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kysoncat · 3 months ago

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ES Journeys Main Cast: Crystal the Vaporeon

Hello again everyone. I'm back again to talk about another one of the main cast of ES Journeys which for this post will be about Crystal.

Remember that the main thing you should know about my version of the cast is that they are supposed to be as closely accurate to how they were in the comic in terms of personality and backstory as possible while also changing things to improve them by adding, removing, or expanding things about them.

Now without further ado, here's Journeys Crystal.

(Note: Not everything is fully fleshed out. These are just the main ideas I have and am currently trying to flesh out)

Crystal Ah so now we're on Crystal the Vaporeon. She's known for many things like breaking the 4th wall, her dynamic with Silvia and Lazuli, shipped with Trace or Silvia (They're both fine, I'm fine with either), being the middle child in her family who has absolutely nothing to do with the Beserker Virus or the timeline junk, and just having literally nothing or doing anything to make her important.

Now I wanna go back to the last thing I listed for her as that bothered me and this doesn't just apply to her since others also barely did anything. As one of the 9 main characters in the comic you'd think she'd be relevant in someway seeing as she's 1) One of the main characters and 2) The sister to Speed and Flare who both have such significant roles because they're tied to the complex BS lores but guess what? She got nothing and is nothing more than comedic relief and a background character. I plan on changing that for ES Journeys.

Personality Crystal in ES Journeys has basically the same personality as her comic self. She's jolly, optimistic, and likes to be playful and pull pranks that are usually harmless but would get her and the team into trouble.

Crystal is considered to be the heart of the Eeveelution Squad team as she's the one who keeps everyone together with her positive attitude. Whenever the team is feeling down she's the one who cheers everyone up by either making them laugh or giving them encouragement. When the Eeveelution Squad began adding new members to the team she's always the one to help them feel welcomed and settled into the team.

While Crystal is usually happy being on the team, there are times where she gets questions her placement on it as she feels she's either holding the team back or isn't as special as the others, specifically Speed and Flare.

Crystal is sensitive when it comes to the topic of evolution due to her causing her younger brother, Flare to evolve into a Flareon by accident.

When it comes to doing battling and Contest, Crystal at first didn't take them seriously but after some time she started to get serious for different reasons for both sports (Which'll be explained later in the post). Crystal likes both sports a lot but likes Contest just a bit more.

Crystal likes to dance and draw.

Moves, Ability, and Battle Style Obviously Crystal in this AU is stronger than her comic self since this one actually fights while the other never did. As a Vaporeon she's a really good swimmer so she has an advantage if the arena is a body of water.

Crystal has a pretty generic battle style and she does some light taunting while in battle. While Speed focuses on strategy when it comes to battling, Crystal is all about unpredictability. The way she fights is she thinks outside of the box on how she can use her abilities in a way where her opponents or even her teammates don't understand what she's trying to do. Crystal sometimes implements dancing into her battles as a way to constantly keep moving around and dodge attacks or pull off the Countershield technique (Look it up, it's from the anime). Out of all the members of the Eeveelution Squad team, Crystal likes to Dynamax the most.

Crystal has a wide array of Water-Type moves as well as other Type moves. Her movelist and when they're learned: -Water Gun (TB) -Acid Armor (TB) -Tackle (TB) -Tail Whip (TB) -Body Slam (TB) -Bubble Beam (OI) -Hydro Pump (OI) -Whirlpool (GS) -Aqua Tail (RS) -Aqua Jet (DP) -Aurora Beam (DP) -Attract (XY) -Rain Dance (MJ) -Hydro Vortex (SM; Z-Move) -Acid Downpour (SM; Z-Move) -Max Strike (SWSH; Dynamax) -Max Geyser (SWSH; Dynamax) -Max Hailstorm (SWSH; Dynamax) -Max Ooze (SWSH; Dynamax)

Unlike her brothers, Speed and Flare who have their special Coastal abilities, Crystal sadly doesn't have one and has one of the two Vaporeon species abilities, Water Absorb. When Crystal has her body absorb the water around her she replenishes her energy so that she can keep fighting and using moves. Crystal can't use water that she's used for her moves to replenish her energy.

Crystal's Backstory Crystal hatched on February 15, 2000 and she hatched an hour after Speed did. She was brought into Sunny Town and lived in an orphanage with him and her unborn sibling. While she lived in the orphanage she played with the other kids and got along with everyone well while also getting herself into trouble with the mother occasionally. When Crystal reached the age of 3, the age of being able to attend school she wanted to go but Speed was against it so she got homeschooled which made her upset but she got over it.

Years go by as she grew up in the orphanage. During those years, Crystal has rarely left the orphanage due to Speed not wanting her or Flare going out because of Shade being around. Whenever Speed came back to the orphanage injured and was questioned about them he would assure everyone that it was nothing to worry about but Crystal would pester him about it as she thought he was hiding something but never got the truth out of him. One day, Flare had a sugar rush after eating too much chocolate and overwhelmed Speed and Crystal with his hyperness and ever since then, Crystal gets scared whenever she sees Flare eat chocolate. At some point she meets Trace when he came over to the orphanage and he instantly had a crush on her. She rarely saw him after that due to him meeting with Speed outside of the orphanage and when he is at the orphanage he drags him away from her.

In 2010, Speed tells her and Flare that their parents were dead after Trace told him which saddened them. A few months later she along with Speed and Flare watched a battle from the Indigo Plateau Conference on TV and when the mother explained what a competitive battling team is and does, Crystal thought it sounded cool and wanted to do it to which later when the three were in their room Speed said they'll do it when they're all old enough to be a team which gets her excited while Flare was hesitant but she manages to pressure him to come along.

In 2011, one day Speed and Crystal were in their room with the now Jolteon getting ready to leave and head over to Professor Robert's lab. Before he left he told Crystal not to open a small box that contains Evolution Stones that he's been collecting for Professor Robert. As soon as he left the orphanage she opened the box to see all the Evolution Stones and touched the Water Stone that was in it since she always wanted to become a Vaporeon after learning about her evolved forms while homeschooled. After evolving she thought of pranking Flare by scaring him that she's gonna make him evolve into a Flareon so she grabbed the Fire Stone in the box and left the room to find him. When Crystal found Flare outside the orphanage, she threatened to evolve him to which he started running away in fear and Crystal gave chase. After chasing him around the orphanage for a bit she found him hiding in a closet with cleaning items and he begged for her not to evolve to which she tells him it was just a prank. She tried to help him out of the closet but trips over an item and falls on him with the Fire Stone landing on him and making him evolve into a Flareon. Crystal realizing what she has done asked if he was alright but saw that his eyes were glowing red and he looked mad as she gets blasted out of the closet from a powerful Ember. Once Flare stepped out of the closet, Crystal began to run while he chased her. During the chase, Flare parts of the orphanage on fire and soon Crystal was cornered but Speed arrived and tried to calm to him down but he didn't listen and used Ember on the both of them, blasting them through the wall and have them lying outside of the building. Before Flare could use another attack on her and Speed he faints from using up his energy.

After Flare woke up and was released from being tied up, Speed grounded Crystal for a week and Flare didn't talk to her at all and wouldn't do so for a week as well. During the week, Crystal snuck out to follow Speed to Professor Robert's lab because she wanted to asked the professor if there was a way to devolve a Pokemon to which the professor tells her it's not possible right now but maybe sometime in the future. A week later and Flare still hasn't said a word to her which causes her to cry as she tearfully apologizes to Flare for what she's done and is thankfully forgiven by him.

On May 30, she along with Speed and Flare went out for a walk through the forest around Sunny Town and during it they found a rundown house. Crystal is the one who went in to check it out and was also the one to find an egg in it The egg would hatch and an Eevee who they would name, Sunshine later would come from it to which the three took her back to the orphanage and the mother let her stay with them in their room. They wondered why her egg was all alone in the abandoned house and when Speed learns from Trace that two Eeveelutions were killed around the area of the house that the egg was in and tells her and Flare about it, they decided not to say anything about it to her for now but know they'll have to eventually.

In 2014 sometimes after Flare turned 13, Speed filled out the paperwork to create their competitive battling team. When Speed needed to fill out their team's name, after throwing around some name ideas, Crystal came up with the team name "Eeveelution Squad" which both Speed and Flare liked. She also provided a drawing of their team logo. After submitting the paperwork the three siblings would talk about how exciting and nervous it was gonna be for them to go out traveling and as they talked about this Sunshine overheard them. Sunshine asked them about what they were talking about and Speed tells her they'll be going away for a long time soon which in response she asks if she can come with them and while he was against it at first he hesitantly lets her tag along after being convinced by Crystal. A few days later a letter came for the three siblings and when they opened it a form was in it that approved the creation of their team and that they're officially one now. They decided to wait till April to begin their journey.

On April 1, 2014, Speed, Crystal, and Flare begin their journey as a competitive battling team.

Crystal's Journey In The Beginning, Crystal loses most of her battles due to not taking it seriously. Even though Crystal met Trace before they began their journey, she never has once said his actual name. When she learned Trace is the son of Professor Robert she kept calling him the "son of a professor" or something similar and as she continued doing that, Trace got more and more annoyed as he doesn't like being called those things and being connected to his dad. Eventually he blows up on her and apologizing shortly after as he then explains why he doesn't like being talked about regarding his dad (I'll explain in a post about Trace, maybe). She apologizes and she eventually begins to call him by his name.

In Adventures in the Orange islands, Crystal looks back on her performance during the Indigo League and realizes she barely did anything to help as it was Speed who mostly battled and even Flare got a win. She questions her place on the team and asks her brothers if she's holding them back to which they assure her she's not. Crystal learns to take battling seriously so that she helps carry the team instead of just being dead weight.

In Gold and Silver, Crystal was the one who brings up the subject of adding someone new to the team. When Speed tells Pearl about the thing involving their mom, Crystal gets suspicious because she could tell that he was hiding something from her and tries to get him to spit out to her and Flare.

In Ruby and Sapphire, Crystal was the one who was most interested in doing Contest however when she did her first ever one she failed badly. Despite the failure she was determined to get better at it. She would get her own set of Contest rivals while being the leader of the Eeveelution Squad Contest team. Unlike Speed who tries to be a leader and have the team do things his way, Crystal is more open as a leader as she trusts the others with their abilities and comes up with ways they can use their abilities in the best way possible for Contest. Also Speed would learn from her about being a leader.

In Diamond and Pearl, when Leaf and Lazuli join the team she develops a bond with them. With Leaf, she and her would get along well as she influenced Leaf a little with her playful personality much to Lazuli's dismay. With Lazuli, Speed told Crystal to go help her feel comfortable while on the team to which the two would form a bond and become best friends with Crystal learning Aurora Beam as a sign of their friendship. As for Black, she helps him not take everything so seriously and try to make him relax and have fun. She would drag him to do things with the rest of the team and help him smile a bit.

In Black & White, Crystal was the reason why Flare developed a crush on Leaf as she teased him about liking her which planted the idea into his head. With the team's burst in popularity, Crystal let that get to her head for a bit but eventually gets overwhelmed by it and humbles herself.

In Battle Frontier, Crystal has the team return to doing Contest and with the return of Contest rivals from both Hoenn and Sinnoh she is more determined than ever to win this year's Contest Grand Festival.

In XY, Crystal along with the rest of the team offer their hand to Silvia to help her with doing the Pokemon Showcase sport since they have some experience due to the sport despite being different from Contest has some similarities to it. When Speed learns about his Turbo ability and tries to master it as well as Flare trying to master his Blaze ability, Crystal feels insecure as she feels she's not as special or strong like her brothers again but this time it was because she didn't have a Coastal ability. When she expresses this feeling to the team, Speed and Flare assure her she's strong in her own way and she doesn't need a special ability like them as they remind her of her accomplishments that she's made without having a Coastal ability.

