None of them actually manage to kill each other this time (rip canon)

- They're all avians in canon, so it was really fun to give them different bird types. Especially because Estelle is a bird of prey and has a lot of religious symbolism behind her character, so reimagining her as a dove was really interesting thematically

I love them a lot, I have so many thoughts

[stormsandskies]

//jrwi ep 114 spoilers

finished the episode and holy shit there is so much to think about

Faye Ferins message like what does she mean about her son being “stable” what’s up with her wanting to take over the world? she directly mentioned Aster what’s going on with that?? is she heavily religious? does she know of the prophecy?

Dopplegilly was fucking horrifying, the way he was almost gillion to the point i didn’t notice and Chip didn’t notice is so scary, the fact he can’t perform prophetic screwup, and now he’s just a brain dead husk which is so funny to me.

chip’s unwavering trust in gill too, he went to the bones, let gill barricade the door, and even when he knew no it wasn’t gill he still couldn’t lethally damage him. there’s so much care there, and we can really see how his character has changed since the beginning of the campaign because early campaign chip would have let gillion sacrifice himself, now he begs for jay to save gill over him.

and i think a lot of that comes from the love for his crew, but i also think he knows that he’s slowly falling apart, he dosent have as much time as he lets on. i bet at this point he probably thinks he doesn’t have much more to live for, that he’s a goner may as well save his crew, his family if he goes out sooner rather then later.

also i have a feeling kuba kenta is going to be an issue again soon, that worries me

i also really want to know what all jay found in that room, is it info on Ava or is it about the artificial leviathan?? what are we going to find out when they are slightly safer?

UGH ANS GILLION JUMPING INTO A FIGHT WITH 1 HP AND NO ARMOR FOR CHIP WHEN AGAIN EARLY CAMPAIGN GILL MAY HAVE DONE THAT BUT LIKE OUT OF OBLIGATION TO BE A HERO THIS WAS BECAUSE HE CARES BECAUSE THAT IS HIS BEST FRIEND AND HE WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HIS CREW.

anyways this episode was horrifying and so funny and i loved it so much

[halfling-myth-lady]

…Pokemon reborn update(spoilers up until right before byxbysion wasteland)

Kiki managed to put me at a point where I was left to only ball.

Holy shit Kiki’s dying.

I feel like Victoria should get therapy.

SO THATS WHY SHE DIDNT JUST GIVE ME THE STRENGTH TM HUH

Poor Victoria is so disillusioned with kiki rn.

I like that Aster seems to have sympathy for kiki.it gives us background that as much as team meteor might be,y’know,fucking terrorists they aren’t still a unanimous hive mind.they each still have personal boundaries that they refuse to/are unwilling to cross and I think that individualizes them more than just being an evil team.

Speaking of,taka seems like he doesn’t really care all that much about team meteor.which makes sense,as I have learned later.

Team meteor is also a lot more direct with killing people now.like actual ecoterrorism with the intent to wipe out EVERYONE

Emerald pin?right now both my theories on the jewelry are seeming pretty damn likely.

Also I think Cain just put a giant target on his back.

Anyways,CAIN IS BACK FUCK YEAH

Also,quick question,have Cain and Fern met yet?

Welp it’s mountain time baby.

I got two shinies here.technically three since I got a shiny slugma and diglett to spawn at the same time but I only caught 2(since you know)

So Taka is Solaris’ son,huh.that somewhat explains the reluctance on Taka’s part.

But still it strikes me as odd that when asked about it he just says “seems so” like it could just be sarcasm but still.

Aand Solaris kicked my ass.

Gee Kiki’s strong.

Wait cal is evil

Okay,so that medicham just got FUCKING MURDERED

…and kiki just joined the medicham.

Wait Cal is good again

So Cal’s brother is part of team meteor,huh

Honestly fair on Victoria’s part for blowing up at him.like the guy betrays her leading to her mother figures getting fucking murdered by a garchomp and then just does a 180.

I wonder if,now that kiki got murdered by Solaris,there’s a chance Aster might turn on team meteor due to what she said about kiki reminding her of her father.

I also feel like there’s a chance for Taka too,since he probably was born into the meteor business and seems hesitant abt the PULSE thing.

Also damn Victoria really needs therapy after this and also-

VICTORIAAAA

Seems like now we’ll be focusing on Cain a bit more,and that makes me a bit less bummed about not seeing Victoria again/not seeing her for a bit.

[butterscotch-goat]

HELLO @bardace , thank you So So SOO Much for asking, this was very fun to put together. Sorry I accidentally posted the draft two times and also I'm so sorry for my incoherent ramblings. I'm an artist first and a writer 42nd probably. I'm doing my best

Okay. good lord. where do I even START with this guy. I'm gonna try

uhhh here's his playlist. And his and Beatrice's playlist. (Pretend that every song has strictly platonic connotations for both playlists lol) (the songs are kind of in an order. Sort of). For funsies his "theme song" is "Hand Me My Shovel, I'm Going In!" by Will Wood and The Tapeworms, but "Everything Else" from Next To Normal is a CLOSE second. because of the tragic. Also his symbolic animal is a bee. honeybee specifically. because of the tragic

His whole "thing", to oversimplify it, is that he is OBSESSED with the science of magic and will do anything to find out more about it. Btw in Escapism magic is super vague and super illegal punishable by death, which is why most of the plot takes place in the very secluded Taylor Manor, since Aster is magic and Charles and Beatrice studying magic is. illegal,.. But yeah! Charles is RIDICULOUSLY passionate about human anatomy + physiology. He becomes obSESSED with Aster because she's the first and only magic person he knows, and she's living as at the manor with him and Beatrice (Aster got found out as a magician and had to run away to avoid being executed, and ran into the manor!).

