#also Dawn is gay because all my ocs are

[toxictoad]

(This is about my OC so feel free to ignore this)

Dawn is a secret clone of Anakin Skywalker

Palpatine created him after the rise of the Empire (Because psychologically tormenting Vader is the only fun he has)

I'm thinking that Vader actually likes him as a kid because his head is just so genuinely fucked up in his early years in the Empire that he can sort of pretend that Dawn is his kid. He never says it out loud because of the constant surveillance but he calls him "Luke" in his head (Granted, not even his head is safe from Palpy but like neither of them say anything because Vader is in denial and Palpy is playing the long game of "What is the maximum emotional pain I can inflict on this man")

Dawn has the fast aging thing like the Fett clones but I imagine that he ages normally from ~20 physical years on because I said so. He doesn't have a name at first and I'm torn between giving him some serial number (I'm thinking some fucked up reference like A-66 or something similar) or just having everyone call him "boy" and similar not-names.

I think as Vader sees him growing up so fast he goes from projecting his lost baby onto him to fucking HATING Dawn because he's becoming more and more like Anakin and if I know anything about Darth Vader it's that he hates himself (There will definitely be an arm getting cut off at some point because the only thing better than self-hatred is self-hatred + dismemberment)

I have no idea what I want Dawn's role in the Empire to be. I kind of want him to be a pseudo-inquisitor who's basically an assassin who takes out rebels. It's sort of cringey but I'm thinking that they nickname him "The Empire's Wrath" Or something of the sort.

It would be Palpy reminding Vader that he can be replaced (I'm thinking that he has backup clones and that maybe Dawn isn't even the first one which would be SO angsty because then Vader has repeatedly projected his dead child onto these clones and they all ended up dying UGH it's so SAD)

Basically Dawn exists to make Anakin suffer for the rest of his miserable life no matter what.

BUT as for Dawn himself he's just the saddest fucker ever. The thing is that he doesn't KNOW that he's a clone of Darth Vader.

So from his perspective it's like this; He is a child who grows up on Star Destroyers. Vader is kinda nice to him but the Emperor is the regular torture-happy asshat he always is. He learns how to be a fun-sized Sith and how to kill people good. THEN Vader just starts fucking hating him for no apparent reason and CUTS HIS ARM OFF. So he gets a wicked mechno-arm but everything still sucks, and he gets sent out to kill people and it's like "Well this might as well happen"

Dawn isn't as powerful as Anakin or Vader but he's still pretty fuckin good. He isn't as impulsive or as emotional as Anakin because he mostly just shuts down when faced with any significant amount of feelings (Trauma response yay) and he obviously has a different force signature. In my head he's like a blue giant star while Anakin is a supernova and Vader is like a black hole.

And THEN the Empire falls (I want Dawn to be on the second Death Star and escape somehow, but I'm not sure exactly how). I think he's going to end up on Endor and see his first sunrise and that's how he names himself. I will also make him "borrow" a starfighter to do adventures with.

I need some force ghosts to show up and give him hints to put together that he's a clone of Vader, but that could happen at any point after this.

I'm kinda stuck here because it could go in so many different directions: Do I want him to go on a solo journey of self-actualization and have him see a shit ton of force ghosts and learn about Anakin and become a weird kind-of-Jedi? Do I want him to end up with Luke and Leia and become their weird ex-murdery Dad/Uncle/Brother? Do I want him to get in with the Mandolorians and fuck around there and have Bo-Katan freak out? DO I WANT TO DO EVERYTHING?

Anyway I really like Dawn he's one of my favorite OCs right now. Also I have a scene in mind where Anakin's force ghost appears to him and Dawn is like "Damn I'm kinda hot tho" but I had no place to put that in this post.

[corpsezinthecloset]

im eating all your warriors humans designs uo right now and i would love an in depth explanation for all of them (or just the lore) because oh my gosh, oh my gosh theyre so amazing and wonderful im exploding rn /pos /nf

HI HI HI HI HI HELLO HEY Okay so my Warrior Cats human au is a fantasy medieval-style au, they all live in kingdoms, kittypets are referred to as villagers as they live in villages, and other non-kingdom people are called outsiders. The kingdoms are called Thunder, River, Wind, Shadow, and Sky, the leaders are kings or queens, their direct kin such as children or spouses are considered royalty until the leader dies, Medicine cats are called Healers, deputies stay the same yay. Twolegs are Giants!!!!! Everyone reclaims the title of Warrior but they all have their own jobs and such, Darkstripe and Mousefur are blacksmiths, Firehearts a fisherman(the silly guy), etc. Starclan is called The Stars, it was originally ruled by three gods, Sun(Lion), Moon(Tiger), and Eclipse(Leopard), they each watched over different parts of the world, Sun watched over the kingdoms, and the animalborns, Moon watched over the mountains and the tribes, and Eclipse watched over the outsiders and Giantborns. These three gods were eventually rallied against and overthrown by Silverpelt, and she became the Goddess of the Stars, and the kingdom founders, Thunder, Clear Sky, Tall Shadow, Wind Runner, and River Ripple all ascended to Godhood after their deaths. Animalborns: In DOTC(Dawn of the Clans) everyone evolved from animals, some people looked like humans but with animal features, and some looked like actual animals. People of the modern kingdoms have evolved more and look like normal humans however they still have some animal aspects such as aging, for the first year of their life they in months, and then the process slows down to normal human years. Giantborns: At the same time people also were born from a lesser species of Giants that were much smaller(but still larger than the average person), these Giants originally ruled the kingdoms founded in DOTC but were all killed!!!!! The Dark Forest is called the Starless Inferno and its ruled by seven lords who each represent a sin, Pride, Wrath, Lust, Envy, Sloth, Greed, and Gluttony(NOT INSPIRED BY EITHER HAZBIN HOTEL OR HELLUVA BOSS I WILL ACTUALLY CRY), most of these lords are made up characters because im silly like that Pride: Rabbits Tail(OC) - Creator of the Starless Inferno and main villain in my rewrite of Dawn of the Clans Wrath - One eye Lust - Honey Song(OC) Envy - Cobraheart(OC) Sloth - Crow(OC) Greed - Toadleap(OC) Gluttony - Maggottail - I wanted to give him some love he's my fave DF guy. The seven lords each have stones that give them the ability to use magic after Silverpelt banned it. Before the original three gods, Sun, Moon, and Eclipse were defeated they had Demi-gods, mortals they had a likeness for and gave magic to, Eclipse had one very special mortal who was his GAY LOVER, Sol(I've re-written him in this au), but after the three gods were taken down all Demi-gods lost their powers and most became normal mortals again, though some, like Sol, were able to continue living into the more modern times. HOPE THIS HELPS

[grimsneverendingfuneral]

my apologies if you’ve said this before but what are your ocs star signs (i know Nothing about star signs but interested because im a scorpio and have been told that’s bad maybe ??)

aww hello my dearest. thank you for your question on one of my fixations. i will now go crazy

ok, so i've created all of my OCs full birth charts, but i'm not gonna start on my astrologer shit now, so i'll give you their big threes

Jeff is an Aquarius sun, Leo rising, Capricorn moon. (asshole)

Lotus is Cancer sun, Libra rising, Pisces moon. (delusional)

Percy is Pisces sun, Capricorn rising, Libra moon (gay cunt)

Ren is Scorpio sun, Aquarius rising, Aries moon (little meow meow)

Fanny is Gemini sun, Scorpio rising, Taurus moon. (succubus)

Franky is Aries sun, Sagittarius rising, Scorpio moon. (cokehead)

Gretchen is Virgo sun, Pisces rising, Capricorn moon. (emo)

Nina is Taurus sun, Cancer rising, Gemini moon (insensitive)

Dawn is Capricorn sun, Taurus rising, Leo moon (cult leader)

Felix is Libra sun, Virgo rising, Leo moon (whore)

i wanna go on a tangent so bad because of the Scorpio thing you said... ok i will

don't let anyone, especially not reductive pop astrology stereotypes ever make you feel like a sign is bad. there's literally, logically no such thing. astrology is an ancient practice which is taken too literally at times and it irks me. it's a branch of astronomy, essentially. every day, the sky changes, and astrology just studies how that affects us, basically. from planetary transits to the phases of the moon, to asteroid trajectories and where the sun is positioned according to the horizon.

Scorpio is a polarizing sign, mostly due to its Plutonic influence. it's a sign under the ruler of Mars, the God of War, of passion, drive, spirit, anger, sex, and co-ruled by Pluto, the furthest planet in our solar system. secrets, the underworld, what motivates people, looking underneath the veil, into the dark, where no one else dares to take a look. it's a fixed water sign. if Pisces is the ocean and Cancer is a river, Scorpio is a vast lake. you can't see the bottom. it seems bottomless, but there is one, and it's hidden from the view of those who do not dare go towards it.

to yourself, you are both the immovable object and the unstoppable force. Scorpio is a sign that can sometimes trigger unhealed people, because it sees through them without really knowing it does. people can easily project on Scorpios, yes, because Scorpios are highly ambitious, highly cunning, very intelligent, like a sharp blade. but you guys are also the people who love the strongest, the deepest. your hearts are truly too damn big for your own good sometimes. you have a hard time knowing when to give up. you are driven by your dreams, by something bigger. you feel as though your life is not your own sometimes, because your theme is transformation. the animal of the Scorpio is both the phoenix, which rises from the ashes, and the Scorpion, who would rather sting itself than let you kill it. you want to be in control of your destiny.

i think Scorpios get a bad rep because they're intense in the way they interact with the world. with everything. there's always a dash of pure energy being lazered down into whatever they're doing or whoever they're with. you need secure people in your life. people who know themselves. Scorpio is by far not a bad sign, and no sign is. it's a beautiful thing, being a Scorpio. it's hard, but it pays off if you learn to radically accept yourself and know that you can't control how people are going to perceive you. just do you, and the right ones will see you. freak 4 freak type shit

i, for one, fuckin love Scorpios. if that makes you feel better. i have a lot in my life, always have. you guys need some tenderness, is all. just a hug. fingers running through your hair. people make you out to be these overly complicated, mysterious beings when you really just want what we all do. just some understanding, some lovin.

[bagheerita]

twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @tiltingheartand thanks!! ❤

how many works do you have on ao3? 93

what's your total ao3 word count? 1,670,696 (I've finished re-posting (almost) all of my old stuff from FFN and AFF)

what fandoms do you write for? At the moment: Stargate Atlantis Before that: MCU/Avengers I have dipped my toes in all over, but by number of fics the next two most prominent past fandoms are: Inuyasha & Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar

top five fics by kudos: 1. Nemo (SGA) 2. Nyteridalatry (SGA) 3. One and One and One is Three (MCU) 4. Regina Donum (SGA) 5. Your Prison is Walking Through This World All Alone (MCU)

do you respond to comments? Yes, always (unless the person is reading through and commenting on multiple chapters in a fic. Then I usually only reply to the ones where I feel like I have something to say instead of all of them). The depth of my reply depends on my mental energy that day.

what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Technically Beast of Venery probably wins this (SGA fic where Sheppard has, to put it lightly, a very bad day)

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Can I go with Harbored (the actual ending of the series that began with Beast of Venery)? In general, I love happy endings, so I write a lot of them. But maybe Harbored feels like a brighter dawn because of the previous darkness.

do you get hate on fics? No, not really. Thankfully! I get weird comment sometimes, like “why is everyone gay?” (which comment ignored the mostly-straight-reading bisexual relationship in that story), and “it’s so lame that you didn’t finish this story” (the story is clearly tagged and noted as abandoned, and I explained that the series it was part of only existed at all because of the comments and interest I’d gotten on the first installment, so when the comments dried up so did the series)

do you write smut? Yes, with varying levels of skill and interest

craziest crossover: Um, of the things that are posted… Conversations Beyond the Edge of the Galaxy, where Shigure Souma, Angel (the vampire), and Rogue (from X-Men) meet at a bar and talk.

have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of

have you ever had a fic translated? No, because that would be too awesome

have you ever co-written a fic before? No, though technically Eos and I are credited as coauthors on Aubade (SGA), because she did the art and I did the writing. (Her cover art is really just fantastically beautiful!)

all time favourite ship? Dude* I vibe with/other dude I vibe with/possibly a third dude I vibe with + story that writes them just right + I was exactly in the mood for this situation today = best ship (*dude is gender neutral)

what's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? So many…. But there's this one AU I have that I want to finish, it's a multiverse John/Todd/Rodney. Chunks of it are mostly written, but there are these OCs that I was planning to kill off and as I developed the one character I made her black and a lesbian so now I'm like "well crap I can't bury my gays, I want her to be happy with her girlfriend, even though her girlfriend also dying was a huge plot point!" So it's back to the drawing board while I decide if I can get away with inserting a time loop where I kill another character but he's not actually dead (because it's the time-traveled version of him that dies, right? But I can't decide how to make this not a paradox).

what are your writing strengths? I’m good at editing. I love writing absolute shit and then tearing it apart and fixing it. And I think I’m good at blocking? Scenes that don't describe the setting very well confuse me, so I work to make that clear when I'm writing.

what are your writing weaknesses? Describing characters. Since it's a fic I tend to assume that everyone know what everyone looks like, which doesn't fly as well with OCs... 😅

thoughts on dialogue in another language? If it’s dialogue that the reader is supposed to understand it should be written in the same language as the fic. (Or notated in a way that the reader can access a translation. There are cool skins for this on AO3.) If it’s in another language, I had better not need to know what it says, because I do not have time to look it up.

first fandom you wrote in? OT Star Wars

favourite fic you've written? I really don’t think I could pick just one. Mostly I have favorite moments, rather than favorite fics. But some contenders might be: With Autumn Closing In (MCU, frostiron) Ivory Fanged (Kiesha’ra series, Danica/Zane) Oh, Talk Not to Me of a Name Great in Story (SGA, john/todd) Semper ad Meliora (SGA, Rodney & Todd) A Dram of Sweet is Worth a Pound of Sorrow (SGA, Michael/OC)

(I'm not going to link any stories bc it's late, and my AO3 is linked at the top of my tumblr if you're interested)

NPT: @adriankyte-writes @judgeverse @aintgonnatakethis @darklysnarky @anonmadsci @lord-aldhelm @annwayne @anomalousrobot @only-in-december

[coolcattime]

.🧩🍦🐇.

🧩 What will make you click away from a fanfic immediately?

Not having paragraphs or not having grammar - especially when the description did.

Also, villainizing characters for no good reason, but this one is harder for me to define. Like it seems to depend on my mood so I think it's more of my “She would not fucking sat that” thing that disliking villainizing. I've like got better things to do than read fics making my favourites into pricks and not tagging them as either villains or the fic as salt fics (you tag it, go nuts because then I know what to expect).