In Sun & Moon, Crystal learns to appreciate life as well as the Pokemon around her which is her team who she starts to see as family. She also gets to meet her dad and uncle thanks to Tapu Fini and gets closure with them. Before the Alola journey, Crystal along with Speed and Flare realized that Mollie is their mom after spending time with her during vacation and after seeing their DNA samples matched, they tell her that they're her children and the family is reunited.

In Sword & Shield, Crystal is the one who is the most experienced with Dynamax out of all the members of the Eeveelution Squad. Whenever the Eeveelution Squad battles she is eager to Dynamax and everyone lets her do it unless the team is losing or at a disadvantage and needs someone else on the team to do it which while upset about not being able to Dynamax she understands. Crystal has a rivalry with Klara.

In Master Journeys, when Speed tells the team that they're gonna split up for a few months to train on their own, Crystal is one of the members who was against this but eventually gets convinced that it's for the best of the team if they wish to get through the Ultra Class in the World Championship Series.

And that's Journeys Crystal. What do you think of her? Leave your thoughts for me to read. Next post will be on Journeys Flare's and his post will happen soon. Until then, bye!

#eeveelution squad #eeveelution squad journeys #ES Journeys

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eluxcastar · 10 months ago

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Sorry I just came out of nowhere, but I found you through your sequel to 'One of Reputation' and then went scavenging for more of your arlecchino scraps and I am literally so in love with the way you write Arlecchino, platonically and romantically. I feel like a mouse that found the treasure trove of cheese. Um, warning for the huge rant because I'm fangirling so hard.

'One of Reputation' and its sequel(the arlecchino x Harbinger reader) makes me so happy? I love the lore behind reader, and although I never particularly cared about Il Capitone before, I am wondering on what his and reader's relationship was like. I also love especially how much thought and effort was placed into writing reader's thoughts and emotions in 'One of Reputation.' It's very easy to visualize and sympathize with reader. And the idea of sharing the food with Arlecchino and her begrudgingly accepting it? This is so inexplicably cute. I do want to know what Arlecchino and reader are like after reader decides to follow Arlecchino.

Among the scenarios/headcannons my personal favorite are 'arlecchino relationship headcanons' (awkward and cuddly arlecchino? are you kidding me? I'm so in love),

'arlecchino bring comforted by her s/o' (the idea of affection being so foreign to arlecchino and she doubts her reality sometimes hurts me in such delicious ways I cannot explain, and just how effortlessly reader is like 'yeah, and?' when Arlecchino asks if shes enough makes me want to combust in joy),

and 'the little sisterfication of arlecchino' (I love reader's protectiveness of arlecchino so much. It's incredibly sweet. It cannot stop me from thinking, what if reader is no longer there anymore? If reader dies on a mission she's sent for the Knave or she gets punished for protecting arlecchino, what will that do to arlecchino? I imagine that it would be the breaking point for arlecchino, and the catalyst to her overthrowing the Knave).

Anyways, I really like your Arlecchino works as a fellow Arlecchino simp. Looking forward to more 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️Your work is hella scrumptious 😫🤤

NO don't be sorry I love asks like this they make me explode (good thing) thank you I'm glad you enjoy her ♡( ◡‿◡ )

I had sm fun plotting lore for One of Repetition (⁀ᗢ⁀) and their relationship. At the time, I wrote Capitano in in such a manner because I liked the idea of her bringing back an abyss creature like a stray dog and going "Mom look what I found can we keep it" and because I wrote it before Arlecchino was introduced and I didn't know where else to fit reader in (￣▽￣*)�� (admittedly, the turn of events of Capitano likely being the First Harbinger fits my plans much better than Fourth, though I had an explanation for the alternative as well)

When I get around to making it into a proper fic (which I am actually doing, at last), I plan to expand on their relationship (and her friendship with Columbina if you can call it that (。。 ) )because very likely he'll be important and it'll be necessary to understand why he's so attached to her in that case. It was also going to be something I threw into the prequel oneshot I threw together, but I only ended up throwing in tidbits (￣ヘ￣)

I love love love Arlecchino combined with being awkward and cuddly and her being lowkey unsure of herself because I just MELT at how much it draws back to living under the previous Knave in the orphanage and her being much crueller to the children (⁄ ⁄>⁄ ▽ ⁄<⁄ ⁄) She would have known love once, if that, through her parents and I explode at how cute it is to be overwhelmed by this new thing she loves so much

THE VISION FOR OLDER SIBLINGS READER ⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝ I had that thought in the middle of writing it, but I was like "this is sad enough, I don't need to kill reader off too (・_・;)ゞ" and let them live but not without keeping the part where the Knave kills them and is killed by Arle in retaliation in my drafts (possibly an idea to be used in One of Repetition)

I'm sorry that is a whole ass ramble of a response of random information (/▿＼ ) I get very excited to get to ramble about it thank you for reading and enjoying my works

#☆ — riri says.#✦ — riri rambles.#✎ — one of repetition.#this could probably actually be considered more of a ramble #but the tag is nowhere to be found #update I found the tag #I also have no tag for you #arlecchino #arlecchino x reader #genshin impact #genshin #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader

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quoteablebooks · 1 year ago

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Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology

Rating: 5 out of 5

Content Warning: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Violence, Infertility, War

Summary:

In this romantic new fantasy series from author Hannah Whitten, a young woman’s secret power to raise the dead plunges her into the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court.

When Lore was thirteen, she escaped a cult in the catacombs beneath the city of Dellaire. And in the ten years since, she’s lived by one rule: don’t let them find you. Easier said than done, when her death magic ties her to the city.

Mortem, the magic born from death, is a high-priced and illicit commodity in Dellaire, and Lore’s job running poisons keeps her in food, shelter, and relative security. But when a run goes wrong and Lore’s power is revealed, she’s taken by the Presque Mort, a group of warrior-monks sanctioned to use Mortem working for the Sainted King. Lore fully expects a pyre, but King August has a different plan. Entire villages on the outskirts of the country have been dying overnight, seemingly at random. Lore can either use her magic to find out what’s happening and who in the King’s court is responsible, or die.

Lore is thrust into the Sainted King’s glittering court, where no one can be believed and even fewer can be trusted. Guarded by Gabriel, a duke-turned-monk, and continually running up against Bastian, August’s ne’er-do-well heir, Lore tangles in politics, religion, and forbidden romance as she attempts to navigate a debauched and opulent society.

But the life she left behind in the catacombs is catching up with her. And even as Lore makes her way through the Sainted court above, they might be drawing closer than she thinks.

*Opinions*

The fourth volume of Lore Olympus deals with a number of complicated relationships, which is the focus of most of the comic. We see the aftermath of Minthe missing the date with Hades and just how toxic their relationship can be, we see the complicated relationship between Hades and Hera continue, we see Persephone attempting to navigate her feelings for Hades as well as their professional relationship, and we see Persephone attempting to deal with Apollo. I think that Smythe does a good job portraying all these characters attempting to grapple with these complicated relationships and sometimes not always making the best decisions. Well, everyone except Apollo, who in this retelling of the myths is just the worst. These characters are complex and messy, which I love. Persephone and Hades are always so gentle with each other, even when she should be angry with him, but I love how unbelievably kind they are to each other. The art is also stunning.

While I do see the criticisms that Persephone seems to be the more mature one in the relationship with Hades, even though she is 19 and he is centuries old, I think this volume also puts into focus the amount of emotional abuse he has suffered. That doesn’t mean he isn’t in the wrong by pursuing Persephone at times, which he even acknowledges, but it explains why he’d be interested in someone who doesn’t have all these preconceived notions of him. Still, if this big of an age gap is a deal-breaker for you, I completely understand. Personally, in fantasy, it isn’t a deal-breaker for me. This whole series, so far, is a five-star for me.

#5 out of 5 stars #book review #booklr #Lore Olympus Volume 4 #Rachel Smythe

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tr4sh-u · 2 years ago

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I'm bored so time to talk about fnafhs and my au again ooooooo

So, the villains, boy do i have a love hate relationship with them in the series, eak is neat although i feel like his whole mexican deal is kinda stereotypical sometimes (not my place to judge as i'm argentinian), towntrap i have mixed opinions bc yeah i really like his character but i also can't stand his ass sometimes, cami i fucking hate her i do not hold a single bit of love same with owynn that bitch has me pissed for no damn reason, i love quirky characters but this bitch has no respect from me i only see him as a fucking joke, if i were freddy i would've dressed as a magical girl and beaten owynn to death with a stick while screaming in the name of friendship. GOD DOES OWYNN AND CAMI MAKE MY BLOOD BOIL.

Rant off now i'll talk about what i'm planning them to be in the au

So i decided to actually make the villains characters from like the actual games and lore because like the fact the villains in fnafhs are completely made up and not even inspired by the actual villains in fnaf makes me mad. (although yeah a good chunk of the bad guys from fnaf where shown way later so i do give that)

Towntrap (and springtrap too because yeah): ok so with t-trap and springtrap i decided to make their whole deal more defined. T-trap in this au is no longer just an oc from the series, in this au he's going to be plushtrap, which means that yeah, in this au towntrap is a child while all the others are teens, which tbh it's kinda interesting as i could pull the found family trope somehow.

Springtrap in this au is t-trap's older brother and excluding the actual leader of the villains (i'll talk about him later) he's like the oldest, since he's 17 and in senior year of highschool. He likes building robots and he's introverted, he's pretty grumpy, but behind that facade he built there's a depressed, anxious teen who's unhappy with his life and just wants to be noticed by the world.

Springtrap used to be best friends with golden back when they were both really young but they were forcefully separated due to a strong rivalry spring's mom had with golden's parents. Spring after that incident always still tried to act like a rival or enemy to golden but golden never understood and just saw it as him playing or joking. Basically springtrap would try bullying golden by calling him a homo and golden would respond "but spring, you've been through my house" thinking spring called him homeless.

Cami (ignore i jumped eak, i just still don't know what to do with him):

With Cami i tried turning her into something i would actually love and also making her more inspired by vanny, hence why i called her Vanilla (nickname is vani).

She actually sort of has a design, unlike the others, here are some pictures

Also she actually has a bunny hat, like you know, those that can move their ears and stuff.

She's this strange girl who although introverted has somehow managed to have friends. Vanilla is a strange girl in the sense that she likes stalking students and her classmates, likes collecting bones from animals and is really obsessed with true crime, paranormal content and witchy stuff too. Her hobbies are programming and drawing, and she's a part of the villains just because she finds it fun, exciting and amusing being able to bother student's who just want to build a music band. Springtrap is scared of vani because she never explained how she managed to get so many animal bones from the forest.

Owynn

With owynn is where the wackyness actually begins since i decided that to actually like him way more his redesign and story would be hella inspired by glitchtrap.

So, since glichtrap is hella tied to electronics and games since he's a literal glitch, i decided that owynn in this au isn't even human, but a computer virus that infects the school computers. This virus was caused accidentally by a student that just wanted to watch some anime on a pirated website but pressed on one of the ads. The origins of this owynn are unknown, who created him is completely unknown, the only known thing is that he expands and gets smarter each minute.

Ok no more nonsense or else i'll go mad.

Also ho ho ho foxy's redesign is coming soon

#fnafhs #fhsz3r0 #fhszero #Someone please take me down i can't stop

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myth-and-mischief · 3 years ago

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@toffyandsalt Since this wouldn’t fit in a reply aha, ^^; This is very self indulgent, then again, Destiny is a game where we are essentially where were are playing a chosen one?

I tend to tweak it a little when new lore / story comes out

Luciel was born after one of Mara’s “I have plans I tell no one ideas” ideas, generally believed to be related to the Dreaming City since he’s the only Awoken child to ever be born there. She takes one look at him after he’s born, deems him a failure, and dumps him on Uldren. Even as a newborn he smiled (Uldren swears) and he genuinely raises him the best he can in the circumstances. (Luciel is a minimum their half brother via Osana, potentially full, since lore says Awoken basically genetically make/test tube their children). Mara generally leaves the two alone until Luciel is a teen, so Luciel is raised with many of Uldren’s better times and qualities, and both princes are the people’s princes. One thing Uldren noted however, and semi-fed his distrust of Ghosts, is he’s noticed watching Luciel growing up and occasionally stumbling across Guardians is that Ghosts are attracted/fascinated by Luciel. And that Luciel has strangely vivid dreams of lights and orbs. (Mara’s and Luciel’s relationship is... complicated. She forgets about him at times and Luciel considers her manipulative, but usually stays each to their own lane. I toy with the idea that he’s the creator of the Oracle Engine, and in fact does have influence over the Dreaming City, neither of which he can explain to Mara because he’s not quite sure either).