But it doesn't stop at Charles just being interested in magic, he wants to make some kind of breakthrough. Find the root "cause", find out every "why" and "how" because he is TERRIFIED he'll be forgotten if he doesn't do anything noteworthy. His mother died of illness and his father killed himself soon after when Charles was 18, which gave him a DEBILITATING fear of death and a horrible sense of his own mortality. Like he calculated the most likely amount of days he had left to live (considering he would stay healthy and care for himself, which he starts kinda forgetting to do as the story progresses and his mental state detiorates). He would fantasize about how many respected Men Of Science would be at his funeral and all the nice things they'd say about him. He'd hoped that his discoveries and theories would be taught in schools. This desperate need to be liked and known after his death is what ultimately pushes all his decisions and causes his demise in the end (his tragic flaw, I think the term is?) He performs way too many experiments and procedures on Aster in way too short of a time span not necessarily just because he's impatient, but because he's disgustingly aware that he has a time limit. He wants to get as much done as possible before he kicks the bucket and disregards not just his own well being to do so, but Aster and Beatrice's too.

Beatrice and Charles had been best friends since they were ten (autism and adhd dynamic) and they are RIDICULOUSLY close. These two idiots would do anything for each other, which is why despite all the horrendous shit Charles does and how horribly he treats Aster (Beatrice's GIRLFRIEND!!) Beatrice still stays by his side til the end.

About how Charles treats Aster: it's this horrible mix of him being completely enamored with her, being so fascinated and obsessed with her magic and wanting her to like him and putting her up on a pedestal just for being magic, but also seeing her as just that. Her magic. lt's mostly on a subconscious level but Charles only really cares about keeping Aster healthy and even alive because she's magic, and without Aster, he wouldn't have this great studying resource!

His devotion to Aster is damn near religious, which isn't helped when after all those procedures he starts considering that maybe the cause of her magic is from something beyond humanity, holy almost (in the most agnostic way) but BECAUSE of that, BECAUSE he considers her to be at least partially beyond human comprehension, he doesn't consider her fully human, and doesn't treat her like one. anyone who knows me is probably sick of hearing this BUT ITS THE INHERENT DEHUMANIZATION THAT COMES WITH BEING TREATED LIKE A GOD!! he doesn't see aster!! Sure, maybe what he sees is amazing and beautiful and wondrous but he doesn't see Aster. If that makes sense.

Whether she's treated like a specimen or like an idol, either way, Charles doesn't give her the humanity she deserves. He's fucking INSANE!!

He starts off relatively Normal (or at least good at Acting Normal) (he is scarily good at masking, and before he started Going down the drain so to speak. he prided himself on being a gentleman) but yeah as the story progresses he just gets more and more obsessed with Aster and finding out WHAT is so SPECIAL about her. WHY was she given magic and what gave it to her, etc.

He never gets ANY sort of answer btw. No leads, no clues, nothing, so he keeps pushing her to do MORE dissections, MORE experiments, he's out of anesthesia but he's too impatient to wait to get more so he'll strap her to a table and start making incisions and hope Beatrice doesn't hear.

All of this torture that he puts Aster through eventually (after a lot of other stuff goes down) causes his own demise. After four years, Charles does or says something that is the last straw for Aster, so she takes a nearby candelabra and bashes in the side of his skull with it, killing him. Second degree murder I guess: in the moment, she grew furious and impulsively decided to use the candelabra and attack him. Oops! He's not moving!

As I've alluded to, Charles' story (i like to think at least) is easy to see as a tragedy. His entire life he wanted to do something of notoriety, he wanted a legacy after his inevitable death, but BECAUSE of that fear, because he pushed himself and those around him to the limit, he died with barely anyone left alive who knows his name. He fucking sucks don't get me wrong. But also he was 22 years old and so, so goddamn scared. The fear was near constant. He could try to bury it, but it was always there, this horrible sense of dread looming over him. But once again, he fucking sucks. He tortured Aster for years (even if he was convinced it was for a good cause) and him and Beatrice are just a mess, emotionally (codependency! Woo!).

The one thing to remember about him though is that: he is a silly goofy guy. He is a nerdy greasy sleazeball pathetic wet cat of a man. he is a strange little loserboy. He is a dorky weirdo and he needs so much help. wahoo!

If you somehow still want more there's this post about his relationships with aster and Beatrice respectively, it is very rambly, be warned. I say as if this post isn't also rambly as fuck. I don't know what I'm doing ever I'm so sorry. THANKS AGAIN FOR ASKING THIS WAS CHALLENGING BUT VERY FUN TO PUT TOGETHER! it was interesting trying to prioritize stuff about Charles' character, and a good reminder iguess of his principles....woooo. sorry I talk so much,,

[felixxthefrog]

scheduling this for January 1, 2025 at midnight. a letter to my future self.

for whoever the fuck i've become by the time i'm reading this later.

hey, i guess?

it's january 4th and i just put my playlist in dumpster for u. hope u like it. it's kinda shit, and the Bow Weevils don't fit the vibe, but then neither does Gravy.

i hope ur cool. ive been trying to get cooler. read more books, listen to more music, better books, and better music. i hope you're cool like i want to be cool. educated. witty. funny. i don't know if i'll ever be funny. but maybe you will be.

if you haven't yet, make sure to read that letter i left for you in the start of the green journal. it's sad, but it'll show you the parts of me that you'll inevitably repress.

the panic attacks have started coming back. i'm sorry. i hope you got better.

are you any closer to jacob? do you still go to the bookshop? how many books have we gotten in the last year? how many have we read? enough?

it's never enough books, is it.

have you found any new book shops? any new coffee shops?

how long is your hair?? what color is it?? did you bleach it??? i'm gonna be so mad if you've bleached it. is it curly again? i miss my curls, i hope you have them. take care of them, please. please don't cut them off. i miss them.

are the cats okay? they're big boys now, aren't they? officially two. they're all asleep right now, but they're menaces. does aster still get on cabinets? i bet he does.

what about 🐀? how is she doing? better? closer? comfier? more confident? how is work? still shit?

what about 🧸? how are they? and 🪱?

what about j🐦and 🐧 and 🐻‍❄️?

what about 🕷️?? does he have a partner yet?? i hope he's happy.

