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lokilickedme · 5 years

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Because of "The Department", I am starting to become interested in Hozier. Are there any songs you would recommend for new listeners? Does he have anything romantic and sad?

Ohhhh my goodness. Does he have anything romantic and sad…DOES HE HAVE ANYTHING ROMANTIC AND SAD?! (sorry, I’m hyperventilating with excitement here)

Sit down honeypants, have I got a playlist for your listening pleasure.

First, you’re fortunate that he’s only got two officially released albums, two EPs, and a handful of covers and film tracks - because frankly the world couldn’t handle much more than what he’s given us so far. We need time, we need to acclimate, we need to be strong enough to take it. And for what he has given us thus far, we are thankful. *amen*

I don’t even know where to start categorizing his songs individually, but since you specifically asked for “romantic” and “sad”, I’ll begin there:

ROMANTIC AND/OR SAD HOZIER SONGS TO PINE AND/OR YEARN TO:

Work Song - Gotta start here, for reasons. This song is what I would call the epitome of romance. It’s a nod to the field hymnals of the deep south, with the religious solemnity replaced by a mournful sort of romantic adoration for a lover who somehow saved him from a past he had all but lost himself to. Sweet and gentle and worshipful, it fairly reeks of bad man redeemed by the love of a good woman. He thanks the higher powers every day for the gift of his lover, whether the gods are listening or not, whether he is worthy of their attention or not - he no longer cares about that, because if there’s no eternal heaven for him, this moment on earth with his love is more than enough. You are his deity now, his redeemer, his savior…and he’s at peace with his past because he knows you love him as much as he loves you. Beautiful and hopeful, and almost painfully romantic.

Like Real People Do - Gah, I don’t even know where to start with this one. It was inspired by Seamus Heaney’s series of poetic odes to the bog bodies discovered in the wilds of Ireland, which in itself doesn’t seem like a very ripe field to plow for romantic sentiment. However, let me direct you to the following verse:

I will not ask you where you came fromI will not ask, and neither should youHoney just put your sweet lips on my lipsWe should just kiss like real people do

Yeah, we’re done here. Basically it’s a vague fairy tale whose implications you’re free to ascertain for yourself. Is it grave robbing? Murder? Some dark fae magic resurrecting an ancient being for some dark purpose he can’t recall? A lonely woman enlisting a disreputable spell to conjure a lover for herself from the long-dead bones of a forgotten victim? Or was he simply buried by his grief/pain/sadness and “dug up” by the love and care of a stranger? Whatever it is, it’s lovely.

To Be Alone - Howling and intense, feral and wild, this is a tune to fuck to. Romantically, of course. The Celtic drums, the yowling chorus, the stomping that brings to mind a tribal Druid ceremony, untamed and darkly sexual in all its heathen glory…

Honey, when you kill the lightsAnd kiss my eyesI feel like a person for a moment of my life

Need I say more? How about this:

To feel your weight in arms I’d never useIt’s the god that heroin prays to

Powerful, right? And any song that has Feels good, god it feels good as a repetitive chorus can’t be anything but babymaking tunes. Trust me.

Better Love - This is a film soundtrack song that appears on the ending credits of The Legend Of Tarzan. Lush and frantically heartfelt and literally gushing with a profound romance that rises and rises until it hits a crescendo that you just gotta listen to on headphones with your eyes closed. It’s a religious experience, the kind that’s easy to imagine yourself screaming OH GOD!! in the middle of. Yeah, that kind. The rising fury of the music, the piano, the horn section, his voice, is all very reminiscent of that kind of love. Just beautiful, urgent, and will have you imagining yourself in a Victorian dress standing on the bank of a river somewhere waiting for your love to return from some distant place.

Dinner And Diatribes - Speaking of that kind of love, here we have a song that uses those very words to describe what loverboy wants and is asking for from you, his passionate yet momentarily bored significant other. The two of you are stuck at some hideously stale social engagement and his soul is dying slowly with each dull conversation he has to participate in; his only reprieve is in staring at you from across the room and sending you subliminal messages about what he would very much like for you to do to him as soon as he gets you out of there. Let there be hotel complaints and grievances raised, yeah that kind of love. Romantic? Not strictly, no, not on the face of it. But really, what’s more romantic than knowing your partner well enough to know that one look from you across a crowded room will have them searching for a way to excuse themselves from the party so they can go home and absolutely rail you?

Scarcely can speak for my thinkingWhat you’d do to me tonightNow that the evening is slowingNow that the end is in sightHoney, it’s easier knowingWhat you’d do to me tonight

And we’re not even going to discuss the pounding Celtic tribal drums that set up a rhythm through the entire song that subtly mimics a headboard banging against the wall. Rowdy loud romance at its pulse pounding best.

In A Week - Nothing says romance like two lovers decomposing in a field together, scaring the cows and slowly turning into food for the foxes and crows. A beautiful tune, gorgeously sung as a duet with Karen Crowley. He claims this was meant to be very tongue-in-cheek, and god I hope he’s not lying because I worry about the boy sometimes.

Nobody - My personal favorite, this one is a road song chronicling a love through comparison. He tells his sweetheart how much he misses her, not with the actual words I miss you, but through a series of either/ors:

If I had the choice between hearing either noiseThe excitement of a thousand, or the soothing of your voiceAt first chance I’d take the bed warmed by the bodyI once warmed my hands over a burnin’ MaseratiStill I’ve had no love like your love

A cute love song full of playful devotion to an absent lover. Just perfect.

Shrike - I should have put this higher up on the list, I know. You’ll understand what I mean when you listen to it. A Shrike is a murderbird, btw. Yeah, he’s comparing his powerful desire to express his love (after having tragically/stupidly missed a prior opportunity to do so) to a Shrike (him) impaling food on a thornbush (her). Again, it’ll make sense when you listen to it. A beautiful, haunting, lushly lyrical song about wistful longing.

Wasteland Baby - This song, geezus. The world is ending, it’s here, it’s happening, and he’s watching it all come down while sitting next to you, holding your hand, waiting for it to reach the pair of you as the flames lick the sky. Neither of you are scared, just at peace, together, waiting for the end of it all to take you. Oddly beautiful, and his voice - god, his voice. Wasteland baby, I’m in love, I’m in love with you.

Movement - A love song to all the things you see in your lover that are lacking in yourself. Poetic and poignant, coming from a towering giant with a tendency to trip over his own feet, singing about his lover being graceful and feeling moved by the way she moves.

NFWMB - Yes, it means what it looks like. Nothing Fucks With My Baby, and yes he says that word every other line. But the way he utters it with such dreamy conviction is just…ugh, it’s a horny song okay? Just unabashedly horny. And romantic, because he’s not making a bar room threat as in NOTHING fucks with my baby!!, he’s issuing a laid back warning that if you DO fuck with his baby, she will straight up fuck you up and he will sit back and watch, shaking his head in an I told you so sort of sympathy. His baby is so terrifying that the goddamn apocalypse willingly averted itself when it saw she was in the vicinity. An ode to a strong lover that he respects with every fiber of his being and by god you should too.

From Eden - Basically a love song from the devil’s point of view. I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door. That’s romantic, folks.

Moment’s Silence (Common Tongue) - My second favorite song in, like, the entire history of music. Remember when I said NFWMB was unabashedly horny? Well, this is a song about oral sex. No qualms, no masking in flowery terms, and a whole lot of borderline blasphemous comparisons to religious verbiage to boot. And it’s one hell of a banger, with Hoz howling like his baby just put her mouth on him (which is the chorus, more or less). A no-apologies hard driving ballad devoted to fellatio, which I find oddly romantic in the simple fact that he speaks of it as a holy act of devotion. He worships his lover, who is, ironically, the one on her knees in the holy posture of prayer in front of him. And god does he love her for it.

Jackie And Wilson - This one is tricky, because it’s a rousing catchy tune flowing around a set of words that, once you listen carefully to them, become a whole lot of not what I thought. He speaks of love, and of being saved, and of the attentive care that his lover gives him. Only later do we hear the truth behind those words - that the love was obsessive and immature, that the savior casually abandoned him without even saying goodbye, that her care was no more than an amused tolerance to his childish adoration. She knew all along that she wasn’t in it for the long haul, while he was making plans for forever. But all hope isn’t lost - he’s not irreparably damaged, he isn’t ruined for life. He simply goes and digs up the version of himself that he buried at the beginning, and starts again. A little more experienced, a bit more jaded, but ready to do it all over again because maybe it’ll be right next time. A hopefully romantic little cautionary tale that somehow doesn’t lose its playfulness, even as he’s putting out his cigarette and noticing that she’s gone.

Do I Wanna Know - this is a cover/retool of the song of the same name by Arctic Monkeys, and it is sublime in its sad yearning. While the original is a driving, dark, sexy ode to obsessive love, Hozier’s version is a gentle, tender, hauntingly heart-tugging song about longing and uncertainty. It’s a slow game of she loves me, she loves me not being played by a lover who is unsure if it’s worth the bother to try to fall in love with someone else if the current object of his laconic affections is no longer interested in him, or if he should just keep trying to win her back and keep the status quo as is. And his voice…god, the way he caresses words is like he’s making love to your ears without the messy cleanup afterward.

There are more - but I’m going to draw the line here and say ENOUGH FOR NOW, YOU’RE NEW, YOU’RE NOT PREPARED FOR THE REST. I mean…Angel of Small Death? Sedated? Arsonist’s Lullaby? The hardcore underlying symbolism of his flagship ballad Take Me To Church? It Will Come Back, for god’s sake?? No, not yet. Go, dip your toe into the waters, and then come back when you’re ready for more…because everything this man has ever done is brilliant and beautiful and profound, and oh boy do I look forward to ruining another innocent with it all :)

#Hozier #Andrew Hozier-Byrne #Wasteland Baby #music rec #Anonymous

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vertebralheights · 5 years

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REALLY LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES. repost , don’t reblog ! good luck !

TAGGED. Redoing this from uhhh last year almost. TAGGING. Yeet

BASICS.

FULL NAME: MV Boli Dingbat

NICKNAME: Bo

AGE: It’s really hard to gauge but lets just call it mid-twenties, but she’s been alive for much much longer.

BIRTHDAY: It honestly has changed like. 100 times? Currently it’s February 18th.

ETHNIC GROUP: Skeleton monster.

NATIONALITY: Undergroundian

LANGUAGE(S): English, Dingbats.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Demisexual

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Demiromantic

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Technically this is verse dependent but her main verse squeeze is an absolute meme.

CLASS: Prodigiously lower-class.

HOMETOWN / AREA: She doesn’t remember what it was called. She lived near the Capital, Maybe in Hotland? She doesn’t remember much before Vertebral Heights.

CURRENT HOME: Vertebral Heights, a city with a dwindling skeleton population.

PROFESSION: Unemployed with no benefits!

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: That would be weird.

EYES: White most of the time, sometimes they’re ooky spooky green/teal.

NOSE: Set nose to NO.

FACE: Bean-shaped.

LIPS: No thanks.

COMPLEXION: Bo has kinda yellower, slightly off color bones from lack of light and access to bone polish.

BLEMISHES: She has a sternal foramen, a genetic abnormality.

SCARS: None

Tattoos: How?

HEIGHT: 5'5″

WEIGHT: Like. 12 Pounds?

BUILD: She’s very slim. If her bones had flesh on them there wouldn’t be that much of a change in physique.

FEATURES: No flesh.

ALLERGIES: Hard to have allergies without lungs, blood, or organs.

USUAL HAIRSTYLE: ???

USUAL FACE LOOK: A relaxed and placid smile, eyes wide but also very tired looking.

USUAL CLOTHING: She has one pair of dark jeans that she wears and a variety of t shirts, most of which are black or have funny sayings on them. She usually wears a green flannel shirt tied around her waist. She never wears shoes, and always wears a black stocking-hat beanie.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR(S): Losing her friends/family and being completely alone.

ASPIRATION(S) : Learning how to use her magic and her other skills to the best ability that she can to protect people and solve problems.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Clever, friendly, creative, intelligent, compassionate.

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Depressed, mildly nihilistic, no regard for personal care or safety, anti-authoritarian (not really a BAD trait but it hasn’t gotten her anywhere)

ZODIAC: Aquarius!

TEMPERAMENT: Generally, she’s very good natured and friendly.

SOUL TYPE(S): Monster Soul, her ‘trait’ is Idiosyncrasy.

ANIMALS: If she were an animal she’s probably be something rat a possum or a rat.

VICE HABIT(S): She does them botha lot less, but she used to drink to excess and smoke a lot. But since taking in Lark and becoming happier with her life, she’s cut down on those habits a lot. She still drinks on occasion (to have fun more than to drown her sorrows) and she still smokes when she’s really stressed/overworked.

FAITH: It comes and goes.

GHOSTS?: They’re lovely.

AFTERLIFE?: It happens for some people.

REINCARNATION?: Yes, she knows it can be done.

ALIENS?: God, she hopes so.

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Anarchist???????

ECONOMIC PREFERENCE: Money would be cool.

SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION: Pro environment and pro-monster rights. Anti-Capitalist.

EDUCATION LEVEL: Uhhh the 4th Grade??? She stopped after her parents vanished. Had a lot of advanced education from her parents as supplement to her education.

FAMILY.

FATHER: Dr. Zapfino Dingbat ✝️

MOTHER: Dr. Lucida Dingbat ✝️

SIBLINGS: Cooper Dingbat ✝️

EXTENDED FAMILY: She has an adopted child, Lark, who she’s had for about two years.

NAME MEANING(S): It’s a font, chosen from a big book of 5000 fonts based on what an old skeleton said she should be named. I dunno, the lore is fuzzy.

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: Her parents were a part of an initiative during the war that took human bodies and turned them into monster warriors via skeleton resurrection. It was semi-successful.

FAVORITES.

BOOK: Bo doesn’t have a favorite, but she does have a pretty sizable collection of do-it-yourself books on a variety of subjects, as well as a few music books, and a very well-read book on plumbing.

MOVIE: Can’t recall ever seeing one? Lmao she’s only ever had radios.

5 SONGS: Thrift Shop, Planetary Go, Seashore, Love Like You, and Polka Covers or literally any song ever made.

DEITY: Johannes Gutenberg, creator of fonts and typeface. But that’s mostly a joke.

HOLIDAY: All holidays are just variation of the prime holiday... H A L L O W E E N.

MONTH: They all seem to be the same for her.

SEASON: Fall or Winter, probably.

PLACE: Cities and Caves.

WEATHER: Overcast and on the cool side.

SOUND: The accordion, harmonica (most instruments, really) the sound of certain people’s laughter, the sound of a dry erase marker on a white board.

SCENT(S): Brass, pine trees, hospital antispetic, food cooking, weirdly, trash.

TASTE(S): Soy sauce, vegetable broth, white rice.

FEEL(S): Cool metal, small clicking buttons, flannel,

ANIMAL(S): Rats, Possums, Mice, Raccoons, Badgers, pretty much anything that’s kinda... Scrappy.

NUMBER: 11. I wrote 11 last year and I still don’t know why. Why 11.

COLORS: Green!

EXTRA.

TALENTS: Figuring out and playing instruments, reverse engineering machinery, rock climbing, singing, somehow turning all food she cooks into fried rice.

BAD AT: Cooking anything that isn’t fried rice, public speaking/singing, believing in herself.

HOBBIES: Tinkering with instruments and appliances, learning new shit, pestering her loved ones, exploring caves.

TROPES: Satisfied Street Rat, Always Save The Boy, Family of Choice, Undead Barefooter, Wrench Wench

AESTHETIC TAGS: #cities, #green, #neon, #abandoned

GPOY QUOTES: My only crime is that I was down to clown.

FC INFO.

MAIN FC(S): None, I just draw her.

ALT FC(S): Seriously, I just draw her.

OLDER FC(S): Seriously-

YOUNGER FC(S): sTOP

VOICE CLAIM(S): I’ve been at war with what she sounds like for what feels like eons. I’m currently on a kick with Sara Gilbert, but I think Bo would be way less monotone than Sara. I dunno, I usually just think of my own voice with a slightly different accent and inflection.

GENDERBENT FC(S):

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1: if you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?: It’s an absurd comedy. Stephen Chow is directing it. There are ridiculous fight scenes and cult-classic humor. It has absurd montages and weirdly placed rock ballad musical numbers. It’s honestly not very good.

Q2: what would their soundtrack / score sound like?: Bo’s sountrack is all 8-bit chiptune music, kazoo covers, polka remixes, and hard rock.

Q3: why did you start writing this character?: I started in 2015, took a big break, picked her up again in 2018, took a smaller break, picked her up again here in the tail end of 2019.

Q4: what first attracted you to this character?: I loved Undertale and Skeletons. Wanted to make a skelesona, loved to rp, decided to mix the two, got rid of the ‘sona’ part and here we are.

Q5: describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse: I wrote this last year and it’s still true, She can be a little inconsistent depending on who I’m writing with. She changes a lot, writing partner/muse to muse. Also I don’t ever want to make her as depressed as I’ve written her in the past.

Q6: what do you have in common with your muse?: Too many things honestly, Bo started as a self inset. We’re pretty different now, but we dress the same. The biggest one is one I’m trying to dial back on, which is the mental illness.

Q8: what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with?: I’ve branched out even LESS that the last time I filled this out. Currently it’s just. Tumblr user bonepranks.

Q9: what gives you inspiration to write your muse?: Listening to fight-y music, watching Undertale comic dubs, talking about her to people.

Q10: how long did this take you to complete?: Eh, not that long. Most of this was filled out already.

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alecmagnuslwb · 5 years

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Model Behavior

Read on AO3

This is far from Clary’s first course with a live model, she’s a senior, she’s done this a million times before. She’s sat in a room with twenty other students as men, women, nonbinaries and everyone in between dropped their robes in the center of the room and she’s let the inspiration take over to draw her heart out for two hours.

And oh, she’s feeling inspired right now, but she’s barely put her charcoal to the sheet of paper in front of her because the model at the center of the classroom is an absolute goddess. The complicated position the woman, Maia as their teacher had introduced her at the start of class which is a name just as pretty as the woman herself, sits in on the platform gives Clary a perfect view of almost everything.

She has perfect smooth skin save for the intricate butterfly tattoo on her lower back and the light, long scar on her collarbone, both of which Clary would like to trace with her fingertips and then her lips. Her curly hair is braided back in multiple sections on one side of her head giving Clary a stunning view of her neck from where she’s seated and the only piece of anything that graces her body is a dainty golden bracelet on her right wrist that looks mesmerizing against her skin.

Clary knows she’s staring, she’s trying not to, she knows that she needs to draw a figure of this gorgeous deity, but she’s never had such a difficult time focusing. She’s never had this immediate of a reaction to any woman she’s ever met, not even Maureen who’d been her first everything in high school and Clary had never thought she’d move on from. She’s never even spoken to this woman, only knows her name and that she looks ethereal under the natural light streaming in from the many windows of the classroom. But Clary is enraptured, she’s not even listening to the mix playing through her headphones that usually gets her exactly in the headspace she needs for this type of drawing.

Her reverie is completely thrown when a not so quiet cough comes from behind her. She swings her head around to see her teacher give her a somewhat judgmental tilt of the head as she looks to Clary’s canvas then back at her. Clary gives an apologetic smile hoping to placate her, it seems to work as her teacher rolls her eyes and continues walking down the row of easels. Clary looks back, this time at her canvas to see she’s drawn quite literally only one line that resembles the curve of a thigh. A really beautiful thigh, but still just that.

She gets back to work, diligently moving her charcoal in curving lines and waves, only glancing up at Maia when necessary. Before she knows it her teacher is clapping calling time for the class and Clary’s popping her ear buds from her head, the two-hour session completely slipping away from her as she has only somewhat completed one leg. A little mournfully she watches as Maia slips on the purple silky robe that’s been lying at her feet the whole time as the teacher thanks her for her time.

Maia swerves her head around in Clary’s direction as the teacher’s attention is diverted to a passing student, Clary immediately looks down packing up her charcoals. She moves to flip her large sketchpad closed a moment after that.

“Doesn’t look like you got much done there,” a teasing, but lovely voice says as Clary freezes halfway to covering up her lack of a sketch.

Clary turns and is met up close with the cutest smile she’s ever seen on another person’s face. Because up close, Maia is somehow impossibly prettier and that smile could rival the sun and the moon and the stars all at once.

“Oh, I um, I-“ Clary stutters out desperately searching her mind for an appropriate response or if her disastrous brain can muster it up something smooth.

