#elyse

[hircines-hunter]

Early morning sun ☀️

For @umbracirrus

[sonokido]

Y'all have your favourites but are we not talking about crocodile lady?

"That 'crocodile lady' is named Elyse Parker, and she's the captain of the Typhoons!! Don't you FORGET it!"

[worldsendramen]

i ws gonna wait until i thought of somethingto put in the leftover blank spaces but i am Very impatient. so

baahhhhhhh judah jumpscare. the other guys are there too hes just that much of an eyesore

[autumnshowell]

who: @elysiumkerr, @photoaria where: Elyse's place

"You ever think back to twenty-thirteen when all the music was like, inexplicably happy and like, frolicky?" she asks, catching a stray thought out of the starfield that is her mind; Elyse and Aria have been setting up, or tearing down; she's been pretty checked out while they went about things, and she spares a glance over to the two of them to see how the shoot is going. Elyse had expressed a need for some photography, and Autumn had, in a moment of oddly uncharacteristic social bravado, decided to eschew her hermetic nature and put Aria's name forward; she kept odd hours, sure, but so did Elyse, as far as she knew, and Autumn was certainly no stranger to being a night owl.

"Like that one Pharrel song - Happy? Or the Boom Clap song from Fault in Our Stars. We need to go back to that, I think." Maybe not - she'd only been fourteen back then. and the real world was some far off nebulous thing.

[thetavolution]

I wasn't tagged for these, but I wanted to talk about this haha. So this is from the BG3 Wedding Season Tag Game!

Food - What kind of food and drink is being served at the reception? Is there a lush feast or simple fare? Is there a wedding cake or some other kind of traditional wedding food?

Gale and Tessa / Gale and Vaira

Gale would dominate the food. He just would. He wouldn't be able to cook for the wedding because he's too busy getting married, but he would carefully decide who is in charge of the food. It'd be his favorite chef in Waterdeep. If we're in the universe where he's marrying Tessa, he'd also bring in a chef from her hometown. He would do his research on who is the best because Tessa would have no idea.

It would be a lush feast and that is perfectly curated to their taste. Gale is less concerned with traditional foods and more about what sounds good, and what their friends would enjoy. His mother, Morena, would 100% take over wine duty. I feel it in my bones.

The Dekarios family most likely has their family dishes that have to be at every function. While I subscribe to the thought that he's an only child, I do believe he has a lot of extended family. He'd also count on his aunt insisting on cooking that eel pie she always brings. She's convinced the whole family asks for it. (They do not.)

Tessa has a few dishes she'd want. She'd be grateful that Gale took care of the chefs. She also comes from a large family. (She's one of 6 kids with plenty of cousins.) The wedding would be huge and she also knows her dad would insist on bringing moonshine. Although she would go back and forth on actually inviting dear ol' dad to the wedding. Gale would support her either way despite fearing he'd ruin the wedding. It's up in the air if he would actually ruin the wedding.

Vaira would just want a lot of protein and she would trust Gale's judgement on the food. She doesn't know anything about food on Faerûn and gith only really eat if they have to. Gale would help her gain an appreciation for food though.

The wedding cake would be magical. It would be layered with several flavors rather than just one. People would have options. It would be oh so slightly enchanted. Since it's made ahead of time, Gale was probably more hands on with the cake. There'd be a perfect replica of him and his partner on top, of course. I think he'd be delighted and a little freaked out how much it looked like them.

There would also be so much alcohol at this wedding.

People will talk about the food at this wedding for years to come. The wedding industry in Waterdeep will hear the phrase "I want food as good as that Dekarios wedding, except for that eel pie" for decades.

Wyll and Minty / Wyll and Lamia

Wyll would lean into the traditional wedding foods and what you'd find in Baldur's Gate. He would also want traditional foods from the culture of whoever he was marrying. He wants the wedding to feel like home for both of them. Yes, he has dignitaries to impress, but his spouse's happiness is more important.

They would also have the traditional Baldurian wedding cake. Right now, I'm influenced by historical British royalty for the upper echelon of Baldur's Gate. They often had an 8-tiered fruit cake for weddings back then. I've tried the recipe for one of these older cakes and they're honestly not half-bad.

Minty would want traditional Kara-Tur foods, like Shan sao fruit stew, roast duck, shark fin soup, fish, prawns, rice, and noodles to represent longevity. Wyll would have actual chefs from Kara-Tur come in to help make everything more authentic. He'd also get advice from Minty's mother. Minty's mom would be the one to make sure they have red twill cakes alongside the traditional wedding cake.

