#[ and all chances to gush out my cecil hcs ;__; ]

[lunarianborn]

☾  @roseofbaron​:   aloe, belladonna, chrysanthemum, gladiolus, hydrangea, lavender, magnolia, oak, sage, zinnia  ☽  BOTANICAL HCS  :  accepting

aaahh a true bouquet !  watch me doing all of these I haven’t replied to yet because, one i’m thirsty for more chances to throw hcs at the dash, two the meme is good and all the questions are pretty interesting, tysm <3 

belladonna :   how does your muse respond to silence ?   do they take comfort in soundlessness ,   or seek to fill the void with noise ?  

He responds to silence quite well and always seemed to do as such, he enjoys peace and quiet and always did ever since he was a child. Having been raised inside a king’s castle must have been quite the experience for him, as a kid -- for it would rarely be completely silent and quiet as an ambience. Between meetings, feasts, banquets and all ceremonies and occasions pertaining to a monarch’s life, and Cecil growing up there from the very start, I can’t imagine him having the chance to enjoy silent spaces much; still -- !  his bedchambers reside on the west tower, the highest of the castle, away from sources of noise. It’s quite the solitary place too, away from the main halls, engulfed in silence basically all the time; having been its resident from childhood, Cecil grew to tolerate the tranquility it could offer him - while studying, while reading or thinking, or even practicing with his sword.

I’d call it comfort, simply because that’s the way he always lived. This doesn’t mean Cecil doesn’t enjoy the lively atmosphere a mundane / royal life could offer him, but being the reserved and quiet person himself, I see him enjoying peace more. 

chrysanthemum :   how does your muse express romantic love ?  how do they feel about love as a concept ?  

If Cecil represented a romantic concept, I’d say he could as well be courtly love personified. And I know it may sound boring and oh so called for, but I MEAN. He’s Cecil. A knight in a medieval setting who is feeling, at first, that he cannot be with the girl he loves for whatever reasons, that saves her life and rescues her from her kidnappers, to swear unending love by the end of the tale. A classic, Cecil would be a classic haha. So, I guess the term courtly love partly fits him.

By courtly love, though, I don’t refer to the literary or epic kind; he’d simply find love as a form of pure devotion, not assuming control of his heart in an impetuous or rebellious way -- which is nice regardless, he’s a kind type of lover, courteous indeed. For example, when he used to be a Dark Knight, he was not expected to stay with the one he loved; instead of rebelling against such rule, he simply accepted it, bowing his head for the ‘greater good’ and for peace and in the name of traditions; BU,T in his heart, he was still in love. And the feeling is there to stay...

Canonly, by what Kain says in the novel, actually, it seemed Rosa was the one to take the first step, when she started ‘looking at Cecil in a way she never did’, presumably when they were young teens. Cecil, at some point, with age, did come to realize he too felt something more for her; the curious thing, though, is that they never actually confessed. Maybe, true courtly love would have the knight confessing his passion, but Cecil doesn’t. He misses the chance and things get worse when he gets knighted a Dark Knight, at 15yos, the age where Baronian kids seem to reach adulthood officially. No, he kept the true nature of his feelings for himself, despite the truth being rumored and known. Kain knew it, Rosa’s mother suspected it, everyone could have seen it.

So, in these terms, it’s safe to assume Cecil keeps being the soft-spoken, tranquil lover. He doesn’t reveal his feelings if not at the very end, because he fears what it’d mean for the other’s reputation and honor -- those are pretty important things, for he would not tolerate himself or his love to be cause of pain or struggle. And so, being the reserved kind, he’d resort to subtle ways to express love, to court someone. Lingering gazes, gifts, to try and spend most of his spare time with them... you know he’d try to play or sing something, he’s no bard but he is the type.

Love is devotion and its shades and sides to permeate his life. Love for his partner, for his home, for his child, and for his brother too, nonetheless. He commits to it and seeks to protect it at all costs, sometimes even resulting as a bit oppressing -- but he’s on the purest and best intentions whenever that happens. Love is bliss. For someone who believed all his life to having been abandoned by his family, he finds the concept of love to be light incarnate too. After all, hadn’t his father loved him so, he wouldn’t have never become a paladin eheh

gladiolus :   describe a moment from your muse’s life that they will never forget.

