#also evander knows a lot of big words even though he's 9 years old here. he's so funny

[sealrock]

send LOST for a scene from my muse's past in which they felt lost, literally or figuratively

ask meme (closed)

(ty for the ask @aethergazing!)

Evander adjusted the wide-brimmed sunhat around his head for the umpteenth time this hour—it was much too big for the boy, on top of being itchy as the straw poked at his scalp. Despite his discomfort, Evander's mother wished to protect the crowns of her children from the noonday summer sun that baked the lands across Thanalan. While the streets of the Sapphire Avenue Exchange were covered with richly decorated tapestries to block out the overwhelming sunrays, the heat was inescapable thanks to the choking amount of people stuffed in the thoroughfare. Evander gripped Patroclus' stuffed tapir close to his chest—not that he was afraid, mind you, he's too old for that—he just didn't want someone to come up and snatch it, for that would mean excessive crying and temper tantrums.

Merchants hollered out their wares at slashed prices from every angle, city criers screamed louder than the merchants about the latest scandal, and carts of imported goods sluggishly made their way through the crowd of wealthy men and impeccably tailored women. Evander never liked coming here because of the crowds, for one could easily get lost if they weren't careful. But today, he and his younger brother Patroclus were pushed out of the house by his mother so that she could prepare his stepfather's nameday dinner. It happened to be one of the rare occasions that they left the safety of the manor without their parents, especially on a day like today. Evander felt well enough to venture out, but that didn't mean he wanted to. He had a mind to fake being sick but decided against it. He outright refused to wear matching outfits with his brother, however. He could dress himself just fine. 

The boys' nanny, Nanaqo Naqo, an otherwise absentminded Lalafellian woman, had her hands full this day as she triple-checked her list of to-do's while keeping her round ruby eyes on her young charges. She kept Evander flanked on her left and Patroclus on her right. Patroclus dutifully held onto Nanaqo's apron strings as he took in the sights and sounds of the thoroughfare with rapt interest, his green eyes sparkling with amazement. The young lad, no taller than Nanaqo and just four winters old, was dressed in light fabric of the finest quality—akin to a little sailor, with a sunhat similar to his elder brother, his thumb hooked in his mouth the whole while. Their mother thought it was adorable, but it was a habit their grandfather tended to frown upon. Evander skinned his nose up at the display, something he learned from his grandfather. Their mother never attempted to 'fix the issue' as his grandfather complained about. She and Evander's stepfather encouraged and enabled Patroclus to never grow up.

Patroclus and Evander may be brothers, but they share nothing in common. Patroclus was too immature to be on Evander's level of intellect, even if Evander had a five-year headstart. Most of Evander's tomes and journals were tarnished by Patroclus' impish desire to scribble on the pages. Before that, Patroclus would chew on the bindings or rip out the parchment as an infant whenever Evander attempted to bond with him. His mother dismissed Evander's frustration by buying him more books; she would offer hollow comfort in saying Patroclus didn't mean it. He was still a baby, after all.

Babies are no longer babies past the first year of life: Evander learned that from his treasured medical textbook, something he keeps out of Patroclus' reach with his grubby hands. Perhaps the material was too advanced for Patroclus; not everyone could be a (self-proclaimed) prodigy like Evander.

Evander blinked and allowed his eyes to refocus. With his head turned downward, Evander landed on his exposed toes between bejeweled sandals, the lavender tapir squeezed between his arms. Nanaqo never noticed the boy's ruminating as she agonized over fresh produce for what felt like half a day. But she was so preoccupied with her shopping list that she failed to realize Patroclus was missing.

Patroclus was missing.

Evander had a few ilms on the woman to see over her yellow hair, his eyes quickly scanning the area for a familiar sunhat. Patroclus was nowhere to be found.

Evander wanted to say something, but the words never came out. His attempts to silently grab his nanny's attention went unanswered with an irritated wave of her hand. He could see it now: his mother practically inconsolable with grief at the news of her youngest son's disappearance, and his stepfather's wish to turn the city inside-out for his only son. The family would be beside themselves, all while ignoring Evander.

