#but at the same time I want her to stay a celestrian so.. maybe that wouldn't work

[void-kissed]

..Okay so these were not the ideas I was having before but take this WIP anyway

[sarunohadaki]

DQXI/DQIX Crossover

Crossover week: Home | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

I love Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. It might be my favorite game of all time. It wasn’t even that long ago that I was hankering for a novelization of it.

Therefore, I think the DQXI cast should all hang out in 9’s storyline and shake things up a bit! Because what can be better than jamming together the two best Dragon Quest games ever??? (except 8 too but you didn’t hear me say that)

You might want previous knowledge of DQIX and XI for this (long) post unless you're ready to be spoiled AND confused.

Genre: Gen/adventure

Summary: Eleven’s a celestrian who has been preparing his whole life to take up the mantle of guardian of Angel Falls to help deliver his people to the Almighty's Realm. Once he finally procures the last fygg and proffers it to the Great World Tree, Eleven thinks easy life is ahead of him. Little does he expect the bedlam that follows, nor the long journey that awaits him, packed with numerous humans in the Protectorate whom he's never met before, yet feel strangely familiar...

Characters

Erik

A worldly thief with a cool head. His past is shrouded in mystery, preferring to keep mum about the more intricate details of his life.

Serena

A gentle priest with a penchant for helping the unfortunate and downtrodden. Spurred on by Abbot Jack's recovery, she seeks to explore the world and help others in need.

Veronica

A fiery mage who knows what she wants in life and isn't afraid to get it. Once freed from drab Abbey life, she agrees to follow her twin, Serena, across the world.

Sylvando

A traveling minstrel, he is never in one place long. When he encounters the team, Sylv can't help but feel drawn to their noble efforts to save the world.

Jade

A martial artist, Jade knows a thing or two about fighting for what she believes in. However, there are some things kicks and punches can't solve. She joins the team seeking an answer to her own questions, though refuses to explain further...

Rab

A merchant who stands stoutly by Jade's side. With a kind face and patient stance, he's been through his fair share of trouble and wants to restore peace to the world.

Hendrik

Originally a thorn in the team's side, Hendrik has a change of heart after a particularly eye-opening event at Wormwood. He resolves to join the team, not only to save the world, but make up for his past transgressions.

Eleven

A silent hero dressed in weird toggery who's super sweet inside. Since the humans of Angel Falls are his first full exposure to the Protectorate, they’re also the first to be subjected to Eleven's stranger habits, like not talking and… staring into space.

I saved the best boy for last! If I ever wrote this fic, I would make him a complete silent protagonist. I love the idea of him not… lazing about, but stumbling into the plot with the help of Stella yelling in his ear. And of people pouring their hearts out to him while he just… 🧍

For comedic effect, I think it’d be cute if he had really strong opinions, but because he doesn’t speak, it’s either expressed on his face and actions. Also, since El has limited experience with humans, he’s gonna get stuff wrong and act Funky sometimes.

I love the idea of him visiting the Protectorate and dragging the rest of the team up there, and them being like, “dude… you didn’t tell us you were a celestrian” and he’s just smiling, although I feel it more plausible that the team doesn’t take rides up to the Protectorate with him. Not sure on that one.

Plot

There would be so much worldbuilding with this story! I want to do more with the Gittish Empire, which would require me to research canon. I feel like there’s more there than I might think, just because I last played the game when I was a lot younger and so I can’t remember much about that part of the game. I’d like to have the fic be canon-compliant but it’s not that big a deal if I had to diverge in some places.

I also thought it’d be cool to have preexisting characters from 9 show up, like Erinn and Corvus. But also sprinkle in the idea that the DQ 11 cast had all known each other in a past life and that’s why they fit together so well. I don’t think they figure that out, however.

One cool thing I just thought about: Zere Rocks is a copy of Zere that Mason made out of rock. How fucked up would it be if something had happened to Mia and she ended up in Zere Rocks? Or maybe there is a rock copy of her in Zere Rocks, but she was in Zere for a time? I already know that Erik and Mia had grown up in Dourbridge, though.

It’s cool little things like that which make it so much fun to try and finagle pieces of two stories together. But that’s why it’s tricky, too. Each of the characters has to feel like they belong in the universe and have a purpose.

I’ve already decided that El is going to recruit people often by having a shared interest in taking a specific enemy down. For example, the twins, who had grown up in the Abbey, agree to help him save Abbot Jack then join him on his adventure afterward.