One moment he’d never forget must definitely be the day when he officially went from being a squire to a knight. The same ancient trial all boys of Baron, while hoping to enlist into its military ranks, must partake at the coming of their 15th birthday - the same one Ceodore insists being part of, despite his title as prince. The task is not as simple as one would believe, especially for a kid so young and barely skilled with the true art of the sword: he must enter a cave, grab the so-called Emblem of Knighthood inside, defeat its guardian and emerge victorious, a true knight to Baron.

No child is told of said guardian though, it usually being a big sandworm trained to react and attack whenever anyone is about to pick the emblem. And, even better, no kid is told the famous emblem is nothing more than a mummified rat’s tail.

Eager to prove his worth, Cecil waited for the fated day with high expectations and premises, only to almost risk his life against the sandworm. He doesn’t remember much of that fight, but he does recall the final blow at the beast’s hellish muzzle and the initial disappointment in finding the tail; but the moment he returned home, to be officially and solemnly invested a knight by the King, -- ceremony followed by a banquet and feast, as tradition commands, especially for residents of the castle -- everything changed.

It was a big deal. The boy that always felt a foreigner, one of the very few lucky one to have been granted so much for so little in return, does finally feel part of the city, of its community and its military ranks. Plus, his adventure in the cave was a good story to tell companions and friends !

hydrangea :   how much does your muse value communication in their relationships with others ?  are they prone to being misunderstood ?

Quite a lot, but he wasn’t very skilled with words when very young. He got better as years passed, but his character too didn’t make things easier; he thinks communication is the basis of every sane and good relationships. Even in-game and ‘in-novel’, with Rydia, the first thing he does, when fleeing with her to Kaipo, is to try and communicate. To console her, to cheer her up the best he could -- despite the child’s reluctance and silence.

Even as king, he found the importance of communication to reign over mostly all of his relationships -- from work, to family. I’d say his toughest challenge on that front came from his son and his character, his ideas and projects for his own future; while on a side it makes him happy to see Ceodore growing up so sure of his own thoughts, despite his title and familiar ties, it also pains him to not being able to speak as much / of what he’d like to him (heart-to-heart types of conversations, I mean - in the novel, Ceodore admits he never saw his father weak or tired, and that they never talked much of very personal matters).

I don’t think he would be easily misunderstood though. He learnt how to act as a leader early on, and the role only got enforced once king. He is supposed to be clear, and he’s supposed to be listened to, especially when his role(s) demands him to be.

lavender :   how easy is it to gain your muse’s trust ?  once their trust is broken ,   how might one go about mending it ?  

It’s quite easy, honestly. He tends to see the brightness and positivity in everyone he comes to know - especially during his journey, and tends to form bonds of trust when felt or necessary. It’s not that rare, honestly, the only true exceptions come from individuals who are obviously ill-mannered or plain evil and suspicious !

And it takes a lot to break his trust. Overall, he’s a very pure man, trying to find light even when it is scarce indeed -- he’s a good man. When Kain does take the last Underworld’s Dark Crystal to give it to Golbez, everyone in the group starts doubting him again. And yet, Cecil doesn’t give up on him  (and remember it’s the second time he gets ‘betrayed’ -- although the novel explains what is really going on inside Kain’s head, and by that point, he was just acting as a bait...)  and tries to think of why Kain had “betrayed them again”. He even omits to tell Giott of it, in fear Kain would have been branded a traitor and sentenced.

“Cecil told him everything. Of how they had successfully reached it [the Crystal], and of how Golbez had appeared to rob it. He never mentioned Kain’s involvement. Although he had betrayed them, he still believed there was good in Kain’s heart. He considered him a friend nonetheless, and believed the darkness to have gained control of his mind, back in the cave. He didn’t wish for him to be called and considered a traitor.”

magnolia :   describe your muse’s relationship with nature   &   the natural world. 

It’s ironic, because Cecil -- hadn’t his parents died before having the chance to meet and raise him like they partly did for Theodor, would have grown up in a small woodcutters-like village amidst the forests next to Mysidia. Baron too is surrounded by green plains, lakes and rivers, it’s beautiful to see - truly, but he didn’t have much time or dedication to spare to the city’s surroundings. As a child, perhaps, he could have hoped to train or venture outside the city’s walls more often. Since a chocobo forest is nearby, I like to think Baron youth do actually learn to ride the birds out in the open, where there’s plenty of space and green to practice.

