#astrallithid

[hollowfaith]

「✦」 Their conversation continues like an endless stream, steady and unobtrusive. Aurelius pours himself a cup of tea, finally taking a drink between all the talking. Unlike Balduran, he doesn't find anything wrong with the flavor, but his tongue does tingle slightly at first contact. He blames the water temperature and blows on the tea to cool it down before his next sip.

"In a case like that"—which sounded highly unlikely, but he could play along—"it would depend on where I placed my faith."

"I don't believe that beings created to live would be willing to die before their time. But if I had faith in a higher God to see me through my death, I could accept it more peacefully as part of His arrangements."

He frowns at the other part of the description.

"You are comparing me too much to a mortal. Do you mean to imply that my false memories in that scenario would have made me cling to life? If that elf had truly embraced their identity as an angel of my ranks, they would have offered themselves up without complaints. It was their memories of mortality that undid them in the end."

He finishes the tea before he explains. "What God gives, God can take away. We serve to further His cause, and in doing that ensure the peace of our world. If my God came to request my death today, of course I'd give up my life. It would be the greatest glory and honor."

There's something about how Aurelius approaches the whole situation- with a cold and disconnected air- that reminds Balduran of his time in the Moonrise colony. Illithids looked down upon other beings, saw ceremorphosis as an ascension for those lesser beings. They sought the Grand Design and lacked understanding of the true value of life. Your death would've been a release, says the angel, and Balduran hears the whispers of the Nursemaid-

You will be beautiful when you are born. You will no longer think of this fragile mortal shell. There will be no more pain. Soon. Soon.

Aurelius sounds like the voice of the colony- he spoke of this dead elf like the Elder Brain spoke of renegades. What colony would want an illithid incapable of creating its own thralls? One that performed magic? One who still had the echo of another person's voice in its head ⎛ not its host, but the roar of a dragon with shining scales. It knows the dragon is coming before the others do. When the dragon lays waste to the colony, his mind screams only one name. Balduran. ⎠❝ I quite enjoy my identity, ❞ comes the soft response, more distant than before, but still warm, still inviting.

❝ I should think that if there was any true blame to be had, perhaps it could be said to be the Stars- but even then, they are about as consistent as the weather- ❞

❝ On some days they are fair and kind- on others, we must brave the day as if we were ships lost upon stormy seas. It is not a matter of having the right. As you say, you would've killed me if I had been in place of the elf- but what if it had been you? Woven into the workings of a world that is not yours? With memories that you truly believed with your whole heart and soul? Would you have wanted to be killed, or would you have fought to live? ❞

[occultacarne]

@astrallithid

He's glad he gets to have the pleasure of watching the sun rise as it does not harm him. Though he was a creature of the night, even someone like him can appreciate the beauty that the day brings. It was thrilling to take the life of someone when the sun was up.

Speaking of which,

The body he holds in his hand is released, slumped onto the sand of the beach he stands on. "Such a shame. He had said he'd watch the sunrise with me."

[allswell]

@astrallithid

Whatever the sands of Golden Ward's beaches promised, it probably wasn't a man who appeared out of thin air to kick his shoes off in the sand, then turned to run towards the cliffs bordering the sea.

But even Cecil has to pause when he sees someone else hogging his pre-selected rock-outcropping for this Very Important Task.

❛ Well, this is a bother. ❜

❛ Now that you've found out where I'm burying my treasure...I have no choice but to silence you. ❜

The fingers holding up the hem of his jacket relaxes, spilling a flood of gold coins onto the sand as Cecil crosses his arms authoritatively.

❛ Choose quickly: your life or your purse? Hm? ❜

Wait, did the other even have moneybags on him?

[railheist]

I’M GOING GHOST… INTERACTING!

"Shoot, these woods seem to go on forever... You remember which way we came in?" she asks the man wandering with her. The Forest of Airaisal had always been difficult to traverse, and the cold, frigid air wasn't helping matters, either.

It isn't long before the two come across a clearing somewhere deep in the woods. What's in there gives Maria a fright, or rather, who's in there.

It's a dang ghost!

The ghostly apparition floats inches off the ground. It's not a vision of her grandma or anyone else who's passed on, but of herself from many years ago. She's a young woman with blue hair and a pair of overalls.

The older Maria stares at herself. "I —" She starts to sputter out.

"Shh! Hold that thought!" The younger Maria holds up a hand to shush her counterpart. She looks around the clearing, then lets out a huff. With her hands on her hips, she's clearly annoyed.

"I'm supposed to babysitting some kid... Either of you seen him around?" she asks.

The black-hatted Maria sure hasn't seen him. She turns to her partner to see if he has.

@astrallithid

[wldrose]

@astrallithid

"I can't believe you haven't been here yet. This place is one of the best places to get clothes, you know?" Half of her wardrobe was from New Threads and BOY, she loved spending her money here.

