#bloodicdfeathers

[enduringdevotion]

Nicholas had to think about that. There was plenty of ways to gauge it, he thinks, but what would best suit Xuanyu but also keep him safe?

"Well.... It's always good to get a second opinion, or a third if you're still unsure. Any more than that is redundant. I used to listen to Meryl, but when she sounded unsure I'd prod the old man. Vash was an idiot but in certain situations I took his word above all else." He pauses, tensing up then relaxed with a sigh.

"It's hard, but if someone you trust tells you it's going to be okay, perhaps working on a way to trust and believe them? It'd help with the uncertainty I think. It's not easy to just trust, believe me, I know that. But... That's why I said working on a way." He smiles, a broad thing as he feels more sure of his footing in this conversation.

He claims both hands, pressing their foreheads together as he kisses each fingertip held between his palms.

"I'm not going to let either of us mess this up because we need therapy. Our pasts sucked and they linger even to this day, haunting us, especially after the tower thing. But, I feel like we know what the other's got going on, just enough to know this isn't likely to be a walk in the park at noon." He claims those lips gently and smiles again, something soft, akin to a lovesick fool.

"The path to healing is a bramble filled nightmare, but we're doing it together. Starting with taking our love and cherishing it without anyone to tell us we can't."

He feels a little bit ashamed now, thinking about all of it, the misery creeping at the back of his mind even at such a time as this, haunting him, taunting him, it feels like a warning and yet...

Will he ever be able to tell what's a warning, and what's an unnecessary weight he's carrying?

"I don't think you'll back out," he admits, softly, just a little bit away from Nicholas' ear. "That's not... I think you'll go through with it, I just..."

Inside, there's a little voice telling him that something will go wrong, that all of it will crash and burn, that he'll ruin everything somehow, that... well, that disaster will come and he won't be able to do anything about it. Thinking about it like that, though, it really sounds so dramatic that he can't even bring himself to say it aloud.

"I'll try... to not be so afraid," he sighs. "When I was younger... I didn't know the world was such a dark place. I was naive, I didn't realize when things were bad, until it had all gotten too far... and everything fell apart."

So now he's too worried... or is he? "How am I supposed to know if it's too negative or... the right amount of worry?"

Does he have the right to be happy? Does he deserve to be afraid like this... because he's daring to reach out and grab hold of something he wants?

[ttauriwanderer]

While he may not be a member of Aevum's echo-based police force, that wasn't going to stop Steven from doing his own little patrol of sorts, keeping an eye out for anything new and unusual or anyone that might need his help. Granted, he wasn't doing so quite as often as usual, with Deidara hiding in his and Ito's place. Someone had to be around to keep an eye on him, after all.

But, since he wasn't actually working during his patrols, he had every opportunity to stop and chat with people on his self given rounds.

Or spirits, in this case. Annoying ones.

"No, I don't have a job for you to do, I can't direct you or anything right now, can't you tell that?" He hissed quietly at the simple little spirit trailing him. Probably a young spirit that hadn't lived more then a couple of lives, or something like that, enough to talk but not really smart. Enough to want to help but not enough to know that Steven couldn't make use of it right now. Or at least not directly...

"Okay, okay, fine, if you want to be helpful, can you go keep an eye on Deidara for me? There you go, that's a good task for you. Thanks. Oh." He stepped around a corner and blinked at the young man suddenly across from him before smiling.

"Hey there! Don't mind me, just uh... talking to myself. Heh." He tried to subtly wave a hand at the little spirit to shoo it away, tilting his head at the new person. "I don't think we've met before, I'm Captain Steven Gobair."

@bloodicdfeathers

[angelictragedy]

Bonding Over Knowledge ||@bloodicdfeathers||

After the talk with Nicholas and his own traverse into trialing this 'date' thing, Nai had come to understand he should perhaps look more into this human ritual. He didn't have his brother to ask, asking Legato would open up too many questions and risk making the man feel unworthy. He wanted to protect the human.

Astarion was... Unhelpful.

Thus, he finds himself where knowledge is freely stored;

The Library.

He'd kindly asked the receptionist who raised a brow at him before, he supposed, noting the feather on his cheek and presumed him to be otherworldly. Or perhaps it was the way he asked for 'books on the human custom of 'dating' please' that had her directing him to a section of 'self help' and history.