With no other recourse, Evander swallowed down his nerves and snuck away into the crowd. When he wasn't weak from illness, Evander took to studying various atlases and the city's layout, so he had landmarks to guide him back to Nanaqo once he found his wayward brother. He shuffled between tall bodies, hoping not to be stepped on, as he weaved through the busy street. He kept his eyes forward and ears strained for any wailing calls for their mother, but Evander quickly became disorientated over the overwhelming amount of sounds.

Evander got knocked onto his back by a speeding courier, his sunhat tumbling to the cobblestone road. He fell right into an exposed spot of sunlight, the harsh light blinding him. He never let go of the stuffed tapir, however. It was the only thing that kept him anchored, and as childish as it sounded, its comforting presence kept him from crying. He's too old to cry, stony words his stepfather would tell him. No one was around to help him, so Evander had to toughen up.

Shaking off the dizziness, Evander brushed off his dirt-stained clothes and placed the sunhat back on his head. He walked a far distance away, and he still hadn't seen Patroclus. The Sapphire Avenue Exchange was a straight road, but it had many exits to alleyways and hidden corners that any mischievous four-year-old could hide in. Patroclus could be anywhere. The boy dipped into a random alley to escape the din of noise, only to land in a completely different world.

The alley was dark, dirty, and smelled of something foul. The sun wouldn't cast its light here. Evander got strange looks as he walked past adults with nothing better to do than loiter. His pace quickened when he saw, or thought he saw, someone brandish a weapon against a man he was arguing with. Feeling unsafe, Evander stepped back onto the main road and became swallowed once more by the hungering crowd. He was now further down the thoroughfare, in an area he wasn't familiar with. Evander felt anxiety settle in his stomach as he continued to walk, overcome with trembles. It had occurred to Evander that, maybe, he didn't know the streets of Ul'dah as well as he believed.

Evander was lost, and there was no one around to help him. Evander found a shaded spot to sulk in as he watched hundreds of faces pass him by without a second thought. The excursion left his belly griping for food—he would starve here. Evander curled into himself and let his eyes fall shut.

Surely, Evander's mother would mourn him. His aunt Cassandra would've seen this coming thanks to her 'predictions,' not that anyone believed her. The bad men would take him, especially the ones spoken about in the morning newspaper. He would read about missing persons and tales of how they were snatched up by Amalj'aa, fresh sacrifices for their god. That terrified Evander more than anything in the world. His whole life was ahead of him. He was too young to die, not now—

"Evie!"

Evander jumped up, wild eyes spotting a red-faced Patroclus on the other side of the street. His sunhat was missing, leaving his fluffy head of pitch-black hair uncovered to the afternoon sun. He appeared to have been crying... as per usual.

"Evie!"

Disregarding Nanaqo's rule of looking both ways, Patroclus ran to him on wobbly legs and outstretched hands. He crashed into Evander's skinny body before letting out a tired wail, snot and drool straining Evander's sweaty shirt. Evander finally dropped the tapir to hold his younger brother, shaking and unable to form words.

"I want mama, I–I want mama and papa!" Patroclus cried, heaving sobs soon catching the attention of unbeknownst pedestrians. Evander felt annoyance rise once the shock wore off. With care, Evander pulled Patroclus away to look him in the eye:

"You idiot! Where did you go? You know you shouldn't wander off like that!"

Patroclus' cries lowered to whimpers, his freckled face stained with tears, "I–I wanted a candied apple 'cause Nana said I would get one, but then I got lost..."

So that's what happened. Nanaqo took too long weighing literal apples and oranges, and Patroclus grew impatient. Evander huffed out a breath and handed the toy to his brother to hold. Patroclus grabbed it before wiping his runny nose against the fabric. Evander rolled his eyes before rising to his feet. He tried to smooth down his brother's hair like their mother would, but his fingers were too calloused from holding books all day. He didn't have the same loving touch as she did. He cringed as he used his handkerchief to wipe away the drying snot, a gentle motion he would catch his stepfather do, but Evander was too rough. Patroclus didn't seem too bothered, he stopped crying at least. His eyes were a bit swollen, and his cheeks a tinge of orange, but his breathing grew regulated.

