#|| headcanons | rhika ||

[aetherstories]

💭 + parenthood ( for any muse that tickles your fancy with this !)

𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓬𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓷𝓼 — send 💭 + a topic to receive a headcanon about said topic. || Accepting

Am I really supposed to choose with a topic where I have so much to say? Nope. Let's talk parenthood, and all my muses :3

Lahabrea is one of my two muses that are canonically a parent, and I headcanon that he has been a father more than once, both before the Sundering in our verse (considering Venat his child as well) and after, with Mae... but also during Allagan times. He was one of the many Emperors of Allag, and raised children with a purpose, yes, but he was unable not to grow attached to them. Not to be their father, not to mourn them when they passed. It was why Emet-Selch was the one who took that role, in Garlemald: they all feared Lahabrea could not handle that anymore. And they would have been right.

Fourchenault is my other muse with canonical children, and despite the way he goes about it, he sincerely loves his children, and wants nothing more than their safety and happiness, for all he has put the former before the latter some times, and that's caused its fair share of friction. He was already an Ascian when the twins were born, and if he had not already been willing to do anything to keep Sharlayan and his family safe, holding them for the first time would have solidified that conviction. And when they were sent to the first, Fourchenault did check on them, from a distance, and as much as he could afford without Emet-Selch noticing... which wasn't much.

Of my remaining muses, the least likely to have children would be Astraeus, the fallen Azem: They did not have the interest just yet, in Ancient times, and now they are too consumed by their mission. They would, moreover, not see themselves as parent material, being too aware of their wanderlust but also believing a child needs some stability to thrive.

Y'rhika Tia, on the other hand, is someone who, as a lesser Ascian, could not have children naturally, but would like to adopt them at some point. He was adopted by two women, a Hyur and a Roegadyn, and his was a happy childhood, so he would like the chance to offer that to someone else, if he has a partner and/or enough stability to properly raise a child or two.

Regarding Cassius and Esseia, well... Esseia, as a Voidsent, cannot have children, but she has bonded for life with Cassius and would very much look over any children of his, blood or not, and perhaps bond to them at some point, once Cassius' age -despite him being a Viera- means he retires.

Cassius, on the other hand, can and for a long time he expected to have children, at some point: he was the right hand man of the Prince of the Garlean Empire, and so he did expect to someday marry, for his mixed heritage would not matter as much when he was a Legatus, and marriage would of course involve children. And as much as he hoped of liking or even loving his hypothetical wife, he expected the marriage to be political, and for his role as a father to be mostly of a provider and teacher at some point. Now, however, Cassius' outlook in children is a shade different: he does not really expect to marry, and is not sure if he wants children himself, but after all he has seen and done, at some point he'd like to retire and become a schoolteacher. He believes children are the future, and he has always enjoyed interacting with them, and would like to help guide the next generations so they don't make the mistakes of his.

[aetherstories]

Adding to this, small detail, but if you ever put Y’rhika Tia in a situation in which he’s fighting for his life (or, more probably, for that of others) and he needs to draw upon all his power as a (lesser) Ascian, his sigil will appear even if he doesn’t want it to. 

Aka: the best way to force him to reveal he's an Ascian is to have him almost die protecting you

A small thing worth stating: 

Unless previously plotted, Y’rhika will recognize Warriors of Light and be a bit (very) afraid of them. And try to hide it. He doesn’t hold any ill will, he just knows himself outmatched.

[aetherstories]

Some assorted Rhika headcanons:

- He likes meeting people and learning about them, about the daily lives of those who aren't like him, about their traditions and beliefs.

- He gets bored of food easily and enjoys trying out new recipes.

- After Endwalker, he's attempting to compile all the lost knowledge he's had access to as an Ascian minion, so that it can be released to scholars and shared.

- He misses the Twelfth. He knows they were terrible people doing terrible things, and he regrets joining the Ascians... But a part of him will always miss them.