Lamia would just want anything she thinks tastes good. I wish I had more to say for her, but I honestly don't think she'd have a lot of thoughts on the food. She'd just ask for a couple of dishes and let the Ravengards figure out the rest.

Lae'zel and Laura

Lae'zel does not care. Just make sure there's meat and plenty of food.

Laura would want more of an outdoor, picnic-like affair. There'd be homemade bread, fruits, apple butter, soup, Shepherd's pie, and the like. It'd all be rustic.

Instead of cake, Laura would have a pie table with homemade pies and tarts of all kinds. She'd make everything herself and it'd be a very small affair. Lae'zel would be able to tolerate it because it was an intimate affair.

Halsin and Ingrid / Halsin and Paloma

Halsin wouldn't have a wedding per se. It'd be something different. I do headcanon that he wants to settle down in his own way. I think his days of just going his own way are over and now he wants a partner by his side. He's still poly! He's just less "we're just two ships passing in the night" about it. He wants a family to call his own.

But weddings are still too traditional and feel too much like he is staking a claim in a person. He is happy to celebrate his relationship with his community though, and to openly show his love. You could argue that's what a wedding is, but sometimes how you frame it is important.

Halsin and Ingrid would throw a simple party where they would plant a tree together. They would be able to watch it age together. Then they would just have a nice outdoor gathering with friends, food, and drink. (Although Halsin would not imbibe.)

Fun fact: I created Ingrid long before I played BG3 and knew anything about Halsin, but even back then her favorite food was Russian honey cake.

Needless to say, their event would have honey cake.

Paloma and Halsin would have something more concrete. It would be a simple commitment ceremony of sorts. Just in an openly committing to take care of each other and love each other as a family. This is also partially due to the fact Halsin would become a step-dad. This ceremony would also be about giving the kids a sense of stability.

Paloma would want to make sure everyone was well fed, of course. It'd be more like a large potluck or you could compare it to a barn raising wedding. People would bring casseroles, soups, vegetables, fruits, and tarts. If you're thinking of a cottagecore inspired picnic, that's basically it. Paloma would also make goat cheese, honey, and fruit crostinis.

And yes, there would still be honey cake and a honey pear tart.

Astarion and Bex / Astarion and Lamia

Astarion would just need blood, but he'd still have so many opinions on food. He would want the best of the best, real highfalutin stuff. Astarion would want elven food. I like the idea of him trying to get in touch with the life he lost out on and using his wedding as part of that.

He would want the most elaborate and rich wedding cake you've ever seen. Whatever is popular for weddings, he will not be doing. His wedding is too special to be just like every other wedding you've been to. He'd pull some shit like Bonaparte did on his wedding day where he got a pastry chef to make a unique cake. Astarion might even put aside his pride to get a recommendation of pastry chefs from Gale, of all people.

Astarion would totally be a bridezilla. This is important, okay? He's finally found family and belonging. And it's a day where he gets to really matter. So you better make his stupid, giant wedding cake (dessert?) just right.

Both Bex and Lamia would be the chill ones. In Lamia's case, that's a terrifying prospect.

Bex, who has worked as a professional cook, would have a lot of thoughts on food. Sometimes, she and Astarion be on the same page. Other times, they would not. Bex would be annoyed because Astarion doesn't even remember how some stuff tastes, but insists on having it because of optics.

They're the kind of couple that you can watch go at it over stupid shit and then they're over it in the next five minutes, as if it never happened. Outside of the food, Bex would sort of let Astarion have his way though. She's not persnickety about weddings in general.

Lamia just wants to be the center of attention, but she's so much trashier than Astarion. They would argue about her terrible, terrible taste in everything.

Lamia would suggest simple, filling foods. It would drive Astarion up a wall because, I'm sorry, is this a wedding for basic bitches? No, no, no, we're having the best. Lamia wouldn't care that much about the food, but suggesting "peasant food" to rile him up would amuse her.

They would also have to make sure Lamia's bestie, Allie, just gets a ton of meat. I don't even think they'd have to cook it for her.

Viktor and Barcus

God, could these two not give less of a fuck. They care, but only in the sense of "is it good? Cool." Barcus would have some Underdark favorites at the wedding though. They would have deep rothé steak because it is a special occasion.

Overall, they'd have simple, but good food. Gale would have opinions, but he'd really only tell his spouse about it. Astarion would gossip with Shadowheart by how basic it is, unlike his wedding.