(i hope u know who i'm talking about with all the censored names. internet creeps and all. you never know)

how... how was the election? you voted, right? we did? how did it go? is everything okay? i know it probably won't get better but god i hope it does. and if it's not better... i hope you're ready. hurry. get ready, if you aren't. i hope everything is okay. you'll have to tell me who won. i wish i could reassure you. reassure me. know what you know. it's so scary, the not knowing

what about Palestine? israel is getting war crime charges from South Africa soon i think. i hope they get what they deserve. and i hope Palestine is free. i hope they're healing. thriving. i don't know if they will be. but i hope they are. the war isn't over yet but i hope it will be soon.

do you still have hope? do we still have hope? if we ever have a little girl, we should name her pandora.

have you painted the wall more? have you made more art? have you written anything? what about edith hamilton and ishmael reed and maya angelou? do you still love them? are they still with you?

what about.. mom? is she okay? has she grown? changed? is she accepting? does she call you felix? probably not. even if she was accepting, idk if she'd like the name felix.

are you still felix?? do you still use that name? still genderfluid? still a lesbian? jesus christ i hope so. i've been waiting to call myself a lesbian for 6 years now, since we were 14. i'm not giving that up any time soon. i hope.

is that stupid pothos still alive. do you drink more now that you're legal?

do you work? or are you still at home? are you going to school? i'm assuming ur not going to school. can you drive?

i don't know what else to ask. tell me everything.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Pokémon Reborn Screenshot Let's Play: Chapter 32

Well, here I am again, now with several less wisdom teeth. But honestly, this chapter didn’t get delayed as much as I was worried it would be. It probably helps that I specifically planned to do the actual play session before the procedure, so that way all I’d have to worry about would be writing and post-making. Which honesty, is was less taxing during recovery compared to actual gameplay stuff and all the strategizing I tend to do during battles.

Another slight delay came in the form of a message I received, in which someone brought to my attention that my method of tagging every post of this Let's Play is kinda clogging up Tumblr's tagging system with regards to Pokémon Reborn? I didn't know, I don't check the Reborn tag in order to avoid spoilers, but I'm glad someone who does check it told me about it, I probably wouldn't have known otherwise. So, I spent a few hours going through the past sections, removing all the tags besides content warnings and Porygon Appreciation™, so if you notice any differences in the tags all of a sudden- that's why. From now on, I'll only be maintagging the actual main chapter posts (like this one)- hopefully that'll clean the tags up.

Anyways, I felt it was especially important to ensure I'm at my best both physically and mentally this time around, because here we are, on our way to deal with yet another PULSE! Yes, it's the culmination of this entire Apophyll Academy story arc, and I have no idea what to expect besides more Team Meteor hijinks. But I do have a feeling it’s gonna be big and dramatic in some way, like- we haven’t had a Rhodochrine Jungle moment in a while, so I feel like we’re due for something like that, right? Am I overthinking stuff?

Well, regardless of if I’m overthinking future plot developments or not, I still need to recap what happened last time to give proper context to how we got here. So, let’s take care of that!

Thanks to the tip from Lettie, Xera takes Amaria’s boat to Azurine Island, a swampy island in the middle of Azurine Lake, in order to investigate Team Meteor’s activities there.

Shortly after arrival, Xera finds an earring in a puddle- one belonging to the still-missing Cain, an indicator of his presence on the island.

While exploring the island, Xera is ambushed by Aster and Eclipse. After confirming Cain is held captive on the island, Eclipse remarks that Xera is on her own to deal with the two of them for once, and is eager for the opportunity to take care of the trespasser.

Despite being outnumbered 2 to 1, Xera is able to defeat Aster and Eclipse. At this moment, Aster lets it slip that Team Meteor has a secret lab on the island, to Eclipse’s chagrin.

Eclipse soon admits she feels sympathetic to the plight of Apophyll Academy. She knows about Kiki’s terminal illness and hates the idea of “kicking someone while they’re down”, given her own father’s issues. However, there is little she can do as a Team Meteor Private, so she instead gives Xera a hint to the lab’s location before retreating with Aster.

Xera is able to locate the secret lab inside an innocuous building at the heart of the island. Inside, Xera finds Taka contacting someone as well as Cain and a Camerupt inside prison cells.

According to Taka, Azurine Island used to be the center of the effort to breed Pokémon and repopulate the Reborn region- before Team Meteor shut down the project. Additionally, the Camerupt is the key to Team Meteor’s plans for Apophyll: they will use a PULSE on it to allow it to amplify enough reactive energy to erupt Pyrous Mountain, thus wiping out Apophyll Academy.

After informing Xera of this plan, Taka sends out his Pokémon to battle her- a challenge that Xera accepts.

Xera defeats Taka, who takes the loss in stride, not-so-subtly implying Xera should come to Pyrous Mountain to stop Team Meteor. Taka and his Grunts retreat with the Camerupt, leaving Xera free to open Cain’s cell.