It was... Abysmally unhelpful at first, but he'd finally found a book, a quick skim allowing him to note the evolution of this ritual and the modern meanings today. It wasn't until he'd gone in search of finding a seat that he'd noted the figure.

Adorned in clothes he'd seen in old movies, books piled around them, notes being taken perhaps, it was hard to tell. A quick trail of the spines had him noting the other too, seemed to be searching for love rituals. Perhaps another from a time where such things were either unseen or different.

"This pile is near useless information." He motions to a large stack, tapping it gently for good measure. "They're romance novels with procreation scenes. And these are old traditions." He taps another much smaller pile as he circled to touch a chair, pausing to look to the other, book held in a way the cover was visible.

Ways in which the art of Courtship has evolved.

"Do you mind if I sit? Gato won't be a problem, she's a therapy pup." He motions to the beast at his side, the dog's head looking up to the stressed being, inching closer to snuffle their knee. "Seems we are searching for the same answers."

[drunkelreporter]

"There you are." Roberto's voice is a low, easy rumble, still weighed down by the events of Sonare and the Coda, but not nearly as badly as before. He meanders up with his hands in his pockets and a cigarette between his lips, automatically settling downwind or Xuanyu.

"A guy might almost assume you only showed up to steal his kid and sweep away," he says with a little grin. "Might start to worry he'll never see either of his kids again, since they're too busy making heart eyes at each other."

It was cute, how wrapped up in each other they were. Mildly worrisome with how fast they'd fallen, but if they were happy and safe, it was alright.

"How are you two doing? I've heard you've been around town together a whole lot lately. Having fun?"

@bloodicdfeathers

[clxscdeyes]

@bloodicdfeathers

"I have a question." he must find it odd that she'd find him of all people. He's probably heard of what happened and if anything, maybe he's seen the ghosts that had marched their way to Silverbrook. Nonetheless, she is here for that reason.

"Would you be able to show me something?" She didn't know if his abilities were a little bit stronger than before. "I would like to know how to protect myself against spirits a little better."

[aevummarket]

Also purchasing a pet registration for Mo Xuanyu from Mo Dao Zu Shi, stats at /stats, emblems at /emblems, and today is 10/6.

A special item has been delivered to your home and placed in a mailbox that wasn’t there yesterday. The box, and the item both have your name on them.

PET REGISTRATION FORMS 150 Emblems How you gain this creature is up to mun discretion, whether the 'special item' is simply a bundle of all the necessary supplies to take care of your new pet, or the 'special item' is both the supplies and the pet. You can buy an animal from a pet store, or register an animal you have found on your adventures if you so choose. 

ORIGINAL EMBLEM BALANCE: 150 TRANSACTION: 150 CURRENT EMBLEM BALANCE: 0

— 🏵️ Creo

[aevumisles]

Without prior reserve, putting in an app for Mo Xuanyu from Mo Dao Zu Shi! His app can be found under /app, and my ooc is @/stardust-falling.

You feel stillness and motion pressing upon you from all sides. From this, you are stirred, and spurred by your awakening, you step from the long quiet.

You, MO XUANYU, find yourself standing before the Temporal Tower, in a garden seemingly tucked away from the seasons of time. Still, people flock here beneath the borealis that lights the sky above, here to greet you. A Guardian approaches.

Hello…. Echo. Well don’t look so confused, everything is exactly as it was made to be in preparation for your arrival. I would know. Yada yada yada, we hope you enjoy your stay… don’t break anything.

You receive the following:

A House Key. Emblazoned upon it is: 202, Seaside Province

A Standard Issue Phone. It lights up when it manifests in your hand.

A Pendant with a Gold Orb in the center. The guardian hands the item to you without a word, though there does appear to be a glance toward your arms.

Welcome to the Aevum Isles.

— 🏵️ Creo

[enduringdevotion]

Bonded by Circumstance ||@bloodicdfeathers||

After trying to break the idiot old man out of his head strong charge then rushing and almost breaking the door down to get Astarion to go after him, he was now left alone with this strange kid he had no idea who the hell he was.

"Nico, meet my son, Xuan. Xuan, my son Nico. Play nice."

Gods, both of his 'dads' love to adopt the sad looking ones. Now he was left wondering how the other acted as he shouldered the massive hunk of metal on his spine.

The soldier reaches into his pocket, bypassing the smokes as he decides best to be less imposing... Well, as much as one can with a massive gun.

