#and this took me ages to type out

[pfhwrittes]

writing will be slow for a few days because i did a stupid (poured boiling water on my left hand) (just realised that some splash back got my right wrist) (am currently typing with one hand) (my left hand is wrapped in cling film and propped up above my heart) and i am grumpy

[hinamie]

thank u canon plant nerd megumi for my life

bonus:

[thestraypunk]

THE STRAY PUNK

issue 1

^^ printable version!

Feel free to print out and/or share, just please don't sell it or not credit me.

Please contribute anything you'd like for the next issue! Use the ask box or message me :D

[yansurnummu]

TES fest day 8: free day

The first fic I ever finished and posted was The Blood of the Coven in 2016, which followed Anthelion through the Dark Brotherhood quest line in Oblivion.

I set a goal at the beginning to do at least one of these prompts, and somehow I actually managed to do them all! I had lots of fun and it was great to see everyone else's amazing art and writing as well :)

[mr-urple]

I wish I could hug my moots rn… I wanna have a sleep over with my tumblr family and listen to them ramble about turtles and sharks and vocaloid and rainworld and whatever else they like as I doze off with their voices mixing together and becoming background noise…. I want my family to be real so bad

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

dragoon theorycrafting: FRESH DRAGOON LORE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS (new Rising story)

SIX YEARS.

FINALLY WE ARE GIVEN A NUGGET OF DRAGOON LORE.

(I'm counting the Stormblood side story in this yes)

HERE HAVE MY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS UNDER THE CUT

-----------

So where to begin? First off, we're setting Estinien to the side and the fact he's drinking off to the side as well. We'll get back to it, don't worry.

MOTHERFUCKING HALDRATH MAKES A GODDAMN APPEARANCE! AND WE ALSO GET A NEW DOT ON THE OVERALL TIMELINE!

Ratatoskr's death is in 545. Twenty years later puts this in 565, which means Haldrath has been witness to the gross rewriting of history that's taken place in Corethas.

(also shoutout to @mariyekos and their Haldrath -> Estinien theory let's gooo~~)

So the first Azure Dragoon's shown up, and he is not in a good way. Nidhogg's Eye (the first) has fused itself to his armor, and is now effectively corrupting Haldrath's flesh. He's beginning to have fits more frequently and intensely --moments where Nidhogg's will threatens to override his own. Haldrath has been a solitary hunter of dragons for twenty years, and he is fucking tired. His will is starting to falter.

He passes out from fighting another dragon, and wakes up a while later to find himself in a tavern. And much to his surprise and pleasure, he's among friends-- one of the original Twelve knights who survived and (wisely, I might add), fucked off once Nidhogg was robbed of his original eyes.

Ser Aureniquart de Cordillelot, who decided to open a tavern, and is insinuated in lore to have been the founder of the Forgotten Knight. It's his daughter Berteline who found Haldrath, and she's been raised on stories of him as the dragonslayer. She wishes to be a dragoon like him too!

Berteline however, admits that she didn't find Haldrath on her own, that a voice that sounded like 'storm winds' led her to him. Haldrath, who has recognized that Berteline has drive and passion, realizes that the young woman's been lured by Nidhogg's eye.

(And here is when we enter the territory of fuckery)

At this point, Haldrath makes a choice. He's doing this on the fly, but also probably had been stewing on his thoughts for a while. He's tired. On his last legs. This is probably not how he wanted to do it, but he's got no choice. And Halone seems to have merciful enough to let him be in a safe and warm environment among friends.

Haldrath tells Berteline that she's heard Nidhogg's voice, that the Eye seeks out those who desire power. That it's fused to him, that it's corrupting him, and he is in danger of becoming the elder wrym's thrall. And if that happens, he will be a mighty threat to Ishgard, which is still finding its feet. He looks Aureniquart in the eye and asks that his old friend, his brother knight, kill him before that happens.

Aureniquart refuses to pick up arms against Haldrath.

(side note: I'm wondering if Aureniquart was possibly Haldrath's First Knight/general 2IC.)

Haldrath, before the Eye tries for the final time to take him, also officially recognizes Berteline as the new bearer of the evil orb and names her his full successor.