Cain is initially eager to return to Apophyll to stop the eruption, only to realize the Grunts left something behind: a seemingly important package meant to be given to Commander Sirius. Cain opens the package, seeing nothing but a brooch with an emerald gem; with no clue as to its significance, he takes the item, just so Team Meteor doesn’t have it.

With Cain freed and the mysterious Emerald Brooch in their possession, he and Xera quickly take the boat back to Apophyll Academy. There, they join up with Victoria and quickly make their way to Pyrous Mountain to put a stop to Team Meteor’s plans.

So yeah, Chekhov’s Volcano is real and it’s about to blow up right on top of Apophyll Academy! And we can’t have that! Team Meteor’s done enough damage with just plants and water, you really think we’re gonna let them- hey wait. The PULSE Tangrowths messed with plants, PULSE Muk messed with water, and now PULSE Camerupt is gonna mess with a volcano- fire. Grass, water, fire…like the three starter types. Was that intentional?

Uuuuh…that tangent aside, let’s get started here! Let’s climb that volcano at long last!

*CW: minor gore, death

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13*

Part 14

Part 15

Part 16

Part 17

Part 18

Part 19

[mysteryloversbookshelf]

“Happily Ever Aster”

What are some of your headcanons on how some of the characters lived happily ever after? We won’t know for sure until being mentioned offhand in future seasons but it’s still fun to come up with ideas. Here is how I vision some of their happy endings. I’m putting it behind the read more in case some people still haven’t seen the season finale yet

Grace and Hannah

It’ll be weird for a minute since Edgar is dead and as terrible as he was I’m sure they’ll still have to grieve him in some way. Once that passes I see them continuing to travel together and maybe Hannah working with Grace in her antique shop. Rather than another yurt, I could see them living in a cozy cottage surrounded by more psychotropic plants. Idk if they’ll marry, but I see them adopting a baby or maybe getting a sperm donor and their baby being weird af like a mini Wednesday Addams.

Feng and Vivian

After news of Edgar’s death breaks out and people check out Kyler’s videos from the weekend, I can see a lot of people flocking to try baobing for clout but falling in love with it. They’ll get a boost in sales and Feng will end up opening even more locations. Now that he has enough money to pay off debts and etc, I see him and Vivian traveling the world together and her teaching him how to live it up. He doesn’t have to play it safe anymore so I could see him and Vivian sending Grace and Zoë pics of them both skydiving and other thrill seeking tourist stuff. Maybe offscreen Aniq and Zoë asked Vivian to help choreograph the first dance at their wedding and it turned out amazing.

Travis

Since he became the house and beat Sebastian, he can afford to fly out and visit Weronika. Does anyone remember what he does for a living? I could see him feeling inspired at actually discovering the crypto scam and taking courses so he can be a legitimate detective. Maybe he will even create an agency to help other people that have been scammed out of their crypto.

Isabel

She may not have been able to hold Edgar accountable for drugging her but she’s at least finally free. Howie is a close friend but maybe they’ll become something more at some point. With her personality I don’t expect her and Hannah to ever have a perfect relationship, but after that moment they shared while telling the mind movie, maybe they can get to a decent place. Probably not though after how she treated Grace.

Sebastian

Yeah he lost a bunch of money and was fired by Isabel, but you can’t keep a scammer like him down. He’s either about to start running cons with his cousins again or he’s going to attach himself to a wealthy older lady like Isabel and live out the rest of her life in luxury before moving on to the next one.

Aniq and Zoë

When they go see Danner in the time jump, are the rings to show that they’ve already married or are they still engaged? Either way, I don’t care to see a wedding. We’ve already been there and done that with Grace even if it did end terribly. I’m fine with seeing hilarious wedding and honeymoon photos/videos and calling it a day. It’s too bad Yasper is in prison because he would have been a really fun best man. Imagine the wedding toast 😂

Danner

Assuming season three will be the afterparty for the premiere of her movie, I hope that the person killed isn’t Jaleel White. Danner has been through enough so that would suck to do that to her character when she finally found what she wants to do in life.

Ulysses

He obviously doesn’t deserve a happy ending after trying to kill Feng. It might be too much of fan service, but the idea of him being cellmates with Yasper and them both performing together for the other criminals is hilarious to me. Knowing him, he’d probably be using his knowledge from his travels to scam the other inmates into giving him money for food and etc.

What about you guys? It would be really cool to be able to compare these headcannons to what will actually be canon in the future seasons.

[esoteric-mantra-stuff]

Iulius and Augustus (A Starry Night Story)

Here's a cute little story inspired by a dumb thing my friend said. It's a two parter so hopefully I'll have the second part up soon.

CW: Mentions of child abduction and some of the events from AoIS

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

You poke at the sizzling meat, careful lest it burns on your skillet. The smell of cooked lamb wafts up to your sensitive nose, and your stomach rumbles accordingly. Were it up to you, you would have eaten the meat as you found it, but your little companion does not have enough wolf in his blood to digest raw meat (something you unfortunately discovered after he got sick and you didn’t know what to do). The boy stares at you as you cook. Hungry little eyes follow your hands as you turn each cut of meat over. He’s cautious of you, but at least he will accept any food you offer him. You can’t blame him for his mistrust.

After all, you are his abductor.

What stories did his mother tell about you? What did her children know of the father that stalked them in the night? Of the monster who would rip their family apart, were it necessary to bring the Age of Stars into existence? Maybe she kept you a secret, a family embarrassment her children would only be able to wonder about. You would be okay with that, perhaps, being forgotten by her. Despite being a traitor, her pups need her, and you….

You….