He pulls out a sucker, tearing the plastic off the top and pops it in his mouth, looking around the love hotel. Ugh, it was as bad as he imagined. He rests his gun against the wall carefully, rolling his shoulders to crack them.

He sniffs the air, scenting the space and looked to the other.

"They'll be fine. If anyone can get those two out, it's each other." There's a frown as he tries to place the scent. "Why do I smell blood? You got injuries that need patching?" He imagined Astarion would have already done so, especially seeing his dad's signature clothes on the human.

"Nicholas D. Wolfwood. Whatever Astarion said about me, it's not true, unless it was how cool I am." He flashes the other a grin around the candy, turning his hand over to reveal he was offering the other a sucker too. "You look like you could use something sweet to ease the day."

[drunkelreporter]

It did not take Roberto long to figure out that this place was wrong. Things moved, very little was where it should be, and the people were just as shifty as the locations. Thieves and sneaks, thugs and knives, this was more of an underbelly to the Isle then Rosewood District ever could be.

Roberto was almost, almost tempted to relax in the face of a more familiar setting. These were people he knew how to deal with; the rough and rowdy, the wary and watchful. The people in Arcanus Isle were nice but... that wasn't what he was used to. He was used to the fight for survival in an unfriendly place and this felt far more natural then what he'd seen in Arcanus.

Sonare Isle was alright, for someone who knew how to keep his valuables tucked away, how to appear less then he was, and how to blend in. Or mostly, with the last one. Somehow people still marked him as an Echo, and gave him suspicious looks. No matter, they wrote him off almost as quickly as the people from Arcanus did and didn't stop him from poking around a little.

Or getting lost, which was the most annoying part. As if navigating a city wasn't hard enough, try one that moved.

And had weird, loud, silver rain. He'd been caught in the stuff before he had a chance to take cover and had been rather drenched but rain wasn't a mystery anymore, he could deal with being wet.

What he couldn't deal with was the lack of train back at the station, even as he caught sight of more Echoes here and there. No amount of hanging around brought a train and no amount of calling Astarion or Wolfwood brought an answer. He may have miscalculated.

Why was everything a struggle here? Not the things he was used to either, all the things that seemed simple weren't. What a pain.

And then things got weirder.

Voices that he knew by heart, flickers of movement from the corners of his eyes. Things that made no sense, that couldn't be, but somehow were. He'd caught the smell of familiar perfume once or twice and had shaken it off as thoughts about the past seeping into the present. Nothing more, nothing less.

He stopped telling himself that even after he swore he saw Meryl with her camera and had to double check that it was just a young boy with a very different model. The click had been the same, up until it wasn't.

Something was going on here and he didn't much like it.

Wandering the Pizzicato Road wasn't much better, but it was movement, which was preferable to sitting in one place. The kid with the camera had (for a handful of keys) told Roberto where the road lead 'reliably' and that it otherwise went "wherever Pizzicato wants to go", so he'd decided to explore a bit. Apparently the neo-terriers knew the way, if you were asked nicely and had a treat for them, so he wasn't worried, exactly. But the little map he'd been trying to make in his notebook made not a lick of sense and he'd just resolved to give it up when he saw someone else who looked distinctly lost.

A young man, bit pretty and meek looking, not at all the kind of person, at least by appearances, that would fare well back home.

"Hey there," Roberto said before he thought about it too much. "I've been told the neo-terriers will lead you around if you're lost out here. Here, I got some treats for them before I started exploring." The reporter sticks his pen behind his ear and digs into a pocket for a couple biscuits, stepping over to hold them out for the guy.

It's now physically impossible for Roberto to pass up a younger person who looks like they might need a bit of help. He's going to be very cross with his kids for this later, he's sure.

@bloodicdfeathers

[aevummarket]

I'd like to get an ability unlock for Mo Xuanyu from Mo Dao Zu Shi. His talisman & array creation ability please! Stats are /stats and Emblems are /emblems, today is 10/6!

When you awaken, you feel rekindled. As though some small piece of you has assembled itself back together….

You may create talismans which have effects against spirits.

ABILITY UNLOCK 500 Emblems ALL Abilities and Items listed on a Muse’s application can be bought back at any time. Application unlocks are limited to two (2) abilities/items per Activity Check without exception.