Berteline de Cordillelot is now charged as the second Azure Dragoon. We won't have another named Azure Dragoon show up until 761, when Valeroyant fends off Nidhogg. (Valeroyant dies two years later in 763).

We are also given confirmation that Azure Dragoons essentially are on a limited lifespan once they receive the Eye. This possibly gives new meaning to this:

When searched on Google, score is equal to twenty years. Two score and ten equals 50 years. Ere means 'before'.

Basically? 'Your ass will be dead before you turn fifty.'

Which in the story, makes sense because:

Aureniquart has aged. It's possible that by this time, he and Haldrath were in their mid-40s, if they were in their 20's back in 545.

Becoming the Azure Dragoon is a death sentence. And now your mileage is gonna vary, because not everyone's gonna have the same mindset regarding power and duty and protection of Ishgard. We have the door open for some high level shenanigary here! An Azure Dragoon who may not have wanted to pick a successor? An Azure Dragoon who might have been forced into the job?

(No no we're not discussing Alberic don't @ me I'm typing this out on my phone and it's taking me forever WE WILL POKE AT HIM LATER)

Anyroad.

Haldrath feels one final fit coming on, and knows this is the one that he can't fight against. Nidhogg will claim him. He needs to die. He realizes almost too late that Aureniquart can't kill him, because of the bond of love/friendship/battle blood/loyalty to my liege and he's cursing him to suffer another sin. But Berteline steps up to the plate, puts her hands on the spear, and helps her father perform the mercy kill.

Shoutout to @autumnslance for this spot on commentary on THAT:

Aureniquart: Perma-traumatized now. Man gets like twenty years of peace and then it just gets blown outta the water. Had to kill your leige-lord as he lay dying on your floor, under your roof, violation of sanctuary and hospitality and your sworn oath to protect him, to spend your life before his own so he could be safe...

What?

Anyroad. We have one final interesting tidbit.

This...is interesting. Sovereignty has various meanings, but the one that stood out the most to me from Merriam-Webster was 'freedom from external control'. There was also 'supreme power over a body politic', 'controlling influence' and then 'one who is sovereign, especially: an autonomous state'

It's said in lore Nidhogg was dismissive of mankind. And at that point can you blame him? He's lost three siblings to Allag, his other brother's lost his damn mind mooning over some elezen before consensually participating in voreplay, and his sister drank ALL the mortal Kool-Aid.

Oh and baby brother? Is hiding somewhere.

That also possibly has Ascian fuckery hiding somewhere in the depths. What exactly, I don't know what to say or imply. But a good friend of mine pointed out that Nidhogg's attitude towards humans could have been a rather toxic ingredient that could have maybe been added to a growing resentment of dragonkind that had been festering. Maybe old grudges that had been settled by Shiva's sacrifice were coming back from the dead. Maybe mankind was growing too much in the region and was straining natural resources.

We don't know.

Last but not least, Estinien. Nevermind that this man decided to hit up a bottle of Raz-at-Han alchemist-made liquor.

Estinien. Pls.

However there is real world historical context for alcoholic spirits being used to help a body and mind relax so that one can see visions/perform magic. And as I stated one time, we don't know fully about all the changes Estinien has undergone ever since absorbing the remnants of Nidhogg's essence. This could be a random fluke--brought on by unpredictable draconic magic mixing with whatever unholy abomination against the gods concoction this particular Hannish alchemist thought to brew.

(listen Raz-at-Han alchemists fear neither gods, nor man, nor dragons, nor aliens. YOU KNOW I'M RIGHT)

But it's definitely interesting to see more of a solid connection between the first and the last Azure Dragoon. Especially since Haldrath hasn't shown up in anything dragoon connected since the level 50 questline, in which he helps you violently snap Estinien out of a Nidhogg-induced frenzy.

Hoping this story leads us to more dragoon stuff, especially considering the class is getting a revamp in 7.0!