🍦 Name three name things about a character you hate

Typically I'll try to make these questions about Mianite, but I don't actually hate any Mianite characters - if I hate a character I'm not going to write fanfiction with them in it. So here's three nice things about Chris from Until Dawn - a character that went through a similar journey in my years of interacting with the character as Jordan (I ship this straight ship -> this man is a dick to his “girlfriend” and she gets to be gay now as a treat), but didn't have the redeeming qualities for me to not want to explode him with my mind.

It is genuinely very nice how much Chris cares for Josh, even post the reveal of the prank. He can die trying to bring him to safety and if that isn't being a good best friend I don't know what is

Regardless of my feelings about them as a couple “Every second I spent with you was the only thing I ever wanted to do with my time” is a genuinely really sweet line

I really like his interactions with the Flamethrower Man. Just the whole little walk to the shed with him. I stood around to hear more dialogue from the two. And the fact that he will always defend him in the police interviews if he survives is nice.

🐇 Do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or both?

Original characters, without a shadow of a doubt.

I have a very unfortunate problem that whether I see my name in a piece of media, I am then unable to take it seriously. In fact, my name was originally used in a good number of fics for Capsize, back when giving her a normal name was popular, and god did I spend so much time giggling because “tehehe that's me”. No, I can't read reader inserts with (y/n) stuff because of that - so I definitely couldn't write one.

Originally characters though, I have so many and I write and them all the time. I understand this question is likely about them being put into universe with canon characters which I don't tend to do but a) I do have an idea for a crossover with my OC verse and Mianite I'm just too lazy to write something that would require a ton of character description and world explanation right now and b) one of my OCs has a canonical crush on Leon Kennedy (and Claire Redfield and probably Ada Wong) and I'm above making them kiss (did this crush start off as a joke that she'd find RE4 relatable because she is a rich girl body guarded by a powerful person named Leon(tine) YES but I'd like her meet and kiss Leon to make her happy).

[lunaede]

toa munday!!

Name: arden

Pronouns: he/she/they

Birthday (no year): Aug 9th

Where are you from? What is your time zone?: I was originally an east coast, USA girlie but I moved out to Colorado a while ago. MST timezone currently!

Roleplay experience: I started roleplaying on gaiaonline and also neopets and people used to yell at me because i was eight and did not know what i was doing. my avatar looked so cool on gaia though, for the record.

Got any pets?: Gabe, Gabe and Hancock, them again, creature

Favorite time of year: fall

Some interests and things you like: art, sewing (both cosplay and day to day wear as well as plushies), writing, playing ttrpgs, old movies, making ocs

Some funfacts & trivia about you: i am such a huge fan of ttrpgs. i really love dming but i also really love playing. i'm weak for vampires & silly little elves. also i am terrified of tornados and all of you are talking about them so casually.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play?: Final Fantasy (XV, VII mainly), Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls, Animal Crossing

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: grass type / i don't have just one, but from the new game i was partial to houndstone.

How did you get into Fire Emblem?: I saw nico play 3H and became obsessed with Hubert immediately

What Fire Emblem games have you played?: Three Houses, Awakening, Fates, Engage, Genealogy of the Holy War, Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn

First Fire Emblem game: Three Houses!

Favorite Fire Emblem game: Honestly it depends on the day. But most days, its Awakening.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳: Hubert von Vestra. Arvis Ve-- (a sniper takes me out before I can finish)

If you’ve played the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: it was Chrom with the gay awakening patch. If I play m!Robin, it's Chrom, and f!Robin is Libra's wife most of the time. - Fates: I played f!Corrin and romanced Kaze first, m!Corrin was Niles. I really mix it up each time, though. - Three Houses: it. it was Hubert. In every life I will Find Him. - Engage: Ivy on f!Alear and Kagetsu on m!Alear

Favorite Fire Emblem class: sniper/bow knight, or warlock.

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class?: mmmm maybe wyvern rider?

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation?: i think you can guess.

If you were an Engage character, which Emblem would you Engage with?: :oldplead: ah... miss camilla... don't mind if i do

How did you find TOA?: nico said hey look at this and i did

Current TOA muses: frederick, arvis, naesala

Who was your first TOA muse?: frederick <3

Do you think you have a type of character you gravitate towards?: wah probably, knights & men who are a little silly

What do you believe you enjoy writing the most?: morally gray dudes

Favorite TOA-related memory: I am still but a young boy in TOA's history but every day is a nice new memory... I hope for many more to come !

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔: Toe-uh!

Got any delusions that didn’t see the light of day that you’d like to share? 😉: Actually it was a toss up between Naesala and BK for a moment there, and then of course there always was the looming threat of Hub-- (I am mercifully silenced)

[talenlee]

October 2023 Wrapup

Dread Month draws to a close! The spookiest of nights, the dawn of the dead, the uh, thing! We shed our shackles and dance in our bones, and tomorrow, go about the business of being people, once again, sloughing out into the drawing heat and the growing, burning, hateful light of a sun that resents us and we celebrate in spite of it. You know, the normal and natural way everyone relates to this time of the year.

Alright, let’s do the Game Pile articles!

Don’t Go In There, a dice chucker board game made in a charming dice tower

Backwater, a really interesting TTRPG about a post-apocalyptic vision of the parts of America that are allowed to stay permanently soggy

Phantom Ink, a hidden information ghosty game in the vein of Mysterium

Carrion, a video recreation of one of my favourite articles to read aloud from 2020

Then there’s the Story Pile!

Bloodthirsty Hearts, a fiction podcast about queer girls fighting gargoyle vampires at a convention in which they learn the valuable lessons that all systems of privilege and power aren’t as important as talking to your gay crush.

The Lighthouse, a black and white movie about what enters you when you take yourself far away from everything and empty yourself.

Jujutsu Kaisen, spoiler-free, a contextualising post about how a great Shounen Battle Anime with horror elements make the idea of shounen anime nonsense.

John Carpenter’s Halloween, from 1978, a movie that is both way better than I expected, and full of all sorts of deliberate choices that people seem to replicate for no good reasons.

Willy’s Wonderland, which is, unironically a Five Nights At Freddies fan movie made by Nicolas Cage in a month and really quite good!

This month also featured a somewhat bumper load of D&D content. First, I did some worldbuilding for Cobrin’Seil, both in revealing a new location, Uxaion, which is a necrocybermagepunk city. It’s an adventure city where you can contend with economic harm and threats, and where you can also just murder your way through cops that only respect the utility of your body as a potential undead – it’s a place for wight privilege. Then I also presented the player backgrounds for characters you could make from the Szudetken province. Along with that, I made an article about Evil Gods, and the antisemitism built into the framework of the D&D Lich, and since I was just in the territory, I made fun of the 4e D&D Vampire character class, even though I think it’s a great idea. Then, in this month’s How To Be article, where I got to hold high Harrowhark Nonagesimus, drowned sad vomiting goth of the Locked Tomb franchise, I also gave a long-form discussion of how to translate a prominent, small-cast character’s vibes in a team based game.

Up here, there’s also room to talk about an OC, Z3R0, and about the ongoing, relentless onslaught of capitalism in the creation of more than half of all valid Commander cards in the past five years.

This being October, I once again did a set of Dread Readings. I know that a lot of my friends have never partaken of a lot of classic, historically important horror media. At first, Dread Readings were Lovecraft Stories, trying to make the difficult readings of his old texts into something more approachable. Then, the year after, I started picking up short stories from other, equally classic horror material that could help – in my opinion – familiarise people with different kinds of horror that you know, didn’t just continue being Lovecraft.

This year, the four Dread Readings are:

HP Lovecraft’s The Thing On The Doorstep, which I bring up as the time Lovecraft dabbled in issues of gender.

A chapter excerpt from Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind In The Willows, in which Mole and Rat meet the Horned King, a totally normal thing to randomly have in an otherwise pretty Christian book!

Destiny’s No Rez For The Weary, a lore tab entry from a videogame. I liked it because it’s horror in a science fantasy space that isn’t

Paul Jenning’s Granddad’s Gifts, a haunting story from an Australian kid’s author. This is a story I really like as an example of horror used to a different romantic effect than just fear.

It wouldn’t be October, the ongoing Dread Month, without some real downer articles. Do you want to read me being a huge downer? No? Okay, well, here are links anyway. I wrote about the Silent Hill Wiki Circumcision Incident, about how we examine the death toll of Chernobyl, about the way we all live the life of Lovecraft’s horror, about the creation of an alternate reality in the form of all media that wants to pretend the Pandemic never happened, and most of all, the horror of a history seeing suicide by immolation become more common. Know what really sucks? Since writing that article I remembered the Arab Spring was kicked off by another one!

Next up, what about this month’s T-Shirt? Since I’ve been watching Jujutsu Kaisen, this horse meme and the narrative of the series came together:

This design was one of those ones where I, with enough work, was able to put together a few variations. Redbubble lets me stick things in collections, and so, here! Have a collection for your consideration of which version looks best to you.

Work-wise, this month is the tail end of semester, which means I have been, I think, marking student work every single day of this month. I’m trying to make sure my students are getting attention they need, and still also provide plans to my cohort of teachers about how we can refine these subjects going forward. This is in addition to my phd work, which…

It’s weird?

I’m excited to work more on my phd tomorrow morning. Like I am genuinely thinking about the stuff I stopped working on today and want to pick up tomorrow. There’s a mindset shift on that front that’s been really hard to get my head around. I’m glad of it.

I’m also kind of boiling with game ideas, and without a theme – and with the upcoming no effort november vibes I’m aiming for… we might see more chill vibes going forward!

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[vacantgodling]

For the Pride asks:

5. & 9. for an OC of your choice

and 20. & 21. for in general <3

this took me forever to answer but we’re here now 👀 let’s do some… tcol generally

5. How did you figure out your oc's identity?

i’ll talk about clear for this but when tcol initially came into being clear and san were supposed to end up together — which in retrospect and hindsight literal just PFFFFF WHAT. terrible. but san’s character was kind of different back then and i hadn’t quite developed the skill of nuanced character personalities and backstory yet. but when i started to write the very old version of tcol (in notebooks) whenever i wrote clear and forte interacting there was just… something there, yknow? the first person that forte talked or laughed around was clear. they naturally hung out and stuck with one another and while i wasn’t quite sure what was going on with forte i felt like something was up with clear

(this isn’t necessarily unique to clear this whole… i notice you gravitating towards a dude because if i take ANY of my older ocs who are dudes: toph, clear and darren specifically, they all started in their initial concepts in relationships with femmes but then i realized that like… yeah no that’s not it).

when i started deciding to take tcol more seriously and started worldbuilding/fleshing shit out, i then realized why clear ran away from home and his sexuality was part of the reason why. there’s something to be said about why i do make this many of my characters struggle with sex and sexuality and it’s because of so. much. xtian upbringing repression. cough. but i ended up realizing that clear liked forte more than just a friend which was enlightening (wow, he’s gay!) but then also created the: oh. there’s kind of a love angle now.

but realistically me growing more comfortable in my own sexuality and attitude towards sex helped me peel back the layers of clear to discover that he’s a gay boy with mad repression and trauma lmao. basically.

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

gender and sexuality are pretty fluid in tcol; there are some bigots who exist or people with slightly idk regressive viewpoints however: two of their deities in tcol are genderqueer (YUTARA, deity of medicine is also androgynous/nb and goes by they/them. they’re also the god of gender expression & MARTH the god of blacksmithing and alchemy is a trans man. got a whole city named after his origin story of becoming a man -> marthveil). the war goddess YLENE and YUTARA have an ages long slow burn going on (YLENE literally has a seared into her skin kiss mark on her body because she wanted to immortalize the time that YUTARA gave her a kiss on the cheek. however they aren’t “together yet” in the traditional sense because YUTARA can’t help but tease YLENE). the second king of lathsbury anele of kairos is a he/she butch and was married in a literal war enemies to lovers rival dawn nightwillow… etc etc. there’s a lot of lore of queerness in tcol basically

20. Have your ocs helped you in self discovery? How?

my preference for writing male characters and finding it easier to relate to them and get into their heads was kind of a big giveaway for me growing up. making a lot of mlm ocs also helped me kinda discover that yeah mood me too. and vice versa; the more i discovered about myself the more i was able to imbue those discoveries into my ocs

21. Free ramble card wee

i haven’t talked much about anele of kairos and dawn nightwillow bc i adore the first age of tcol quite a bit and these two only come around during the end and into the second era but their love story is supremely funny to me. basically the only time terrae had a civil war happened while these two were leaders and in part of the peace treaty they married each other. the funniest parts of their eventual romance is (1) that there was a romance at all bc the two of them were so set on just tolerating each other (2) the god of love MIRANKA was literally born out of their union and if that doesn’t say something idk what will and (3) the reason MIRANKA was born, isn’t bc love didn’t exist in terrae before them it’s because he’s also the god of relationships in general and his oracles act as magic relationship counselors LMAO. so he really was born out of hmm. y’all need relationship therapy and it’s funny to me

real enemies to lovers vibes yknow

[ezra-iolite]

The O'Murchadha-Mutheru Kids: Conduit, Sira and Bori

Because I can't draw for shit, and I'm too scared to...... Have some bios of Asya's main kids. Along with some cringey Picrews to help with visualizing them..... ART IS HARD, OK?! ;A;

| Conduit (The Eldest of all the kids- Adopted by Asya) |

~ Brief Description ~

He/Him pronouns. Gay/Achillean orientation.

Voice Claim: Hanta Sero- My Hero Academia (Japanese voice) Singing voice: Stratovarius

His full mortal name is Natori Siwatu O'Murchadha-Mutheru. He prefers to be called Conduit due to the comfort the nickname brings, though his adoptive mother Asya usually calls him "Little Bird", which is what his first name actually means.

Conduit is a curse-made Gargoyle just like Fort Max (link here if you need a visual reference), but while Conduit should turn into stone during the day, the crystals that grow along his back and wings (sometimes his arms, legs and tail, if he uses his powers too much) are shards of moonstones that save him from the curse's stone-form effect. They are what prevents his ability to speak from being stolen and keeps his head and chest from becoming fully gargoyle in appearance, aside from his horns and fangs, and allow him to be active during the day and night.

If the moonstone shards are all removed, the grey scales will creep further up his human skin and he will become a statue at dawn, which will continue until a new crystal patch grows on his back again. But if he cannot regrow the crystals at all before the end of a week.... he will become a full gargoyle and lose his human side forever.

The appearance of his human side only consists of his light tan skin on his upper-torso area and head. But, from his shoulders to his hands, his hips to his feet, his tail and his wings down along his back... Conduit has dark grey scales befitting a gargoyle. He also has scraggly blonde hair and baby blue eyes, with short, straight-arching, dark grey horns. He got his scar across his face long before he met Asya, when he was a feral child struggling to survive against the Deep Dweller sirens constantly attacking him.

