#takes the pressure of me a little

[filopay]

SAEL

unknown | he/him | 195 cm | Saelethir | from the Stars

Visions of you Make the vision of me seem So in touch only to see Call from the mountaintop What you desire from me You never need, you never needed anyone

— Temples

[ 1 ] [ 2 ]

Prompt from: @oc-tober2023 [ I am not following the same order ]

~ Home

It is strange.

To walk this earth, when it no longer resembles his memory. The brightness of his surroundings has stolen his sight, along with the absence of the moon and stars. He feels lost in a world that once was his home.

Those were the most drastic changes he noticed and felt everyday. The smaller ones only occurred to him with time. For one, they seem to favour community. The more people, the better. They prefer being around others and even crave their attention and approval. This concept of needing others has never occurred to him before.

Furthermore, they can see and yet they are blind to the many things that he saw as essential. That one took him a lot of studying and listening in and it was the most difficult to understand. He still wasn’t quite sure, he completely gets it.

They don't touch him to understand him emotionally or mentally, because whenever he reaches for them, there's no response. It seems that talking is their preferred method of communication. And they do talk. A lot.

“Sael!” He heard one of them shout the name they had given him, “What are you doing moping around in the corner on your own. You can help us.”

Sael only knew who the one speaking was, because while his surroundings remained invisible to him, he could see their essence. Each one had a different colour, a different light within them. It was alive, it told Sael of their feelings too, but some shone brighter than others and the one speaking, had a weak one. He was almost certain, he called himself Ralof and his essence was a mix of red and orange.

“Come on. There is a lot to do.” The one called Ralof said and as he moved closer, Sael could see him a little better. They liked to give people names, Sael had noticed them call each other by it to get another's attention. As they now did with him too. Which is why he needed a name, they said.

It took him some getting used to. He had never been called before, there had never been a need for it. When this place was still his home, there had been only him and the lost souls of the dead. They searched him out on purpose, for the moon and the stars were connected with Sael and he was able to guide them back to them. They needed him and thus came to him willingly. He never needed to get their attention and they didn’t need to get his.

Sometimes he wonders if that is the reason why these people killed the moon and stars. They didn’t want him to guide them back – they wanted to stay down here at all cost. Sael wasn’t sure he approved of their method though and why they kept him around if there is nothing he can do for them.

When he looked for the one called Ralof, he was already gone and off to somewhere else. Sael did not see where he went, his essence too small to track. They were all moving around a lot, Sael had listened them for a moment. Sometimes they speak to each other, other times they argue. They seemed busy and at the same time, he did not know with what exactly.

Sael’s attention was grabbed when one of the brighter ones passed him by, a shining blue, it sometimes reminded him of the light of the stars. As the only clearly visible thing to him, he followed him instead. When he stopped, Sael attempted to reach out, until he remembered, that as usual, it would be a one sided conversation on his part. So instead, he put to use his many hours of observation.

“Aegon.” He called him by his name. A shout for attention, something that should work. It was strange, hearing the sound of his own voice, foreign and clumsy to his ears.

“Ah, sorry, didn’t see you there.” Aegon’s essence flickered for a moment – he was happy to see him.

“You’re just in time to witness how marvelously I can tie a net.” Sael heard him struggle with something, then a tiny snap, “Ah, never mind, it snapped. I guess we will never know. To be honest, I don’t know why Elora has us set up decorations this early. It’s still a few weeks away and she always puts me on the most boring of tasks.

Why don’t we try something else. Something more fun. Let me see.” Aegon seems to be thinking, looking at something Sael couldn’t see.

Then suddenly, he grabbed his wrist and Sael instinctively read his feelings - there was excitement, mixed with a certain focus. He was thinking about thousands of different things at once, but all were bright and warm like his hands. At first Sael thought he liked sharing his positive emotions with others, because he was very tactile and seldom in a sour mood, but since they don’t do it to communicate with him, he wasn’t so certain why he did it at all.