While the major plot points of DQ 9 would probably stay the same, I think there’s potential for refreshing new points of plot given the variety of new characters.

(P.s. I don't know if it's just me, but Jasper gives off huge Goresby-Purrvis vibes, so he'd prolly take that cheeta's place as an antagonist.)

[guildofempyreans]

I feel like talking about something kinda-sorta more casual again,,, last time I talked about certain character’s name origins... This time I wanna talk about... hmm....

Concept Design/Portrait/Character Story Choices I Made Before I Finalized Them!! Yea!!!

Because a lot of characters appearances look very different than how they are now. And even some characters acted differently, or some “concept” characters who no longer exist had a similar role to these “finalized” characters! And a lot of characters had aspects of themselves & their reasons for being in Maginia changed... 

It’s all very fun to reminisce about, for me 😅.

Anyway, again, stuff under rm because this one is Long. Let’s start with...

1) Zandiel

Uh... His primary design never looked any different NHGNKG... This entire fic partially started because of a sort of domino effect that started with “wow I’ve never made Hero M1 in EOX before! Maybe I should! Surely this will not come back to alter my life in any form :) ...Anyway I want this dude to have bright green hair, brown eyes, dark skin, Voice 8 or 15, and... name? Hmmm, Ain? Maybe? Zandiel...?”

Soooo... yeah. His design/personality was the same through the earliest concepts to right now. Of course, as he started to become “the protag of an EOX fic I wanna write” I had to start thinking of his actual story & abilities!

2) Siegril

His portrait/personality was the same throughout. Also I can’t remember exactly what he did before I decided “he’s an assassin who was sent to kill Zandy”, but now that I think about it, I think he was always that. 

Zandiel & Siegril gave me the least amount of trouble. Absolute kings.

Anyway, Siegirl has had some slight cosmetic changes that actually started happening AFTER I started the fic. Like, his hair became poofier (in drawings), he has big yellow bubble accessories that hold the front part of his hair together instead of those tiny gold cylinder accessories, and his ears are shorter/slightly rounder than Celestrian’s ears.

He never did have those Warlock arm-tubes, though. And boy howdy do I have a reason fo--

3) Ylva

Alright, now here’s where we start REALLY getting into changes.

Originally, the character who fulfilled the role of “Wing’s owner & an experienced explorer, also a guide of sorts” was actually going to be Dragoon 2 (Eyepatch Dragoon), and her name wasn’t Ylva (I forgot her name,,,). She was practically a different character.

She and Wing were going to be a pair of “veteran explorers” who viewed things much more seriously. You actually wouldn’t have met them until the Lush Woodlands, where they would be helping beginner adventurers through that labyrinth.

And then at another point in OtL’s concept phase, Ylva was originally going to have the appearance of Therian F! At this point, her name actually did become Ylva, and you would meet her & Wing the same way you do in the finalized version! 

Though, at this time, the tavern Zan & Sieg met them at WAS actually going to be... K... Kv-- bro I can’t even say it. Anyway, stan Ethis.

Alright, back to Ylva, I eventually ended up changing her design to this one, and things were pretty much set from there! Earthlain F babey,,,

4) Tenmaar

At first... Tenmaar was simple enough. At first, his overall role was going to be fulfilled by a dude named “Neo”, and Neo had the appearance of Masurao M2. He also acted much more chipper, but in a mischief-causing way. I guess if you wanted to compare Neo to any of the final characters, he was like a mix of finalized Luxes/Alverion/Kor?

Anyway, this guy still used a Drive Blade, and you still had your first “real” meeting with him in the Eastern Shrine. The scene played out slightly differently, where “Neo” was actually in the middle of fighting the Blossombeast itself, and he ends up joining the Empyrean guild after that (Siegril was still wary of Neo, similarly to the way he is with Tenmaar. However, for Neo, it was more because of the way he acted as opposed to Tenmaar’s whole “mana” deal).

Eventually, for one reason or another (I’m pretty sure it’s because I decided on Luxes being a character) I decided I wanted to change this “Neo” lad’s personality. And I wanted an appearance change along with it.

AND THIS IS WHERE IT ALL WENT TO SHIT FOR A BIT.

TENMAAR (whose name probably wasn’t even finalized yet) ENDED UP BECOMING THE MOST DIFFICULT CHARACTER TO DECIDE ON A DESIGN AND PESONALITY FOR.

