I tortured myself so I could give him a pretty background

"Bah, who cares about customs at such a celebration?" This person did, or so it seemed. Still, Venti laughed, refusing to be put off by such admonishments. Instead, he grinned, taking a drink from his own cup.

"If you are so pressed about it, you may call me Venti~! Does that satisfy you?" Honestly, he felt a little silly, hand still outstretched with drink while he's being almost scolded, but he refuses to let the sour the mood.

He'll just shove it in their hands.

"Why not simply leave, if you are not enjoying this?"

@melodicbreeze

Well now, who is this? "You look like you'd rather be anywhere but here~!" A drink of whatever it was that was being served is shoved at the horned stranger.

What an abundance of sound and fanfare - were Dan Feng's first thoughts when this cheerful stranger made way over to him with a glassful of strongly scented drink. Even if there was some truth to what this aforementioned stranger said, he was not the type of person who liked to have his cards laid out all at once like that - especially on a first meeting.

"Is this meant to be an offering of drink now, stranger? I must ask then, is it customary to offer another a drink prior to offering a name?"

When he followed along the direction of the wind, Venti hadn't expected for it to lead to the last Yaksha. Briefly, he wondered if the wind had called for help on his account, but that was an idle thought for later, so he tucked it away.

"You're hurt." It's stated as fact in lieu of a greeting. Venti hesitated in his approach, not wanting to cause any undue stress. Instead, he sat down where he had stood, and patted the ground in front of him in invitation. "Come, rest with me for awhile?"

@melodicbreeze liked. | from Xiao.

White, hot agony races through Xiao's veins, further worsened by the haunting laughter of those he has slain echoing in his ears. It's nothing new to him, but even he buckles under the sudden influx of karma weighing on his soul.

It is then that he notices a familiar presence, one that he has learned to recognize over millennias past. "Lord Barbatos...?"

'Get stuck with'. At such a reaction, Venti can't help but burst into laughter. In no way does he mean to poke fun at the man, but hearing the groans at his occasional manner of speech isn't something he thinks he'll ever grow tired of.

"I jest, I jest. There is no curse but my own proclivity to poke the sleeping bear, so to speak." His grin is genuine, at least, pleased with the situation.

"That's something I'm well acquainted with, sir." As much as he loves discovering stories, they were things meant to be coaxed to bloom, not unlike a flower pushing through the soil. They weren't to be grabbed and pulled out like weeds.

"Do you have a request of a song? I'm still learning some of the recent local tunes, so you'll have to excuse my inexperience with them." Coaxing it was, as Venti couldn't help but wonder what it was that had drawn the man here. With the past looks he had caught from others, perhaps they could tell he wasn't human? There were plenty here that weren't, though, and they didn't (always, at least) seem to get the same sort of confusion that he had noticed.

"A tune for free- consider having to bear my teasing payment enough."

❝  oh  gods. ❞  are  the  first  words  to  escape  him.  a  hand  reaches  up,  fingers  delicately  pinching  the  bridge  of  his  nose  as  if  to  stave  off  a  looming  headache  —  ironic  that  this  bard  would  be  enough  to  do  the  trick  considering  what  else  he  currently  has  swimming  around  in  his  cranium.  ❝  just  my  luck  —  i  get  stuck  with  the  idiot  speaking  in  rhymes.  ugh. ❞   he's  going  to  conveniently  ignore  the  fact  that  he  was  the  one  to  start  this  conversation  in  the  first  place.  the  bard  was  under  no  obligation  to  reply  —  no,  the  bard  was  under  no  obligation  to  reply  so  strangely.  he's  messing  with  him,  isn't  he?  oh,  he  probably  is,  that  impetuous  little  brat ...

giving  his  head  a  brisk  shake,  astarion  drags  his  hand  down  his  face.  he  exhales  a  sharp  huff  through  his  nose  —  gazing  at  the  stranger  as  if  silently  weighing  his  options.  the  smart  thing  to  do  would  be  to  leave,  but  there's  something  about  the  way  the  bard  is  looking  at  him  that's  getting  under  his  skin.  knowingly.  as  if  he  has  him  all  figured  out.  (  a  mirror,  he  says.  hilarious  choice  of  words,  that.  so  funny  he's  forgotten  to  laugh.  )  the  spawn  thinks  he  would  rather  just  leave  —  but  too  many  loose  ends  dangling  can  weave  themselves  into  a  noose  if  given  enough  time.