Yet it wasn’t entirely unwanted, since it gave Sael a short glimpse of what they try to tell him with their many words and with Aegon, it was always a pleasant experience. Like now, he knew whatever Aegon had spotted, he was excited to share with him.

“We can choose the hanging decorations. Usually that’s what Elora does, she has a set plan for what goes where, but she always needs a ladder.” He chuckles as he pulls Sael after him, “Don’t tell her I said that.”

Aegon was also the most talkative, which was helpful, because Sael hadn't figured out how the rules of talking to each other worked yet. He was told however, that there are very strict rules to follow. Yet no one had explained to him those rules, but he doesn’t blame them. Afterall, he hadn’t told them that he mostly communicates through touch either.

“I think I will take this one, I always wanted to hang it up." He snickers as Sael hears something shuffling about in front of them, "Elora never hangs it up because it reflects the light and 'it could distract someone', but I like it."

"I like bright things."

He sees Aegon’s essence swell, glowing even brighter. "You get me." He's happy.

Not knowing what was lying there in front of him, Sael used his hands to feel about. It was a strange act in itself. Inanimate objects don’t have feelings or thoughts and yet he is touching them.

“Take the one that speaks to you the most. Whichever it is, we hang it up.” Aegon explains, “If you want me to describe them to you, let me know.”

Some were with sharp edges others were of a more fragile material, it crumbled when he touched them. Then he found one that was solid and smooth. It was thin and boney. It felt familiar. It felt like home.

He still remembers the lost souls that came to him with sorrow and grief. Anger and desperation. Their lives had ended, but their struggles followed them regardless and tied them to the ground. Touching them, it felt like the decoration in front of him. Even if the item had no feelings to get rid of, no need for him to guide it to the stars. It was familiar enough that he liked it.

“Ah, yes, that’s a classic. Good choice.” Aegon praises and with a bit more confidence, Sael draws it closer to him, “Now let’s see where we can hang it up…”

Sael took the object with him as he followed Aegon, blessed to have found a piece of home, despite it no longer resembling his memories. It seems that home was never really gone and he wonders then, where else he could find similarities. 

It made the drastic changes to this world, a little less overwhelming. [ 1.447 words ]

Next Part ➜

[canisalbus]

I swapped them around in a silly doodle

.

[redhotarsenic]

@nowfallc PICTURE!! FOR YOU!! PLEASE TAKE IT!! <3

[ghastigiggles]

please spare some tickle headcannons for Sebastian I beg of you 🥺 hes a snarky ass fish that needs to get his shit wrecked

stupid fucking fish that i hate

lee

if you think you're getting within wrecking distance without a considerable amount of trust buildup you've got another thing coming

even then you're on Thin Fucking Ice and pushing your luck is inadvisable. but if you fall into that very minute miniscule percentile...

This fish is stupidly ticklish.

A lot of places he didn't even think could be ticklish actually are (his esca, for example) and he hates it, actually! thanks!

very prone to violence. cannot control his tail at all and is very quick to try and grab anyone who tries shit.

doesn't laugh right away. grits his teeth and tries to pass off the smile as a snarl. he's gonna hold that shit in as long as he feasibly fucking can...

when he eventually does break, his laugh is actually quite bright and a little wheezy.

"If yohohou - ghh, hah, if you dohon't - motherfuHUHUCKER -!"

good stamina but no patience. you have one chance to stop when he says he's serious or you're sooooo totally fucked. sorry.

ler

you fucked up.

you fucked up so bad oh my god you're so FUCKING DEAD BRO!!!!!

see the problem is he has three hands AND a snake body AND he's bigger than you. so uh. moving is gonna be a thing of the past for now.

oh no the claws. haha. uh oh!

he's an older brother and still has that stupid uncanny ability to just hone in on bad spots despite all this time away

won't stop making snide. snarky comments and teases the whole time

slow and meticulous. he has time to kill. and expendables, apparently.

"wait - you actually like this? pff- hah, well that explains a couple things! in that case, i'm sure you can last a little longer than this, can't you? no? hmm, let's find out."

evil.