Elyse and Rolan

Rolan isn't a bridezilla... but he's pushing it. He is a perfectionist through and through. Everything has to be the best. He's also a little insufferable after Lorroakan. I say this about him with love.

Lia and Cal would constantly make fun of him (lovingly) and Elyse would be the more laidback one. I also think Rolan would also really want to show off to Elyse's fancy pants family even though she wouldn't care about what they think.

Rolan had nothing growing up and now can have anything he wants. He would ask for the best of the best. It'd be based on what he read about in books growing up. Books full of royals and aristocrats stuffing their faces with rich foods. Of course, he'd also make sure that Elyse, Lia, and Cal's favorites were present. He's not totally blinded by his perfectionism.

But it'd be a huge feast nonetheless. There'd be things like venison, roasted pig, poached duck, lobster, fruits, cheeses, breads, and a plethora of vegetables.

They wouldn't have a wedding cake. Since one of Elyse's favorite foods is croquembouche, they would decide to do that instead. Of course, there will be other sweets for guests to choose from. Rolan has thought of everything.

I find food fascinating and could talk forever. That lead to this. I'm always open to random food asks although I do not foresee anyone taking me up on that.

[huntercam]

closed for: @elysiumkerr

He'd promised her before the masquerade that she'd see his process. Now that she's forgotten most of it - and the mark on her neck from it is healing (though the thought of someone else digging their fangs into her neck fills him with a wash of rage and envy that has nothing to do with his choice of occupation) - he's ready to start allowing her to see more of him.

The meeting place was set to be the junkyard. It's similar to where he'd met Reid months prior, only this time he's not turning someone to gather his art. His bag is slung over his shoulders, gloves pulled over his hands still.

He finds his spot, and sets his things down and turns to her - holding out a water bottle, tinged with green. "Drink this." If she hasn't been already, the verbena will protect her from the feral nature of this one. "Before we begin, what have you learned of your obsessions lately?" He wants to know if she remembers anything of the party or if she's been around others who've spoken to her of Port Leiry's nightstalkers.

[birdieofprey]

who: @elysiumkerr where: Eden's Apple when: night

She's certain he's familiar - her memories of before all this are all vivid, all etched like woodburn into the black creases in her brain. Birdie had first spotted him maybe a week ago, right after she'd bailed on Lara and her roomate's hospitality. Right before she'd been tracked down by the former with an armload of blood bags and whatever the hell her intentions were. She'd been content to let Lara's gift moulder and rot, no desire or intention to give in to what everyone in this town seemed to indulge in with no qualm or consideration. Rats, birds - vermin like her, she was content to subsist on that and let that cooler putrefy. But now she has a lead. And she's not going to take down a healthy kindred on pigeon blood and a dream. Across the city he's stopped at all sorts of different skin shops and strip clubs and corner lots - Luther has a racket for everything it seems, including the flesh game, and then the cycle starts over. So tonight she heads him off here. A woman is playing at the popped collar of his shirt as she drags him down the back of the sex shop and into the bathrooms. Her ears are sharp as she watches - tuned in crisp like a sharp radio channel. Human blood - even coldblood - just hits different, and she hates that she recognizes that. But she'll be getting a different form of sustenance tonight. Out of the truck, she moves quick, trudging across the parking, spinning a piece of sharpened oak before it slides up her sleeve and she enters the quiet storefront. She walks up to the girl at the counter, leans over the counter. The time it takes her to make the gap is probably enough to put anybody on edge, but as far as anyone knows, she's just strung out and looking for something to pass the lonely hours with, but when she leans on the counter she snatches up the space between them, looking into those big eyes. Plenty of practice since she botched the death witch, and now its backed by blood - real blood. "You're going to stay calm, you're not gonna call anybody, and you're gonna give me the keys to the back. Do you have a gun behind that counter?"

[bonkalore]

It's her. .. 

Elyse. 

(avoiding using derogatory descriptive swears so I can still tag the pic adfdsg)

She was fun to try and get down tho. Good design. Terrible person. 😂

[kazewrites]

Submission for @inklings-challenge 2024. Wanted to put this through another round of editing, but I'm running out of time here. Hope it looks okay and it's not too confusing. (@ w@);

Tick. Tick. Tock. Tick.

Elyse stared at her reflection in her cup. It had sat here long enough it was starting to get cool, but now and then wisps still traveled up. Ordinarily this would have incited her appetite, but the sick feeling in her stomach prevented any such thought of enjoying her cocoa.