"Where did your hat go?"

"... I don't know..."

Another huff. Patroclus could never keep track of his stuff. At least Evander keeps a log of where his items belong to. Now satisfied, Evander gathered his wits to begin the long trek back to the produce stand. But before he could take a step, a shrill voice reached his ears:

"BOYS! Oh, thank the Traders, you're both safe!"

Nanaqo looked more frazzled than usual as she gathered her skirt to rush over to their spot, her tidy bun slowly coming loose from stress. Sweat clung to her flushed skin, usually pale, from exertion. Her eyes were as wide as dinner plates and filled with terror. Evander could only imagine what was going on in her thoughts, how she could've misplaced her employer's grandsons so easily. Guilt washed over Evander for causing her such worry.

"What happened?! Are you hurt?! Did anyone try any funny business with you?"

Evander glanced at Patroclus, who looked at him, "No, Ms. Naqo, we're fine. We, uh... we wanted to–"

"I want a candied apple!"

Evander glared at his brother. Nanaqo let out a long-suffering sigh and shook her head, but she didn't chastise them. She smiled, even. Nanaqo's seemingly infinite amount of patience continued to amaze Evander.

"Yes, yes, it completely slipped my mind. Come along, then, before the hour grows too late, I must return to my duties."

Instinctively, Patroclus grabbed Nanaqo's apron string, his other arm holding onto the stuffed tapir for comfort. Evander grabbed the other end, not that he needed to, but it would ease Nanaqo's frayed nerves some to know he was right behind her. With Nanaqo, the three of them walked through the street with ease.

"Um... Ms. Naqo?"

"Yes, Evander?"

Evander didn't want to ask, but he swallowed his pride.

"Don't tell grandfather about this. Or our parents."

He caught a small smile forming on her lips, "I wouldn't dream of it, dear. As long as you two are safe and sound, I won't say a word."

Evander released a quiet sigh of relief.

"And because you've been such a good lad looking after your brother, I'll get you two candied apples!"

Evander felt a youthful sense of glee come over him, and the question went out of his mouth before he could catch himself:

"The green apples? Covered in caramel?"

"Of course!"

[drundertalescum]

11 Questions... x3

I was tagged by @sharada-n @audaciousanonj and @esmiden in that order

If anyone else tagged me, tag me again because I missed it!

1. Which are your favorite hot and cold drinks?

Cold drinks: Usually either milk or vanilla coke. I also like birch beer, root beer, and peach-cranberry juice, but usually I just stick with the milk and coke.

Hot drinks: TEA. Specifically this nice vanilla black tea that I've cracked the code on preparing in the microwave so it's both hot and very convenient. This is my go-to drink of any type.  Also coffee, hot chocolate, matcha, and just various types of teas. I prefer hot drinks over cold.

2. What’s your favorite color scheme/combination?

Usually I kind of default to dark turquoise/cyan and lighter orange/gold. It's the most common gradient map I use when I'm being lazy with coloring and also evident on my main blog's colour scheme. Toss in some red and you're in for a good time. I also really like maroons and pale greens but I don't use it that often.

3. Windows or Apple?

PC FOREVER

4. Do you believe in astrology?

Nah, I do find out kind of funny sometimes since my sign (Capricorn) is such an over-the-top dethawing ice queen in anything relating to “what the signs do when ___”  My Smart-People Astrology Sign (my Meyers-Briggs) turns up very similar content. I mean, granted, that runs truer than a hyper happy bubblegum type but it's still a bit boring.

I don't really buy too much into any of that sort of thing.

5. Would you punch me for 10$?

Wait are you paying me to punch you or am I paying you to be punched by me? Either way no.