[brain-rot-hour]

At this point Flat Inu isn't my mood cause going flat requires too much effort; I just wanna stay however I land

[horsemeatluvr23]

the juppet !! i just realised he is jerma posing i swear that was unintentional...... i spent so long digging thru muppet concept art and looking at old puppet designs just to end up doing a rly simple drawing but. i love joehills!! i have only been watching them for like 4 years but their videos r so special to me :3

[tora-the-cat]

An interesting little fun thing with team 7 is that you assume that Sakura's gonna, like, woobify and simplify Sasuke by putting him on a pedastal,cause her goal is centered around him and shes a 12 y/o fangirl so like of course her understanding of him is skewed cause she doesnt see him as a person, just an object of affection, right? She's can't get Sasuke, can't imprint on and/or traumabond with him like Naruto and Kakashi do. They don't see him with rose tinted glasses, because they've lived through their own Horrors and empathize with Sasuke's experience.

......right?

WRONG lmao!! They have too many ghosts!! Naruto's single-minded codependent ass won't get out of his own way long enough to see Sasuke for who he actually is, only able to empathize with the parts of his trauma Naruto relates to and not really capable of understanding him outside of the context of himself (because Sasuke is. His other half). And Kakashi is far too jaded to be fair to him!! He can't decide if Sasuke is gonna end up as a mini-him or a mini-Obito or maybe a mini-Itachi, but either way he ALSO is too traumatized to see Sasuke AS SASUKE.

meanehile SAKURA'S autistic ass may have dogshit empathy, but you know what she does have? A special interest in sasuke. Nothing better to do then give herself a degree in Uchihaisms. She can write character studies about him. she can read his soul. Whenever she says something about him she is right. Every fucking time! She is RIGHT!!!!

'sasuke would NOT compliment me this directly or explicitly express worry unprompted, especially if it gets in the way of his goals' correct.

'Sasuke shouldn't hide that curse on his neck its not healthy BUT if I tell anyone about it he'll never trust me again, which might be even more dangerous for him then the curse mark. Like he can probably handle the curse mark but no one else can stop him from ripping peoples arms off.' correct.

Speaking of! 'Sasuke would not hurt me even when he seems to be...possessed? whatever the only way to knock him out of it is to present myself as Alive and thus something to be protected rather then something to be avenged, because he gets really stuck in his own head about revenge' CORRECT

'hey so um. like. Sasuke's gonna leave Konoha. I'm not sure anything can stop him at this point and honestly I'm kinda starting to doubt anything should, so the only thing I could possibly do to help him at this point is ALSO defect.' CORRECT!!!!

[bogkeep]

I SAW A PLATYPUS TODAY!!!!!! very exciting. it's such a magnificent creature. i saw it slap a crayfish off its spot and then the platypus itself struggled to crawl onto a log and just flopped back into the water. unfortunately i have no footage of that. it was also impossible to take still pictures, these are my best attempts:

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[pinnithin]

yknow i didn't necessarily start my wyll origin run with the intent of romancing astarion in mind but the more i play the more i find their similarities amusing when it comes to like, the surface level personality they present to strangers in act 1.

wyll is a compulsive flirt. you see it in dialogue with shadowheart and lae'zel - he just tosses out a couple lines that clearly aren't supposed to go anywhere (asking lae'zel if she believes in love at first sight, blatantly reusing the same flirtation attempts with shadowheart) and i see this as part of his Blade of Frontiers persona. obviously a traveling vigilante would have no time for romance or relationships, but he's socially aware enough to have learned that people respond well to a certain level of rogueish charm. especially if his reputation precedes him. he can safely and positively engage in surface level flirtations with the people he interacts with because the person doing the flirting isn't real - at least not to him. he often says the Blade is his best self, but to him its an ideal he strives to achieve, not the person he really is. and i imagine that includes the ability to give discouraged people positive attention in a nonthreatening way. its safe. its superficial. he doesn't have to follow through.