Being son of Kluya, the very Lunarian who introduced magic to humans, I think Cecil was born with a natural aptitude for magic; his legacy as a knight didn’t allow him to put those hidden qualities into any practical use, and the few white magic spells he knows as a Paladin are, also, rather weak (which is, ironically, the complete opposite of Golbez’s case). To hone one’s own magic, the user has to have a connection with the natural world, which is the primary source of energy needed to cast spells. This is why I think, albeit having little chances and few true opportunities to venture outside for leisure - Cecil has a subtle, inborn link with nature (as many mages do too) and would find great pleasure in nature and its joys.

oak :  who would your muse consider the strongest person they know ?

I believe he’d see Cid as one of the strongest people he’s ever known, even before the whole ordeal narrated through the game and his ‘sacrifice’ could be the nail sealing the whole deal, here. Having been raised without true parental figure, it is easy to understand why a child like him could have found comfort and warmth in such the extrovert man -- Cid acted like a father to him and never truly stopped, haha, he’s even there offering moral support (and some doses of panic too) when Cecil is literally becoming a father. Despite Cid having a family of his own, and a daughter too, he showered Cecil with attention and affection, like a true father would have...

I could argue Cecil did see a rather strong presence and soul in the late King of Baron, for very similar reasons. Minus the affection part (due to maybe king’s duties, prejudices, Cecil being a ward and not the UMM probably-long-lost-son-of-the-king’s-teen-crush, not officially at least) I believe, the two men are seen both in the highest regards from the man, he would manage to choose one between them. They both possess a spirit of sacrifice for the greater good, admirable values (till Cagnazzo enters the stage, at least) and morale, and both served as cardinal points for Cecil’s growth and childhood.

sage :   what is your muse’s legacy ?   what do they want to be remembered for   &   what might they actually be remembered for ?

Cecil is such a humble man, I doubt he would ever think stuff like ‘ah yes, and I’ll do this so that everyone will remember me for it’. But for everything he has accomplished and done for Baron, for the one he loved and from himself too, it is inevitable his name will long keep ringing in bards’ songs and in his people’s tales long after his life is spent. His legacy is Baron itself. The restored town, with its ancient monarchy and the promise of the star not being threatened anymore by the ambitions of a wicked Lunarian. His is a legacy of bountiful peace and prosperity, worthy of his courage and of all the pain he had to endure because of it.

Cecil also carries the hopes and dreams of his other people, the Lunarians. He incarnate all that is good and hopeful in such a difference race, not to mention - with hi brother, he is in fact the incarnation of their union (after all, Lunarians saw humans were still developing and growing, and felt their technological prowess and knowledge could have altered their natural evolution and development if forced upon them through cohabitation -- so they never truly invaded Gaia and remained on the artificial second moon, promising to find a way to coexist together only when humans would have reached their same intellectual level.)

He wouldn’t want to be remembered anyway else. He’s a brave knight, a loyal friend and a just king. It may not seem as much, but it is plenty enough for one of the savior of the star, haha! Which is also the cause of such big expectations being placed on Ceodore’s shoulders so early on too... it’s sad to think about, actually.

zinnia :   how has the loss of fallen comrades and/or loved ones affected your muse ?  has it taught them anything or given them any new perspectives ?

I think the losses made him more aware of the big role he had to, willingly or not, play for the salvation of what he held dear, and of the star. From the King being made puppet of a hellish demon, his body tossed unceremoniously in a hidden room on a mocking fake throne... to Yang and Cid temporarily disappearing and being believed dead... the twins turning into stone to save the other’s life... Tellah, but also the found truth about his father and mother’s deaths (novel explains that, for the longest time, Cecil believed to have been abandoned in the woods as an unwanted child... it’s heartbreaking, really, for he is sure of it and even says he doesn’t blame his mother for it. When he finds out she died of childbirth he is devastated also for having thought such a thing about her...) all shaped him into the rather firm young man he is by the end of the story.