All she could think about was Kokuen. How her awful teacher had gypped her of a proper Taming education. How she hadn’t been able to assemble the team she liked. How she was forced to use a Fire Lumikin against her will. She liked Flame, but… it was hard to acknowledge him as her own,  especially with all that happened with Moki. She couldn’t help but feel like she was still just hanging onto Flame until Moki came and got him…

She picked up the green, grooved cup and sloshed the contents around. She turned it to take a look at the snowflake pattern on the back. Lico had gotten a set of these for her last spring. It was funny now how many things from his culture now decorated the house. She knew her mom had a few similar things, so in a way it was a familiar sight. Still. It was nice to have a little reminder of him all the way out here…

Her stomach was growing sour again. If cocoa wasn’t her favorite, she might even consider pouring it down the drain. She sighed. No, she couldn’t do that…

She propped her head up and her gaze roved over the kitchen counter. To her right was the oven, its door decorated with little clay snowmen. The pots and pans still sat on the stove-top, awaiting cleanup. The range hood vent was well-worn from years of use… She let her gaze drift further to the left. The dishes were stacked neatly in the dish rack in front of  her.

She stood, fingering her cup. Maybe she’d place this on the coffee table in the living room and play some games. Her reflection in the cup caught her eye again. The sour feeling was back.

It would be easy enough to just forget this. Her Taming Journey was over now. And yet… what had she become?

She shook her head. Worrying over a cup of cold cocoa wasn’t going to fix the past. Was there anything she could have done? Would having a different teacher have fixed anything? Maybe she should have been more supportive of Moki…

She took a step towards the living room, then remembered her cup. She turned back to get it, fingering the rim. Every time she picked it up, she lost her appetite. She should be happy, drinking cocoa out of a special cup like this. And yet… the feeling didn’t seem to want to linger.

Which was why she was going to play a game. Forget all this. It was in the past. She might not ever see Kokuen again. Why bother? Why get so worked up?

And then she remembered.

She had plenty of reason to hate her teacher.

To be fair, some of it wasn’t Kokuen’s fault… Or was it? Was every time those Pyramid psychos attacked them her teacher’s fault? Was Creme right about Kokuen still being in cahoots with those yahoos?

Lightning strike. A crazed smile on a gray-red face. Light fading from the eyes of a fallen Birdkin.

She shook her head. Really. It couldn’t be her teacher’s fault they ran into so much trouble… Or was it?

‘Damaged goods.’ Kokuen had called her damaged goods…

Elyse shook her head and headed for the door, throwing on her coat. She needed a walk. Maybe that’d clear her head.

She put her good boots on and started walking downhill. On a slippery night like this, the boots with spike treads were essential. She’d be all the way down by the plaza in a hurry if she wore something with any less traction. The spikes crunched into the ice. She could feel the icy layer atop the snow splintering and fragmenting in her wake as she made her way down. She considered if she wanted to go somewhere else once she reached the bottom or if the bench would do.

She missed her cocoa… Guess it took the cold for her to start hankering for it, huh? She shoved her hands in her pockets, shrugging her shoulders as she descended the hill.

At last she made it down to the park. The cold caught up to her with a sharp bite. Really was colder once you got down to the bottom, huh? Or maybe it was because she’d stopped moving…

She headed over to sit on the bench she’d been eying from the hill, leaning forward in a crouch to spread the heat around.

Everything was frozen and covered in snow. Which wasn’t too surprising for this time of year. The lampposts cast a yellow-orange light over everything.

This spot at least was clear, save for a little frost and a few icicles hanging down from the bottom of the bench. Elyse could feel them when she moved her legs.

She leaned back, taking everything in. …Ahh, she had to start moving again. She was thinking about Kokuen… She shut her eyes tightly. She let out a breath, feeling it wisp up and away without even looking.

She opened her eyes again, letting her gaze sweep over her surroundings. Beyond the Lumikin ring and the rest of the park, the trees rose up again, standing boldly as if to show everyone whose territory the world beyond the park’s was.

She looked to her left, watching the houses that rose up on slopes beyond the plaza. She wondered if any of the Snowdrift Crew was still up… Dela was out on her Tamer’s Journey still, right? So was Sandra and Jimmy… Johnny too, right? Hmmh�� And Dela had brought her brother Danny, too… She could talk to their folks, but… eh. She pulled up one knee on the bench, knocking loose a patch of fresh snow. Even if she had her TD, it was too late to text any of them… but maybe she could leave a message? …Eh. She still wanted to brood out in the cold. Maybe later.

