#figured I'd give us an excuse to actually interact!

[remnantsouls]

@0fbakerstreet has started following you

Able had continued to walk while smoking, but he raised a brow and then turned behind him, offering the mouse a slight lil grin. "Hey there, you following me for a particular reason or am I just in yer way?~"

[lyssala]

I was trying to figure out They are stuck in my mind at all times and when I was thinking, I realized oh OH they're the same picture. So really I apparently just have a trope hierarchy to which if you resemble Roy/Riza in anyway you skyrocket to the top of my list.

Some ramblings about Clorinde/Wriothesley under the cut because I have no where else to do it. I'm sorry to all the people who've been my followers for years and I literally just come here once a year to drop a ship fixation LOL Here's my big dose of copium I guess 🤣

(For the record, I have nothing against the popular pairings for either of them; I multiship just fine. There isn't an ounce of ship bashing in this because 1. that's rude lol 2. discrediting canonical relationships because they threaten the chances of my pair being on top defeats the purpose of analyzing characters)

(Updated: 8/25 just to acknowledge a few other various things before the end of the Fontaine era)

Roy & Wriothesley: fight using their hands (in different ways but still; fire and ice though); masks their true goals behind a facade (whether staged like Roy or Wriothesley just letting people believe what they want about him); most people don't know their true personality/history; hold a position of power in what most people assume is ambition but really they just want to do good to those who need it.

Riza & Clorinde: observant/quiet personality; the world's best shot; the best poker face; straight faced humor; tough as nails; sass and teasing is a love language; recognized as the top of their respective fields and respected by many.

It's uncanny right??

1. Familiar With One Another

It's so clear they have history together. This is not their first mission, first interaction. They can read the lines between what is being said to understand something more, that is the definition of knowing and understanding how someone operates. It means some kind of history.

Between her greeting upon walking in the room (Clorinde: What's that look on your face? I thought I made good time on the way back.) and her knowing how he is about tea (Wriothesley: Want some tea? Clorinde: Not particularly. If you want to drink some that badly, just say so.) Those are not things you would know/say if you don't know a person. She knows he's giving her a weird look, or a look she wasn't expecting. He offers tea, and instead of saying no thank you, she's just no, but I know you do and you don't need me as an excuse 🤣

Even when he clarifies for her that he does want tea, he asks her again, maybe knowing she does actually like it but only if he's already making it - which I do all the time to Ren LOL (Wriothesley: Fine, I'd like to get some tea. Want me to get you a cup too, since I've already made it?) and that time she agrees (Clorinde: Eh, might as well then, I suppose.)

Idk like these are people who know each other. They know their quirks and their mannerisms. They talk to each other as equals (he doesn't question when she's telling the Duke wtf are you looking at me like that I'm right on time, and he's just like I know you're right on time you always are) I just think that's a big deal??

During the wrap-up of the main story quest, when talking to Charlotte when Clorinde is dodging interview attempts and Charlotte guesses how Clorinde knew Charlotte had an interview at Meropide (Clorinde: In truth, all Monsieur Neuvillette asked me was "When did the Fortress become so friendly towards the media?" I told him that it was best not to speak too soon — there's no guarantee that Wriothesley will make a personal appearance). It's likely that Clorinde was in the room when Neuvillette spoke the question aloud, but I also like him going up to her just to ask her like she'd know the answer to what Wriothesley was doing. I mean, she did still know the answer: that just because Charlotte had an interview, Wriothesley probably wouldn't show up. She knows he hates publicity as much as Clorinde does - I do have to imagine its because they've talked about it, they're friends.

In that same scene, Clorinde says to Navia that she seems interested in the Fortress, and Navia says duh, but that man gave me a headache (Navia: Of course! Ugh, that Wriothesley... I still remember going down to the Fortress to grill him for information on my father's case. Boy, did he take me for a ride... without telling me anything, of course). Clorinde then is like, yeah, but he invited you to tea, and it was good, right? (Clorinde: But he did invite you to tea, didn't he? Navia: Two large pots of it, in fact — it was good tea, though. Clorinde: I have to agree. The tea there is very good). My girl, how much time do you spend down there to know he'll habitually ask and that it's always good. Also, lol, the fact that she gave him such a hard time saying no, I don't want any tea, but if you want it, I'll have it, but then to Navia, Clorinde is much more straightforward about how good his tea is because she isn't teasing Navia.

Then of course their bets. (Wriothesley: I win this bet. You owe me a present. Clorinde: Very well, it was indeed just as you said.) This is a thing they do and apparently have done before. She literally talks about how much he gets into it, implying she's learned to go along with it because she knows he enjoys it.

My girl MY GIRL how do you know what kind of gifts he likes, or that he enjoys it all if you haven't done this a million times (Clorinde: Wriothesley gets really invested in that sort of thing. But he couldn't care less about what he wins in the end. Clorinde: You could give him mint plants that you plucked from the side of the road, and he wouldn't even mind). I also have to wonder if the reason he doesn't set a stipulation on what he wants, is because he likes to see what she comes up with, what reminds her of him and that's why he's so happy with anything - that's a little too me with the ship colored glasses on but still (the only other time we see him given a gift he's appreciative, but poor sweet Neuvillette has to explain it first so I can't judge Wriothesley's reaction in comparison).

A smaller thing is Navia always complaining about how hard it is to talk to Wriothesley while Clorinde just bubbles about calling the Duke by his first name and how he likes making bet and loves gifts 🤣 (Navia: If only he was that easygoing when it came to talking business...) I know it's because Wriothesley intentionally avoids Navia due to whatever promise he made with her father. Still, the image of Navia's best friend being super chill with the Duke of Meropide while Navia is exhausted by the thought of talking to him is so superb. Chefs kiss on that dynamic, Hoyo (also can we talk about how the trio of Wrio, Clorinde, and Navia doesn't get nearly enough love and I'm genuinely saddened over that).

I guess one last thing for this section because I don't know where else to fit it, with Wriothesley, to everyone else Clorinde is Miss Clorinde, including to her when they're in public but when Wriothesley is talking to Neuvillette when he's delivering all the gifts, she's just Clorinde (Wriothesley: I have to hand it to Clorinde. Just a simple gift delivery, and she has the great and mighty Iudex at her beck and call.) possibly because Neuvillette would be one of the few people to know they have a relationship outside of work? Though Clorinde is just like oh yeah Wriothesley is just like that in front of a whole slew of people LOL so maybe it's an on work time/off work time thing 🤣 I don't necessarily have a clear analysis but I 💯 noticed it still.

2. Familiar With The Fortress

Moreso for Clorinde since obviously Wriothesley is familiar with it. I think the most clear indication there is for Clorinde spending time down there is through Sigewinne. The official livestream announcement image being a lovely example.

Okay, I know it's because her and Sigewinne were the two new characters and like I said Sigewinne doesn't leave Meropide all too often. Still there were plenty ways to promote them: in the infirmary, in Neuvillette's office (like they did later for her demo/trailer), at the dining hall in Meropide, streets of Fontaine, even no place at all. A choice was made to have them sitting in Wriothesley's office.

I mean Clorinde has to spend a decent amount of time down there??Sigewinne has her drink meaning either Clorinde was comfortable enough to brew Wriothesley's tea or he brewed it for her/them. It's his teas set that sits in his office in game. Again these were choices that were made LOL Clorinde is reading so she's clearly not there for business, just hanging out in his office with Sigewinne.

Also, Clorinde's little smile 🥹 Another is the dolphin (whale? looks dolphin to me) sticker on her book, meaning that Sigewinne made a sticker of Clorinde (like she did with Wriothesley and Neuvillette). Most of all implying that Clorinde is close enough to Sigewinne to get that honor and the fact it's on Clorinde's book, that she spends enough time in Meropide that Sigewinne also likes to stick stickers on Clorinde's things like Sigewinne does to Wriothesley.

Another small thing, was Clorinde in Sigewinne's character trailer. Navia was about to guzzle that tea when Clorinde stopped her like, no, girl, wait. She's 100% had Sigewinne's drink creations before there would be no reason for Clorinde to otherwise stop Navia. And even Clorinde's little cough compare to Navia's big wide eyes of shock lol Clorinde has been through it.

One last thing with Sigewinne is her voiceline about Clorinde and that she's been around Clorinde enough to try to learn how to read her (Sigewinne: Miss Clorinde doesn't make a lot of facial expressions when she talks. It's pretty difficult to tell what mood she's in from what her face is doing...She used the lipstick I gave her? Really? Hee-hee, I'm so glad she likes it! I knew that color would go great on her!). But, Sigewinne also knows her enough to give her gifts - and vice versa (Clorinde: And some tea-flavored hard candies. They're for Sigewinne) - because they're also friends. That can literally only happen if Clorinde has spent time there longer than what we've seen/were told.

Another thing I found so cute about Clorinde's connection to Meropide, was in Clorinde's story quest, when they went to the Meropide set (Clorinde: I admire the work put into the set. Still, it's obvious the script writer has never paid a visit to the Fortress of Meropide). Yes, yes, we know, you're apparently so familiar with it you can tell when details are missing, okay, girl.

A little more of a stretch with some ship goggles on but I can't help but laugh at the image of Clorinde smiling at the prospect of getting to throw her players in Meropide and as GM getting to play Wriothesley's job (Furina: So this set... is going to be a part of the script? Clorinde: Unfortunately, that is something I can neither confirm nor deny. Paimon: Um, anyone think Clorinde's smile is starting to look kinda scary...?). Still sort of unrelated but also Paimon's line in that scene was adorable too - if only there were snacks in prison...oh, there are if the Duke likes you LOL (Paimon: If only there were desserts and tea in real prison... Oh, wait, guess that's kind of how the Fortress of Meropide works if you're lucky.)

3. Same Sense of Humor

Their humor too omg they have like the same brand of humor and it's fantastic and because it's so dry; poor Neuvillette is always just like and you what now? LOL (Clorinde: He already has tons of tea in his office. I'm thinking about a set of legal codices. Wriothesley: That wouldn't happen to be a dig at my lack of legal awareness, would it... Clorinde: I'm sure His Grace doesn't consider the Fortress to be outside the law.)

Which she brings up again in her voiceline (Clorinde: I highly suspect that he keeps quiet about some of the methods he uses, but there's no way we can know) teasing again that he operates outside the law. The other thing about this line (though I don't put it very high, it could be a translation thing) but that she switches from I highly suspect to no way we can know. Why she didn't just say no way I can know, is probably because she does know or she knows she could know if she asked LOL

One of my favorite examples is from his character stories because omg I feel like it's the definition of their humor and it makes me laugh so much ("Why does it feel like you have even more free time than me? Your title wasn’t bought, was it?"

"One moment, please."

So saying, Wriothesley rifled through three drawers before producing several thick documents with a flourish. "Now, let me see... 'excellent management'... 'leading tax contributor'... 'specially granted this title...' Well, what do you know? Good guess, that's pretty much what happened after all.") I just feel like she's not afraid to challenge him with jabs as jokes and he's perfectly fine to take it. But I also think that's saying something because who else knows that they can poke fun at him like that, she knows because she knows him.

4. Work Life Together

I just wish Hoyo would tell us more about it 😩 like is it just because he hires her to do stuff for him? How did that start? Why? Even in the character story above, it's said it was over a business transaction what does that meaaaan? There's no way he, woke up one way and went, you know what time to hire this one Champion Duelist (she's the best but she's still not the only one) to do some secret missions.

When asked, he said it's because she's an independent party (Wriothesley: As a Champion Duelist, Miss Clorinde can be considered to be an independent party. I needed to find an exceptionally capable person to help me get through the impending crisis) but I mean she works for the court idk how that makes her independent? He does say "crisis" so it's likely she knew about a lot of the things going on ahead of time but I don't think he would have ever just hired someone just because of their station. Mainly because in doing so, he trusted her to be in his inner circle of the plan with Sigewinne - who Clorinde also has a relationship with as I went through already - and Neuvillette, two people we know Wriothesley does have canonical history with.

I saw someone say that Clorinde was already staying down there at the time already working with Wriothesley on the mission, so it was easy for her to get Freminet, but I couldn't ever find what in canon pointed to that. She was staying after at least, she was eating dinner there but they weren't expecting the gate to blow that night. You'd assume she'd leave after she told him everything he needed to know. But no it's like middle of the night/early morning and she's right down there with him. So part of the crisis he referred to is letting her in on one of the biggest secrets of Meropide because she knew exactly what to do and was ready and willing to do it.

I also really love Navia's voice line about him because it says that Clorinde knows what the arraignment he had with Callas was otherwise she wouldn't have told Navia it was okay (Navia: Trying to discuss anything with that guy is an exhausting process. Clorinde says I needn't have any reservations about collaborating with him in the scope of our preexisting agreement, but I still shouldn't trust everything that comes out of his mouth.) I imagine Clorinde bullying it out of him to make sure if was a safe arraignment for Navia (and maybe upon learning what it was and how it came about could've been the early steps in how Clorinde learned to trust him too because it's mutual - she's not a mercenary, she takes jobs with him because she also trusts him and what he does). But I also imagine that bit about not trusting a word that comes from his mouth (since Wriothesley hasn't ever lied that I recall, he hides things very well and doesn't clarify to make things appear certain ways, but I don't recall him flat out being deceitful) is either 1. Clorinde teasing him to Navia without her even knowing but it gives Clorinde a little amusement 2. She knows that man is gonna run his mouth one day to tease her and she's laying the foundations now so Navia won't listen to him 🤣

Or Clorinde is helping him keep his mysterious and bad boy persona because she knows he's actually a big softie - all wins to me lol because I genuinely can't see her believing he's untrustworthy; she literally risked her life to stay with him while they waited for Neuvillette, that doesn't sound like a person you didn't trust. Because again as far as I know a Champion Duelist is still not a mercenary.