Those constant attacks from the Deep Dwellers are the reason why Conduit has a fear of going into the ocean and of sirens, other than Elbent, Ferrous or Indi. Starstrike (@dimorphodon-x's OC) does unnerve him for this reason, but also because of his infamous stare reminding him of a Deep Dweller, but Conduit instinctually masks his fear and does his best to not react to it around him, to ensure he isn't rude or hurtful towards Strike. (He's a very polite little man, even in the face of his PTSD, ok?!)

He quickly grew to reach 8 feet tall by the time he turned 19, making him a full foot taller than Verglaust. But for a while, he was considered the shortest on the ship due purely to his malnourishment, so as soon as he gained some pounds and healthy chonkiness, he quickly gained muscle and size thanks to the healthier lifestyle and care Asya and the gang gave him... Making both Conduit AND Asya late bloomers that gained their growth spurt at the same stage in their life.

He's around 27 years old by the time he arrives at Joka Ardhi, making him the oldest kid on the ship by six years. Once Ferrous becomes captain of the ship, Conduit will take over his father's role as the Immortal Sun's main doctor, helping Nicole even after her retirement.

Overall.... Conduit's a very good boy, kind-hearted, well mannered, and always eager to help. Also very protective of his siblings, especially his sister Sira and Bori.

~ Backstory ~

Asya and her two husbands had spent only five years living on the Immortal Sun, when they came across an island full of pearlescent shards of moonstone crystals, with some growing as tall as trees in towering clusters. Upon landing on the island to investigate, the crew found a cave full of different veins of crystals, a majority of which were magical in nature and could therefore be used for medical or practical purposes. And with Asya's childhood being spent studying the magic of crystals, as is commonly used in Jokani culture, they began to mine for them and bringing back barrels worth of them, a majority of which could be sold for a great fortune.

During their excavation adventure, Asya stumbled across a hut made of palm leaves and crystal shards, as well as a crowd of Deep Dweller sirens flocking at the shore of the hut. There, being pulled down by the sirens and frantically trying to escape their bloodthirsty hunt, was a young boy. A gargoyle somehow moving about in daylight, and being pulled down under the water by the Deep Dwellers. Without even a moment to hesitate, Asya jumped into the water and fought off the sirens, before she pulled the boy to shore and helped him catch his breath.

Weak, malnourished, riddled with injuries, old scars and crystals just like the ones on this island covering his back and wings, the boy looked to be no older than seven, but by his gargoyle features and face, Asya knew he was physically older but was too weak to develop into his teen body properly. And despite her feeling the sting of trauma from a child she previously rescued long before she met her husbands (a purple Dragonkin toddler she named Hyacinth who died at the hands of his captors despite her best efforts to save him).... Asya chose right there and then to take this boy in and raise him to be stronger, healthier and adored, to never face his struggles in life alone ever again.

After checking to be absolutely certain that he was the only one on this island, Asya marched right back to the ship with the boy in her arms, and without even looking back or saying a word to anyone she passed by, despite the obvious confusion and questions of the crew and her captain, Asya brought the boy below deck and nursed him back to health, making him the first child on board the Immortal Sun. The moment he regained consciousness, the child began to act defensively feral, hissing and swatting at anyone who dared come near him, with the only real way to treat his wounds being to wait until he was asleep or wait for him to trust Asya, Nicole or Kevin to touch him while he was too exhausted to fight back, and only then could they fully patch him up. Not even Max during his nightly rounds brought the fellow gargoyle any comfort, but no matter who came and went out of the cage room... Asya was always there, spending every moment she could by his side, patiently waiting for him to lower his guard and simply spoke to him with a soft, maternal voice to soothe his worries, oftentimes calling him "Little bird" affectionately, all without realizing just how suddenly she was adopting the role of a mother.

Four months later, the now healed up and less frightened boy finally began to explore the ship, curious yet timid but in a way a child should be. No longer did he show his feral side, but still he preferred to walk on all fours and move or act like a beast, not that Asya minded as she encouraged him while also showing him how to rely on his hind legs (a secret she had yet to reveal to the crew about her own childhood habit of walking on all fours and learning to transition onto her paws). And after another month, he finally began to speak but with very few words, like a toddler learning how to grasp the concept of speech. It was, however, more than enough to learn his story...

Of how he lived with his human father and mother, a Primus fisherman and a Unicronian weaver, on a tiny ship that relied on the sea for all they needed. Of how the ship suddenly crashed on a small island that was home to a mage, and how the mage angrily cursed Conduit, the only survivor, for stealing from his trash for food, and thus cursed him to bear the appearance of a true beast scavenging to survive. The moment the curse took form, it went rogue from the boy's fear, trauma and anguish, and thus the island became completely surrounded by crystals born of his body and power, killing the mage with it on accident. And since then, the boy grew up surviving on his own, until he was attacked yet again by the same Deep Dwellers who caused his family's ship to crash and killed his parents.

Since that faithful day, Asya has since taken him under her wing and raised him with all her love and praise, and with a healthier lifestyle he immediately shot up in size and grew physically stronger and bigger as a result, reaching well above Ferrous's height when he reached twelve years old, while the gargoyle child was twenty and already surpassed the average human height easily. Nowadays, rather than going by the name Asya chose for him in place of the one he can no longer remember from his parents, he usually goes by Conduit, in reference to his crystals being conduits of the elements.

~ Appearance ~

Present day Conduit (during the timeline of One Last Wish) is a 27 year old cursed Gargoyle who stands at 8 feet tall, with a wingspan of 7 feet. He has light tan skin with more human features than gargoyle ones, with his wings, entire lower torso down to his digitigrade legs and tail, and his hands up to just below the elbows, all being grey like a gargoyle. From the middle of back and the arms up to the thumb of his wings are all covered in small moonstone clusters, which aid in his ability to stay unfrozen during the day and grant him his powers over the sky-based elements (air, heat, water and lightning). He also has short, scraggly, golden blonde hair and blue eyes, nearly the same hue as his adoptive mother's, a large scar right across the bridge of his nose and under his eyes, and short, straight, grey horns.

Clothing wise, Conduit normally just wears grey, baggy shorts or haram pants, due to the sheer thick size of his digitigrade legs, and a sleeveless yellow top that must have no buttons due to how large and beefy he is naturally as an adult. More often than not, he's usually shirtless when he doesn't feel like struggling with his clothes.

When he uses his powers, the crystals glow the colour of what element he uses (red for heat, light blue for air, yellow for lightning, sapphire blue for water) and he can use up to two elements at a time. However, the more or longer he uses his powers, the more the crystals grow along his body, which mainly gather along his back and wings. But if he uses them too often during a battle, they'll begin to creep more and more along his body, starting with his spine area on his back, down to his tail, and then along his arms and the back of his legs. The more crystals that grow, the more unstable his powers become, until he'll start losing control entirely and lighting or heat begin to spout from his crystals and body against his will. The only way to stop this is to break the crystals off and bring them down to a minimum amount at least on his wing tips.

Growing and trimming the crystals always cause him pain since they pierce through his flesh and grow directly from his bones, but Asya's white fire always helps to soothe it a little during their removal.

~ Personality ~

Conduit is a very sweet, empathetic, kind and patient gentleman, and the older he becomes, the more polite and patient he ends up being through experience and age. Even as a man in his late 20s, he's still the kind of person who helps anyone and everyone, even animals... With such an example being his habit of picking up snails when on land, and putting them in the grass or somewhere safe and hidden to keep them safe from a human path. Despite him understanding that he lives a safe life, however, he always excessively worries about his parents due to their collective trauma. And despite Asya's best efforts in making sure Conduit lives a good and happy life, he still worries about his Mama's wellbeing every time she plays the role of the hero for her family. This has resulted in him developing constant nightmares and insomnia.

... Which led to him becoming close with Blue Heron, Max and his adoptive father, Verglaust, when they're all out and about during the night. Once he becomes a doctor, Conduit will grow even closer to Max and Blue Heron, considering them his uncles.

| Sira (Second child of Asya, Third born on the ship- Biological Daughter of Asya and Kevin) |

~ Brief Description ~

She/Her, Lesbian/Sapphic - Asexual

Voice Claim: Yasha- Critical Role Campaign 2 (she IS mute and literally has no means of talking vocally... but Indi does find a crystal that can grant her one, so this is what she would sound like, after a long while of training to relearn how to speak) Singing voice: Lethabo Mello

Her full name is Sira Citrine O'Murchadha-Mutheru, but like most on the ship, she gained a "pirate" name later on in life, based on her assassin skills and lack of voice... Whisper.

Sira is the shortest of all the kids, with her being just two inches taller than her adoptive mother, Elbent, and only reaching below her closest friend Divot's nose when facing them. On average, she can only reach below the chest of the majority of the Immortal Sun's crew, and can very easily sit on Solclave and Verglaust's shoulder without feeling heavy on them, even as an adult, mostly thanks to her lanky build.

She's known as the "smartest" kid on the ship, due to her analytical and quick-thinking nature, so she usually always knows what to do to solve a problem. She inherited her high intelligence and beauty (alongside her height) from her father, but learned her fighting skills and wit from her mother and Uncle Blue Heron. However, she's often considered a know-it-all due to this, and is often teased when she tries to infodump any exciting new thing she's learned.

On that note, she also inherited her Mama Asya's autism (as well as the Mutheru aquiline nose), which only adds to her struggles due to her being born mute and becoming more reclusive as she grew up. She often hides in high places hidden from view to read and stay away from everyone, mostly due to her being so frequently ignored because of her mutism or teased for her book-smarts but lack of knowledge on how to properly express her emotions. This developed into her "cold and stoic" reputation and masking method, even though she is an emotional and highly empathetic person thanks to Asya teaching her and Divot comforting her.

Sira is one of the only two Dragonkin of Asya's lineage living on the Immortal Sun, after Asya and her poly-fam move to Joka Ardhi. But despite Asya being a Ruby breed of Dragonkin, Sira and her younger brother Bori are both Opal Dragonkin, due to them both not being Sun Blessed or bearing the traits of their mother's pedigree. This is because specific conditions must be met in order for a Ruby Dragonkin to be born, and thereafter are considered their own species or breed. (But without these conditions tampering with Asya's firstborn or any child afterwards, every child born of Asya's blood are therefore all Opal Dragonkin (But only Njeri, Asya and Elbent's child, is a Ruby Dragonkin like Asya, since they were born on Joka Ardhi, and has since become the only one of Asya's species to be born during her reign as Dragon Queen)).

Divot (@cuppajj's OC, the child of Drillburst and Fort Max) is the only one who can truly understand Sira on a personal level. For even with them learning how to fluently use sign language, Divot has always been able to "read" and deeply understand Sira since they were kids, and as they grew up together to become warriors and wiser people as a whole, Divot can now read her body language just as clearly as her hand sign. To Divot, Sira can speak a thousand words with just a mere shrug, or say all that she needs to say with just a glance or glare. Deep down, Sira considers Divot her soulmate, thanks to their deep understanding of the mute Dragonkin, and deep down she feels drawn to them in a certain way~

~ Backstory ~

After the troubling birth of Elbent's second-born daughter Indicolite (in which Asya aided in the delivery, but when she was born blue and deathly still, she used the forbidden Soul Fire magic and gave up a piece of her soul to revive Indi), Asya immediately knew deep down that she yearned to bear a child of her own. The baby blues hit even stronger the moment she held the crying and lively newborn siren in her arms, now bearing a tiny shard of Asya's soul for the rest of her life.

There was just one problem with her wish... She was still stuck with the remnant parts of a man, despite her hormone replacement therapy granting her the physique of a woman.

So, it was decided, after much discussion and argument between Asya, Kevin, and Elbent, that until a more permanent solution could be found, they would craft a potion to temporarily grant Asya the full form of a woman, with her first love, Kevin, being chosen as the sire of this child. And for the first few months of her pregnancy, despite all the sickness and aches she felt... Asya finally felt whole. The dysphoria was gone, for the first time in her life, and Asya had never felt so happy since that day.

But the joy did not last... For when she reached only her seventh month, Asya began to bleed and knew something was wrong. The baby was coming. And she knew, despite the constant reassurance she gave to her spouses through her agony... She was dying. The potion was wearing off too soon, and Asya's body was reverting to its old state, with her womb slowly disappearing and the labor now starting to tear Asya apart from the inside.

Working quickly and efficiently, they finally delivered a healthy baby girl, but... Asya couldn't wake up. And while the newborn never cried her first breath, the screams that echoed from Elbent rang across the ship marked the event for all to remember for the rest of their lives, as her spouses soon ran in to witness Elbent slowly turning feral with grief, as she held her dead wife. Kevin and Conduit quickly worked together to patch Asya up and used Conduit's electricity to shock her back to life. And even though it worked... the new mother remained sleeping, too weak to wake up or even move. And upon checking on the premature infant, Nicole discovered why she was so eerily quiet....

The baby was born without a voice. Not even a voice box could be found in the newborn's throat, despite her having everything else she needed to breathe, drink, eat and live without any issues.

So, when Asya finally healed and came out of her coma a month later, the new parents worked during Asya's bed rest to learn sign language and form a curriculum for their mute daughter and all their kids and the crew of the ship to learn, in order to grant their youngest child the right to communicate as she grew. And as she did grow up strong but silent, Asya finally figured out a name for her now three month old, based purely on the appearance she inherited...

Sira, after her late grandmother, Gasira Mutheru, and Citrine for her middle name, after Apophis's daughter, the dragon who was meant to become the next Dragon Queen were it not for the Founders.

....... Growing up on the ship soon became a challenge all on its own for Sira, as without a voice or a clear way to communicate, the young Dragonkin was easily ignored due to how chaotic and loud everyone else was, despite their love and care for her. So, instead of trying to stand out to be seen, Sira opted to simply hide and be patient, wait for her turn for attention to get the things she needed, or simply go to Solclave, Blue Heron, Hawk or, more frequently, Divot for help.

Her visits to Divot and Drill to get away from the frantic lifestyle of her family grew more and more common, even more so when Sira became fully fluent in hand sign alongside her parents, her brothers and sister, and of course Divot, the only person quiet enough to listen to Sira who aided in helping her learn. Now with a more visual way of communicating beyond being dragged around, pointing and writing to show Sira's needs, the blue Dragonkin and the child of the bard quickly became a common sight around the ship, as they grew into mischievous teenagers and eventually witty young adults, masters in the ways of a warrior and seafaring pirates.

Mastering her icy blue flames and the ballet-like grace of her steel barbed whip, a weapon she hides as a belt under her sash while her leather corset protects her skin, Sira grew up into a formidable warrior due to the speed of her attacks and the range of both her fire magic and her weapon. However, Sira's greatest strength lies in her stealth and silence, alongside her quick wit and the trust she has in Divot.