…Pointless to get so worked up about stuff… It was just jealousy at the end of the day, right? She remembered that first day she got her Journeying License. How those two kids had lucked out with such a nice mentor… Sometimes it felt like she was being played some big joke on. Some sick joke. People died…

She pulled her knees in, letting it play all over again. Being captured by Pyramid. She winced at the memory of the gunshot. Anubis’s eyes… She’d never forget those eyes… She felt a shiver fly up her spine, but it wasn’t from the cold. Too bundled up for that. Not that she ever really got cold-cold anyway…

…But she couldn’t blame Kokuen for any of that, could she…? If Kokuen had just been nicer—! Elyse stood up, clenching her fists. She kicked over a bit of snow and started walking again. Ticked her off every time she thought about it. What was with that woman that she always had to egg Moki on? It was a wonder she’d even survived Kokuen’s training. Sometimes Elyse really did want to believe all the Pyramid attacks were her teacher’s fault, if only because she was ex-Pyramid. Or was Elyse the crazy one for sticking around and not thinking it was a problem? …To be fair, she had other agendas, especially when it came to traveling with Taffy’s team… She sighed, listening to the crunch underneath her boots again. She kept going down the path beyond the park, into the dark. Maybe she’d check if the ski lift was open at this hour. She just wanted to keep moving.

As she reached the bottom of the slope and came under the whiter lights, she was starting to have second thoughts. Maaaybe heading all the way down the mountain at this hour wasn’t a great idea… She could go back to the park? Maybe do some training..? Maybe… mm, the Mamokin tundra was far. As much as she wanted to visit Mamo in his natural habitat, it wasn’t the kind of journey to make this late at night.

She headed up back to the park anyway. She’d need her TD if she wanted to take anybody out, anyway. And… after thinking about how Kokuen forced Flame on her… She shook her head. Ugh. She ran a hand through her hair. Kokuen was the fire expert. Why did she have to bear Flame…? She’d just wanted to train Mamo. Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, had to know ice’s weaknesses… It was stupid! She didn’t want it! She kicked up more snow. Ughhh.

She kept marching up. May as well check out the stable while she was up here. It’d be nice just to see some Lumikin…

Though… they were asleep. She probably shouldn’t disturb their rest…

But in the morning, everyone’d be hustling and bustling. Would she get a chance to resolve this?

She was running out of places to go. She wasn’t heading down the mountain, it was too dark for the forest…

She came to the barn anyway. Maybe she’d just sit here for a bit. It wasn’t as bright out here, but… whatever. She needed a new brooding location.

She settled in, leaning against the trunk of a tree outside the barn. Sounded like the foxkin were still up. Made sense…

A little black nose sniffed at her from behind the fence. A pale, glowing eye peeked out from between the slats.

Aaand, there one was.

Elyse smiled, catching glimpses of its ice blue fur. She walked over to the fence, reaching a hand in to pet it.

The creature yap-laughed, play-biting her hand and wiggling. It smiled up at her.

“Hehe.” She tried again to pet it and it kept playing with her hand. Silly fox…

Eventually it darted away back to its feeder.

Elyse watched the creature for a bit, listing her head to one side. Ah, she was getting tired. Maybe she would head home now.

Besides… it wasn’t like she could get her Tamer’s Journey back now. It was over and done with. As much as she wanted to rewrite it. As much as she wanted to bring Moki back… She shoved her hands in her pockets and headed home.

—

It was her mom who had gotten her thinking about this. And it was her mom who stirred her head about it even before bed.

Forgiving Kokuen… Could she even do that? Could she just… let it all go? On the one hand, she wanted to forget it all. She wanted to forget Kokuen. Pretend the thing with Pyramid never happened. That Kokuen never treated her badly. Never pushed her head and tried to force her to recover when she was down. Didn’t keep preaching to her about how hard reality was and how she’d die being soft. Man she wanted to kick Kokuen’s head in sometimes. Not hard. Just. Just a bop. Enough to hurt. Not… not more than that. It’d feel good, she bet.

The next day, she went out to help her dad take care of the Mamokin. If she’d wanted to, she probably could have taken the teleporting ring last night to the tundra, but. It was dangerous out this way at night. Just as well she visited during the day.

The moment Mamo saw her coming, he rushed over, beating her to the punch and shoving his trunk on her face.

“Mam—”Oof. She laughed and pulled his snout off her. She rubbed his fur and leaned into him. Ahh, this was her favorite.