5. Battle Couple

Which leads me back into my original Roy and Riza comparison, the way they fight together (Wriothesley: Clorinde is the best Champion Duelist you can find. Her combat prowess is already the stuff of legend. I've never fought her myself, but that's because there's never been a need for it.) I saw someone point out how does he know this when he'd likely have to make a special trip just to see her fight. I imagine some is word of mouth considering the phrasing of stuff of legend. Regardless of how he knew initially, he knows now because they've fought together before. He's never fought her, like he said, but they're fought side by side.

They had to. I'm sorry, this is not the delulu brain worms, you cannot tell me they didn't.

They likely had some sort of plan otherwise idk how she would know to shoot the door controls, but she's watching him from a distance, sees his signal of a simple nod and proceeds (she nods back to him but I couldn't find a gif that included it). I say because they didn't know what was going to happen; the plan was probably if it looks bad, shoot the controls I don't care where I am. I don't think it was as specific as I'll just give you a nod it's fine. He could've shouted, made a bigger motion, lots of things really - he didn't because he was literally running for his life and he knew she was watching, she'd see him and know what to do that's why I bring it up. That's why I refuse to believe they've never fought/worked side by side before, you don't just read people like that; you don't just trust people like that, especially two people who it's in their job description to be sus and careful with who you trust. You read faces, eyes, subtle signals from people you know and trust.

It reminded me so much of Roy and Riza in this scene when she can't speak from her injury and he is about to lose his mind and all she needs to do is move her eyes and he gets it.

(I mean, Roy and Riza have literally a lifetime of history, experience, and love for one another, I don't think Wriothesley and Clorinde have known each other as long or have that rich a history, but all I'm saying is I keep seeing them in each other, okay? Okay).

6. Similarities in Story and Interests

I threw this one down at the bottom because I’m not sure if they’re aware of their own similarities. It’s more meta in the sense I see the similarities without having canon to tell me that they know how similar they are. The first being the most obvious in that they were both orphaned as babies, and then were raised with foster parents/guardians until Clorinde was 10 and Wriothesley was a teen (Clorinde at least getting the better deal in that her Master who took her in was unconventional but seemingly cared for Clorinde unlike Wriothesley who had the rug ripped out from under him to see the truth of his family). Clorinde then presumably was looked after by Callas and Wriothesley grew up in Meropide. Both don’t talk about their personal lives often, but in both they’re story quests, they talk about their past pretty openly. So its possible they know, but because Hoyo is too afraid to put them in the same room again, I can’t say.

They also both hate newspapers and paparazzi. Clorinde talks about why she likes Charlotte by alluding to what other journalists put Clorinde through (Clorinde: Unlike some, [Charlotte] doesn't ambush me with her Kamera on my way to work, or follow me to the coffee shop to report on what I'm drinking today... And most commendably of all, she is well aware that I do not do interviews and doesn't nag me about it continuously). Wriothesley we know also turns down interviews frequently (Charlotte: And that's exactly why I'd like you to come conduct interviews with me. You're the best incubators of news, if you haven't noticed — and also, with you around, I'm sure I'll get to see that Duke. Paimon: Are you sure? Hasn't he turned you down several times already?). I imagine its because both have been victims of the journalists turning on them for a front page story (I’m sure everything with Callas was sensationalized, same with Wriothesley when he was a teen and also probably just how criminals are depicted in journalism to begin with).

The last bit comes from the Fontaine Tour Group video since so far the only two playable characters who have displayed knowledge on Remuria. Wriothesley both in the Archon Quests and his Friendship stories (Wriothesley: Then maybe you haven't heard of the story of ancient Remuria. To give you a quick rundown, Fontaine used to be ruled by the Remurian Dynasty) and Clorinde in the Fontaine Tour Group video (Clorinde: …oh, they have a Conch Harp here? Navia: Something wrong? Clorinde: It’s nothing. Probably dates back to the days of Remuria, that’s all). In the video, Navia clearly had listened to Clorinde talk about it because she remembered the connection but she also couldn’t even remember the name after Clorinde just said it, so it’s clearly not common knowledge. I imagine Clorinde was taught about it with her Master due to the ties to the Marechaussee Hunters and Clorinde’s clear love of history. But I also can’t imagine that Clorinde and Wriothesley never discussed both having interests/knowledge in the same niche era of Fontaine’s history. We know that she knew about the splice gate, so I also imagine she knew about the Winglet and therefore they absolutely would’ve talked about Fontaine history and folklore together.

And So

One thing I've seen a lot in this fandom, when others are trying to discredit a ship they try to give proof of pairs that are "more canon" and I didn't do this to try and say they have more canon standing. They aren't seen together all that often, and sometimes we just have to pull the crumbs out of our own analysis and that's okay. I don't like the phrase "more canon" because its canon or its not lol Being in more scenes together doesn't make a pairing more canon unless they're in the scene confessing their love verbally or physically. It just means they have a relationship, whether that's friendship, familial or romantic. How you see a relationship is up to you and you aren't wrong (because there is no right answer - n o s h i p i s c a n o n).

When it comes to Clorinde and Wriothesley, I don't know if Hoyo will ever put them in the same room together again (though they gave me enough crumbs that I need to now clarify pictured/interacting in the same room lol). They're just gonna give us a Character like Wriothesley and just leave him down there to never interact with people 😭 Clorinde's story quest didn't even touch on her being a Champion Duelist. I still have so many questions.

I’m a little peeved with Hoyo to be honest which is a whole other conversation I’ll have on how we went from some of the best storytelling and some of the best characters into some of the blandest storytelling and complete wasted potential. Nothing will make me stop loving what I loved about Fontaine, but it’s incredibly frustrating also feeling like I was lied to my face only because Hoyo caved to fanservice (which is how it looks), completely erasing character stories and relationships they established in the first place.

ALAS, with the new region on the horizon, maybe we’ll finally see some peace as the fandom moves on to a new region. We’ll just have to speculate and answer the questions for ourselves <3

In any regard, I wrote up all this to (cope because I adore them and I run out of content to satisfy my intake on a daily basis) hopefully make someone else also feel better that no, no one was crazy for thinking these two had that good fucking chemistry, because it radiated off the goddamn screen. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise 💙 Also, oh my fucking god I thought that after being in with Genshin since version 1.3 I already had my hyperfixation period back in Liyue nope the fucking prison warden and trial by combat champion decided to ruin my life.

[outofmydepthatapublicbeach]

hiii idk if u have your requests open but could you write julien x reader based on lacy by olivia rodrigo?

like maybe julien is so jealous of reader but actually wants her (like enemies to lovers kinda thing)

jj chats: i am so sorry it took me a couple days to get to this!!! ive been very busy with school! i loved this request and i hope i did it justice!!! love you anon!! <33

warnings: RPF, use of y/n, reader is a musician/famous, reader cries

feedback is encouraged and i'd love to get some just please be kind!!!

Julien wouldn’t say she hated you, no she wouldn’t go that far. But when anyone would ask about you she’d scoff and change the subject right away. Anything to cover up the butterflies that flourished in her belly at the sound of your name.

“Aren't you the sweetest thing on this side of Hell?”

She would say your music was bland, in reality, she thought the lyrics were thought-provoking and better than anything she’d ever written. The public commented on how she didn’t follow you back on social media. She didn’t follow you because she didn't like that burning sensation she got in her heart when she saw your posts with your friends. She especially hated the photos of you and that girl, arms wrapped around each other, smiling at the camera like the happiest people alive.

“I linger all the time, watchin', hidden in plain sight”

You were close with Lucy, you two being long-time friends, which meant that Julien had to endure your presence. At get-togethers she sits away from you, observing your interactions with her friends. She’d feel a burn when you laughed at their jokes.

“I see you everywhere, the sweetest torture one could bear”

Eventually, the two of you would have to talk to one another. When left alone in a room one time, you walked up to her, smiling wide. It was a smile Julien had seen plastered on magazine covers, a smile people fawned over. Julien completely understood why, even when she didn't want to.

“I hear you and Lucy are close, I’m sorry I haven’t introduced myself before, I’m (Y/N).”

Julien looked at you in awe. How was it, not a hair was out of place? That your outfit wasn’t covered in wrinkles or dog hair? How was it fair someone could look so gorgeous, be so perfect? Julien plastered a fake smile on her face, not reaching a hand out to shake as she knew hers were very clammy due to her nerves, “I’m Julien.” Her tone was bored like she couldn't wait to get away from you.

“I feel your compliments like bullets on skin”

Julien was excited to hear that Lucy planned a dinner to celebrate their Grammy wins, she thought that maybe it would be nice to be the one being celebrated. Until she heard your name mentioned. She knew the night would be difficult, she still couldn’t figure you out, couldn’t understand you. 

At dinner that night, everyone gave a toast to the boys. Compliments were spewed every which way. When you stood to speak, you locked eyes with Julien, giving her your award-winning smile. 

You began to congratulate the boys, your speech was lengthy as you talked a bit about Lucy and Phoebe. All Julien could focus on was your lips and then the words directed towards her, “I haven’t known Julien long but I can tell she is a dedicated musician, an amazing friend, and is very very pretty.” Your words dug daggers into her skin, but it was a pain she loved.

“I care, I care, I care, like ribbons in your hair, my stomach's all in knots”

After the main course at dinner, you had excused yourself, a phone call was what you said. You ran out of the restaurant, dealing with whatever call you got alone. Julien hesitated a few minutes but ultimately excused herself as well after you did not return right away. She felt an overwhelming desire to make sure you were okay. It scared the hell out of her. Your friends gave each other knowing looks.

You made it outside, and looked around, spotting you on a bench, head in your hands. She cautiously approached you, her stomach tied. Once she was close she asked, “Are you okay?” 

You looked up, startled, and as if by instinct you smiled at Julien, using the backs of your hands to wipe off your tears. “Yeah-” your voice broke, “yeah Julien I’m alright! Thanks for-” another break, “for checking on me.” 

You weren’t fine, and Julien knew. She walked towards you, then sat next to you. You faced her, trying to keep your composure before the dam blew and you started to sob. To Julien’s surprise, you immediately reached out, grabbing her jacket and crying into her shoulder. 

“People are people, but it's like you're made of angel dust”

She tried to get away but instead found herself wrapping her arms around you carefully. Scared of your fragile state, scared in a moment you'd be gone and out of her reach, scared she’d hold you too tight and crush you into dust.

“Lacy, oh, Lacy, I just loathe you lately”

The moment passed, and Julien bore witness to you regaining your composure at a rapid speed. In the seconds you went from sobbing to smiling, ready to rejoin your friends she wanted you to cry again, if anything just to hold you for a little bit longer. In that moment she abhorred you. How could you go from a mess to perfect? Why couldn’t you stay sad like the rest of us for a minute more? Why couldn’t she be like you? 

“And I despise my jealous eyes and how hard they fell for you”

Julien stayed behind and watched as you walked back towards the restaurant, but before you reached the doors, an elderly couple was also approaching. Julien gazed as you jogged to get to the door before they reached it, and then you opened the door for them, smiling as they walked in. Julien felt her heart swell, and that's when she knew she was in for it.

“I despise my rotten mind and how much it worships you”

 You turned to Julien, waving her to follow you. In an instant Julien was up. Her legs worked double time to catch up to you as you held the door open for the both of you, you reached your hand out, waiting for her. 

As Julien made it to the door you grabbed her wrist, she twisted her head in order to face you properly. “Thank you for sitting with me Julien, I really appreciated it,” you smiled, squeezing her arm. You pulled her inside the heated restaurant, “let’s get back to our friends, they must have thought we’d run off together.”

You laughed. Julien laughed. 

Julien followed you back to the table, sitting back down in her seat. She soon realized what she just did and scolded herself for listening to you so obediently. She was so confused at all the feeling coursing through her, so angry at herself for letting her fall so hard and so fast. Her nails dug into the palms of her hands until she looked up and locked eyes with you. You smiled at her as you always did, and when her fingers loosened and her heartbeat boomed she realized that maybe jealousy wasn’t quite what she was feeling anymore. This feeling happened to start with the infamous letter L.

[shiny-jr]

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH I literally cannot put into words how much I loved the latest Damnation au chapter- I was literally seconds away from putting my phone down to get back to work but as soon as I saw a glimpse of the fic, I just couldn't help but put everything on hold

I was really impressed with how you included Epel into the story in a way that just about correlated to Epel in canon (like how he was actively opposed to hit position in the castle). Like taking into consideration of the time period and the possible reasons why Epel would be relevant there in the first place despite not being in the original tale- SO WELL DONE!! Not to mention Vil going out of his way to find potential successors really emphasizes his hatred for Neige (poor guy😭) Also the way you write about Rook??? I knew he'd be creepy but gyat damn your writing only increased the feeling of it ten-fold. Especially in that scene after he climbed through the window and interrupted MC and Vil- Literally foaming at the mouth i was like 'holy crap this is it, we're gonna get exposed' cause aint no way Rook WOULDN'T know. Everything about him was unnerving yet so charming?? I really don't know how you do it but the way you just write them is just so accurate👏

As a Vil simp, every scene with him in it had be giggling and kicking my feet✨ I was pleasantly surprised with his advances towards the MC though- like hubba hubba... I ain't complaining though! The tension in those scenes were just *chefs kiss* Every moment with him just oozed authority and power, like I'd be on the edge of my metaphorical seat just waiting for the moment he calls out the MC

Like holy crap you really know how to set your scenes- like legit every time I Rook or Vil were in a scene, it genuinely felt tense. Also props to MC for looking out for #1 (themselves) even at the expense of ruining someone else

Anyway excuse my rambling lmao i'm definitely gonna be re-reading it again ^^

Sounds like another happy reader. And yes, Epel's part was difficult. Mainly because, well, Epel is based off the poisoned apple, so how is he supposed to play that role? In my mind, the poisoned apple is a tool used by the Evil Queen. So, what is similar to a tool? A person to manipulate, which is how I came up with the idea of heir. Combined with the fact that Vil obviously takes a shine to Epel, as he spends time meticulously perfecting his habits and mannerisms in-game. Which fit the scenario I was to use, of a King claiming an heir and drilling instructions and behaviors in their mind to manipulate.