Uldren tells Luciel stories growing up, because parts of Uldren telling the Ager/Rega story is very fairy tale to me and I can’t let it go ;-;

Luciel’s Ghost makes her way all the way out to the Dreaming City on her own and comes across him, alive, and senses she is Guardian she was looking for. And Luciel had sensed her coming. Neither know what to make of it, since he’s only the second to become one without dying. Uldren discovers them, but helps them escape, because he loves his brother and wants him out of the reach of Mara.

Luciel arrives at the City and trains under Ikora, since no one else knows what to make of him either. He shows a strange draw and sensitivity to the Traveler. Over time, he makes a small sanctuary for both Ghosts and Guardians in the space above the Speaker’s area in the original Tower. Its a place of rest and healing, who Ghosts still looking for their Guardians to hang out as well as Guardians who need a break or someone to talk to without judgement. Luciel helps alot of people, and is known for his calm and gentle manner. He knows how to work with them, to give them the tools and strength to get back on their feet without force or judgement.

When trying to get back into the Black Garden is when Luciel finally reunites with his siblings, and Mara finally realizes that he’s still alive. She also, finally, realizes why she deemed him a failure yet never noticed he was still alive/where he went beyond rumors: he has no connection to her like other Awoken do and thus she has no influence over him. (Uldren was also reaaaally good at hiding things Luciel related from her).

Uldren going missing in Taken King hurts more than Mara’s ‘death’ to Luciel, and he searches for him. In the Red War, he’s in his Sanctuary just completing a new shell for a Ghost when the attack hits. It gets a bit hazy for him, since his powers are never quite severed because he just... wakes up at the Shard in the EDZ and Ghosts around saying that they brought him there (The vision of the silvery bird shown at that time Guardians think as a dream; half the time Luciel thinks he had the same dream, but sometimes he thinks he was the bird)(He also realizes later the Ghost who he was making the shell on and got out safely with him is Glint)

The hardest events for him are Forsaken, because Luciel knows the real Uldren. Yet, at the same time, the Traveler is reaching out to him more (I honestly interpret alot of things in Forsaken cutscenes as Uldren hearing the Traveler and Traveler trying to reach out). When people are talking about hunting Uldren down, or that its Luciel’s duty as the last prince to do it himself (thanks Petra), Luciel has that anxiety, but there’s also a mix between calm and instinct that Uldren’s going to be ok. That he’s going to return (aka, Luciel has a feeling he’ll be back as a Guardian). There’s more than a bit of panic when Uldren’s body disappears and unable to find him.

Finding out Guardians treatment of Crow, and Spider getting to him first, is one of the only times of genuinely angry/warpath Luciel. He points out to Guardians that the only reason why he (Luciel) is how he is (that gentle strength people enjoy and rely on), was because Uldren raised him that way. He also magnificently backs Spider into a corner when getting Crow back. With Crow, its complicated. Here Luciel is with all of his memories, yet Crow has none of them. But hes glad to have him back, and sets about teaching him to be a Guardian and a person, and building that supportive network around him (in a way, paying back all the support and love Uldren gave Luciel growing up). There’s also a lot of comradire in the Hawkmoon quest when Luciel realizes the Traveler is ASLO speaking to Crow and he’s ALSO having bird related dreams.

Luciel however does tell Crow early on that he knows who Crow used to be, perhaps better than anyone, and he is willing to tell Crow (Vanguard / Guardian tradition be damned). But he wants it to be Crow’s full and conscious decision, to let Crow make that choice instead of anyone else. Crow appreciates that, and wasn’t sure if he wanted, until one night when he was having a rough night, and Glint to calm him offered to go through new pictures / clips of their new friends/fireteam he had been taking. And Crow latches onto a picture of him and Luciel side by side smiling and laughing at their Ghosts. He’s seen Luciel, of course, but considering everything that’s happened since he woke up he’s never really thought about what he (Crow) looks like. There’s just a feeling as he realizes they have the same eyes, that they’re laughing /smiling in the same way, that they look a bit alike. It finally drives Crow to ask Luciel, and Luciel explains everything as full yet gentle as he can. (It draws a lot on one of my few story wishes in that I really would have liked the option to tell Crow in game ourselves as opposed to Savathun / the way he found out).

Season of the Lost is FUN for the Sov siblings.... not. There’s points where Luciel and Mara kinda get along, then she’ll make a comment how she wishes Crow kept his memories instead of Luciel. And Luciel does NOT appreciate a portal straight to Savathun’s prison in his house.

Mara thinks Crow has no idea who he is and Savathun believes she is the one to return his memories. Crow and Luciel keep very mum the fact he knows.

There’s honestly a ton more going on but its wrapped up in related guardians to the people I play with (younger brother and our friend) but the core of it that I enjoy is Luciel and Uldren/Crow.

#Destiny 2 #crow #uldren sov #luciel sov

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the-shiniest-plant · 3 years ago

Text

OC Interview: Fionnuala

Draw (or use an old drawing, don’t worry!) or take a screen of your character in an interview setting and make them answer the following questions!

(I was tagged by @uselessidiotsquad and @thoseofuswhoblossom! Hi, guys!)

Introduction

Can you introduce yourself?

- Hi! I’m Fionnuala, Nuala to friends, family, and anyone who finds my name difficult to pronounce. I’m a member of the Crystal Bloom, one of Aurene’s Champions, former Slayer of the Order of Whispers, former Warden, and Maker of Friends! Nice to meet you all!

What is your Gender Identity, Orientation, and Relationship Status?

- Cisgender Female, Panromantic Demisexual, and Single. Turns out not a lot of people want to date someone who’s dragon-branded… which I can understand.

When and where were you born?

- I was born in the Grove about…. Five minutes after midnight… sometime in the Season of the Phoenix, in… 1310! Yeah, that’s about right. I can’t remember what day, but the day doesn’t really matter to Sylvari more than the time of day, so… I guess it makes sense. Does that answer your question well enough? Yes? Good! What’s next?

What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

- I fight with two longswords - one in each hand - and though I’m heavily armored I can and prefer to jump in and out of the Dream like most Revenants do the Mists in order to get the drop on my foes. I do use hammers from time to time when I need to hit something far away that I can’t get to. Though, most of all, I like to use the magic of Aurene to lend support to my allies in battle - regeneration, strength, cunning… though I can’t do that too much or it wears me out. Still makes me happy knowing my allies may have survived because of these gifts.

Lastly, are you happy?

- Well, I’m as happy as my current life situation allows me to be. I know I could be happier, if I had different circumstances, but right now I feel like I’m… content at the very least - my brother is safe, my Mother is getting healthier by the day, and I’m always willing to answer Aurene’s call to service. I’m a bit lonely, in all honesty, when apart from my friends in Rurikton, but for now I’m okay with that - I figure when the right person for me comes along, I won’t be so lonely anymore.

Family and Friends

What’s your family like? What is your relationship with them?

- I have a pod-brother, Sitheach! He’s a wonderful person, and I love him dearly. We’re very close, and we write to one another all the time when he’s on missions for the Pale Reavers, just to keep each other posted on current situations. He’s been home for a bit now, which is a blessing. His boyfriend misses him terribly when he’s away so seeing them back together warms my sparkly little heart!

Have you ever run away from home?

- Nope! I’ve been called everywhere I’ve been, so technically I haven’t “run away” from anything.

Would you consider marriage or having children?

- Well, marriage is a foreign concept to Sylvari, as is childbirth, but I would absolutely love a partner, and would certainly adopt orphaned children of other races if my partner was also okay with raising them, as I highly doubt with my duties as a Champion of Aurene would allow me to effectively raise a child alone. I like to think I’d be a good mother, though.

Do you secretly hate one of your friends?

- Pfffft, what kind of a question is that!? Why on Tyria would you call someone a friend if you secretly hated them? How silly!

Which friend knows everything about you?

- The only people on Tyria that know all about me are my brother, and my best friend Elspeth. That being said, I’m rather open to questions so if you see me in public and want to know more about a specific sliver of my life, just ask! I’ll do my best to answer.

Asked by Fans

Are you literate? Have you been to school?

- I can definitely read and write, as most if not all Sylvari can do that from emergence, and… does the Dream count as schooling? I know learning from Mentors does, but I feel like I learned more from the Dream than I ever did from my mentor - sorry, Maeryn, but it’s true!

What’s the eeriest prediction you made that later came true?

- I don’t think I’ve made any predictions like that, it’d be handy if I could, though… I wish I could’ve predicted the attack on the Grove during the World Summit… if we were prepared… maybe, just maybe Mother wouldn’t have been so grievously injured…

What is something that you were embarrassingly late in realizing?

- I partially understood how the other races weren’t born from pods, but what I didn’t know was the process of mammalian conception and live birth, until a kind Asura explained it to me during a stay in Divinity’s Reach. Hi, Quizz! Hope you’re well!

Do you have mental health or physical issues?

- Hoo boy, where to start… Anxiety and a bit of depression, mostly. Not being on the scene in time to help defend mother during the Shadow of Mordremoth’s attack… it really hit my self-esteem, so now, whenever I’m too late to save an innocent life, it… it haunts me for days…

What is your current main goal?

- My current goal is to protect the people of Tyria and help them in whatever way I can. It may or may not be a compulsion that I get from being Branded, but I’d likely do that anyway without the compulsion, so it works out.

Choices

Drinks or food?

- Drinks! Nothing like a good glass of Nectar after a long day of doing good things!

Cats or dogs?

- Dogs. Sylvan hounds. Specifically the puppies... I need to visit Danador’s Kennel again!

Early bird or night owl?

- Definitely a Night Owl! Which makes sense because of my Cycle. I thrive in the Evenings!

Optimist or Pessimist?

- My friends have never known me to be anything but optimistic in all my endeavors, and I certainly don’t plan to stop now!

Sassy or Sarcastic?

- Ooh, hard choice… they both have their merits… can I say “both”? Is that okay? I honestly can’t choose with this one!

Have you ever…

Been caught sneaking out?

- Of a Nightmare Camp? Yes. On several occasions, actually. I got a lot better at not being caught after I joined the Order of Whispers. Mostly because I didn’t have Ellie to help distract my foes so I could make an escape, if I was caught. Which I wasn’t! Not after Whispers.

Broken a bone?

- Never! Not even during Dragonstorm! Rather lucky on that front, my Priory friend lost her whole arm! Hi, Vledda!

Received flowers?

- No. Grown several myself, though.

Ghosted someone?

- Like, turned them into a ghost? Probably several people.

Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn’t get?

- Oh, plenty, when I was a sapling. I understood humor more and more as I kept living.

And there you have it! I tag @moonlit-grove again because I want Sitheach Lore, dang it!

#gw2 #guild wars 2 #guild wars 2 ask meme #Fionnuala #guild wars 2 oc #i love her #my baby #precious bloom #interview meme

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neakco · 4 years ago

Text

The Lost Temple Ch.4

Ao3 First Prev Next Masterlist

Where Tim debates if sending his youngest brother out to murder an ancient order of monks is unethical.

Ch.4 The Calm

Marinette explained that she hadn’t seen any signs of the temple yet. So it was decided they would consider every area covered today as searched unless the remaining sections turn up empty.

Their new plan also had them sticking together, just in case. Just in case of what was never mentioned but Tim was starting to think it either had something to do with gods or magic.

As they once again shared the watch Tim decided to risk asking a question he had dismissed earlier. “How did you untie the ropes so quickly?”