“Not feeling inspired?” Maia asks, her smile going lopsided a little and maybe even a hint disappointed. And Clary can’t have that, can’t have this woman before her thinking she doesn’t inspire awe and art, hell this woman is art.

“Oh, goddess no,” Clary scrambles with a shy smile that makes it clear she’s interested. “I was definitely feeling inspired.”

Maia’s smile brightens again this time with a pleased, flirtatious edge.

“Just got a little distracted is all,” Clary continues as she morphs into a more confident smile, pushing the loose hair that’s escaped the long braid she keeps it in for classes like this behind her ears.

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” Maia says with a smirk. She puts one hand on her hip and for a brief second Clary’s attention is drawn to it. For the first time she notices the light pink polish on her short nails save for the middle finger which is painted in the stripes of the bi pride flag, it looks nice and considering the amount of staring she did for the past two hours she can’t believe she missed it.

“A little,” Clary shrugs her head tilting back up catching Maia’s knowing eyes that say she saw her eyes tilt down and quite possibly knows Clary was watching her in a much more than class appropriate way the entire time. “But there’s always next class.”

Maia hums, “Sadly, I won’t be your model next week, busy with finals of my own.”

Clary deflates a little because that is disappointing, but also maybe a good thing. She can’t really afford to fail this class in her second to the last semester of her college career. She’s also pretty certain that her teacher won’t accept ‘the model was too pretty’ as an excuse for failing.

“But maybe I can do some private modeling sometime,” Maia says smoothly not missing a beat.

Clary bites her lip, fairly certain her cheeks might be turning a shade similar to her hair. Because wow, Clary couldn’t pull off that line in a million years, but the way Maia said it was like she hadn’t even needed to think for a moment about the words.

“But first maybe we could get some coffee sometime,” Maia continues on. “I’m Maia by the way, Maia Roberts.” She holds out a hand for Clary to shake and Clary takes it immediately.

“Clary Fray,” she says releasing her lip from her teeth with a smile as she squeezes Maia’s hand gently. “I’m free right now,” Clary continues gesturing towards the door with a tilt of the head.

Maia nods her head releasing Clary’s hand, “Me too,” she pauses gesturing at herself quickly. “I just need to get dressed really quick.”

Frankly, Clary wouldn’t mind if she just went in that robe, but she understands the ridiculous societal need and requirement for clothes.

“I’ll wait for you at the front,” Clary says as she steps away.

Two hours later she’s laughing at some silly pun Maia says and she’s impossibly more enamored by the moment as she sips her latte. Maia’s a marine biology major, working on applying for grad schools while finishing up her senior year, the modeling is a side gig she does for extra cash when she has the time mostly for lower level freshman classes. She’s kind and witty with a heavenly amount of fierce inside her. She backtracks a bit when the subject switches to family life, but Clary doesn’t mind, she hopes there will be many more coffee dates and other outings to learn the ins and outs of each other, the deeper stuff that can’t be said over a Frappuccino at three in the afternoon.

Eventually the sun starts to dip a little lower in the sky and they both realize that sadly their time for today is up. Night jobs are calling, for Clary at a coffee shop that looks a lot like the one they’re sitting in and for Maia at a bar downtown that Clary promises to stop in for a drink at some time.

They linger outside of the coffee shop for far longer than they should, but Clary’s earned a reputation at her job for being a bit frazzled and often late already and no ones fired her yet so she’s not worried about it, especially not when the company that’s keeping her is as incredible as Maia.

Eventually small talk comes to a halt and Maia is the first one with the strength to pull away. She reaches out, brushing one of those wild hairs that are always escaping Clary’s braid behind her ear. Her fingers linger moving softly along Clary’s jaw stopping at her chin to tilt her head up lightly. Their eyes meet and it’s a silent request, one Clary responds to immediately leaning in to press her lips to Maia’s. She feels Maia’s fingers move from her jaw to the back of her neck in a soft grip holding Clary close. She can taste the caramel from Maia’s Frappuccino on her lips and tongue and another distinct and exquisite flavor that she’s certain is all just naturally Maia.

Eventually they part, breathing unfortunately being a requirement for human life. They smile softly at one another and after a quick exchange of numbers that make Maia realize she really is going to be late to work she jets off in the opposite direction of Clary after placing a brief goodbye kiss to her lips.

Clary watches until Maia’s well out of her eyeline standing there with a no doubt ridiculously goofy smile on her face her fingers tracing her own lips where Maia’s had just been. Today may have categorically been one of her worst days as an artist in any class she’s ever taken, but at the end of it she’s going home with the taste of a beautiful girl still on her lips, a new number in her phone and the promise of a dinner. For all of that she’ll easily take one bad day in class, just as long as Maia sticks to some of the lower level classes in the future for the sake of Clary’s degree.

#my fic #claia #claia fic #clary fray #maia roberts #shadowhunters #shadowhunters fic #i wrote a claia fic cause i love them!#and there's another on the way soon ish!#fic

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roedusk · 5 years

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Natsume FFXV Crossover Notes

I’m trying to organize my thoughts and figured an update might not be a bad idea for the people without access to my thoughts. So here you go.

Let me know what you think?

(Will probably change as I write things, and I'm certain I forgot explanations and notes I was going to write because of tangents… So sorry about any confusion.)

World Notes

General World Notes

- FFXV setting with Yokai/Ayakashi based on Natsume added.

- Plot of Natsume happened during his teen years and he and his friends are now adults, 21-26 ish so they’re around Noctis and Co.’s age.

- I'm classifying some yokai or yokai abilities as “divine” for lack of a better word. This is yokai such as guardians of temples, and abilities such as Nyanko-sensei/Madara's purification ability. Yokai with this classification are generally more powerful than equivalent non-divine yokai, and have power over the world in some way. They so tend to be bound up in complicated rules most ayakashi don't have to deal with. In exchange Divine Yokai are generally not affected by yokai exorcism, or at least not to the same extent, it depends on the Yokai and situation, aka the plot. Yokai with divine abilities are also usually powerful, and tend to be exceptions to rules that usually apply to all yokai.

Astrals

- The Astrals are the same type of creature as the deities Natsume bumped into in the Moon Splitting Festival, powerful on their own but regenerate their power (if they use it up doing things like making the land fertile) through worship of humans. They all fall into the category of divine beings Madara can probably oppose and maybe manage a win, but it would probably get him cursed.

- Bahamut, Ramuh, and Leviathan are all at their original undamaged power percentage, having never taking a serious blow to cut their power. They are about equal in power to Fuzuki from the Moon Splitting Festival, since he hasn’t been diminishing his power like Hozuki was.

- Titan, Shiva, and Ifrit are at post-damage power levels. Titan however has a lot of worshipers and followers that he amassed while dormant, so his damaged power level is about equal to his non-damaged brethren. Shiva and Ifrit are about equal in power to Houzuki (who is not as powerless as they appear in the Moon Splitting Festival episode).

- The Astrals are both powerful enough to be seen by humans and chose to be so. The deities in the Moon Splitting Festival (unlike in Natsume canon!) can also make this choice, but generally chose not to.

- Each Astral has a realm of influence. Their influence changes the feeling of the area, such as how welcoming it feels or how prone its inhabitants tend to be towards settling in one place.

- Bahamut's influence is over Insomnia, and his disapproval of yokai/ayakashi makes them less common, and the ones who stay in spite of the encouragement to leave tend to be stronger and less family/group based. Insomnia tends not to be comforting, but has a feeling of purpose living there that generally feels lacking when moving away. This feeling of purpose can also feel grating tho, like being forced to do things all the time can be draining.

- Titan's influence is centered on his temple in Old Lestallum, but has also spread from his physical location at the Disk of Cauthess. He appreciates life that thrives but especially the kind of life that can cooperate to do so, like early settlers of the area or yokai living among the forests and human settlements in symbiosis. Titain's power is more attractive to those who are clannish and protective of their important people. It also exudes the feeling of being guarded, since Titan was injured protecting the area and those in it. This can be comforting or constraining depending on the individual and how they feel at the time.

- Ifrit's influence is lingering over Ravatogh, but is also present in the Meteor and it's shards. His influence is both the creative inspiration he gave to Solheim and the impulse to act that can both lead to good decisions without hesitation and quick bad decisions based on anger or lack of forethought. His anger at the war of the Astrals also lingers in the sphere of influence over Ravatogh making the area less friendly to living things that can feel it, but it has been largely tempered out of the Meteor by Titan's protective influence. Lestallum started based on inspiration of those drawn to the Meteor and thrives on those working with the shards now. Tempered by Titan's influence towards cooperation it's the most successful new settlement in a millennium.

- Shiva's influence is centered around her corpse, but is also present in Tenebrae where her messenger lived. It tends to encourage self-possession, people who know what they want and go for it regardless of what anyone else might think. This helps people like Lunafreya keep their strength up in bad situations, and allows people like Versatile and Ravus to pursue their goals without worrying about the morality of them. As the same time it also encourages self-restraint, not in matters of morality but in not revealing yourself too easily. This can be armor but can also make it harder for the individual to understand their more “firey” emotions.

- Leviathan's influence is found deep in the ocean, and while certain things can bring it to the surface it's much weaker up there. The strongest surface place is the Altar of the Tidemother, where she was worshiped and interested enough to look at humans in return. Her influence is part of the strange feeling the Ocean has, where it's huge and vast and cares nothing for if you live or die. If you want something you have to go after it yourself, there is no promise of divine intervention or idea that you may get ahead if you do things the right way. There's no judgement from a higher power for doing something underhanded, and if you want rules you have to find a way to build and enforce them yourself. This attracts those with a drive to get ahead and play the angles, eventually leading to the founding of Altissia. Leviathan herself takes interest in those who fight for what they want, but that's no guarantee she will respond to a plea for aid even from those she likes.

- I have no idea about Ramuh right now?

Starscourge

- ???

- As far as I can tell canon Starscourge is explained as a mutated malaria virus. But it also drives people mad before vaporising them and the resulting Miasma somehow both eats sunlight preventing it from reaching the ground, and generates demons based on the remainders of the mad dead people's egos that die instantly in sunlight. These vaporised egos can also apparently be used to power magitech armor but the ego in them makes them difficult to control??? And the "only"/prophesied cure to the disease is to kill Ardyn (who is neither the source or receptacle of the disease, nor the source of its recent resurgence, tho he did help it along in the last 30 years), then to die so we can kill his soul. This somehow purges the Miasma. (And spoilers? depending on if the book is canon or not it may be the last part needed for a world killing wave Bahamut wants to use?) I also can't figure out where in the game I bumped into the explanation that the Starscourge is from the meteor Titan is holding? Because it's something everyone in the fandom thinks is true now that I go looking but is apparently not canon?

- And a cure?? I have no idea, really??? But I have some thoughts???

- Has existed at least since Solheim, and was around long before Ardyn.

- It infects yokai/ayakashi as well as humans and animals.

- Is probably a miasma in the greek tragedy sense? (If my greek dramas seminar in college is to be believed) Miasma in greek tragedy apparently coincided with someone who was “to blame” and whose death was needed to stop the poison from killing people. The King does bad and the whole kingdom suffers kind of thing. But if they don’t kill themselves in penance then the person that kills them becomes the problem and the miasma continues. Not sure where I’m going with this but it matches nicely with the Natsume system of problem solving being about emotions and experiences?

- Probably need the modern trope of a Panacea to cure it? Something everyone worked together to get/make (in true Natsume fashion) to give to Noctis after the 10 years???

- How do I cure this??

- Did this disease ever even make sense?

Character Notes

Natsume

- Born in Duscae, Natsume’s family is descended from people who settled Old Lestallum a thousand years ago, so most of his relatives (who he was passed between as a kid) were from the Lestallum/Old Lestallum offshoots area. However he did have a few relatives in Insomnia he lived with as a child for a little bit.

- Natsume had never lived in Old Lestallum until the Fujiwaras took him to their home there. He loves the town because of the good memories there and intends to live there the rest of his life if he can.

- Because of his unique heritage Natsume has the ability to help purify Yokai/Ayakashi and help them move on (in the psychopomp way or just therapy way) even when those difficulties are caused by infection by the Starscourge. He’s unaware that he’s purifying the disease when he does this, thinking those cases are just more dramatic versions of what he deals with every day.

- Examples of the above are Shigure (the luck god trapped in the old school), Rokka (leader of the Masked Yokai), and Sui (the broken guardian and companion Gen was trying to save). The Mirror Yokai’s ill friend also has the Starscourge which is why he disappeared on her, not wanting her to get hurt when his emotions were bad.

- Natsume still lives in the Fujiwara’s house, and is technically employed by Tanuma’s father. He travels the area making sure the wards on the Havens are fully powered and has the rest of the time to devote to Ayakashi problems.

- Natsume feels like this should be a temporary thing rather than a lifelong job and that he’s taking advantage of Tanuma for employment, while Tanuma is worried they’re using Natsume for their safety the way others have tried to. But he’s happy and Tanuma is happy to be working with him so they reassure each other it’s ok.

Tanuma

- Due to slightly different setting details Tanuma decided to follow in his father's footsteps as a priest. He is currently his father's apprentice, but is mostly left to his own devices at their home temple while his father travels.

- The little used temple he and his father moved to in Old Lestallum is Titan's temple there. It was once the main one, but as Old Lestallum wanted in population and importance it was abandoned in favor of temples elsewhere, most especially the temple/tourist attraction at the Disk of Cauthess in modern day.

- Several temples to Bahamut have also sprung up in the area, much more regimented and grander than Titan's newer temples due to the active ancestor worship of Lucis being mixed in.

- While people in Old Lestallum kept the main temple building and living areas more or less clean, they didn't take much care of the grounds. Enough care to keep the wards up, but not much more (not that they were really aware of this, it was just muted respect and in case a new priest moved in).

- Since Tanuma and his father moved in the wards have strengthened. At the same time Natsume has been incidentally expanding and strengthening the weak wards around the town his grandmother had created by living there. This makes Old Lestallum a remarkably safe place compared to elsewhere in Lucis, and people have started attributing it to the temple's new care pleasing Titan. (Hense how the temple's income can support 3 workers now.)

- As caretaker to the temple, Tanuma has gained some strength from growing up there. He still has a weak constitution, which yokai/ayakashi can stress by being present, but his stamina/resistance is much better now.

Noctis

- Ever since he was little Noctis realized he could see things other people couldn't. In his case, unlike most others who can see yokai, the ones he saw were few and far between due to living in the Citadel, the center of Bahamut's influence. Pretty much the only one that interacted with him was Carbuncle, and they were a benevolent guardian spirit.

- After his injury, while in Tenebrae, he saw more “spirits”, but also learned Luna could sense them (but not see them) when she sensed Carbuncle with him. This lead him to believe the ability to see/sense spirits was tied to him and her being chosen ones.

- He tries not to worry his friends by any weirdness with creatures other than Carbuncle, but he doesn't try to hide that he can see them either, assuming it's understandable, so they just accept his little comments as well.

- After leaving Insomnia and entering Titan's influence he starts seeing a lot more, and less refined ones and is getting overwhelmed.

Lunafreya

- As one of the line of the Oracle Luna has the ability to sense people, such as knowing where they are in space in relar to her, and if they're sick or injured. This extends to yokai/ayakashi though she isn't able to see them unless they have the ability to make themselves visible to humans.

- Umbra and Pryna are yokai guardian dogs, what their divine abilities allowed them to assume a form visible to humans, which is how Lunafreya found them as puppies. They have since adopted her as their charge. Gentiana has accepted them as her guardians due to them being divine, she wouldn't have allowed any other yokai near her charge.

- Gentiana is also ayakashi and has the ability, from Shiva's power, to become visible to humans, though she can be more seletive of who can see her than most can.

Taki

- Taki grew up wanting to be able to contribute something to helping her friends that they couldn't just do without her. This lead her to joining the Hunters so she could keep them safe, and she has since become an expert marksman, (though she largely prefers the bigger guns hunters in the game use rather than pistols like Prompto).

- She generally sticks to Cauthess, because most of Natsume's travels are in the area, but she has become good enough at her job that she is asked to help further afield occasionally.

- She still remembers many things about yokai from her grandfather, and what she learned from growing up with Natsume, so she can sort of tell if ayakashi things are happening and ask for him to help. She still tries not to draw her circle until he (or Tanuma or Natori lately) tell her it's ok with the yokai.

Reiko

- A woman yokai speak of in fear and respect and humans talk about in disdain if at all, but nobody really knows anything about. She lived in Old Lestallum and in spite of bad experienced there saw the area as her home. This was enough to take protective barriers around the town, but weak ones.

- More concentrated barriers were created around places she camped/spent the night because of her deliberately attempting to create a safe place to sleep. These eventually became Havens once she realized she could do it deliberately.

- Unknown to her, or anyone else anymore, and independent of her ability to see yokai/strong spiritual power, she is descended from a bastard male child of the Oracle’s line. This altered her powers just enough to make her unlike any other human's.

- Towards the end of her life she met Regis and company out in the wilderness around Old Lestallum. A strange unapologetic woman who laughed at them and called them idiots before helping anyway. She gave Regis specifically some pointed advice before sending them on their way. (Not completely certain what it was yet but not sure if I need to know.) When Regis went back to look for her later in life people were confused why he cared about that strange woman and he could only find out she wasn't well liked and had since passed away.

Regis

- Regis has no ability to see or sense yokai, but he was best friends with Aulea, who could but kept it a secret. On his road trip to Accordo in his youth he bumped into Reiko, now an adult. She was unconcerned with who he was, and unthreatened by his retinue. She didn't want anything from him either, but gave him some pointed advice on the world being more than what he could see that stuck with him through his trip.

- When he returned home he realized Aulea could see things he could not, and managed to broach the subject with her. After convincing her to believe him, and that he believed her, this brought the closer, lessening a bit the stress being able to see yokai had put on her. He respected her wish for it not to be known, even to his friends, until after her death, when he explained a little to Clarus (and maybe Cor) in relation to Noctis.

Aulea

- Per Word of God she's Regis’ childhood friend.

- Born into a low ranking Noble house in Insomnia she was the first in generations to be able to see yokai. However it wasn't unknown to happen, and her family had been on the lookout for it since implications of collusion with any spirit other than Bahamut needed to be carefully repressed. She grew up learning her ability to see strange things was to be entirely ignored, trained in composure and people reading (to determine what other could see).

- She also grew up responsible for the family's guardian spirit, Carbuncle. They were the only yokai she was allowed to talk to and then only in private.

- As an adult this composure training made her known as someone impossible to startle, and she gave up trying to fake alarm at things other really did see because it was a good reputation to have. (Those close to her learned to read her microexpressions and she was comfortable enough with them to drop the full mask to her more normal reserved self. Deadpan is her favorite I joke.)

- Either way, as a child she stumbled on Regis out alone, and ignored him entirely because there wasn't anyone else around for her to realize he was human instead of a yokai. This intrigued him, and when they were next introduced (at a public event her family had been invited too) he insisted on talking with her.

- Regis spent a lot of time with her as a child, so he saw her eyes flicker to things that weren't there, picking up on it because of his own training to avoid threats to the royal heir. He noticed her aborted movements and how she would look over at him for context, but didn't realize what it all was. Instead he dismissed it as a child can as just how the other was.

- After meeting Reiko something she said made him think about what his friend acted like, and he eventually concluded he should just ask her. Tho she was startled, Aulea was able to avoid an overt reaction but also decided to just agree he was right, startling him and herself.

- Since them the two of them sorted out how to discreetly hint something was up and Aulea allowed Regis to ask about yokai she saw in private if she indicated no yokai were nearby to hear. This is how Regis learned about the dragon yokai that lived in the throne room but just watched, and about his family's new guardian spirit, Carbuncle.

- After Noctis’ birth Aulea was able to tell Regis he had the ability to see Yokai since he would play with Carbuncle. She passed away soon after but not before making a Carbuncle statue to help the guardian protect her family.

Nyx

- As a child in Galahd, Nyx grew up in the shadow of an old temple, still maintained out of respect for the protective spirit (no one said deity out of superstition the Astrals might get offended) that lived there and their followers. Unlike most, tho, Nyx had a little sister who swore she could see them.

- Nyx still isn't sure if he believes Selena when she told him about the Coeurl guarding the temple, and he regrets that she died knowing he wasn't sure if he could believe her. He doesn't realize him trying to believe her and standing up to the people who insulted her “stories” was more than enough for her. He even walked with her the second time, when they were very young and she was scared of the wild cats everywhere but wanted to pay her respects at the temple.