Rook and Vil were easy to place into roles, due to who they're based off of. But it was difficult coming up with scenes for them, since the Huntsman and Evil Queen don't have a lot in the movies. Especially the Huntsman.

For Rook, I actually considered writing a scene were MC followed him as he scoped out the meadow or the moment when Rook was to escort Neige to the meadow, but ultimately I decided against that as it would overcomplicate the plot and give more time to Neige instead of Rook. I needed a way to properly portray Rook's watchfulness and the unease it spawns, which I figured should fit the setting. A carefully worded conversation knit of lies and unsaid threats and fears is much more effective when the reader is picturing hollowed stone halls of a palace instead of a colorful meadow. At least, that was my thought process there, which is why most interactions with Rook are in settings such as those.

And finally, Vil, who I decided to write a few more interesting scenes for purely because I know a good amount of my followers love that pretty man. There were multiple concepts and scrapped ideas I've already forgotten by now, different things that never made it to my keyboard, like a tense dinner scene and back-and-forth bickering. But some of those just didn't fit the feeling I wanted, or was out of character for either the MC or others.

Anyways, now I'm rambling. Sorry. I hope the second read was just as enjoyable as the first!

[coffeecatcraze]

Figured I'd just answer both of these in one post, since they're tied together!

Yes, I can absolutely see Lucifer helping Charlie learn more about her abilities. They're rekindling that father-daughter bond, and teaching Charlie to use abilities she got from him is something ONLY Lucifer can do; I don't see him passing up the opportunity to be the fun dad who teaches his daughter literal magic tricks. Say, for example, throwing magic at Exorcists in battle and lighting up the marquee lights in the hotel rebuild scene? Forgive me if I'm mistaken, but until that last episode, we hadn't really seen Charlie use that kind of ability; there's a very angelic aspect to it, and we saw that same gold magic from Lucifer himself, so I'd say he's already started giving her pointers! Especially with the confidence, ease, and precision during the rebuild versus the slightly clumsy use of it in battle. VERY different situations, of course, but still.

As for wings, that's something I've been thinking about for a while actually! The fact that Vaggie regrew angelic wings after her Exorcist wings were ripped off definitely feels like a hint that Charlie might be getting some of her own in the future. Her dad is a fallen angel, so it makes sense she'd have the potential for them; it seems likely to me that with the right catalyst, especially after leaning more into her angelic-natured abilities under her dad's guidance, she might end up with wings of her own. (Personally I'd love to see that, because imagine Charlie being able to fly and how adorably excited she'd get over it!)

And yes, yes I ABSOLUTELY would love to see those dual mentorships going on! Vaggie continuing to hone her combat abilities with help from Carmilla is one of the things I'm really hoping happens in S2. The mutual understanding and respect they found for each other isn't something that should be passed off as a one-time interaction, in my opinion. (It's also fun to note that Vaggie and Carmilla have both been shown to speak Spanish. Another bonding opportunity, perhaps...?) And it would be SUCH an adorable and domestic thing for Vaggie and Charlie to get training from their mentors and show off what they learned to each other, so there's definitely a Chaggie bonus there!

These were really fun asks to get! I always love a good excuse to analyze and theorize about my favorite characters, so thanks for that! ^.^

[multifandommadnessblog]

Narilamb; an in-depth(ish) study by Rachi that is totally deranged but maybe someone else will like it :) - aka it's her headcanons and stuff (with videos from other creators)

okay so why am i so obsessed with narilamb? uh... look i can explain i swear

Okay first off: my opinions here are probably very similar to many others and I know I'm not original in any way, shape or form. BUT, I like to talk (or type I guess).

SO... why is narilamb so good?? Most of us agree it's kinda pretty toxic. I see it as a relationship that was (heavy on the was) built on unhealthy power dynamics, manipulation and overall nuh uhs. To be clear it's kinda toxic on both sides, Narinder and lamb both at some point in the overall relationship do bad things and that's just how it is. it's complicated

but anyways

Idk how many of us actually chose to spare Narinder versus kill him at the end of the game (I personally spared him) but this is where a lot of these headcanons (and I'd argue the ship itself) starts.

When spared Narinder is escaping the jail that he was held in for thousands of years, but then forced to adapt to a new life in the cult. Which kinda sucks, and most of my headcanons center around Narinder going through some deep character arc (not excusing his previous actions) and learning to live life again basically.

and obv the lamb's personality is supposed to be based off the player since we play them, but I picture them in two ways:

Classic sunshine, happy go jolly. Their "cult" personality if you will - they're silly and goofy and meme worthy

Numb, cold and just trying to get by. Without proper support they withhold all of these negative emotions and experiences. They didn't want this - they just knew this was their only chance at life again (this video by Paper SU conveys this)

Part of me thinks that the lamb never wanted any of this cult business, they probably had a simple life before. The only reason they are here is because they truly don't have anything else. Their cult members don't really have the depth to help them, and lamb sees them more as children to live for than a companion or someone who truly understands their experiences.

then black cat babygirl Narinder comes in and BAM.

The two have been harmed by deep trauma without a proper outlet for it. I picture both having to live with these and just kinda hide that part of them (for Narinder it comes out as anger and falsely guarding himself so he doesn't get hurt again. For lamb they just hide behind this happy facade they put up, Ratau and his folks are the only ones who see some of what the real lamb is like)

When first interacting in the new dynamic (Nari is in the cult now) it's messy to say the least. Lamb finally realizes someone could potentially understand what they had been through for the past uh.... many many years. Ofc, Narinder kinda started it all but he also gave them life again. It's complicated, and lamb's feelings about it are also complicated. Narinder is just sassy and mean like usual, refusing to accept lamb as the new god, still angry from their (and others) betrayal, blah blah blah, kinda wanting to just live his new life but he has lived for so long in anger it would be weird to not...

and for a while lamb thinks it's not going to work :(

But then MmMMMMMMMM THE IMMORTALITY OF IT.

Okay look look, can we all agree that Narinder is canonly immortal (cause of his trait if you spare him) and Lamb ascending to godhood is immortal? Yes? Cool.

I love the idea that these two got literally all of the time in the world to figure out their dynamic and help to heal each other after all of their traumas. Even if they go through rough patches they have all the time to work it out and that just gives me so much hope :,) Cause in the real world relationships can't work like that so I almost feel like there is a pressure on relationships to rush through and never have extreme conflict bc there isn't enough time in life to work through it and still enjoy the time together (existential crisis)

A really great video I watched that (in my opinion) demonstrates this idea is this animatic by Strawdool on youtube! (it's also just really cute please watch it)

So even if these two are as different as can be, both mentally damaged and overall not doing so hot, one is angry as hell, and the other is in denial and just sad THEY GOT ALL OF ETERNITY TO FIGURE IT OUT. They can learn to live together because they know they will always have each other :>

I mean there is a tumblr post i saw where someone complied the official art of Narinder and it shows him just being kinda silly n goofy

i'm sure it's for the sillies BUT PERSONALLY I see it as Nari finally being comfy in his life (maybe a very long time after he is indoctrinated) - finally working on healing and he's just chilling

i wanna thank lamb for that, and i hope lamb also is doing just as good because of nari

please i need to write more of this its so unhealthy all of these ideas sitting in my little brain - for now i must shut up

(also I have SEARCHED FAR AND WIDE for fan content of this ship so if any of y'all are up for fanfiction or fan art reccs hmu I have many)

okay thanks

bye

[tollytolin]

I got misgendered for the first time in months and months today. And the woman called me a slur, too.

The woman in question is the main manager of the dollar store I was in. How utterly poisoned must a person's brain be to openly call a customer a slur at WORK?

I'd noticed her giving me shitty looks every time we interacted and that she didn't do it for anyone else, so I had assumed she was a transphobe for a while now. Everybody else that works there has been super sweet and cool to me.

Moments prior she overheard an older fellow say "Excuse me, miss" to me, and I figure this TERF took issue with someone like me getting treated like an actual woman.

I was indignant in the store but when I got home I cried for a while. First time getting hate-speeched like that. Crying and wondering, "Am I going to look like a man forever?" "Are random strangers people just being polite when they use feminine pronouns for me?" "Do I just look like some crossdresser? Are people thinking I'm just walking around showing off a fetish?"

I reported her to corporate and to her colleagues but who knows if anything will happen. I also wanna tell all of the queer people in town that I know. I'm pretty sure I'm the only transwoman in town so I hope she doesn't incite anger in her CHUD friends and invite violence on me for daring to stand up for myself instead of politely not existing :1

[orangepunkwitch-blog]

Sharing this here in case any Lokean followers haven't seen this yet.

Everything Ocean Keltoi has explained, I already knew, but it's nice to hear him not only say it, but have all the points together in one video.

And as someone who, while a newbie Pagan, encountered and started working with Loki first, I never EVER got the whole anti-Loki stance some Heathens have (despite never interacting with them; I've only ever heard of them or saw comment threads and the like online).

The first I've ever heard of Loki was when I was a kid and heard his name mentioned in The Mask. A god that creates such a mask because he thought that was funny? I loved that concept as a kid (and my weird-ass logic made me think I wasn't allowed to convert since I was baptized in the Serbian Orthodox church; my parents never made it seem okay to explore other beliefs... ever). When I became a fully developed adult and my brother passed away in 2011, I became agnostic, until I once expressed to a friend that I wished one could still worship old gods again, because the Norse gods sounded so much nicer than the biblical god. That's when she told me that that's a thing, and I discovered what paganism was. And then I made it a point that, while I will open myself to any of the gods who listened (and even said to them it's okay if they don't want to interact with me, since I'm so used to no god ever listening to me), I still hoped Loki would be the one to answer, because I'd prefer a god with a sense of humor who doesn't judge a mortal for simply being human. The rest is history.

I've had 2 instances where I've asked him for help, as I was desperate and didn't know what else to do and couldn't figure things out for myself. Both times he helped, it sort of put me almost in a state of madness because of HOW he helped (he's helped me with some small stuff too but sometimes the big stuff is.. a LOT). The first one was we were not able to afford rent anymore, as rent kept going up while my muž and I lived in Pittsburgh, so I asked for help, thinking he'd either help with our financial situation (namely I was hoping for a decent-paying job similar to what my muž made) so we could afford to rent elsewhere or that a place would become available that had significantly lower rent. You know, something like that. Instead, he gave us bedbugs. Because he KNEW that our only option was to move in with my parents and I didn't want to resort to that, so he forced my hand. His reasoning roughly being, "It's either the bedbugs or a fire in the building, and I REALLY don't wanna be that guy, so you got bedbugs."

The second time, without going into detail, he induced a non-threatening medical "emergency" (as in, give me a spook bad enough to warrant my first trip in an ambulance) to get the ball rolling to lead me to getting the surgery I needed for my endometriosis. His reasoning being, "You finally have health insurance and there are vaccines available. You have no excuse now. Not even this pandemic."

I'm doing much better now and it's thanks to Loki. He basically was the kick in my ass needed to make the only decision that would actually work out for me, even if I didn't think it would.

Despite making my practice something along the lines of "Serbian Polytheism Pagan Edition," Loki is still in my practice, and helped me learn an awful lot regarding non-xtian beliefs and beings, including and especially the Trickster archetype.

Any Heathen that bans Loki, avoids him, etc. either have a lot of xtian baggage that they still need to work through, or they're the type of people that don't like being held accountable for their actions and kept in check. Xtianity (as it is commonly practiced and forced onto people by power-hungry assholes) has really affected how many look at non-xtian beliefs, because everything has to be compared to xtianity (even some atheists are guilty of this because everything is xtianity to them).

Lately, I haven't had a whole lot of interactions with Loki I feel could be worth-sharing because I'm not having a whole lot of interactions with him in general the past few years (except for everything regarding me getting my surgery) and that's because the gods are giving me space to learn and grow and figure some stuff out on my own. I do chat with them from time to time via divination, but in terms of actions, they're letting me do my thing for a bit.

[lovelywingsart]

Neverending Forces -- New Beginnings

-- Infinite the Jackal X OC (Trans, He/Him) --

Ah... well, here you go! I already posted it to AO3, but figured I'd post here too. Give y'all something else to read while Metalworks stories are on standby, yeah?

Anyway- It's been a while since I've properly written another canon character that has nothing to do with Resident Evil since that's ALL I've worked on for the past 3 years (no Saren doesn't count, I haven't actually written for him), as well as the first time I've written a canon character after only consuming/playing the game properly once yet loving the character for a while.

They did him dirty and I'm still so angry at both his poor excuse of an 'origin story' and the fact that he doesn't even last until the VERY end of the game because he flopped on the ground like a wet stuffed animal and then fucked off to who knows where. Once again, canon fucked us.