It’s frustrating. You know the hatred isn’t there anymore, yet your mind will not let you conjure the thought of forgiveness. The statements: ‘She took the Fingerslayer Blade in a misguided attempt to protect you.’ and ‘She loved you.’ are both logical, as veridical as ‘one equals one.’ they’re impossible to deny. You want so badly to let the pieces fall into place, but the curse of your very being stops them from doing so. What’s more, the moment Lady Ranni asked you to bring the boy to her, to use him as a tool to kill the Two Fingers, you folded like a wet sheet of paper. You wanted to protest, plead with her to leave them alone, but what did you say instead? “It shall be done, my lady.” without hesitation. What a pathetic creature you are, less than a worm, less than the scum of the earth, you-

“It’s burning.” A tiny hushed voice breaks you out of your spiraling. You stop yourself from swearing before taking the slightly charred meat out of the fire and into a wooden plate. “Sorry….” you mutter as you pass the boy his share (the less burnt one). Aster accepts your offering, taking small and careful bites with his little muzzle. You’re glad he’s eating, at least. For the first few days after you took him from his mother’s camp, he would not stop crying, to the point that he would not eat. You felt awful about that. A young pup of about 5 or 6 years old is growing and needs nutrients. Worse still was knowing that you couldn’t console him other than by reassuring him that he would return to his family safe and sound. As much as you wanted to, you couldn’t turn back. Lady Ranni would never allow it. Now the boy is calm, more curious about you than afraid. You can’t decide if that’s for better or worse. You don’t bother restraining him, as he does not attempt to run away. If only the Lands Between were safer for a young pup, maybe you would be okay with letting him escape to find his mother, then deal with Ranni’s ire at your incompetence. Her words would be easier to deal with than the gnawing guilt currently eating you alive. She’s always been the type to use the Silent Treatment, anyway, that or attempting murder.

You chew the burnt mutton, grimacing at the bitter taste in your mouth. The boy looks at you, or rather, he looks at your open jaw whenever you take a bite out of the meat. His tail wags curiously at the sight of your fangs. Aster’s teeth are relatively tiny, a mouth full of little needles that would probably cause more pain than injury. You would know as he bit your finger the other day, and the scream you let out would have given anyone a reason to be concerned. If his’ are needles, yours are knives. Big enough to tear away at flesh and bone alike.

As a general rule, you avoid biting during fights. It’s not honorable, and you’d rather avoid being compared to a wild animal, but to a little pup, it must be exciting to get an idea of how big and dangerous one’s mouth can get. A smile tugs at your lip, and you make a show of biting down on your meal, the burnt flavor now slightly dulled. Aster laughs a carefree giggle that makes your tail wag, though your guilt still weighs on your shoulders. Maybe you can pretend to be Father and Son for just a moment. After this is over, you won’t see him again. You can’t, not after what you did. Your frown fades into a smile as Aster attempts to shove as much of the mutton into his mouth, his little fangs unable to tear so much meat away. It’s adorable, though you hesitate to say it out loud. You hope that Aster forgets all the tears he shed on the way here as he grows older. You hope he continues to laugh like this forever, even if you don’t get to see it. 

—-----------------

Aster does not speak much, mostly walking by your side in silence. You had offered to carry him on your shoulders, though he refused. His tumbling steps made you feel nervous about his well-being, but he never slowed down or fell like you thought he might. Now and again, you would catch him grabbing onto your cloak for stability, so you offered to hold his hand if he needed it instead. He was wary, of course, but he did take you up on your offer after some deliberation. His fingers are so tiny, a little mirror image of your rougher padded digits. It’s adorable.

You eventually reach the Three Sisters after doing your best to avoid the Fingercreepers lurking in Caria Manor. Adula greets you as you arrive, bowing her head in respect. Aster hides behind you, peeking at the dragon with some trepidation. “It’s okay, she’s a friend.” You reassure the boy, but he just hides under your cloak. A sigh escapes your lips as you dismiss Adula with a hand motion. The dragon doesn’t stop to ponder the small furry creature hiding behind you, and she takes off into the skies, kicking up dust and grass in her wake. You peek under your cloak and behind you at the pup currently hugging your tail. “Don’t worry, Aster, she’s gone.” You say, offering your hand to the boy. Aster ignores you, staring up at Ranni’s Rise, clearly uncomfortable with the derelict tower. “... scary.” he says, hiding behind your leg. You tilt your head as you look at the building over. Now that you think about it, Ranni’s Rise does have a rather ominous look to it. Perhaps you’ve simply grown accustomed to it, or maybe it’s just that everything related to your lady seems to have its imperfections scrubbed away in your eyes. Perhaps it is you who is strange for not feeling apprehensive.

Aster clutches your leg, and his face presses against your thigh. You can almost feel him trembling through the plate and the leather of your boot. “Aster….” you nudge him gently, but he does not release your leg; if anything, his grip tightens. If Seluvis were alive, perhaps he would jeer (or cackle) at the idea that a child could so quickly and effectively immobilize you. “Aster? Are you okay?” you nudge him again to no avail. Well, this is a problem. What to do? Grabbing Aster and forcing him to enter with you would likely be the most straightforward answer, but something about that just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Children don’t deserve to get treated like misbehaving animals, and being afraid isn’t something they should be punished for. Coercion might work, but you can’t think of anything Aster might like. If only you knew him better. You try to remember how your mother might have helped you if you were scared. She was always the better parent, not that the competition was ever stiff. Radagon was not dad of the year material, even on his good days. (The irony of history seemingly repeating itself is not lost on you.) There was this one time you were afraid of swimming, and your mother said… hmmm. Okay, that could work.