- Selena befriended one of the guardians at the temple, and he lead some of the others down to try and help (without permission) when Nifelheim attacked. The temple was destroyed in the attack and the guardian was unable to save Selena. Unlike the rest who stayed to try and find those who flead the temple's destruction, this guardian attached themself to Nyx out of regret, and has been protecting him since. This is at least part of his ridiculous luck.

Libertus

- Libertus doesn't believe in spirits or guardians, because wouldn't they have protected Galahd if they existed? He respects Nyx's wish to respect Selena's superstitions but privately thinks he needs to let go of the little rituals to move past her death.

- On the other hand, he took in Crowe when they first met because she reminded him of Selena (tho he keeps looking out for her because of who she is now), so he's not coping with her loss as well as he thinks he is either.

Crowe

- When she mentions she was driven out of her hometown, Crowe lets other people assume it was by the empire. She doesn't mention that fearful villagers drove out what they thought was a cursed orphan before they could be cursed in turn. She's still seen the evil of the empire and wants to stop them, but she didn't have the personal stake people assume she has until she heard what happened to her new family.

- In her travels before being picked up by other refugees headed to Lucis, Crowe ended up giving in and yelling at a yokai to leave her alone. A crow yokai, Yatagarasu, heard her and their flock took pity on her, driving the yokai away. Yatagarasu took it on themself to help Crowe navigate the world of yokai, since they had gotten involved already. They and a few of the crows from their recent flock accompanied her in her travels, becoming her signature talent and inspiring many people to point out her name.

- Crowe is able to blame most of her jumpiness on the crows, because they get between her and yokai all the time, and hasn't told anyone she can see yokai. She doesn't want to get driven away again.

Pelna

- Pelna is from one of the smaller islands in Accordo which was mostly evacuated during Regis’ attempt to oppose the empire there. He spent most of his young life as a poor refugee along the Lucian coast, eventually moving to Insomnia when he proved compatible for Kingsglaive.

- Family superstitions that he grew up with require an offering of thanks in return for actions above and beyond the expected response to a situation. The superstition started as something similar to a temple offering you give to the helpful stranger to make sure if they're a spirit it knows you acknowledge its help so it doesn't throw a fit. Also decent advice for dealing with Exorcists. But the specific reasons have been lost to tradition. Now it's just the difficult to explain idea that if someone goes above and beyond for you, you owe them a well thought out thank you gesture, so they won't think you put less effort into coming up with the gesture than they did helping you out.

- If someone is close enough to be considered family it's mostly moot tho, just give them the consideration and care family is due, and that will repay their care for you.

Matoba

- The Matoba clan is a wealthy family in Accordo which also happens to be secretly Exorcists. They do own an old house in Duscae but it hasn't been used for more than a staging ground in generations.

- When Regis came to Altissia to oppose the empire the Matoba family took interest. Hunting yokai and yokai turned demons in secret was tiring and difficult. If they could get involved with Lucis they could have an excuse to be at many more locations, and armed. So the family inserted several of their members into the resistance, and once they fled to Lucis afterwards some of them were able to enter the newly formed Kingsglaive.

- Over the years multiple Matoba family members were able to infiltrate the Kingsglaive, including Matoba himself. They have no loyalty to Lucis, but are definitely anti-empire.

Natori

- An actor who grew up in Old Lestallum, Natori is really an exorcist whose cover job was surprisingly successful. Probably mostly famous in Insomnia unless Nifelheim and Insomnia share movies.

- He moved out when he was of age, fleeing his family mostly, but came back to deal with an exorcist request in his old neighborhood. Since meeting Natsume he has been spending more time in the area.

- I think he lived in Accordo and has recently bought a place in Lestallum instead maybe?

- Was in Altissia when the signing ceremony happened, probably waiting to meet with his agent or at a shoot. He's been trying to get news of what happened since then, worried for Natsume and co in Old Lestallum more than the city tho. He's most worried Natsume somehow got involved because he does that a lot.

Plot Summary

Crowe's Path

- I know the least about this path right now, but it insists on being a separate one from the other two, so I'm going to try to honor that.

- This path starts first, ish, with Crowe's mission from the Kingsglaive movie. For those not in the know, spoilers, this is a mission assigned by Regis to rescue Luna from house arrest in Tenebrae and get her safely to Noctis in Altissia. Only she's attacked and killed on the way.

- In this fic she is on her bike with the black van coming around the corner at her when the crows start going nuts, but not because of the van. Nope, there's a rogue behemoth that just came out from behind the nearby stone structure and has seen her. It charges her, body checking the van as it attacks her. She loses her hand and watch to its teeth and is thrown from her bike by the force of it. The bike is pretty totaled and she's struggling to get away when she blacks out. The glaives in the van open fire drawing it's attention, and are too busy fleeing the behemoth to keep track of her.

- Dave (the hunter from FFXV) was nearby tracking the behemoth for Hunter tags, and his dog drags Crowe to safety for him. He gets her into the van with a tourniquet and rushes her to medical attention. Once she's safe to be moved she's transferred to Meldacio HQ for the monster attack specialists there.

- Because of her mission, when Crowe wakes up she doesn't ask to send a message to the capital of what happened. She tries sending Yatagarasu back but they aren't able to talk to anyone but Nyx's guardian and just presence alone isn't able to get the message across. Someone will know when she doesn't make a checkpoint but not soon enough.

- Note here: I'm making her leaving the city earlier, to give her more than 2 days to pull off an infiltration rescue, especially when the empire probably had Luna traveling for at least one of those days.

- With the help of a post surgery potion Crowe's wound and bad bruises heal up enough to move around in a little under a week. But she still has to do physical therapy and learn to move around with only one hand (The amputation to clean up the injury is under the elbow but she did lose the hand and at least half her lower arm). So she can't head back to report in then either, much to her annoyance.

- To keep her cover she had a physically present gun for protection, as anyone traveling beyond the wall would have had some sort of physical weapon the lack of one would be strange. Only now most of her fighting ability with it is diminished due to needing to somehow use it with only one hand. Dave asks Taki to stick around for a few days and see if she can work with Crowe on adapting her style to one-handed. Taki agrees and tho Crowe is generally untrusting and frustrated she is thankful for the assistance.

- Once she can fire and reload the gun, if not all that well in the latter case, Crowe insists on heading back to Insomnia even though she's not done with her recovery or used to the loss of her hand yet. Taki is resistant to clear her, but really the say is Crowe's. So instead she offers herself as a driver, and Crowe a place in her truck on the way there. Crowe grudgingly agrees, since she can't be sure she'll be able to drive herself back even if she could get her hands on a vehicle.

- The make it almost all the way back before Dave calls them to pull I et and turn on the radio. Insomnia has fallen, and the empire has it blocked off do they can't even get inside. Crowe is determined to try anyway, her family is in there, but Taki refuses to let her and Yatagarasu promises to scout and report back if she waits here. So she caves and the duo stop at the local hunter station to rest and wait for news.

- Yatagarasu returns with a report. Not sure exactly what they found or didn't. Crowe is unable to either locate or join Luna's group, and isn't aware any of the royals survived.

- Somewhere around here Taki realises Crowe can see yokai because she's doing similar things to Natsume. She tells Crowe a this, and about the circle she can draw to make yokai visible and her experiences with Natsume. Crowe is skeptical and alarmed but Taki refuses when she offers to just have the other drop her off somewhere and go about her business.

- Not sure what Crowe's plan is at the time or ends up being (other than learning to use firearms and other weapons one handed)? I know most of the flexibility in solving the main plot comes from her trip, since she's a completely new element to the story.

- Since I was unoriginal and went looking for crow yokai, then ended up with Yatagarasu instead of Tengu, Crowe's arc probably has something sun related to do, not sure what. Is it Solhiem related or is that too much of a deus ex machina?

- No matter the plot they have the support of Dave. If they need a boat to get to Altissia/the other continent he's probably the one who finds them one

Luna's Path

- Luna's plot starts with Kingsglaive. She's in Lucis as a pawn of the empire and the Kingsglaive is sent to rescue her. Pelna is able to locate her on the ship as in the movie, and gets her out just in time to be snatched by an Ultros demon. Iltros drags him away around the corner as Nyx gets to Luna, and he's forced to leave Pelna to get Luna to safety. (I have to assume he's struggling with this somewhat, because it's so against his established character to never mention it again.)

- Ultros is a yokai based demon, so when Matoba catches sight of it he's able to kill it with one of his exorcist arrows in one shot. When he comes over and finds out it's Peln who was injured he decides to use Pelna as assurance against them pro-king factor, proof that he is not on the empire's side in the coup attempt. In the interest of this he protects the inured Pelna from the other Glaives, helps him survive the airship exploding and crashing, then helps him escape the city when it would really have been a better idea to leave him behind. Even when their powers fail he steals them a car and gets them to the exit, where Pelna is able to reunite with the others, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

- Back with Nyx and Luna, the Glaive who was stabbed in the back still manages to explode most of the ship, and Nyx and Luna manage to escape onto another before Luna jumps on to the Citadel and Nyx goes after her. They intervene in the battle with Glauca and escape with the King and Clarus when the Mist Dragon (and Nyx until the last minute) keep Glauca busy.

- Regis still gives Luna the ring for safekeeping and puts up a barrier to force them to go on without him and Clarus.

- Before he dies Glauca is able to get Nyx's call for backup and direct him to the trap with Luche. He also gets the call from Libertus on the revolutionaries’ line, and incidentally reveals himself through his wording. This is around the time that the Glaives’ power from the king cuts out, signifying his death. Libertus arrives at the location given to find it's a trap for Nyx and Luna, and is able to apologize to Nyx, and reveal Glauca is Drautos. The three of them get in Libertus’ car and escape through the battles raging in the city.

- At the outskirts of the city they stop to find a change of clothes (less Kingsglaive) and a way to escape the city. This is when they regroup with Pelna and Matoba joins the team.

- After escaping Luna insists she needs to fulfill her calling rather than heading to Altissia immediately. Pelna points out the empire is probably blocading the sea as well and they need a place to lie low and plan. Matoba recommends a compromise, and suggests they seek sanctuary at the temple of Titan in Old Lestallum. It's not where the empire would expect her to go due to it being neglected in favor of the Disk of Cauthess these days, and he can vouch for the priest taking them in secret. Pelna backs him up, saying it's a reasonable idea, and with no other options this becomes the plan.

- Matoba wanted to be able to try to bug Natsume again, and also knew Natsume and Tanuma would take them in and wouldn't betray them, so a win for him either way. (Pelna had been having trouble reading him and eventually asked what he would take as a thank you gesture, which surprised Matoba. He was disappointed to find that Pelna was traditional instead of from an exorcist family tho, and informed him that he wanted to head to Old Lestallum to seek sanctuary with a friend and asking Pelna to back him up if they ask where to go.)

- Once they get to the temple and Tanuma agrees to hide them from the empire there the party meets Natsume. They don't get to talk much but he is aware Luna is the Oracle and was there to make a covenant with Titan. He also helped the others get things from town that they needed. (Luna calls Nyanko-sensei cute which he approves of.)

- Matoba tries to get Natsume to agree to join his clan for protection, but is turned down, and Pelna interrupts, feeling guilty about helping get Natsume into this position. Matoba is entertained by this rather than upset tho.

- Once Titan awakens Luna heads to the Disk with her guards to talk with him. Then she announces she needs to get to Angelgard to awaken Ramuh. This is a bit more difficult but eventually they are able to haggle a trip over out of a fisherman willing to do a favor for the Oracle. They hide below deck until arrival, when Luna gets out and awakens Ramuh. On their way back they're flagged down by a larger vessel with Nanase on board (Matoba's clanswomsn with the spectacles) asking for him. She got is message and is here to take them to Altissia. Since they need to go anyway they accept his offer to accompany him, even if it is suspicious.

- It turns out Matoba is part of a major Altissian family, and they're able to enter the city unnoticed at his private dock. However Luna needs access to the Altar of the Tidemother, which requires her to negotiate with the government, essentially turning herself in to them. Matoba leaves the party but the other three all insist on accompanying her to be her guards even while they're on house arrest pending the First Secretary's decision.

- Once Noctis arrives and negotiates successfully with the First Secretary she comes to lay out her terms to Luna. She is to send her guards to help in the evacuation of the citizens, same as Noctis, and in exchange they will be allowed access to the Altar. However, Ravus is threatening war if she is not released into his care, so Luna needs to convince him to let her do it herself. He is asking for a private audience first, to keep her safe from Ardyn, and Claustra intends to turn Luna over to prevent this if she can't convince him. Luna agrees.

- The Glaive refuse to leave Luna alone with the enemy commander, so Ravus and Luna have their talk but now with an audience. They argue and Ravus threatens but eventually he says something that gets Nyx to interject. They argue about trusting the magictech troopers Ravus has to ensure her safety if the Chancellor countermands his orders, and about losing little sisters to the empire. Luna takes back the conversation at this point and is somehow able to convince Ravus to let her go through with the covenant? He places the burden of her safety on Nyx before storming out, and when Luna tries to protest she promised Claustra their help in evacuation Libertus says the Secretary is just going to have to deal, she can spare their best to guard their Oracle.

- Lunafreya still gives a speech, but it might be a radio address instead of in person? And it's a better speech.

- Luna and Nyx are on the altar when Leviathan responds to the summoning, and Nyx is later able to prevent Luna from getting stabbed by Ardyn long enough for her to summon Knights of the Round power-up for Noctis of it's still needed, and not from hp this time.

- Natsume arrives on Madara's back in the middle of the fight between Astrals and is able to help Carbuncle heal Luna after she nearly kills herself healing Noctis. All of this adds up to Luna surviving and being alive when Ravis and Ignis arrive.

- Ardyn really wants to know how Natsume can fly.

- Elsewhere Matoba petitions Leviathan for power to fight the demon hunting him. She is impressed enough by how strong he is fighting that fate to not kill him immediately and says she might even consider it before disappearing.

- After a group effort manages to drive away Ardyn again Luna and Noctis’ groups combine into one, and end up staying at Matoba's Manor until they're well enough to be on their way.

- Not married to this flow of the fight scene, so there are other ideas floating around about Misuzu or Sasafune from Natsume showing up… Much thinking to do.

Noctis's Path

- This plot starts 99% the same, only Carbuncle is a companion character who texts Noct's phone to talk in texts that people who can't see yokai can't see. The others sort of realize he's Noct's guardian but not that he's physically present.

- Until Titan's covenant is complete it also goes almost exactly the same, maybe with a bit of dialogue about about seeing more yokai as they get to Duscae or some conversations with Carbuncle from time to time.

- Unknown to Noctis and co, Titan vanished in the crater to retreat to his Temple to recover (he knew the basic size of the temple and shrunk to a taller than human but still small form to not crush it). Natsume panics at the bleeding yokai (since Titan chose to hide himself while recovering) and Tanuma and him bandage all his injuries and tuck him into a bed in the temple, only later finding out he's Titan himself.

- Not sure if they realize who he is only after Noctis shows up (because he's unconscious until then) or if he wakes up earlier than that. Nyanko-sensei can speak astral tho, so that should help (since we don't have Luna or Ardyn to translate).

- I still have no idea where the Meteor ended up??

- In the trial with Ramuh the revelations aren't just scenes from the past to teach the audience context. They're actually something helpful to Noctis himself. I have no idea what yet.

- Noctis and co retrieve the regalia, but ping into Ravus (and Ardyn), then head back to Lestallum to find Jared dead. Iris leaves the city with them to get her to safety, but the guys decide to stop at Old Lestallum and head to the nearby Imperial base to get vengeance for Jared.

- Somehow this ends up with them deciding to visit the temple of Titan before moving on. At the Temple Noctis sees Titan injured and is startled to realize the gods he's been calling on are people too. Should be obvious in hindsight but it's hard to wrap your head around. He also meets Natsume, who startles him by being able to see Carbuncle too and realizing Noct can see Carbuncle as well.

- This leads to Noct having to adapt to the revelation that seeing these creatures isn't a chosen one exclusive thing. Natsume is also struggling with meeting a child as clueless about yokai as he was as a kid and being able to help with that but unsure if he can handle it. With some encouragement from his friends he decides to go for it and he and Noctis have awkward conversation together.

- This somehow (how ??? For future creativity to figure out) ends up with Noctis and co coming back to visit on their way up to the Vesperpool. Natsume is glad to see them but on his way out, explaining he's headed to Meldacio HQ to look into a request from there and check on the nearby Havens. Noct offers for him to come with them, since they're headed that way themselves, and Natsume is startled but appreciates it. (Noctis preens a little at being able to help his new friend.)

- Because of this new unknown being there, Gladio hesitates for a bit to leave Noct instead of protecting him, but his need to prove himself better than both Ravus and his father wins out and he leaves the party here, meeting Cor at the Crow's Nest instead.

- Natsume worries his presence drove Gladio away, but tells himself it's a silly thought.

- Natsume separates from them at Hunter HQ and they go into the dungeon with Aranea. Staggering out with their prize they bump into him staying in the caravan at HQ. He offers to share since they look exhausted and they're tired enough to agree. The trio bond with Natsume a little independently, and the next morning Noct asks if he'd like a ride back. Natsume admits his job ran longer than he was expecting so he still needs to check out the havens before he can head back. The guys surprise him by suggesting they accompany him then. They see him safely to the Vesperpool and Myrlwood havens and Noct even gets to do some fishing.

- After dropping Natsume off back in Old Lestallum they head to the cape, only to be sent to Lestallum to refine the mythril. (Gladio rejoins party like main game but maybe Noct recognized his voice at least?)

- Meanwhile Natsume is worried about the party and startled by the impulse to go after them. (Probably because he's realized who they are and that they're going to leave to get put in danger again.). Nyanko-sensei tells him something along the lines of if he wants to he should just do it, and Natsume decides he’ll at least offer to help however he can. He heads to Caem to try and find them, is startled by the dragon, has to stop a fight with Madara and the dragon, and is almost treated as a threat to the people there before Iris speaks up for him. Then he gets to hear the first person who remembers his grandmother fondly when Regis mistook him for her for a second.

- Noct and co return to find Natsume waiting for them, wanting to help. They're flattered but not sure they want to put him through that, but he insists he wants to help the people important to him instead of waiting and wondering if he could have helped. (Something along those lines.). In the end they're convinced to bring him because Noct could use some help figuring out the yokai thing and no one else they know can help with that. Plus everyone but Gladio thinks he's a good guy from traveling together a bit. (Mild personal conflict between him and Gladio as a recurring plot point.). And of course Nyanko-sensei is going too.

- (Back in Old Lestallum Tanuma ends up telling the Dogs’ Circle that Natsume went on a trip, which ends up being spread around to everyone it might concern as gossip pretty quickly.)

- Natsume heads with the party to Altissia, where Natsume bumps into Natori, who is oberjoued that he survived the Imperial Invasion alright and horrified to realize he's gotten dragged into things again (tho he's ok at hiding this). The party is suspicious of him, but Natsume is clearly happy to see him so they decide he's trustworthy. Natori offers himself as tour guide for their first time in Altissia and they accept.

- Then they bump into Matoba on the street. The party are unimpressed with yet another Ardyn type character, and neither Natori's or Natsume's body language reassures them. Matoba offers for them to stay at his Manor while in town, since he's a part of a powerful family they would have greater protection and more leeway in Altissian politics than staying at the hotel. They agree to think about it and get his business card before he leaves them to it.

- Natori is able to bring them to Maagho where Weskham is able to give them information on the people they've bumped into. (He's interested in the fact that Natsume, someone he knows nothing about, is somehow connected to one of Altissia's oldest families and a famous actor known as a bit of a loner.) He advises them to take up Matoba's offer, since he can provide protection, but they're still hesitant about what he might ask Natsume for in exchange.

- Natori is willing to out them all up in the Leville, but Natsume wants them to accept Matoba's offer, so he insists on going with them instead. Matoba's perfectly happy to have him staying at his house too.

- The party is startled to learn Matoba knows where Luna is, since she stayed with him when they all got to Altissia. Information that she had 3 Kingsglaive members with her is appreciated as well, tho his own background as former Kingsglaive doesn't help their suspicion. Matoba is, of course, unsympathetic.

- Natsume is among the currently undecided factors that help keep Luna alive. I have at least one possible scene of Natsume bring carried by Madara through the Titan vs Imperial Army battle, then helping Carbuncle heal Luna while Nyx, Ravus, and Ignis face down Ardyn. So might use that or it might change.