We had Fencer 1, Dark Hunter 1, Highlander M, Shogun 1 (yes, Leonidas’ final design), Ninja 1, Landsknecht 1, Masurao 1 of course, and... probably more that I considered momentarily, but these were the primary ones I was juggling between for 3000 years. We had all kinds of personality ideas, too.

In the end, I was starting to lean towards Fencer or Dark Hunter, but felt that he and Siegril would have felt a bit too similar to me if he was the Dark Hunter. I can’t fully explain it, but I just didn’t like it, and there was no way I was changing Sieg’s design for Tenmaar’s sake. So I ended up with Masu 1... an astounding conclusion to the worst design-choosing tale in this story: going from Masurao to Masurao Again.

And in Fencer’s case, his design just didn’t feel right for Tenmaar.

Aaand yep I’m very happy with Masu 1 Tenmaar. Damn ya tits fat, what’s ya pronouns

5) Biscotti

My guy was gonna look like Buccaneer 1 for a bit, actually.

Yeah he was still gonna be dressed like a medic, as Biscotti was always intended to be a medic, but he was originally gonna be,.... Pretty Different. In looks and in personality. Much less chill & joke-y. In the end, I much preferred the idea of Biscotti acting the way he does now, so I dropped the old personality. Soon, I changed the looks, too.

Also, for a while, Biscotti was originally going to be a part of the Seafarers’ crew, which meant that you literally wouldn’t have met him until WHEN THE SEAFARERS PULL UP--

When I got to the point where I decided that Biscotti would run a hospital in Maginia (design & personality change already done by this point), he was originally going to have a husband who worked as an apothecary (sidenote: Kor & Ruki didn’t exist at this point. Sure there’s nothing wrong with 3 apothecaries but I’ll just put that out there because why not--).

You may be wondering why I keep saying Biscotti and not including Flynn, well that’s because:

6) Flynn & Sheria

While Flynn’s design stayed the same the entire time, his role was much different. He was originally not “Biscotti’s little brother who works as the Leader of the Redray Rescue Division” (there was a brief moment where I decided they straight up weren’t even related) but instead...

“Sheria’s retainer who traveled around dungeons with her as a duo and was Biscotti’s long-lost brother, though he had no recollection of Biscotti” 

Yeah... Flynn’s role and story sure has changed a lot. He & Sheria were originally going to be a duo that you’d meet every once in a while in towns or labyrinths, where they’d both be strolling around & having a grand ol’ fun time every time you saw them. 

The Empyreans would always wonder if the two were gonna be alright, and just HOW they’ve been able to make it this far. Not just because it’s only two of them, but because of how frivolous they seemed to be inside of the labyrinths.

Still, the two would help the Empyreans whenever they crossed paths, and would eventually both join the guild!

7) Kaida

Kaida was originally going to have the appearance of Protector 2 (pigtails protector), and you would have met her-- unconscious-- in the Small Orchard where her friend (this character ended up being dropped, but her name was Perrine) would ask the Empyreans for help because of a monster (Owlbeast) that attacked Kaida.

I can’t say much about what Kaida “was and was not going to be like in terms of aspirations and stuff” because, at this point of ET: OtL, I haven’t given much info about her in the actual story. So, you know, wouldn’t want to spoil or anything.

Just know that she was originally going to act more gung-ho, and her friend was the more sensible one who’d try and stop her from being reckless. Kaida & Perrine would then be like Sheria & Flynn: a duo that the Empyreans occasionally see in town/dungeons and eventually end up recruiting.

==

Alright, that’s that for now. My arms hurt... Though one more thing: 

Originally, EVERYONE was meant to join the Empyrean guild. See how Biscotti didn’t own a hospital and Sheria wasn’t leading her own guild. Yep, they were all originally intended to be full-time Empyreans. Eventually it kinda hit me that “Hey, not everything here has to be centered around the Empyrean Guild. Oh, and not everyone HAS to join them, either.” so... yep there’s that!

This was a lotta fun to write & reminisce about, like I said earlier ghkgn... 

And if you’d wanna see any more posts about “concept character designs/story” or have any questions about a character in general, lemme know 👀👀

[violetren]

I gotta wonder what it's like to be the companions in DQ IX.

'cause unlike the other games in the franchise where you meet and recruit fully fleshed characters that exist in the world, in DQ IX you go to Patty's Party Planning and put out an ad.

Then you build the companion just the same as you built your player character and off adventuring you go. Friends in arms that don't talk or have any connection to the world or story beyond fighting beside you.

So imagine from their point of view...