ORIGINAL EMBLEM BALANCE: 650  TRANSACTION: 500 Emblems  CURRENT EMBLEM BALANCE: 150

— 🏵️ Creo

[aevummarket]

I’d like to rank up Mo Xuanyu from Mo Dao Zu Shi to Ardent rank, please. My Stats Page is at /stats, and my threads are /threads. Today is 09/14.

Your experiences have led you to deeper ties in this world. Young Echo, may you cherish them well.

Congrats! Your muse, MO XUANYU has ranked up to Ardent Rank! You now have the following benefits:

Access to Tier 2 of the Marketplace

200 emblems per Activity Check

All other benefits are listed on the RANKS PAGE.

— Mod Leillis  🌸

[aevummarket]

I’d like to purchase an Ability Unlock (Demonic Cultivation) for Mo Xuanyu from Mo Dao Zu Shi. My Stats Page can be found at /stats, and my Emblems can be found at /emblems. Today is 09/01.

When you awaken, you feel rekindled. As though some small piece of you has assembled itself back together….

Your DEMONIC CULTIVATION has been restored to you.

ABILITY UNLOCK 500 Emblems ALL Abilities and Items listed on a Muse’s application can be bought back at any time. Application unlocks are limited to two (2) abilities/items per Activity Check without exception.

ORIGINAL EMBLEM BALANCE: 850  TRANSACTION: 500 Emblems  CURRENT EMBLEM BALANCE: 350

— 🏵️ Creo

[ttauriwanderer]

If you were a deity, what would you be the god of?

wisdom and knowledge

intelligent and trusted, there is rarely a soul who doesn’t hear and value your voice. you act as a guiding light in an array of situations. calm and wise, you offer the deepest and sincerest insights regarding the world’s problems.

Tagged by: @bloodicdfeathers

Tagging: whoever else wants to play

[angelictragedy]

answer & tag 10 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with!

Favorite colour/shade: Greens. I don't know why but I'm obsessed with the colour right now (moss and nature probably)

Last song listened to: Here is where I embarrass myself, BALDUR'S GATE 3 RAP by JT Music - "Hard for a Bard" (DnD Bard Song) Here's the link https://youtu.be/rCneVni8edw?list=PLL3MgIitzRDFLb4mW10PMhiKfz5cErNXE I love it okay it's silly and fun XD I listen to a lot of Citizen Soldier, but this song just tickles me

Last film watched: Last I remember is I finally watched most of interstellar! It was pretty cool

Currently reading: Nada bar some fics I need to read more

Currently craving: Oh, texmex, nachos specifically hhhhh feral for some queso

Currently watching: Youtube mostly, found this silly group called Worst Premade Ever, Silly goobers.

Coffee or tea: Coffee! I love coffee, caramel flat white my beloved

Tagged by: @mischiefmodig

Tagging: @bluestringpuppeteer @brokeassgoing @bloodicdfeathers @liightaga @hypnoticallycaucasian @ anyone who's down!

[enduringdevotion]

Ripples Become Waves ||@bloodicdfeathers||

It'd been a couple weeks since the rain, since the meeting in the toxic rain. Of them bonding and somewhat dancing around whatever it was Nicholas and Xuanyu has become. They'd grown close, he'd stolen the other's hand whenever he could, sitting close to him to just feel his heat, hell, Nicholas even stole little kisses here and there just to see the other blush.

Though they'd break away whenever the 'parents' came around. It was beginning to irritate him. Xuanyu was yet to properly move in and he didn't even sleep in the house, just crashed in the back yard. It felt safer, somehow.

So he'd finally asked Xuanyu on a date. Took a page out of Nai's book and suggested an aquarium. He's never seen fish before, even since being here beyond films. So, in his newly made shawl with the very same flowers suggested by Xuan, a half corset, open long-sleeve rolled up, tight pants laced up the side of his legs and his slightly heeled boots, he prepares for what he hopes is a good day.

With his phone secured, keys, ride ready to be ordered - which was also a new and frightening thing - and a good chunk of change on his card, he was ready.

Knocking on the door shouldn't be so nerve wracking. Nor should standing there with bouquet of forget-me-nots, blue roses and Bethlehem’s stars. The beautiful, unattainable hope he yearned for that the other brought, that feeling of rebirth, a cleansing he wasn't quite ready to fully see himself, but he could feel.

He felt stupid, face warming as he shifted on his feet, forcing himself to calm, to slow. No gun, no devil rain, no war, no desert, no shitty Aunts. Just he, Xuanyu and hopefully, some fish.