this is overshadowed somewhat by astarion's tendency to flirt with anything that has a pulse, but the perspective they both have on it is pretty similar. theyre both coming from a place of not actually being interested in the recipient of their attention - whether that be through astarion's ulterior motives or wyll's lack of capacity for a relationship - but they both still put on this front because it's habitual. it's worked for them and it's gotten them through the varying degrees of social contracts they find themselves in. so they wind up trading lines easily because they've studied from the same script.

anyway what im getting at is bumping these two personalities against each other can definitely result in wyll and astarion committing to the bit so hard they accidentally wind up in a relationship. like, you're safe, you know the rules, you're speaking in a language i'm familiar with but we both understand that neither of us expect anything back on an emotional level. wait when did we start confiding our deepest secrets with one another. what do you mean you trust me.

[a-tale-of-legends]

Like I love Piers. I do. But it will forever erk me on how he just. Pushes so much on Marnie. I don't think it's malicious by any means, it's clear he adores her. But again, the " team yell situation would've been out of control if it wasn't for her" as if he's not the adult there. Or the " I'm not much of a gym leader, so I want my sister to take over for me", despite her interests being. Not that atm.

And I don't exactly hate these flaws for Piers. I think they're really interesting! But both the game and masters kinda don't do anything with it. At least masters goes " yeah, my sister wants to be champion, so I'm still gonna be a gym leader for now and let her do her own thing " but it's still banking on the fact Marnie will eventually become the gym leader in her place. Like he doesn't mean to do this, but he's putting so much pressure on the girl. Him and team yell! And I don't think that's fair! But nah, they still have a good relationship - and I want them to! But I also want them to address this. I think their entire situation is just messy, and pokemon isn't exactly showing that.

I do think it's interesting, according to Marnie, she feels like the reason her and Piers don't argue is because Piers is holding back on her. And that she would want that sibling squabble. Like! God that's so interesting! And kinda sad! To know your older brother is holding back emotions for your sake! There's so much you could do with these two I swear, and yet! We don't get much!

[perilegs]

my sweet little baby man is no longer with us

[syvrae]

silly boot goofin

[quailxcrossing]

a collection of some of my favorite pieces from artfight 2024! i experienced a bit this year and kept working on my art goals :3 see yall next year! <3

owners, in order- @gattskin , venusss, @jensonacho , @serpentinespider , @crystalcanis, @magsowo , @tigtoggle

[spotaus]

Thinking about Orchid and her connection to my take on Gender (because this was meant to be about her and the Crew but it just devolved into a character analysis kinda??? More trauma-dumping maybe???) This is very much an oc/personal rant so feel free to ignore it 🫡

So, Orchid started off as a character I didn't really think much of (hear me out this is going to be relevant) because I wanted to add a 'girl' character but didn't know what to *do* with her, y'know? She was always going to be the strongest one there, she had the odds stacked in her favor with her parents. She was always going to be the gloomy side-character to match Reset's energy. But I think she's gone through every stage of Generic Woman I could possibly find.

At first she was angry and abrasive (think Fell!Sans) where every other word was a curse and she was likely to throw the first punch then laugh as she kicks her enemy while they're down. This was when Reset was a cartoonishly self-centered villain whose goal was simply to prove others wrong. Then Orchid became a sort of sisterly figure. This was short-lived, but she was the one comforting people who Reset would torment, but would ultimately follow his orders, because at this point he was actually a danger and sadistic. And then there was the phase where the story mellowed out and she became the token Goth Girl who, yes she was strong, but was heavy on the 'whatever' energy. Then there was her Era of deep self-loathing and anxiety about her worth that held her back and made her a much more timid and meek character who would only lash out on occasion.

Now, Orchid is the best of those iterations I've written yet. She's calm, level-headed, and a natural leader. Her father raised those traits into her. But she's very reactive, and can be silly, and when she's comfortable it's likely that air of importance transforms into something more comfortable and familiar. She laughs loudly and grins wide, she likes loud video-games but loves to read in the quiet. She's extremely disciplined, and normally no one can get through her tough exterior besides her best friend, Reset. She does what she does for her own enjoyment, sure, but she's thought of every angle and makes her choice to help Reset and control the others with her whole chest. She still worries she won't live up to her invisible expectations, and that and her loyalty are her two driving forces.