~ Appearance ~

As she grew and neared her pre-teens, Sira looked almost entirely human during this phase of her childhood development, were it not for her sky blue hands and feet (aside from her soles and palms, which were the normal pale brown befitting a person of colour) alongside the very tiny stumps for horns hidden in her afro of dreadlocks. But as she reached her mid-teen years, she developed the traits befitting a blue Opal Dragonkin, with clawed draconic feet upon scaly legs, sharp clawed hands and fangs, a long tail with a short black tuft of fur at the tip, and short, slightly curved, gazelle-like horns. She hated this form of puberty since Dragonkin grow their scales through pimples, just like a human teenager with acne, but are extremely itchy as they emerge and become scales along the skin, which is also oily to help the scales develop into strong, vibrant and hard armour... but it stinks like rotting fish, unfortunately for Sira.

Fashion wise, Sira wears dusty-pastel blue, shoulderless blouses with long draping sleeves, all of them being made of silk or any soft fabrics she can find due to her finding cotton and linen too rough for her comfort. This is normally paired up with simple navy or dark blue pants that only reach her knees, to accommodate for her digitigrade legs, held up by a scarf belt Asya weaved for her 18th birthday, made of dark green and yellow cashmere... The colours of her crush, Divot, which she started wearing as a belt on the day Divot explained their pronouns to show her support for her She/They friend. (Yes, Asya knows this, and she excitedly ships them... She already has a golden cow statuette ready to give to Drillburst, as it is Jokani tradition for a parent or partner to give the family of the betrothed a cow as their dowry) And due to her constant reading, Sira developed bad eyesight and at the age of 12, earning her rectangular glasses that she cannot take off for anything other than baths and sleeping.

Sira inherited her mother's ebony skin tone, but due to her half-black genes, she's just one hue lighter than Asya but is still MUCH darker than Blue Heron. Alongside the Jokani completion, Sira also inherited her mother's long curls, and so keeping in her half-Jokani tradition and for easier hair maintenance, Sira has skinny and tight box braids that only reach below her chin and jaw, styled in a side-swept bob, with a few colourful beads to decorate the very ends of some of her braids in the colours of her parents:

Orange for Asya, Red for Kevin, Dark Blue for Brynjolf, Sky Blue for Elbent, and Emerald Green for Verglaust.

Two pairs are on the first two braids framing her face, to represent all four parents evenly, and two more pairs are on either side of her ears....... And yes, when it's windy, they do tend to whack her glasses.

~ Personality ~

Due to her growing up surrounded by loud, energetic and constantly busy family members, and an even louder ship full of crewmates constantly arguing, bantering, singing and fighting monsters of the sea or other pirates, Sira grew up feeling invisible for most of her life, finding comfort in books and solitude. But because of this lifestyle, she never felt the need to be emotionally expressive to make up for her lack of a voice, for who would even see her expressions or emotions when no one can hear her or remember to look her way?

As such, Sira doesn't speak, or rather sign, as much as she'd like to, simply because she rarely has much to say knowing she would just end up being talked over or not given attention in order to communicate at all, due to her mutism and her need to have someone who knows hand sign to speak to. So, when she does hold a conversation with someone, she often has a chilling and stoic aura around her, almost like an inability to use any of her emotions, which surprisingly aids in showing just how intelligent she can be.

However, Sira is actually very shy and introverted, and oftentimes finds herself acting rather awkward in most social situations due to her solitary lifestyle. This is where Divot comes in as her saving grace and her advocate.... For without them, Sira would be even more antisocial and outright afraid to even approach people, due to the huge barrier her disability causes.

When she's with Divot, Sira is much more expressive, relaxed and happy, to the point that no one on the entire ship, other than her parents, have ever seen her smile without Divot being there. It's gotten to the point, now that they are all older and have formed their adult lives on the ship, that every time Divot enters the room, Sira immediately brightens up and her fire magic flares due to her magic being fueled by her emotions and her literal heart. They usually show up as a smoke-filled sigh that comes out in the shape of a heart, or her tail tip catching fire suddenly. Divot has yet to realize this, much to Sira's relief in her hope of revealing her fiery heart's desire to them one day~

| Bori (Third child of Asya, Last child born on the ship to Elbent's family- Son of Asya and Verglaust) |

(Art belongs to PammyJammy117 on Twitter... I'm just using it as a placeholder cause HE EERIE LOOKS JUST LIKE VERGLAUST AND ASYA BUT WHITEWASHED, LIKE DAYUM)

He/Him, Pansexual

Voice Claim- Lon'qu from Fire Emblem Heroes Singing Voice: Rengoku's part in this... Bori would most likely sing this with Flora (Nicole's daughter) for a karaoke night of drunken fun.... but also I just really like this song ;3;

His full name is Borealis Kaito O'Murchadha-Mutheru, and instead of gaining a badass pirate name like the rest of his family... his appearance and the teasing from his much older siblings led to him earning the nickname "Panda". But, when he's finally treated more seriously, he bears the proud moniker of his name, Bori, after the adoptive albino Dunefarer that Asya considered her true father in her past.

His usual reaction to being called Panda is to immediately snap/spin to the one who called him that (usually just his siblings) and yell at the top of his voice "YOU..... Shut your face!!" and then just as suddenly return to whatever he was doing, including speaking at a calmer and quieter tone, as if it never happened. It's become an inside joke to the O'Murchadha-Mutheru siblings, to see just how far away they can be to see how loud Bori's voice can get.

Bori became the strongest person on the ship, in order to inherit his father's role as the protector of the Immortal Sun. And thanks to the crystal magic Asya discovered during her battle against her father, Bori soon gained the ability to transform into a 35 foot long white Lindwyrm.

Because he's the youngest on the ship, Bori was half raised on Joka Ardhi until he was around 20 years old, when he felt ready to live on the Immortal Sun away from his parents. During his time on land, he discovered his orientation and became a bit of a playboy amongst the Jokani. He did meet and eventually fall for a Dragonkin transwoman with lavender scales named Djamila, whom he visits once a year when the ship returns to Joka Ardhi for their annual family meeting to keep in touch. He hopes one day to bring her with him for the year to see the world beyond the southern kingdom's shores.... and marry her~

Should anything happen to Njeri or her future heirs when they becomes the next Dragon Monarch after Asya, Bori has given his consent to come back to Joka Ardhi and step in as a "stand-in" Dragon Lord until a suitable heir can replace him, be it his own children or someone he feels can bear the mantle of the crown. So, despite his Opal Dragonkin birth and his lack of coronation as crown prince, Bori is a real prince, and a cautionary heir apparent to the Throne of Crimson Sands. And should he actually become Dragon Lord, none would dare to oppose him due to his strength and kindness.

~ Backstory ~

Once again, the baby blues hit a now fully transitioned intersex Asya, only this time she was more severely warned by her husbands and wife that she cannot, under any circumstances, carry a child. Not until they were truly sure of her body being capable of undergoing such a taxing event and survive.

So, a deal was struck... Kevin would carry the child by undergoing an upgraded and longer lasting gender-bending potion, and through a mix of science and meticulous magical aid, a piece of Asya's DNA (her "seed") was altered to ensure she was the biological mother of the child. And, with Verglaust chosen as the sire, Kevin would henceforth be their gender-bent surrogate to the very first Half-Fauna dragon-hybrid, that being a half Desert Lindwyrm Dragon - half Sea Dragon.

Despite their worries of Kevin possibly facing body dysphoria and pain from carrying a child, let alone one bearing a plethora of sturdy genes (of both an increased dragon bloodline instead of a half human one, and Verglaust's dominant giant-size gene), Kevin had no issues and instead experienced a surprisingly pleasant pregnancy and birth... At the result of him realizing that he was genderfluid and loved appearing as masculine or as feminine as he felt each day, to the point that he and Elbent now have daily arguments over her dresses that he steals borrows.

When the baby was born, there was no question on what to name him, especially after the shock wore off from the fact that the infant's ebony skin had white Dragonkin traits. The white scales of his Dragonkin features would soon lead to his parents deciding on the name Borealis, after Asya's father figure who often wore a white wolf pelt to cover his pale, albino skin.

However, because of his literal "black and white" appearance, as well as his early growth spurt making him as tall as Elbent by the time he was ten, his siblings and most of the crew started calling him "Panda". This, however, would be a name that he'd greatly benefit from as it perfectly described him in personality too... For when the day came that his parents decided to leave the Immortal Sun and live in Joka Ardhi, bringing Bori with them after consent was given to let him be raised by his parents until he was ready to return to the ship, many of his now adult aged siblings were given the roles of their parents, be it by the child's choice or inherited by birthright.

And so, Bori grew up for half his life in the royal palace of Joka Ardhi, a designated prince by blood as he grew in both size and power, while also growing up hearing the tales of his parents' heroic deeds during their decades at sea. And as he grew to be just as big as his father, Bori was inspired by him and so chose to inherit the role of the "guardian" of the ship, once he was old enough and felt ready to leave. During his final month in preparation for his departure, his mother Asya revealed to him the secret of her family, of how she won the war against her father for the crown... The crystals that bore the ability to change a dragon from before the Founder's War into humans could also allow humans bearing their blood to turn into titan sized dragons.

Immediately, Bori took his chance to fully embrace the old mantle of his father and gained the ability to turn into a giant Lindwyrm at will, just like his mother could, but one capable of rapid speeds through both air and sea thanks to his inherited White and Yellow fire magic allowing him to hop and glide through the air, while his father's sea dragon genes allowed him to swim faster than the wind... Even though he requires a potion to grant him gills.

~ Appearance ~

Bori is the only one so far to be JUST as tall as Solclave once he's fully grown, all thanks to his father's tall genes and his mother's Dragonkin size boosting genes adding onto it. It certainly doesn't help that he's also huge in a physical way, due to his training to tone his growing body and prepare it for his chosen role as guardian of the ship, a mantle he eagerly wished to gain to honour both his father and maternal grandfather-by-choice.

As such, Bori usually wears armour that mostly consists of leather pants, metal knee pads and boots, leather straps crossed over his bare chest (that constantly creak with strain when he crosses his arms) that hold his twin sinmalayat swords at his hips, and a metal pauldron covering the entirety of each shoulder down to his bicep, one cut in the shape of a wolf skull, the other of a dragon.

...... He refuses to wear a shirt or coat.

Beyond that, he mostly inherited his father's looks, but he has his mother's ebony skin tone, though his is a bit lighter and towards a bronze hue. He also has central heterochromia, with his father's sunset-orange eyes being in the center while his mother's aquamarine-blue hue surround the rings of orange... And sometimes, when his eyes are half-lidded, they appear just like a golden sun on the sea horizon. He often wears his black, wavy curls half-up in a messy bun to hide them, while the rest of his hair reaches just past his shoulders, with three beads (green, orange and red for his father, mother and surrogate carrier) in a single row woven into the hair-tie, as is tradition of a Jokani child.

~ Personality ~

Upon first impressions, Bori appears stoic, intimidating and a terrifying presence to be near, which certainly fit his overshadowing appearance and height. However, once someone gets to truly talk to him without showing him any fear, Bori finally reveals his true personality...

A kind, mannerly, sweet and caring guy who tends to be rather sheepish and easily flustered at the simplest of compliments.

He is very playful with his siblings, since they rarely saw each other before he joined the crew once he was of age, and to make up for lost time they constantly prank each other. In turn, he is very protective of his older sister Sira, the only other Dragonkin on the ship, and the two form a close bond as they celebrate both sabbatic and religious traditions of their Jokani culture together, to honour their mother and family when they miss them.

And when the day comes that he finally brings his girlfriend on board, they celebrate their Jokani ways as a new family to help Djamila (often called Millie for short) settle in and enjoy her time on the ship... just as the crew did when Asya first came on board~

And to finish this off.... here's everyone's heights, with Asya (in her true Dragonkin form), Verglaust, Elbent, Kevin and Solclave for comparisons.

[namelessmewmew]

Old Art Archive Part 1.

I want to keep this old art on this blog but not retag all the original posts, so going to do what I did for my sideblogs and delete the original posts but reupload them in batches with no tags except an archive tag. This also allows me to (even if I don't have the spoons right now, to add image descriptions to these at a later date).

Original captions under the cut.

I have like over 150 ocs that need refs/redesigns [and many in that 150 that whose design is only in my head] but I only seem to be able to make new characters right now so have this kitty! I have been thinking about tv heads alot lately but also really like kitty robots so kitty Tv Head, [They are also based a bit on a heart rate monitor, they might end up being like a walking heart monitor nurse in a hospital or something, I have alot of medical bots because I think thats cool.]

Felt like trying to give this girl digital colours and starting to figure out how this girl will be personality wise. Likely will have this girl be a graphic designer or an artist in some other regard.

The main form in the center is his preferred form, he is a from a shapeshifting species called Nederians/Nederans [not sure about that] and he is part of a group of Nederians/Nederans that theme themselves after sweets/sweet stuff.

Another guy in the same Group as Mallow [The marshmallow guy I posted earlier]. To clear possible confusion shes a guy. [Lesbians and other w|w using He/Him pronouns and Gay men and other m|m using She/Her pronouns is something that has been part of lgbt culture for quite a while!]

Just your local tired catdude [Been wanting a new icon for a while so here it is].

Vanilla + Strawberry icecream themed guy, Of course another one of the sugar group [want to come up with a better name but not sure what yet].

Orange Flavoured Soda themed guy. They are also a very bubbly dude [Yes literally as well]. I have like 3 more members of the sugar group [still need a better name] to draw some concepts for.

This guy was designed at a completely different time and originally was not meant to be part of the same group [sugar group] but decided to have them be a part of it. Instead on being based on a real food or sweet thing, they are based on a in universe food called Starbites  [Either Gum or Lollipops, haven't decided yet, that have starbust in them and are very fizzy]

I am not 100% on its colours [as well their design as a whole] but I just wanted to try to start to figure out how their design may work. It is meant to be different flavours of Gummy bears melted together.

She is meant to be based on chocolate as a whole [white, milk and dark] but She could also work as a Red Velvet or Dark Forest themed character maybe?

She is meant to be based on chocolate as a whole [white, milk and dark] but She could also work as a Red Velvet or Dark Forest themed character maybe?

Make make them into an oc, though might change their colours as its pretty monotone right now. Just a little gif and test how long it takes to make a simple piece like this with a very simple character design. 45 minutes this is based on a random game note I found on my 3DS.

Decided to change the expression and shade the main pic in her concept sheet because it did take me quite a bit to get it done [started it days ago but went into a very bleh feeling phrase again physically]. Im fairly certain Pup counts as a Sparklewolf? Might redesign their tail and add some more colourful markings idk. Love the way her colours look, its like a sunset [and dawn I think]. If the little faces on the side are confusing [I really cant tell if I properly bring the point across with just the drawings]: Top one is Pups being confused/not understanding something Middle is her not being about to concentrate and think as their are too many sources of noise [ I often have this issue ] Her fidgeting with a pop-it, its a really cool thing and has made going out for groceries something a bit less stressful.