- After the battle the combined parties bump into Matoba, who offers to let them stay at his family home again, they accept because once again he's a non political option and theoretically a bit safer.

- I have no idea of they manage to convince Ravis to join the party here, but that is a possibility.

- And… this is where I know very little about how things are going to go.

- The party is still interested in getting the Crystal and probably all insist on going.

- If Gladio has anything similar to his macho episode on the train it needs to be better written so he's not just being an asshole and is going to have several people vocally angry with him. Not sure if Ignis blinds himself tho.

- If Prompto gets knocked off the train Pryna goes after him. No idea if other helpful yokai are involved yet and if so how he'd tell.

- Also, does Ardyn have illusion powers or not? If so I need him to use them earlier and have limits/specifics. If not I need to rewite those scenes.

- Noctis meets a Phoenix yokai in Tenebrae. No idea if he's important later or just a handy visual metaphor.

- Not even sure if Noctis gets sucked into the Crystal, but I think he probably has to be?

- Somehow at this point, Noctis or no, the main problem is the Starscourge, and between Prompto and Noctis we should have enough notes to make a guess as to what it is, a disease instead of an unknown. So we do the Natsume thing and everyone starts working together to find a way to solve this without needing the Prophecy because that requires Noct to die (which we now know how…? Luna maybe? Does she even know?). By the time Noct returns (if we lost him) we have a solution.

- No I don't know what that solution is yet. My current best guess is a magically quest created Panacea. Are we going to throw it at Ardyn? Is it a spell like Holy in 7?

- Somewhere in here Noct does fight Ifrit. He's learned that Astrals are people too and wants know why Ifrit is so angry. The Astral is able to describe what happened in Solheim (need to figure out what I want this to be for this fic) and afterwards, and is able to let go of anger at humanity. He was mostly holding onto it because he felt betrayed by his fellow Astrals. The fact that Lestallum managed to use the power he left to make hope is helpful. So he contracts with Noctis after Noctis cures him of the Scourge (with help).

- Ifrit's purification removed his empathetic link with Ardyn. Ardyn loses most of his rage. Not uis feelings of betrayal, just the burning rage he had absorbed from Ifrit. Usually he absorbs the fill echo of the killed person but Ifrit was alive still, so purifying him took the emotions away again. This may or may not be important in curing the Starscourge…?

- Details for the future as I get there I suppose? But really, how and when does Crowe get involved???

Side Path: Regis

- This one is a plot point I've had for later reveal, but basically essential to Nyx's survival, so I guess I'm ruining the surprise now.

- I mentioned in Aulea's entry that there was a dragon yokai in the throne room. She's based on the blue guardian dragon from Natsume more or less, but much larger, and her abilities are inspired by (liberal interpretation of) the Mist Dragon. She arrived in Lucis somewhere in the middle of the 2000 years it has existed, and settled in the throne room to watch. She doesn't move around the Citadel, and mostly treats it like an interesting that show she enjoys watching and piecing together.

- This got more complicated when Aulea married into the royal family and told Regis she was there. The show started to address her own presence as a watcher, if only two of the characters. Made it slightly more personal, especially when Regis started complaining about things under his breath while sitting on the throne and idlu asking her opinion tho he know she couldn't respond.

- When Aulea died outside of the throne room, Regis came privately to tell her before the royal announcement of her death, crying and unable to share with anyone else the secrets Aulea held but let him see. The dragon responded by summoning a light mist in the throne room in mourning, which made everything look very ethereal for weeks. People talked about an I'll omen, while other conjectured the crystal was mourning. Regis appreciated it tho, and took it as a sign she cared, so he extended a formal invitation to the funeral. And for the first time in centuries the dragon left the throne room to attend, summoning a similar mist over the event.

- Regis still spoke to her now, and she sometimes even showed she was listening by summoning a wash of mist that swept through the room. Mostly she still just watched tho, ignoring the little prince who could see her too. Regis didn't invite her anywhere else, but did ask her to look after the kingdom while he rushed to Tenebrae with his son. Then they both witnessed Nifelheim's demands for the peace, and Regis spoke long into the air about his misgivings. The dragon settled in to watch what unfolded, but feeling angrier than she had in situations like this before.

- On the day of the signing, whole lingering in the throne room after speaking with Nyx, Regis told the dragon (uncaring of Clarus’ presence) that they were going to have the signing in a different room, because the Emperor would be slighted if only Regis has a throne, so she's welcome to come. And so she goes.

- She's angry when the battle starts, how dare the empire try to end her watch? Mist swirls around ankles, and then Glauca appears. And she's not about to let the rule of Lucis end in such a way.

- She uses the power she's never felt a need to before, summoning a physically present form out of the mist. She snatches Clarus out of the air as he's thrown, the sword thrown after him passing harmlessly through her Misty neck. And then the Mist Dragon engages Glauca alongside Clarus and Regis.

- When Nyx and Luna arrive she fights alongside the Glaive, buying time for everyone to escape down the elevator, then disappears to arrive after them. Regis puts up the shield and she stays with him and Clarus as Nux and Luna escape.

- Glauca is not used to the opponent having as cheap an ability as he does to reduce damage, and this battle is much more even. At the end he disengages and escapes back up the elevator shaft, where he has time to receive Nyx and Libertus’ calls before the dragon finds him. She able to deliver a final blow to his already severely injured self and he dies early.

- She returns to Regis and Clarus who are trying to figure out what to do now. Regis insists on heading back to the throne room to summon the Old Wall, but Clarus isn't going to let him warp up the elevator alone. The dragon ends up taking them.

- ? Not sure what the cost of summoning them is this time, but there has to be one. It's just not deadly.

- Afterwards Clarus insists Regis disappear, cut off the surviving Glaives so it looks like he died and focus on getting out of the city alive. Regis isn't happy with that idea, because it would require him not to help anyone they came across as they left. And Clarus doesn't like their odds of surviving even without a fight. They kind of decide their only real option is to make a last stand here.

- Clarus asks if the dragon could take the king to safety while he made a last stand, which Regis objects to. The dragon says she could carry both if them to safety, but why should she? Regis asks her to, please, because he doesn't want Clarus to die for him. She agrees on the condition that he do as Clarus says and fake his death, cut off anyone who could claim otherwise beyond Clarus himself, and stay where the two of them decide he is safe. Regis isn't happy but agrees.

- Clarus suggests they head to the hideout in Cape Caem, and agrees to give the dragon directions. So she grabs them both and flies them away in the night, using the battles and darkness as cover for them to escape unseen. Once at Cape Caem Regis and Claris switch to everyday clothes and live in the ship bay. (If she can assume human form like Nyanko-sensei the dragon is probably the one to buy food, if not Clarus is.) They aren't discovered alive until Iris and co. come to Cape Caem, and it's Cid who discovers them (and nearly gets attacked by Clarus).

- When Noctis arrives in Cape Caem there's an unseasonable mist, and above the cape is the dragon from the throne room back home. She sees him and goes to circle the top of the lighthouse, which is enough for him to sprint over and warp up to the ladder rather than wait for the elevator or anyone yelling after him. Up too he finds Clarus and his dad and they have a reunion.

- Regis’ friends refuse to let him go with Noctis to Altissia. Not willing to let him reveal himself just yet. So Weskham doesn't know he's alive, and Noctis isn't supposed to tell him. Not sure how that will end up.

- And not sure how Regis changes the plot yet either. But he's there at least?

#natsume yuujinchou #natsume's book of friends #FFXV #my fanfiction #fanfiction idea #this is apparently 17 pgs long #no wonder it took so long

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maximumsnow · 5 years

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Back from the dead

So we had an incident in D&D that inspired me to write this oneshot. My character got killed, and we were able to bring him back quickly. The problem is his soul is in a precarious position, and he did not like the answer he got. Solali and Hunter are not mine, hence why I was so vague on the stuff they did.

When Terjon saw the adventurers come into the church, there was someone missing. He could always pick the shorter man out of the line-up even when Vitaly was doing his best to stay unnoticeable. It had been weeks since he had last seen the motley crew, and their reports had been dire. He vaguely wondered if the rogue had finally shown his true colors and ran.

It was then that he noticed what Hunter’s bear companion was carrying.

Vitaly Boone’s body had been thrown on there and was tied down to prevent it from falling off.

The sight shook him somehow. The monk was bargaining with Y’day to cast a Raise Dead spell for them, since the only one in their group that could was the dead one. They had a scroll already, they just needed someone who could use it.

The debates were lost on Terjon’s ears as he couldn’t help but continue staring at the body on the bear’s back. He didn’t hear her response, but he did notice when she had Vitaly’s body placed on the ground so she could work her magic and bring his soul back to the Material Plane.

It went through flawlessly. Vitaly sat up suddenly and took deep breaths, and his wild eyes glanced around in confusion. He squinted as if the light burned his eyes, and the other members of the party gave him much needed space.

He looked scared.

What made Terjon feel even worse was that he looked betrayed.

Given their years long conflict, Terjon expected himself to be unsurprised. Given what he knew of Vitaly’s connections to Lolth, of course someone would be terrified if they went to her realms in the afterlife. Given that people often sold themselves for power without thought of consequences, of course Vitaly would look betrayed.

But that did not seem to mesh well with his previous inclinations about Vitaly’s character. A faithful follower of Lolth likely wouldn’t be this terrified. They knew what they were getting into.

After a few moments, it seemed like Vitaly was able to calm himself down in the sunlight, and after thanking Y’day and speaking with his companions, he quietly left the church of St. Cuthbert to go back home for the night. Terjon couldn’t help but watch him leave; it was clear Vitaly was still upset, but he clearly didn’t want to deal with his emotions in front of people.

Hunter and Solali gave their reports about the Temple of Elemental Evil, and how scouring it was going. When Y’day asked what had happened to Vitaly, Terjon listened in. Vitaly had simply opened a locked chest that they thought had information in it, and he dropped dead after unlocking it. There had been a Slay Living trap on it that none of them had known about. It was probably that Hunter would have been the only one to survive such a trap.

As the group dispersed to rest for the night and the Wizard prepared to Teleport them back to the town near the Temple, Y’day called Terjon up to speak with him on a few matters. He was clearly distracted, an anomaly for him, and she chided, “I know you’re probably upset I brought Vitaly back, but he has been integral to them surviving that temple.”

“That’s-That’s not what is bothering me,” he responded with a stumble over his words as he tuned back into the conversation.

“Oh, then what is?” She turned towards him with a questioning tilt.

“It’s just. He was afraid,” he finally admitted

“Some souls have the afterlife cling to them when brought back. Or their souls wandered darker paths through the planes.”

“I’ve never seen him afraid of anything, before.”

“You don’t know him that well. In fact, you’re practically enemies.”

“…” He didn’t have anything he could say to that. It was true.

“They’ll be gone tomorrow, so if you want to talk to him, you may want to do so soon. Just know he might not want to.”

Vitaly was a mess of emotions as he walked the familiar streets of Homlet back to his small house. Thanks to the Church of St. Cuthbert being right across the street from the Church of Pelor, he knew the path back home like the back of his hand. He couldn’t help but throw a painful glare at the church of Pelor as he passed by it; hurt etched onto his face.

The mark of Lolth had never faded. He never realized that meant his soul was still forfeit to her. He had thought that fully embracing Pelor would free him from her. A part of him wanted to charge into that church and yell at the cleric in charge and demand answers. There was a deeper ache in that he couldn’t ask the person he truly wanted answers from.

When Father Jude had saved him from himself, the man had been so convinced that worshipping another deity would loosen the holds Lolth had on him. Even though the mark never dissipated, his hair never stopped being wispy, his eyes still had cat pupils, and, once he got into magic, he could only ever summon spiders. The fact that that was proven wrong and the fact that the Father was no longer alive to ask WHY all boiled over and made Vitaly equal parts angry and despairing.

He waited until he was finally in his home before he let the tears flow. He had been in the Abyss. There wasn’t any indication that he had never wanted to be there. Lolth herself even deigned to mock him for his failure and left him to his fate. He had only been there for a day, but there had been no light to even hint that some force of Pelor would save him.

He punched a wall hard enough that he thought he heard a crack somewhere, but his hand wasn’t bleeding and only felt a little sore from the endeavor. He still wanted to break something and whether that was the wall or his hand didn’t matter. It was only because he heard someone knock on his door that he didn’t go for a round two immediately.

Thinking it was one of his companions, though which, he wasn’t sure, he took a few deep breaths and attempted to wipe his streaming eyes clear. They might know why he was so upset, but they weren’t the kind of people to help him with his turmoil. They were mostly work friends who worked together.

What he wasn’t expecting was Terjon.

The St. Cuthbert cleric and he had been on rocky terms for most of Vitaly’s stay in Homlet, but Vitaly had come to know him as a fairly decent person. He protected the citizens with a strong sense of justice and fervor, and Vitaly admitted that they did not meet in a way that would be flattering for Vitaly. Stealing from a church, even though he was in a really bad way, would not put him in most people’s good graces.

As much as Vitaly was willing to forgive Terjon’s sullen attitude with him most of the time, today was not a good day. Instead of the usual forced polite smile, he just kept a blank look on his face as he tiredly waited for Terjon to get on with whatever thing he felt the need to throw at him today.

So when Terjon instead fumbled his words and couldn’t look at him, Vitaly felt a twinge of curiosity. Raising a tired eyebrow as the normally resolute cleric awkwardly stood there, Vitaly couldn’t even fathom what was going on in his head.

Finally, he just asked, “Are you okay?”

Between all the high emotions Vitaly was still dealing with, he didn’t have the emotional strength to be more understanding of Terjon’s awkward attempt of being… comforting? He wasn’t sure, and at the moment, he didn’t care. “I just got back from the dead, what do you think?” He sarcastically asked.

Terjon flinched, but the familiar irritation was back on his face as he glared right back. Terjon sniped, “Considering you looked terrified when you came back, I’m going with not good.”

“Yup, and I’m not really in the mood to deal with you today, so if you don’t mind-“ Vitaly made to close the door, “-I’m going to bed.”

Terjon stuck his foot in the door before it could shut and said, “Look, I…”

“If you want to accuse me of robbing Y’day, can it wait until tomorrow? I’m-,” his voice choked and he interrupted himself, “Please go.”

The plea made Terjon pull back, and the door shut firmly. He felt at a complete loss. He had… questions, but Vitaly was clearly not in the right place to answer anything. It shook him to note just how deeply Vitaly was disturbed by whatever he saw in the afterlife.

He had thought Vitaly was a much more calculating and colder individual.

When Vitaly stumbled out of bed the next morning, he was still tired. The nightmares had mutated, and death plagued his sleep. He had woken up multiple times and had to check that he was still alive, which was difficult without one of his companions around to assure him of the simple fact. Even though the sun hadn’t risen yet, he decided to go ahead and get ready for their trip back to the temple.

Normally, if he was up this early, he would try and observe the sunrise, but with his anger at Pelor still simmering, he instead elected to reorganize his bags. The others had had to dump the contents to find his scrolls of Raise Dead that he guarded so viciously, and while he appreciated that they decided to use one on him instead of getting another rogue, he still couldn’t find anything in there.

The sun was still in the early stages of rising when he decided to go outside to breath the fresh air, and he nearly tripped over a small package that had been laid at the door.

He wasn’t sure who could have done it, but after the assassination attempts by the cult, he did multiple tests on it before opening. After all his answers turned out negative, it was almost anticlimactic that the contents were simply a few pieces of gold. The amount that his companions had said they paid to Raise him.

He wasn’t sure what to make of that. Maybe Y’day decided that she didn’t need the money? He simply pocketed the gold for now. He didn’t really need the gold, but he could give it back to whoever had paid the nominal fee.

#My writing #my ocs #Vitaly #Terjon #Death mention #Religion mention #It's dnd religions so it might not matter but just in case

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thegenteelblackhole · 5 years

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Fanfest Reactions and speculations

My personal thoughts on fanfest and what was revealed/not revealed and some speculation on what i think is going to happen in 5.0. Under a cut because I have thoughts and they might turn out to be spoilers so, you have been warned.

First of all... Viera and Hrothgar since those are the big talking points of the keynote. I’m personally not UPSET, OR ANGRY about the decisions to do two single gender races currently. Female Viera are iconic, and the community wanted more beast like races so in true XIV form they hearkened back to another game and gave us Ronso (whoops, Hrothgar).

I do think it was an odd decision though, to focus on two races at once where resources could have been devoted to giving us a fully realised race. But i also acknowledge there were probably things going on behind the scenes that we’ll just never know; maybe they weren't allowed to have male Viera show up for the first time in XIV, maybe it’s so they have hyped up content later down the line. IDK. The “LORE” scapegoat is lazy and they wanted a way to justify it that wasn’t “we just can’t with the tech”, but honestly I would rather they be honest from the outset that there are limitations and what that means for development. But I am glad that we’re getting SOMETHING and I have a fantasia saved to turn my main into a female Viera. I am a little disappointed that helmets can’t be used on them at launch, but I assume they will update this as development continues and it might ship with a patch. I just want my Bonewicca casting helmet tbh, and the Astro AF2 headgear. not much fussed about anything else since it mostly gets covered by hair anyways. Hrothgar, again I just don’t care enough? I, personally, like that willowy supermodel aesthetic that the Viera got goin’ on. Never played a beastly race in any other MMO so I’m not going to start now. It feel like they’re trying to listen to the community and what they want but it maybe didn’t fit their ideas and so we’re left with a kind of hamfisted attempt at a bestial race. Again, if they just said no it and were honest about it then fair play to them.

Now the really exciting things....

DANCER! I didn’t want another healer, and I still don’t see a niche for one so a ranged physical DPS is great. I love their look and the chakrams are so cool (bladed fans tho too pls? They can be thrown...I guess?). I never played XI but looking at designs, I’m so glad they moved away from that Spanish inspired look to a more Arabian (?) themed one (I’m thinking along the lines of belly dancers and what they wear). I hope women get some pants though, and if not that Thavnairian sets exist. I’m curious as to how they’re going to be unique compared to BRD and MCH since bard is already a great support with their songs. I haven’t really played much of MCH so I can’t comment. Also curious as to whether or not they’ll share BRD/MCH gear since that might influence future designs of gear. But I still have some older level 60-70 BRD gear so that’s totally fine by me. I’ll probably be a but behind MSQ and level DNC first so I can go through the MSQ with it.

MSQ! I couldn’t have predicted this if I’d have tried, I figured we would progress along the war storyline and it would be pretty predictable up until that finished. But HECK! We’re going to Novrandt and it looks super cool. I have a lot of questions about the place, and whether or not we’ll see RP characters from Novrandt popping up or maybe travel is only for the WoL. I’m glad what Arbert (I think) talked about during the 3.X series is being revisited in a major way and that their sacrifice wont be in vain. Super glad we’re going back to a bigger picture Hydaelyn Vs Zodiark plot. I’m debating character progression internally right now and that’s about that....? Minfillia being back isn't heartwarming, and her eyes are that pupilless texture that means she’s still Hydaelyn’s emissary or whatever she was. She’s fulfilling her promise to help the Warriors of Darkness I hope, and I hope that means that Hydaelyn does want BALANCE and not solely light. I think thought with us becoming WoD that it means we’re going to be put into contact with Zodiark, and it’ll be interesting seeing how the two deities compare. Y’shtola being called master Matoya is weird too, and I have a couple of theories on it. One, Y’shtola took the name to honour her late mentor since Matoya apparently never had children. Two, Y’shtola and Matoya somehow became one (Tola absorbed her power/essence/aether) and there’s a dual personality going on there. Which might also explain how she’s a THM/BLM now. One is more likely, but we’ll see.

FFXV Crossover Event Ehhh....I’m just disappointed honestly. I wanted Luna and Aranea’s hairstyles, maybe even Aranea’s costume as a glamour, weapon glamours etc. They just gave us the Regalia and a Costume/Hairstyle. It’s MEH. I know they’re on a time crunch now, so probably not the best time to be planning an event also but they might have waited for the anniversary of the game and then gave us the event with some more things? I can still hope for cash shop items but it’s a vain hope.

LIVE LETTER Dad of Light is pure and wholesome and I wont fault SE for shilling it hard to the Japanese audience, in Japan. The rest of the Live Letter was lacklustre and honestly I think it served as more justification to the gender locked races. They couldn’t really tell us more about the patch in a few days since everything they would tell us would just be pointless and in patch notes. They can’t reveal too much about the expac beacause of Mays Live Letter... It was just meh. But that’s okay.

