#will be adding hsr muses over there

[hulahoopsoupgroup]

good evening everyone. i have decided that i need to write more, so ive made a list of ships/other platonic dynamics from genshin and hsr that i like, and i'll be writing some short blurbs about them over the next month or so

day 1: cyno x tighnari

tighnari quietly peered over the book he was reading, some 500 page tome about plants that nobody else in the house except himself understood. cyno stumbled into the living room, his red eyes dim with fatigue as he put his bag down beside the front door before going straight to tighnari, flopping down on the couch beside him and leaning his whole bodyweight against him.

tighnari put the book down onto his lap and brought one hand up to gently comb through cynos hair.

"rough day at work?"

"just very tedious. people are stupid sometimes," cyno muttered, sitting up to grab the tcg deck that he always kept on the coffee table. he quietly shuffled through the cards, arranging them on the table in different teams. tighnari could practically hear the gears turning in his head as he mulled over the best teams at his disposal, eventually pulling out a sketchbook and messily scribbling the shapes of a few exotic plants.

"how was your day?" cyno asked after a while, "hows that new class youre teaching?"

"its alright, i suppose," tighnari muses, eyes not leaving the page, "much less stuffy than the akademiya, thats for sure. less pretentious, too. i think itll turn out alright."

one of tighnaris ears twitched at the sound of quiet footsteps coming down the stairs. a timid collei crept into the room, eyes landing on cyno and tighnari. she nearly walked right back up the stairs, something the botanist had learned was a habit of hers from her old house, but tighnari softly called to her,

"hey, its alright. you can come down here if you want." he watched as the girls body language started to become more relaxed, and he began to relax as well. the past month had been quite rough on all of them, especially with the legal battles of getting custody of the 13 year old and putting her poor excuse for a father in prison. however, moments like these provided even the briefest moments of respite and glimmers of hope of a future that needn't be plagued with anxious tremors or jolting flashbacks of the past in the dead of night.

collei quietly made her way over to the couch, sitting on the side opposite to cyno and tighnari.

"how was your day, collei? did you do anything fun?" cyno asked, trading his tcg deck for a regular deck of cards and beginning to build a tower out of them on the coffee table.

"it was...good? im learning a lot of science-y stuff from mister tighnari," the girl mumbled quietly.

"your handwriting is getting quite good," tighnari said, glancing at her with a soft smile before returning to his sketches of plants that now littered the page in front of him, "almost better than cynos," he added with a chuckle.

cyno glared at him, adding another tier to his house of cards. "your handwriting is a slew of cursive, not much better than mine." tighnari elbowed him in the ribs, but cyno remained steady, and his tower of cards stayed upright.

"oh, by the way, what music were you playing in your room earlier?" tighnari asked.

"oh, i- uh," collei stuttered, "i can turn it down if you want. sorry if it was too loud..."

"no, it wasnt at all. it actually sounded familiar. i liked it a lot."

"oh. it was a lot of stuff from the 1950s, like," collei paused to remember the names of the artists, "nat king cole...frank sinatra...louis armstrong."

"i have a cd of frank sinatra in our bedroom," cyno mused as he added yet another tier to his card tower, "do you want to borrow it?"

"s-sure...by the way...is there any food in the kitchen i could use to cook? i didnt eat dinner earlier..."

"yeah, of course," tighnari said, already moving to get up.

"...i didnt have time to eat at work, either," cyno quietly said.

"then come on, you too. looks like im going to be the chef again tonight."

[serendipminie]

Hi! I’m serendipminie, but you can call me Minie/Vasha/Mei!

You might know me from either of the following:

~ @aventurine-official (A roleplay blog for Aventurine from HSR!)

~ @serendipminie-writes (My writing sideblog!)