I know that Orchid is important to me because she's the longest-running female oc I've had. I have a rough relationship with womanhood/girlhood and I know looking back that Orchid recieved every ounce of my distaste for being a woman that I could shovel into her. That never made her less of a character, she was actually always one of my favorites, and rarely was she a 'punching bag oc'. I just... projected onto her a lot. And she's a good sign of how I've learned who I am. I've decided that my own femininity is something I could live without. I'd rather not associate myself with it, and I'd like to leave it in my past, focusing on a future where I'm not tied down with any gender roles or expectations. That won't happen, but I've come to terms with it myself. Orchid though? I figured out through her that I don't have to hate women characters. My own distaste for my circumstances doesn't mean I have to push it onto my characters (on God I've never expressed anything rude to actual people, that'd be rude as hell and uncalled for, but I have a bad habit of disliking fictional women in media). So, Orchid is a well-roubded character finally. She has motivations abd goals and a *lot* more depth than I ever expected her to. She's happy with being a woman, she's content. She's not treated differently for it in unfair ways by those she cares about, so she doesn't mind it. She likes to wear pretty outfits and lets Reset add bows to her ribbons. She doesn't let being a woman hold her back in the slightest.

So, yeah. Orchid is one of my babies. If I ever leave this Fandom behind for good, she's one that's coming with (Ichor, Orchid, and Pretender all have human designs I can use elsewhere lol-) but in the meantime I'll just rotate her around in my brain for a while longer.

If I'm right, she's been with me for nearly 5-6 years and I went through a *lot* with her as an outlet. So, she's kinda just like an old stuffed animal. A lil ripped, matted fur, maybe a stain or two, but there's a story there and that makes it important beyond belief.

[toytulini]

man the thing about beauty standards and being ugly and being pretty and being insecure is that ultimately you do just kinda have to Decide that youre pretty. like ultimately thats how you become pretty, or hot, or sexy. you have to just Decide that you Are. you have to recognize that its made up, its arbitrary, its subjective, and that people might disagree with you about it, and as much as you are able, you need to completely and utterly disregard their opinions on your appearance, and decide that youre pretty now. and THEN.

you need to find beauty in "ugly". you need to recognize that ugly is made up, that its arbitrary, that its subjective, and you need to be able to find the beauty in it all. and this means you cant bodyshame people. you cant body shame shitty celebs or politicians. you need to base your criticisms on the substance of their character and misdeeds and unhinged horrific opinions and not give a shit about what they look like. you cant go calling people ugly for being shitty. you cant go calling people ugly for looking A Way You Dont Like.

and then if you wanna really galaxy brain this shit you start using ugly as endearment. OBVIOUSLY do not fucking call other human beings ugly. that shit is far too loaded, its just Rude. Dont call specific features of people or even characters ugly cos thats also too loaded. as a term it has baggage. but you can see the ugly in tacky, loud, garish clothing, and it can be Good. you can see the ugly in a distinctive, horrible tiny car from the 90s, and it can be good. you can see the ugly in animals that have evolved to look the way they do, without a single thought of what humans find appealing. you can see the beauty and the freedom in "Ugliness". you can break out of this shit altogether and feel nothing but disdain for anyone who stoops to insulting your appearance if they disagree with you about shit. you can get completely out of the cave of these beauty standards. you can find it so freeing to revel.in letting yourself be ugly. in recognizing that the way you look and exist might be ugly to some people, and youre out of the cave enough to simply recognize. thats just your opinion and it doesnt matter. didnt ask.

you can look at ppl arguing about the correct amount of skincare products to use daily, the Correct Amount of makeup, and whether or not its radical to conform to beauty standards or defy them and argue about is it really conforming if visible makeup pisses men off, and you can say, well I dont care about any of that, I recognize the societal pressures of flawless skin and all that but you see,

I just want to look like a silly little clown :o3