And while not a loss per se, Golbez leaving the star to join Lunarians in the sleep and Kain disappearing for almost 15 years after the events of the game also happen to be strong moments for Cecil as well -- yes, almost as strong as true deaths would impact him and his psyche.

The sheer fear of losing his family and friends shapes him to the point he straight up refused at first to have the girls, especially Rosa, follow him back on the moon. The love for what he cannot ever afford to lose is what brings the light in his empty husk, during After Years, to defend Rosa and Ceodore before his ‘shadow-dark-knight self’. The tragedies, the scares and the moments of grief he lived through did make him a more responsible individual, a better fighter and even a more devoted man than he who was already; simply because that’s his entire world, and to know of his loved ones being safe is his true main concern...

[chaosqueery]

WestAllen headcanons

Iris’ Pregnancy

One day, after falling asleep on her keyboard, Iris decides to leave work early. Having time alone with her thoughts, she realizes she has felt out of sorts for a while. Then it clicks in her head that her period is late. When Barry comes home late from a battle with a meta, he crawls into bed with her, but before he can fall asleep Iris tells him she thinks that she may be pregnant. Barry practically leaps out of bed and insists on running to the store to pick her up a test. When it’s positive he immediately wants to call Joe to tell him he is going to be a “paw paw” even if it’s 4am. (If this sounds familiar to you, it was in my fic Need to Know)

One of the things Iris had the hardest time accepting was cutting back on her caffeine intake and Barry’s insistence on making sure she stuck to her one cup of coffee a day. The morning after they find out about the pregnancy, the two of them go to Jitters. Barry goes up to order and when he comes back with her drink she can tell immediately that it’s a decaf (She says, “The is decaf. Where’s my flash?” He responds “I’m right here. And got another little one in there.” motioning toward her stomach. Iris would have laughed if he hadn’t been withholding the good stuff). Apparently, instead of going to bed, Barry had spent all night doing research on pregnancy and heard that too much caffeine could be bad for the baby. He suggests that she hold off on drinking any until they can talk to a doctor about how much is okay.

After confirming with a doctor, Iris and Barry go over to the house to tell Joe (they were pretty sure he would have assumed he dreamed the phone call, seeing as how he was half asleep), Cecile (who is married to Joe at this point), and Wally.

They decided to wait to tell other people about the pregnancy until she got through her first trimester. When it gets to that point (and they know it’s twins by now) they decide to get creative with their announcement. Barry wears a Flash t-shirt (something Barry was suuuuuper excited to find at a store. There was a Kid Flash shirt too, which he went ahead and bought for Wally) and Iris puts on a plain red T she painted two little lightning bolts on the shirt over where the babies would be. They have their picture taken together wearing the shirts and send it out to their friends.

When Iris starts to get really big, she begins to waddle as she walks. Cisco starts to call her “Mama Duck” and she isn’t exactly happy with the nickname. After a particularly tiring day, she loses her patience and gets upset, feeling like he is poking fun at her. To apologize he leaves a gift and when she opens it she sees two adorable duck stuffed animals with a card that read “For the little ducklings. From Uncle Cisco. PS I still get to be uncle, right?” Iris is touched by the gesture an forgives him.

As she gets closer to her due date, Iris is put on bed rest. She hates the idea of missing out on things and not seeing everyone, so her friends and family take turns going over to their place and spending quality time with her. What’s really disappointing about it though, is that it’s around Christmas, so she isn’t able to go to her father’s house for the party. Knowing how much the holiday means to her, Barry talks to Joe and they decide to move the party to the loft so that Iris could be a part of it.

For their Christmas present that year, Joe gives them the deed to the house so they could raise his grandbabies there. After Wally moved out and got his own place, him and Cecile decided that they didn’t need all the extra space. Iris and Barry are incredibly grateful and happy to raise their kids where they grew up together.

When going over names, Barry keeps suggesting that they name them Fred and Ginger (seeing as how he loves musicals so much). But Iris had her heart set on naming her daughter Dawn for years. He gives that to her and later they decide on Daniel for the boy (taking some liberties here, but I think Dan is close enough without sounding like the same name for both kids).