Based on a white [and green and yellow greenish] pumpkins. I very much want to make more of these guys. Yeah I dont have much else to say, uh, I like her markings alot. My brain is veery tired so not many words.

Bunny Tv Head! With antenna ears as I just think making animal ears with tv antennas is cool. The magic electricity legs are also very bouncy [so they are also like springs].  My brain is still very tired so dont have anything of substance to say.

So Xe is a Ghost pony but Xe is also part fire? Idk might add more to this "species" if I can think of anything else. I really like xem colours. Adopted from and was originally by ItzAnnaDraws03 [on deviantart]

Very slight redesign [and first digital] concept for them.  Changed her a bit, because despite the fact I think its important to have gnc characters [including gnc transfem characters], there is also important to have well not gnc trans characters. [I dont know if I'm making sense, I guess what I'm saying yes transfem characters liking/being okay with /wanting facial hair is good but the opposite is also important and good]. Love the colours of their outfit, also I really like giving character dangly earrings.

[ryderdire]

Their over all theme is magic witchcraft that vibe though i haven’t hammered out the speffics so ima ramble here

I really like the idea of a more magical themed spider person then sci fi one just because of the difference in vibe, for one and for another it’s just kinda fun to translate.

I also have even considered making them into a magical “Girl” type hero which would be so fun to make,

I also think the idea of a superhero who uses differnt pronouns when dawning the mask then not is very interesting and could be a fun way to explore the idea identity, like

how does taking on a differnt persona to such an extent effect someone’s gender identity are they out as spider hex or are they out as Casper heathers? Both?

Did the anonymity of spider hex help them come to realizations about their gender identity and sexuality? Like how the internet did for me and friends of mine

Maybe the city knew so little about hex that the news had no idea what gender spider hex was and started using they/them which makes Casper rethink their identity? It’s interesting it’s fun I have a lot of ideas about it.

I do also like Mixing in some death and life themes but honestly I’m not sure yet, even the name spider hex might change, it’s all kinda floaty I just like brainstorming into the wind , Casper as a person Is also a bit unsure, I know that their probaly a bit of a dork definitely alt but in less of a punk way and more of a like bright colors way.

Their probs neurodivergent but that’s just cuz I genuinely haven’t figured out how to write neurotypical people yet, being neurodivergent myself.

I Imagine their the kinda person who doesn’t folllow any rules they don’t see as nessciary probs get in trouble alot do to just being an nd kid at shcool.

Theirs definitely other magic users good and bad none with their power set though because of lore stuff people who want to completely suppress magic ect. I’m pretty sure that it’s an urban magic concept just cuz there ain’t enough of those.

I have a slight idea for a plot involving Caspers parental figures turning out to be with one of the villan groups leading to Casper having to move in with a close friend (cough they are gay)

The police chief though is that friends absentee father so you know that will end well for them (sarcasm) probably a theme of Greif for what could have been with that relationship rather then what was, I imagine that he was just about to quit do to corruption and they’d just started reconnecting again when it happens.

Maybe later the friend seriously hurt making capser push even them away feeling that their presence has just ruined their friends life by getting them involved idk that’s way ahead though.

This post is getting upsurdly long and if you read this far about my loosely developed oc and their general lore I applaud you, cuz this post is kinda unorganized and hard to follow im just throwing thoughts around and talking until ideas pop into my head, i haven’t named Caspers friend/love inrest/ whatever they are to eachother even their not sure honestly. charater first name later

lol k bye ima go sleep and probably keep thinking about hex cuz their stuck in my brain

Hrng spiderverse oc go brrr

[gutsfics]

The Name Of The Game

Chapter One - Goodness

AO3 Link | Next Chapter (N/A) Fandom: Hollywood U Pairing: Thomas Hunt x Avalon Hammond (M!MC) Other Characters: Janey Hammond (F!OC) Length: 7,001 words Rating: Teen Warnings: Teacher/Student Relationship, Canon-Atypical Cursing, Smoking, Implied Sex, Referenced Canon-Typical Blackmail Notable Headcanons: Gay/Transmasculine Character (Thomas)

Series Summary: After being given a full ride to a prestigious film school by a mysterious benefactor, Avalon Hammond moves from Texas to California to try and make it big. Unfortunately, everything seems to go down hill incredibly quickly after an unintended one night stand with a professor before classes start.

Chapter Summary: Barely in LA for a week, Avalon gets invited to a masquerade ball the night before his classes start, where he meets a man. In-Game Quests Used: On The Hunt

A/N: With PB shutting down HWU, I figured it was about time I actually get this finished. I hope you enjoy!

“That’s the last one,” Avalon says with a sigh as he drops the box he’s holding onto the top of a stack. “I hope I remembered everything, I really don’t wanna call you up in a week, crying ‘cuz I left, I don’t know, my really good nonstick pan in Texas.”

“I think you mean my really good nonstick pan,” Janey retorts, glancing up from where she’s trying to assemble some Uskea furniture. “You want good cookware, you gotta buy it yourself.”

He scoffs. “I did buy it.”

“With money from our joint account when we were getting the essentials. And since that money was family money, the pan is staying in Texas with me and the girls. Besides, you and I both know that you’re not gonna eat anything that can’t be microwaved for at least your first semester.” 

“Stop projecting. I cook more than you do.”

She flicks a spare screw at him. “Anyway,” she says, overenunceating on purpose, “Since you’re done bringing shit in, you wanna help me with this?”

“Not particularly, no.”

She gives him a withering stare.

“But that don’t mean I won’t,” he says with a sigh, kneeling next to her and picking up the instructions. “Which one is this? The coffee table? Arkelstorp?”

“Bookshelf. Lo- lommarp, I think? Gotta keep your thousand dollar textbooks on display somewhere, why not on some shitty cheap furniture? Hand me that screwdriver.”

“Oh, gross, I forgot about textbooks.” He scrunches his nose. “What does an art school even need textbooks for? Tuition is already crazy high on it’s own.”

“Ain’t you getting a free ride?”

“I mean, yeah, but I wouldn't be needing someone else to pay if it weren’t so fucking expensive. If you hadn’t talked me into doing this, I’d still be at home, taking care of the girls.” He pauses, shifting his attention to the shelf for a few seconds, and then quietly says, “Ain’t too late to back out now, is it?” 

Janey sighs and puts down the shelf part, shuffling in place to turn to Avalon. She gently puts a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, I know you miss them. I miss them, too, and I’m going back home in a few days. But I also know that doing this is important to you. You’ve loved acting and making movies since we were kids, and now you have the opportunity to get trained by professionals for free.”

“I don’t know if it’s free, really. It really seemed like he only offered to pay because he’s expecting something down the line.”

“I mean you don’t have to pay money, dumbass. He probably just wants you for a movie he’s producing eventually, or something. Or maybe he wants to be your sugar daddy and this was the only way he could get you to accept.” She turns back to the half-finished shelf. “Either way, I know this is something you want to do. You, getting your class list all figured out- that was the happiest I’ve seen you doing anything for yourself in a while. Dawn and Lily can’t be the only things that make you happy; it’s not fair to them.”

“I know, I just… Can’t I find something in Texas, closer to home?”

“Give it til the end of the semester, alright? You can’t quit before you even start. Besides,” She bumps his shoulder with her own. “Maybe you’ll find a hot guy who treats you right. One you’re confident could make a good stepdad to the girls.”

Avalon blushes and shakes his head. “Absolutely not! That’s not why I’m here!”

“What, you saying you don’t want to bone down with some cute Californian boy?” Janey jabs his side a few times.

“I didn’t say I wasn’t going to fuck, I just-!” He sighs. “What guy is gonna want some ex-hooker, who’s married with two kids, and is just now going to college? And not just any college, but a fucking film school, even though he’s pushing forty? Even with my wife being a lesbian, that still drastically narrows my already small dating pool.” He waves his hand dismissively. “It’ll probably be best if I just stick to the occasional random hookup to get me through the year, sexually. And that’s if I can find someone here who’s not scared off by me being… well, you know.” He gestures at himself.

Janey gives him an odd look, tipping her head to the side and scrunching her nose. "What, a giant? Or a bear? I thought twinks love bears. Besides, there have been men who have paid a shitton of money just to be with you for a single night, you don’t gotta worry about people not finding you attractive.”

“That was my job, Janey. They had to pay me for that.”

“Yeah, but they chose to be your clients. You weren’t the only gigolo in Gillespie County- they could have gone to someone else. But they didn’t.”

“I don’t think my clients are a good example of people finding me attractive. A few of them were into some gross, messed up shit.” He shudders. “Not the kind of people I’d want to be in a relationship with.”

“The world is big, Ava. Surely there’s a guy out there who thinks you’re sexy and is only into the things you enjoy doing. But, if you don’t wanna look for a guy for yourself, you can always find a girl for me.” She stands up, lifting the shelf as she goes. “Now, where do you want this?”

“Over here, I think.” He gets up as well, helping her move the shelf into place. “Hm.” He tips his head to the side. “It’ll look better once we get the rest of the room set up.” He starts sliding some boxes onto the shelves to make more room. “Arkelstorp next. The coffee table.”

Janey nods and begins opening the box, but before they can begin assembling, there is a knock at the door. “Who do you think that is?”

“New neighbor saying hello, or maybe some missionaries here to offer moving assistance in exchange for us attending church with them on Sunday.” Avalon shrugs. “Only one way to find out.” He tucks some stray hair back into his ponytail and heads for the front door.

Only to find no one there. He leans out, looking up and down the street. “...Huh. Okay.” He turns to go back inside, but a paper- folded and sealed with wax, taped to the door- catches his eye. He grabs it and heads back to Janey.

“Whatcha got there?”

“Letter. I think it’s from the guy who’s funding me. “The Benefactor” or whatever the fuck he’s calling himself.” 

“What’s it say?”

“Hold your horses, I’m getting to that.” He snaps the fancy wax seal and unfolds the paper. A ticket, less than a third the size of the paper it was folded in, flutters to the ground as Avalon reads quietly. “Huh. There’s some kinda… charity masquerade ball function thing he wants me to go to. Says it’ll be a good way to get a foot in the door for my career.”

“Ooh, fun! When is it?”

“Um, um, uuuuum…” he picks up the ticket he dropped and inspects it. “Next week. The Sunday before classes start.”

“Damn. Same day I leave.”

“I’m still gonna be able to take you to the airport.”

“Maybe I wanted to go, too.”

“Only one ticket, babe. But he did say you’ll be in first class on your way home, so I’m not gonna be having all the fun.”

“Ooh, first class, what fun. Especially when flying makes you sick.” She wiggles her fingers at him. “You’ll tell me about it after, right?”

“Of course. I love nothing more than making fun of weird rich people with you. But for now,” he puts the letter and ticket on the bookshelf and gestures at the coffee table they were about to assemble. “Shitty furniture.

-

The rest of the week passes by fairly quickly, with Avalon and Janey sightseeing and hitting up Rodeo Drive to find him a suit for the masquerade.

When Sunday rolls around, and Avalon and Janey arrive at the part of the airport they were told to be for her flight back to Texas, they’re whisked off to one of LAX’s private suites.

“Shit,” Avalon says, turning around the room after the airport employee leaves. “I mean seriously, what the shit. All this and we won’t even be here for more that, what, an hour or two? Rich people are insane.”

Janey laughs and drops her bag on one of the armchairs, then flops down on the daybed. “I’m not disagreeing with you, but you need to lie down with me. This fuckin’ thing is way more comfortable than the bed in your place.”

“I don’t doubt that. Move over.” Avalon moves some of the throw pillows off the bed, then stretches out next to her. “Shit. I think I gotta live here now.”

They share a laugh, then Janey gets back up, poking around the minibar.

Avalon leans over to rifle through a platter of single serving snacks set up on the coffee table. “Honestly, I do not believe in the slightest that all of this is actually free like that guy said. They’ve gotta be, like, keeping track of everything we touch and planning to charge us for every little thing out of place.”

“Well, it ain’t like we ourselves are paying for this. Thank you, Mister Benniefactor, whoever the fuck you are,” Janey says as she pours a craft beer into two cups, toasting to nothing as she hands one cup to Avalon. She lounges back down and they sip their beers in a comfortable silence.

Then, as Avalon opens a bag of raisins and offers her a handful, Janey breaks the silence. “Christ, we’re getting old.” Then she pours a fistfull of raisins into her mouth.

Avalon snorts. “What makes you say that?”

“Us, ten years ago? We would have fucking partied if we had been given a room like this. And here we sit, sharing a beer and eating fucking raisins.”

“Hey, now. Raisins are fucking good. Besides, this is just the pre-party. Once the hookers and my coke guy show up, things will really get going.”

“Wow, a single week in Hollywood and you already have a coke guy? A little early in your career to be going off the deep end, isn’t it?”

Avalon laughs and flicks a raisin at Janey, who catches it after it bounces off her arm but before it hits the bed. “How about this- we get the party started by popping open some bubbly, and then we call the girls? I wanna have at least one phone call with them a day until I’m back in Texas.”

“By bubbly you mean Lacrox, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t wanna be getting wasted in front of the girls. That’s just bad parenting.”

Janey nods in agreement, then tosses him a Lacroix, which he uses to water down what’s left of his beer.

“Christ, you’re insane,” Janey states, watching him. “You’ll fit in good.”

“Fuck, yeah, I will,” he responds. “Okay, no more cussing. Fuck, crap, shit, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Starting now.” He pulls his phone out and dials Janey’s parents.

The conversation with their daughters wasn’t that long, but it was sweet. The girls excitedly told their parents about their day, and the crafts they had made with Abuela Maria, Avalon’s mother, and that they missed them both very much, and that while they were excited their momma was coming home, they wished their daddy was coming home too.

Avalon did his best not to cry hearing that. Instead he promised that he would visit as often as he could, on long weekends and holidays.

They finally hang up when Janey’s father announces it was about time they start getting ready to go, as the time it took to get to the airport Janey would be arriving at would take about the same amount of time her flight would be.

“Hey, before I gotta go, there’s something I have to give you,” Janey says, breaking the silence that fell between them and searching through her carry on. “Fuck, I thought I just had it. I can’t have lost it already.”

“What’s up?” Avalon asks, propping himself up on his elbow. “I should probably be the one giving you something, considering you are my lovely wife whom I am abandoning with the kids for a life of luxury.”

“I think for that to be true, I have to take you to court and make you pay exorbitant fees in child support. Ah, here it is.” She pulls a sleek little box with a ribbon tied around it out of the front pocket of her bag. She settles back down next to him, crossing her legs under herself, and hands him the box.

“What’s this?”

“Open it and you’ll find out.”

“Ah. I thought you might say that.” Avalon tugs the ribbon off the box, then slides the lid off.

Inside is a simple gold chain necklace.

Janey reaches over and takes Avalon’s left hand, sliding the wedding band off his finger. “I know you Avalon. I know the kind of person you are. I know what this ring means to you. I’m not gonna tell you not to wear it, but I think you should wear it around your neck instead of on your finger.”