You answer an advert calling for a fighter, or a priest, or whatever and meet an adventurer who is still a little green looking, but has more experience than you, and willing to pay for your gear, for your room and board, and even for a church service should the worst happen. They’re earnest about helping, and seem to really appreciate the little every day things. The very image of a small town hero, except sometimes, sometimes you catch them looking up at the sky with a wistful expression, like they’re homesick or something.

So you follow them around and life's pretty great. The work is hard but they keep their promise to keep you prepared, giving you items, making sure you have not just serviceable gear but the best of whatever kingdom you're in. There is some awkwardness when they start talking to thin air in graveyards, or after talking to someone whose relative has just died, but when they suddenly know where to find missing belongings, and obscure clues, you decide to wave it off.

Speaking to the dead might not be normal, but it always leads to helping someone, and if that weren’t rewarding enough, a lot of the people you help give you actual rewards. Money, items, gear, or even information that helps even more people.

Then one day your boss starts talking to someone named Stella. Everywhere. After talking with clients, or informants, after seeing something interesting nearby, or even just out in the field impromptu of nothing having back and forths about which monsters drop which items. You get the impression that this Stella must be quite the character by how often your boss looks disgruntled, or amused, or often a mix of both in quick succession.

You ask one day why Stella hasn’t moved on like the others. Your boss winces and then patiently explains that Stella isn’t a ghost but a faerie, and an unofficial 5th party member. It sounds insane, but you’ve been with them for a while, and whether its true or not it hasn’t compromised their abilities, or the standard of security and comfort you’ve grown used to travelling with them.

Until they walk you to the middle of a forest path and start assessing a fallen tree, talking about whether it has the power it needs, and something called benevolessence. You start sharing looks with your fellow hires wondering if maybe it is time to move on when suddenly your boss ushers you all towards this fallen tree, and the weirdest thing you’ve experienced since you started travelling with this stranger who stares at the stars like they’ve touched them, and who touches the names carved into the base of village guardian statues with a near nostalgic smile.

They usher you towards a fallen tree, and between one breath and the next you end up standing in train car and there is a tiny flying woman smacking at the controls cursing up a storm when they don’t respond.

You assume this is Stella but neither she nor your boss pay you the slightest bit of attention as they puzzle stuff out.

Then Stella turns into a little ball of light and hides in the collar of your bosses shirt, and your boss ushers you back outside, declaring that you’re all gonna go fight the mysterious knight that manged to run rampant through the kings castle. The knight that fought through the commander, and all his men, that witnesses said looked like a possessed corpse.

No biggie.

Not much actually changes. You train. You get resources together. You fight. You win. Your party is now hailed as heroes within the kingdom.

The next time your boss ushers you into the train, it shudders. Stella still doesn’t pay you the slightest bit of attention as she curses at the controls some more, and then demands that your boss head over to the next kingdom and save more people because apparently that’ll make the train fly.

You figure, flying train? Why not? It’s already invisible from the outside after all.

So you go to the next town and there is an honest to the Almighty plague going through the town. Except the plague isn’t a plague it’s a curse, and you don’t even have to listen to the half conversation happening nearby to know Stella and your boss are gonna jump right into solving it. You’re already making sure you have antidotal herbs in your bag. You don’t know what good they’ll do against a curse super virus but it’s not like you’ve got much else.

The pattern holds. You prep. You fight. You win.

This time you go around and check everyone that was hurt by the curse, taking the Dr guy that helped rebuild the seal while you fought the embodiment of the curse, making sure everyone is ok.

Then it’s a long trek back to the invisble train.

This time it lights up when you all step inside. You’ve never hear Stella so excited as she ignores you. Your boss is obviously excited too.

You’re not even sure if they meant for you to be on board when they take off. But you are. And you watch out the window as the train begins to levitate, and then fly, the forest, the kingdom, your home and everything you’ve ever known stretching out beneath you, and then so much more. The world laid out beneath you.

It’s extraordinary.

But not as extraordinary as what you see next.

The world tree. The place departed souls return to when they die. The center piece of your worlds mythology, religion, and culture. And beneath it a citadel. Partially destroyed but still magnificent.

You’re in heaven. Or as close to it as anyone who is still living can be. And your boss just strides out into that citadel like they belong, Stella safely tucked away in their collar. They don’t ask you to follow, but you do because how could you pass up the chance not to?