Dawn and Daniel West-Allen

Dawn has been really independent since she was a baby, always wanting to take care of things herself. Like when she is a toddler, her parents will try to help her put on her shoes and zip up her coat, but she’ll push them away and say “Me! Me!” Then her shoes will wind up on the wrong feet and it’ll take an extra 5 minutes getting ready for her to figure out the zipper. The only thing that she has a really hard time doing by herself is falling asleep. For a long time she just can’t sleep unless she is cuddling up to someone, usually Iris. Eventually, Iris and Barry decide to get her a kitten for her birthday so she had a living thing to cuddle with at night without her climbing into bed with them all the time. Of course they had to get one for Daniel too so he wouldn’t get jealous. Their kittens came from the same litter, and the kids go on and on about how their cats are twins, just like them.

Daniel is more soft spoken. He has a harder time expressing his feelings and usually puts it off until he reaches his breaking point. Once he reaches that, he goes full on tantrum.

They develop their powers around 5 years old. While they are both really excited for them, it also make Barry and Iris a little nervous. They have a hard time figuring out how to talk to them about the dangers of using their powers in front of the general public and revealing their identities without scaring the crap out of them or making them feel like they can’t enjoy that aspect of who they are. It goes better than they expected however. Still, in order insure that they don’t accidentally use their powers at school, they have Cisco install power dampeners in their shoes. Daniel always puts an extra pair of shoes in his backpack he calls his “getaway shoes”, just in case. Barry also often takes them on outings where they are given the chance to run around as much as they want without being seen. They are also allowed to use their speed around the house as long as they careful not to destroy anything and they don’t run away from Iris when they are in trouble with her.

When they are being taught how to ride a bike, Daniel winds up speeding away on his. Barry runs after him and finds he’d fallen off and the tires on the bike were worn down to nothing. When he brings back, Dawn is waiting for them excitedly saying “Me next! Me next!”

When they are about 6 or 7 the kids go on a field trip to a nature center where they get to go into a Hummingbird house. When she learns how fast they can flap their wings and how fast their hearts beat, Dawn insists that they are speedsters. Then one day when she is playing in her and Daniel’s tree house, she claims that if she can flap her arms as fast as a hummingbird flaps its wings she would be able to fly. Despite her brother’s protests, she leaps from the treehouse and crashes to the ground, breaking her leg. Thankfully enough, the bone was healed by the day’s end. Afterwards, Barry starts using the nickname Hummingbird for her.

Daniel, on the other hand, they would call Thumper every once and awhile. When Iris was pregnant with them she’d feel him kick in a very fast and distinct way. She said it felt like she was pregnant with Thumper from Bambi. After the twins were born, she knew that it was him doing all that kicking because he still kicked in the exact same manner as he did in the womb.

They all call him Thumper time from time to time, but it’s only Barry who calls Dawn Hummingbird. When Iris doesn’t call her by name she calls her Baby Girl, just as Joe has often called her.  

At school, Daniel isn’t quite the social butterfly his sister is. He is shy and awkward and has a hard time going up to people and introducing himself. He doesn’t mind too much because he does make one lifelong friend, Carl, and after always hearing about how close Barry and Iris have been since they were kids, he decided that’s all he ever needed. Once he builds more trust with Carl, he wants to tell him about his powers. After talking with his parents they come to the decision that it’s okay for him to tell him, as long as they are present for the conversation and can help explain the importance of keeping the secret.

(I made a post about this hc ages ago) Both of the twins will have different school recitals and such. Barry will be very determined to make ALL of them, but of course he can never manage to show up on time. He’ll hurry in while the recital is already in progress and when he spots Iris and the seat she saved for him, he has to awkwardly climb over people to get to her, annoying all the other parents as they try to watch/film their own kids, because she always insists on sitting in the middle of the auditorium (It’s where she can get the best view and sound). Then whenever Dawn or Daniel aren’t the focus of the performance, they spend the entire time whispering to each other, gushing over their kids. They get shushed repeatedly.

I have Jaden Betts as a face claim for Daniel. I know I had a good one for Dawn I decided on, but I can’t remember for the life of me who it was. It was too long ago when I first came up with it and I didn’t do anything about it. I’ll let you know if I remember or come across someone else.

I know I have more hc for the Tornado Twins. This is just what I can remember off the top of my head right now, but I’ll add more later. If you want me to share any more of my hc for westallen in general, let me know.