As calmly as you can, you put your fingers over Aster’s, petting the fur on the back in a soothing motion. You try to keep your voice as calm as you can. “Aster… I understand you’re afraid of going inside. It’s maybe not the most welcoming place, but… I assure you that nothing bad will happen… I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.” You say, feeling Aster’s grip on your leg weakens just a little. You gently pry him away from your leg, and he lets you. His faded lavender eyes look slightly red. He’s been crying. You kneel in front of him, wiping away what remains of his tears with your thumb. “Ni allwn fod yn ddewr os nad ydym byth yn ofni.” You say, repeating the words your mother once said, only to be met with a tilted head and a little frown… Shit. You’re such an idiot! Of course, he wouldn’t know any Liurnian. You feel your cheeks slightly redden at your mistake. You’re about to explain what it means when Aster pipes up. “... Dw i'n dy garu ti?” It catches you off guard, and you sputter for a moment. The boy merely stares at you, an equal mix of concern and amusement in his eyes. “Y-you… how did you…?” You manage to say, the marbles in your skull still rattling around. Aster looks down, and a sad look crosses his eyes. “Mum says it sometimes… it sounds like what you just said.” His little ears fall back, and he wrings his hands together. Thinking of his mother must have worried him. “... she said it with a smile but smelled like tears… I don’t get it, and she wouldn’t explain.” He falls silent.

Even when crouched down to Aster’s level, he looks up at you, his tiny body still dwarfed by your massive one. To think she would not only remember what little Liurnian you taught her but would choose to tell her children she loves them using your tongue. That’s… Well, that’s something. “To be honest, I don’t understand it either….” You admit, ruffling the fur on Aster’s head, causing him to let out a little giggle. “But it means your mother loves you very much… and I’ll make sure you see her again soon.” Aster smiles; it’s a cute and dorky grin. You smile, pushing the thoughts of his mother and her strangeness into the back of your mind. It doesn’t matter anymore to you, does it? Why do you care that she remembered? You’ll never see her again, not that she’d want to see your sorry mug. Stop thinking about impossibilities and concentrate on your mission. Your tail is a traitor that wags when you think about her, and you would do well to chop the bloody thing off.

—----------------------

Ranni was not particularly glad to see you. She hadn’t been happy to see you for a long time, though today she was particularly unhappy with your presence. You don’t understand what you did to earn her disdain. You chose to stay loyal to her, didn’t you? Shouldn’t she be happy that you would honor your oath to her above everything? Even though you wanted to be a father, the Age of Stars needed to come. Ranni knows this, yet your relationship with her has not been the same since that day the Fingerslayer Blade slipped out of her grasp. You don’t understand her; maybe you never understood her. Still, loyal hound (or lap dog perhaps) that you are, you stay by her side.

You will take Aster to the Moonlight Plateau tomorrow morning. He should be able to slay the Two Fingers keeping Ranni bound to this land. Once it was over, you would return Aster to his family. Then… Well, then you’ll have to find something else to do. Maybe, if you’re lucky, Aster’s mother might be kind enough to chop your head clean off your shoulders. It would certainly make things easier. For now, you get to spend the night here at the tower. Aster was still a little scared but followed you into your chambers. His little fingers wrap around your index as you show the boy where he will be staying.

“Are you comfortable, Aster?” You say as you tuck the boy in your bed. Crouched by his side. He looks so small compared to it. A tiny fluffy head poked behind a sea of sheets and blankets. Aster yawns (complete with a familiar whine at the end) before responding. “Uh-huh….” You run a thumb over the fur of his head. He closes his eyes and leans into your touch. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me then. Goodnight.” You stand up and would have made your way to the stairs if not for the hesitant look on Aster’s face, clutching at the sheets and looking at you and away like he wants to ask something. It would seem there is something wrong. “Aster? Did you want something else?” If he wants a glass of water or a snack before bed, there’s probably something around here he can eat. Or maybe he’s concerned about sleeping in a stranger’s bedroom for the night, though now that you think about it, has he ever been in a bedroom before? You didn’t think to ask, but maybe he hasn’t. Is that what has him uneasy?

Aster cuts off your runaway train of thought. “... are you really my dad?” He asks in an almost embarrassed tone that makes you feel increasingly silly. You kneel back by his side of the bed, trying to keep your tone calm and comforting even though your face feels a little hot. “I… I am, yes.” You say. It’s not worth explaining to a child that even though you’re his father biologically, you do not get to call yourself that after what you did. “Is that all you wanted to know?” Aster shakes his head, his little fingers still clutching the sheets. He’s steeling himself to say what he wants, like a warrior before a duel, to the point that it’s starting to make you uneasy.

“... Why….” The boy finally says. “... Why don’t you and Mum talk anymore?” The tone is not accusatory but stings you almost like it is. It’s only natural a kid would be curious, but honestly, you were hoping to avoid it for as long as you could. Aster sees your ears crumple, or maybe how your eyes dart away and pushes on, knowing he will get his answers. “Mum told me you fought, but… Why… Why can’t you make up? Aren’t people supposed to say sorry after they fight?” Aster looks… almost betrayed. As though the knowledge that adults are more complex is baffling to him, like the fact that the world is messy and full of irreconcilable differences is too wide for his little mind to comprehend. You don’t know how to respond to his question, as frankly, that’s not something a child his age would be ready to understand.