He watched a few different emotions cross her eyes before settling on mischievous.

“I have a small god in my pocket.”

He laughed quietly, “I don’t even know if you are joking. You are a mystery Marinette.” A mystery he wouldn’t mind taking a long time to solve if he was being honest.

Her laughter soon joined his, “How about I tell you when all of this is over.”

“So you don’t plan to disappear off the grid after returning to the monks?”

Marinette’s mirth evaporated, “I don’t want to return.”

It felt to Tim that in that moment she had removed his soul to scrutinize every sin and good deed before finally giving it back.

“I trust you more then I have ever trusted them.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. “Adrien and I have known them for five years now.”

Tim was curious but he could also tell this was a very sensitive topic, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“I know, but it feels good to tell someone.”

He watched and waited patiently. This was the first time he felt as if she wasn’t suppressing any of her emotions and he didn’t want to ruin it.

“The monks figured they could control us, by the time the learned they were wrong it was too late. We were too powerful.”

Tim wanted to make a joke about how they didn’t look powerful, but deep down he knew that wasn’t true. There was definitely something just under the surface if you knew what to look for. Tim had spent to much Tim with those more than human to ever dismiss Marinette and Adrien.

“They tried to kill us when we were 16 three years ago.”

That stopped Tim's thoughts. What sane person tries to kill sixteen year olds?

“Adrien's father had just been revealed as a supervillain and arrested.” He was definitely staring, this was a lot more information than he expected her to offer freely.

She apparently noticed his look and understood, “It is common knowledge and if you are even half as good a detective as rumours say then I know you will find out eventually.”

He watched her collect her own thoughts for a moment and noticed his own were silent for once.

“We survived the attempt without a scratch. For a while we figured that would be the end of it. We started to pick up the chaos of what remained of our lives. We wanted to be kids, at least for a couple more years. We hadn’t been kids in so long…” She trailed off for less than a breath. “Then they appeared again.”

Tim didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she continued speaking in a darker tone.

“They took the only people we care about. Said that if we do this one thing that we won't have to worry anymore.”

“You don’t believe them.”

“Would you?”

“No, probably not.” He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a card in the shape of his logo and handed it to her. “I doubt the monks will expect you ask for help. This has my emergency line and the number for Mount Justice. When you decide to pull off a rescue then you just need to ask.”

Marinette surprised him when she hugged him, tears streaming down her pretty face. “This means so much more to me than you could ever know.”

Tim, not really knowing what to do, did his best to hug her back. There was a small voice that sounded like his youngest brother telling him it was stupid to trust two teens that he had stumbled over in a jungle, but he was pretty good at ignoring the Gremlin when his gut disagreed.

Adrien eventually came by to tell them they were late for breakfast. Tim hadn’t even realised so much time had passed.

They came back to camp to see Bart already bouncing off trees.

“Adrien, tell me about your girlfriend.”

“Kagami?” Tim watched Adrien sit down with a cheese danish that had him questioning if the blonde was as good a baker as Marinette.

“She is as fierce and protective as a dragon.”

Marinette sat down next to him with a chocolate danish. Where were these coming from? Tim wondered if they could get him a mocha flavoured one.

“You know kitty, I am actually surprised the monks managed to grab her. She is rather deadly with a sword after all.”

“I am mire surprised they didn’t grab Luka.” Adrien grinned ferally. “Do you think he tossed them in La Siene? I rather doubt they know how to swim.”

“Who's Luka? You’re boyfriend?” Kon asked before taking a bite of…was that steak?

Okay, now Tim knew he was being pranked. He turned to glare at Bart who just grinned and handed over a large slice of coffee cake.

“Luka is actually my ex, but I still count him as one of my best friends. Enough about us, what about you three? Anyone special waiting for you back home?”

Bart laughed, “Nah, I am still celebrating just being alive.”

Tim could see Marinette adding Bart into her club as Kon scoffed, “Hard to find someone okay with dating a hero.”

Tim nodded, “Too many secrets. It isn’t like you can explain why you are ditching a date to run towards danger.”

“Or why you are late and covered in bruises, burns or blood.” Bart chipped in.

“Actually that one is easy enough when you live in Gotham.” Tim sighed, he really wished that wasn’t the case.

Adrien nodded along solemnly, “The only ones to understand are heroes and villains.” He looked towards Tim brimming with mischief. “Is it true that Batman had a threesome with Gotham's Sirens?”

A yo-yo flew into Adrien with such force that the blonde actually flew from his seat. Tim was up before the boy had gracefully landed on his feet, but relaxed upon seeing the toy, no the weapon, return to Marinette.

“Kitty, no.”

“M'lady you wound me. That actually hurt. I just wanted to make him blush.”

He watched her tuck the yo-yo away at her back before turning to Tim, “You really don’t need to answer him.”

Tim grinned, “I honestly don’t know. Pretty sure I deleted that info from my brain. I mean, would you want to know your mentor's sex life?”

Adrien and Marinette both shuddered.

“Our trusted mentor was 186.”

“and a half.” Adrien interrupted.

“186 and a HALF.” He watched her glare at the blonde while his own teammates shuddered.

Tim found himself more impressed then anything else. That was an unnaturally long life, unless their trusted mentor was secretly Ra’s. He doubted the Gremlin's grandfather was ever a monk though, rogue or otherwise. Plus, unlike said Gremlin, these two didn’t have the aura of killers. He would bet they had seen death, something in the sometimes haunted look they would get. These two had seen some sort of war and lived.

“Hey Red, are you still with us?” Marinette was very close and looking at him with concern.

“Yeah, I was just thinking.” He saw that most of the breakfast mess had already been cleaned up and decided to throw caution to the wind. “Have you or Adrien ever killed anyone?”

“What?” Marinette reeled back from him in shock.

Adrien looked like an offended cat, “No!”

“Well, there was that erased timeline…” Marinette trailed off.

“You told me I was under mind control! And I doesn’t count when only you and Bunnix can remember it.”

“Sorry, forget I ever asked.” If that timeline-hopping, punk rabbit was involved then he already knew more then he wanted to. Missions given to them by her were always the most chaotic.

In order to change the subject he pulled up his holo-map. “Working off the theory that our enemy has already searched their area.” He highlighted a good portion of the map purple. “Then this small area here should be the only area left to search.”

“We are actually assuming the enemy is competent?” Kon asked.

“Even if they aren’t, it will be a lot harder to search their territory without drawing attention.” Marinette added. “If today doesn’t work out then we can work out a strategy.”

Tim marked out their path in gold, “Two hours there and about 12 hours to search before we call it a night.”

“Unless we find it.” Adrien smiled.

“Unless we find it.” He agreed.

As always, feel free to reach out if you have any background lore questions. I am more than happy the elaborate the chaos.

Taglist @toodaloo-kangaroo

#maribat #the lost temple #adventure #some angst #some humor #rin writes

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rurifangirl · 4 years ago

Note

aight. here somes the ask lore thingie

tw for ppl readin: mention of mental illness, father mention

firstly, how did rui end up meetin the rest of the gang? did they all have sum sort of run in? did they just happen to meet on exident?

also is the father a villain? i remember ya mention him, and was wonderin

and do they have a specific place where they stay? like in a dormstory, a single house, do they live in a single town, or in completly different places?

do any of them suffer from mental/physical illnesses? if they do, how does it affect their life/relationships w others?

Aight, so here we go, be ready cuz shit's long.

(1st part - The Rui n the gang meeting; The Shou meeting) No Tw

Honestly, I also kinda wanted to do this for quite a long time, so I'm gonna firstly talk about how the gang (w/o really mentioning the others name's since they're gonna get introduced soon) met itself and decided to form, and then I'll individually do It in Lyva's and Shou's case, specifically Shou's since i mentioned that his meetin was somethin id have to take care of in another post, so i will rn.

First things first, w the whole gang. Now It wasn't really casually, mainly because Lyva n Rui did meet up, but It was during a special occasion still, that being a really important manifestation in one of the main regions in my oc universe. (They don't have name's yet so pls don't bash me🤡) Them being primarly the Forest, where Rui eventually lives in after all of his past shit, the near-countryside part, where Lyva was living, a pretty much city living on water, where Shou's currently living, and many more, as such the dunes with which I'll introduce Qiran (hopefully tomorrow/today),The sea itself, some High up places and as I said many, many other more. Other than this brief intro, they meet up where Lyva used to live, but mainly because of problems and out of conviniance.

Everyone had something to take back from, so they agreed to help eachother to reach that end, so it's all really planned. Now i won't really go w Lyva, cuz i explained how she met Rui the first time n how they helped her, so I don't need to ramble more on this. Now I'm gonna go w Shou's part though.

This Is more of a note i wanted y'all to know first, cuz i really like how Lyva n Rui met him the first time (cuz the second time was when the gang then all agreed to form n all that jazz.). Basically, Rui n Lyva were out, n visiting new places as such, to prepare themselves further and to try and search for more weapons, cuz they both knew that they'd eventually get in trouble, and even though they still are good, they wouldn't stand much a chance, n since Shou's Place is known for its production they decided to go. N fun fact, there's many funny shit that happends, for example Rui tries to touch a fish, but gets SLAPPED by It. They're still mad >:[. Ajkskdj anyways, some other stuff happends n they just, lose themselves. They had a map ofc but still managed to do so. But Rui was usin It so, I don't really blame em for gettin lost.

Shit happends n they find themselves pratically in front of his shrine/palace. Shou's servitors (cuz he saw everything happend from afar n gave them the okay) brought em in, but rather than makin em idk some tea n just making them recouver, Shou rather put them under some "tests" w/o tellin em, to see if they were any use.

For example he brought them some cups of tea, but before drinking them Rui noticed somethin unusual in the water, so they gave Lyva a sign to not drink It, n as Shou asked as a reason why they just replied that they weren't thirsthy, leavin Shou in a kind of defeated state. Bitch if i love this part honestly, there's so much fun to seein all of their reactions, but I'm gonna go brief rn. So other of this tests pass later n Shou eventually gets upset cuz they're all winnin n seemingly makin fun of him, lettin him in a weaket standpoint, n a fight happends. Even though it's a 2v1 situation he can still manage pretty well, so It ends in a draw. They get to talk after this and get to understand that they don't have to necesseraly be on the opposite side, though Shou Is still unsure whether to belive in that or not.

After they leave him, pratically almost alone w only a bunch of servitors helpin him. He admits defeat n won't show up until the event and yadayada. (Also it's during this weak time of his he'll meet Qiran which i already have plans w so it's all goin to be said bout their relationship in their post.)

(2nd part, the father mention.) Tw:father mention

So it's true that w Shou i did mention his father, but I'm not entirely sure bout his involvment honestly. In theory he kind of is a villain itself, even because of his devilish nature, so it's true, but im not sure whether to make him an independent villain or part of a group of them. But rather than that yes, i do want to make him some sort of villain in the end, because that's also part of Shou's agreement to be part of the group. I will make concept art for him so he'll definetly be involved. Not gonna lie, mabye that bastards also involved w Rui's cult too in a way or another but im givin in too many details holy shit I'll never get outta this fuck

(3rd part- where do they live) No Tw

They live in their own homes honestly, but It would be no surprise if they'd all decide to sleep over someone in specifical, though they have their own place. I made some concepts for Rui's intern home, which here It Is 😤 (forgive me for the bad quality but it's 2 am rn 🤡) I made this a while ago but only did Rui's, so I'll do Lyva's, Shou's n the other one's too. They live in different places, for the exception of, atm, Qiran, since I'm gonna say that they're more of a traveller n don't have a stable home.

(4th part- the mental/physical ilnesses) Tw: Self harm and Mental ilness mention

Well, this Is gonna be a ride. They all suffer from Ptsd, which Rui n Shou suffering from It the most. It still affects them all, though in different occasions, so Imma just do them in specifical. (Also because i gotta add some shit to shou that i didn't wanna add because i thought It was too much honestly)

Rui-

It affects them really much. They use crystals n gems to avoid anything going w their past or anything remotely related It, as whenever they feel awful about havin those flashbacks when they still were a child. They never want to talk about what happened, n during their moments It gets really, really bad. Both emotionally and physically, as their body sometimes cannot handle anything so it completely shuts down. They never really got any help for It as Rui's too scared to share bout their experience, both because of trauma itself that doesn't make them say anything even if they wanted to and because of the cults influence, so either way they've got to handle It by their own.