I’m a K-Pop multistan and HoyoVerse simp who loves reading, writing and music. I’m a February baby, my personality type is ISFJ and my pronouns are she/they. I'm fluent in English and French and I’m openly panromantic :)

I'm known among my mutuals as the Wonhyuk girl, the aesthetic queen, and the lesbian witch-- I will take those titles gladly. I play Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, Honkai Impact 3rd, Wuthering Waves, Reverse 1999, Project Sekai, and Ensemble Stars!! and I’m super lore-oriented. In fact, I currently run 31 rp blogs for different fandoms ahaha~

If you’d like to see the list of roleplay blogs I mod, take a look at the intro post over at (@minies-ask-game-prompts)!

I write both original stories and fanfiction for a few fandoms too. AUs are my joy. I like writing personalized fics for my friends, making aesthetic moodboards, and sending my mutuals music or art through the DMs. 

My current top ship is Aventio, and my current favourite character is in fact, Aven! I happen to be an Aven myself– both in rp and to my platonic Veritas @blak-ie :) 

List of my lovely mutuals here!

Want to be mutuals? No problem! Just let me know :)

If you want to sort through my tags:

General:

for my mutuals: If you are a mutual, anything with this tag is for you!

it's definitely queue: Any posts from my queue!

minie's fic recs: Really good fanfic that I'll reblog here

minie's manuscripts: Anything that I write for fandom that I post here!

minie's musings: Any random thoughts I might have!

minie's moodboards: I make moodboards for my writing or by request!

minie's playlists: Playlists I put together, often kpop but can be other music too

minie's roleplay rambles: Messages or asks from other mods that end up here!

Fandom:

aventurine stone: Aventurine / Aventio tag because I can't be normal about Aven or his boyfriend

double black: Soukoku content

genshinposting: Genshin Impact thoughts or reblogs

kaveh my babygirl: Most likely me stanning Kaveh

kpop pic collage: I make picture collages of idols and groups, find them here

my veritas💜: Tag for beloved Blake :D

neuvillotter: My tag for Fontaine's Hydro Dragon. Distinguished French gays have got to stick together

ult culture: Anything having to do with my ult biases, you will find here~

starrailposting: Honkai: Star Rail thoughts or reblogs

sunturatio: Toxic yaoi throuple. Need I elaborate

wuwaposting: Wuthering Waves thoughts or reblogs

K-Pop:

I found K-Pop in late 2019, before the pandemic. The first song I ever heard was BTS's Idol. Then, I became curious and fell headfirst into the K-Pop world. It really helped ground me throughout the pandemic, and I haven't came out since.

Ult groups: BTS, E'Last, Oneus, Seventeen, Kingdom, Everglow, TXT, Dreamcatcher, OnlyOneOf, Lucy, Xdinary Heroes

Top four ult biases: Jimin, Wonhyuk, Seoho and Kim Wooseok

K-Soloists I stan: Sunmi, ChungHa, IU, Taeyeon, Jackson Wang, and Kang Daniel

Genshin Impact:

I dove into the game's lore before ever playing, fell in love with the character designs and simply had to join the fandom. Kaveh caught my heart immediately and he has not let go (I love you pathetic blonde babygirl)

I play on the American server, my user id will be added below if you want to add me as a friend!

UID: 670773450

Current main: Émilie!

Current main team: Navia, Keqing, Émilie and Xingqiu!

My favourite characters: Kaveh, Neuvillette, Ningguang, Kokomi, Émilie, Pantalone

My favourite ships: Haikaveh, Wriolette, Ayathoma, Dottolone, Beigguang, Kazuhei, Eimiko, JeanLisa, Kaebedo

Honkai Star Rail:

I’m not ashamed to say that Aventurine drove me to this fandom. Because I save so much Haikaveh stuff on Pinterest, and the recommendations are visually sorted, it wasn’t long before my algorithm started mistaking Aventurine for Kaveh. 

I was very intrigued, actually— I quickly became obsessed after I saw the gay-ass lightcone. Aventio? ...Yeah, it was over for me. I started playing in late december of 2023, and I saved my pulls from the beginning to pull Aventurine ever since I knew he would be playable :) I was successful and now have a very well-built Aventurine, his lightcone and his Veritas.