If y'all wanna see more stories for them, this may primarily be a 'ask suggestion only' series, because I'm not entirely sure how much else I'll write... So, I guess let me know, and if you wanna see a specific story interaction feel free to shoot me an ask with an idea and I'll see what I can do!

Sonic fanfiction lessgo as well as a pretty new story cover ayyyy

-----

Warnings?: Severe injury/wound, threats, a hack job of a wound dressing

Summary: Takes place immediately after the events of Sonic Forces -- While scouting the city on a personal patrol to ensure the safety of it's citizens, our secondary hero, only nicknamed 'the rookie' thus far, makes an interesting- and possibly dangerous- discovery. While the fight has ended, a new part of life has begun; and this is only the beginning.

The city was bustling rather quietly, though not in its normal capacity- rebuilding and clearing of debris had begun almost immediately after the robots in the city itself had been destroyed and the hallucinations, the 'clones', had disappeared from the outskirts. Citizens and nearby townsfolk had gathered in attempts to repair what they could before nightfall, working quickly with precautions being taken amongst the masses to prevent more injury. Though while many were on the ground, a lone figure made its way across rooftops, searching for any remnants of the battle beforehand. 'Tie up any loose ends' , he had thought to himself. Of course he stopped if he was needed, though was primarily met with praises. Humbling as it was, he didn't quite fancy the attention- he had only helped save the world, after all. It was the hedgehog that deserved the praise, not him.

The wolf hopped between rooftops with ease, his ears on a constant swivel for any yells for help or crumbling stone- only to pause as a small glint caught his eye. He nearly skid to a stop as his eyes were fully drawn to it, his head cocking to the side in curiosity. Even with all the metallic debris around from buildings and other structures, nothing had caught the sun as brightly as... whatever it was. Perhaps a light signal for help? he thought, suddenly launching forward to a lower rooftop for a better look. Someone who needed it but couldn't call?

He crouched as he landed on the concrete again, huddling to the edge. He could see the object clearer now, a pointed metallic piece on the ground, peeking from around the corner of a darker alleyway already affected by the lowering sun. It's brilliant gleam drew him closer, intriguing him to the point of movement. He jumped down once more, keeping his gaze on the object until he hit the pavement. One look around him reflected that most living souls were near the middle of the city where the most damage was- no one was around, and the sound was distant. Scents were dulled from the muzzle he wore, but his attention was once more brought towards the reflective piece as a familiar one drifted through in that direction. It was a scent that admittedly made the fur on the back of his neck raise, but he couldn't decipher exactly what it was... But it made his stomach turn.

It wasn't until he walked closer, side stepping a few feet away as the object grew larger and noticeably hollow. The shape of it was peculiar, the tip of it pointed and angled up with flattened edges instead of round. Inching closer gave it more detail, and he suddenly froze.

The object was... a mask.

A FAMILLIAR mask…

Infinites mask.

He felt his heartbeat quicken in a sudden rush of panic, his lips pulling back into an involuntary snarl under the muzzle as his eyes darted to and fro. His nostrils flared as he attempted to calm himself down. But... Infinite was dead...

Right...?

The thought crossed his mind quickly, and it eased him- but not by much. He only vaguely remembered the Jackal panicking before he was swallowed into another fight- but surely this meant he was dead.

The wolf took a breath, stepping forward with mild confidence. He neared the mask, picking it up off the ground and inspecting it. The object was surprisingly light, the once polished metal scuffed and the glass of the left eye cracked from when it was inevitably dropped. He turned it in his hands, his claws tapping along the metal. It was surprisingly well made now that he saw it up close...Well. Closer than he already had.

He held it up in front of him, his imagination running. A cold shot of fear ran along his spine once more as he looked directly at it, his vision seeming to flicker back to when he was cornered. Back to when he fought the Jackal face to face, when he met the wild gaze of the creature they had gone against. He dropped the thing once more as if it had burned him with the not so distant memory, his breaths quickening. He flinched as it hit the ground- but his ears suddenly perked as another noise drifted from the alley in response to the clatter. He looked up, the sound registering. It sounded like... pain.

He forced his fear away with a shake of the head as he walked into the darkening area, following the sounds of stifled groaning. He only paused again once another, more metallic scent hit his nose, and one glance at the ground seemingly confirmed his suspicions-

Blood.

And with the amount pooled in one area, whoever it was wouldn't last much longer.

The thought of another innocent losing their life forced him into movement, following the trail and handprints on the wall further down the dark alley. The glimpse of a white tipped tail disappearing behind the corner only urged him into a jog, nearly sliding as he rounded the corner himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice caught in his throat as his eyes focused on the sight he found in front of him.

The Jackal.

The Jackal who, currently, kneeled and huddled against the wall with wheezing breaths, one hand over his face and the other pressed to the middle of his chest. He was in pain, clearly, but the wolf kept his distance. Eyeing him for a few seconds more revealed the cause of said pain; a large wound under the hand on his chest, staining the cream fur red as he seemingly attempted to apply pressure with his palm. Even from a small distance it almost looked like something had exploded from his chest, bits of torn and ripped flesh visible even under the tufts of soaked fur. It was only then that he remembered the stone that had once been fixed to his chest, and it suddenly clicked.

The Phantom Ruby... the thing that had been the ultimate cause of his 'powers'. The very thing he himself had countered with the duplicate, and the thing who's power he had helped destroy in the end- and destroying it seemed to destroy Infinite as well. Or, at least leave him with a flesh wound in the form of a deep hole in his chest.

He took another cautious step forward. He had a feeling the jackal wouldn't fight now... If he did, it was a death sentence.

Infinites ears swiveled madly as his footsteps grew closer, a single yellow eye darting up to see the wolf approaching. The recognition was instant, and a low snarl ripped through his throat.

" YOU- " he started, only for his voice to catch in his throat as the pain from his chest flared. The wolf stopped in his tracks, listening to the pained wheezes. If the pain didn't stop him, the blood loss would.

He was silent as he watched the jackal struggle, fighting back the sudden rush of anger. The sudden rush of rage he felt towards the jackal and what he had done, what he had helped do, knowing this is what he had become afterwards.

The great Infinite, once so high and mighty before running with his tail between his legs and now dying with a hole in his chest.

His thoughts rushed through his mind, some festering longer than others in such a short time. He could have left him there... he could have walked away. Let him bleed out. This creature was once a threat to the galaxy as they knew it, it was the least he could do…

But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to walk away.

He wasn't as bad as them.

He resumed his approach, suddenly reaching up to the strap of the muzzle. If the jackal was bare faced, he thought he may as well be, too. They were both new faces, after all.

He could feel Infinites eyes on him, pressing to the wall and growling like a cornered animal as the wolf removed the muzzle, kneeling down in front of him. He saw the jackals eyes move with more frantic confusion with the revealed pale fur, though his own attention was locked onto the hole his hand still covered. Blood seeped through his fingers, turning the dark grey fur a deep crimson, nearly gushing if he moved to shift away. But the wolf stayed silent, his head tilting to the side.

Infinite growled again.

" Get... aw-way... " he managed through bared teeth, but the wolf didn't budge. Instead, he moved closer, now determined to at least put a stop to- or at least slow- the bleeding.

He'd at least give him a chance.

He reached out for the hand on his chest, but the Jackal instead lunged forward and snapped his jaws at his wrist in a defensive snarl.

" D-Don't you DARE touch m- " he started, only for his voice to get cut off as the wolf lunged, himself, letting a small burst of rage take control for the shortest of moments. Whether it was a control tactic or a genuine threat to kill, even he wasn't sure. He moved without thinking.

Infinite found his back shoved against the ground with a pained yelp, scrambling to take hold of the wolf in defense before finding one set of claws around his neck while the other surrounded the wound on his chest. His ears were pinned to the back of his head as he looked at the wolf over him, miscolored eyes widening as he stared at a set of razor sharp teeth shown from a dangerous snarl, like that of a feral animal. This COULDN'T have been the same kid…

The wolf stared down at him, pale lips curled back over his fangs as he fought the anger towards the jackal. Fought the urge to claw more into his chest, to make the already deep wound even larger. But he stopped himself, seeing the realization of overpowerment in the eyes of what had once been the enemy. What might STILL be the enemy if he wasn't careful. His snarling faltered for a few moments as he contemplated, only to finally relax- but only just a bit.

" ... I could hurt you... " he said simply, the calmness of his voice unsettlingly jarring in contrast to the fangs still near the others muzzle, looking as if they were ready to tear in a moments notice. He felt Infinite freeze under him with a pained whine as he dug his claws into his chest, making sure he was fully aware of the truth his words held.

He COULD hurt him... but he wouldn't.

He stayed where he was for a few moments until finally moving his hand from the jackals throat, instead grabbing the stained bandana around his neck. An uncomfortable yip was forced from his throat as the wolf tugged it away, aware of the now burning sensation along the back of his neck from the fabric being yanked against it. Any other thought of moving was thrown out as another sudden pain shot through his system, this time caused by the wolf shoving the harshly folded bandana against the open wound to apply as much pressure as he could.

He pressed it against the jackals chest with force, soaking up blood and preventing more from pooling. His own ears went back at the resulting pained cry, feeling the others claws reach and dig into his arm in feeble attempts to get him away. But he didn't budge, pressing against the fabric and keeping his eyes on it. He waited for the jackals shock to waver, judging by the force of the claws in his arm. Wasn't so invincible now, was he?

A few seconds more was all it took, and he reached to untie his own bandana. The claws on his arm tightened as he shifted, centering it along the jackals chest while pressing it down, as well.

" Y-You- "

"Quiet."

Even Infinite couldn't help but listen, his voice hoarse and vision wavering as the wolf worked. Cloth was pressed to his chest, then his sides just under the arms- one side shoved under his back until he was forcibly rolled onto the same side with another groan, the wolf grabbing his arms and making him apply pressure, himself. He was still as the wolf tied his own bandana around the jackals chest in a tight knot. Only when he was satisfied with his work did he pry himself away, watching the once great Infinite curl into a ball with heavy, wheezing breaths and both hands pressed against his chest as if still trying to keep pressure. But even then he couldn't help but growl, the vibration sending more sparks of pain along his body.

"... I don't... I don't need... your pity..." he managed, his own teeth bared as he now attempted to fight the pain. But the wolf just stared at him, tilting his head.

"Not pity." He said quietly, earning a glance from the jackal.

There was silence between them, the wolf watching carefully. He simply backed away moments later as Infinite shifted, managing to shuffle onto his knees, yet still hunched over; then a moments pause before finally pushing himself up after taking wavering breaths, his body trembling still. The wolf kept his eyes on him, watching carefully. He was still weak, yes, but the fact he could still move now was mildly impressive, all things considered... He was starting to think that the ruby only increased the strength he already had.

He still kept his distance, though let out a huff. This was taking too long…

"You'll die here." He stated simply, and the jackals ears swiveled to pin against his head once more.

"What are you-"

"Come." The wolf said, grabbing the muzzle he wore from his side and bringing it back to his face. "Proper care. Safety."

Infinite growled again, his breaths nothing short of an angry wheeze.

" I don't- "

"Come, or die." The wolf repeated, backing away again. Another statement, as if he knew exactly what the outcome would be. The jackal stared at him, though let out a groaning growl.

He managed to steady his arms enough to lean forward on his knees, taking more pained breaths with every movement as he attempted to stand. He shifted more after each pause, using the wall to hold himself upright as he slowly stood. His legs trembled from the weakness and pain, but he pushed on, nearly stumbling into a trash bin once he tried to take a step from a sudden dizziness. But he steadied himself once more, keeping one hand against the tight bandanas on his chest.

"... Who are you..." he grumbled finally, turning to glance at the wolf who had begun his walk out of the alley.

The wolf paused at the question. It wasn't the first time he had asked, of course... but it was the only time he was willing to answer.

He turned to look over his shoulder, copper eyes burning.

"Rook." He said simply, nodding towards the road. "Come."

The jackal stared as he continued to walk, only looking down as his blood stained hands the farther away he got. He weighed his options quickly, but it was rather clear to him that he had no choice-

He had nothing else to go to, no matter if he wanted to live or not.

With a pained breath and a shuffle forward, he followed the wolf slowly, holding onto the wall and sticking to the shadows with the occasional met gaze to ensure he was still standing.

[luvo27]

for the fanfic game (sorry if it's too late, ignore me!) 16, 28? :D

castles it is NEVER too late to give me an excuse to ramble on about my fics!!!!

16. word or phrase i think I use a lot: probably anything to do with breathing. i'm a sucker for a "breathe in, breathe out," or anything along those lines!! drawing attention to a character's breathing feels like, an anatomical comma in the way that it makes you pause for a moment and also in how i probably overuse it!!

28. oh man i answered this one in terms of dc fic, where I ended up going with the first fic I wrote a character as explicitly aromantic in - you might see where I'm going with this.