Lyva-

Other than havin to deal w mornin sickness, which Is the least for her, she has to deal w her neglectful childood and how desperate she's always been for litteraly anythin, whether it's related about love,friendship, food, toys, anything. She tried to seek for help and semi found It, but as of now she can't keep up w It and has better things to take care of. It's still really bad overall, but she's hoping for things to get better. Spoiler It really won't.

Shou-

⭕Tw for sh⭕

It's... really fucking bad. I'm gonna get outta this w saying something i didn't want to add because it's really triggerin, but im gonna do It now. So basically, I've mentioned them acting feminenly for his own mother, but i didn't say what would've happened if he displeased her. She would just stare down at him and whispering some awful shit or names. This would happen especially whenever he'd slip off that mask of his or revealed even a tiny bit of his devilish essence. Note that he's still a child here. So, best thing he could to was to "punish" himself, which basically consists of him scratching his arms too much and, i don't really want to continue this, forgive me but it's kind of triggering even for me. But...you can guess what he's doing, since he even to this day still keeps sharp nails. I'm sorry for putting this, but it's another way to show how his mother fucked him up and now suffering from this.

I'm sorry for rushin the last part but i'm not personally vibing w it.

Tags undercut

@a-chaotic-dumbass @spoopy-fish-writes @dopesaladlady @damnfoxx (I'm really unsure bout taggin ya in this ;-;)

If you want your tag removed, dm me cuz it's 3 am at the moment n i may have messed em up. (I'm not gonna recheck tomorrow so that's why)

#whdkkwkwkdk honestly I've written so fucjing much n for what😭😭#ruruasks #rurusocs #ruruslore #oc #ocs #my ocs stuff #rui #Lyva #shou #oc lore #i hope this shit doesn't flop cuz I've written so much n im just goinwbdjlwkdjdowodijqowodjdjoaodjdjdj #asks

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neon-junkie · 4 years ago

Text

Sinners Prayer

Summary: Dutch has asked you and Micah to tag along for the evening at the Mayor's party, but the catch is that you two have to go as a pretend married couple.

Pairing: Micah Bell x f!Reader

Word Count: 6557

Rating: SFW

Tags: Friends to lovers, Strangers to lovers, Fake relationship/marriage, Saint Denis, Shady Belle, Party, Dress up, Formalwear, Slow burn, First kiss, Flirting.

Notes: God I LOVED writing this, which is why it's sooooo long. I've had this fic idea lingering in my head for months now as I'm a sucker for the whole fake couple/marriage trope, but it feels so good to finally write this<3

Obsessed is a strong word to use, especially when it's relating to a stranger. But maybe it was the right word because you found yourself swooning over this man over and over, despite barely ever speaking to him. You were in the same camp, sure, but that didn't mean much apart from sometimes riding by his side during a mission, or sitting on the same log as him at the campfire. You'd exchanged few words and you somewhat hoped it'd stay that way, knowing exactly the kind of man he was.

Was this secret obsession something to do with past trauma? your previous encounter with a toxic man that you thought you'd gotten over? or was Micah really just meant to be yours?

But seriously... Micah. Micah Bell. Micah Bell the third, in fact, because somehow his shitty family had managed to breed more than once.

You want to feel sick every time you see him, you really do, just like everybody else in existence does, but you find yourself gazing at him from the other side of camp every single day, so drawn to various little bits of him.

There's the scar on his chin, the one that starts at his split lip, and you're curious as to how he got it, but not as curious as to if you'd be able to feel it when you press your lips against his. You try to tell yourself that his facial hair is stupid, but he always keeps it so neat and clean, and you can't help but wonder what that 'stache would feel like brushing over your thighs as he kissed along them. And his hair, his scraggy shoulder-length hair, the dirty blonde locks that you just want to run your fingers along and grip onto if you had the chance to ride him.

You're doing it again.

You give your head a little shake as you snap out of your daydream, straightening your back and taking a swig of your drink. It's late, and you're enjoying a beer before bed after finishing your shift on guard duty. Micah's sat at his usual space by the campfire in your line of view, and thankfully you haven't zoned out staring at him else, well, that'd be embarrassing.

Micah also seems zoned out, staring at the fire with his hands dangling freely down his sides, one ankle crossed over the other. He lets out a sigh and rolls his head back, staring up at the stars before looking over at you.

Oh shit.

You quickly look away, taking another sip from your drink. You can feel Micah's gaze still on you, but when you do finally peek over, he's back to staring at the fire.

You've accidentally met his gaze a few times before, a mix of you meeting his, and him meeting yours. At least it wasn't always you staring at him, he seems to have an interest in you too, though the two of you rarely ever interacted. Micah had, for some reason, kept his distance from you, despite his blatant and poor attempts of flirting with other women of the camp. Maybe you just weren't his type? But then why would he always stare at you?

Your beer is finally finished and you turn in for the night, following your nightly routine and climbing under your blankets, only to stare at the tent walls and think about Micah.

Ugh. That man, if you can even call him one.

You're a sinner, just like the rest of this crazy bunch that you run with, but it seems whatever Gods float about in the sky continue to ignore your prayers, despite them being desperate.

Please, please can they just stop this attraction to him? Please. There were so many better men out there, a handful of which you run with, but you find yourself worryingly obsessed with this foul man, yet you can't seem to stop it.

You roll onto your side, letting your eyes fall shut and as always, drift to sleep with the hopes that you won't be obsessed when morning comes.

Morning does come, and oh boy, does it hit you hard.

Dutch was quick to call you upstairs to the balcony by his room, telling you to finish your breakfast first, but hurry up as soon as possible.

"It's a party," Dutch tells you. "The mayors' party," Dutch smirks, raising his hands as if he was waiting for you to jump with joy.

"And...?" you question.

"Well. I've picked a fine bunch to tag alongside me, but I'm asking you specifically to help with a special task. Myself, Hosea, Arthur, and Bill will be mingling as singles, but we need a couple to go. We need a couple to weave their way in there with all the others and see what they can find. Maybe get invited to some fancy private getaway or... whatever it is those upper-class city folk do in their free time," Dutch explains, speaking with his hands as always.

"Dutch," you laugh. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm unfortunately single," you tell him as you shake your head.

"I know, just like the rest of camp, but I'll make suitable arrangements for you, my dear," Dutch replies.

"What about John and Abigail?" you ask, the only couple that springs to mind.

"I wouldn't dare ask them, not after that whole fiasco that happened with our dear boy Jack," Dutch says as he shakes his head. "You can say no if you want to, but I could really do with this."

You let out a sigh but then ask "what arrangements are you thinking?"

"Well..." Dutch begins. "I wanted you to be a part of this job to begin with, I knew that as a fact. You've got a good charm and I've seen you gussy up folks before. You know exactly what you're doing, and I need that strength right now," Dutch compliments, though his tone of voice and the way his eyes begin to avoid yours makes you fear for the worst.

"Trelawny's going to take you into the city to pick out a dress for you, the women have already said they'll help get you ready for the party-"

"Dutch. Who am I going with?" you cut him off, noticing the way he's avoiding the elephant in the room.

"I put a lot of thought into this, ___. I really have. I've gone through all the members of the camp-"

"Dutch," you sigh as you cut him off again. "Just tell me."

"Micah," Dutch says as his eyes meet yours. "Like I said, you can say no if you'd like. I just know the two of you would be able to make this work, and I could really do with this," he explains.

"Have you already asked him?" you question.

"I have, and he said he's happy with it if you're happy with it," Dutch tells you as he watches your expressions and body language, though you surprise him as you show no signs of discomfort.

"Alright, I'll do it," you shrug.

"Thank you, my dear," Dutch grins as he places a hand on your shoulder. "It's this evening. Trelawny will be waiting for you outside the tailors in Saint Denis, and make sure you're ready a little early. I want time to run through the plan before we set off."

The Gods were definitely mocking you at this point, sat up there on their high horses, laughing and pointing down at you as they continued to worsen your situation. Really? A party with posh folk? And you have to pretend to be a couple with Micah? You barely know him for starters. What if you two really weren't meant to get along? The last thing you wanted to do was cause a scene after Dutch had asked you so kindly to go in there and fish out information for him.

Trelawny seemed in his usual cheery mood when you met him, helping you pick out something nice. Honestly, the dress is gorgeous, and you feel beautiful wearing it. You have no problem playing dress up, sometimes secretly looking forward to it as you rarely get an occasion to wear something other than your usual attire.

The women shower you with compliments as they help do your makeup, picking out some nice matching jewelry that compliments your facial features, along with a pretty necklace that seemed to draw even more attention to your cleavage. You haven't worn a corset in a while, and the sight of your boobs bulging up against your chest was clearly meant to be a distraction to try and lore out some weaker men. Maybe Micah would end up dragging them off to the side, only to knock their lights out and loot them for "looking at my woman!"

Ugh. Your stomach hadn't stopped turning like a stormy sea the second Dutch had told you who you were going with. You hadn't seen Micah around the camp all afternoon, probably mentally preparing himself for whatever shit-show that was about to happen.

Well, you were ready.

Mary-Beth was quick to run out of the house and draw everybody's attention, attempting to give you some kind of grand reveal, as if the camp had never seen you in a dress before. They have, but this was the fanciest you'd ever worn; with your hair up in a do that took all afternoon to keep in place, and jewels that perfectly matched the shade of your makeup.

"She's ready!" Mary-Beth squealed, attracting the attention of Dutch and Arthur as they lingered over, the rest of the camp perking up their ears and eyes. "Now, you better all flatter her 'cause she seems a little shy, and we spent all afternoon helpin' get her ready, but-"

"Mary-Beth, please," you sigh as you exit the house, not wanting the grand entrance that she would want. There's still a mix of oo's and aah's throughout the camp, and Susan is quick to rush over and take your hands in hers, looking like she's about to cry.

"My dear, you look so wonderful," Susan tells you.

"Thank you, Miss Grimshaw," you reply as you give her hand a little squeeze.

"She's right, ___. Trelawny and our women have excellent taste. Thank you, all of you," Dutch tells them as he speaks to the camp, then turning back to you. "Are you ready, dear?" he asks.

"Physically, yes. Mentally, no," you joke, though you're serious.

"Well, it'll have to do," Dutch nods.

"My my," a dreaded voice calls out. Micah's approaching, stopping just beside Dutch as he speaks to you. "Ain't no way you can go the party like that, sweetheart. You're gonna knock 'em all dead with them pretty looks of yours," Micah compliments.

Your stomach begins to turn again, though you begin to question if you should curse the gods or thank them, because the sight of Micah in a tux is one you could get used to. He's dressed like the other men, a smart black tux with a white shirt and bowtie. He's clearly had a bath, as his hair looks the cleanest you've ever seen it, nearly bunched into a low ponytail with a few loose strands shaping his face. Micah always keeps his facial hair clean, but it's freshly trimmed and perfectly shaped just underneath his jaw.

You notice Arthur already glaring at him in the corner of your eye. Why Dutch didn't ask Arthur to go with you was beyond your knowledge, but something tells you he has a deeper reason behind picking the two of you to go together.

"Thank you, Mister Bell," you softly reply as your eyes meet his.

"Guess that makes you Mrs. Bell for this evening," Micah smiles. "Don't it, Dutch?" he asks as his eyes quickly turn to Dutch's.

"It does! Now, let's all get going before we're even later than we already are. I'll go over the plan on the way there," Dutch huffs as he waves his gloved hands about, hurrying everybody along to the stagecoach that was waiting.

You're about to walk off, but Micah's sudden movement catches your eye. He offers you his hand. "Gotta look the part, darlin'," he tells you.

