maskedtwilight

[maskedtwilight]

One last talk before you go

Art for @princessserenity14 as part of @honzuki-exchange. Thank you for your patience!!

I was very happy to draw them. It's a shame they didn't have much time together, so this makes times like theese very special

[maskedtwilight]

Give You Nothing But Truth

A gift for @maskedtwilight as part of the @honzuki-exchange Spring Prayer event!

Gunther has suffered failures and loss before, but none of them ever hurt quite as much as this.

AO3 link (story can also be found below the cut)

Gunther had always known that children who survived to their baptism were the exception, not the rule. He'd been the fourth of six children his mother had birthed, and the only one to be baptized. (He had only the vaguest memories of an older brother carving some toy or another for him, and of a younger sister who'd always tried to mimic him.) That was just how life worked.

Which was why he hadn't been shocked or overly devastated when the first child he and Effa had lost the first child they'd conceived only a few months into the pregnancy. 

And yet, somehow, as he stared down at the grave of his firstborn son, clenching Effa's hand tightly in his own, he felt something inside of himself beginning to crumble and crack.

Kiefer, he thought, pressing his free hand to his mouth as though he could hold back the sobs threatening to spill through.

Gunther could still remember the day the boy had been born, on a stormy day in the middle of winter. The snow had been so heavy that only the women living in their building had been able to come help, and the naming ceremony has had to be postponed nearly a week.

Some of the women had frowned, saying that the newborn didn't seem strong enough to make it through the hard winter season, and yet, despite all odds, Kiefer had not only last that season, but nearly three more after it. Autumn was drawing to a close now, and Winter would officially begin in less than two weeks.

Funerals for pre-baptismal children rarely lasted long, and when the child in question wasn't even a year old, it was unusual for there to be any mourners besides the parents (and, occasionally, the siblings). To Gunther, it seemed like one moment he and Effa were standing by the grave, and the next she was drawing him back into their little apartment, closing the door before leading him to the table and pouring him a drink.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Effa asked, once he'd downed the mug and slammed it down on the table.

Her voice was calm, almost serene-- as though she hadn't woken Gunther up with a scream that very morning, yelling that something was wrong with the baby, that he wasn't breathing. As though she was breaking inside right now just as he was.

"I don't..." Gunther let his voice trail off, unsure of what he wanted to say. What was there to say?

"It's not your fault, you know," Effa said, coming up behind him to wrap her arms over his shoulders. She pressed a kiss to the side of his face before bringing her chin to rest on his head. "There was nothing either of us could have done. You do know that, right?"

"I did last time," he said, laying a hand atop her joined ones. "The fate of unborn babes is entirely in the hands of the gods. But this time..."

"This time you knew him," she said, her soft breaths tickling his scalp. "This time his little hand wrapped around your finger, and you looked him in the eye and swore to do everything in your power to protect him. This time you let yourself believe that because he has been born, because he had lived, his future now rested in your hands. That if you only worked hard enough, provided enough, it would be enough."

As Effa spoke, Gunther allowed his head to fall forward, his face pressing into his palms as a few tears slipped through the stoic mask he'd thought he'd mastered.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed, tears falling faster. "I'm so sorry, Effa."

"I know," she said, releasing her arms to sit down next to him and lay her head on his shoulder. "But it wasn't your fault. Just like the last one wasn't mine. We can only do what we can."

"I know," he said, wiping at the edges of his eyes. "I just.. you were such a good mother."

"And you were a good father," Effa murmured. "But there will be other chances, you know."

Other children, she meant. Gunther tried, for a moment, to imagine it. Other babies. Perhaps a boy with green hair like Effa's. (Like Kiefer's.) Maybe a girl with blue hair like his. Tiny people who might live to be baptized, to be apprenticed, to come of age and marry and have their own tiny little lives to care for.

At this moment, with their firstborn barely cold in his grave, it seemed like an impossible dream.

"Do you think so?" Gunther asked, not expecting a real answer.

"I know so," Effa said taking his hand into hers and laying it onto her stomach. "In fact, I strongly suspect that next chance will arrive sometime in late spring or early summer."

Dumbfounded, Gunther turned to gape at her.

"You mean-"

Effa nodded, her lips quirking into a slight smile.

"For some reason, I have a feeling this one is going to be a girl."

[maskedtwilight]

My entry for @mookeeyy/@m0kent0sh for the #HonzukiExchange They liked Honzuki's focus on family, so I wanted to explore their relationship after the end of the series. With Ferdinand being stoic and all, along with the limited ability to visit family, I imagine that building that relationship is pretty slow going.

I originally wanted to do something like the Natural Habitat's about Prarie Dogs and Greetings, but physical contact is probably way too much for them at the start.

Ferdinand's gotta take baby steps for now. He can call them "Mother" and "Father" if he wears a noble mask, but he's secretly (not so secretly) dying of embarrassment inside.

Not sure what to do about image resolution on tumblr though...

[maskedtwilight]

After discovering the break-in and abduction at Ehrenfest's temple, Damuel and Angelica have to gather information from the lower city. Gunther asks to go along to smooth the communication, and gets on Damuel's high beast.

Everyone's tense and racing against time, but Gunther can't help but feel like giddy at the thought that he's practically living out his fantasy of becoming a knight of Ehrenfest.

God I love Gunther.

[maskedtwilight]

->Rosemyne and Ferdinand but they're dogs :D

It just makes sense to me that Myne is just like a shiba inu! And what can I say about Ferdi? LOOK THE HAAIIR MSNDAKOS

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GO FOR IT, KARSTEDT!

Saw the parodies of this cover and knew I had to do it.

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I had so much fun wearing Rozemyne V 1.0 at the con this weekend!

[maskedtwilight]

The time is nigh for the Honzuki Exchange: Harvest Festival!

If you're new here, this event works largely the same as a Secret Santa gift exchange— sign up, receive a Fellow Bookworm (partner), create a gift for them, upload it on the appointed time, and receive a gift in turn from your Fellow Bookworm!

Sign-ups will be collected through a Google form. The form will collect your email address and send you a copy of your form upon successful submission!✨

Here’s the schedule for the Harvest Festival event:

Learn more:

About | Schedule | Rules | Sign-up Form (open September 11 to 20)

🕊️ Reblogs to promote the event are greatly appreciated! Help spread the word in the Honzuki community!! 🕊️

[maskedtwilight]

My exchange partner is @olyollyoxenfree!

I noticed Benno in the fav characters list, who I immediately chose for being one of the OG father figures and Myne's support. That and he hasn't had much screen time towards the end of the novel.

It's a parody of the "Y dis X look so mad" meme. Benno's the angry face of the team, but Mark is the one who will ruin your business from the shadows if you get in Benno's way.

Wish I could have spent more time on this, but lots of events happened towards the middle of July until now

[maskedtwilight]

@maskedtwilight I was your gift exchange buddy :D

Myne teaching her dad how to read

[maskedtwilight]

Gunther may be an amazing dad who keeps his promises, but he does not make life easy for Damuel.Inspired by these two posts:

Inspired by these two posts:

[Aob Version]

[Dungeon Meshi Version]

[maskedtwilight]

Hey there @dhdrawings , I was your Fellow Bookworm for the Star Festival gift exchange! I saw Hannelore on your wishlist and I just had to do something with her!!

Honzuki Exchange is hosted by @honzuki-exchange !

[maskedtwilight]

If Ferdinand was around right after the Merchant Saint did her thing

(based on this)

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After Work Pick Up

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My State of Mind whenever Gunther appears

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Chimera Laios

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