On Haunting vs. Being Haunted was supposed to be a maybe 1-2k singular scene of an open ended-messed-up baron and riz interaction and then I accidentally started with writing the scene where riz talks to fabian about the briefcase first on the blank doc and then I started writing the scene where Riz tells Sklonda that he's dating Baron (i write so out of order. i often write like, only the dialogue of the middle of several different scenes out of order and then reorder them and finish writing them.) Then I got maybe 5k or so into it and realized I wanted it to have a happy ending. But see, at the time, if I were asked, I probably would only have said I was queer, and only that I was aspec if I was feeling courageous, so as I was figuring out the ending, I had no idea what Sklonda could possibly say to Riz that would feel true - how could I assuage the fears of a fictional character if I could not do the same for my own? and then i thought about the friends that I'd made in the last couple of years. I actually messaged one of them as I was writing to say that their friendship was what let me write the fic, and that writing the fic was making me question whether or not I wanted to use the aroace labels, and then I posted the fic, and then so. many. people. commented. It is an absolute honor and a privilege to be told that they were able to relate, or feel seen, or just had a good time reading. I hold every story that people felt comfortable enough to share there in my heart. So i was getting those comments, and I was getting comments on the dc fic i mentioned before, and the sequel to haunting wasn't originally planned to have a riz epilogue, but it turned out there was more I wanted to say! There's so little representation of asexual characters in media, and not a lot in fanfic, even less of aromantic characters in most media, and even less in fanfic, and even more so for aromantic characters who do not want qprs or something that might look like one, and it is hard to imagine a happy ending is possible if you never see it realized! again, it's genuinely been one of the most special things in my life that I was able to give people this story, happy ending included, and hear their stories in response. rizs internal monologue at the end of stress vs love started as like, an imaginary open letter to everyone who read on haunting, but most importantly, to myself. I am aroace, and I do not have to be afraid forever :))

castles, thank you so much for letting me ramble on about this. i've thought about sharing this personal little behind the scenes a lot and I'm so happy to finally do so because this story and the response to it really means so much to me!!!

[highsocietyhq]

HSHQ'S TIMELINE !

which of these mains do you guys remember ? highsocietyhq or haisocietyhq or vikrp or chambordrp... hshq has had many forms over the years !

chambordrp was originally created by admin m sometime around 2014 ? 2015 ? admin j joined the admin team and for a while the group set at chateau chambord, france was just one group among many #royal rp or #rich kids rp groups. chambordrp had to be closed due to low activity but pretty soon admin m opened it again and some of the oldest members rejoined. chambordrp was revamped into vikrp in 2016 ( ? ).

vikrp set in iceland lasted for 6ish months maybe before closing... and then reopening again. i don't remember properly. around this time i ( admin e ) was part of the admin team and admin evy joined the team a bit before vikrp was revamped into haisocietyhq. admin m had gone awol at this time.

haisocietyhq set in shangHAI was when things started to shift from petty drama to something a bit bigger. i think in shanghai we added monarchs ? or maybe that was already in vik, but anyways, in shanghai people actually applied for monarchs. i think dukes and duchesses were a new addition.

then we wanted to move from shanghai to 'a greek island'. but we had a problem: the constant url change was a problem. we couldn't change the url every time we moved, that would cause confusion in the tags. 'highsocietyhq' was already taken by a closed group. what a shame ! but then i figured i'd lose nothing by sending an im to the url's owner and hallelujah ! the owner actually saw the im and was kind enough to give the url to us !!!!! that was amazing. and random. so that's the story behind our url. in shanghai we had our first plot drop/event hybrid when there was an earthquake and i think the hotel suffered some damages.

the greek island plotline was pretty chill until it wasn't. the invasion was pretty wild and i was in summer 2018. when i think back on it, i think it's one our most successful events in terms of character development and engagement. people wrote a lot and it was insanely interactive.

oslo follower the greek island. i have to admit i don't remember much from the oslo period. the plotdrops that i wrote back then were surprisingly frequent though and it was cool that people were really into developing the major plotlines !

dubai followed oslo shortly after nye if i remember correctly. i don't remember the excuse for the move. it wasn't anything major. dubai was fun and different. the big city vibe was fun.

dubai lasted for 8 months and then, in september of 2019, came phuket ! phuket was a lot chiller. i remember us planning all sorts of shocking plot twists. one was a flood and a complete power failure. that never happened. one idea was having them get stranded on a cruise ship.

mar del plata still feels like a fever dream. we moved to mar del plata in august 2020. i swear i always forget we were there. the only thing i remember from this era is the hike/earthquake event. we wanted drama and since we had failed to deliver the flood/power failure/dramatic pd this was really needed !

in april 2021 came tokyo ! i personally enjoyed big city backdrops a lot more so i liked tokyo a lot. i also remember being very pleased with the grapics if i may say so myself. tokyo lasted for a long time and rae won the points game that allowed her to pick like 5 possible locations for a future location change.

i don't remember them all but on the list were regina and casablanca. and we planned to make the regina era really brief and it was supposed to be a quirky comedic era. but you know us ! we don't know how to keep up with a schedule lmao. i think the regina sidequest lasted from spring of '22 and ended in august '22 when we moved to spain for that long event.

the spain was supposed to be a month long thing that would end in an invasion. but the dash was fairly quiet, the admin team was busy af and it just wouldn't happen. the invasion, as you all probably remember, came a year late lmaoooo

we really hoped that the invasion would have been something akin to the one in 2019 but you know, times had changed, people didn't have 8 hours to spend on the computer. the invasion was still a fun extreme event and i'm so glad it succeeded as well as it did because there was room for failure.

after the invasion we finally made it to casablanca where we had planned to end up almost 1,5 years prior lmaoo

and now it's been almost 10 years of a silly little royals group and 8 years of hshq. i genuinely think it's so damn remarkable how far we've come especially considering how the average lifespan of an rp group is like some months. admining this group has been such a privilege !!! thank you !!!

[defiantbird]

(This isn't the same person as estranged childhood bestie. That one is actually keeping in touch with me more lately.)

I had a friend I was really close with starting in middle school and through college. Even so, we were always pretty different. She's normal, has normal interests, is highly likable and pretty much had no one who disliked her. I've always been odd and nerdy and bad at interacting with people. But she never acted like there was anything wrong with me, even though all her friends definitely thought I was weird as hell. We bonded over having depression and anxiety. I have two particular memories of this: her holding my hand and leading me away from a crowd when I had a panic attack at Warped Tour, and breaking down at her house after her birthday party because my relationship was hanging on my a thread and I'd been pretending to be ok all night.

After college, we drifted apart a bit, as it often goes with school friends once you're adults. The gulf got wider when I moved to the boroughs, after the pandemic, and when she got a new boyfriend. I havent met her boyfriend as we just were never able to really make plans happen again. Still, I asked her to be a bridesmaid for my wedding.

She agreed, but only really showed up for my shower. I got the vibe she just didn't really feel like coming to the boroughs for my bachelorette party and anything else. A week before my wedding, she told me that she was having problems with the house ahead just bought and she was extremely stressed and couldn't be a bridesmaid. I told her not to worry about it...I said she didn't need to give me a gift, I said I'd happily pay for her hair and makeup, I just wanted her to be there, she literally didn't have to do anything but be there.

She agreed again, but a few days later told me she just couldn't. OK. I wasn't going to push, I wanted her to be ok, I got that she was in a tough spot, so I let it go. But ultimately, she didn't even come as a guest. She didn't even come to just the ceremony. She didn't text me the day of or anything.

I sort of accepted this as the end. I was pretty hurt that she didn't show up at all, even after I told her she didn't have to do anything, I just wanted to see her. It felt like there was some other reason she had that she didn't want to tell me. But it is what it is. I figure maybe it was weird of me to want her as a bridesmaid after we'd drifted so much.

Since then were exchanged pleasantries on social media for birthdays and stuff, but otherwise nothing. A few months ago, she got engaged.

I'm not certain yet, but I think I'm invited to her wedding. She posted about sending her save-the-dates and the next day, my former neighbor texted me to say they had a letter that got sent to my old address. I assume it's the save-the-date, because my friend doesn't know I moved.

I feel really conflicted. I don't rely want to go...not out of a petty "Well you didn't come to my wedding so I should I come to yours", but because I really am just kind of hurt and I feel like she's only inviting me out of a sense of obligation. I don't know how to say 'no' without seeming like it's just pettiness, and frankly I don't feel like it's worth telling her the real reason. I'm not mad at her, just sad, and kind of resigned about our friendship. I don't know what excuse I can give. I don't know if I should just go, show my face, have dinner with all her friends who always though I was weird, and quietly leave. Or maybe I should just decline, say nothing, and hope that that solidifies the end so neither of us have to pretend anymore. It feels shitty, but so does the idea of going. I don't know her fiance at all, and sometimes I wonder if he convinced her not to go to my wedding. I have no idea. I don't really know her anymore, either.

Ugh.

Sorry. I had to put this somewhere.

[kinmokusei-stars]

My Inuyasha oc Kouko's last reference sheet was a bit outdated, and hard for me to properly use and colorpick from, so I figured I'd make a new, more in-depth, easier to use one! Now with a nicer formal outfit, because the last one was an eyesore- LMAO SUPER happy with how this came out though! o(≧▽≦)o This should make drawing her a lot easier, and just all around looks nicer.

Kouko Yoshida, Also known as 'The Sapphire Swordmaiden', is a stoic demon slayer wandering on her own with nothing but her sword, her horse, and her wits. Though her height, with her standing at about 6'2, and her closed off demeanor can make her look a bit cold if not downright intimidating, deep down she's actually just a warmhearted softy with a habit of feeding fish and other animals she comes across on her adventures and picking up pretty rocks. She's more of a gentle giant than anything else when it comes to people or animals, even if she harbors a deeply set grudge against near all demons for reasons she refuses to share.

She meets the main cast through a misunderstanding started through her having a jewel shard or two on her person that ends in the crew gaining two more shards, and a new party member.

She sticks near Kagome and Sango a majority of the time when she isn't alone, mostly because they seem the most trustworthy, with her being unsettled and freaked out by Shippo, and giving Miroku a near constant silent treatment after their first interaction. Though oddly enough Inuyasha seems to be more on her good side than either of the other guys on the team, with her seeing being half demon as being more trustworthy than a fullblooded one. They do end up falling in love, but that's only way later down the line after a long buildup.

I'll write down some little extra little facts about her below, but if you're interested in Kouko's backstory and relationship with Inuyasha more in-depth, you can check out her backstory post, and my “Get to know my ship!” Post

- Her horse is named Aiko, who she takes with her everywhere. She's had him for years, and he's her baby, she'd kill a man for that horse if needed, and likely has at some point. (I intend to draw Aiko in the future!)

- Her favorite hobbies are fishing and collecting rocks she finds pretty. Fishing soothes her mind, while also being a good way of getting food, and collecting rocks is just a culmination of her "Oo shiny" mentality and makes her happy LMAO She has a small bag of all of her favorites she's found over the years.

- She prefers meat over a majority of sweet foods, whether it be fish, chicken, or something else, she's happy with it. One of the few exceptions though is persimmons, which are her favorite fruit, and hold a special place in her heart.

- She has a lower, soothing voice. It gets rumbly and purr-like when she's tired or extra relaxed.

- She's afraid of bugs. Not things like Mister Centipede, but normal, run of the mill bugs. She gets so startled everytime Myoga pops up.  Huge demons are light work when compared to the actual two to three inch bug, and her excuse is how easily they could wriggle their way into things like clothes and bags, but they mostly just ick her out.

- Her emotional weakness is fire or smoke in general. She hates the smell of it, and tends to sit a ways away from any campfires they group has, either polishing her weapon, or sewing up rips in her clothes. This only changes later on, when she's gradually brought closer to the campfire little by little, and reassured that she's safe with them over time.

That's all for now! Any other little details will be shown throughout drawings or small comics!

[autumnalwalker]

Empty Names - 14 - Down Low

Author's Note: Finally doing one of the "monster of the week" style chapters that I'd originally envisioned being the plan for this project. That said, the actual monster hunting/fighting/cleanup only wound up taking up about 12% of the chapter with the other 78% being a roughly even split between Eris being introspective in a cave and Eris and Ashan having teammate bonding time. Funny how that happened, although I suppose it makes sense in retrospect given that the original reason I even decided on the supernatural monster hunting setting was to give the cast an excuse to be put into situations together and interact. See the tags for more spoiler-y commentary in the tags. Wordcount: 9,276 Content Warnings: Getting lost underground in a cave. Checking for injuries after a long fall. Grave robbing. Some swearing. Mold. Pondering religion and faith. A giant spider. Bones. A fight with a monster. Offscreen death. Blood. Mention of gore without details. Irresponsible behavior by a pseudo-parental figure leading to long-term developmental issues and something akin to magic brain damage.

<-Previous Chapter Masterpost Next Chapter->

“Well, that could have gone better.”

Eris taps on the flashlight clipped to her new body armor a couple of times before it finally flickers to life, illuminating the pile of rubble she just crawled out of.  The realization that the lens is cracked serves as a reminder to check herself for injuries.  That was a long fall just now, even for someone as durable as her.

She runs through her body, a joint at a time.  Everything moving where it should without pain, and nothing moving where it shouldn’t.  A couple tender spots under the armor that are probably going to be bruised later, but otherwise no pain.  Ribs are intact.  Spine’s still straight.  Neck has full range of motion.  No nausea or dizziness when she tries to walk.  No fractures, blood, or soft spots on her scalp.

She coughs into her hand and wipes under her nose.  Checks her hand in the light.  No blood there.

She pulls out her phone and takes a picture of her face.  Blinks at the flash and tries again.  Pupils are dilated evenly.

Memory check.

Who is she?  Eris.

When is it?  Saturday.  No weekends off with this job, but there’s shaping up to be enough downtime between missions to make up for it.

What just happened?  She fell through the collapsing floor of a cave.  Fell a long distance, colliding and sliding down several different ledges and tunnels along the way.  Hard to estimate how deep she is now.