I am obsessed with Harmony chars. I finally pulled Ruan Mei and her lightcone, so now I have all of them ehe, and they're all built exceptionally well.

I play on the American server once more, my user id will be added below if you want to borrow my support Aven!

UID: 617315133

Current main: Aventurine!

Current main team: Aventurine, Dr. Ratio, Ruan Mei and Robin

My favourite characters: Aventurine, Ruan Mei, Luocha, Madam Yukong, Tingyun (rip cutie), Asta, Kafka and Black Swan

My favourite ships: Aventio/Sunturine, Kafhime, Yingfeng, Jingren, Topasta, Bronseele, Acheswan

Wuthering Waves:

I saw lots of adverts for the game and was really interested in the lore (oh god I'm such a lore player) and I ended up really liking the gameplay! A lot of people are comparing it to Genshin but honestly..? I like the gameplay of WuWa more skgdkagksgax but the lore is equal in my head. I play with the CN voice dub because it actually has emotion!!

I fell in love with Jianxin before the game's release when I was scrollong through wikis, and adored Yangyang as soon as the game began lol. Camellya was fun to meet because she matches a concept I had for an oc almost exactly-- which is fun!!

I play on the American server, and my user id is below for friendship and coop!

UID: 500879444

Current main: Changli!

Current main team: Jianxin, Zhezhi and Changli!

My favourite characters: Zhezhi, Changli, Jianxin, Yangyang, Camellya

My favourite ships: Scarover (mlm), Chanhsi

I hope you enjoy the blog~!

[iniziare]

Before leaving that evening, they sat on a bench in the Executive Plaza as Seele stared at the restaurant opposite them. "Was the Overworld fun, Seele? Wanna come back again later?" ... "Can I ask you something? Those Overworlders are only eating half their meal, and threw the rest away. Do they know that people down below haven't got enough food to eat?" Oleg saw how a look of gloom passed over her tender face. "Let's go back, Oleg. I don't want to come back here again."

Muse Navigation: All | Threads | Meta | Little Notes | Wishlist | Previous Blog / Archive Affiliated: inominati (Sampo: ship exclusive), daybreakrising (Natasha)

Important Meta: — TBA.

Some tidbits that are incredibly important for my portrayal of Seele: (I will be adding to this list over-time and editing these! Last edited: July 30th, 2024)

Honkai Impact 3rd. Out of the duo of elephants in the room, I think that this one is the first one to address. As much as there are connections between it and HSR that I will not deny for multiple characters, I want to approach this topic of 'expy', and how I think it's just— quite frankly, not an ideal descriptor for Seele (at present). Let me specify though, I think that calling her one outright without specifying, will simply have people make wrong assumptions about her, and that's something I need to avoid on this blog. So let me specify that what you can keep in mind, at most, when reading my portrayal of Seele on here, are the callbacks to the butterfly imagery, the commonalities of Quantum phasing (manipulation of quantum energy and access to different dimensions), and the inspiration of her scythe. Don't worry, I'll touch on each of these as time passes, and I do also expect them to elaborate on her more when we do eventually (likely?) return to Belobog, as Seele is quite... unique within its context.

Bronya/Seele. Elephant number two. Now, I need to iterate: I am not against this ship at its foundation. But guys, I need them to be written in a way that actually works without reigning in their respective characters (Seele, more so), as to force this dynamic to work. Seele in HSR is written to have a very troublesome childhood, having grown up despising everything about the Overworld, and for very good reason. Her initial reactions to Bronya were exemplary and incredibly fitting for her character, and this sudden 'softening' that occurs once she realizes that Bronya is an orphan, much like herself, takes away from that entirely. Not only that but to me, Seele would likely have a bit of a logical and yet irrational (additional) bitterness towards Bronya for having been 'chosen' out of all other children— not because she wished to have been chosen, god no, but others that she sees suffering every day. In essence, yes, I make the argument that Seele's character veers very strongly into 'out of character' to turn this dynamic into a workable ship, and I will oppose something like that, always. Character first, dynamic second, and ship third. Any way, all of this to say: please do not expect an auto-ship, and if you do wish to write it with me, especially without plotting, please know that Seele will not have an immediately positive reaction towards Bronya, because ultimately, she still represents the Overworld, which is something that Seele harbors very strong dislike towards— and yes, that remains true even post-Trailblazing mission. If curious, I spoke a bit more on it here.