6. Do you have any guilty pleasures?

HONESTLY in my main online community my guilty pleasure that I hide from the world is being Undertale trash.

To a lesser extent: my guilty pleasure that I hide away from this community is that I’m reality show trash. Specifically one particular reality show. It's 17 years old and Actually Very Good, but no one will ever believe me.

7. What’s your favorite flower?

We grow snapdragons sometimes. They're really neat! Otherwise it's hit or miss with me and flowers. Despite the main blog name that I've been using for like 10 years I've only recently started to kind of like roses. Mostly for the a e s t h e t i c.

8. What would you name your theoretical kids?

I change my mind on this one a lot. I usually like names that aren't common but also could sort of fit in in an old novel. Like Orville or Evander or something like that. I had a list once but I lost it. I also like Emily or Alma.

Some angry part of me wants to name a child November even though I know the awful fate I would be leaving them to by doing it.

In the end I am almost definitely not having kids so the most likely name I'm gonna pull out is naming a pet Papyrus someday.

9. Sweet or savory?

Depends, but I usually go for savory. Sweet drink-savory snack is my go-to.

10. Do you wear socks in bed or nah?

I don't wear socks at all unless it's very, very cold.

11. Could a horse fit through a window?

If you removed the panes from my windows a horse would just barely make it through. Probably needs to be a smaller horse though. It can't be too wide.

1) What’s your favorite holiday?

THIS IS HALLOWEEN THIS IS HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN HALLOWEEN

But truthfully i haven't been feeling it the last few years. I can't think of any holidays I have.

2) Loose clothes or tight?

As loose as possible. Though I'll take tight underlayer loose overlay.

3) Chrome, Firefox, or Safari?

I had a weird bug a few years back where my computer was constantly freezing up and crashing. I knew it was some sort of graphics issue but the word thing was it never crashed when I was playing a game, which lead to me using Portal 2 and Skyrim as ways of keeping my computer from crashing whenever it was idle, bumping up my times in both games to a ridiculous amount (though I still play both a lot). Turns out it was Firefox causing the crash, but I didn't realize because if I don't have a game open, I always have a browser up.

I had to switch to Chrome at that time and now I'm pretty settled on it. I do miss some aspects of Firefox though.

4) Favorite style of humor?

I love humor that's based around people and their habits. Not necessarily observational and I don't like it to actively mock people, but I like humor that's based around people and their attitudes and interactions, especially if it makes people feel more like characters or caricatures, but not stereotypes. I have a sort of dry sense of humor but that's not really required for this. It's hard to actively explain and I'm blanking on any great examples.

This definitely plays into the previously mentioned guilty pleasure.

5) Fluff or Angst (Reading)?

ANGST. Angst got me into this fandom when I solidified my terrible obsession with this game by reading I'm Feeling Fine, Kid and since then I've read close to every Papyrus-centric angst fic this fandom has put out.

Pretty much any I haven't read yet are in my read later list because I haven't been in the best heavy-angst mood lately.

I always take recs.

6) Fluff or Angst (Writing)?

Writing angst is so much easier for me. I think it's because I have a very introspective style which lends itself better to letting the sadness flow. It usually works out to angst with a side of fluff. But with art and comics, it's a lot less introspective so it ends up being fluff with a side of angst.

7) Do you make -sonas?

I kind of actively dislike making -sonas. It never feels right. I made one when I was about 16 (which I now dislike) and haven't really made one since. I generally just stick with a blob or stick person to represent me. Maybe a seahorse.

8) What are you gonna dress up as for Halloween?

A patient recovering from a cholecystectomy. Maybe one that also has spoopy face paint on and blogs about Undertale.

…I wish I was doing something for Halloween ;;;

9) What are you pickiest about?

Food and fonts. It's the ultimate irony that I fell so far for Undertale.

10) Have you seen my au Name the Fallen and if so what was your favorite part?

Save him Flowey, before he falls too far.

11) Papyrus is cool?

That's not a question. Nothing has ever been less of a question.