When you fought, it was because you felt she had betrayed your and your lady’s trust. She took the Fingerslayer Blade and potentially tried to turn you into a traitor, or so you thought. As the years passed and you gave it more thought, you concluded that maybe your Tarnished lover had a reason to think as she did. Lady Ranni, for as much as your mind would never allow you to see her in a bad light, had no intention of saving you once the Two Fingers took hold of your mind. Realizing how little it meant to her stung, but the years since the Fingerslayer Blade was stolen made it clear the sister you thought you knew was long dead, buried under an icy glare and heart. You’d still give your life to her, and the Tarnished was wrong for trying to force your hand, but you wonder if maybe you’d feel otherwise if the curse of your very being was lifted. It scares you as much as it entices you, the dark thoughts of betrayal that every cell in your body seems to reject, yet they persist in your mind. Besides, it must not have been easy seeing you try to destroy yourself. if it was you in her shoes, you’d definitely….

…

Yes. You would have done the same for her… you can admit as much to yourself. You turn to Aster’s little inquisitive eyes. He's been silent, but you felt him picking at your expression with his eyes, trying to unearth the details of the story from your facial movements alone. “... Adults sometimes forget that they need to say sorry. When someone hurts you, it can be easy to forget the other person might have been hurt too….” You explain calmly and reassuringly. “She did something that upset me, and I wasn’t ready to forgive her for it then… I… I then said some things that….” Hurt her beyond what you could do with a sword or fang? Threw her love for you in the mud and dug your heel in? Projectile vomited the worst combination of words you could think of for the sole purpose of causing her emotional pain? Go on, pick your poison. “... that I won’t repeat, but they upset her back… a lot….” Coward. “Then… we went our separate ways and never saw each other again. She would have her cubs in peace, never having to bring up the past or think about me again.” Except for the part where you threatened to hunt her down and told her to give her children up for adoption. Let’s leave that part out for the 6-year-old, shall we? “... It’s okay to not forgive people sometimes, Aster… not when they’re… bad guys… like me.” Silence falls in the room as you finish your muttering, inconsistent explanation. It’s better this way. She has a new life and little pups that depend on her while you’re a bloody mess. You do not deserve any of it, especially not after abducting a child.

Aster stares at you, not shocked or upset. He has that doe-eyed puppy-dog look to him where you’re not sure if a single word you just said was processed in his mind. Rude. You dropped some pretty heavy stuff back there, did he not think much of it? “Aster? Is something wrong?” You ask the boy. He looks away, staring at your desk and the items on top. “But… Mum thinks about you all the time….” He looks back in what you know understand is a look of confusion. “She always says she wants us to meet you one day, and that our dad is super strong and brave….” She… she said that? W-Why… Why would she say that?! Aster goes back to fiddling with the hem of the sheets, looking down at them like they were the most interesting thing in the room. “Umm… please don’t tell her, but the other day I heard her talking to herself and she said she wished you were there to help out… So, uh… That means you’re wrong about my Mum not wanting to see you!” He finishes, staring at you with a little accusatory glare. You’re still reeling, lost on how to respond. So despite all the awful things you threatened to do, she still thinks of you like the noble knight you pretend to be. Then again, it was always just a weak excuse, wasn’t it? The real problem here is, and has always been, you.

You finally manage to push out a single: “... huh.” After a tense moment of silence, earning yourself the tiniest slap on your muzzle. “Ow! Sorry, I was just… surprised.” You say, rubbing the sore spot on your muzzle. “If… if that’s true then I guess… I don’t have any excuse….” She doesn’t have the Fingerslayer Blade anymore. Your reason for hunting her down is over too. Still… Can it really be so simple? Surely you can’t just waltz back to her and sort things out. Wars have been fought over less and yet… “Are you scared?” Aster’s voice returns you to reality, his face tilted in concern. “Are you afraid… of mum?” He asks in a most sincere way that makes you feel pathetic. You look down at your hands, so large comparatively, and yet it’s like you’re the kid in this situation. “... I am… maybe.” You admit, not bearing to look at those eyes. You can’t stand the thought of lying to him right now. Faded lavender that reflects your insecurities like a mirror. You don’t jump (it’s more of a jolt) when the boy’s hand touches the fur in the back of yours, rubbing at the fur in a circular motion. “... if you’re scared… we can go to her together. I’m not good at a lot of things, but I can do this.” You smile. It creeps up from deep within you, a smile of genuine happiness, something you don’t think you have felt for a long time. Are you gonna say no, after a vote of confidence like that? You look back at the boy, who smiles back at you, simple and dorky. “Well… alright.” You say. “When we’re done with this, your mother and I can have a chat.” You hear the little thumping noise of Aster’s tail, trapped under the sheets. It’s worth a shot, at least. “Mind you, I can’t promise it’ll go well. She won’t be happy that I took you without permission.” You remind him, though it hardly dampens his enthusiasm. “Oh, but I’m having so much fun!” The boy says, ignoring the criminality of what you did. Maybe when he gets older he will understand.

After that you put Aster to bed again. The pup was reluctant about going to sleep, but his ever increasing yawns made it clear it was past his bedtime. You turned off the lights, snuffing out each candle, letting the room go dark save for the faint glow of glintstone from the crystals that grew everywhere. “G’night, dad.” Aster said as you stood up and were about to leave. You could’ve said something else, something that still kept the pretense of distance about your bond, but instead you said the one thing that could seal your fate. “Goodnight… son.” From then on you were doomed. Absolutely screwed. Completely and perpetually. Don’t let your wagging tail fool you.

[abidethetempest]

mega 3-in-1 rise and fall retrospective post!

(because i forgot to do them for the last three chapters..... oops) literally one person i think is cool liked my post about bringing these pack and I am Not Immune to peer pressure so I decided to do the ones I missed right away lmao

Chapter 10

As I said in the authors note on this chapter, this one was hard for me. Mainly because I was writing it while working on my conlang and then I got too excited abt the conlang and kinda forgot to write the chapter,,,,, I honestly can't remember if there was anything cool or important I wanted to highlight for this one. Rereading it now, I don't see anything to point out in particular. I mostly had fun writing Risen being kind of a menace with her lack of self preservation, and having Erikses go into mom-mode at the end.