There are guardians, Celestrians, literal angels, everywhere, and they embrace your boss like they are family. No one speaks to you, and you wonder if its because they consider you beneath them, or if you’re as invisible to them up here as they are to you down there. With nothing better to do, and too scared to wander around unless you literally get cast out of heaven you stick close to your boss, listening to how the place ended up in disrepair, and why your boss doesn’t have wings, and all about how some magic fruit is gone.

You stand vigil as your boss prays for their wings to come back and get front row seats to the story of the vision they had after they had passed out praying. A story of a force that wants to destroy all mortals, and a force that wanted to defend them, and how they’ve been tasked with finding the missing magic fruit.

Filled with purpose your boss marches back to the train, which as it turns out, is golden up here in kinda-heaven, and you scramble to stay with them, not wanting to risk getting left up there with a bunch of angels that seem to see right through you, literally. Inside Stella seems to be having a small freak out.

It’s becoming increasingly clear that Stella isn’t actually the driver of this train, but the boss either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care as they fill her in on their new quest. Stella is all too happy jump onto the plan, clearly hoping she’ll find the real driver somewhere along the way.

And just like that you’re off.

You don’t land where you took off. Instead you land near a big blue tree on a totally different Island. You follow your boss, and climb down from the train. Down the tree to the ground, happy to have solid mortal soil beneath your feet again. When you reach the bottom your boss has already walked up a small hill and is surveying the area, seemingly enjoying being back in the mortal world too, even if there is still that same old wistfulness behind their refreshed determination to go out and do something good.

They turn to you as you join them on the hill and smile, greeting you with a “long time no see.”

You shake your head but smile back. They might be The Hero, but you have a feeling they’re gonna need all the help they can get, and if you’re the one fighting at their back well then doesn’t that make you a hero too?

You gesture for them to lead the way, not point hanging around when you’ve got a world to save.

[bluefairykino]

so to go with both the fic i wrote earlier (and my idea for a dq9 novelization), here’s the main squad of the party! made with this

do take note that these are not their appearances clothing-wise! those are based on actual clothing items from the game (these i suppose could be casual clothes??? pjs??? idk) with, like, a few adjustments. these were mostly made to get physical appearances figured out.

and of course phoenix’s wings and halo aren’t there most of the time bUT YKNO AHAHAH

i do have ideas for characters surrounding the unlockable classes! but those guys haven’t been designed yet so i’ll post em later

further details of characters below the cut! includes basic design ideas, too.

Phoenix

Character Notes -baby girl who can and will kick ur ass -actual age is unknown but she physically looks around 18 or so. maybe slightly older than that. -physically mute. aquila gave her a magical pad of paper (never runs out) and a pen with everlasting ink (they’d have stuff like that up in the observatory im sure) and she mostly uses that to communicate. she does know sign language but can never be certain if someone else will so she doesn’t use it often. -always been super curious about the protectorate! but has rly only been limited to angel falls before falling so doesn’t know much about anywhere beyond that. -sees aquila as a fatherly figure, but doesn’t quite know how to admit it to him.

Design Notes -somewhere between 5′3′’ and 5′4′’ -thats four braids there not two (two in front two in back) -wears the full celestial clothing set. all the time. don’t take this away from her ITS HER LAST CONNECTION TO HOME -uses swords and shields only

Lepus

Character Notes -stinky bastard man (ok not rly) -BORN TO DIE ORIENTATION IS A FUCK -if he’s attracted to them he’ll flirt with them -tried his advances on phoenix once. it kinda worked but then she saved him during battle and he’s been head-over-heels for the woman since then. -doesn’t actually join the party at first, just kinda shows up a bunch for a while. actually joins during the gleeba saga. he and phoenix have a couple heart-to-hearts before that, tho. -bottom -lost his leg in an incident he doesn’t like to talk about. he’s fine now with the prosthetic and all but phantom pains and chafing and the stupid thing coming loose are all things so that sucks

Design Notes -5′5′’, almost 5′6′’. so close, yet so far. -wears dark robe/macabre mantle variant. purple bit is a light blue and main robe is dark beige-ish color -white tights. pant leg that’d cover prosthetic is cut short, tho -has gloomy gloves/murky mittens, but reddish part is dark blue -the sandals shown in the pic are right. yes he only wears it on the one foot. -uses solely knives. no shield. only stab.