"They opened recently and I've been coming in ever since."

[viladlind]

   it's not the first time that fiyero considers his guardian's thoughts being out of reach. his mind must be busy, too, right? it would seem only fair, back when he visited his dreams, that roaming in fiyero's mind would allow the tiefling to roam in turn. a bond that gives alongside its taking. that wasn't how it worked.

   his guardian turned over every corner in fiyero's mind. he took, and fiyero couldn't complain because his life was in his hands. the idea of turning into a mindflayer had always horrified him more, outweighed the discomfort of having somebody else in his mind.

   and now that connection is severed, and he feels close, still. all that knowledge can't be taken away from him. he knows the way fiyero's innermost thoughts work, he knows about his past on dovesong.

   he knows how fiyero moves before his limbs can react to the signals sent from his brain. down to the bones, his guardian knows.

   he looks down at the hands in his.

   ' surely, that's not all of it. you felt fleeting, not just the dream you made up for me. ' he wants to say he still feels fleeting. he does. perhaps even moreso now that he no longer sits in fiyero's mind. but he also feels ... quite normal. a simplicity in being two people sitting across each other, hands slotted together, each mind its own.

   why is he so frustrated about the lack of it? perhaps because he still isn't getting any clear answers from his guardian.

   ' ... you're warmer. ' the hug they shared feels distant. they shared it in a dream, after all. ' i'm glad to hear i was warm even in my dreams. it'd have made an awfully depressing embrace, otherwise. ' fiyero falters for a moment, recalls the way his guardian thanked him for a gesture nobody's granted him in a long time. that doesn't feel distant, the affecionate gratitude.

   curiosity pushes him to ask.

   ' when was the last time somebody touched you like this? you mentioned before ... that it was a while. how long a while? '

@astrallithid / ctd

[atomsurvived]

@astrallithid

He missed Boston. To be more exact, he missed Boston the way it was before the bombs. It was tough, to navigate the war-torn streets, thanks in no small part to the rubble and debris left behind in the nuclear fallout. And over two centuries later, it's still trying to pick up the pieces of what's left behind, entire sections claimed by Super Mutants, raiders, and other such things that makes the city of Boston nothing like what he grew up with ( but he's no stranger to being the outsider, so used to being called both the savior and the terrorist by its people ).

Dogmeat sniffed ahead of him as he made his way back to his townhouse, nose to the ground and tail in the air like an antenna. His coat is dirty from rolling around in the green grass earlier, and Nate made a mental note to give him a bath later ( and one for himself, because who knew how long ago it's been since he's had a normal shower? ). Nate had busied himself with his newfound phone, scrolling through the deceptively magnetic force of its content, when Dogmeat started barking at Balduran.

"Don't mind him. He's just an excitable dog," Nate explained, still glued to his phone, not really minding where he was going.

[nobully]

@astrallithid

"Me? I'm just here for the snack table."

"...although they say you can take home anything you make if you pay a small fee for the materials."

It's Art Therapy Day at Sanctuc Clinic and Wang Yi's rolled up his sleeves at the clay modeling table, sticking together globs of the stuff for fun. He's never studied art before, but he thinks there's a science to it—like math, angles and curves and all that shit—so he figures he'd give it a go. Also, squishing clay just feels nice.

He holds up the sculpture he's made so far (is it a misshapen starfish? an ancient model of Venus??) for the guy's inspection.

"What do you think? Enough to wow a girl, maybe?"

He figures if he paints it purple later, Nicolette will still be pretty impressed.

[antoake]

"Have you ever tried to pet one of them before?"

He's crouched, hand extended towards a passing radiocat -- wiggling his fingers enticingly, as if it was simply another cat...as far as he could gather, it was still very much just a cat...and cats exist to be petted and doted upon. Even if they seem to live on the streets and look abnormal. (If people can love a hairless cat, someone would love a radiocat. Or maybe he's just weird.)

"I've gotten rather fond of them. I quite like seeing them when I leave the house to browse the shops...it's reminiscent of the strays and wild animals that would roam around town and the hills there."

The man he speaks to reminds him a little bit of Klaus: tall and reserved, with the same kind eyes as the man his sister was friends with (he hopes Iris and Klaus are well in his absence, now that he thinks of them).

@astrallithid

[doctornota]

@astrallithid liked for a starter

"I HOPE YOU'RE NOT PLANNING ON GOING OUT THERE."

Leonard has never seen this man before in his life, but Kirk's got him trained like a dog: he can recognize that look in the eye from a mile away, the brewings of what just might be a bad idea, or at very least the inclination to get up and out and go. Most starship captains have it. It's enough to make him pause.