"Oh! I just remembered!" Micah says as he suddenly moves his hand away, reaching into his pocket to fish out a pair of gold wedding rings that he no doubt had stolen recently, specifically for this event.

"May I?" Micah asks, holding out his hand again. You take it, your soft palms gently settling in rough ones. He flashes you another smile, then flicks his eyes down to focus sliding the wedding ring onto your finger. The sight of that alone is enough to make your knees go weak, but you try your hardest not to pass out, and thankfully Micah doesn't seem to notice how lovesick you're feeling.

The ring is only slightly too big, and hopefully, you'll notice it if it gets close to slipping off. He quickly slips the other one onto his own finger, and takes your hand again, his eyes finally moving away from yours as he leads you over to the stagecoach, following behind the others.

The ride there isn't too bad, and the plan seems simple enough. Steal nothing, only information. Only your 'husband' was most definitely not going to do that, even if he doesn't tell Dutch about it.

He helps you out the coach, gently tucking your hand around his arm as he walks with you into the party. Surprisingly, Micah didn't bring his guns with him, making a comment to you under his breath about how he doesn't trust anybody with them. That's understandable.

Dutch and Arthur head upstairs to do whatever it is they were going to do, speak to Jack's surrogate father or whatever, leaving you and the others to wait on the balcony.

You rest your hands on the railing, looking down at the mishmash of strangers below. Micah removes his hand from yours, resting it on the small of your back as he turns to speak to you.

"You nervous?" Micah asks.

"I'm sure I won't be after a couple of drinks," you joke, turning your gaze to meet his. You've never seen his expression so soft before, and have his eyes always been that blue? They're an icy shade, maybe a warning sign about his cold heart, but he's making yours burn up with his stupidly sweet smile and that stupid cute little ponytail that he just had to tuck his hair into.

"So now I gotta take care of my drunk wife whilst also lookin' for leads?" Micah jokes back, though there's something about him calling you his 'wife' that makes your stomach turn faster than it ever has before.

"I ain't gonna get drunk!" you laugh. "Your wife can handle herself, thank you very much," you raise your nose jokingly.

"You sure? Cause if I remember rightly, the last time you got drunk you tripped over and almost fell in the campfire," Micah chuckles, watching your expression drop. How did he remember that? That happened months ago!

"I'm a changed woman," you reply, "for tonight," you add.

"Sure you are, Mrs. Bell," Micah grins as he moves a few loose strands off your face. "Then after tonight, you can go back to fallin' into campfires."

"And would my dear husband not save me if he saw me falling into one?" you question.

"I ain't really your husband, sweetheart. Not unless you wanna keep that ring on and keep playin' dress up with me," Micah replies, trying to make it sound like a joke, but you both know that if you said yes, Micah would happily continue your fake marriage.

It's a good thing Dutch arrived when he did, cutting you off as you opened your mouth to speak, but you were thankful as you hadn't even thought of a reply.

Dutch gave you all another pep talk before shooing everybody off on their way, and you were thankful a server passed you as you reached the bottom of the stairs, taking a glass of champagne for yourself and thanking them, Micah grabbing one for himself also.

Your hand finds Micahs arm and he walks with you a while, eyeing up any obvious leads as you pass through the strangers. You come to a stop at the back of the party, pulling Micah to one side as he rests his hand around your waist. God. You could get used to Micah having his hands on you at all times.

"You see anything obvious yet?" you ask Micah before taking a sip of your champagne. At least it was decent, not having that awful cheesy flavour that cheap bottles had.

"I ain't been lookin'," Micah replies, making you snap your eyes over to his with a little scowl on your face.

"What?" you ask.

"Hard to focus on a bunch of snobby strangers when I got this pretty woman clinging onto me," Micah grins. You realize that your hand had come to rest on his forearm as his hand had found your waist, clinging onto him a little too tightly, your body practically pressed up against his. At least the two of you looked like a couple.

You go to take a step back, but Micah is quick to pull you against him more, holding you firmly in place. "I'm jokin', sweetheart," he tells you. "I've spotted a few here 'n' there."

"You better not be lyin'," you tut.

"You not trust your own husband?" Micah smirks, chuckling even whilst he has a sip of his drink. "Besides, we ain't even planned our story yet. How we gonna mingle with other couples when we don't even know how we met? Or when we got married?" Micah asks.

He's right, the two of you had no time to prepare your story, but you're far from earshot of these strangers, so now would be a good time to get your stories straight.

"Well, what have you got planned then? Seeing as you brought this up?" you question.

"Nothin'," Micah shrugs. "I figured I'd ask my lady, seeing as you women tend to fantasize about these situations." You can't deny that, because little does Micah know, you've had a few fantasies about the two of you getting together for quite some time now.

"Do I look like the type for romances, Micah?" you ask.

"Do I?" Micah replies. Good point.

"Well..." you sigh, trying to think of a few ideas. "You plan how we met, and I'll plan our wedding?"

"Sure, darlin'," Micah nods as he finishes off his drink.

"Wait here. I'll go get us a refill," you say as you take Micahs empty glass, finishing off your own, and wandering off back into the party to find your next round of booze.

Micah watches you leave, tucking his hand into his pockets to fish out a cigarette to enjoy whilst he waits and ponders.

Finding a server wasn't hard, and you thanked them as you swapped your glasses over. On your walk back you overheard another couple talking about how they met, saying she was a server on one of the ferries and he was there to gamble, only he ended up spending the night distracting her from her job.

You find your way back to Micah, who's just finished his cigarette, stomping it out on the ground with his polished black shoes. "I picked you up at a bar," Micah tells you as you hand him his drink.

"What? No," you scoff, scrunching your face up at the generic and boring backstory.

"What else you got then, sweetheart?" Micah asks before taking a sip from his drink.

"I just overheard a couple say that they met on one of those gambling ferries. She was a waitress and he spent the whole night chattin' her up."

"You wanna steal their backstory?" Micah tuts. "Dutch said we shouldn't be stealin," he says as he shakes his head jokingly.

"We'll just change it a little... I was a bartender and you spent the night chatting me up," you suggest.

"A woman bartender?" Micah questions your suggestion.

"Times are changing, Micah. It's believable," you reply, getting a little defensive.

"I didn't mean it like that," Micah says as he raises his hand. "I like it. And we met 4 years back, got married in April last year. How's that sound?" he asks.

"Good," you nod, realizing that you'd done each other's jobs rather than the ones you assigned. "You ready to mingle?" you ask him.

"Fine," Micah sighs.

Neither of you wants to do this, both forcing a fake smile and kind accents as you speak to the strangers. After an hour, you haven't found much, a few mentions of summer homes and private boats, but nothing within the area.

You're a few more glasses in, beginning to feel ever so slightly tipsy, but you needed that buzz to help you get through the smugness of these strangers.

"You want another?" you ask Micah who has barely sipped on his current one. He's only drunk a glass less than you have, but he doesn't seem affected, though his tolerance is probably higher than yours.

"I'm alright, my love. I'll wait here for you," Micah tells you as he moves his hand off your waist, letting you wander off into the crowd.

You're still not used to the pet names, but you hope they continue to roll out of Micahs mouth, seeing as you no longer had that sickly feeling in your stomach. It seems your nerves had finally calmed down, being replaced by a warm and gentle buzz instead, though that's probably the alcohol in your system.

You thank the waiter as you take another glass and turn to leave, but overhear the most hideous voice you've ever heard call out to the same man you just thanked. You attempt to walk away, but quickly stop and look over your shoulder, face scrunching up at the sight of quite possibly the rudest woman you've ever seen, if you can even call her a woman.

She drones on and on, insulting this poor stranger that was only trying to do his job. God. The way she spoke to him made you sick, and before that little voice in the back of your head can stop you, you've already approached her and cut her off, attempting to speak to her sweetly.

"Are you an entertainer?" you ask.

"What on earth are you yapping about?" She questions as she looks you up and down in disgust.

"Well, it's a very good act you've got going on here. Playing the stereotypical obnoxious upper-class woman, though I wouldn't recommend performing it when you're not on stage," you respond, acting as if you genuinely thought she was a man in drag.

"Well, I never!" She squeals. "You've got some lip on you, little girl. Do you now know who I am?"

"Oh, I do apologize, madam. What's your act called? Maybe I'll drop by to hear you squeal on stage next time I pass the theatre."

You can't hold back the grin creeping across your face as the stranger's face turns red, her huffing and puffing attracting a handful of eyes nearby. Thankfully, the poor served had managed to sneak off, so at least she wouldn't take it out on him any more than she already had.

She goes to open her mouth again but is quickly cut off when Micah appears by your side.

"Oh, I do apologize for my wife's behaviour," Micah says with a wave of his hand. "Sweetheart!" he says as he turns to you, putting his arm around your waist and beginning to walk you away. "What have I told you about feeding the animals?" he says in clear earshot of the woman.

The both of you don't get to see the woman explode as you rush off, but your grins are as wicked as each others as you lead Micah to the back of the party, giggling devilishly.

You can still hear the woman protesting as she's asked to leave, and is eventually dragged out, which was more than satisfying to watch. The party returns to how it formerly was, the strangers barely looking your way as it seems you'd done everybody a favour.

Your eyes meet Micahs, his arm still wrapped around your waist as your hand rests on his shoulder, your body pressed against his. Both of your grins remain there as the two of you look at each other, suddenly realizing just how pressed up you were against your 'husbands' body.

"I ain't seen that fire in you before, sweetheart," Micah tells you.

"There's a lot of me you ain't seen, Micah," you reply.

"Ooooh," Micah sighs as he chuckles. His head dips down slightly, speaking more directly into your ear but far enough that he can still see your reaction. "Well if you'd be so kind as to show me," he flirts.

Your knees feel like giving up on you, and you're thankful that Micah's grip is tight enough around your waist to hold you upright. You go to open your mouth and invite him to find out, but you're cut off before you can even make a sound.

"Mister and Mrs. Bell?" A familiar voice asks. Both of your smiles fade as you turn to see Dutch standing there, his brows slightly furrowed. "What the hell was that?" he whispers through gritted teeth.

"She deserved it," Micah shrugs, his voice returning to his usual tone as he softens his grip on you.

"What happened?" he whispers.

"Dutch, trust me, anybody would have done the same. It seems I did everyone here a favour," you reassure him.

"I don't care if she deserved it or not. Just stop drawing attention to yourselves, please!" Dutch hisses.

Micah raises his hand innocently, "sure, boss," he says.

"We'll keep quiet," you add on.

"Thank you, now go and mingle," Dutch attempts to force a smile, waving his hands about as he encourages you to head back into the crowd.

He doesn't walk away, so you're forced to drag Micah back into the handful of strangers and continue where you left off, doing whatever you can to find at least a little something to take back to the camp.

Thanks for ruining the moment, Dutch.

The whole time you're speaking to these strangers, all you can think about is the flirtatious glisten Micah had in his eyes when he said that line. His hand is around your waist once more, only you're well aware of the way his hand is slowly trailing down you, eventually resting on your tailbone, a little too close to your ass, though you wish he'd move his hand a little lower.

A stranger quickly thanks you for having that woman kicked out of the party, and your bitching session about her is cut short from the loud bang coming from the sky. You almost drop your drink, surprised to hear what sounds like gunshots, only to turn and see the sky glowing an array of colours.

They're fireworks. You've heard about them before but never seen them, and despite how pretty they are, you wish they were a little quieter. Sure, you're a gunslinger, but loud noises still make you jump, despite being somewhat used to them.

Micah stands almost directly behind you, moving his hand to your hip as he pressed his body against yours. You relax against him, your back pressed against his chest and shoulder. Micah places his empty glass on a tray that trails past him, using that same hand to brush a few strands of hair from your face, catching your attention as you move your gaze off the fireworks.

"You think we're doing a good job, sweetheart?" Micah asks.

"A good job of what, exactly?" you reply.

"You know exactly what I'm on about," he chuckles. His gaze was soft on you to begin with, but it softens out even more as you make him laugh.