Volans

Character Notes -baby boy. baby -srsly he’s like 16 who let this child hold a polearm -v bottom of the hierarchy in stornway’s guard. actually p tough but has serious anxiety and is super afraid of letting everyone down. -admires princess simona’s unending determination!! he wants to be like her. -joins phoenix to go fight the wight knight. ends up going with her on her journey as a whole in order to train and improve. -make him cry and phoenix will actually stab you. she won’t hesitate bitch

Design Notes -5′4′’ -black variant of the ‘mail’ armor set (with accents in various shades of purple) -similarly colored variants of the kneecaps, sabatons, and gauntlets. -no headgear! he prefers having his head exposed for some personal reasons -spears and shields over here

Crux

Character Notes -nonbinary -crux says fuck gender -yes they chose their name and yes it is meant to be similar to what u might be thinking rn -joins when phoenix and vorans go to zere. why? who tf knows -kinda creepy sometimes???? but nice nonetheless. -talks to themselves a lot for some reason. tends to deny it when confronted bout the whole thing, tho.

Design Notes -6 feet tall on the dot -variant of the angel’s robe w/ red replaced with a v pale blue -are blue tights a thing???? well they are now -the gloves in the pic are accurate -grey boots -basically a silver variant of the circlets with a blue gem instead of a pink one -staves!

Carina

Character Notes -mischievous lil lady -how old is she??? we just don’t know -teases LITERALLY EVERYONE in the party. nobody is safe. -might know that phoenix is a celestrian??? might know a few certain other things she probably shouldn’t??? oh dear -joins in coffinwell to help the town after doing all she could on her own. -might actually be some sort of magical spirit thing tbh who knows

Design Notes -5′7′’ -princess’ robe! but with shades of white/grey and pink in place of the yellow/gold and red bits respectively -marquess’ mittens -dark pink heels -pink and white variant of the magical hat -wands!

Mensa

Character Notes -5′3′’ -rambunctious lil girl -aaalways trying to one-up everyone and also herself. -a student of that grandmaster guy from the martial artist quests, but he focuses more on his other students than her and she ain’t happy -joins when the squad goes to find abbot jack. ends up staying in order to become strong enough to please her master -REALLY does not like lepus for some reason -might have a crush on phoenix. just a lil one. or maybe a huge one.

Design Notes -dragon dress w/ pale green sash and sleeves cut off -training trousers underneath the dress -she also has these things -same boots as the pic -not in pic but she has a long dark green ribbon holding her lil ponytail thing up!

[void-kissed]

"When I look to the night sky.. All I can think about are the others. The rest of our kind. They have taken their places at last, and will shine there eternally. ..We were meant to have joined them there, once. We were meant to be stars - but now, beneath those starry skies, we're still, and will always be, together."

(Anyone is welcome to comment on and reblog my work if desired, as long as my DNI is respected! Tag list and description are under the readmore.)

Tag list: @sol-rbs | @dragonsmooch | @bugsband | @sunlight-ships | @friezaforce | @hallowed-nebulae | @stargazer-sims | @potionomic | @detective-with-one-arm | @deepsea-loves | @sunshimm | @artificervaldi | @thatslikesometaldude (To be tagged in my work in the future, please see this post!)

This is a render that I've been working on this evening - it's my first one using Ardea's new outfit, which was a bit of a pain to try and approximate through MMD but I'm happy with how this piece turned out in the end! It maybe isn't the most outwardly romantic of renders, but I still think the vibes are good ^-^

I've had the phrase "we who were meant to be stars" in my head for a while, which describes Pavo and Ardea perfectly, so.. I wanted to make something based aroud that. The reason for it is that both of us are Celestrians, whose eventual fate is to become stars in the sky once the World Tree Yggdrasil bears fruit. When fyggbloom does finally happen, it unfortunately coincides with the Observatory being attacked, which is the incident that causes Ardea to fall out of the sky and lose her wings and halo. However, once the game comes to a close, the Celestrians finally achieve their prophesised fate to become stars - with the exception of Pavo, who remains on the Protectorate due to her work with the Rapportal. The player also stays on the Protectorate due to having become mortal by this point, but in their (and also Ardea's) case they are also tasked with continuing to directly be a Guardian and protect the mortals from monsters. That's why the phrase fits them both.

(It also applies to my other DQIX self-insert, Linaria, who is also a Celestrian - but, the reason why she doesn't become a star is either due to having left the world entirely by that point in her normal course of events, or it is the same as Ardea's - i.e. being tasked with staying on the Protectorate to continue helping mortals directly - in AUs where she replaces Ardea as my "player character replacement" for the game. It was through RPing as her that I came up with the phrase, actually.)

Thank you very much for taking the time to read all of this!! It means a lot to me that you have done so ^-^