How did that happen?  Fighting a bone-armored monster the size of a horse alongside Road and Ashan.  A second one showed up unexpectedly and when she slammed it into the floor, the floor broke.  Come to think of it, that’s pretty weird for the local geology.

Why is she in a cave?  See previous answer.  Lacuna found a story about bodies being stolen from a cemetery and Road confirmed the photos of weird graffiti in the area were for summoning.  A few hops across pocket dimension bridges, a ride in the back of a pickup from a farmer Road had once fixed a crop circle problem for, and a hike through the woods later and the three of them had tracked the culprit to an unmapped cave near the Tennessee-Georgia border whose entrance had recently been expanded.

Memory seems clear.

Nothing obviously broken, not spitting up blood, and no signs of head trauma.  All told, far from the worst landing she’s had.  She’ll need to thank Lacuna when she gets back for the half-dozen charms she’d spent the past several days enchanting for her.  And, she notes more begrudgingly, probably Sullivan too for the body armor.  It may not be as fancy as what Road has going on, but it’s still an offworld import decades ahead from what any local police or military are using in terms of protection, and sleek enough she can fit it under her usual tracksuits, albeit with a few odd bulges here and there that anyone paying close enough attention might notice.  In retrospect, she probably should have brought the helmet.  Maybe once she gets around to painting the whole thing red.

She runs her hands back through her hair again to clear out the remaining dust and pebbles, brushing against her ear in the process.

“Shit.”

She lost her earpiece in the fall.  She checks her phone.  No signal, so she’s too far away from wherever it fell to be using it as a hotspot.  Too far or too much rock in the way.  Same difference.

“Yo, Road!  Ashan!  I’m still alive down here!”

No answer but echoes.

So, separated from the group with no means of communication and lost in a cave of unknown depth with at least two bloodthirsty monsters stalking the tunnels.  Not great, but she tells herself it’s not the worst predicament she’s found herself in.  Sure, most of those worse ones involved being underwater, but that’s not the point right now.  Right now, she needs a plan.

Try climbing back up?  Normally that’d be her go-to answer, but scanning her light around it looks like the shaft she fell down from is in the middle of the ceiling of a cavern more than double her height and twice again as wide.  No good way to reach that, even with climbing on top of the broken rocks that came down with her.  Maybe she could start breaking off and piling some of the larger stalagmites, but the idea of destroying natural formations that took hundreds, if not thousands of years to coalesce rubs her the wrong way.  Bad enough that she’s caused as much collateral damage as she has.

Wander the connecting tunnels and look for a path up that way?  That’s just asking to get lost.  Only as a last resort.

Sit tight and wait for rescue?  As much as it absolutely galls her to need rescuing yet again, logically it’s the best idea, particularly with Ashan around to do some sort of tracking spell.  He mentioned being able to do something along those lines on their way in, both to find one another if separated, and to lead them back to the surface.  Hell, even Lacuna could probably put together a divination ritual to find everyone now that she’s got her lab set up.

Eris sighs.  Waiting it is then.  She briefly considers pulling out a knife and spreading some of her own blood around as bait for her quarry.  It wouldn’t be the first time that trick’s worked on a hunt.  She heals quickly enough that she can usually get away with it if she’s fresh, but then again, she doesn’t even know if these monsters hunt by scent.  Better to just periodically make noise then.  Second-best case scenario, Road and Ashan hear her, and best case she makes herself sound like an easy meal and brings her quarry to her.  It’d be nice to have already done the job herself by the time the others find her.

She gives one more shout for good measure, finds a wall to lean on, turns off her light to conserve battery life, and waits.

And listens.

And waits.

And listens.

And waits.

And hears.

It’s faint, and not the sound she was hoping for, but interesting nonetheless.  Barely perceptible is the soft drip drop drip of water echoing down one of the branching tunnels.  Considering the possibility that she’s hallucinating in the silent utter darkness, she turns her light back on and raps on the cave wall loud enough to be audible a few times.  When she goes quiet again she can still hear it.

After a brief moment’s consideration she makes her way down the tunnel to investigate, marking her way with a stick of chalk drawn from a tactical utility pouch on the armor.  She figures that in the off chance she’s down here longer than expected a source of freshwater will be good to have on hand.  And if there is anything living down here, it’s likely to be drawn to hydrate itself as well, making it an even better ambush spot.

It’s slow going however, between repeatedly stopping to listen to make sure she’s still going the right way and being forced by the narrowing tunnel to stoop, then crouch, then crawl.  As many perks as there are to being just over six feet tall, easy spelunking in tight spaces isn’t one of them.  

Fifteen minutes that feel like an hour later the tunnel opens back up into another cavern, this one just tall enough for her to mostly be able to stretch her arms above her head and run her hands along the stalactites.  Not that she does.  Again, preservation of natural cave formations and etcetera.  Besides, there are more immediately arresting sights in this cavern.  Like the lake.  

She could feel the trapped humidity before she even left the tunnel and now stepping into the cavern is like walking face first into a damp blanket.  The lake itself is crystal clear, shallow, and long enough that her flashlight beam doesn’t reach the far side.  Sightless white fish and crawdads keep swimming without reaction to her introduced light.  Back on relatively dry land, every now and then she catches a glimpse of a tailless pseudo-scorpion or millipede skittering by, occasionally stopping to nibble on the thin carpet of beige fungal slime.

Every few seconds the drip drop drip of a water droplet making the final leap from stalactite to lake echoes through the empty space.  

The thudding echoes of Eris’s own booted footfalls feel almost disrespectfully loud by comparison as she walks around the edge of the lake.  She stops here and there to take pictures to show Lacuna later.  Her friend will certainly get a thrill out of seeing what might technically be uncatalogued species.  

Eventually, Eris gives into the temptation and starts letting her hand trail over the tips of stalactites while she walks.  She tells herself that one person touching them once won’t hurt anything.   It’s not like she’s in a tourist area where thousands of people all coming through with that same mindset will wear things down over time.  The thought occurs to her that she may well be the first human ever to see this place.

That thought is abruptly banished by the sight of the shrine on the far end of the lake.

She has no idea who or what it’s a shrine to but there’s no mistaking it for anything else.  A freestanding structure of clearly worked and carved stone some ten feet back from the edge of the lake that it faces with the bottom of its slanted roof roughly level with Eris’s eyes.  There are no carvings, inscriptions, or holy symbols that Eris can discern, only a shallow copper dish and a white candle in a copper stand, both curiously free of the fungal growth that covers the rest of the shrine.  Lingering magic, a sign that someone else is down here and using it, or just copper being an antifungal agent?

Stepping up to the shrine, Eris pulls out a lighter and a ration bar.

“You may not be my God,” Eris says, kneeling down, “but please accept this offering all the same and pray excuse my trespass.”

With that, she lights the candle, unwraps the ration bar, and places the hardened tofu-like rectangle in the dish.  Old Vic, one of her monster hunting acquaintances from off world, always had a thing or three to say about the importance of respecting local deities once he had a few drinks in him.  Especially small and forgotten gods.  She’s less surprised than she maybe ought to be when the slime surges over the dish and begins slowly absorbing the enveloped offering.  A squelching sound at her feet signals the pulling away of the fungal carpet from the floor around her.

Offering accepted it would seem.

With aught better to do, Eris takes a seat and turns her light off once more.  A part of her half expected the ensuing darkness to fill up with bioluminescence or veins of glowing magic crystals or something; some sort of chthonic beauty previously hidden by her intruding light.  But no, there’s simply the dim, flickering orange glow of the shrine’s candle.

It’s a surprisingly tranquil setting, especially given her circumstances.  Then again, she supposes that there are few older human comforts than firelight in a cave.  Watching the shadows dance over the splotchy patterns of mold on the walls, it’s not hard to imagine them as being cave paintings, set into motion to tell a story older than writing.

Eris snorts a laugh and shakes her head.  What would her parents think if they could see her now, making offerings to some strange god in a cave.  Actually, a bit of blasphemy and idolatry is probably better than whatever violent criminality they assume she gets up to these days.  Maybe they’d write back the next time they got one of her annual letters letting them know she’s still alive.

God, when was the last time she’d even been to a proper service?  Not since shortly after finding Crossherd, she thinks, and to call that congregation unorthodox wouldn’t begin to cover it.  She never could figure out if her parents actually believed or if they were just trying to fit into a community that didn’t seem to want them otherwise.  It’s been over a third of her life since she last worried about the latter, but as for the former… well, the idea of a singular, originating, basically benevolent God always just felt right to her, even if she didn’t agree with the details of certain creeds or the things people so often use their creator’s name as a justification for.

It gets hard too at times, trying to square the faith she grew up with with a world full of magic and monsters that doesn’t seem to pay much heed to any major religion’s cosmology.  With reality supposedly being shaped by collective belief and perception, you’d think there’d be more of that.  It always made Eris suspect that there was a flaw in that accepted theory.

And true, there are heavens and hells, but those are really just classifications for worlds with archetypical sets of traits rather than true afterlives.  People have contacted, and even visited, heavens and hells, but not Heaven or Hell.  And she’s read of worlds managed by single, seemingly omnipotent deities, but even those beings have no power beyond their one world.  Even pantheonic worlds like the one Ashan mentioned he was from over dinner the other night, with gods capable of anthropic manifestations and granting supernatural powers to their followers as they take an active, undeniable role in world events are just another categorizable phenomenon.  From such powerful deities as those, down to the forgotten little fungal god she now finds herself sharing a cave with, it’s all just “deiform entities” as the modern parascience literature calls them; fundamentally no different from any other spirit, sprite, or ghost save for scale and the ability to grow in strength from active worship.  She’d even read an article last year about a research group working out of Crossherd’s western European equivalent trying to manifest a tailor-made god from scratch in a lab.  All a far cry from the ultimate sourceless source she’d grown up with and somehow seen no concrete sign of after coming Backstage.

And yet, when she made that offering and implied that there was a God who was hers, she wasn’t lying, even if she’s not sure what that God’s name or creed is these days.  That’s enough for her for now, she thinks.

A wry smile plays across Eris’s face.  Look at her, meditating about God in a cave by candlelight.  There’s probably an archetype she’s filling there.  If Lacuna were here the two of them would probably have a laugh about it together.  But it’s nice to take a belief down off its shelf and examine it every now and then.  Shake the dust off and remember why you picked it up and kept it to begin with, even if you don’t change it before putting it back in its place.  The last time she really even thought about her faith for more than a passing moment, much less talked to someone about it, was a few years back during Lacuna’s short-lived attempt to become a witch.

Lacuna’d been venting to Eris about her frustration with trying to even comprehend what it was like to have faith or belief in anything spiritual, and lamenting that she just didn’t seem capable of feeling anything like that.  It simply hadn’t been part of her life one way or the other growing up and while she knew intellectually that religion was important to most people, she just couldn’t seem to wrap her head around some fundamental aspect of it.  Even the swearing by some nonspecific goddess that Eris still caught her friend doing on occasion was more of a phrase-substitution speech pattern she’d trained herself into than a genuine expression of belief.  Eris had tried to find the words to explain her own experience, but she never was sure how clearly it came across.  Lacuna had dropped any attempts at witchcraft not long after and never really brought it up again.

Sounds of clacking and scraping cause Eris's eyes to snap open from her musings.  She tenses but makes no movement.  Best not to make her own noise yet.  It occurs to her that with where she’s sitting in relation to the shrine’s candle any significant movement, no matter how silent, is going to give her away with the shadows on the wall if her silhouette hasn’t already.  She curses her past self’s oversight.  That leaves the risky but effective strategy of pretending to be oblivious until her target is within striking distance.  At least it makes for a fun test of her reflexes. 

The clack-clack-scrape-clacking draws nearer.  Pauses.  Resumes again more slowly.  Enters the lake cavern behind Eris and to her left with the shrine between them. 

Eris’s eyes strain to catch a glimpse of the approaching creature in the reflection on the lake.  It’s large, but smaller than the monsters she fought earlier.  Paler too, and with a completely different gait.  Something else living down here then.

The newcomer rounds the shrine and stops.  Eris keeps her face forward and still, even though it’s obviously seen her now.  In her peripheral vision she can just make out the sheen of a carapace and a segmented leg.  Insectile, maybe arachnid.  Too many hairs to be crustacean.

The pale arthropod creeps forward, nearly within arm’s reach before skittering backwards and moving side to side.  Among the reactions Eris was expecting from whatever this new monster is, caution wasn’t one of them.  It’s a concentrated effort to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching up into a grin.  Cautious means clever, and clever means an interesting challenge.

The creature moves back around the shrine and approaches Eris from the other side, slowly enough this time that she almost can’t hear it.  Soon enough though, she sees the shadow of a long pointed foreleg edging closer and closer to her own shadow on the wall.

The leg - the spider’s leg, she can now tell from the silhouette - uncurls.

Almost there.

Just…

A little…

Closer…

And…

Eris snaps her hand up, catching the tip of the leg just above her shoulder.  She feels the thing tense and go stiff beneath her grip as she uses the motion of standing up to pull, preparing to yank limb from socket.  But then, looking straight at the creature for the first time, she freezes too in a half-crouch.

This squat, pale spider, large enough to come up to her waist has a blanket or shawl draped across its abdomen, providing padding between its carapace and the harness to which multiple woven baskets are attached.  In one of those baskets are candlesticks matching the one in the shrine.  Its cephalothorax bears patterns of pigments that were clearly painted on rather than naturally produced, and one of its hind legs is injured; carapace cracked and limp as the rest of the spider’s legs begin struggling to pull away from Eris’s grip.