[devinevirtue]

Blog Updates!!!

Okay. I feel a post is needed for these due to how they will impact my future attempts at writing as well as anyone who maybe interested in writing with me.

So. I've altered my affiliates section slightly. Adding ships I won't be shipping here on Tumblr at all with pending muses I hope to eventually get added here.

These are ships I have with a dear friend of mine whose no longer on Tumblr but I still am close to and write with frequently privately on Discord. I love our dynamics and how we click well and because of that I do not see myself writing the following ships with anyone else.

blade x dan heng / yingxing x dan feng zhongli x tartaglia il drago x tartaglia alhaitham x kaveh neuvillette x wriothesley

Within my rules I have stated I am going to be selective with following/interacting with certain fandoms from now on. To no ones surprise. I am going to be highly selective when it comes to interacting with people for the future. Specifically new accounts who seemingly haven't interacted within the fandom. This is for comfort and to be precautionate after recent events that's happened within the RPC.

This extends to HSR to an extent as both of the RPC have a lot of people who cross over between both due to them both being hoyo games. So I am taking precautionary measures to ensure what little time I have here is enjoyable and I am not stressing over blogs. Nu:Carnival is also highly selective but more so due to what the game is about and I have very low muse related to that series atm.

If anything changes I will make a post about it but that is it for now. Sorry for the long post!

[ancicntforged]

once the 2.0 stream is over, I'll be able to decide on what new HSR muses to add

I'm already 100% sure on adding Firefly.

Sparkle and Acheron are two possibilities too. Either use them as FCs for OCs or add them as canon muses instead, I'll prolly make a flip-decision after stream.

[veritasangel]

Aesthetics

⋆ ˚｡⋆ fem pov ୨୧˚ warnings: none {wc: 757}

↣ I’m an academic lover, which is why academic rivals to lovers >>> and is also why alhaitham and veritas ratio are my faves.

↣ i don't know what compelled me to add the fake email thing at the end. (also looking for gi/hsr mutuals ♡)

Thinking about in a modern au with the 3 of you taking a lot of the same modules at uni.

On an academic level, you guys respect and even admire one another. But on a personal level? Wellll....the three of you despise being bested by each other.

Though, you guys aren’t too confrontational so it’s usually just sarcastic smiles and mocking praise that could almost be considered genuine if the three of you didn’t know each other as well as you do.

“Ah, you did well, that’s....nice, isn’t it?” Veritas muses as he looks over at you.

“I guess you’re just soo unbelievably intelligent.” Alhaitham adds in with a forced smile, followed by a slight eye roll as he turns his head for a moment.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

And when the three of you get stuck together for a project, it’s definitely not an effortless breeze at first.

“Why would you argue for that side?” Veritas raises an eyebrow at Alhaitham, shaking his head in frustration.

“Because this point of view has more crucial points that we can use in the debate.” Alhaitham retorts, using his hands to make his point, as if it should be obvious.

“Forget the side we’re arguing, why the hell are you two using these texts as evidence? They were proved to be fabricated years ago.” you scoff as you open your own laptop to send them an email with links to better sources.

“Oh I’m sorry, miss perfect, are my references not to your liking?” Alhaitham said condescendingly as he then turned to look at you. “Forgive me here, but we’ve worked on these topics before and crazily enough, I performed better than both of you.”

"Yeah yeah, okay, Mr ego, anything else you want to add?" you raise your eyebrows as you hold his gaze.