Mamo gave a stuttering trumpet as if laughing with her. He poked the top of her head with his trunk.

“Mmh.” Elyse buried her face in his fur. She didn’t wanna move…

He made a small, concerned noise.

Elyse gave his fur another pat. She was okay.

He blew a bit of ice at her.

Elyse laughed and threw a snowball at him. Two could play at this game!

Mamo made a happier sound and scooped up lots of snow with his trunk. He threw it at her.

“Oh no!!” Elyse ran and managed to dodge his snow spray. And this was why you didn’t challenge an ice mammoth to a snowball fight! They didn’t play fair!

Mamo scooped up another load and tried to get her with it again.

“Missed me!” Elyse said. Missed her by a mile, was he even trying to hit her?

Mamo scooped up a heftier load, waiting for Elyse to get close. He saw her trying to dart past him and covered her in snow this time.

“Dwah!” Elyse collapsed in a heap of snow. “Okay, you win.” Not like she could beat Mamo in a snowball fight of this caliber…

Mamo pawed at the snow with his trunk to dig her out, concern etching his mammoth-like face.

“I’m okay, I’m okay…” Elyse pushed herself out and sat on the heap. She rested her chin in her palms.

He blew snow at her again.

“Mmmh.” She covered herself with her hood. No more.

Mamo gave an indignant ‘bark.’

Elyse sighed. She just… mmmh… She pulled her hood up a bit to look at Mamo.

Mamo patted her head with his trunk again, then let it rest on her shoulder. He tilted his head slightly.

“Thanks for understanding, buddy…” She got up and hugged him again. She should probably get to work instead of playing around…

Mamo’s trunk bobbed curiously, but he made no more noises.

“What do you think of holding grudges?” she asked, leading him over towards the tree line where the other Mamokin were feeding.

Mamo made a curious sound in reply. Was that ’go on,’ ‘what do you mean,’ or ‘I don’t understand you’? Lumikin were pretty smart when it came to commands, but… well. Mamo was a good listener anyway, even if he couldn’t reply back like a human could.

“I mean…” She looked at him. “Remember Kokuen? Of course you do. Hang on, I’ll imitate her.” Elyse crossed her arms and looked off sullenly.

Mamo only blinked.

Elyse’s shoulders sank. She guessed he wouldn’t understand what she was doing. “Well… remember MistyKo? The…” She wiggled her hands and made a ‘wshh’ sound, trying to make an impression of a cloud of mist. …Was it working?

Mamo just blinked again.

…No. At least not with Mamo. She sighed. Maybe she’d talk to dad about it…?

—

“What do you do about grudges?”

Her dad paused his work. He hummed to himself. They both worked in silence for a while.

“That mean you have one? Look, if it’s about stealing your leftover cocoa last night—”

Elyse smiled and shook her head. “Well, actually…”

“Oh, now you’re gonna hold a grudge, huh?” He dumped out the bin of greens he was holding for the Mamokin. “Knew I shouldn’t have touched it.”

Elyse looked down, smiling still as she emptied her own bin into the growing pile of frostbitten plant matter.

“Is this about your teacher?” he guessed next, dusting off his mitts, grabbing up the empty bin and heading over to one of the sheds.

Bullseye. She guessed nothing got past her dad. Felt silly to bring up though. She sighed. “I try not to think about it too much, but…” She looked away. “Mom keeps hinting about forgiving Kokuen, but… where do I even start?” She looked up. “She was a jerk to me from the start. It’s her fault Moki ran away. She keeps going real world this, real world that… and she’s so immature!” Elyse kicked snow. “And yet she lords it over me like I’m 12! Ticks me off…”

Her dad shook a new load of frozen pine boughs into the bin in his hands. Elyse followed suit grumpily. She sighed, hefting her bin as they headed back towards the tree line. Her dad followed after her at a slower pace.

“Forgiveness comes in parts,” he finally said. “Even if someone’s only wronged you once, sometimes, it’s like… what they said hurt you in different ways.” They bustled in silence for a bit. “S’hard to forgive someone when you’re still mad at ‘em…”

Elyse kicked another patch of snow with her boot, flinging bits of it into the air. “Got that right…”

“Alright, settle down there, tiger.” He rubbed her head with his elbow since his hands were still full.

“I know it’s not right to hold grudges…” Elyse said, slowing down. “But I can’t help but feel like I was cheated out of a proper Tamer’s Journey. I want to think not all of that was her fault, but then… then I get to thinking, what if it is? She’s done so many other things to me, somehow, it feels logical for everything wrong with my journey to have been her fault,” she said, scowling.