"I think we're doing well, but we can always do better," you flirt.

"Oh?" Micah smirks, picking up on your hints. "And how are we gonna do that, my love?"

Micah boldly places a gentle kiss to your temple, your heart fluttering as his 'stache brushes against your skin, a lot softer than you thought it'd be.

"Well, for a start, you could kiss my lips rather than my temple," you reply, just as boldly as his move.

"That so?" he smiles.

"It is so, darling," you reply.

"Just you wait," Miah grins, kissing your temple again. "I ain't gonna let that happen in the middle of these folk," he explains.

"That's alright, Mister Bell. I can wait," you reply as you rest your head against the crook of his neck, angling upwards so you can continue to watch the fireworks.

Micah places another kiss to your temple before wrapping his arms around your waist, enjoying the way your hand rests on top of his, the other one still holding your glass. He continues to place gentle kisses against you every so often, holding your back firmly against his chest.

Little do you know that Micah's heart is also racing just as fast as yours, his stomach feeling just as sick and his knees feeling just as weak. All those times he'd accidentally met your gaze from across the camp were times when he'd been admiring you, watching you from afar as he tries to figure out a non-creepy and non-cheesy way to talk to you.

When it comes to one night stands and quick hook-ups, Micah will blurt a few stereotypical pickup lines out and hope for the best, but he's been lovesick the second he saw you, and his feelings continued to grow the more he saw your personality come out within the camp. He felt a little jealous at first, finding a woman who's just as good with a gun and knife as he is, but the thought of "but what if she was mine?" struck his mind, and he then decided that he just had to have you.

Micah struggles to talk to women, he's barely interacted with them, and it's even worse growing up without a female role model in his life. But the camp continued to move and hunt for money, and when Micah found out that Dutch was invited to the mayors' party, he finally saw his chance. Despite trying to recommend taking another set of hands along, without Micah making it obvious that he wanted an excuse to talk to you, Dutch quickly picked up on what was going on and decided to stir the pot even more.

Originally, Micah just thought Dutch could do with his help and maybe take one of the ladies, but Dutch is smart and picks up on little things like the two of you admiring each other from afar. Dutch grinned as he thanked Micah for his suggestion, and then said he could do with a fake couple there so they had all their options open. Micah was quick to dip his hat over his face and blurt out "sure boss, I'll leave it to you," scurrying off when he realized that he'd dug this hole a lot deeper than it was meant to go, but he swallowed his fear and went along with it.

And here the two of you are, Micah leading you over to the gazebo at the back of the mayors' house to have a "little talk about the leads we've found." There's another couple stood on one side, but the gazebo is big enough so if the two of you stand on the other side and speak under your breaths then they won't hear you.

"Well, what you think?" Micah asks as he gently removes your hand from around his arm, holding it lightly in both of his hands as he leans back against the railing, crossing one ankle over the other.

"We got a few bit here 'n' there. It ain't been easy," you shrug. It seems that despite every single person here being an obnoxious prick, they had their guards up around strangers, not letting things slip out too easily.

"But have you had fun?" Micah chuckles.

"I've had fun playing dress-up with you, Micah," you grin, noting the way Micah's fidgeting with the ring on your finger, probably slightly nervous.

"We can always do it again some time," he flirts. "Maybe go to one of them fancy poker games they host at the saloon here," Micah suggests.

"Oh, I bet you'd enjoy that," you giggle. "Gambling, liquor, and me sittin' on your lap."

"How could I not enjoy that?" Micah asks as he stands upright. "But is it a sin if I do enjoy it?" Micah asks, his tone turning slightly stern as he looks into your eyes.

"Do you want it to be?" you ask, watching as Micah moves your hand from his to rest on his shoulder, his hands finding your waist.

"I ain't really bothered, sweetheart," Micah tells you with a little shrug. "Sin or not, I'll have you on my lap, so I'll be happy," he adds.

"You know, we ain't gotta play dress up again just for you to have me sit on your lap," you flirt as your other hand comes to rest on his shoulder, slowly wrapping around his neck.

"Don't say that, darlin'. Cause we both know that you'll get tired of me constantly takin' up that offer," Micah jokes.

"You think I'm gonna get tired of you, Mister Bell?"

"You might," Micah says with a shrug. He moves one hand off your waist to gently cup your chin, making sure your eyes are on his. "Mrs. Bell," he says with a grin, noticing the way your heart flutters at the sound of it.

"I bet you I won't," you smile.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

"We will, Mister Bell."

Micah gently moves his hand from your chin, gently brushing it along your jawline as he cups it, his thumb rubbing slowly over your cheek. You melt into his touch, and the sight of that is enough to pop Micah's patience.

He finally dips his head down, gently pressing his lips against yours, though he's not surprised when you begin to kiss back, deepening the kiss. Micah's hand moves from your cheek, joining the other one around your waist as he holds onto you, pulling your body against his.

Despite how firmly his lips are pressed against yours, his moustache is a lot softer than you imagined, running against your upper lip, lightly tickling you. There's the strong taste of champagne on his lips, and a faint taste of tobacco on his tongue as he slides it against yours. It's a good thing Micah has your body pressed up against his, holding you firmly, as you can feel your knees getting weaker by the second.

Micah lets out a soft sigh as he moves one hand to gently cup the back of your head. Your fingertips brush against his low ponytail, a style that you hoped to see him wear again. Maybe he'll keep it for this upper-class poker date that you'd both just planned, and even though neither of you said it was a date, the way you were gazing at each other says otherwise.

There's a sudden cough, and that's when you realize that someones been coughing to get your attention a few times now. You were far too engulfed in locking lips with your 'husband' that you didn't notice poor Arthur standing a few feet away, trying to get both of your attention.

Micah momentarily breaks the kiss to mumble "go away, Morgan," before bringing your lips back to his, continuing where you left off.

"We're leavin', Micah," Arthur tells him in a stern voice.

Micah ignores him, and although you feel bad for Arthur being there, you're not willing to break this kiss for anything. You've waited far too long for this.

"You two, come on," Arthur sighs, and Micah finally breaks away from you.

"Fine," Micah frowns as his gaze meets Arthurs. Arthur ignores his attitude and walks off, heading through the slowly-dispersing crowd to find the others.

Micah doesn't say anything but flashes you a cheeky smile as he offers his arm once more. You take it, and he leads you through the party, meeting the others who are already climbing into the stagecoach when you arrive.

Micah does most of the talking on the way back, telling the others about the few leads the two of you had found. His hand rests on your knee the whole journey back, and Dutch seems to notice it, smiling to himself.

When you arrive back at camp, Micah offers you his hand as he helps you down from the stagecoach, and despite being back, his hand still lingers in yours whilst you say goodnight to everyone.

"You want me to walk you home, Mrs. Bell?" Micah jokes.

"Oh, you're so kind, offering to walk me ten steps," you giggle.

Micah does it anyway, stopping outside your tent.

"I err..." Micah gulps, his eyes flicking around the camp, then back to you. "I had fun tonight. Now I know we didn't get many leads, but I still enjoyed myself."

"I did too. Maybe we'll make up for our losses when we go on that upper-class poker mission," you smile. Micah's eyes widen a little.

"You were serious about that?" he asks, a tint of doubt to his voice.

"I was. But I understand if you're tired of pretending to be my husband already," you jokingly sigh, bringing a smile back to Micah's face.

"I ain't ever gonna get tired of it. But if you're up for it, then well, I guess I better start lookin' for a way to make it happen," Micah replies.

"You let me know as soon as you find it."

"Anyway, I ain't gonna keep you up. You get to bed, sweetheart," Micah says as he takes hold of your hand, placing a gentle kiss against your knuckles.

"You still ain't learned where my lips are, have you?" you flirt, watching Micah's eyes light up at your comment.

"I guess you better show me then, Mrs. Bell," Micah grins, his face dipping down to meet yours as you lean up to kiss him, your arms wrapping around his neck once more.

Micah doesn't keep you up for too long, softly kissing you goodnight and finally letting you turn in. You hear him walk away as you close your tent flaps, taking your time to get undressed and get ready for bed. The whole time you're changing, your stomach is still turning with butterflies, in shock at tonight's turn of events, even though you adored all of them.

In some ways, the Gods finally did answer your prayers, giving you the sinner you fawned over rather than taking your feelings away. Either outcome would have been fine, but you definitely preferred this one, especially now you had a date lined up.

Maybe those romances that Mary-Beth reads aren't so silly after all.

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felassan · 4 years ago

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Dragon Age development insights from David Gaider - PART 4

This information came from DG on a recent SummerfallStudios Twitch stream where he gave developer commentary while Liam Esler continued playing DAO from where they had left off in Part 1, 2 and 3. I transcribed it in case there’s anyone who can’t watch the stream (for example due to connection/tech limitations, data, time constraints, personal accessibility reasons, etc). A lot of it is centered on DAO, but there’s also insights into other parts of the franchise. Some of it is info which is known having been put out there in the past, and some of it is new. There’s a bit of overlap or repetition with topics covered in Parts 1-3. This post leaps from topic to topic as it’s a transcript of a conversational format. It’s under a cut due to length.

The stream can currently be watched back here. Next week LE will be streaming a different DAO playthrough with commentary from another guest. Two weeks from now LE and DG will return to continue this playthrough for another stream session like this one.

(Part 5, Part 6)

[wording and opinions DG’s, occasionally LE’s; paraphrased]

The Loghain sequences, where it jumps out of the HoF’s point of view to let the player see what Loghain is up to, were added quite late on in development. Some of the dream sequences (like the HoF’s dream of the Archdemon) were also probably added quite late. Those sequences were added as they felt that they needed to have more indication of the larger goings-on in terms of what Loghain was up to, since they had cut some stuff that was meant to have shown this. Cutting things can be funny like that as you’re then left trying to explain the holes.

An original Archdemon concept drawing had them as a lot more demonic as opposed to draconic, with blank all-black faces, a giant ornate crown, smoke, tentacles and a Cthulhu-esque feel. Things change a lot during the concept phase however. At the time, DG wasn’t sure if he liked the changing of the ‘demon’ into a ‘dragon’, but over time he digs it - it sorta implies some things about the nature of dragons in the world that they later decided “yes, that is probably the case”. They then worked that more into the lore so that dragons weren’t just there to be huge lizards. Given the difficulty the team had modelling things like tentacles and snakes, the original Archdemon concept would probably have been iterated on and would’ve had to become something else eventually anyway.

Having the party camp was probably always part of James Ohlen’s plan. Originally, there was going to be different camps in specific places around the map. They then made it a sort of ‘pocket area’ that the player always ‘took with them’, but here they had problems figuring out things like what would happen if the player rested while in an interior location as opposed to somewhere out in the wilderness, “like, does that change it?” For a while there was a complicated system where the party members would do things in camp that would give the player items and help out in such ways - like a party member who made potions, ones that could be interacted with and asked to craft, a whole crafting system relating to that, etc (this all got cut). This was supposed to act as a reason for the player to return to camp and have more interactions at camp; they didn’t want the camp just to be ‘the place you go just to talk to followers’. A good portion of the team considered dialogue to be boring and not an activity that was engaged in.

As soon as hair/beard hair came past the ‘clipping plane’ of the neck, they had real trouble getting it to move due to lack of proper cloth physics and the troubles they had with hair. Beards were rectangular strips that dangled from the chin with the beard texture attached to it. Sometimes certain points were connected to the chest which is why there’s the weird stretching if models move in certain ways. This happens with robes as well. The reason they did this is so that there’s no clipping. For some reason the BW animation team was so averse to clipping compared to other games from elsewhere which sometimes have a bit of clipping that they’re actually not fussed about. At one point they had a big fight on the DA team because the art team said “We need to make every entrance and doorway [including tents] about twice the size that it is, about Shale-size specifically, because of Shale” because they were worried that there would be scenes where Shale would clip through the wall, and about how this would look to players. Others responded that it’d be rare where Shale would be seen going through a door and also that nobody really cares (as in it’s not a big deal). DG half-seriously suggested that instead of making every door bigger, have it so that after entering the door’s texture at the sides and above it would look cracked and have an outline of Shale’s arms and head as if she’d just barreled her way through the stonework. In the end Shale’s size was reduced as a solution to this (so Shale was originally intended to be a lot larger). This is an example of a place where different parts of the team had different priorities in development. It was pointed out that in the end having giant doors may not have made much difference, as every interior in DA is massive in terms of floor and ceiling-space, as well as items (huge jugs of ale etc) anyway.