Veritas facepalms slightly as he rolls his eyes. “Look, if we’re gonna act like immature kids, let’s just work separately." He sighs, "We'll just join up at the end for feedback, that way we can ignore one another for now and at least get something done.” Veritas says to which you and Alhaitham silently agree.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

His suggestion did work initially, but it wasn’t long before you all realised that you’d have to interact somewhat if this project was going to get a good mark. And so after a begrudgingly sent email by you, asking to be civil and join up, they hesitantly obliged.

This time around things were definitely going better and you guys actually worked well as a team, ideas bouncing off one another and adding onto each other’s points. Research, arguments and writing were all delegated between the three of you and this new system worked efficiently.

As the next few weeks passed, you found the three of you were quite similar, not just academically but interests and hobbies too. Also you could all keep up with one another’s sarcastic and witty humour and the three of you found enjoyment in it.

This then extended out of the regular meetups, small waves on campus or a little ‘how are you?’ every now and then when you’d bump into each other at a nearby café. It was no longer 'just civil', but leaning into friendly territory.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

Alhaitham strolled into the room you guys had booked for the next hour or two, three drinks in hand. 

“Coffee, the way you like it. I remembered this time, thankfully” he laughs a little as he hands Veritas his drink.

“Andd a tea for you because you refuse to drink coffee for some reason.” you reached up to take it, your hand lingering on his as he met your gaze, a small smirk crossing his face.

Veritas cleared his throat, pulling you out of the brief moment. “Right well, I think if we just finish up this last section, we should be good to go.”

You nod, “Yes and I was also wondering if you could read this passage that I wrote, I’d appreciate your guys’ input.”

The both of them agree, with Alhaitham adding, “I also want a small end section with each of our views, that way we can highlight everyone’s individual strong points as well, because you and Veritas have made some meaningful contributions.”

And you smile at the maturity and growth between the three of you. You were all working together successfully, building one another up, rather than competing.

And for once, you all appreciated one another on a personal level too.

༄ Bonus:

༄ m.list

© veritasangel ↣ 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴

[carnivoraformes]

//Yo, so I am moving this over from my other blog, but as far as the HSR side of my blog is concerned unless an rper that writes Jingliu comes up to me and plots something else out with me first (which I AM 1000% game for): Jingliu is dead and in Jing Yuan's final confrontation with her he killed her.

If someone sends me any asks, mentions it in a thread or whatever that she is still alive I will ignore the ask/drop the thread unless we have something pre established otherwise.

This isn't meant to be a bash on her character whatsoever or those who love her character, this is just my preference and if you kind of want the gist why you can look under the 'read more'. If not that's fine to.

MILD RANT PAST THIS POINT:

Okay but seriously I honestly think she is fine. She is not a character I was excited for and when she debuted if things had gone differently, honestly I would have found her to be fine.

I don't hate her and I am happy for those that love her character. I will also admit she will probably grow on me in time BUT what I do hate is how asininely her character was treated and how (I feel) Hoyo literally saw a fandom that was really interested in her character and immediately decided to act greedy and put what feels like the bare minimum into her character with the intention of maybe adding more later because they didn't respect their own character or a fandom that loves her. I accept any (respectful) disagreement on the matter but I am not budging on my opinion.

So while I understand many people like her, because of how we were introduced to her in the first place I feel like her in game introduction just ruins some of the Xianzhou arc.

If anyone that writes Jingliu wants to interact LITERALLY ALL I AM ASKING IS JUST TALK TO ME FIRST. I would be happy to write with people that have her as a muse.

[miraiq]

doc has been updated!

added as much to the thread wishlist that i could come up with at the moment. lots of what i could put down was primarily for fe and hsr muses. also did a complete over hall of the entire doc/layout/format- is now one style, font, and color scheme. much easier to read/locate specific things and in general look at now that it's not all over the place

other tiny details added:

age (of mun) change 26->27

ns*fw/smut writing/requirements

crack posts do not affect my rule of ship-exclusiveness (aka: will only ship with one version of a muse in a romantic nature, unless discussed with all mun's involved)

icons don't matter.

make an attempt in the writing, but dont have to match length for length, just dont give one sentence responses especially if ive given you like 5 paragraphs

thread wishlist showing that i drool for some angst threads

[chronicparagon]

Complete Profile

  This is a complete profile of my muse including the full background that may contain triggers. 