Chapter 11

Aster

oh hey look that guy again. i'm sure he's not gonna cause any problems at all :)

no but in all seriousness, I do really like writing about Aster and how Risen feels about him. It's cool to have him be seen as a very real threat, esp in a game where as the player I feel like this unstoppable murder machine 90% of the time. Risen also has to worry about the lives of the House, who are most definitely not going to get back up if Aster kills them like she does. She's already prone to paranoia when it comes to him, so tapping back into some of her fears after a few chapters of relative peace was refreshing. (For me, anyway, I'm sure it sucked for her.) Excited to show you guys her growth as a character thru dealing w Aster and also to get to the more exciting bits of this arc.

I Wish Erikses Was My Mom

need I say more? Erikses is kind of my favorite character (okay maybeeee she's tied with Aakse tbh) and I just love writing her interactions with Risen. I was concerned that it would feel like her relationship with Risen moves too quickly from "tentative ally/mentor figure" to "i have been adopted this nice crab alien" but I eventually came to my senses and realized this is my fic and I can do whatever I want.

I do honestly feel like this was the right time to have them get closer, and not just because I want to write cute bonding times. I'll probably elaborate on this more in that sidefic I have planned; Erikses is someone who has always wanted to be a mentor and parent figure but it simply never worked out until now. Now Risen is suddenly thrust into her life, and Erikses has come to care about her beyond the initial "honored guest who I owe a great debt to" dynamic.

Writing that hug healed my soul. Erikses is best mom confirmed.

Chapter 12

all caught up now!

The Nightmare

ehehehe I bet I got some of you with that little fakeout huh >:3c sorry not sorry. It wasn't in my outline, but I felt like I wanted to show that, even tho Risen got some nice comfort from her alien mom Erikses last chapter, she's not instantly cured of all fear. But now she has Erikses in her corner if she ever needs someone to remind her its still gonna be okay.

Traveling Songs

A thing that has been in my brain since almost day 1 of this project is the idea of group songs being big in Eliksni culture. Traveling songs are specifically meant to bring good luck on your journey and keep everyone entertained (and awake) during all that damn walking. Also the sound of large groups of people singing together just does something to my brain okay.

Erikses, let me see what you have? A knife! NO!

Everybody's favorite scribe stabs people in her free time, go queen. This cultural detail is another one I've been kicking around for a long time. I think it came more out of the Long Drift than Riisborn Eliksni culture. Everyone needs to know how to fight, because the universe can be an incredibly cruel and hostile place, especially after the Whirlwind. Even scholars like Erikses traditionally are trained in some kind of weapon, tho their skills are usually more focused on self defense.

Risen Can Change Her Knives Now?

This is not a Risen-specific ability! (Actually none of her abilities as a Guardian will ever be hers alone, just a matter of skill, age, and practice.) I headcanon that Guardians can change the form of their Light-based summons (Hunter knives, Titan hammers, Golden Gun, Dawnblades, etc.) to fit their own personal tastes or fighting style. Within reason, ofc-- a Golden Gun will always be a gun, but maybe some Hunters make it a sniper instead. Risen wants her knives to look like Erikses's and in a quiet environment, with time and focus, she can do it. This is a lot harder during a fight, but practice makes perfect.

Embroidery <333

Once again, R&F is secretly just me gushing about every fiber art I know/want to learn forever. Embroidery is one I want to learn real bad; I do cross-stitch already a tiny bit, so I think I could do it in theory, but it just looks like magic to me ughhhh so cool.

Erikses choosing to share her art with Risen is a significant act in Eliksni culture, and somewhat formalizes their teacher-student relationship (we have not gotten to my cultural concept of iksabas yet but when we do I will have so much yelling to do about Erikses and how she makes Risen a member of her family thru the act of sharing her language and her craft with her).

whew okay thats a long boi in the soup but there's three chapters worth of retrospectives!

[last-lorekeeper]

reblogged OC asks post questions:

care, for good, for bad, family?

Care: How does your OC engage in self-care, if at all? If they don't, why not?

She still doesn't do it very often. She'll claim she's doing self-care but she's really not. The best she manages is maybe taking a nap but other than that she spends most of her time running from her problems. Sometimes literally (no need to think about your problems if you're running around the woods).

For Good: Is there anyone in your OC's life who had an undeniable positive impact on who they are as a person? How did knowing this person improve your OC's life?

Mare for certain. She's a lot more open and inclined to help people than she used to be because of her. She's also starting to let herself care for people. Five years ago she probably wouldn't have volunteered to go with Kimia into the crater unless there was something in it for her.

For Bad: Is there anyone who had an undeniable negative impact on your OC’s life? How did your OC deal with that change? Have they been able to move on?

Joseph Stone, though he's hardly aware of it. If it weren't for Devon, Aster wouldn't have died and she wouldn't have been sent on a downward spiral leading to her actions during An Account of Rayquaza's Chosen.

Well, that's not entirely true. Within the Auraverse Multiverse Aster's death is a fixed point. Even if she hadn't died from Devon, something else would have killed her. But Joseph Stone still unarguably ruined her life.

Family: What's your OC's family like? Is it a family of blood, choice, or something else? How does your OC feel about their blood relations? If they have a family of choice, how did they come together?

All she really has left of her blood family is her Grandma but she's been avoiding her as much as possible out of shame. Other than that, she has Mare and that's kinda it. She has the potential to find family in Team Magma but she'd have to work hard to earn it.