The other stands on a dock right up near the boat rentals, further down the beach than Leonard usually bothers going, but the shore reminds him of home - after long shifts it's a surefire way to clear his head. He keeps off the dock, himself, not too keen on standing right out over the water like that, but projects his voice from the sand enough to be heard.

"Water's chock-full of whirlpools," which just tracks for a place like this, doesn't it? God forbid anything be easy. "I wouldn't count on a boat to make it over, or down, or wherever the hell folks try and get to in one piece."

[hollowfaith]

Work never seemed to end.

To Brad— "Yes, insurance can cover some of the session costs, but you'll need to speak to one of the receptionists for the details,"

To Yuri— "We have slots open every day of the week, you just need to show up with him,"

To Legato— "If you still have trouble distinguishing reality from fantasy, come find me in person. I'll make time for you,"

To Balduran— "Since you came for Art Therapy Day already, you might as well try one of our formal sessions too."

[isolaradiale]

i dont even know why i bother sending in reserves, anyway here's balduran from baldur's gate 3 his app is under /app

Welcome to scenic Isola Radiale, Bald!

You will be housed in TOWNHOUSE 214.

You'll retain the ability to levitate for up to one hour per day. You'll also be given a wooden sword.

Enjoy your stay!

-- mod altair.

[corpsebell]

it's....odd.

as far as kikyo could tell, demons were few and far between within this era, practically non-existent. she had picked up on various inhuman species and yet....hardly any were demonic in nature. surprising, but nothing that causes the priestess to let her guard down for even a second. a moment of hesitation could spell her demise and that was something she couldn't afford. rumors of death being but a fleeting thing in this plaace.....something she wished to avoid.

and yet, to stand idly by was simply not who she was. her role to the sacred jewel was done but above all else, as long as she breathed, she had a duty to protect and aid. and these pixies weren't unlike the kitsune back home. a flick of her wrist was enough to erect a barrier, causing the bunch that were dead-set on terrorizing some stranger to cry in pain upon making contact with it. after a few seconds, they flee, knowing that breaking through was impossible.

"..... Are you hurt?" she asks, pausing to turn to look over her shoulder at the other, the barrier shimmering for a few more seconds before disappearing altogether.

@astrallithid

[lethalitisms]

@astrallithid -> ALTERNATIVE ALLEGORY

All in all, being bonded to a mindflayer tadpole wasn't so horrifying. Aside from the obvious, of course. Edward knelt over the body of someone who . . . used to be, their skull cracked open to reveal it empty, his blade bloodied by the violence. Perhaps he should've wished for ceremorphosis to have taken him instead; in this human form, it is more disgusting to say that he enjoyed it than that he was losing himself. The creature in his mind seems apologetic, is trying to tell him things he doesn't understand, saying names he finds no recognition in. Sleeper, Flash, Spider-Man. None of the names ring a bell. And it's horrifying to think that this creature, living inside of his mind, knows more of him than he does of himself.

He feels it already, like it's physical, the shattering of his oath. Deep within his chest, something is lost. And yet, that gaping hole in his chest doesn't feel so lonely. Perhaps the doing of the creature that had forced his hand, had made him crave such a thing. Edward kneels silent, as though in respect of the dead, his blade resting by his side. The creature in his mind goads him to remember. Remember what? To remember what it had been like, no more than twenty minutes ago, what it was like to not have eaten the mind of a living being?

It scoffs at him with pure thought, 「 we have done worse together, 」 which is a terrifying thought. 「 But we had learned how to fix it. 」

[heclingmuzik]

@astrallithid liked this starter call Still 2 slots left

"I think I was like 4? 5? I don't remember the exact age." She runs her fingers along the sleek build of the violin, "My sister got me my first little violin around that age. I remember being so stoked. There's this woman I saw on TV, who plays the violin right? But she could dance while playing it and that inspired me. As I got better and older, my sis and I would duet. She was really good at playing the piano and that's how I picked that up."

[viladlind]

u have to understand fiyero is so important to me, he's so well written and you have so much love for him and that is so so so incredible! fiyero is a being full of love and it's so nice to just see all of that because it's just ... the vibes ... incredible. i'm very ... bad at articulating things but like ... seeing fiyero on the dash just reminds me in general that there is always someone who will love you and that is a thing all people should be able to experience in whatever comfortable capacity. fiyero is a great reminder that none of us are alone, you know? that there's always something bright and beautiful even in hardships, and that even in suffering, life is very much worth living and yeah that means so much to me thank you for blessing my dash on multiple blogs

oc validation for luce

THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT BAYBEH. i like to say fiyero is love encompassed and i need that to show in my writing so bad. to think that he can give u the type of comfort he seeks to just via reading my silly stuff is so sweet and nice <3 even when u can't stand it, even when it hurts u, life is worth living and love is all around u and sometimes that's in the shape of a pretty tiefling