NAME: Harmony Celestine Halcyon

Chickasaw Name: Nita' Ishkanno' si' ( Little Bear, and it’s her childhood name) Ihoo Nita’ (Bear Woman, given to her when she graduated high school)

NICKNAMES: Harm, Har, Harmy (by some of her relatives and cousins), Ha-chan, Har-chan

BIRTHDAY: May 8th 

AGE: 21 years in main verse. Age can vary by verse between 18-35 years. Any post that has the tag “teen!Harmony” indicates that she is 16-17 years old. 

She is 24 years old in the HSR verse.  POSITION: Default verse is a university student majoring in nursing and member of the swim club. She becomes a certified midwife nurse later on. RESIDENCE: Grew up on the Black Hawk Reservation in Montana, United States. Her current location depends on the verse. FAMILY: Destiny Halcyon ( nee Black Moon, mother), Lucas Halcyon (father), Issac “Mato” Halcyon (grandfather, deceased, Tessie Halcyon (great-aunt), Rose Anne Thunderhawk (great-aunt), Jessica Crow (great-aunt), Joseph Thunderhawk (great-uncle and Auntie Rose’s husband). 

ETHNICITY: Native American (enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation) Note: She’s Chickasaw on her mother’s side and Lakota on her father’s side. SEXUALITY: Pansexual

REFERENCE

Reference sheet made by Envy from Envyness

APPEARANCE: Her long hair is dark brown, almost black with some dark red highlights. It casts a reddish shine in the light. Harmony stands about 5 foot 4 inches (162.5 cm) who is toned due to working out with a pear-shaped figure. Her weight fluctuates between 135-140 pounds (61.2- 63.5 kg). 

Her style varies. She loves to wear dresses and more feminine styles, but her taste in western clothing and she always has her treasured necklace with a bear claw. It was a goodbye present from her grandfather before leaving Black Hawk. Harmony has three piercings. One on each ear lobe and she has a piercing on her tongue. When she swims and works, the tongue piercing is replaced with retainers. 

Hidden beneath her clothing are ghastly burn scars. These scars span from her upper right part of her back, over the shoulder, and down her right arm. These came from the wildfire that occurred during childhood. She often opts to wear long sleeves to hide the burns.   By the time she turned eighteen, Harmony received a tattoo on her upper back of an eagle.  

More information for it can be found here: Link PERSONALITY: Harmony is a shy girl who can get excited on occasion. This can be off-putting to other people, especially if she just met them. It makes her come off as socially awkward. Most of the time, she’s more reserved, often in the background. She fears that people won’t like her because of the color of her skin, her name, or the scars she hides. This makes her have little confidence in herself. It will take time for Harmony to warm up to someone. Once she does, she’s sweet, even affectionate. Her most noticeable traits are her kindness, being polite, and quiet nature. However, she can be fierce, even a little scary if she needs to be. 

She’s stubborn, sometimes this can do more harm than good. Harmony is dedicated, sticking to her tasks to the end. The last thing she wants to do is let anyone down. Additionally, she suffers from pyrophobia, fear of fire. Being near fire triggers intense anxiety and the accursed memories she longs to bury. 

HOBBIES: Swimming, baking, painting, knitting, singing, pole dancing, hiking

FEARS: Large fires like wildfires (but she’s okay with small fires that she can control like candlelight), failing herself and other people, being unlovable, loneliness

FULL BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Triggers: Fire and death

Note: The new location where Harmony and her family resides after the wildfire is intentionally vague since it will change based on verse and who Harmony interacts with. I added some customs to this as well. These may be subject to change as I learn more about them. 