[orange-lover]

would you be comfortable telling something about your ocs???? (<- he is dying from curiosity)

YES SURE!!! they are so stupid.... theres 5 main guys

cy, he/they - blue haired biologist robot loser with crippling ptsd who lost his eye in a childhood attack

angelo, he/him - band dweeb who plays drums on the side of his botany & floristry work with terrible anxiety he works on over the series (he and cy are married)

allei, she/it - literally a catgirl. like actually. shes buff as hell and i forgot her job but more importantly she kills people for fun. she has maaaajor comphet for cy and harvests eyes for him awww so sweet. shes my favorite she figures out shes a lesbian in one timeline but the others are so tragic

detective sugarcoat & lemonhat - ok these guys are silly. everybody else is all sad and tragic but these guys are funny i swear(lie). theyre two detective partners who are a little bit homoerotic. sugarcoat is hyperglycemic and always keeps sugary snacks in his coat to keep his bloods up (hence the name), and hes obsessed with solving the allei case. hes a chronic smoker and his wife misses him and hes a very stereotypical detrctive type. lemonhat his partner loves fruit and is much more laid back. he keeps SC from going insane and calls him "sugar" . he has a strong boston accent. they have crazy sexual tension

i have other ocs.. but theyre from different stories

[skrunksthatwunk]

stole this chart from @asubakaa and spent wayyy too much time making my own so. yeah. also i did 6 instead of 5 bc i know no restraint

[icewindandboringhorror]

Apparently I can meet my goal of roughly 400,000 words in 6 months if I just somehow write at least 2,200 words a day ghbjh... Almost 2,500 today... huzzah...

[talkfastcal]

i love being a collector btw<3<3

[kerfufflecricket]

Akaza Q4 and Douma Q12 (Like what nicknames he’s given akaza ^^)

-knyagere

Yay questions! Please forgive me if I get rambley I just love talking about these two! (⁠人⁠*⁠´⁠∀⁠｀⁠)⁠｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+

Question 4 - is their regression more voluntary or involuntary, do they ever regress without realizing?

Akaza's regression is mainly involuntary, he has little control on when or where he slips. He can put it off for a little bit but will almost always end up slipping in the end.

If he gets especially upset, usually by being reminded of his human life, he can end up regressing immediately without warning.

He generally has very little warning before he starts to feel small but he's usually pretty good at telling when he feels small all things considered :]

Question 12 - do they have any specific nicknames for when their regressed? What about for their caregiver(s) or friends?

Oh, Douma has SO MANY for akaza!! He calls him the usual pet names, sweetheart, sweetie, honey, ect. But his favorites to call him are "My Darling" ''My Dearest" "Sweet Boy" and "Snowflake".

He likes to add the term "My" to them. It's his way to show that he cares about him and likes taking care of him! He's not great at talking about his feelings or being open/vulnerable so he finds small ways like this to show it instead

It's also a reinsurance for Akaza, we all know that emotions are not his strong suit.

Vulnerability? Never heard of it.

So obviously his regression is a really personal thing to him and he has insecurities surrounding it, that being paired with his pre-existing insecurities he has a hard time believing someone exactly wants to look after him or wants him in general, so being referred to as "My Darling" or "My dearest" it helps to reassure that he's actually wanted and loved. Though he'd never admit that lol

They're dynamic really relies on the whole "it's the thought that counts" really ^^ (and I eat it up everytime)

[youremyonlyhope]

I'm not a "new musical theatre style music" person. Never have been.

Even when I was doing voice lessons, I'd steer towards the golden age or jazzy musical theatre songs. My voice teacher would have to drag me kicking and screaming towards adding anything new musical theatre to my repertoire. For a while, the most modern song in my book was I Know The Truth from Aida, and I wouldn't count that as new musical theatre style since I mean more the Pasek&Paul or Joe Iconis type.

And now I have an audition coming up for a small production of a show in that style and I'm supposed to sing a song in a similar style. And I'm looking at all my sheet music like... let me do some Cole Porter... or Gershwin... at least Sondheim please...

[freebooter4ever]

I see all these posts about sharing our favorite albums but i grew up in a time where you got money for like one CD for your birthday and that was your music for the entire year. i didnt just like those albums i had every second of them memorized. Anyway shoutout to the other 90's preteens for whom this album was your traumatic childhood healing \o/

[moonlit-orchid]

Normal people: try to solve real world problems

Me: try to solve the mystery of whether i am an infp or infj

[pallases]

got my nails done for the first time btw i fear this will become an addiction

[daddysclownboy]

AKSJDDFFJFJFJFNFMFRJ

woah im so relatable

There’s a lot of things you’ve done that Becky doesn’t know about