“Well… why don’t you tell me all about it? I know I’ve heard the gist of what happened on your journey, but not what your teacher’s done to you specifically.”

“Okay…”

Once they made it back under the cover of the trees, they set their bins down and sat on one of the snowbanks.

“Some of it’s really silly… before I was assigned to Kokuen…” Elyse went on to describe the scene. An old man instructor taking out his new students for ice cream. It got her hopes up, dumb as it sounded, only to be rewarded with Kokuen. It felt like some cosmic joke.

“Moki only made things worse,” she continued on, chin resting on her palms again. “Maybe I could have stood Kokuen if it weren’t for Moki… Not that she really did anything wrong just by not getting along with Kokuen. Yeah, she was headstrong and didn’t have the best ideas, but…” She sank. “It was just one big crud show. Everything Kokuen did just added gasoline on the fire. Moki would make a bad decision, Kokuen would come down on it hard. And she’d do it trying to convince you this was some sort of ‘tough love,’ but couldn’t she read the room?” Elyse leaned back against the snowbank. She blustered. Yeah, Moki had been an amateur, but.. ugh…

Her dad listened, digesting all she had said.

“I just think if Kokuen had been nicer, things would’ve been better.” Elyse crossed her arms. “She has this high and mighty attitude and it’s really grating. I tried to be the better person, but…” She shook her head. “At a certain point… it just got worse and worse. Especially when she forced me to take on Flame… It’s like, yes, I know I need to understand ice’s weaknesses. But… mmh.” She kept trying to force her to be someone she didn’t want to be. It was annoying! “And then there’s the whole thing with Pyramid… I really want to think that wasn’t her fault. Really. But… they just kept showing up?” She shook her head. “And… mmh.”

“Why do you want to think it was her fault?” her dad asked. “Just because you had a hard time with her in so many other ways?”

Elyse squinted. There were… other reasons, but it would get into gossip territory… “There were reasons…” she said simply. Her dad was looking at her, waiting for her to go on. She closed her eyes. “But it wouldn’t be fair to say.”

“Hmm.”

“I know I shouldn’t use it against her, but…” She looked off. “Even if it wasn’t… on purpose, still… Maybe Pyramid was following her and we were just extensions.” She looked down. “It probably would’ve been responsible for her to try and get us a substitute mentor or let Taffy train us after things went down in Desa… Or maybe irresponsible. I don’t know. Surely, if she thought they were following her… I don’t know.” She sank again.

“Hmm. How old did you say your teacher was again?”

Elyse thought. She wasn’t sure exactly. “I’m pretty sure she’s only a few years older than me.”

“Hmm.” Her dad digested this information. “You had trouble respecting her. Felt like she was close enough to your age and immature enough you shouldn’t have to kiss up, right?”

“Took the words out of my mouth.” Was that wrong?

“Sometimes we have to respect people who aren’t worthy of our respect,” her dad said, propping his elbow up on his knee. “It’s just the way of the world.”

“Kinda hate it though.” Besides. Kokuen hadn’t come down on Elyse for treating her like an equal until way later. It set a bad precedent.

Her dad sighed. “Gotta turn the other cheek sometimes…”

“Don’t like being slapped at all.”

“It’s more about… putting the mirror up to what she’s doing,” her dad explained. “I’m not telling you to take hits lying down. But… don’t fight fire with fire. If you sink to her level, then… that’s what she wants, isn’t it?”

Elyse huffed. “What do you mean? Putting the mirror up to her…?”

“Well… when she gets into a tailspin, you can gently point out what her methods are doing,” her dad said, “instead of snarking back or having an attitude about it.”

“Gentle…” That was the trouble. She shook her head. “It’s all over and done now though. I can’t take back anything I said and neither can she.” Elyse slumped forward.

“And yet you’re still hanging on to every wrong thing she did to you.”

“It’s stupid. I kind of hate it. It’s like an addiction.” Elyse covered her face. “It feels good to have something to be mad at for everything that happened. Especially when it was Kokuen’s fault!”

“Mm…”

“Does that make me an awful person?” Elyse asked. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s just because I’m bored…”

“Well. No more awful than the rest of us.” Her dad cracked a smile.

Elyse gave a half-smile back. “Thanks…” She guessed that was true…

Her dad offered her a hand. “Wanna offer it up?” he asked.

“I gotta, right?” Elyse put her hand in his.