Avalon looks at the chain in his hands, then at his best friend- his wife- and the golden band she held in her own hands. “...What? Why don’t you want me to wear the ring?”

She shrugs a shoulder. “I mean, you’ve said it yourself. Hollywood is gonna be our fresh start. I think it might be best if we go into that fresh start as best friends instead of husband and wife.” She puts a hand up when Avalon opens his mouth. “Before you say anything, we don’t have to get divorced until you graduate. Those marriage benefits are way too helpful to just drop cuz you’re going off to college. Might help us through it, anyway.”

“Are- are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I wouldn’t have bought that necklace if I wasn’t.” She takes the necklace from him, placing it around his neck. “Besides, you can’t land a hot twunk if he thinks you’re hitched.”

“I already said--!”

Janey snorts and laughs, interrupting him. “Jesus, I’m fucking joking. But for reals though,” she places a hand on his shoulder. “I hope you get laid. You’ve been way too pent up.”

Avalon frowns at her. “You’re making me want to not give you your gift.”

“Agk, no don’t do that! I’m sorry!”

“Alright, if you promise you’re done being a jackass-”

“Swear to god, I am!”

“Okay.” Avalon reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box.

His gift was in no way as meaningful as hers was, but her face lights up the moment she opens the box and she excitedly swaps her lightning bold stud earrings out for the worm-on-a-strings.

“Oh, these-” she gives her head a little shake, and the fuzzy worms whip and wiggle around wildly- “these are fucking fantastic. I love ‘em!” She pulls Avalon into a hug.

“I fucking knew you would.” He grins, hugging her back.

After a moment, he buries his face against her shoulder. “‘M gonna miss you.”

“Aw, you big sap. I’m gonna miss you, too.”

They hold each other until the airport employee knocks on the door. “Your plane is boarding, ma’am.”

Avalon holds her tighter, not ready to let her go just yet. “You and the girls will be alright?”

“Of course, Ava. Your mom and my parents are there to help me when I can’t handle being a parent by myself.”

“Right…”

There’s another knock at the door. “Ma’am?”

“I think this is the part where you let go of me now.”

“Sorry, I just-” Avalon pulls away. “You’ve been in my life every day for the past eighteen years. I can’t just… Let you go.”

“You’re not letting me go. I’ll still be around, I just won’t be… around, around. Just for a little while. You can still visit home on holidays, or I can bring the girls here.”

Avalon nods, wiping the tears off his cheeks. “Janey, I-- I love you.”

“I love you too, Avalon.” Janey stands up, pulling Avalon to his feet with her. “You’re gonna fucking kill it here in Hollywood. I know you will.”

He grins at her, eyes still misty. “And you’re gonna fucking kill it being a third grade teacher, like always.”

“Hell yeah I will!” She grins back and pats him on the shoulder. “Break a leg, cowboy. I got a flight to catch.”

-

Avalon slips a Phantom-style mask over his face. It was dark brown and gold, and shared the same curly pattern as was embroidered onto his suit in the same colors. He smooths a hand over his hair and straightens his clothes one last time before heading into the crowded ballroom. He stays close to the edge of the room, unsure of what to do and suddenly very aware of how alone and out of his element he is.

He tugs slightly at the hem of his jacket, feeling very out of place compared to the standard black and white tuxedos all the other men wore.

Without thinking, he makes his way to the bar and orders a whiskey on the rocks, giving the bartender a smile. Once the drink is in hand, he leans against the bar, nodding politely at another man standing at the bar as he turns out to face the room.

He sips his drink in silence, surveying the crowd. He doesn’t realize the other man has gotten closer until he speaks up.

“Forgive me if I’m being too forward, but I must admit I have been trying to figure out who you are since you arrived.” The stranger’s voice is deep, and, while it isn’t exactly warm, it certainly warms Avalon. For a brief second, his eyes travel down Avalon’s body, but he quickly pulls his gaze back to his face.

Avalon suppresses a shiver and smiles cheekily at the other man. “Good luck with that, I ain’t-- I’m not exactly well known. I mean, unless you’ve ever been to the southernmost part of Texas…” He trails off and shrugs.

“I can’t say that I have.”

“If that’s the case, I’m Avalon.”

“Hm.” He furrowed his brow and looked away, thinking for a moment. “A... peculiar name, for a peculiar man. Fitting.”

“Peculiar, huh? Should I be offended or flattered?”

“You are the only man in the room not wearing a plain black suit.” He turns back to Avalon. “To be quite frank, it is rather… refreshing, to say the least.”

Avalon smirks and leans a little closer to the other man. “You know, if you’re going to flirt, I’d at least like to know your name.”

“Flirt? I--” The man cuts himself off, frowning slightly. “...I suppose I was flirting, wasn’t I?”

Avalon laughs, covering his mouth and nose with his free hand. “I’m only teasing. Flirting ain’t-- isn’t really something you can do unintentionally. But you know…” he lets his gaze slowly travel down the other man’s body (god, he’s wearing that suit well) and bites his lip. “I wouldn’t mind if it was intentional.”

“Oh-” The man’s face flushes and he turns away, taking a sip of his drink.

There’s a pause, and Avalon curses himself internally.

The man looks back at Avalon. “I’m Thomas.”

Avalon can’t help but grin as relief washes over him. “Well, Thomas, it’s nice to meet you.”

Thomas nods. “Likewise.”

For a few moments, the two men stand silently next to each other, sipping their drinks and watching the crowd. 

And then Thomas speaks up again. “Would you like to dance?”

Avalon blinks, looking at his drinking companion. “What?”

“You seem to be watching the dance floor rather closely. Would you like to join them?”

“Ah, no- er, well, possibly? I would, if this weren’t the first time I’ve ever been to an event like this, or maybe if we wouldn’t be the only two men dancing together...”

“That does put a damper on things.” Thomas takes another sip and looks back out across the room.

Avalon shifts his attention back to the dance floor. Even if he had an appropriate dance partner, it wasn’t like he could dance like this. Couples twirled together in time with the music, a graceful waltz that seemed almost choreographed.

The last time he had danced even slightly similar to this, his daughter Lily stood on his feet, giggling as he spun her around the living room, barely in rhythm.

Just thinking about it made his heart ache.

With the uncomfortable, unintentional clink! of teeth on ice, Avalon is jolted from his thoughts as he realizes he has finished his drink. He returns the empty glass to the bar, shaking his head when the bartender offers him a refill.

Thomas finishes his own drink, and then, after a beat, turns back to Avalon. “Come with me,” he says, offering his hand.

“Oh! Okay…” Avalon hesitates, then takes him by the hand.

Thomas leads him around the edge of the room and through a set of glass doors to a balcony. Once outside, he turns to face Avalon, still holding his hand. “Do you want to lead, or shall I?”

“I don’t know how to dance like this…”

Thomas nods once, wrapping an arm around Avalon’s waist. “Just put your hand on my shoulder and follow my lead.”

Avalon does as he’s told, and the two men begin to dance, keeping in time with the music they could hear muffled through the door. Something about his close proximity with Thomas made him flustered, and he kept glancing down at his feet to make sure he wasn’t tripping over himself or Thomas.

“Look at me.” Thomas says, his voice firm but gentle. “It’s easier if you don’t focus on your feet. Relax.”

Avalon lifts his gaze, looking into Thomas’ eyes.

Thomas opens his mouth as if to say something, but then closes it again.

The song ends all too soon, and the two men let go of each other.

“That was… nice. Thank you for bringing me out here.” Avalon sighs and leans against the railing of the balcony. “You mind if I smoke while we’re here?”

“Not at all.”

Avalon nods and takes a half-finished pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, placing one between his lips before searching for his lighter. “Shit, did I even--” he mutters to himself.

Wordlessly, Thomas takes out his own lighter and holds it out for Avalon, flicking it to life. Avalon looks at the flame, then at Thomas with a small smile before leaning down. As Thomas lights his cigarette, Avalon gazes into his face. 

Thomas was an attractive man. This Avalon already knew, even without seeing beneath the black and silver mask he was wearing. But looking at him so closely, so intimately, got Avalon’s heart thumping. 

Thomas’ skin was clear, and he had a sharp jaw, with high cheekbones and kissable lips. But his most striking features were his eyes. They were almond shaped, with just a bare hint of crows feet at the corners, and- Avalon didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed this before- they were two different colors. His left eye was a striking blue, and his right a deep, rich brown, both perfectly complimented by the midnight blue of his suit.

He was entirely mesmerizing.

Thomas smirks- god, Avalon wanted to kiss those lips- and pulls the lighter away. “Careful now,” he chides, “Or you’ll burn the whole thing away before getting a single puff.”

“Sorry, it’s just…” Avalon found himself leaning in slightly, the cigarette dangling from his lips. “You have such beautiful eyes…”

Thomas’ face flushes, and for just a second he seems thrown off, but he quickly composes himself. “The same can be said about yours…” Thomas leans in as well. “May I--”

But before he can finish his question, the balcony doors swing open and a few partygoers step out, laughing and chatting. They both straighten up quickly.

Thomas tips his head, gesturing to farther down the balcony where they would have a little more privacy. Avalon nods, and for the second time that night, Thomas takes him by the hand and leads him away.

When they end up nestled together- standing shoulder to shoulder, looking out at Los Angeles from between two potted plants, Avalon realizes that his cigarette has gone out. This time, Thomas just presses the lighter into his hand.

“I’m trying to quit,” Avalon says as he lights back up.

“Oh? How’s that going for you?”

“I mean, I smoke less than I used to. I’m just kind of… picking up a bit because I’ve got a lot going on right now. You know how it is.” He gestures vaguely with the cigarette, drawing abstract shapes with the trail of smoke. “Moving is stressful. I gotta cope with leaving everything behind somehow. Especially because I’m alone in a city where I know basically no one.”

“You know me,” Thomas states, cocking his head.

Avalon lets out a small laugh and smiles at him. “Yeah. I know you.” He bumps his shoulder against Thomas’. He takes a deep draw from the cigarette and sighs. “But… It’s hard. Having to leave what I know. My Home… My family…”

“Do you have a good relationship with your family?”

“What are you, a therapist?”

“Just curious.”

“You know what they say about curiosity and cats.”

“If I remember correctly, satisfaction brings it back.”

Avalon gives another half-laugh. “Shit. You got me there. I guess I can tell you, if you really want to know about ‘em.”

“I want to know about you. I get the feeling this is important to you.”

“You could say that. I mean, how you’re raised does play a pretty important role in who you are as a person. It ain’t- err, isn’t, really interesting though. Pretty fuckin’ bog standard upbringing here. Parents divorced when I was a kid, Dad got less and less time for me an’ my brother as he started replacing us with a new family. Mom moved us to the middle of fucking nowhere to cope with Dad leaving. My brother stopped talking to us as soon as he left for college, and now my relationship with my mom is pretty strained because she wanted me to stay in Texas and live my life how she saw fit.” He takes another puff from the cigarette. “You know, the normal amount of fucked up childhood.”

Thomas nods. “But they’re family, so you miss them?”

“Eh, yes and no. Like I said, I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it weren’t for them, but that doesn’t mean I have’ta like any of them. It’s really my best friend I miss. I consider her more of my family than most of my flesh and blood. I’m gonna move her out here once I get my career going.”

“Oh.” Thomas goes quiet for a second before asking, “What… exactly… is your relationship with her?”

“We grew up together and were close enough that our parents just kind of… assumed, you know? And what were two queer kids in a town like that gonna do, other than pretend? It wasn’t supposed to last past high school, but I kinda feel like… this lie is easier to live with than the truth, at least back in our hometown.”

“And Hollywood is supposed to be your fresh start?”

“Yeah. I may not love her in the way a man is ‘supposed’ to love a woman, but I care about her a lot. So I came here to try and get a better life for us, one where we can still be there for each other, but we don’t have to pretend to be something we’re not.” Avalon shakes his head. “Sorry, I know this is kind of a lot of information to just dump on someone I just met. ‘Hey, I’m in a fake relationship with a lesbian, wanna have gay sex?’” He rubs his face and lights up a second cigarette, handing Thomas his lighter back when he’s done. “God, I’ve been talking for too long. Sorry.”

“I don’t mind. I asked because I wanted to know.” Thomas touches Avalon’s arm gently. “It helps that you have a very pleasant way of speaking.”

“What, fuckin’... cussing every five seconds? That’s pleasant to you?”

Thomas laughs- and god, what a laugh. “I can assure you that you haven’t cursed that much.”

“Well I’m glad to know I ain’t- am not making a fool of myself in front of a nice city boy such as yourself.” Avalon smiles, then rubs the back of his neck. “I want to know something about you, though.”

“Do you want me to tell you about my own family?”

“It doesn’t have to be that. Just… something you feel like I should know about you. What makes Thomas tick?”

“Hm.” Thomas plucks the half-smoked cigarette from Avalon’s lips and takes a slow drag off of it, then places it back in Avalon’s mouth, fingers lingering against his lips for only a second too long.

Avalon short circuits.

Thomas turns his head away to blow the smoke out, then nonchalantly states, “I used to be a director. I’ve made some movies, been nominated for a few awards. I even won a couple.”

"Wow, that’s pretty impressive," Avalon says, trying to keep his cool from the indirect kiss they just shared. "But what do you mean, used to be? You don't seem any older than me, you can’t be retired already." 

Thomas sighs, lowering his head. "To put it simply, I was blackmailed."

"Shit... can I ask what happened?" 

He nods, staring solemnly at the twinkling lights of the city. "There was... a man. An old friend of mine. I wouldn't say he was my... partner, but I can’t deny that there was something between us." He pauses, rolling the lighter between his fingers. "He was part of this... boys’ club, you could call it. He wanted me to join-- a bunch of actors, directors, and producers. They would help each other, but snub everyone who wasn’t in their little club. I couldn't stand to be a part of it, so I refused." 

"Let me guess, he didn’t like it?" 

"Not one bit." He shook his head, then laughed sourly. "He said that if I didn't join, he would out me. The way he would have described it… it would have ended my career instantly, mostly due to certain implications he would have pushed. So, I had his two options: either join his club, and help to ruin an art form I hold so incredibly dearly- or continue trying to make movies by myself, only to have my life and my relationships ruined alongside my career." 

"God, that's horrible," Avalon breathes. "I don't know how anyone could be so cruel as to take something as important as coming out away from someone, much less in such a disastrous way." 

"Some people just like to make others suffer." Thomas turns back to Avalon, and Avalon realizes just how close he had gotten to him. He straightens himself. "But no matter the crossroads, there is always a third option. As much as it pained me, I retired quietly and he, thankfully, left me alone. I teach now. Even if I can't make films myself, I have found solace in being able to pass my knowledge onto others."

"Do you enjoy teaching?" 