OVERALL THOUGHTS I got what I wanted from this Fan Fest, but I know a lot of people didn’t for various reasons. Be kind to each other, and be kind to SE who are still giving us a great game at the end of the day. If it bothers you that much, then stop giving them your money. It’s really that simple.

#5.0 #Final Fantasy XIV #fan fest #I'm hyped overall

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ravenbell-exchange · 6 years

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Here come the prompts!

These are for all of us to use, so please feel free to peruse, reblog, explore, comment, and be generally delightful. Everyone will be receiving their assigned prompts later today, but remember that we are writing two stories each: one from the assigned prompts, and one from this list. You are free to pick anything apart from stuff you yourself prompted. All Dear Author letters that were published before now are linked below, but please do check the prompter’s blog just in case -- they might’ve posted a letter later on.

If you didn’t sign up for this challenge, but want to use any of the prompts below to write a fic -- go for it! As long as you make sure to credit where you got the prompt from, you are very welcome to play with us.

Now, without further ado:

Url: @raiindust

Dear Author letter: here

Prompt 1: ❝We won’t ever be holy, or galaxies or whatever else I’ve ever fucking written about. We are built upon too many ruins, but my god, some ruins are known as wonders of the world. And you’re mine.❞ Source: here Raven + Bellamy + at the edge of the world: setting off with a group on a post-apocalyptic road trip. Stumbling across a long abandoned city; deciding that it’s as good a place as any to begin anew.

Prompt 2: Raven + Bellamy + Grounder Alliance: Raven and Bell are chosen as emissaries of Skaikru to help develop relationships with the various Grounder clans, and spend the better part of (insert your preference of period of time here) moving and living between one, two or multiple clans.

Prompt 3: ❝You’re the girl I want to be slow dancing with at 2AM in my kitchen.❞ Source: here

Raven + Bellamy + things you said to me at 2AM: canon compliant, canon divergence, modern au. Raven and Bellamy have a lot of things to say, so why not say them to each other in the dead of night, when things are still.

Prompt 4: Raven + Bellamy + Modern AU.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Unnecessary angst, torture or heaping of awful things onto individual characters (so basically canon for my ray of sunshine Raven Reyes) is absolutely not a thing I want to see, hear and especially read. A light sprinkling of personal angst is absolutely fine, but anything more than a tablespoon and it hurts my soul. So character death is pretty much off the table as well.

Also: I tend to stay away from super heavy kinks, or anything that isn’t moderate smut then fade to black. Despite my issues with canon representations of these things, devaluing Octavia’s relationship to Bellamy, or Finn’s importance to Raven as a person are also things I don’t like to see. That being said, if your plot doesn’t call for it, also don’t feel the need to throw it in there for the sake of it.

Url: @finnicks

Dear Author letter: here

Prompt 1: i thought this time last year i'd be dead.

Prompt 2: you had so much to give, you thought I couldn’t see.

Prompt 3: here

Prompt 4: shy

Prompt 5: i just want to stay here with you

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Super heavy kinks. Smut for the sake of smut. Character bashing - it's a little unnecessary. Ship bashing. Would prefer it if it's pure Raven/Bellamy, and if any side ships are merely sides/mentions. No AUs where they're in the modern world; I prefer it if it's an AU on canon. First person or second person.

Also: I've seen all seasons of the show, so I'm okay with any requests that point out a specific season.

Url: @wells-jaha

Dear Author letter: here

Prompt 1: An intimacy

had grown between us

like a forest around a castle.

- Louise Glück, excerpt of The Sword in the Stone

(taken from here)

Prompt 2: (Art) Heist AU

What I kind of want (a few examples):

1) In which Raven and her gang have been part of a series of heists all over the continent and Bellamy is the private detective/ police detective (if you really want to) set out to stop their next possible heist. But maybe he's impressed, maybe a little into her? Who knows!

2) In which Raven and Bellamy are part of different rival heist groups both set on the same object, naturally that means that they will clash somehow.

These are of course only examples, you can do whatever you want. It doesn't even have to be an art heist. I'm however kind of set on Bellamy and Raven being on different sides for this, so that it (hopefully) turn into to nice frenemy making out stuff.

Prompt 3: And we fall through empty corridors

And we talk in useless metaphors

(Only cause we're lonley)

A Vague Prompt around the topic/theme Friends with Benefits with Ben Howard's Empty Corridors (Youtube Link Here) as inspiration. Can be canon compliant, doesn't have to be.

Prompt 4: Something about longing, about being in love, but never finding the right words, about circling each other for years and years, always missing the right time, always having the courage in the moment the other is in a relationship or not there. A horrible dance, Bellamy and Raven are caught in.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: daddy kink, gruesome death scenes, gore, a successful suicide

Also: my fandom blog is named wells-jaha, so guess which character I would like to see a) living b) as a friend/former partner of Bellamy or Raven?

i'm fine with Octavia being in the fanfiction, but either revise the whole character (make her like season 1) or deal critical with her actions.

I'm fine with a lot of stuff, but would prefer if the writer could tag: abuse, self harm, suicide, alcoholism (note: only use if a character has an alcohol problem, not if characters just drink alcohol)

Url: @kinselllas

Prompt 1: Raven's on a date waiting for Finn, and he takes so long to show up, Bellamy ends up sliding into his seat to take over so she doesn't feel stood up (could be taken in a few directions)

Prompt 2: Bellamy and Raven reunite at a wedding, slow dance, admit that maybe...deep down...there's always been something ;)

Prompt 3: Pre-series/Season 1 AU- Bellamy is the person Raven comes to the ground for.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: N/A

Url: @ravenbells

Dear Author Letter: here

Prompt 1: Modern AU with a proper millennial vibe. Think debt, lack of stability and shit jobs, but also strong political opinions, easy access to sex ed, social media. Let them negotiate boundaries, use sex toys, struggle with navigating both commitment and casual sex, change jobs and houses all the time. Obviously I’d like Bellamy and Raven to be front and center, but if you want to make them function within a group of family/friends (Octavia, Monty, Miller, Harper, Lincoln, whoever else you please), be my guest.

Prompt 2: The Ancient Rome AU I Deserve. I don’t really care how you place them. Republic? Early Empire? Late Empire? I am not the boss of you. Just let them be Romans.

Prompt 3: Canon-verse. Bellamy thinks of his body as a shield.

Prompt 4: Bellamy and Raven agree to have a casual, no-strings-attached relationship, except they both catch feelings embarrassingly quickly. You can make this canon or modern, I don’t really mind.

Prompt 5: Canon-verse. Anything exploring parenthood. It can be a pregnancy scare, or an actual baby, or maybe just a conversation about sex/contraception that turns into Bellamy and Raven discussing their options.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Overly sugary view on parenthood; major character death; erasing Raven's disability.

Also: I have only seen the first 2 seasons, please have mercy on me.

Url: @tentaclabia (shortitude on AO3)

Dear Author Letter: here

Prompt 1: (canon-ish) The one where they keep cuddling each other for no good reason, just casually in a snuggle pile talking about life and the future or the past, or just sleeping. Casual contact, casual offerings of comfort, and of course they mean so much more.

Prompt 2: (future!au or canon-deviation!au) There is a unanimous decision to explore more land, so it's Bellamy and Raven in a car, on a roadtrip, being at peace and exploring and feeding their curiosity and feeling free and happy. Also in love.

Prompt 3: (once-upon-a-canon) The one where they talk about the elephant in the room: that time they had sex. (And how they'd totally do it again.)

Prompt 4: (the trashiest prompt) Raven is convinced that Bellamy has feelings for Clarke and is determined not to let history repeat herself when it comes to love. Bellamy is just confused and wonders how much more can he do save for write 'RAVEN REYES PLEASE LOVE ME' on his forehead for her to notice just who he's really pining for.

Prompt 5: (canon reinterpretation) Season 5, except Raven and Bellamy have been together for 4 and a half years and there's nothing that can tear them apart. Alternatively, what season 5 would look like, if they were.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: death. angst over death of parental figure (please don't). trauma and exploitation of trauma. torture. unhappy endings.

Also: I haven't mentioned it, but it goes without saying that I will be glad for all and any smutty content :)

Url: veritykims (twitter)

Prompt 1: Thieves AU: Any AU where Bell and Raven are both thieves of some kind (con artists, burglars, hackers, pickpockets). Favorites include Robin-Hood type criminals (think Leverage) and rivals trying to steal the same thing/con the same person (think Imposters); but any take is cool. I would absolutely love to see this set aboard the Ark in the canon verse, but other settings are cool too.

Prompt 2: Android AU: Any AU where Bell and/or Raven is an android! Contemporary settings are cool, but so is futurism. I would really like to see this as a canon divergency too, given that ALIE sort of gives us the basis for self-aware AIs. Up to you!

Prompt 3: Reincarnation AU: Any AU where Bell and Raven keep meeting across lifetimes. I really like the variation where one of the two is immortal for some reason (vampire, robot, demon, deity, etc.) and the other is either a human or a mortal supernatural creature; so that’s a safe bet; but I’m sure to love any take on this.

Prompt 4: Pirates AU: Historical pirates! Anything will be cool, but I’m a big fan of Raven as either Captain or Quartermaster, and Bell as an ex-navy soldier who heavily resents the Empire.

Prompt 5: Other prompts (I can’t post a Dear Author so bear with me): Modern Holmes/Elementary AU. Professors at the same college AU. Queen Of The South AU. Any vigilante/superhero AU. Pride and Prejudice AU. Space pirates/space bounty hunters AU. Pacific Rim AU.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: No pregnancy or babies, but I’m cool with adopted children and teens. No AUs that erase Raven’s disability. No canon-compliant fic that portrays the Griffins, Octavia, Murphy or Finn in positive light (I would much rather they just don’t exist, at any rate). No abuse, no assault, no rape.

Also: I don’t mind canon compliant fic, but I haven’t watched in a couple seasons, so I only really know the characters and plots for s1, s2 and part of s3. I love Nathan, Wells, and Monty; as well as Lincoln, Jaha, Kane, Indra, Anya, Sinclair, Gina, Harper and Monroe; and I love seeing them integrated into stories. Big fan of Bell/Nathan and Bell/Wells as well as Bell/Wells/Raven and Gina/Raven/Bell, so if you wanna go for polya… And, JSYK, explicit stories are more than welcome!

Url: @growlereish

Dear Author Letter: here

Prompt 1: gina/bellamy/raven - gina and bellamy are dating. raven is pining for both of them, but unbeknownst to her they're both also in love with her! somehow they all work this out and get together.

Prompt 2: bellamy/raven - post-breakup, learning how to be friends again.

Prompt 3: bellamy/raven - virgin!bellamy enlists his best friend raven to experiment with this whole sex thing. casually. but then both of them catch feelings.

Prompt 4: bellamy/raven - marriage of convenience which they are both determined will stay platonic. of course, it does not.

Prompt 5: bellamy/raven - doing fun activities together and enjoying their life and being happy!! some sadness is also okay but i just want my kids to have a Good Day for once in their lives.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: kidfic, pregnancy, power imbalances

Also: pls warn for self-harm and coming out stories involving parents

Url: @icouldnotsee

Prompt 1: Bellamy and/or Raven in political office, whether this be in a monarchy or a democracy. Bonus if there's a coup (that they're the subject of or that they're behind). Also bonus if one or both weren't expecting to be in power, but they were runner-up to someone else and now are thrust into that position and must find their footing.

Prompt 2: Telepathy, where after getting sick with the disease that the Grounders sent to the 100 through Murphy, Bellamy develops the ability to hear thoughts but he can't hear Raven's. Of course, that's just the version of it that came to my mind, but anything with mind reading/telepathy is cool with me, canon or AU, any set up or situation.

Prompt 3: They meet in the Ark, either really young, after Bellamy becomes a guard, after Finn takes the fall for Raven's spacewalk, or after Bellamy's a janitor.

Prompt 4: Hurt/Comfort. I have no other specifications on this one, I just really love that trope.

Prompt 5: Angel/demon or angel/human or human/demon or angel/angel or demon/demon stuff! I love seeing that in stories and it'd be cool to see interactions with creatures beyond humanity.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: I'm rather not receive smut beyond it being implied. Also, I really would not like to see any infidelity or character bashing in the fic I receive.

Also: No nsfw content.

10.

Url: @laufire

Dear Author Letter: here

Prompt 1: Braven + Mythology AU. Specially if they’re still humans who get mixed up in some Gods Drama™

Prompt 2: Raven + her love for science. Preferably canon-verse. Can be gen or shippy.

Prompt 3: Braven Historical AU of your choosing.

Prompt 4: Post-s4 canon divergence: all the sex in space. Zero-G sex, kinky sex, healing emotional sex. Just. Sex.

Prompt 5: Bellamy/Raven/Shaw – Canon Divergent AU: Different First Meeting (as in, Shaw meets Braven/the Space7 in a different way).

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Clarke written in any positive way. I don’t want them cheating on other people (poly ships are more than fine). Any rating works for me. No watersports, humiliation. I’m not really into Modern AUs or Soulmate AUs. And PLEASE don't erase Raven's disability.

11.

Url: @maybenowforeverlate

Prompt 1: Bellamy admiring Raven In Space. Raven on earth was already incredible, and that was her adapting to a new environment. but the environment she's from? in her fucking element??? i'm into it and so is Bellamy. competence. kink.

Prompt 2: "She could not remember, now, ever, feeling happy or sad. Only hungry. Only empty, and greedy, and insatiable. "

(Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless)

Raven centric, canon or AU.

Prompt 3: Raven being subtle about taking care of Bellamy. prefer a loose canon-verse, but can be modern AU or any type of AU.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: I do not know what's happening in the most recent season, and I would prefer any canon-verse/divergence to be from before Bellamy and co get back to Earth w/Raven in space.

12.

Url: @becketted

Prompt 1: The 100 are sent down to the ground but in batches of people, rather than all at the same time, Bellamy is among the first to go to earth, Raven among the last ones. When she arrives Bellamy is the one who has to show her the ropes on how earth and the Grounders work, he geeks out about both the plants/animals stuff and the bits of earth history he's discovered (so different from what they teach in the Ark!), while Raven uses her skills to help everybody face the structural challenges of living on the ground, Bellamy admires a lot, they fall in love, etc.

Prompt 2: 1960s AU where Raven is a mechanic and the Space Race inspires her to become an astronaut, her trials to become one, etc. Bellamy can be a geek working at NASA (national security staff?), a journalist covering Raven's amazing career, her supporting boyfriend, I don't mind, I just want Raven as a 1960s/70s astronaut. It doesn't have to be a super detailed AU, just the flavor of the era would do.

Prompt 3: Arranged marriage/marriage by lottery. It can be on the ground or in the Ark, I don't care, I just love this trope a lot, I just want them awkwardly sharing a bed and pining a lot.

Prompt 4: Pirates AU, because who doesn't want that? (Historical, but space pirates are okay too, as long as Raven and Bellamy do some swashbuckling)

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: Pregnancy. Anything that involves Murphy in a positive light (Murphy being in the fic is fine, as long as the portrayal is negative). I will not read/write Kane/Abby stuff. Other characters are fine.

Also: I'm very partial to stories about the Grounders (both reading and writing them), they're my faves.

13.

Url: chll51 (AO3)

Prompt 1: It can be canon compliance or not but just something to do with this quote:

"I think we deserve a soft epilogue, my love. We are good people and we've suffered enough."

Prompt 2: modern AU: First day at a new job and the boss is Bellamy, who Raven has Hooked up with the night prior.

Prompt 3: high school reunion: need a date.

Things they don’t want to find in the fic you write for them: I don't care much for smut but if it's fit with the story then sure. also, I have vanilla taste so I guess keep it like that.

#ravenbell exchange #blayesnetwork #rellamy #braven #ravenbell #bellamy x raven

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demilillith · 6 years

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Some extra about my OC’s so I’m on track with organization and such:

Demi:

Lives in an apartment with his best friend who pops in time to time to help him on, both are going through their own things, but don’t hesitate to help each other out. @beowulf-fang-fist‘s OC Olliver happens to be this roommate/bestie!

Demi is interested in tattoos, but because he has never gotten one, he likes Henna a lot more since it’s temporary and allows him to change it if he doesn’t like the outcome

Has a scar from slashes he had when fighting off rouge demons, or, so he says...

Can become a werewolf if he so chose from spells he learned as well as wearing the pelt of the dead wolf that he had befriended. He claims that being one is like “being renewed and together in one furry package.”

While he’s a stripper, Demi’s demure attitude and more “professionalism” makes him very popular in the clubs: The “don’t speak, show” attitude he goes about things leaves most patrons to imagination of his real personality.

When Demi dances, he loses his ambitions and becomes a completely different person.

Demi wants to emulate Sailor moon and other characters he’s seen through finding manga that’s been tossed down into the Underground, but it’s mainly one off mangas / episodes on tapes that he sees that he models a lot of his actions to. You won’t notice though, his cheerfulness and positivity knows no bounds anyhow.

Demi does have a pure demon form, however, he doesn't have much control over it and doesn’t know how to bring it out aside from what’s called a “Trance” where his emotions push him over the edge and forces him to become a full incubus in order to “preserve himself”

If Demi wants to, he can mimic other demons and such through spells and contracts, for example: With ifrit, Demi’s horns become more similar to the beast of flame and he becomes much more beastial. With Parvati Demi is himself, but, the two wear matching outfits in order to perform a dance together OR the two ravage whomever is in front of them with two tridents or “trishulas” in Hindi.

Demi has a knack for picking people out with his observations that come off both innocent though much more sharper, but he chalks it up to being a people person

He has a tramp stamp (TB-Drawn, I need ideas / inspirations but thinking of having a star / heart)

Blowjob Lips™

Works as a stripper, an on and off model / fitness shop clerk, and at times Ifrit’s personal assistant when need be. He has many jobs, but, he somehow finds a way to do it all without much thought.

Has the ability to Pictomance, meaning if he draws on himself, the henna will be able to be manipulated to bring out actual spells from it, as well as make magic through his own art. Demi’s more of a henna enthusiast though, but his art is something he holds to himself.

His tarot card is the Fool arcana Fimbulvetr:

Despite being a forest guardian, he looks at himself like a soldier who survived a war and is the only who one has come back. Most of his birth and his “future” frightens him and makes him to cling to affection believing that he won’t get that the next day.

His mastery over the spear is amazing but, Fimb is much more like a fencer the way he uses Gungnir. He wants to use a rapier one day, but thinks it’s best to use the tools he was given.

Despite being a great warrior / strong person in general, Fimb suffers still from bad self esteem that makes him push himself harder to be the best: When he doesn’t realize he’s fine the way he is, demon infested or not.

Nordic names / old English comes second nature to him, though he’s still learning to read “modern” languages, Fimb has a distinct knack for being able to read runes and see them appear in places near nonsensical without much knowledge as to why.

Likes having his hair brushed, but always is conscious about his hair length, if it’s too long, maybe he should cut it...

While Fimb gives nicknames to everyone he meets, they are very few who are called by name in his book: Be wary, there’s a REASON he does so, whether he doesn’t like them or because he shows them true respect (In which he will always refer to them as “Sir” or “Ma’am”.)

Once thought Demi was some outlandish prince so had to break out of the habit of calling him “Milord”

While he loves that Demi reads him stories and tomes he has, Fimb’s favorite story is the “wizard of oz” because he personally sees himself as the Scarecrow of the story.

Oddly despite being so young in terms of chronological years, Fimb has an amazing span of memory / understanding of history and myths as it stands, so much so Demi and him have debates on the purpose of the Aesir and the fall of Babylon.

Can whisper and talk to the trees by placing his hand on them, when hunting this becomes a valuable asset as he can track others through the “trees’ eyes”

Gungnir can pierce and expel demons / heal if Fimb chooses, however, Gungnir is rumored to have it’s own conscience that Fimb can speak to, and Fimb alone.

As his hat is also “alive” due to being possessed by a demon that came out of Fimb’s eyepatch when he made the mistake of opening it, it has stuck with him since despite badmouthing that he will “leave and cause chaos” because it knows that if he tries to, Fimb can easily destroy him. He now takes the form of a sense of a “guide” to Fimb similar to how Morgana from P5 follows the protagonist and makes their own assumptions or observations.