________

Harmony Halcyon was born and raised in Montana. It all started when her parents met each other during an art market where Lucas was selling his wares. Later in the relationship, Destiny visited Montana with Lucas and fell in love with the beauty of the wilderness. Though she loved her heritage, Destiny’s relationship with her family was strained. Lucas’s family welcomed her and saw her as part of the family. It’s the love and closeness that further influenced Destiny’s choice. Shortly before the wedding, Lucas and Destiny packed up everything and left Oklahoma for Montana where Lucas grew up. 

Two years would pass until Harmony’s birth. She came to the world in her parents’ home, just merely hours before the dawn in the spring. When hues of rose, gold, and orange tint the eastern skies. It was the dawn of a new day in the season of prosperity and promise, and the dawn of a new life. 

Two of her great-aunts, Tessie and Rose, aided Destiny through the birth. It is a practice they have done for decades like their mother has done. Most of the children in Harmony’s family were born on the reservation. They were not against modern medicine, but lived so far away from the cities, they could not go to the hospital unless it was an emergency. 

Harmony was a rather small but healthy infant. Everyone in Harmony’s family came to greet her, just as they have with every child born on the reservation. Aunties, uncles, and cousins eagerly wait to hear the news. Though excited, they all parted ways for an elderly man who quietly made his way to the house. His dark hair streaked with silver tied in twin braids. There was another older man with him. Unlike the other, his hair is in a single braid and his face bear the lines that told a long story of his life. The two mean were Joseph Thunderhawk and Isaac Halcyon. Although the latter was usually quiet and stoic, he is beaming on this day for he would meet his granddaughter. Joseph came to see his new great-niece and also for another purpose. The ceremonies began when the two Elders arrived to the house, to welcome the newest member of the family and bless her with a long life.   

Harmony touched the earth merely hours after her arrival, connecting her with the world and all forms of life. It was a day full of laughter, tears of joy, singing, and new hope for the infant. 

Like they do for every birth, a naming ceremony took place shortly after Harmony was born. Joseph presided over the ceremony but it was Destiny who gave Harmony her Chickasaw name: Nita' Ishkanno' si', which is in honor of her Chickasaw roots.  

As the years passed, Harmony was a happy child. They had little money, but the love within the family was infinite. Harmony lived with her parents outside Black Hawk in their little house. Her parents owned a small business selling various crafts. Her father, Lucas, made decorated arrows and weapons meant only as displays. He also made drums used for pow-wows and other ceremonies. Destiny made ribbon skirts, and intricate beadwork to adorn her husband’s crafts and some jewelry. The family sold their goods at pow-wows, art shows, and some gift shops at national parks that supports Indigenous artists.

She grew up in both worlds with her family encouraging her to embrace her Chickasaw and Lakota roots. Harmony used to spend her days helping her parents with their work and playing with her cousins and the family’s Karelian bear dog named Sedona. One of Harmony’s favorite places in the world is the forest near Black Hawk called Medicine Falls National Park. She loved the mountains that stand in the distance and the sky was open, limitless. As a child, she spent time with her paternal grandfather. He often told her various stories from legends passed down between generations and humorous misadventures from his childhood. Her mother also taught her Chickasaw customs and beliefs, such as the gift of fire. Fire is sacred from Abi Binnili, the supreme god.  Harmony’s early life was simple, and she was a happy child.

Unfortunately, her life would dramatically change. It all started with a fire, a campfire neglected by careless campers who left the area. It grew and ravaged the wilderness, stretching far and wide. Harmony was playing in the woods with Sedona when it happened. The funny thing about wildfires is they appear without warning and devour the forest quickly. The small child was wary when animals fled to safety, but before she could leave, The fire surrounded Harmony in a matter of minutes.  Sedona led the girl to safety and Harmony tried to catch up, coughing and choking on the smoke. Her escape came to an abrupt halt  when a large, flaming branch fell from the tree above her and strikes her down, pinning her to the scorched ground. She cried and struggled under the heavy branch, but she couldn’t escape as more debris fell upon her.