"Well… I must admit, some of my students make it... difficult. But yes. I do... enjoy it. Sometimes."

“Do you ever wish you could go back to making movies?”

Thomas sighs and turns his back on the city, resting his elbows on the rail and looking up at the starless sky. “Constantly. It’s so… simple. All I need to do is just let go of what he’s holding over me and the power there will be gone.”

“But it’s not as easy as it sounds.”

“No. It’s like you said, there is safety in the false familiar.”

“Right…”

The two men stand together, silently sharing the rest of the cigarette for a few moments before Thomas speaks up again. “Thank you.”

Avalon blinks and looks at him. “What for?”

“For talking, for listening. I’ve never… told anyone about that before.” He shakes his head slightly. “I don’t know what it is about you that’s made me trust you so easily. I don’t know how to describe it, but there is something almost… familiar about you. Comforting.” He sighs quietly and murmurs, “I think there’s something wrong with me tonight.”

Avalon can’t help but let out a small laugh. “What, you don’t normally bare your soul to near strangers?”

For just a moment, the corners of Thomas’ mouth curl up. “I don’t normally do anything with strangers. There might be something in the air.”

“Do you mean the smog, or the light pollution?”

Thomas doesn’t exactly laugh, but he does smile a bit more. “That, too.” He turns his head slightly, looking at Avalon. He lets out a quiet sigh.

“Something on your mind?”

“I’d like to kiss you,” he responds all too quickly. Then he covers his mouth and looks away. “...I don’t know where that came from.”

Avalon can feel his face flush, and he reaches out and gently touches Thomas’ arm, drawing his gaze back to him. “It’s okay. I’d like it, too.”

“You… would?” Thomas leans a little closer.

Avalon leans in as well. “I would.”

Thomas places his hands on Avalon’s shoulders and gently tugs him down to reach him. Avalon wraps his arm around Thomas, pulling him closer. He places his other hand lightly against the back of Thomas’ head.

His lips were just as soft as they looked.

Before they break away from each other, Thomas’ hand ends up cupping Avalon’s jaw, gently stroking Avalon’s chin with his thumb. When they part, he moves his thumb to Avalon’s bottom lip.

“Goodness,” Avalon breathes, his lip rubbing against Thomas’ thumb. His fingers toy with the strings of Thomas’ mask. “Could I take this off? You can take mine off as well.”

“Of course.” Thomas moves his hand to the back of Avalon’s head, loosening the string on his mask.

The breath catches in Avalon’s chest as for the first time tonight, Thomas’ face comes fully into view. He already knew that Thomas was handsome, but… goodness. That was all he could think. Goodness. Goodness.

“Goodness,” He murmurs again.

“Disappointed?”

He grins, leaning his head against Thomas’ hand, which had found its way back to his cheek.. “Not in the slightest. Are you?”

Thomas shakes his head and gives him a quick smile. Then his expression changes to one more troubled.

“Are you alri--”

“I’m trans.”

“...What?”

“Forgive me, I-” Thomas pulls away, shaking his head. “I really didn’t know how else to say it, but I figured I should tell you in case it changed your answer.”

“My answer to what?”

“Would you like to leave with me?” He asks, simply.

Avalon frowns, confused. “Of course I would, but I don’t understand what you being trans has to do with--”

Thomas gives him a very pointed look, eyebrow raised.

“Oooh,” He bites his lip and looks away before nodding. “It doesn’t change my answer- or how I feel about you- at all, but it is nice to know beforehand.” He looks back at Thomas, giving him an easy smile. “Thank you for trusting me with that. I won’t disappoint you.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

-

The next morning comes oh so gentle. The sheets were soft, the early sun was soft, his lover was soft.

Avalon reaches out to Thomas’ still sleeping form, gently brushing his hair off of his forehead.

Thomas makes a small noise, burying his face in the pillow and hugging it close for a few seconds before turning back to Avalon, his eyes half open, annoyed, at first, but it quickly dissolves into something softer. Warmer. “Mmh?”

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Avalon asks, quietly.

“Yes.” Thomas tries to push his expression back into one of displeasure, but it doesn’t stick. “Unfortunately, I can’t say I mind it.” He moves closer to Avalon, who catches him in his arms and holds him tight. “It’s… been a while… since I last shared a bed with someone.” His fingers gently drift over the flower tattoo on Avalon’s chest. Right over his heart. “It’s nice to not wake up alone, for a change.”

“Oh?”

He shrugs. “I’ve often found other people to be… inefficient when it comes to getting what I needed.”

“And how did I do?”

Thomas leans back slightly to look Avalon in the face. “Well. I’m still here, aren’t I? I think that alone should be a good assessment of what I thought of last night.”

“Would you have left in the middle of it if it was bad?”

“I’ve done it before.”

Avalon can’t help but laugh. “I’m glad you’re still here, then.”

Thomas hums quietly in agreement before placing a hand on Avalon’s cheek and leading him down for a deep, passionate kiss.

It isn’t until an alarm on Avalon’s phone goes off that they finally untangle themselves from each other. He half stumbles out of bed, trying to get to his pants to shut it off. “Oh, shit, is it that late already? I gotta get going…” He looks at Thomas, face down in bed with a pillow over his head. “I hate to do this to you…”

“No, I have somewhere I need to be as well,” Thomas says, peeking out from under the pillow. “I--” He pauses, searching for the right words. “Will I see you again?”

“If that’s what you want, I can give you a call and we can meet up again once my schedule settles down.” He reaches over and brushes his fingers through Thomas’ hair.

Thomas leans into the touch. “I’d like that. Give me your phone.”

Avalon nods. “Give me a moment, I just…” He taps at his phone, trying to find where the contacts are held. “Sorry, it’s a bit new, I ain’t-- I’m not used to the touch screen yet…”

“Let me.” Thomas takes the phone from Avalon’s hand. He starts to search through the apps, but freezes with his finger hovering above the screen.

“Something wrong?”

“I-” He shakes the startled look off his face. “No.” He quickly navigates to the contacts list and punches in his number before handing the phone back.

Avalon leans down and kisses Thomas gently as he takes his phone. “I’ll call you as soon as I can.” He glances at the clock, the smile fading from his lips. “God, I’m so sorry, but I really gotta go.” He pulls away, tugging his clothes back on before heading for the door. He pauses, his hand on the doorknob. He glances over his shoulder at Thomas, who was putting his own clothes on. “Thank you for last night. I really enjoyed all of it, not just where it ended.”

Thomas glances over and nods once. He wasn’t smiling, but there was something soft in his gaze, curious almost. “Good luck. With your career. This town can be… difficult to navigate. Stand your ground and you will find your place.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you. Again.” He opens the door. “I hope we get to see each other again real soon. Goodbye, Thomas.”

-

Avalon didn’t have much time to get ready for the day before his first class started. If he hadn’t been wearing a suit the night before, he would have gone straight to the campus from the hotel, but unfortunately he had to make a quick detour home to change.

Thanks to his pit stop, he arrives to his first class of the day a bit later than he anticipated-- right along side the majority of his classmates.

Avalon was fully unprepared to find that the lecture hall was actually an opulent auditorium, one more fitting a theater than a college if only it weren’t for the tables between every row of seating.

Young students mill about, chatting as they find seats with their friends, some bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the morning, while others seemed to be on second and third cups of coffee. 

Avalon moves down the side of the theater, finding a seat near the stage.

Three rows in front of him and a bit to his left, a man he assumes to be the professor of the class sits at a proper desk plunked down in the middle of the row of seats, rifling through papers in his briefcase.

There was something almost familiar about the way the man moves, but from where Avalon sits he couldn’t be too sure. Besides, as far as Avalon knew, white men with dark hair and brown eyes were fairly common in Hollywood. He could think of a few actors off the top of his head that matched that description-- maybe not by name, but he knew the characters they played.

After a few minutes, as the last few students find their seats, the professor gets up from his desk and climbs the stage. The lights dim slightly and the chatter quiets as he takes his place at center stage. He clears his throat, looking out at the auditorium. His gaze glosses across Avalon before snapping right back to him, making direct eye contact. One brown eye, and one blue, he notices.

“Oh, fuck me,” Avalon mutters under his breath.

And judging by the way Thomas’ jaw moves, he quietly says the same.

----

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Title of the next chapter - And Everything Goes Wrong, Incredibly Quickly

[vanishedangels]

Clan of Warriors

Click here for First chapter

Summary: While rebuilding Mandalore, Mand'alor Din Djarin is questioned by his people because of his beliefs and origins. In the dawn of a civil war, the council resolves that The Mand'alor must join in marriage with someone close to Bo-Katan Kryze. He’s forced to marry Koska Reeves and accept a loveless union. In the meantime, Din is having a secret relationship with his son’s Master, Jedi Luke Skywalker, his dream of having his own clan of warriors is about to fade away.

Pairing: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker

Characters: Din Djarin, Luke Skywalker, Grogu, Leia Organa, Cara Dune, Koska Reeves, Bo-Katan Kryze, Axe Woves, OC, Peli Motto, Fennec Shand, Boba Fett, Paz Vizsla, Owen Lars, Beru Whitesun, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Wedge Antilles.

Rating: Explicit (+18)

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence. Explicit Smut.

Tags: Canon Compliant, Post Season 2 Finale, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Friends To Lovers, Fluff, Angst, Demisexual Din Djarin, Top Luke Skywalker, Bottom Din Djarin, Top Din Djarin, Bottom Luke Skywalker, Protective Din Djarin, BAMF Luke Skywalker, Adorable Baby Yoda, Sassy Leia Organa, Gai Bal Manda, Blindfolds, Sub Din Undertones, Fantasies, Jealous Luke, Keldabe Kiss, Smut, Jealous Din, Dirty Talk, Face Reveal.

Chapters: 32/?

Navigation: <- Previous Chapter • Next Chapter ->

"Are you still willing to see me, Luke?" He asked with a shaky voice.

"What do you mean? You're getting married." Luke tucked his hair behind his ear, now he looked affected, staring at the floor, avoiding Din's visor.

"It's fake! They said that it would be a fake marriage, they only asked me to be discreet about my love life, I can still go to Yavin IV and, you know." Din sounded as desperate as he was feeling and he didn't care at all.

Luke looked at him again, frowning "Are you asking me to be your paramour?"

Chapter 32: Sadness

"You're getting through this." Luke said putting the helmet on Din, staring at him with warm eyes, nodding, reassuring him. "You look good." Din grabbed his wrists when Luke was withdrawing his hands from the helmet.

"Thank you, cyar'ika." He pressed his helmet against Luke's forehead. Grogu was sitting on the floor, cooing.

"He says that you're the coolest buir in the Galaxy." Luke chuckled staring at the kid.

"That's because you're the coolest son in the Galaxy, ad'ika." Din kneeled before Grogu and scooped the baby up.

He left the room feeling a sharp pain in the chest. Don't wanna leave this room, wanna stay with my clan forever.

Miko and Joako scorted him to the council chamber. Din closed his eyes and breathed in before entering the room.

Din was standing in front of the council, he wanted to end with that madness right there and then.

"Take a sit Mand'alor, please." Shrune said. Din obliged and didn't say a word. He caught Bo-Katan staring at the old man, a discreet smile on her face. Shrune continued, "Mand'alor, I'm going to start saying that you know I hold you in high esteem." Din nodded, he knew that, actually, the feeling was mutual. "You're The Mand'alor our people need, but our current situation is forcing us to negotiate with the protesters and we agreed on that Lady Kryze should be a part of Mandalore's leadership, Your Highness."

What?

"I understand that the one who holds the darksaber is the only and rightful Ruler of Mandalore" Din retorted.

"Of course, you'll still be the only Ruler, but we also understand that extreme situations require extreme measures. We're rebuilding a whole civilization from ashes, we can't afford a civil war, and I know you want the easy way too." The old man said wisely.

"If we can change our government system then we can also forget about the whole darksaber thing. Take it, I'm giving it to you Kryze." Din deadpanned, staring at Bo-Katan, he was done.

"We're not changing our system, this is the way." Shrune explained "This is a facade, actually."

"A facade? I don't... I don't understand." Din shifted his gaze from Bo-Katan to Shrune.

"Mand'alor, we're going to do this through a marriage arrangement." Shrune ran two fingers through his white beard.

You're nuts. Gotta be kidding me.

"Marriage? You're suggesting I have to marry Bo-Katan?" And now Din lost his temper.

Bo-Katan laughed sarcastically "I would kill myself before that." And Shrune waved his hand in the air in order to persuade her.

"Mand'alor, we decided you are going to marry someone from the house of the night owls, and someone worthy of Lady Kryze's trust as well. Protesters need to believe that. That's why you have to marry Koska Reeves."

This is not happening.

Din was choking inside his helmet. He immediately thought of Luke. What about Luke? What about my Luke? He asked to himself.

"No." Din said through gritted teeth.

"We are asking for your permission, this isn't an order." Said Shrune while Paz was squirming in his chair.

"Apparently you made that decision for me, and behind my back." Din was furious, and snapped his head towards Bo-Katan.

"The council is the real power Mand'alor, you should know that by now." Said Lady Mascin, as an attempt to call Din out. "But, we need you to agree on this"

"You're going to marry Miss Reeves, that would bring the Houses together, our people together, and we will avoid a bloody war between our brothers." Shrune determined.

But what about Luke? What about me and Luke? Din's thoughts were ripping his heart apart. He couldn't articulate any word.

"This is a fake marriage doors inside, but you must act like a real couple for the people of Mandalore, if you agree on this I ask you to be very discreet if you're having relationships outside your marriage. We need your answer." The elder man elaborated.

Din looked at his man Paz, he thought that he was tense, or so he looked tense from where he was sitting. "This is for real? You're really expecting me to do that?"

Shrune nodded, then he looked down, like in shame, Din trusted him and he was feeling betrayed.

"Shrune, do you think this is going to work?"

"This is the way Great Kingdoms were built, son." The word son coming from Shrune sounded as fake as Bo-Katan's smile looked.

Din was feral under his helmet, good thing you can't see my face right now.

"We wouldn't ask you to do such thing if we weren't desperate, Your Highness. Our people is asking you to measure up to their needs. Please, consider it."

Shrune's words made Din feel guilty, he knew he was neglecting his responsibilities the minute he decided to go to Yavin IV again. Shrune was guilt-tripping him, but deep down he knew he made a big mistake, I had this coming.

"I need time." He managed to say. He needed to talk to his cyare, actually. He was torn between accept it to secure his people or run away with Grogu and Luke and never come back.

"Please, your Highness, think about it, but we need an answer as soon as possible." Shrune insisted. Din nodded. "Then, that's all for today. Thank you, Mand'alor." And Shrune dismissed the meeting.

Bo-Katan was staring at him, it was curious, but she didn't look satisfied. She disappeared behind Paz' form as he was approaching Din "Come, vod." He said grabbing his arm.