1. Favorite literature or movie genre

Hmmm… I really like mystery novels! Other than that, I’m a big fan of dramedies. Anything that mixes comedy or fantasy and feels is great.

2. Top five animated cartoons

This is going to be my knee jerk list and not necessarily accurate. It’s also not in any particular order.

Moana

The Incredibles

Wall-E

Lilo and Stitch

The Princess and the Goblin

3. If you could choose a fantasy land to stay in for the rest of your life, which one would you chose? Ps. You won’t be able to get back to the real world.

I would honestly head down to the Underground and let some monsters try to steal my soul. I think it’s the perfect blend of interesting but also not everything-trying-to-kill-me(-forever).

4. Favorite song at the moment?

Hopes and Dreams played backwards. Also Frozen Pines by Lord Huron and Ground Control by All Time Low and Walk Off The Earth’s cover of Heya

5. What is good design for you?

Oh man, this is a tricky question. I’m actually a designer but I’m very much a master of none. The most important thing in any design is readability and ease of use, though. No point in having a product you can’t use because the A E S T H E T I C is in the way. No point in a document or website you can’t read. No point in a gallery you can’t view. Good design should make things MORE usable, not less. Functionality should ALWAYS be the number one goal.

At the same time black and white helvetica minimalism is boring and terrible for most things. Gimme some COLOR, some LIFE. I don’t care if it’s cheesy or weird or quirky or outdated. I want things with detail and personality. 

(Note: you can totally have black and white minimalist helvetica and still hae personality. But I’ll take a “bad” design with some life to it over a mediocre design that follows all the rules)

6. What’s your favorite color scheme/combination?

I am a blue/orange shill, but theres a lot of schemes i like. Usually Cyan + any warm color

7. Which feelings effects you the most in literature/music/film etc.?

Tricky! I actually get the most into films about the connections between people (usually not romantic) or about identity (or loss of identity) and insecurities. I dunno why, they just effect me the most. They just do.

8. Favorite game?

Undertale (2015 Video Game). But also: Portal, Skyrim, the Fallout games, Kingdom Hearts, Bully, 7 Days to Die, The Forest, Friday the 13th, Stardew Valley, Reigns, Alto’s Adventure, Pixel Dungeon, Plague Inc, Life Is Strange, Tabletop Simulator, The Long Dark, What Remains of Edith Finch, Tropico, The Stanley Parable, The Flame in the Flood, Contagion, and The Sims.

I like Games.

9. What’s most important for you in a good movie?

I’ll enjoy any movie with well-concieved characters but the real gold medal goes to anything with post modern reality fuckery and/or magical realism. I like movies about movies or about storytelling. Big Fish, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Truman Show, Stranger Than Fiction are some of my favorite movies that sort of adhere to that. Gimme all the post-modern plotlines with likable characters and let me pretend there’s a happy ending. That’s all I’m looking for.

10. What’s your favorite time of the day and why?

Dusk. Everything cools down, the sky turns gorgeous colors, but it’s still not considered weird to go walking around or running errands. It’s just nice!

11. Extra because I’m out of ideas, if you got a painting. What would you want on it? XD

Nice colors and a good subject. Like Papyrus with huge biceps.

Here’s my questions! I’m going to tag the 3 that tagged me if they feel like doing this, plus anyone who wants to do it. Just tag me on the post so I can see!

1. What was your favorite fairy tale growing up?

2. Were you ever traumatized as a child by a movie or TV show?

3. Whats the weirdest dream that you can remember?

4. If you could be or do anything you wanted for a single day, anything at all, what would you be?

5. What is your favorite anecdote?

6. Have you ever painted your nails? If so, what’s your favorite polish/color?

7. What is the scariest thing you aren’t afraid of?

8. Are there any snacks that you like that most people probably haven’t heard of or tried?

9. Have you ever gone stargazing?

10. Tell me about your favorite idea you’ve had, whether it be a story or a game idea or anything else along those lines.

11. Whats your least favorite color?