Weapons and staves hover on characters’ backs due to the team’s aforementioned aversion to clipping. Originally there were plans for scabbards and straps, but they didn’t have the resources for these and they were also concerned about staves clipping through straps, especially when being ‘drawn’ for combat, even though that would just be a second or so. So this is why we instead have floating magnetically-attached-looking weapons.

DG wrote Nature of the Beast including all of the Brecilian Forest, it’s possibly his favorite plot/questline out of the ones he wrote for DAO. It’s one of the plots that survived best from first inception to final result. One of the prominent cultural features of Ferelden is the werewolves, and so DG had to make ‘the werewolf plot’. All the initial plots were split up like that (the werewolf plot, the dwarf plot, etc). Originally there was a separate ‘elf plot’ but it got joined together with the werewolf one. DG had an idea for a being that was like male and female, terrible and kind, beautiful and horrible and so forth - both at once, like the way nature is. This was the vague initial idea from which this plot grew. The nature spirit encountered is the flipside of the being. The spirit of the forest is both male and female, or something akin to being bigender (both rather than neither). There’s not much difference between the Lady and Witherfang. DG finds it so weird hearing the DAO Dalish elves’ American accents (since their accents were changed for the next game). The American Dalish elf accents bugged DG enough that when they got to DA2, he said to Caroline Livingstone “can we just retcon this” and she was like “yeah”. “I think we underestimated how weird prevalent American accents in the game alongside the British ones would be”. Zathrian is voiced by Tim Russ (Tuvok from Star Trek).

The Cammen-Gheyna plot is a fairly ‘nothing-y’ sidequest relatively speaking, but is so complex in terms of how many options and paths through it that it has that DG got a big of a finger-wagging for it and some people were not happy. LE commented that this quest is “an extremely Gaider plot”, as the player can ruin everyone’s lives in it. Gheyna’s pronunciation of Andaran atish'an is incorrect. This phrase is one of the ones that got mixed up in the pronunciation guide and one of the ones that when they got to DA2, DG was like “ignore what we did before, here’s the new pronunciation files”. One of the first ‘images’ the team had of the Dalish was that they had reindeer-like creatures that pulled the aravels. In DAO aravels look more like standard wagons than the ones in the ‘images’, and they weren’t shown properly. Aravels are wagons but they’re supposed to have big sails (not naval-style sails on top) all over the place to catch the wind, so that they look like a bunch of ships being drawn across a field. They got closer to how they’re supposed to be in DAI. At one point the artists sat DG down and asked him what should set the Dalish apart visually. “Funny you should ask, I have some very specific ideas about what the Dalish should look like that have just never been done”. [I think here he meant hadn’t yet been implemented in the franchise] “Oh, we just thought they were ‘people with wagons’.” “Nobody reads documentation...”

The lamps in the Brecilian Forest are a bit random. They put light sources everywhere and it seems like the Brecilian lamp thing was art-asset use that boiled down to “guess it’s an elven forest?”. The Deep Roads were supposed to be properly dark. The team had a lot of conversations over how dark they could or should make the Deep Roads. They constantly had beams of light coming from above and it was like “this is supposed to be like a mile underground, why are there sunbeams coming through cracks in the ceiling” - the answer is it looks good and they didn’t want to do proper darkness. By DAI, they got closer to the ‘look’ the Deep Roads are supposed to have. This is a recurring theme in the DA franchise lol. “This was a weakness in our team and processes, that it took two titles before we got on board with each other and with the vision.” But they had plenty of good strengths too! DG wishes they had iterated a bit more on the werewolves’ look.

“Evil options” was always one of the big conversations that they had. DG wasn’t a fan of the evil options because they mostly boiled down to being a big jerk. The reason for this is a lengthy design discussion that relies on interface - proper, smart evil usually implies some kind of deception, and how do you indicate to the player that the option they’re about to take has a more cleverly-sinister aspect to it (as opposed to simple Intimidate options)? They didn’t really enjoy just letting the player run around being an asshole to people, “do we have to service this hyuk-hyuk-hyuk, particular type of enjoyment?” DG wishes they had figured out how to do the evil stuff a little better (feeling that in a game, doing good has less merit unless there’s temptation to do evil, and that evil paths should be more materially rewarding).

DG wrote The Dawn Will Come with some help from PW and Karin Weekes. It was the first song he wrote. Trevor Morris sent him the tune and he listened to it many times and wrote out the lyrics. PW and KW helped him make it “less awkward and cringey”. “They’re very good at that”. PW is good at poetry, KW is more musical and knows more about music. “If you get something which is as ridiculous as it is memorable, it’s probably Sheryl. If you get something that’s beautiful prose, it’s probably Mary. Something in-between is probably PW.” The DAI bardsongs were written by an external party brought in specially to do so. This required a fair bit of review and revision to make sure they followed DA lore. “It’s a problem we’ve always had trying to work with third parties, they tend to think that anything that falls under the umbrella of ‘medieval fantasy’ would fit in DA”. (Here DG groaned a bit thinking about Orson Scott Card.)

On the Grand Oak and co: “After I finished writing this I totally regretted it. It’s a big dialogue and there’s a lot involved in this quest. Do you know how hard it is to make somebody rhyme in a way that’s not completely cringey for the entire dialogue? I was three quarters into it and I so wanted to stop but I was past the point of no return. But I did it! And it worked out.” The Grand Oak should have been a LotR-style ent-like being in terms of animations and presence. When DG sees the Oak’s stationary pose he’s reminded of Silence of the Lambs. When he finished the Grand Oak and hermit quest he was like “I make way more trouble for myself than I should”. The Hermit cycles through random animations outside of conversation because he’s supposed to be twitchy and weird.

The haunted empty camp side encounter was a pain for the tech designers to make work because there’s no NPC to talk to. It was a pain whenever companions had to offer critical information like in these sorts of parts in fact, as they had to write 9 versions of each ‘line’ (1 for each companion).

There are certain spells/abilities in D&D that can make a GM’s life frustrating, such as teleportation, telling the future, resurrection. The fact that death is not permanent, for instance, should be a huge thing that affects society and how the people in it view death. This is why they were thinking stuff like “If every low-level mage in the setting had a skill like ‘Charm Person’, what would non-mages make of that?” This ties back to discussions in previous part/s where there are lore rules like no teleportation. DA was originally envisioned as a low-magic setting, but this didn’t last long [this subject is also covered in previous part/s]. The rules of magic didn’t really change though, they just weren’t really communicated that well to the other teams in the early days. They slowly realized that it was incumbent on the design team to explain and sell to the other teams the vision, not just expect them to read documentation. They were also constantly fighting against their own presuppositions of “DA is like D&D”.

Desire demons were supposed to be genderless. DG isn’t a fan of how the Fade turned out in DAO. The quests themselves were too long; they couldn’t do all the original plans they had for them so there was a lot of iteration, “then we ended up settling for something not very exciting”. Another big fight the team had was about whether they should have permanent death since DA was a more realistic world? One side’s argument was that ‘if you don’t allow for resurrection then we can’t have death in combat’. DG wondered if there was a different dichotomy they could get to but didn’t want to dictate how combat should work or tell combat designers how to do their job, as he wasn’t the one doing that work.

One of the best moves they made when working on DAI was the concept artist consulting cosplayers. This was good work not only in a fashion sense but also in that it led to making outfits for characters that someone could actually wear (contrast those with Sebastian’s outfit, which DG remembers cosplayers having trouble making functional/wearable and putting together). DG really wasn’t keen at all on Cole’s hat. When designing the clothing-clothing in DAO, the artists were trying to get the most variation for clothing out of assembling pieces. For the sake of variation they allowed pieces to go together that really shouldn’t go together. This allowed for a larger number of clothing options to be made out of a smaller number of clothing models/textures.

In Neverwinter Nights they added a “jiggle mesh” to the engine, it was used in only one place (Aribeth’s cleavage).

Writers are the first ones that jump onto a project, so when last touches and polish is being added to a game they’re often not aware of it. Once the writing is more or less locked down for a game, they start working on the next project. On every project at some point they had to have what they called the “profanity meeting”, where they decide what types of profanity exist in that world, what level of profanity they’re accepting, establishing the standard on this front, etc. This leads to fun meetings where they go through every profanity that they know and try to create new ones. “Maker’s breath!” and “Void take you!” are some of these kinds of things. They needed exclamations akin to “Goddamnit” but which made sense in this fantasy setting (“Goddamnit” implies the context of God, and the concept of damning, for example, so it doesn’t hold up) and weren’t just word substitution like “frack” instead of fuck or something.

The Grey Wardens gained their trademark blue and silver uniformed look for DA2. When the new art director Matt Goldman came on before DA2, he wanted to re-approach a number of things such as the darkspawn (mentioned in previous parts) and the Wardens. He wanted factions like the Wardens to be more uniform and easily identifiable at a distance by silhouettes and colors. He wanted factions to be more visually distinct and to introduce more color in general, as DAO was very brown and muddy. This was something of a standing mission of his when he came onto the project. He disliked the idea that there wasn’t anything unifying or distinct or ‘easily identifiable as a DAO screenshot’ about DAO screenshots, other than that brown muddiness.

Deciding how to design the Lady of the Forest was a long conversation due to the potential nsfw elements. It was a long haul to get her to look a certain way.

The thing DG found easiest/least painful to write was probably Zevran’s dialogue. He felt less pressure about it and had a bit more fun with it. Zevran has a certain story about trust that DG found pleasurable to build on; Zevran had grown up with a certain expectation of deceit and trauma, and when confronted with earnest feelings, that was the more puzzling part for [Zevran] to process. “When you expect everyone around you to deceive you, you’re kinda like, okay, this is life. But then to figure out, ‘oh, I guess it doesn’t need to be that way’, well how do you even... not?” DG remembers straight male players complaining on the forum after accepting Zevran’s massage tent-invite and not clocking that that was an invite of a certain nature. Overall Zevran was a more relaxed piece of writing for him. Shale came later but writing Shale was also a lot of fun. Like HK-47, “you can string together a few quirks that you find amusing and people will still treat that like a character and love it”.

In DA2 there was an entire subplot centered around the Carta and Varric. It spanned all three Acts. Mary Kirby had written it to completion and it was good. DG had to tell her it was among the cuts they needed to do because it was written a bit later relative to other stuff and because cutting it offered the most return according to the schedule and resources/subsequent downstream work. In cases like these they sometimes take the cut plotbeats and put it in a ‘box’, in the hopes that they may be able to use it for DLC or something later on. In practise this doesn’t happen very often at all. On DAO it did happen once with Shale. Shale was cut from DAO and had to be moved to become Day 1 DLC. Work on Shale therefore took place after most of the game had been finished. If they hadn’t done this, she would have been cut completely. It also sort of happened on DAO with Loghain. It originally had a whole plotline in Denerim involving him which had the player figuring out his background, motivations and interacting more with Anora. All of that got cut (requiring the cutscenes mentioned at the start of this post being added), and this is where the idea came of writing a novel (The Stolen Throne). This occurred in the period when the game had been delayed and DG particularly regretted that particular cut. He thought, “I could take this story that you were going to learn about the history of Loghain and his relationship with Cailan, and rescue it in a way.” [source]

[Part 1]

[Part 2]

[Part 3]

[Part 5]

[Part 6]

[‘Insights into DA dev from the Gamers For Groceries stream’ transcript]

#dragon age #bioware #video games #cole #spirit boy

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