His arcana is considered the Hierophant

Parvati:

While she’s a powerful goddess and mother in her own right, Parvati suffers from the worry that she’s not “needed” in the world and she’ll fade away like “the other pantheons” because while she is inherent as “Shakti” (Female energy of the universe that manifests in creation and other aspects in life alongside the male counterpart as Bhraman), Parvati as an identity can “fade” if people do not believe in her, just like other “gods”. Belief is power, and without it, she has none.

Parvati comes across similar to Saeko / Ms. Smith from Persona 1 as well as Aradia from Nocturne: Without her power, Parvati is without any way to protect or help others, she can only provide hope. However, it is this hope that may actually spur others to action, and Parvati looks at this as her special skill. A mother may know best, but a friend can be the difference between a war and peace.

Wistfully thinks of her husband Shiva, and won’t say where he “is”. It’s assumed that because Demi has Parvati “connected to him” and has lost all of his memories, Parvati’s left with a fragmented space to be in since her contract stipulates that she will always be with him, but is meant to be with her husband as well. As Demi doesn’t know Shiva, she cannot return to him. This is one of the reasons she plots to steer Demi to “becoming himself again” in order to go back to what things were before

She has danced / taught Demi holy dances in order to better protect himself as well as shown him how to summon demons in the form of allowing her to call her via a dance or by burning seals. Demi is able to calm beasts and other creatures through his dances, but depending on the dance, also changes the outcome of the dance he performs: I.E: A simple routine can bring forth fire or even heal, but an actual routine can cleanse and expel demons. This process takes a lot out of Demi depending on the intensity but he’s been known to go into what’s called a “Trance” and immediately shift into an actual demon and perform a dance that can completely demolish things in his way. (Parvati herself is able to do this, though depending on her emotions / intensity she can become Durga or Kali like in the legends of her backstory. Kali being a terrifying goddess who wears the skulls of her enemies as a garland and a skirt of arms while Durga is the embodiment of Parvati’s righteous anger. Both are extremely powerful but she loses all thought as Kali)

Ideally she tries to help Demi with his boy problems, but, she’s more so the type of parent who asks, “So, do you think he’ll make a good husband? I want you happy!” But she means well, she also makes sure to ask Demi for his boundaries now that he’s far more vulnerable than how he was before.

She’s VERY much like Starfire from Teen Titans, the Hindu traditions she participates in is something she takes very seriously, however sometimes the practices seems very outlandish to Demi as... Well... A boy’s gotta eat meat to get the beef and Parvati is known to fast the most out of all the deities because she is a goddess of the family, marriage, and orphans. The fasting is meant to bring forth good fortune, and tries to put this on Demi who she sees as her son, but we all know Demi’s habit of having meat everywhere.

Her Arcana is considered the High Priestess Persephone:

Her “appearance” is never the same, and I look at her like Rupaul / a drag queen who consistently pulls off so many looks that you simply cannot leave her in one specific portrait or outfit.

Because she is a trans woman, her development is more so towards “This is who I am, and I love every minute of it.” and she’s meant to invoke that in her walks, her way of dress, her attitude and her ideals

She is professional with Demi, as he’s her best dancer, but, she sometimes overworks him under the basis of his “work” of weeding out rogue demons and saving humans in the Underground is work for the benefit of the entire District.

Persephone is the queen of the underworld in that Hades is her husband and while this IS true, and she doesn’t deny or agree that she IS the real Persephone; She has gemstones upon gemstones that demons under her power wear them on their person. Demi wears an opal choker to “bring out” his true form, which Persephone knows would transform him into a demon, but WHAT demon, she didn’t know.

“Good and evil are concepts in the way that men whose hearts are not strong enough must argue. We all know what is good and evil in our hearts, and those change over time and in our ideals. Think about who you are, as a person, before attempting to label others.”

Despite being someone so reserved and so... “Mysterious”, Persephone is meant to drag on the question of “Who is the person you want to portray yourself as?” And I think her character is the best way to do so, the way she interferes with Demon’s ploys but all for the sake of the District, she may come across as unfeeling or rather more uptight, but she knows well and means well after living so long

Hades stole her away when she was being abused by her father and allowed her to “be herself” in the Underground. She doesn’t talk about the events, but, Hades wears white gloves in order to respect her boundaries on touching and reclines as her “shadow.” Hades himself is more akin to her “servant” and has passed on leadership of the District to her in his stead many years ago.

Her favorite accessories are long nails and she enjoys spas/manicures and other beautification past times

She personally oversees her club and makes sure her workers are well cared for as well as given a chance to use their talents to the fullest (I.E, her way of saying “Do what you like, but the minute you hoe it up it better be away from my club.”)

Her club is named La Pomme de Grenade, bonus points if you learn the translation, but, she’s very big on the club itself, sometimes singing blues while Hades plays the piano. Her songs have stricken the hearts of demons and beasts, leaving them weeping as she belts out a tune that sings to the soul.

Her arcana is the Empress

Ifrit:

He has taken up residence in a penthouse that Demi frequently visits to maintain their “contract”

It’s rumored that when he was once a warrior, a certain summoner he knew died due to his carelessness as a beast. It’s unknown why, but he feels a familiarity towards Demi and unfortunately, places this same overprotectiveness on him to make up for the mistake he had long ago.

He doesn’t know how to deal with the loss he had had, and so attempts to use Demi to fill the guilt in him, if he protects and serves Demi, then he is fixing the mistake he had.

Tries very hard to change/control the environment he is in, but doesn't realize this may hurt others, and I want this to be a big dynamic with Demi, while Demi is his summoner / he’s his sugar daddy, Ifrit tries much too hard to make things “better” for Demi and his own demons under him. This gets him much respect from the denizens working under him, as well as fear from his enemies as a pseudo mafia boss.

He enjoys the idea of being a “King” and if you were to call him “My liege” or “Sir” you get +3 affection / kink

+3 affection / kink if you have the balls to try and be dominant with him.

Money and business are now his game, and when it comes down to it, he will show up to facilitate deals. If such is the case, broken knees and body parts are common, as he sees it as a way to train.

Ifrit is a complex character that brings out the sexualized aspect of Demi, in terms of being his sugar daddy and part of his demonic contract is that Demi is to give him affection / intimacy / attention and Ifrit will grant him power, money, and well, whatever he’d like to eat afterwards.

Thiddies out™ was a look made by him.

Someone really asked to see Ifrit break their head / melon with his thighs and canonically now Ifrit can do that, his kink though is displaying strength so you’re only making him stronger y’all

“Nuh-uh, I don’t have a death wish.” “But you can handle it! Yes it’s much bigger than--” “I’m not ready to die today Ifrit.” “What if I sit--” “You’re trying to kill me, I don’t even have life insurance.”

If you ever need to know about what Ifrit wears to his “private” gym, know that it’s one of those 80′s shorts that gives you the perfect shot of that fire elemental ass and boots. He likes the idea of being “prepared” to fight with little to wear just like when he squares up when summoned.

Once nearly spent a fortune to buy a vintage Digigar game to play on console. Demi had to hear what Digigar evolutions many digigars had for an entire month.

When he first met Demi, he whispered huskily in his ear for a private dance and after taking him home, Demi found himself treated out to breakfast in bed by servants at hand and foot. It was this event that spurred Ifrit to create a contract when he realized how much Demi “needed to be cared for”. (In reality, Demi isn’t used to such treatment, so when he comes to ifrit thanking him repeatedly, it simply makes Ifrit’s ego bolster into the idea that he’s taking care of him.)

“Call me... Daddy, my little prince.” “Is that all? I thought you were gonna tell me not to call you Big Guy.”

Wants Demi to be exclusive with him, but, in terms of having a job with him and him alone: He can’t, however, because of Persephone having right over him as Demi’s “boss”.

Grab his horns and suddenly you’ll have a more intoxicated and energized Ifrit on your hands. He’s truly the ride or die of your life if you try him.

When ifrit is summoned, his clothes are burned off and his beard grows on fire. The design is similar to the retro final fantasy Ifrit, but rather, Ifrit’s taste in clothing still has him in very skimpy outfits to retain SOME modesty rather than none.

Grappler Dad™

“Come at me, with your full strength if you dare!” “It was funny the last 7 times but now you need to turn yourself around so I can come.” “Oh...” “..Fine. FIE, MILORD, I AM READY TO BE TESTED.”

He’s a soft man please don’t hurt him he already has to worry about his summoner being a stripper / witch like he doesn’t need more issues at this point lmfao

The type to softly rub his thumb over your mouth and call you beautiful as he probably raws the fuck out of you like this is how I Stan my man.

He has tired eyes from so many things he had to do and witness, but the minute his eyes go sharp, your life is going to be obliterated.

Has bought Demi things to wear, but, gets flustered at the idea of wearing similar things in his own right.

Was once given the opportunity to strip in the club for once, but the idea was simply Persephone musing out of jest with “an old friend”

Likes to trace Demi’s henna with his fingers

He’s very dominating, liking to be hands on and very very husky in his words and word choice

While he’s a goofball and soft, he’s still very much a sharp and disciplined individual who simply wants to be validated for doing his best and give love to people to make up for the love he feels he didn’t deserve.

Scruff his beard and he groWS STRONGER HEED THE WARNING SHEEPLE.

His arcana is the Emperor

Venus:

She doesn’t like sweets, but does love ice cream and will try her best to eat some everyday (”I eat ice cream whenever I feel like I wanna treat myself!” “You eat it everyday” *Eats ice cream gawking at the person*)

Based off a cousin who was mocked for her weight, Venus is the epitome of beauty and show business, and is currently on the DL to making her comeback

Demi inspired her to comeback after living in a life of boredom and excess believing that the business stole her creativity and she personally covers for him like a mother hen, though, he’s still pretty star struck his favorite celebrity speaks to him so casually

She doesn’t openly display “magic” rather, her songs and singing are the key to her siren like call. She’s still pretty upset about how music has “changed” so far and wishes the new idols would get some sensibility in their songs and dances.

The “Birth of Venus” was her greatest song and a ballad for the lost woman above ground who somehow made her way to the place where the demons cherished her when the humans reviled her.

When waking up in the morning, she looks in the mirror and struts for good luck.

Thinks of having a talk show to spill the tea and the gossip on the regular... but, can’t help but feel most of the celebrities are fake people with nothing interesting about them besides sex appeal in Eros.

Can incite others with passionate speeches about love and life

“Baby baby don’t you cry, tomorrow’s gonna be a better day...”

She’s best described as someone who KNOWS she was fake before, in her smile, in her actions, and she’s now renewed to find purpose and meaning in her life, through Demi’s interaction with her while incognito

She was forced to choose a lifestyle / major in highschool she didn’t like, and then was going to be forced into a marriage with a man who did not love her that ended up causing her to stumble into the Underground with a mysterious train ride.

She’s probably one of the few humans to ever survive being in the underground without fading away and turning into a wisp of a soul to be eaten by demons; at this point she doesn’t think she’s still human, but now she’s Venus, once more reborn

Likes to lay in bed thinking about what to do tomorrow, but can’t help but want to just stay in retirement and relax as much as she liked

You couldn't go past a newsstand without seeing Venus’ beach catalog with her pictures on the front cover

Entire District is here for her performance

“BODY LIKE WOW, PUSSY ABOUT TO END THIS DROUGHT.”

“Newsflash, asshat, I’ve never liked fat phobia, I love my body big or small.”

Has squared up with Ifrit despite knowing he’s Demi’s sugar daddy, the two have a... “special” relationship in that they would never work together unless the situation calls for it. An intense situation. Venus straight up would square up with Ifrit on a random whim like people don’t realize beyond the public eye they’re not on the best terms. The reason being Ifrit doesn’t take her seriously and

Her special “magical skill” is called Love Handles, a song that refreshes and reminds people they’ll be alright in the end, even after the worst things happened.

“Don’t just trust someone else because they were in power, we can learn things and do things without the need of others handing it to us! Fight! Strive for the things you worked so hard for in life and take it!”

She advises people on love and other areas of life with her social media pages and blogs!

If you know media, you know Venus, no excuses.

EDNA MODE IS HER GREATEST INVENTION

Her arcana is Temperance

#Lore #Long post #OC: Demi #oc: persephone #oc: parvati #OC: Fimbulvetr #OC: Ifrit #OC: Venus #God this was awesome to write!

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everythingtimeless · 7 years

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Welcome to EverythingTimeless’ Weekly Roundtable, a sprawling discussion in which your friendly neighborhood Mod Time Team breaks down episodes of our favorite show, Timeless. We can’t promise to be coherent, but we’ll try our best.

This week: Season 1, Episode 2 - The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Sarah: Friends, family, Time Team. We are gathered here today. To talk about Robert Todd Lincoln. (Right? That’s what we’re here to talk about?)

Kate: Can I say it is still to soon even if I was supposed to be prepared to? Because, RTL.

Gissane: That’s exactly what I signed up for. I also think we should make a fan club. Posters. Tees. Mugs. ALL THINGS RTL.

Ann: Girls, we must be PROFESSIONALS about this now. We are SERIOUS bloggers. So we can only squee over Dreamboat Lincoln in due order of the episode conversation.(Also maybe set up a side-side RTL appreciation blog?)

Kate: Maybe? Definitely.

Sarah: Decorum is the name of the game. (What do you think - Robert Toddless? Thinkin’ Lincoln? Todd Team?)

Gissane: Todd Team. YES. Can we be the Todd Team?

Kate: Alright, perhaps we gather what is left of our dignity and start at the top of the episode. I shall begin with the brave opinion that John Wilkes Booth is a toady dumpster fire of a human.

Sarah: Opinion super sustained.

Ann: I always appreciate the complete and utter loathing he inspires.

Gissane: Agreed. Very much agreed.

Sarah: It really does quickly pull you into the episode - something so recognizable and startling.

Ann: It absolutely does.

Kate: Like every time I see Titanic and think they will avoid the huge chunk of floating ice, I saw it and was still somehow shocked he was assassinated? Timeless knows how to deliver the drama, even when we see it coming.

Gissane: Yup, because on a show like this, we somehow hope that it can happen, but at the same time, we know that it shouldn’t. And a huge part of that drama was that amazing debate among the Time Team. It breaks me every single time.

Ann: Well and there is the *actual* chance they can change history, they could right a wrong. And even if we know that would royally fuck up so much more, a part of us still wants to save Abraham Lincoln, you know?

Kate: I love that the team members each have a voice though. Like a passionate though respectful debate about changing the entire course of history because how do you pass up the chance to save Abraham Lincoln?

Gissane: Always save Lincoln. Always.

Sarah: Well, Rufus’s point of view actually makes me cry.Because for him the ramifications of Lincoln’s death are so rooted in his oppression.

Kate: Rufus always providing such an important representation of a perspective rarely entertained.

Sarah: And seeing the hope in the soldier’s eyes as they talked about freedom - devastating.

Ann: That scene where the soldiers asked him to write letters for them? I cried.

Kate: And the whole while Rufus knows what is coming for them historically, so then when he might have a chance to save Abraham which would go a long way in saving them all? Gahhhhh. I am undone.

Gissane: It literally doesn’t matter how many times I watch this episode, I will choke up like a baby every time. I don’t think any episode has gotten to me as much as this has, to be honest.

Sarah: Right Kate - Lucy idolizes Lincoln, Wyatt sees saving Lincoln as proof that fate can and should change - which would in turn save his wife. But to Rufus, he still lives with a piece of that.

And agreed so much, Giss. One of the soldiers - who had fought for the country, for his freedom - hasn’t seen his wife since she was sold. Timeless took this Lincoln episode seriously, and it shows.

Kate: Rufus is the character that won’t allow us to conveniently forget the implications of history. HE IS SO IMPORTANT.

Gissane: I feel like we’ll say this every week, but I love how unapologetic this show is in regards to painting the ugliest sides of history to remind viewers of just how awful it was and essentially still is at times.

Sarah: Yes and yes.

Ann: It’s scary how much these lessons both still resonate and beg to be learned, you know?

Gissane: I love that even though we can definitely mess with history, the show still sticks to telling us truths that we may have forgotten upon learning or that may have been concealed from the textbooks.

Kate: Both, so so much Annie.

Let us take a sojourn to another important little piece of the episode. In which the impeccable Jiya offers to help Lucy figure out what happened to her sister.

Sarah: Here. For. Lady. Friendship.

Gissane: You mean in the second episode of a show two women had a conversation that didn’t revolve around a man!?And it was done so effortlessly, you could tell right away that because both these women are incredibly kind, they’d get along perfectly with one another.

Kate: Meanwhile Conner “I have the sympathy of a plastic bag” Mason is all like, ummm sorry bout your sister maybe not really.

Gissane: Connor “No Chill, No Grace” Mason.

Sarah: Someone did not attend Mason Industries sensitivity training.

Kate: It tickles me that every time the Time Team returns and reports a disturbance in the history force that Denise and Connor are all like, whatttt? Nooooo. How?!?!?!

Ann: I also live for Denise’s face every time Connor speaks.

Gissane: She is all of us.

Kate: She wants to hit him so hard. Upside the head, really quickly and repeatedly.

Sarah: Can you imagine, though, finding out that not only is your sister just…not in existence…but the man who you thought was your father was, in fact, not your father…and then you are pushed into a small deathtrap and flung back to the assassination of your country’s greatest leader?

Kate: Also she is engaged to a stranger. Lucy has way more composure than pretty much anyone ever.

Gissane: And we can talk about how Wyatt slams Connor about being a little more sensitive. But in all seriousness, if I was Lucy, I’d lose my head in a heartbeat. Actual QUEEN.

Ann: Oh I would have crumbled immediately, if not sooner. I would have traveled back in time to crumble sooner probably.

Kate: This is where Wyatt really begins to take a stand for his team and I love it. First with assuring Lucy that they would fix the timeline and get her sister back. Then with Rufus, building up his self confidence.

Gissane: YES. I love his moments with Rufus too much to be able to form words.

Kate: Wyatt started becoming more than just a super pretty face with a head that rocks a hat like nobody’s business this episode.

Sarah: It also begins one of my favorite pieces of this stupid (wonderful) show - which is Wyatt helping Lucy with her seat belt. (And Wyatt’s perpetual motion sickness.)

Ann: Sarah no.

Kate: Yes Sarah. YESSSSSSS. Yep.

Gissane: SO. MANY. EMOTIONS.

Sarah: I don’t know what I did in a past life to be punished? rewarded? thusly. But I curse and praise some deity.

Ann: I swear to god every time I put on a seatbelt now I am pissed as hell that it’s my hands and not Wyatt Logan’s adjusting the strap for safety.

Kate: Wyatt Logan is the sear belt fastener we all deserve.

But also, and finally going back to where we feverishly began. Lucy and RTL. Going to the Ford Theater. Making eyes at each other. DISCUSS.

Gissane: THE WAY HE WALKS IN. Just. I need to go lay down.On a serious note though, the thing that gets to me is how proud he is to be Abraham Lincoln’s son. He doesn’t feel pressured to live in the shadow, he appreciates it. An absolute babe with a heart of gold? I cannot handle.

Sarah: It is a beautiful thing.

Kate: I will never get over the anguish in his face when he found Lucy outside of the theater.

Sarah: I think all of it is so lovely in setting this scene - it’s a story we (or, well, we as Americans in this chat) know well. But he helps to humanize it. All of the small details - including the mailroom and the dimly lit theatre and trying to avoid the show (or help Ulysses avoid the show).

Kate: I feel like we think of Abraham Lincoln as ours, you know? Leader of a country through one of the most tumultuous times in our history. But he belonged to others, and this show allowed us to see the imitate cost.

Gissane: Oh man. I have chills.

Sarah: Yes, Kate.

Gissane: KATE. SARAH. Wow.

Sarah: Even seeing Ford’s Theatre now, it’s hard to place it back to that time. But I think that Timeless really succeeds. All while weaving an interesting story and building this new relationship between our 3 main nuggets.

Gissane: The first time I ever passed by Ford’s Theatre. I couldn’t describe that feeling even if I tried.

Kate: Yes. It gives new breath and dimension to characters or stories we felt we knew, and draws us into the new stories of this team.

Sarah: There’s a Sephora about 300 feet from Ford’s Theatre now, so it really is worlds removed. It also created a high stakes mission.

There were several moments where I thought, “Oh damn. Lucy is going to save Lincoln.” And Lucy had to make the choice (Though, in that moment, the chaos made it impossible to save him anyway. And here we see Fate in action once again.)

Gissane: But I also love that she clearly tried towards the end, but it was too late. It was just not meant to be I guess. IT HURTS.

Kate: And considering she was in the box when it happened. How traumatic. Lucy Preston is so damn strong I cannot.