Some beast of burden that’s gotten separated from its master perhaps?  But no, there’s no sign of saddle or reins.  And the way it keeps gesturing its other foreleg toward the shrine…

Eris lets go of the spider’s leg and takes several long steps back, leaving the front of the shrine unobstructed.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” she says and gestures to the shrine, palms open in an after you gesture.  She has no idea if the being before her can understand her.  Probably not.  Minor gods receiving offerings are one thing, but flesh and blood people?  Unfortunately all the charms Lacuna made for her were protective in nature.  Mobile wards against falling, flames, and projectiles, but no translators.  And what need would someone living isolated underground have for a translation charm of their own?

The spider gives her an eightfold eyeing up and down, takes a tentative step forward, and then begins tapping out a pattern on the ground.

“I don’t know what that means, but…” Eris crouches down and raps on the cavern floor with a curled fist, imitating the pattern as best she can. 

The spider stops abruptly in what Eris can only assume is surprise, and then taps out another pattern that she once again copies.

“I probably sound like a real idiot to you right now, just repeating back whatever you say, huh?”  Can they even hear her, Eris wonders?  Spiders don’t have ears after all.  She makes a mental note to look that up later.  For now though, she sits back down in what she hopes will come across as a sign of nonaggression and watches the spider retrieve a small cocooned offering from one of their baskets and place it on the shrine’s altar dish.  This offering too is devoured by the fungus.  Perhaps it was not so forgotten a god as she thought.

Local deity appeased, the spider begins extruding thread from their spinnerets and curling up on themself in a complicated motion that spills one of the candles from its basket.  

Eris lunges forward and catches the errant candle before it can roll into the lake.  Walking over to the suddenly-still spider, Eris offers the candle back.

After a moment’s hesitation, the spider uncurls, rights themself, and leans to one side to tilt the candle basket toward Eris.  Taking the final step closer, Eris returns the candle and sees that the spider’s been attempting unsuccessfully and messily to bandage their own leg.

Slowly, and keeping her hands in view the whole time, Eris unzips another pouch and retrieves a compressed roll of elastic bandage.  She points once at the spider’s wound leg and then at her own arm before wrapping herself up by way of demonstration.  After a moment of holding the pose, she unwraps the bandage and stretches it out, proffering it toward the spider.  When the spider turns themself to expose the injured leg, Eris takes that as permission and begins wrapping.  Once that’s secure she scoops a palmful of cold, clear water from the lake and sprinkles it over the bandage to activate the infused alchemical agents, stiffening it enough to alleviate the need for a splint and accelerating the healing process.  If it works anywhere near as well on giant spiders as it does humans, they should be better in several hours.

“There you go, all better” Eris says, flicking the last bits of water and misapplied webbing from her hands.  “Now, on the off chance that you’re psychic or something and can understand what I’m saying, I’m gonna put it out there that the thing I’m hunting is probably the same thing that did that to you.  Don’t suppose you can lead me back to it?”

The spider taps out another pattern in response.

“Still can’t understand you,” Eris replies with a shrug, but copies the pattern of taps once more anyway.

The spider begins bouncing one leg up and down in what Eris reads as frustration, gestures for her to sit back down where they found her, and begins pulling small thread-wrapped rods from another one of the baskets on their back.  One by one, they spin their own strand of thread to attach to the rods before casting them into the lake, secured by the sticky line to the shore.  While the spider busies themself with fishing Eris notices that they keep turning themself to keep the tunnel they came in from in view of at least one of their eyes.  

Still wary of pursuit then.  Good, that means there’s that much more of a chance of Eris’s quarry coming to her.  She feels only a small twinge of guilt for using her new arachnid acquaintance as bait while taking a better ambush position near the mouth of the tunnel.  She’d feel worse if she wasn’t confident she could keep them safe.

Minutes pass.  The spider returns to the shrine, keeping seven eyes on the lake and one on the tunnel.  Eris shifts her stance to keep muscles from growing stiff.

The spider senses it coming and begins skittering back along the lakeshore before Eris hears anything.  She pats a hand toward the floor in a calm down gesture and points back to the shrine.  She’s in the middle of attempting to pantomime jumping out at whatever’s about to come around the corner when she hears the echoes of heavy footfalls on hard stone and skeletal fragments clinking against stalactites and stalagmites.  

Eris grins, all teeth.  It’s the third time today she’s heard that sound approaching.  Time for payback for her fall.

It doesn’t take much longer for the monster to emerge, yellow eyes locked on the spider huddling in the candlelight while Eris goes unnoticed mere feet away.  She’d call the thing a lizard if its scaleless, bruise-purple flesh wasn’t earthworm-smooth and its refrigerator-sized bulk with a tail half-again as long wasn’t propelled forward by six limbs.  Also, most lizards don’t glue bones all over their backs and sides with fast-hardening spittle that she’d seen glue Ashan to a wall earlier before the wizard magicked himself out of it.

As soon as the monster is fully within the cavern, Eris leaps from her hiding spot and grabs it by its tail.  She’s pulled for a short distance, sliding across the slickness of the fungal carpet until she suddenly feels the friction of naked rock beneath her boots.  She says a silent thank you to the cavern’s small god and heaves the monster to a stop just short of the shrine where the spider’s reared up on their back four legs.

Eris yanks once more, thinking to swing her quarry back around to slam into the cavern wall, but only succeeds in prying loose a segment of ribcage that looks as if it might have come from a horse as the tail it had been protecting swings around out of her grip.  Turning back around to face its attacker, the monster growls, low and loud and wet, before charging Eris with a crown of splintered femurs and bear teeth.

Eris growls back and holds her ground, baring her own teeth.  This is hardly the first charging beast she’s grabbed by horns.  Holding its snarling face in front of hers, she sees that the facial armor of hand bones and jaws has been broken away on one side already.  It is the same one that got her into this mess earlier.

Good.

Eris twists her grip with the intent of repeating the maneuver that had been oh-so-rudely interrupted earlier by the floor giving way upon contact with the monster’s face but once again the bones snap free beneath her grip.  Had its armor been loosened by the creature’s own fall earlier?  No time to question it before jaws slam shut on her forearm and six legs push forward to knock her to the ground.

The new armor’s durability is put to the test and passes with flying colors.  Eris feels a tight, painful pressure, but both the armor and the skin beneath remain unbroken.  Her grin grows wild even as she fends off the claws scrambling for her face with her other arm.  She allows herself to take a bleeding scratch on the forehead in order to punch her prey in the unprotected eye.  It rears back off of her in pain just enough for her to be able to bring up a plated knee guard into its soft underbelly, causing it to let loose of her arm and retreat.

Eris wipes the blood from her eyes with one hand and uses her newly-freed one to push herself up as she rolls to her feet.  Half a second too late she realizes her mistake, for that arm, drenched in the monster’s already-drying saliva, has just cemented itself to the cave floor on one side and her torso on the other.  She’s still in the process of breaking herself free when the glob of spit collides with her other hand and binds it to the floor as well.

Her legs are next.  The creature takes its time approaching her after that.  The seconds stretch to feel like minutes for its slow plod back over to her.  Its jaws open wide in front of her face.

And then it lets out a reverberating hiss of pain in response to the spiderbite on its exposed tail.  It whips around, buffeting Eris with that bitten tail, ready to devour the arachnid that escaped it once before.

It’s all the opening Eris needs.

In one motion she shatters her restraints, grips the thrashing tail right on top of its twin venom-bloated blisters, and uses the momentum of rising to her feet to yank as hard as she can.  No limbs get ripped from sockets, and the cavern ceiling isn’t high enough to swing her prey over her head, but the wall is conveniently right in front of her for the creature to slam into, back first, with a satisfying chorus of crunching bone.

The not-lizard has just enough time to shake itself off and send loose bones and chunks of hardened glue into the lake before Eris pounces on top of its back and begins repeatedly hammering one fist down onto its now-unprotected spine.

*******

When Ashan finds her some ten minutes later with a satiated smile on her face and watching the spider pull in their stygian catch from the lake, the cut on Eris’s forehead has already healed.  None of the blood painting her new armor red is hers.

“Yo,” she says at the soft sound of his footsteps, “I was starting to wonder when you’d show up.  I’m guessing our target’s taken care of then?”

“Road is currently seeing to that.  Lacuna was quite insistent that I come find you once you lost contact.  Given your current state, I am concerned her fears were warranted.”

“Oh, this?” Eris asks, looking down at herself.  “This is all the other guy’s.” She jerks a thumb toward the large, fungus covered mound in front of the shrine.  There’s already a few mushrooms sprouting.  “Lacuna’s seen me looking way worse after a hunt; isn’t that right sis?”

“She cannot hear us at the moment,” Ashan clarifies.  “There is an unusual amount of arcane interference down here that only gets stronger as one descends, as if this cave system is being actively concealed from divination attempts.  That, combined with initial disorientation following the upper cavern’s collapse and further pursuit of our target is why it took so long to locate you.  All the same, congratulations on remaining unharmed and defeating what I assume was one of our foes.”  Ashan purses his lips for a moment before adding, “Even if it was necessary to slay the creature.”

Eris hides her discomfort beneath a shrug.  “That’s how the hunt goes sometimes.  At least I was able to put the whole animal to good use in this case.”

Ashan casts an appraising eye over the ancient shrine and the largest offering its tiny god has had in an age.  “Yes, regarding that.  I see you have stumbled into another mystery altogether from our investigation.”

“Not that much of a mystery.  We’ve got a shrine, we’ve got this little guy,” Eris waves a hand toward the approaching giant spider, “and we’ve got tunnels drenched in cloaking magic.  Classic hidden civilization stuff.”

“That is not the sort of revelation one normally takes in stride.”

“Oh don’t get me wrong, normally I’d be stoked by the idea but we’ve still got a job to be doing and I don’t…”  Eris trails off at the sound of the spider’s excited tapping next to Ashan.  “I think they’re trying to get your attention, buddy.”

“My apologies,” Ashan says to the spider, “but my translation charm only processes verbal and written communication.  If you can understand me however, might you please confirm by raising your right forelimb?”

The spider raises their right forelimb.  Ashan nods, satisfied by the confirmation.

“Thank you for keeping my companion company until I found her.  We shall be departing anon.  While we intend to keep your presence here a secret to the upper world at large, would you be opposed to our visiting once more at some point in the future?”

The spider raises their left foreleg.

  “No, you do not object to our return?”

Right leg up for confirmation.

“Thank you.  We would be honored to be your guests.  May your gods watch over you.”  Ashan turns back to Eris.  “Shall we be off?  I suspect we have kept the others waiting far past long enough.”

But what if I let something happen to you?!

The memory of Lacuna cringing in a diner booth at the volume of her own concerned outburst washes over Eris like a glass of ice water thrown in her face.  The imagined scene of her curled up on top of a chair in her new lab drumming her fingers on her arms follows soon after.

“You’re right, let's mosey,” she says, but spares one last backwards glance at the spider as they leave.  “Actually Ashan, do you mind if I borrow your translation charm for a sec?  This little guy really helped me earlier and I wanted to thank him properly myself.”

Of all the surprises sprung on Eris today, the look of sheer horror passing over Ashan’s face at the request is by far the most shocking.  She checks to make sure there’s not something creeping up behind her, but no, it’s what she said.

“Hey, are you okay?”  Eris asks.  “Sorry if I crossed some sort of line there.”

A mask of equanimity slides back over Ashan’s expression but fails to completely hide the strain in his voice.  “I am… fine,” he bites out.  “You did not offend, merely catch off guard.  A brief, temporary loan would be…” the mask grows taut with the hesitation, “acceptable.”  With that, he pulls aside the high collar of his robes to reveal a silver choker inset with a blue stone.

“I don’t know what’s going on but your obviously uncomf-”

“Just take it,” Ashan interrupts.  “It will resize to fit you.”

“I’m sorry.  You don’t ha-”

The charmed choker comes off with a click and Ashan thrusts it toward Eris without another word.

Eris takes it gingerly.  Whatever’s going on she’s already screwed it up.  Best to get it over with as fast as possible.

“Thanks, I won’t be long.”

For some reason Ashan shudders at the utterance.

The interior of the choker’s metal band is covered with hair-fine engravings of intertwining glyph circles that merge into a gestalt of larger symbols when viewed from certain angles.  Enchanting isn’t something that Eris is an expert on by any stretch of the definition, but she’s seen enough other monster hunters with enchanted gear and trinkets for sale in Crossherd to realize that she’s holding a work of art an order of magnitude more complex than anything she’s been in the same room with before.  The only thing she’s seen that’s come come close are the chaotic, near-fractal tangles covering the pendants from Lacuna currently tucked under her clothes, and according to both her and Ashan anyone who actually knew what they were doing instead of relying on an AI could produce similar effects with far simpler patterns.

Now if only it didn’t feel so much like a damn collar to slide around her neck.  

The metal stretches with surprising ease in response to her pulling the ends together until they meet with a click above her spine.  It is Eris’s first time using a translation charm herself and while she had expected to feel something - a foreign presence slipping into her mind, a sudden awareness of expanded vocabulary, at least a tingly sensation - she does not notice anything different.  Perhaps it is something that would become apparent over time, but she does not plan on keeping this thing on long enough to find out.

Eris returns to the spider who had been watching them leave from the shrine and kneels down to get on eye level.

“I wanted to thank you properly and say goodbye before we leave.  It is always good to make a new friend and you helped me out of a tight spot back there.”  She slips off the less gore-spattered of her gloves and offers it to the spider.  “Here.  A little souvenir to remember me by.  And proof that we met if no one believes you.  Sorry about the blood though.  Feel free to clean that off.”