But she wasn’t alone. Sedona desperately dug at the pile of fallen branches and ash. The dog pulled Harmony out and to the edge of a lake away from the smoke. Sedona left her, only to return with a rescue team following her. Sedona survived with minor injuries that were treated while Harmony was transported to the city to the closest burn center. That is where she was treated for the burns. The child fought for her life when she contracted sepsis from the severe burns, but with the intensive care and her stubborn nature, she pulled through. The burns would remain as scars on her skin. Sadly, that is not all the damage.

The wildfire took everything. Their hard work destroyed in the flames. Harmony’s birth home engulfed by flames, but her parents’ worse nightmare almost came true: The fire almost claimed their only child. If it wasn’t for her Sedona, Harmony wouldn’t have survived. From then on, the beloved family pet became a hero.

The Halcyons had nowhere to go and the hospital bill was high, Indian Health Service couldn’t help cover all the costs. That doesn’t include losing their home and livelihood. Harmony’s relatives did what they could to help, but they were strained enough as it is. The family had to sacrifice to get by and her impoverished relatives could only do so much for they have their own children to care for. 

Work was scarce in the area. No one in their small town would hire them, So, with a heavy heart, her parents decided to go to Oklahoma where Destiny’s connections with her tribe would help them gain employment. Lucas and Destiny thought it would be best for Harmony’s health with better resources. So, they left Black Hawk and have a fresh start elsewhere. Lucas soon found work with the Lighthorse. Their daughter was not the same since the fire. If only the move alone promised a better outcome.

Note: In the verses where Harmony is in Japan, Lucas would meet two Air Force recruiters who met Harmony’s father, Lucas. He took a chance that day. He enlisted and as expected; he learned that he must relocate to his assigned base.

 She struggled in her new home. Children are not always the kindest, which is true when they find someone different. Her panic attacks at the sight of large fire drew attention from everyone around her. Though using water to put out fires is no longer a work of evil as it was deemed centuries ago, some of the elders were fearful of the child. A few even wondered if Harmony was afflicted with bad medicine, a curse cast by witches, who are alikchi' who used their powers for evil instead of good.

  Harmony was a quiet child who rarely spoke and often wore long sleeves, but her classmates discovered her scars and made fun of her for it. What made matters worse was a fall festival in her community that included hay rides, games, and a bonfire. Harmony suffered a severe panic attack from the sight of the bonfire. It was more ammunition for school bullies who witnessed the event to poke more fun at the “oddball.” 

Yes, children can be so cruel. 

Harmony and her parents received healthcare services like therapy. This helps Harmony learned to cope with her fear of fire better and learn better social skills. Unfortunately, there would be another tragedy inflicted on Harmony when she turned thirteen. Her grandfather passed away, succumbing to his long battle for his health. 

First her home from where she was born, her relatives left behind, and now her grandfather.  Harmony felt isolated, hurt, and yet she couldn’t do anything. Kids made fun of her for not looking the same, making fun of the old burns. She tried to make the most of it but wished things were different. Isolation has left her longing for friends, becoming withdrawn and unsure of herself. Harmony used to get into fights , a method of silencing the people who teased and spread rumors about her. Most of the time, it was to defend others who fell victim to bullies. They never expect the young girl to punch back. It got her into some trouble, but she calmed down as she grew older. She never enjoyed fighting and prefers to help others. That’s the path she chose from there. High school was much quieter and even Harmony gained a few friends. Her father retired from the Lighthorse and became a security guard while Harmony’s mother started to work in early childhood education after gaining her degree of help she received while he served.  

  Though things are looking up, that can change. Her fear of rejection and being alone still haunt her. The pain from the past has left wounds that scarred over, but never healed. Harmony’s friends drifted away when high school ended for opportunities granted in young adulthood. In her first steps to a new phase in her life, despite her fears, Harmony pushes through to challenge herself, learn to become a better person, and make lasting bonds with other people. Harmony grew up learning from her high school days to let her kindness shine and she doesn’t resort to violence unless under extreme circumstances.