Sarah: SO strong. (Of course RTL sees that and comes to her immediately after…)

Kate: A small aside. Garcia. We don’t know him yet, his motivations, his past. It is jarring to be attached to him now (because damnit I am) and go back and see him at his most detached.

Sarah: He was outright terrifying. He killed Lincoln point blank, no hesitation.

Kate: But I swear there was regret in his eyes when he shot Lincoln, so this is when I started wondering just what the hell he was up to. Or maybe I imagined it because he has really pretty eyessssss.

Gissane: But I feel like Flynn is the kind of man who’d look up to Lincoln in one way or another. If there’s one president that could win even the cruelest hearts, it’s Lincoln.

Sarah: True, Giss.Which makes his desperation all that much more apparent.

Well, friends and Todd Teamers. Final thoughts?

Kate: Other than poor Lucy, she goes from watching the president be assassinated to an engagement party to a man she is just meeting? Time Travel Whiplash, my friends

Gissane: After this episode, I became Timeless trash. There was no turning back.

Sarah: Mostly I think they’ve started to really carve a few important paths for the show: There seem to be no stakes too high for Garcia. Fate appears to be unavoidable. And time is malleable.

I cannot wait to see what timeline our friends mess up next - and hopefully we get some Amy-related answers? P.S. I would also not cry about seeing Wyatt shirtless again

Kate: Until Atomic City, location Trash Vegas, my friends.

Gissane: Good day, darling souls!

Kate: (On to dream about Wyatt shirtless, thanks muchly!)

#timeless recap #timeless roundtable #timeless review #timeless #1x02

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sage-nebula · 7 years

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A long time ago I typed up a post about Alan’s biological parents. This post has been lost to the depths of my blog (or else got mysteriously deleted somehow), and I can no longer find it. That said, since two people have asked today (in messages I have yet to answer—hang tight, guys), I went ahead and re-typed it, this time adding more detail and tying things back to Pokéworld history. There are still some finer details I need to work out (such as what, specifically, his parents’ families actually do), but the important bits are all here, so that’s what matters. So with that said …

I’m actually going to start this post by talking about a bit of history, because I’ve fleshed out some of Alan’s (biological) family history even more than I had previously, and it ties a bit into the world building that I’ve given the Pokémon world, building on the foundation that Game Freak laid out for us.

Essentially, I imagine Alan to have mixed heritage—specifically Johtoan (Japanese) and Kalosean (French). His biological father’s side of the family has been Kalosean as far back as genealogy records can be traced, but his mother’s side of the family hails from Johto … albeit before Johto was actually Johto, and rather was still part of Kanto instead.

Without getting too deep into the history right at this moment (because that would be better saved for another post), Kanto used to be more of an empire than a region and used to cover far more territory than it does in the present day. In the present day, Kanto consists of, well, what we know of as Kanto, and also the Sevii Islands (which are recognized as the Sevii Islands, but are still considered Kanto-owned territory, i.e. they pay Kantonean taxes, answer to the Kanto government, et cetera). In the past, however, Kanto used to comprise of everything in Johto as well, and the Orange Archipelago to boot. Several wars and rebellions are what led to that changing (and the Kanto-Johto civil war was particularly bloody and violent, given that it’s one huge landmass, whereas the Orange Islands rebellion was much more easily won due to the fact that the Kantonean government had to sail out to the Orange Archipelago, wherein the Orange Crew had the home field advantage), but as much as we are used to thinking of Johto and the Orange Islands as their own independent regions (despite how Johto still relies heavily on Kanto in terms of sharing the Indigo Plateau and the like), this was all still fairly recent history in the grand scope of world history, to the point where Johto has only been its own independent region for ~150 years (I’m not good with numbers, so I always try to be a bit vague, heh).

You may notice that, despite the tilde making it a bit vague, 150 is something of a specific number, and perhaps a familiar one if you’re brushed up on Johtoan history. If your mind is nagging at you when you see that, that’s because the Brass Tower burned down and resulted in the creation of Raikou, Suicune, and Entei 150 years ago. History tells us that a lightning bolt struck it, but I like to imagine that the lightning bolt struck at around the same time the civil war was taking place, which the people took as a sign that the heavens were not happy with what was going on (especially since Ho-Oh fled after reviving the three pokémon who perished in the blaze). The civil war was won shortly after that and Johto was officially established, but I like to imagine that the destruction of the Burned Tower happened right around this time. (If not, though, then perhaps the civil war happened fifty years earlier. Again, numbers are not my strong suit.)

Now, back then, not only was Johto not quite established as its own region yet, but we also didn’t have all of the same cities and towns back then that we do now. Some of the names were still around, people were still living in some of the areas, but life was different ~150 years ago than it is in the modern day. As far as Alan’s ancestors are concerned, they hailed from what is in the modern day Blackthorn City, but back then was more often called the Blackthorn Prefecture due to how massive it was. Blackthorn used to encompass a much larger area than it does now (like, Mahogany Town and New Bark Town didn’t used to exist—they used to be part of Blackthorn, that’s how big it was), but several centuries of history changed that and lessened the dragon clan’s influence over that part of the region. Blackthorn is much smaller now, comparatively, even if the dragon clan is still in power there to this day. Nonetheless, that’s where Alan’s maternal ancestors hail from: Blackthorn City, Johto, albeit back when it was still known as Blackthorn Prefecture, Kanto. (So if you had asked his great-great(etc)-grandmother, she would have said she was from Kanto, because back when she left, it still was Kanto, rather than Johto.)

To get more specific …

As I said, the Kanto-Johto civil war was rather bloody and violent and, to be honest, Kanto had the advantage. Part of the reason why the civil war was even happening was because Kantoneans were moving away from the traditions (religious or otherwise) that Johtoans held dear, something that those living in Johto disliked (obviously). Kantoneans were modernizing, ceasing to pay respects to the legendary pokémon, and opting for government-funded destruction of sacred monuments and sites that the Johtoans felt it important to preserve. For instance, the actual incident that sparked the civil war was the Kantonean government moving to destroy the Ruins of Alph in order to build a new settlement there (maybe another town, or something like a Radio Tower, whatever). The Johtoan people were outraged and decided to revolt, and everything spiraled from there. All the same, Kanto was larger, had access to more powerful pokémon and better items due to the fact that manufacturing plants were more often in Kanto rather than Johto, and as such Kanto had a severe advantage against the Johtoan people, even though the Johtoan people felt that they had the blessings of the legendaries on their side.

And then the Burned Tower incident happened.

This inspired different feelings in the people, depending on who you talked to. Some found it as evidence that moving away from the traditions and ceremonies would, in fact, anger the legendaries and other deities, and therefore it was correct to fight for them and that the legendaries themselves were on the Johtoans’ side. Others saw Ho-Oh leave (along with the newly born Raikou, Entei, and Suicune) and felt that they were being abandoned wholesale and that the fight was already lost. Opinions varied, but the part of this that’s actually relevant to Alan is that his ancestors felt that Johto was going to ultimately lose the civil war, even if they weren’t willing to stop fighting. Like, they figured they were going to die, but damn if they weren’t going to die swinging. All the same, his great(etc) grandparents didn’t want their children to die, so they picked up their children, put them on a boat, and sent them sailing off-shore. The oldest children on the boat were ~10/11 year old (so of training age at least), and they were supposed to be sailing to Sinnoh (if it was even called Sinnoh back then), where they would be safe.

They did not, in fact, end up in Sinnoh as planned. Rather, they ended up in Kalos (and if you’re like, how tf did they wind up in KALOS if they were aiming for SINNOH, remember that the oldest person on this boat was eleven and had no experience in sailing, so it’s a wonder they made it anywhere in one piece tbqh). And so when the children’s parents tried to get messages to Sinnoh to find their kids when the civil war ended and it was safe to come home, they were unable to do so because the kids were not in Sinnoh, but rather Kalos. Oops.

So the kids made it to Kalos, and they dispersed. (It was like, an entire ship crew’s worth of kids, mind you. Not all of them were siblings—some were cousins, some were unrelated—but it was a good number of kids.) Some stuck together, if they were related or really small, but for the most part they got to Kalos (thinking it was Sinnoh at first), and then had to figure out wtf to do from there, because they didn’t have a plan for that. They were just told, “Get on this boat and go to Sinnoh where it is safe, and we will call you home when the war is done if we are still alive,” and that was that. Not exactly the most responsible thing to do, but this is the Pokémon world, so what do you expect.

Anyway, to once again make it relevant, one of these kids was Alan’s great(-etc) grandmother, and after roaming around the Kalos region for a time she eventually grew up, got married, and settled down in Shalour City. Over time they (as in, the whole family) ended up being rather successful and amassing a good amount of wealth. I’m not sure precisely what their family business is (or even if there is just one family business, rather than a bunch of different lucrative careers), but the point is that Alan’s mother comes from a wealthy family with genealogy traced back to Johto, back when it was still Kanto, and they are Japanese therefore. His mother’s given name is Lucia.

His father, on the other hand …

As mentioned, his biological father is as Kalosean as it is possible to get, probably. I say “probably” because while his father can trace his genealogy back to Kalos as much as his mother can trace her genealogy back to Johto, there’s no way for him to really know if perhaps his ancestors immigrated from another region (such as Unova or Orre) before that ~150 year mark. Either way, as far as he or anyone else knows, his ancestors are and have always been Kalosean, and in specific, his family has lived in Dendemille Town for generations. I’m not entirely sure what his family does either (part of me wants to say farmers, but then I also lean toward some manufacturing), but I know that they are pretty solidly middle class as a contrast to the wealth that his biological mother’s family amassed over the years. Like, they’re not poor, but they’re pretty normal people even if they have been established in Dendemille Town for generations. Alan’s biological father’s name is Sebastian.

So! All of that said!

Lucia and Sebastian met when they were young teenagers, traveling around the region as trainers. I want to say that they were about thirteen or fourteen at the time. While their romance didn’t start then, they did hit it off pretty much immediately. Lucia was traveling in order to try and find what she wanted to do with her life (her parents wanted her to find something successful and important, and Lucia wanted that as well, but she didn’t know what she wanted in specific and their ideas didn’t sound appealing), and Sebastian likewise was looking for adventure, something fun and more exciting than boring old Dendemille Town. They traveled together on and off, sometimes acting as friendly rivals, often time acting as friends. By the time they were about seventeen they had developed feelings for each other, and just as Sebastian was about to ask Lucia to date him, she interrupted him to ask first. He pouted a bit, but it was playful pouting. Really, he was quite happy.

Now, here’s the thing. Lucia’s parents were more concerned with her doing something with her life than they were her finding someone to settle down and have a family with. Like, they didn’t care so much if she did that too, but they really wanted to make sure that she had a stable future, financially. They also, despite being about seven generations removed from their Blackthorn roots (well, perhaps only one side of the family had Blackthorn roots, but it’s possible that Alan’s great(etc) grandmother had married one of the other kids from the ship when they were older, since again, they weren’t all related to each other), still had the pride of the dragon clan, so they wanted her to be a powerful trainer and focus on that as well. Lucia wanted those things, too, but she was also seventeen and in love and wanted to have fun with her beau. It’s not that she wanted to get married right then per se (and Sebastian didn’t want to get married right then, either), but she wanted to keep traveling the world, and if her parents called that “aimless,” so be it. It led to some fighting, especially since her parents felt that Sebastian was encouraging this behavior (and tbh he kind of was, but Lucia could also make up her own mind), so they didn’t exactly approve of him.

Meanwhile, Sebastian’s parents were getting antsy for him to actually settle down and come back to the family business (the farm, perhaps, or whatever else they do in Dendemille Town). They actually wanted him to get married, start his family, and be an adult. Sebastian, at seventeen, was not ready to do this. So this caused THEM to disapprove, but mostly just because they were disappointed in Lucia for not wanting a ring. Like, they would have been fine with her had she pressured Sebastian into marrying her. But she wasn’t going to do that, so they were upset, too.

Either way, neither Lucia or Sebastian cared. They were seventeen (perhaps nearing eighteen), they were in love, they were strong trainers in their own right—

And they were also careless, and Lucia got pregnant.

That put the traveling plans on hold. Like, they had so many things they wanted to do; they wanted to go so many different regions, see so many different things. But Lucia was pregnant, and while she could travel for some of the pregnancy, near the end of the pregnancy she would need to take it easy. And then the baby would be born, and they’d have to take care of it. They couldn’t exactly gallivant around being teenagers while carting around an infant, could they? This led to a lot of debate, arguing, and fighting; neither of them could really make up their minds on what to do. They considered going to Sebastian’s family, but they knew that his family would pressure them to keep the baby (and get married et cetera) and they weren’t sure they wanted to do that. And telling Lucia’s family was out of the question, because they would be apoplectic if they found out that she was pregnant out of wedlock, and so young, at that. Lucia did not want to deal with that. She did not want to have to explain to them just how she was pregnant. (Like, they know how pregnancy works, but that’s what Lucia didn’t want to divulge.)

Eventually, the two of them decided to carry the baby to term, and settled in Geosenge Town (near enough to Shalour to give Lucia anxiety, honestly, but finding a place to rent was cheaper there than it was in other areas, they had a good hospital, et cetera). They still waffled back and forth over whether or not to give the baby up for adoption when it was born, but eventually decided to try raising it. It could be fun, they thought. There were cute baby onesies. Maybe they could travel with the baby. It could be fun.

It wasn’t fun.

Lucia had the baby—their son—and she felt … nothing when he was born. Or, well—she did feel something, but that something was anxiety. Fear. She didn’t know what to do. She started crying when she saw him because she had a baby now, she was eighteen and she had a baby and what were they going to do? Sebastian tried to calm her down, like—okay, they had a baby, but they loved each other, they could be a family—but she just kept crying. And she cried even more when she realized that this didn’t really end her self-imposed exile from her family, because it’s not like the baby was going to go away now that she had given birth to him. If she brought him to her parents at any point she would have to explain him, and how could she do that? They’d be furious at any point. She couldn’t tell them. It didn’t matter how many years she waited. She gave up her whole family for him, and how was that fair?

Both Lucia and Sebastian thought that, in time, Lucia’s feelings would change, but they didn’t. In truth, she most likely had postpartum depression. Like, she had legitimate concerns (being a teen mother, missing her family, et cetera), but the lack of a bond that she felt toward her son, the resentment she felt toward him because he was “keeping her” from her family, the fact that she felt overwhelmed and anxious constantly … those were all likely caused by postpartum depression. And Sebastian, too, was overwhelmed and stressed out, both because he wasn’t ready to be a father any more than Lucia was ready to be a mother, and because Lucia was so depressed and upset 24/7. As much as they tried to raise their son, whom they had named Liam, they just found themselves completely miserable and unable to handle it.

So within three months, they decided to give him up for adoption.

The thing is, though they made this choice, neither of them really knew how to go about it. Geosenge Town didn’t really have a foster care system in place, and since the people of Geosenge Town knew them they felt too ashamed to ask someone if they wanted to take their baby off their hands. Lumiose City has a pretty thorough CPS system (albeit one that’s not the greatest given all the orphans on the streets), but they felt that it was too far to travel to with an infant. Similarly, even if Cyllage City had a foster care system in place, they felt that Cyllage was too far as well. Shalour was out of the question because that’s where Lucia’s family was, and that … that was how they found Isolé Village. Isolé doesn’t have a CPS system either, but it’s small enough that they thought that they could ask the mayor if someone there would be willing to adopt their son and take him in. They thought it would be fine to ask, especially since no one knew them, so they didn’t even have to say that Liam was their son. They could deny it and say no. And it was fine to ask, wasn’t it? This was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? It was all going to work out, wasn’t it?

Well … no.

Lucia was the one to take him. Sebastian stayed behind to settle the house they had been renting with the landlord, as they decided to skip town and go back to Shalour City after that. Lucia was supposed to take her baby son Liam to the mayor of the village, to ask her directly if they would take the baby in. But the nearer she got to the village, the more she felt she couldn’t do that. She felt ashamed, and anxious, and afraid. She thought they would look at her in disgust and horror. She thought they would say no. And so, being a panicking eighteen year old, she set her baby on a rock near enough to the village so that she thought someone would hear him if he started crying and … left.

It was a terrible thing to do, obviously. It was awful for her to do that, and to be honest Lucia has felt guilty about it ever since she did. She didn’t even tell Sebastian that she did that—she told him that she handed Liam off to the mayor, as she said she would—because she was too ashamed to. She also opted against traveling; she convinced Sebastian to move to Anistar City with her after receiving a loan from her parents to get them started, and they both picked up jobs in Anistar to support themselves after that. Sebastian still wanted to travel, but Lucia felt too guilty, at least right away. They did travel some in the years that followed—they took vacations—but immediately following leaving her baby in the woods, Lucia felt like it would be bad if she immediately started traveling the world. She decided to settle down and try to be responsible, in a way that she just couldn’t be for him at the time.

Appearance-wise, Alan’s looks are really a mix of both of his parents. Both Lucia and Sebastian have black hair, but texture-wise Alan’s hair—nice and soft and floofy as it is—is more similar to Lucia’s. He has her eyes, too, in both shape and color (Sebastian’s eyes are more hazel, whereas Lucia has that dragon clan blue). Alan gets his height and body type from Sebastian (well, at least in terms of his shoulder and hands—his metabolism comes from his mother, because they both burn calories just by sitting there), as well as his smile. He’s definitely got his father’s grin (and his father’s cheekbones, too, for that matter). Point is, you can absolutely tell that Alan is their son if you look at the three of them together. He has noticeable features from both of his parents (especially when it comes to those dragon clan eyes, damn).

At any rate, in the present day, both Sebastian and Lucia still live in Anistar City. They still think about their son daily, and they still think of him as Liam even though he has never known that to be his name. It’s quite possible that they’ll seek him out at some point, particularly if they, say, see footage of the League matches, and think that even if that boy is named ‘Alan,’ he looks an awful lot like how Liam would probably look now, and he’s about the same age …

Well, it’s possible that they could decide to seek him out, but that’s another story for another time.

#pokemon #pokeani #champion alan #my valiant dragon son #alan's parents #alan's backstory #i'm tagging this in every way i can try and not lose it again asdjfkdsagdsa #this time it stays for sure #this. time. for. sure.#also for the curious: the name lucia means ''light'' and can be written with kanji for ''thousand-colored lapis lazuli''#the name ''sebastian'' means ''venerable'' but more importantly was apparently a translation of the latin name ''augustus''#which is me being facetious in a way #and finally the name ''liam'' means ''strong-willed protector''#which i think is pretty goddamn fitting - don't you?#also since he's a descendant of blackthorn's dragon clan there's a chance he's distantly (like - quite distantly) related to clair #not that he'll ever know that but hey

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sky-scribbles · 7 years

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Introducing Elera!

I finally made it through Origins and DA2 again, and arrived at Inquisition. I’ve already talked a little bit about Elera Lavellan, my new Blackwall-mancing Inquisitor (because I’m weird and I create character concepts months before the actual character), but now she finally exists in her own save slot, I think it’s time to introduce her properly.

Here’s what my new gal looks like:

And here are eight facts about her:

1. My first idea for Elera was that she would be blind, having lost her eyesight in childhood. I was researching ideas for how this might have happened, and learned that people with albinism often have highly sensitive eyes which are prone to visibility problems. ‘Hey, I could make an elven tradition!’ I said to myself, because I talk to myself and am strange. ‘Maybe albino elves are seen as marked by Ghilan’nain – they are pale as halla, Ghilan’nain’s sacred creatures, but they are also prone to visual impairment, and Ghilan’nain was transformed into a halla by Andruil after being blinded.'

So Elera has albinism, which has led her to suffer retinal damage. Perhaps her outdoor Dalish lifestyle exposed her to the sun so much that she just gradually lost her eyesight over time, or maybe some magical accident happened that a regular person could have recovered from, but was the nail in the coffin for her sensitive eyes… maybe a combination of both. In any case, she is unable to see – at least in the waking world.

2. Elera is a Dreamer, like Solas and Feynriel. (I know they’re rare and that the ‘magical albino’ trope is done to death, but the concept fascinates me so much I couldn’t resist making a Dreamer OC.) Because only Elera’s physical body is blind, she can see in the Fade, and considers it as real as the physical realm. After her eyesight failed, Elera - filled with despair and convinced that she could not serve her clan without sight - was ready to give up. But mere days later, she found herself walking within the Fade, where a Spirit of Hope was drawn to her, seeking to help her recover from her despair. The two formed a friendship, Elera realised she had magic, and the Keeper took her on as her First. Since Elera can enter the Fade at will, being a Dreamer, I headcanon that she occasionally goes into trances in order to seek guidance from Hope.