“No… you could just keep hanging onto it and chewing on it if that’s what you’d really like.” He gave her another wrinkled smile.

Elyse considered for a moment. He was right. It would be the easy way out. But… she’d probably drive her folks crazy complaining about it and being sullen all the time. Worst case scenario, she’d become just like her rotten teacher.

… “I don’t know if I can,” she finally said.

“Shall we, then?” He closed his fingers around hers.

… “I don’t know.” Elyse slipped her hand out of his. “It feels like I’m taking the easy way out…”

“Hm…”

Elyse knew he was right. She knew this was something she needed help with. But also… it was a weird source of entertainment. Almost like a toy. But… she knew it wasn’t good for her. As much as she wished things were different. As much as she wished she’d had a nice teacher, that Moki hadn’t run away, that her Tamer’s Journey hadn’t been full of so much running, pain and strife. But she knew deep down that most of it wasn’t Kokuen’s fault. To some degree at least, Pyramid themselves being awful had more to do with it than whatever Kokuen had done wrong on her part… She knew that. She knew that, best of all from the thing with Anubis… She slumped over again.

… “S’not bad to need a little help sometimes.” He slapped his knees and brought himself back up. “Well. Ready to get back to work?” He offered her a hand.

Elyse looked at his hand. She knew she shouldn’t keep letting this control her life. She knew she didn’t want these bitter thoughts to turn her into her teacher. She had to be the bigger person. She had to be. But it was so hard. She just knew she wouldn’t get anywhere trying to pray about it. She had too many walls up. “I guess so.” Maybe she’d try tonight…

[uxji]

[swiftzeldas]

Elyse: I’m glad he was a hot vampire. you know they don’t always make vampires hot anymore.

Me: …..

Elyse: BECAUSE OF WOKE

[postcard-from-the-past]

Goat cart on the Champs-Elysée in Paris

French vintage postcard

[autumnshowell]

who: @elysiumkerr where: The Knockback when: Friday Night

An arm gives up its Atlas burden of holding up the sullen chin of one Autumn Marie Howell. The server comes around and asks if she'd like a bill - she declines but says she would like another drink, but then Autumn rescinds the ask, signaling that she'll just pick it up at the bar. Might as well free up the table; she won't be needing a seat for more than one, apparently.

If he was going to ghost her, he could have at least blocked her number instead of answering the text asking where he was. Just as well - it was some setup of her mother's that she'd largely agreed to to shut her up. Felt especially hollow in the wake of the Aria. After the night they'd spent nearly woven together, anything else felt like pretense.

She's mostly kept it out of courtesy, really - but still, she' dressed nice, even put a bit of a face on. Eat a dick, Brent. Sitting at the bar, she signals the bartender and cranes about, looking at the other patrons of the place, people with lovers and friends. People who weren't stood up by their parents' work friends' kids.

She should just leave, but she took work off for this, so fuck that. Better to be miserable somewhere other than her empty fucking apartment.

"Can I get a shot of tequila and... something, please - literally anything." She says to the person tending, who says she's gonna need to pick something - She looks to the woman next to her, to her drink, which she motions to. "One of those."

[thetavolution]

I have what might be an odd approach to thinking about my various Tavs.

Not all of them exist in the same universe in my mind. I.E. Paloma and Lamia exist in a BG3 timeline together, but they're not in the same BG3 timeline as Laura, Minty, Ingrid, and Bex.

I'm taking a moment to break down the teams in my head, including my currently unmoored characters. (The unmoors just float around in whatever timelines they want.)

TEAM A: SILKFLOWER UNIVERSE

Consists of Paloma, Lamia, Allie, Tessa, Shirley, and Leander

TEAM B: MINTY UNIVERSE

Minty, Laura, Ingrid, Bex, Vaira, and Sebastian

UNMOORED

Viktor, Elyse, and Lobelia

[huntercam]

closed starter for @elysiumkerr the masquerade

His hand rests gently on the small of her back - those who end up recognizing him may not recognize her, and that's perfectly alright by him. Rather, it's the way he prefers it. A glass of wine is pressed into her hand, and Cam leans into her and gestures towards some of the more extravagant outfits and the acrobatics happening above their heads.

"Imagine, if you will.." His voice is low, nearly seductive, "One of those falling from their perch, right in the middle of this crowd. Mangled limbs, blood splashed upon those gowns."

He laughs, pulls back. "Imagine the monsters that would attract."

[reiartchives]

Gab Lagman & Hyacinth Callado