force  of  habit  sees  him  trying  to  reassemble  the  charming  facade.  to  smile  placatingly,  even  as  the  expression  fails  to  reach  his  eyes.  ❝  we  all  have  our  secrets. ❞  astarion  says  breezily  —  as  if  his  words  are  meant  to  be  construed  as  a  clever  little  quip  rather  than  the  warning  he  actually  intends.  ❝  secrets  that  are,  well,  secret, ❞  a  vague  wave  of  the  hand,  ❝  for  a  reason.  i  won't  pry�� into  your  business  if  you  leave  mine  well  enough  alone  —  and  stop  speaking  in  rhymes ...  you  aren't  cursed,  are  you?  ❞

this concept's been stuck in my mind for a while. idk if anyone's done this before or not, but here u go: powerful barbatos with an anemo crystalfly as a mask <3

I do apologize for the delay in drafts! Some of them have been,,,, months, haha. Long story, but irl has been draining. Still, I don't plan on dropping anything, or taking a hiatus. I'll just be slower for a bit longer- though, not too long hopefully!

This world is strange, yet endlessly intriguing. There's so many secrets, so many stories, all begging to be uncovered and brought into the light.

Still, unsurprisingly, food and shelter cost money. He might not need such things in technicalities, but that didn't mean Venti liked forgoing them.

At least this world had an appreciation for bards. He wasn't sure what he'd do for coin if not.

"You speak as though I'm a mirror, it was your gaze that couldn't be clearer." He'd notice the staring, of course. It was something he'd grown accustom to, from others he could tell were not quite human themselves (or, rather, any normal member of a species here). It never bothered him, but amusement coloured his features at the other trying to spin the situation.

"Is there something on my face that is misplaced, or is that gaze a trace of a feeling displaced?"

his  feelings  towards  bards  are  a  bit  mixed,  to  say  the  least.  oh,  astarion  can  appreciate  a  decently  strummed  tune  as  much  as  the  next  person  —  yet  it's  the  way  they  are  so  prone  to  caterwauling  about  tales  of  heroics  and  valor  that  leave  a  taste  in  his  mouth  more  foul  than  rotted  blood.  frankly,  the  spawn  would  prefer  to  steer  clear  of  them  and  their  noisemaking  altogether.  however ...  personal  preferences  aside,  that  isn't  what  has  him  shooting  this  particular  bard  a  stare  so  bewildered,  scandalized,  uncomfortable  it's  as  though  he's  sprouted  a  second  head  beseeching  astarion  to  answer  his  riddles  three.

there  is  no  blood  that  thrums  beneath  his  skin.  he  is ...  entirely  scentless  —  beyond  the  faintest  whiff  of  pure,  clean  wind.  it's  unnerving,  to  say  the  least.  (  though  astarion  cannot  tell  if  his  instincts  or  common  sense  decree  it  to  be  so.  )  for  all  the  horrors  he's  been  made  to  bear  witness  to,  this  simple  fact  is  enough  to  get  to him.

❝  ...  ❞  it's  only  then  that  the  elf  realizes  he's  been  gazing  at  the  poor  bastard  as  if  he  means  to  drill  twin  holes  through  his  forehead  with  his  eyes.  astarion's  mouth  curves  in  a  smile;  reverting  to  charm  as  a  familiar  defense  mechanism.  he  casually tucks  an  errant  lock  of  silvery  curls  behind  one  ear  and  says,  ❝  a  feast  for  the  eyes  i  might  be ...  but  it's  still  rude  to  stare,  my  dear.  ❞   as  if  he  isn't  guilty  of  doing  precisely  that.

@melodicbreeze && liked for a STARTER.

@dikiyvter has once again gotten us hooked on this one vanilla + minecraft server. and i found an enchantment that makes a bow look like skyward harp, so obviously-

forever my muse

my part of a collab with @stelar-time <33 he has sm cool genshin aus istg

Rate your muse's traits 0-10!

Compassion: 9/10 Bitterness: 2/10 Happiness: 7/10 Politeness: 7/10 Chivalry: 5/10 Pride: 4/10 Honesty: 4/10 Bravery: 7/10 Recklessness: 7/10 Ambition: 2/10 Loyalty: 7/10 Love: 1000000/10 Sense of family: 5/10 Attractiveness: 8/10 Agility: 10/10 Sex drive: 8/10

Never

been a while since ive last drawn my muse <3

Venti doodles 🫶

a smile as gentle as the breeze ~

WHY DOES EVERYTHING TRY TO EAT IT-?!