3. Since they share many things – a race, the Dreaming talent, a fascination with the Fade and spirits - Solas and Elera are very close friends. She sees him as too much like a Dalish hahren to have any romantic interest in him, but they spend a lot of time discussing magic and elven culture, and they go for walks in the Fade in which Solas introduces her to some of his spirit friends. (Some mild worry will ensue from Blackwall, who Elera very much does have an interest in, but who will briefly be given to think that there's something between Elera and Solas. It’ll all be sorted out before long, and Solas will act rather like a protective big brother, giving Blackwall the whole ‘don’t break her heart’ speech. Like you can talk, you lying egg god…)

(Rest under the cut for length.)

4. Elera wears the vallaslin of Ghilan’nain (see fact 1 for why.) A deity of guidance is a fitting patron for a blind elf. But despite her belief in the Creators, Elera happily identifies as the Herald of Andraste, and not just for practical purposes. She sees herself as a second Shartan, allying herself with humans in order to create a better way of life for the elves. At first she wonders if a spirit somehow took on Andraste's form and memories and chose her; when she finds out the truth, she isn't all that troubled. Chosen or not, the world needs a new Shartan, and it might as well be her.

5. Elera’s relationship with Sera is proving interesting. At first I thought they wouldn’t get on at all, what with Elera being an ‘elfy elf’ and with Sera’s hatred of creepy Fade magic. But while she strongly disagrees with Sera’s attitude, Elera is fascinated by Sera - perhaps because she wants to know what exactly an elf can be when they forsake everything about the culture. Despite their unlikely friendship, they will have a blazing argument after the Temple of Mythal... but if I finally become able to play Trespasser, it's possible they'll talk through their issues then and become much closer, with Sera supporting Elera through her inevitable crisis of faith.

6. Elera sees it as her duty to remain calm and collected, and to make sure her blindness doesn’t become too much of a burden on the people around her. Behind this cool exterior, however, she does often feel rather vulnerable, and taxed by the effort of coping with both her disability and her responsibilities while never complaining. This is partly why she’ll find the solid and dependable presence of Blackwall rather comforting. Blackwall, meanwhile, finds her capable nature in the face of her problems rather inspiring – and when she tells him about her initial struggle to accept her lot in life, he’ll feel encouraged to hope that he might be able to move on from despair, too… *cue romantic music*

7. Being blind has, naturally, encouraged Elera to make use of her other senses as much as possible, and she has discovered that she’s a very good listener. She's a good singer, able to pick up and follow a tune with ease, she takes note of spoken details others would miss, and she can imitate people’s voices very well – in fact, she has a naturally Dalish accent like Solas’s or Merrill’s, but while around humans she likes to affect a human accent so as to make them feel more comfortable (and because she enjoys it.) It was also why she was sent to spy on the Conclave, since the Keeper knew she’d hear and remember every detail.

8. But naturally, a blind woman couldn’t go alone. Elera was accompanied by her best friend, Merron. He was an easygoing and cheerful elf who was never the strongest or fastest hunter – but he was very good at looking after Elera and acting as her eyes. When she became First, he saw it as an opportunity. He was mocked for being a mediocre hunter, but if he was bodyguard and helper to the Keeper, he would have status and purpose within the clan. Since they were inseparable, they were sent to the Conclave together – where Merron sadly perished. This was what made Elera convinced she needed to stay and help the Inquisition; she intends to find out why her best friend was murdered. Corypheus better watch out - there's a tiny blind elf lady out there who is very angry, and she's coming to kick his ass.

If you have any questions about Elera, please throw ‘em at me! She still needs plenty of fleshing out. :)

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #blackwall x lavellan #oc: elera lavellan

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mmoxie · 7 years

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50 Character Questions For Karalonde

@memes4less asked me to do the whole darn ask meme for a character of mine that i like a lot, and it took some time, but

it happened, and i’m just, so incredibly sorry to mobile users if this somehow eats your dash

here’s a readmore tho

What is your OC’s favorite color? Yellow.

Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect? Curios and antiques from Elven history.

What kind of things is your OC allergic to? No allergies.

What kind of clothing does your OC wear? Very huge yellow cloak full of pockets is a must. Steel-toed boots, sweaters, comfortable all-weather pants. It takes a lot to get her into something elegant.

What is your OC’s first memory? Her mothers and mentors, the spooky old Ravens Grey, holding her hands and singing songs to her.

What’s your OC’s favorite animal? Least favorite? Karalonde gets along very well with corvids. They tend to recognize her as another corvid, like a very big crow or raven. On the flip-side, dogs don't trust her, and she doesn't trust them.

What element would your OC be? Sodium.

What is your OC’s theme song?

The Heavy - No Place For A Hero

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhwDxNqWtxk

Do you have a faceclaim / voiceclaim for your OC? Nah.

What deadly sin would best represent your OC? This one's a toss-up. I'm going to go with Pride though, because she's sure of herself to a tragic fault. Believing without question that she's making the right decision, because she's Karalonde, so of course she's right, has been her downfall more than once.

What are your OC’s hobbies? She used to play guitar. Hasn't picked it up again since she lost her eyes, but she could.

How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they? She's patient until she's not. Dynamite with a really, really long fuse is still dynamite. When she's angry, she's Category Five Angry.

What is your OC’s gender / sexuality / race / species / etc.? She's a night elf, a trans woman, and a lesbian.

What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods? She's a total disaster about modern food. Absolutely spoiled by the world of greasy and salty and deep-fried. But she's got a soft spot for kimchi, which she grew up on, and likes her meat rare.

If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why? A corvid of some kind. She's always had an affinity for them due to her upbringing. Whenever she encounters one in the wild, she has a way of approaching them that makes her seem to be a Very Large Raven, rather than a different creature altogether.

What does your OC smell like? Boot polish.

How do they make a living? What kind of job do they want / not want? What is their dream job? What do they think of their current job? Karalonde found and sold a great deal of her belongings from half an eternity ago in order to build a large savings. Large enough that she can coast on it for basically as long as she wants, as long as she lives simply- which she prefers. Most days, she takes a boat to the Broken Shore and participates in holding the line there, helping to keep the demons from advancing any closer to the mainland. Her dream job requires that the war be over. She wants to go back to being a public servant. Maybe the mayor of a small town, or some other low-caliber politician. She considers her current "job" a necessary service, but it places her uncomfortably close to the Illidari.

What are your OC’s greatest fears? Weaknesses? Strengths? Karalonde fears failure to the point of outright "you didn't win" levels of denial. She also fears abandonment. She's absolutely awful at expressing herself, and this distances herself from would-be friends and romantic partners, and this is exacerbated by her vast ego, which insists that she can't be in the wrong for acting that way. She is, however, phenomenally physically strong, literally fireproof, and she can, on occasion, channel her inability to otherwise express herself into a passionate drive to protect the few people she can keep close to her- even if that means doing something as dangerous and oafish as picking a fight on their behalf.

What kind of music do they listen to? Do they have a favorite song? Karalonde likes things that sound like Spanish guitar. She also has a certain fondness for the powerful drums the Trolls use.

If they came from their world to ours (if not already in our’s) how would they react? What would they do? She's been traveling offworld for half an eternity, thanks to her career with the Illidari. If anything, she'd just be shocked to find out that the Earth isn't a smoldering husk. The next step after that would be to casually assimilate, never explaining her appearance or origins, pawning off her extremely valuable gold coins from Azeroth in exchange for fat stacks of cash. She'd miss out on a lot of our visual media due to her general eyelessness, but once she got the hang of things, she'd almost certainly end up a celebrity. Maybe even star in an action movie.

What personal problems/issues do they have? Pet peeves? Lack of decorum makes Karalonde very upset. She's got a strict sense of what's proper behavior, and she's not above delivering a hard slap to remind her close acquaintances to behave when she's around. She also has a stomach ulcer, and arthritis in her knees and hands. Her only pet peeves are all to do with communication- she hates when strangers interject with "their two coppers," and she'll often deny them outright if they ask to contribute. Likewise, she hates un-asked-for explanations, and will mock anyone providing one with "ah, look at the young scholar," or something to that effect.

What kind of student were they/would they be in high school? Horrible. Just the worst. Not even a disruption in class, just the kid who seems to always have better things to do than be there. Abysmal attendance record. Shows up whenever she wants. Gets into fights in the cafeteria pretty often over basically nothing. Steals little things all the time. --Librarian's pet, though. If she's not in class, she can be found there, helping stock returns and organize the shelves, holding surprisingly mature and serious conversations with the librarian about her future.

What is a random fact about your OC? At least once in her life, Kara has- just like a dog- chased after and eaten a bee. With the consequences you'd expect.

What is their outlook on life? What is their philosophy / what do they think in general about living? Kara is a firm believer in "all the fake things, all the bullshit, all the wishy-washy myths and mysteries." Every cryptid is real, every mystery has its fantastical conclusion, every conspiracy is worth investigation. She insists that it's the fake things- "the things we invent, because we like the sound of them" that contribute a newfound value to the dirt and grass and trees. Every ritual, she believes, is a total fabrication- an invention that, by virtue of our commitment to it, achieves its function. The only "fake thing" she questions is the Holy Light, because she finds it uncomfortably godless. "Where in the hell is their deity," she's asked more than once, "how in blazes did they reckon on just -light?-" The truth of that is, she just finds it unimaginative- lacking the spark of imagination that comes with grander rituals and other "fake things." But a world rich with fake things is a world she wants to protect. She's invented a great many, herself, ascribing value to trinkets and places and even articles of clothing. She'd save the world just for the sake of the value she finds in an idea. Even a really silly idea. Especially a really silly idea.

What inspired you to create them / how did you create them? Were they originally a fancharacter? What was their personality / design like when you first made them? In a lot of ways, Kara is wish fulfillment. She's beautiful, she's strong, she's capable. But in other ways, she's constantly failing, She's a lapsed Illidari who broke the bond with her demon because the two of them fell in love, for goodness' sake. Talk about taboo on top of taboo. She's wrong about most everything, but she believes so hard and so sincerely- and again, that's wish fulfillment. I wish I could believe like Karalonde believes. She's only a fan character in the sense that she's not built out of My Original Lore, but really, there's only so much structure that Blizzard offers to characters, so they end up 1% Blizz, 99% Your Effort. She's always been kind of the same, ever since I made her, but she's changed in subtle ways- being more indulgent, telling more jokes, opening up little by little, learning to care about others again. Her journey's gradual, and she's got a long way to go.

Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact and why? It's hard to say. Kara makes herself into a mother figure accidentally, all the time. She ends up attached to someone and worries about them, and next thing she knows, she's rushing to protect them. But there are a few- a very select, very distinct few- who she sees the "makings of greatness" in. And yes, John Silver from Treasure Planet went into the pot, when I was making up Karalonde for the first time. She fixates on these people- often slow-witted but sincere, brave but prone to accidents, full of self-doubt but in possession of great ambition- and she dotes on them. She provides what she can for them, even if it's just providing encouragement. She wants them to succeed, because she's already lost the war, as far as she can tell- but they don't have to. They could win it. To contrast, boastful warriors who go on and on about their conquests and victories, she considers fodder to be fed to the Legion. Let them go and die, if that's what they want, because they don't have or make any fake things to enrich this world.

What kind of childhood did your character have? A very strange one. The Ravens Grey served as three different mother figures- One was tall and thin and very judgmental. One was hairy and squat and very slow to speak. The third was near-about the elven ideal, beautiful and youthful- but she had strange habits, drinking smoky concoctions and babbling prophecy. They each raised Karalonde in their own way, but also together, as a family. They taught her to be shrewd and clever, and never meaner than she had to be. To be tacit when it served her, and to make speeches when- and only when- they were called for. They molded her into an elf that could serve the woods, one of the finest politicians their village would ever see. None of them- not even the babbling prophet- expected that the woods would burn and Kara would find herself trapped in service to the Illidari. They were kind to her, but not coddling. They chose lessons over discipline. If she was going to scrape her knee, she was going to learn how to mend it. If she was going to throw a rock at the boy across the street, she was expected to explain why he deserved it, to their satisfaction. Otherwise, she'd get a lecture on when it's appropriate to throw rocks, and what rocks are the best kind to throw, and where you ought to throw a rock depending on how upset a person makes you. She grew up to be a woman who is very good at throwing rocks.

What kind of nervous habits do they have? Do they stim? Do they have any kinds of addictions? Her ears twitch when she's angry or overstimulated. When she's frustrated, she'll grab an old trinket out of her coat and polish it until it squeaks. She's not an alcoholic, but she's fonder of a cosmopolitan than the average elf.

If they could choose their epitaph for their grave, what would they choose? [KARALONDE - BORN IN TIME IMMEMORIAL - DIED IN BED, BENEATH A DOZEN GOBLINS] She always was too friendly with the waitresses in the Bay.

Do they want to get married? Why or why not? Would they ever want kids? Do they have kids? Why? She considers marriage an "Eastern tradition," like worship of the Light, necromancy, and failing to maintain a functioning kingdom. That said, if she was proposed to, she might open up to the idea. Just for the sake of trying something new. As for kids, she's never had one. She was meant to have one- a child intended to be the next leader of her village- but it never came to fruition, due to the woods burning. As things stand, she may end up a godmother for one of her friends. She might like a child of her own, but she's not ready to settle down. Not even after all this time.

What is their most traumatic memory/experience? What is their favorite memory? She wasn't taken offworld by choice. She wanted to stay in the woods, hold the line, defend her village. She was dragged by the armpits through a portal, to go "fight them where they live." She's been bitter with Illidan and his ilk ever since, and it hurts her every day, to think back on what she was forced to leave behind. To contrast, her very favorite memory involves going to a quiet glade in Duskwood where the green dragons used to stay, and finally being able to touch the waters of a moonwell without them burning her skin. She was in the company of a young druid, who sang and kept her safe while she fretted and protested and doubted aloud until she finally found the courage to try. There was no greater relief than knowing that the mother moon recognized her again, even a little bit.

If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be? One thing? How big or small scale is this? Like... one article of clothing, or one concept? For the sake of a good answer, I'll choose concept and go with "a home." She hasn't had a place to call home since the woods burned, and she wants one very badly. So badly that she's willing to occupy old elven ruins that've been abandoned and start dressing them up again.

Would they ever kill someone? What would someone have to do to push them to kill someone? If they would kill someone, why? She "doesn't kill things of the good dirt that walk on two legs." This has to be broken down, a bit- "things of the good dirt" means creatures of all kinds who are made out of flesh and blood as a result of living somewhere. By this metric, demons are not things of the good dirt, largely. Many of them are composed of dark magic from the nether in their entirety- or they've been killed and remade so many times that nothing remains of what they once were, when they came up from their "good dirt." Then there's the matter of two legs- if it moves on four, it tends to qualify as prey. She considers herself an old creature of the woods, and as such a creature, she eats what she damn well pleases. These aren't hard rules, however. She'd eat a human or an orc or any such creature if she had to, and feel no moral or ethical dilemma whatsoever- she considers them to be "made of the same meat I am." If it's not a matter of eating or driving back the Legion to protect her home, then she absolutely will not kill. Maim, bludgeon, assault, she'll beat the daylights out of someone who crosses her- but she won't kill them. She, like the Ravens before her, would rather teach a lesson.

What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually? Kara isn't the life of the party, but she's an active participant. She's belligerent and traditional in a lot of ways, but she likes to laugh and she likes to have a good time, and she's got the good sense not to make a bad situation out of a good one- unless she's really, terribly bothered by something, in which case she'll raise hell. She doesn't belong to any clubs or organizations anymore, but she's casually trying to form some- a township in some abandoned ruins, for example- and she hands out yellow cloaks to match hers, to any lapsed, failed, or rejected Illidari in need.

How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories? She has a spectacular imagination, but it's limited by her perspective. Her ideas are fanciful and sometimes brilliant, but they have the same kind of old-fashioned charm that "old sci-fi" has compared to the sci-fi we're used to now. She doesn't worry, but she is prone to fantasizing- and she does do a great deal of living in memories, because she has an eternity of nostalgia to sift through.

What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain? She wants the war to end. She's tired of having to fight in it, she was never meant to. She doesn't have many compulsive needs, but she does like to fight more than the average elf. By a long shot. She's done sacrificing, though. She'll kick ass and take names all up and down the Legion front, but she's already given up her eyes, her home, her lover, her allegiances, her dignity, her glaives, her traditions, her family, her friends, her neighbors, and every last tree in the woods we now call Felwood. She's Fucking Tired Of Sacrifices And She's Going To Keep And Protect Everything Else That Exists Now, God Damn It.

What’s something that your character does, that other people don’t normally do? Bumps into walls. If it's not enchanted, she can't fucking see it. But she's too proud to use a cane or a dog, so she just struggles against the physical world because she needs to insist to herself that she's fine.

What would your character do with a million dollars? She already has a million dollars. She's chosen to live well within her means, do a job that satisfies her, and make meaningful personal connections.

What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? Nightstand? Garbage can? Fridge: Several stolen platters from New Years celebrations. Meat and cheese and vegetable dip trays from several different parties she wandered through. Also, a gallon of milk, a gallon of sweet tea, and a gallon of lemonade.

Bedroom floor: Gigantic heaps of treasure, stolen from everywhere. Rugs, quilts, piles of loose gold and silver trinkets, pottery and riches. It looks like the Cave of Wonders from Aladdin in there.

Nightstand: Flask of spring water from halfway up Hyjal. Gnomish audio recorder featuring a tape with instructions on how to read braille. Three other gnomish audio tapes are nearby, with instructions on how to use the Common alphabet, a recording of some very good guitar played by a pirate in the Bay, and a highly explicit tape, also bought in the Bay, which features very animated readings of a couple "steamy romance novels."

Garbage can: Empty soup cans, spent matches, various wrappers and shreds of wax paper.

Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with? You can count on somewhere expensive. Kara likes paying extra for something quiet and special and well-crafted, so fine dining suits her. Even if she eats with her hands. She was given a dress over Winter Veil, made of embersilk. It fits, and she likes to wear it out. Odds are, she'll go out with a friend- but if she had a choice, she'd get a celebrity on her arm. She'd love to stir up a controversy by being caught out at dinner with a world leader, like Tyrande or Sylvanas. Especially Sylvanas- she feels like they'd have a lot to talk about, in their long years.

What does your character do when they’re angry? Why? Pick fights. She's an extremely physical woman.

Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from? S h i t l o a d s. Where do you think? She's been fighting the Legion for goodness knows how long. Longer than most.

What was the most offensive thing your character had ever said? "It's only a human. Wheel it off to a priest before it stinks, or eat it."

How does your character react/ accept criticism? ...It takes her a while. A long while. Usually something painful and humbling has to knock some sense into her before she'll accept a new idea.

If your character was given a slice of pineapple pizza and they HAD to eat it (or something bad would happen), how would they react? Do they even LIKE pineapple pizza? She fucking loves pineapple on pizza.

Your character is given a voodoo doll of themself. What do they do with it? Do they see if it actually works? Poke at it, then put it away. She believes very strongly in the sorcery of the Trolls, and she's not going to test her luck.

Can your character draw? What do they like to draw? Do they doodle? She can't draw. She also can't read, or see.

What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult? I feel like I already answered this one. The Ravens Grey were strange, confusing, but ultimately compassionate old witches whose methods carried both the danger and directness of the old trolls, and the dignity and decorum of the new elves. Kara, as an adult- having gone through so much- still tries to make herself like them. They were good to her. She appreciates how they raised her.

Does your character like candy? Do they get sugar rushes? What are they like when they get a rush? Candy makes her sick. She'd never eat enough to get a rush, she'd vomit. Hates the taste. Even chocolate.

If your character was presented with imminent and unavoidable death/fatality, how would they react? Would they try to avoid death anyways? Would they try to make their last days count? She'd embrace it with open arms. She's been waiting to die for a long time, and death simply hasn't come to her. She'd feel relief, in passing away. She'd get her affairs in order as best she could, distribute her wealth, talk to the people she wanted to talk to- Tyrande, Sylvanas, Boss Mida, Alexstrasza, Chromie, Shandris, and Varok Saurfang, in particular- and then call it quits. Take it easy, stay home and close to her loved ones, and just let herself finally die. An eternity is long enough to live. Let someone else handle the next one.

#memes4less #karalonde

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