When they were alone, Paz whispered to him "I hate this. But you know they're right"

Din shrugged "I hate this more than you do, believe me."

"Vod, you should do this, you can do whatever you want with your love life, Koska will agree on that, besides she doesn't like you that way. You know." Paz was trying to find his eyes behind his helmet. Two visors finding each other.

"I know, Paz. This is the way."

~

After leaving his friend, Din walked through the palace alone, and there she was. Looking at him, holding her helmet between her hip and arm. Great. She isn't even a real Mandalorian, Din thought. Then he shook his head, Gods, I sound like Bo-Katan. "Koska, where were you?"

"I was off planet. Hi Din." She said, smiling and caressing Din's arm.

"Did you hear the news?"

"Yes. And Din, I'm here to help our people, I need you to know that." Koska said, her face showing determination "This is the way."

Koska was a woman with good intentions, with a noble soul. She was a terrific warrior. If Din wasn't in a relationship with Luke, or whatever was going on between him and the Jedi, he would actually consider her as a great partner, the one who would be perfect to raise little warriors along with Din.

Yes. But, no. Luke was all he could think about.

Little Jedi was right there by his side, the last days he seemed to change the way he felt about Din. His cyar'ika was showing him affection, he even started to be honest with Din. They cried holding each other more than once, and he was now seeing him without his helmet on above all.

Deep down Din considered Luke his clan way before the day he asked him to see his face. But he was very conscious about Luke's mood swings.

Din was confused, he knew that this was his ultimate crossroad. He needed, no, he must marry Koska to bring the people of Mandalore together. This was getting worse. Din felt miserable, helpless, lost and powerless.

He walked into his room and Luke stood up, little Jedi looked so anxious, he was squeezing his hands nervously. Adorable. Din could only think of how much he loved this man in front of him.

I can't do this. I kriffing can't! You're the one, Luke, you're the only one I want to call riduur.

"Din! Come on! What did you decide?" Luke was staring at his visor. Din realized he didn't take his helmet off, and he wouldn't, he was already crying the minute he saw his cyar'ika.

"I-I... I don't know." Din answered. Luke frowned.

"You're crying, what happened? Please Din, let me help you." Luke was closing the distance between them. "Din!"

"They asked me to make a decision..." He huffed.

"What decision?" Luke asked under his breath.

Din took his hand and walked him to the couch, Luke sat down on it, Din was pulling a chair and he was sitting in front of him. "Shrune and Bo-Katan, they think that there's only one way to stop this before it turns into a civil war."

"Okay, that's good, what's the plan?" Luke asked and Din's heart was breaking into pieces.

"Ah, do you remember I told you that the radicals wanted someone from the house of night owls to rule Mandalore?" Luke nodded. "Well, they think I should..." Din trailed off, feeling a lump in his throat.

"You should what?" Luke looked like he was growing impatient and Din was silently dying under his helmet.

"They said I should marry Koska Reeves." Din felt like he had just vomited those words. Luke frowned and looked down. He wanted to take those words back, he was assessing Luke's face, his heart pounding hard against his ribs.

Luke looked serious now "You marry that woman, Din." He was staring at Din with an intensity that made him shiver.

"Luke..." Din sighed.

"You marry her." He didn't blink, not even once.

Din was frozen "What if I didn't want to?"

"Then innocent people are going to die. And The New Republic will remove Mandalore from The Senate, you can't let that happen." Luke was still staring at him, with a straight face.

"But... What about... Us?" Din could feel he was shaking, his fingers digging into his knees. Desperate.

"Us?" Luke frowned.

"Are you still willing to see me, Luke?" He asked with a shaky voice.

"What do you mean? You're getting married." Luke tucked his hair behind his ear, now he looked affected, staring at the floor, avoiding Din's visor.

"It's fake! They said that it would be a fake marriage, they only asked me to be discreet about my love life, I can still go to Yavin IV and, you know." Din sounded as desperate as he was feeling and he didn't care at all.

Luke looked at him again, frowning "Are you asking me to be your paramour?"

Din flinched "What is that?"

"A lover, someone outside your life that you only see to fuck and then you return to your pristine and perfect wife." Luke slapped his hand against the armrest.

Din was more confused than before "Luke, she's not gonna be my wife." Little Jedi was fuming, Din could tell.

"You can't ask me that..."

"Then I won't."

"You won't what?" Luke looked at him sideways.

"I won't ask you that and I'm not gonna marry Koska."

"Listen to yourself, you can't throw overboard all your work, all these people's work. You can't, Din." He was searching for Din's eyes behind the visor.

"What if this doesn't work and people die anyway?" He was rubbing his thighs.

Luke snorted a laugh "It will work, this is the most traditional way to bring Kingdoms together."

Din frowned "Shrune said that."

"Shrune is a wise man." Luke sighed shrugging "Din..."

Din's heart was out of his chest. Oh please, Mesh'la, don't say my name like that, not right now.

"Marry that woman, save your people. Don't think about anything else. Mandalore's gonna be Grogu's future."

Din froze, he didn't even consider that. Luke was right. He should be thinking about the world he was leaving to his ad'ika.

"You're right..."

Luke was staring at the window, the morning sun glistening in his blue eyes, he was blinking, like thinking, What are you thinking about my love?

He looked back at Din "Give me time."

"Time..." Din repeated the last word not able to even ask.

"Time to think about this, I'm not comfortable with the idea of having a relationship with a married man." Luke widened his eyes, as in realization. "A married man... You, Din."

Again, Din was thinking about how cruel destiny could be "Hold me, cyar'ika." He begged, his arms stretched out, tears running over his face behind the helmet "Hold..." His voice broke.

Luke stood up and pressed his chest against his helmet, putting his arms around his neck, Din was grabbing his robes, trying not to make noises, crying in silence.

"You've made your decision, Din. You should tell them." Luke's voice sounded raw, Din didn't make any decision, he felt the most hurtful emptiness when he realized Luke made the decision for him.

"Nothing's gonna change, Luke, right? Please tell me that nothing's gonna change." Din was shivering under little Jedi's arms.

Luke didn't ask him to remove his helmet, Luke didn't ask for anything. It was Din who was begging, totally devoted to his cyare.

Luke sighed "I told you I needed time."

Even in pain and crying a river, Din realized he was pushing Luke for the zillionth time. He nodded "Right, cyar'ika. Take all the time you need." He caressed Luke's small back, rubbing circles "Please, hold me." Luke tightened his arms around him.

[grimsneverendingfuneral]

grimmy how many ocs do you have at the moment?

hmmm well this is, weirdly, a pretty loaded question for me because i've created about 50+ original characters over the span of 11 years. like......there are a lot. but i will go on a little tangent about my main squeezes to further explain the dynamics and why i feel like i realistically now only have 11 solid OCs.

i have the original six, the ones i created in my teen years - Jeff, Lotus, Franky, Fanny, Gretchen and Emma - who are basically my ride or dies, in which i created webs and webs of other characters around them in order for them to interact sort of within a world of their own, almost like a Sims town. so, those are where the other 50 ish characters come from. i've had them have children, other partners, exes, friends, foes, professors they have ambiguous relationships with, doctors they go to on the regular, parents etc etc. they also all have families that some of them, I consider fully fledged OCs. for ex: Dallas, Lotus' older brother, which i've never talked about on here but he's important because he goes to jail and it irrevocably changes Lotus.

ANYWAYS the big six has also consecutively been thrown into multiple alternate universes (altogether and separately) which has ultimately allowed me to create even MORE characters. there's been all kinds of AUs. vampires. college. 14th century. time travel. aliens. i've put them in AUs where they're literally whole different people.

but i have some recent OCs - Nina, Dawn, Ren, Percy, Felix - that i feel are gonna stick with me forever (as in, i love them as much as the big six) and i've managed to merge the big six and these recent ones in the same universe and give them all intricate relationships to each other. like, Jeff and Fanny were originally a couple. not only a couple, but THE couple. i was obsessed with them. but, somehow, Lotus always came into the mix a little, and i always had Jeff and him do gay shit together. they were always weirdly orbiting around each other. one day, i just fucked around and wrote this story about them and i was like hmm.....the dynamic is delicious.....what if....no...i couldnt.....could i?

after writing Starry Eyes (my novel with Ren and Percy, in which i incorporated Franky, Emma and Gretchen in with slight changes to their personalities), i kinda came back to Jeff (i always always come back to that fucking bastard. he's me. i'm him), and there was Lotus, right there with him, like hi. and i was like oh shit they actually are soulmates and always have been...

anyways so now the dynamics are: Lotus and Felix are exes. Emma and Gretchen are exes. Gretchen's gonna be with Franky as they originally were (they were also soulmates man. i love a good jock x goth). Fanny's single but fucks Franky as best friends then falls for Jeff then falls for Felix (lol). Dawn and Nina are lesbian soulmates forever and ever. i love them so much i need to talk about them more but their aesthetic is so specific its hard to reblog pics about them (pan to: Dawn - 6 foot 4 Bahamian transfemme with a bleached blonde mullet that dresses like an 80s wrestler. i gotta just draw her for you guys.) Lotus and Jeff are also soulmates forever and ever but they both date other people at some point. Lotus goes back to Felix, who welcomes the boy who shattered his heart into his open arms (Felix is a Libra man, you can't blame him). Jeff has a psychosexual relationship with Fanny bordering on psychotic and life ending in which they fuck by playing an insane level of mind games with each other and engage in an astronomical amounts of power play to get off. Ren and Percy are just soulmates forever and ever (very early childhood best friends who rekindle but don't remember each other. i eat it up. i eat it the fuck up) but Ren did briefly date Emma because both their dads were abusive alcoholics and they ~related~ to each other.

so yaaaaaa. its about 11. i love geekin out.

[queenofbaws]

Your top 5 horror games?🤔

oh boy oh boy oh boy!!! now you'll notice neither until dawn nor the quarry are on this list - i ASSUME you guys know i'm in way too deep with supermassive already ;P these are specifically NOT supermassive horror games sdklfjskldjf

silent hill 2. literally no game will ever eclipse sh2 in my mind. ever. it's one of those things that i wish i could go back in time and experience for the first time all over again. the first time i got to the end of this game i was just like. beside myself. and every subsequent playthru i just love it more and more. the ambiance of this one??? perfection. the characters??? the best. it's more SAD than it is SCARY, at least imo, but it's just scary ENOUGH to drive the overall message home and just. ughhhhhhhh i love silent hill 2.

silent hill 4. sh4 is like the polar opposite of sh2 for me: the ambiance is terrible (for me), the characters are abrasive (for me), everything is so deeply unsettling and so deeply WRONG with the world you're playing in that you're just constantly on edge. you're given a safe room for most of the game where you can heal and relax and just. breathe. then, without warning, that safe room is gone. the whole game is like that, and god help me i love it. none of the sh games make me HALF as nervous as sh4, and no matter how many times i play it, i never get LESS anxious alskdfjlksdjf

outlast (1 & whistleblower). HOOOOOO OUTLAST IS GOOD!!! i mean it's bad. it's awful. we've got, like, unbelievably unethical shit going on at every turn, but it's just so good. look, you guys know i'm a sucker for body horror, and this game's got that. you probably ALSO know i'm a sucker for supernatural entities with hiveminds - surprise, we got that too. there's a LOT of questionable shit in these games if you're not familiar with them so be warned, but god i just...love the lore. i love the lore so much. i read the outlast comics and everything XD (also i'm a basic bitch and eddie gluskin's whole deal had me hook line and sinker, sooooooooo)

perception. i haven't seen a lot of people who've played this one, but it's one of my faves!!! in perception, you play as a young woman who's more or less entirely blind. you have to navigate an old house using nothing but sound, only here's the problem: you miiiiiight not be alone. this is such, such, SUCH a good game, and so different from the other horror stuff out there.

bugsnax. they're bugs. they're snacks. you put them in your pack. what's not to love?????? bugsnax is a body horror game for kids, and it's one of my most favorite things in the world. you can throw ketchup at people. there's a character named scoopy banoopy. there are gay muppets in love. i used a talking strawberry to murder a living s'more. i don't know how else to sell this game to you, please just know it's both adorable and scary, and you're going to immediately want to make a self insert oc for this world because it's just so FUN (mine's name is chumby crumblesnoot, and she eats E V E R Y T H I N G)

ask me my top 5 anything!

[ofwraithsandwords]

How would you write Pip X Seras X OC/Reader? I've always wondered how Pip and maybe even seras would handle discovering their inner bisexuality/pansexuality and polyamory.

CONSIDERING THAT VAMPIRISM IS WIDELY ACCEPTED AS BEING A METAPHOR FOR SEXUALITY (OR TO BE MORE SPECIFIC: HOMOSEXUALITY), IT MAKES SENSE THAT SERAS AND PIP WOULD EXPLORE THEIR PREFERENCES. Granted, sexuality is not the only metaphor that can be attributed to the vampire, but it is one of the most popular ones. (And because sex sells, obviously.)

Here are my thoughts about Seras and Pip's sexualities:

SERAS.

Seras strikes me as a "New Age" kind of girl. She was a police officer after all, a position predominantly held by men and even more so during the 90's.

She probably didn't (or tried not to) think about homosexuality a lot, but I don't believe that she was ever really bigoted. She seems open-minded.

I believe Seras gets pushed towards seriously confronting her sexuality after spending time with Integra. We all know what I'm talking about.

These interactions likely made her feel a bit uncomfortable at first but also struck a chord with her. I wouldn't doubt that Seras had some pretty repressed gay thoughts before she even joined Hellsing.

After Alucard left and Seras was left with her two closest friends, Pip and Integra, is when she really came into her own. After her complete acceptance of her status as Nosferatu, there's little that she wouldn't want to try to explore. With Alucard absent, she was able to become more independent.

Though she would have been accepting of bi/pansexuality, I think that it may have taken a few years, a decade at the most, after the Battle of London for her to consider polyamory. Polyamorous relationships were and still are taboo, so fighting back against reinforced norms takes some time.

PIP.

Pip is repressed to the nines. Even when he and the other Wild Geese mercenaries did some pretty gay things with each other, they’d clap back with the classic “no homo”. (Except it was really homo.)

There were times where him and the guys would get candid with each other about the unique nature of their little group, but it was typically when they were drunk and out on the field.

Unlike Seras, I don’t believe Pip would take to readily analyzing his sexual preference readily after the Battle of London. It would’ve taken him longer than Seras to even exercise the thought of him being with someone of the same gender (unironically).

But as the years go on and the prospect of living for an eternity starts to dawn on him, his attitude basically becomes “eh, why the hell not? I’ll try anything once!” I’d say it would have taken Pip ~20 years during the time skip.

Even so, Pip is still rather picky. But as long as the man in question is good-looking, he won’t pass up an opportunity to have a good time.

Polyamory actually isn’t much of an issue for Pip so long as both he and Seras are aware and consenting. He figures that seeing other people might do them some good in the long run.