The spider takes the glove and places it in a basket.

“Well, then I will see you later,” she says as she extends her bare hand one last time.  “It is a gesture of friendship for my people.”

The spider places the tip of a foreleg on Eris’s palm and she shakes it gently.  After she lets go they tap out another pattern on the floor.  Eris laughs as she copies it again.  Standing up, she whispers one last “Thank you,” to the cavern’s small god, and turns back to Ashan.

The translation charm is back off Eris’s neck by the time she’s caught up with the wizard.  To her surprise he’d gone a ways further down the tunnel and now he’s leaning against the wall with his hands over his ears and a conjured mote of light floating above his head.  Getting closer, she sees that he’s taking deep, measured breaths while focusing on some undefined spot on the opposite wall.  

Save for the hands over his ears, it’s something she’s seen more than a few times on Lacuna’s bad days.  She hands the translation charm back to him without saying anything and he hurriedly takes it, turns his back to her and snaps it back on, giving Eris a glimpse of a round tattoo on the back of his neck when he pulls his hair out of the way.  The moment Eris hears the faint click of the choker settling back into place the tension melts out of Ashan’s posture, leaving him momentarily deflated and slumping against the wall.

Eris is still figuring out if she should say something when Ashan shudders once more, wipes an arm across his face, stands up straight and turns back to face her again.  His expression is as tranquil as ever.  The combined light of his conjuration and her flashlight is more than enough for the wet patch on his sleeve to be visible.

“My apologies for the momentary lapse.  I take it you were able to resolve things satisfactorily with your new acquaintance?”

“Yeah, thanks for that, and I mean it, but are you okay?  Because that didn’t look okay and if that’s my fault I wanna know.”

“You are welcome, and there is no fault of yours at play, I can assure you.  I am your friend, am I not?  I do not mind a temporary discomfort to help a friend in need.  Speaking of discomfort, would you like me to remove those bloodstains for you?”  The words spill out unusually fast for Ashan.

“Yeah sure, that’d be great,” Eris replies automatically.  She’s still stuck on him calling whatever she just saw ‘a temporary discomfort for a friend.’  God dammit, just how socially starved is this poor kid?

A flick of Ashan’s wrist and his wand slides out of his sleeve and into his hand.  A horizontal stirring motion and all the blood, mud, dirt, dust, and slime that’s accumulated on Eris today sloughs off of her and floats through the air in a spiral in front of the wand.  A final flourish and the spiral condenses into a small sphere of detritus and drops to the floor.

Eris picks up the smooth marble of red, gray, and beige and examines it in the light for a moment before pocketing it.  It’s unexpectedly cold.

Ashan nods in approval.  “Never wise to leave one’s blood lying about.”

“Oh, that ship’s long since sailed for me.  I was thinking more about cave ecosystems being fragile.  It’s why I didn’t wash off in the lake back there.  Didn’t want to screw up the pH balance on the water or introduce contaminants more than I had to in the process of fishing out a couple of monster chunks that went flying during the hunt.”  Eris knows an avoidant topic change when she hears one.  How to handle this one’s still an open question at the moment.

She’s still pondering what, if anything, to say about it when Ashan conjures a barely-visible floating thread snaking off into the darkness of the tunnel.

“I laid a series of markers detectable through the interference on my way down, so our way up should be faster,” he says while following the thread, words punctuated by puffs of condensation.  

“So we just follow this thread from marker to marker and then to Road?” Eris asks, following behind.  If he doesn’t want to talk about it, she shouldn’t push, right?  Just because Lacuna sometimes needs a nudge, that doesn’t mean that Ashan does now.

“Essentially,” Ashan answers.  “Road warned me before we split up that they can be unusually difficult to trace directly, so I will be tracking their communication device.  Being part of a matched set, that should work easily enough if I use my own earpiece as a medium.”  He goes silent for a minute before glancing back at Eris.  “You say you can see the string?  Are you sure you are not a mage?”

Eris gives a dismissive pfft.  “Dead sure.  I’ve been in enough high-stakes Backstage situations over the past ten years that I’m pretty sure I would have noticed if I could do magic.  Besides, I've been able to see all of your other conjurations just fine.”

“Those have all had a physical component to them, unlike this one.”

Eris shrugs. “Who knows?  Could just be that interference down here you mentioned making the spell act weird.”

“Perhaps.  Still, you are full of surprises.”

“Not the first time I’ve heard that, but go on.”

“Cave ecosystems, pH values, botany, architectural commentary, polyglotism.  You are more learned than I have come to expect from a warrior.”

“You mean you didn’t expect the musclehead to have a brain,” Eris scoffs.  “No, don’t apologize.  Like I said, not the first time I’ve heard that.”

“It is an eclectic spread of knowledge for anyone.”

“What can I say?  I had a lot of different things I wanted to be as a kid.  Even if none of them worked out, I still have my hobbies.  What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What’d you want to grow up to be as a kid?  I’m guessing ‘wizard’ wasn’t high on the list.”

“I cannot say I ever gave much thought to the matter.  I was only nine when I left home.  If I remember correctly, my parents would occasionally talk about their hopes that I would be a doctor or lawyer one day, but that was always their dream, not mine.  But now?  I struggle to imagine being happy as anything other than what I have become.”

“Magical otherworld wizard adventure treated you well, huh?”

“Yes,” Ashan says softly.  “Yes, I suppose it mostly did.”

“You know,” Eris says, hoping to lighten the mood, “if I had a nickel for every time I went out hunting a giant hexapodal lizard, I’d have three nickels.  Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened thrice.”

“Yes.  That does sound improbable.”

Eris sighs.  “When we get back, ask Lacuna to explain memes to you.”  That should be a fun conversation to watch. 

*******

Twenty silent minutes, two tight squeezes, and three scalings of ledges with conjured platforms later Ashan speaks up again.

“Eris, we are friends, are we not?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Is it expected for friends to confess their personal struggles to one another?”

Loaded question, but okay.

“Don’t think of it as a requirement,” Eris answers, “but if you’ve got a problem a good friend would want to know so they help you handle it.”  As she’s had to remind Lacuna at least a dozen times.

“Even if there is nothing they can do to help?”

“I like to think simply being by someone’s side so that they’re less alone can be a form of help.  It’s not much, but it’s a Hell of a lot better than nothing.”  

“I see.  So much like a relationship with a family member or guardian but without the implicit power imbalance.”

“Weird way to put it, but if…  You know what?  Scratch that.  Ashan, have you ever actually had friends before?”

“I have had a number of people with whom I interacted with in a friendly manner on a regular basis, but none with more than a surface-level emotional connection.  Save for my mentor that is.  You would be the first to explicitly name me as such.”

God dammit.  Eris takes a deep breath, followed by a long sigh.  How has this happened to her twice now?  At least Lacuna had actually had friends before but had just fallen out with or drifted away from all of them.

“In light of the fact that we are still in a cave and on the job with a bloodthirsty, corpse-stealing monster potentially still lurking about,” Eris begins, “I’m gonna skip beating around the bush and spell it out for you.  Yes, we are friends in addition to being teammates.  Yes, you can talk to me about anything on your mind, even if there doesn’t seem to be anything practical I can do to help.  No, you don’t have to do that if you’re not comfortable with it.  No, I won’t judge either way.  So, whatever point it is you’re circling around, either give me the short version now or wait until we’re out of here and give me the long version later.  I’ll make a wild guess and say it’s probably about the translation charm.”

“That would be an accurate assumption,” Ashan says hesitantly.  For a moment the serene mask starts to slip but he pulls his expression back into place and stills the tremor in his voice.  “The long version later then.  For now, I recognize this stretch of tunnel and we should soon be free of the interference and back in contact with Road and Lacuna.”

*******

“Coffee or tea?”  Eris asks.

“Tea, please,” Ashan answers.  “Whatever sort of herbal blend you can find in there.”

“You got it,” Eris says as she rummages around in the pantry of the bed and breakfast some nine hours after Ashan found her in the depths of the cave system.

Mission done with, Lacuna’s sequestered herself down in the lab again and Road's gone off to wherever it is that Road goes at night.  Probably following up a lead for whatever their next mission is.  Or just handling it solo and being back by morning.  Eris is still wrapping her head around the scene she and Ashan had walked in on upon catching up with Road.

Once she and Ashan got back in comms range Ashan had passed her his earpiece to reassure Lacuna that she was alright.  Once Lacuna had calmed down from that she spent the rest of the walk back to Road going back and forth between gushing over how amazing it had been to see Road in action against the monsters and their summoner and complaining about how they’d accidentally turned off their entire earpiece again after the fight instead of muting it.  Sure enough, Ashan’s thread led them to a cavern where they found Road sitting in the middle of not one, not two, but three unconscious bone lizards lecturing a bound, gagged, and surly teenager in a discount Halloween witch costume on why it’s wrong to desecrate graves for ritual components for building an army of summoned minions with which to wage unprovoked war on unsuspecting populations.  Even if it’s a war against subterranean giant spiders.  

Fortunately they’d caught the summoner before she’d done any real damage and the one spider Eris had run into was the only injury on that side of things so there were unlikely to be any reprisals from what Road called “the Children of Ftagxurshagaalga’k.” That Road had previously met other related colonies of giant sapient spiders surprised Eris less than their ability to pronounce that name.  

The rest of the day had been spent on cleanup.  Eris called up some of her monster hunter contacts to help move the sedated bone lizards out alive while Road and Ashan dealt with the teenage summoner.  After what she’d seen on the back of Ashan’s neck earlier, Eris couldn’t help but wonder at the sight of him drawing a temporary ward on the summoner’s neck to restrict her magic while he and Road took her first back to her parents and then to a rehab center in Crossherd for young and dangerously reckless mages.

And now it was late at night and Eris and Ashan finally had another private moment to talk.

“So,” Eris says as she sits down at the kitchen table and slides Ashan a microwaved mug of tea, “that translation charm.”

“Still no beating around the bush, I see.  Very well then.  To put it plainly, I am dependent on this trinket for linguistic communication of any kind.  Without it, even the two languages of my childhood sound like gibberish to me and my own thoughts become tangled and difficult to parse.  It is a disquieting experience to say the least.”

Eris swallows her decaf and lets out a low whistle.  “Not gonna lie, that sounds terrifying.  If I’d realized I wouldn’t have asked you to loan it to me.”

“It is fine.  Better that I occasionally try to get used to the sensation in a controlled circumstance of my own volition than to be thrust into it unprepared.  Knowing that I was doing it to help a friend eased the feelings as well.”

“So, how’d it happen?  Adventuring accident?  Pitched wizard duel?”  Eris asks before remembering to hastily add an “If you’re okay with talking about if of course.”

Ashan gently shakes his head.  “Nothing as exciting as that.  I spent seven years, from the age of nine to sixteen, in a foreign world relying entirely on a flawed translation charm for communication instead of truly learning anything of the local languages.  To my mentor’s credit she did make some attempts to teach me early on, but since she had no grasp of English or Spanish we both soon agreed to abandon that in favor of the easy route.

“Long term reliance on translation magic without any breaks to speak one’s own language naturally can have detrimental effects even on adults, much less children whose brains are still going through important developmental stages.  Combine that with the defect in the charm I was using at the time and, well, I think you can see where this is going.  We were not entirely unaware of the problem; even early on there were occasional minor glitches, but they were mild enough and far enough between that we underestimated their seriousness and every time we were about to look into finding me a new charm something would come up.”  Ashan laughs bitterly.  “One time I actually had a new charm in my hands and was about to try it on when an irate dragon landed in the middle of the bazaar.  The merchant we were trying to buy from fled, my mentor ran off to go deal with the dragon, and I left the new charm back in the merchant’s stall because I did not want to steal and my mentor had our money.  One thing led to another and we forgot about replacing the charm again until the glitches got bad enough and frequent enough that we could not ignore them anymore.”

“And that’s when you got this new one.”

“Eventually.  There are seven main different methods of translation magic common in this cluster of worlds and it took some time to find the one that would work best to mitigate my condition and longer still to commission a custom charm that would do more than simply mitigate.  All that time I was barely able to comprehend what was happening to me, only that my mentor was increasingly worried about me and tearing herself apart over it when she thought I was not watching.  Those were a bad few weeks.”

“I can only imagine.  I’m impressed you can talk about it so calmly.  Normally with Lacuna…  Well, that’s her privacy that I shouldn’t be spilling.”

“I can imagine.  She does seem to be a nervous individual.  As for me, this was all long enough ago that the sting is gone and I have made my peace with it.  If anything, I would say this conversation has been something of a relief.  You are the first person I have spoken to about this besides my mentor and my relationship with her is complicated these days.”

“I can imagine.”

Silence stretches.  Drinks cool, one of them still untouched.

“You mind if I share something?” Eris asks.  “An untold anxiety for an untold anxiety.  More of a confession, really.”

“Of course you may.  You are my friend.”

“Thanks.  Truth is, part of me was glad when I realized I lost my comms down there.  It meant that if I ran into anything Lacuna wouldn’t have to watch me go to work on it.”

“I am not sure I follow.  She seemed enthusiastic enough in her recounting of Road’s exploits and you said yourself that she has seen you in worse states after a hunt.”

“That’s the point, she’s seen me after, never during.  And Road doesn’t rip beasts limb from limb and cave in skulls with their bare hands.  Road doesn’t get covered in gore during fights.  Road doesn’t enjoy the smell and feel and taste of fresh blood or the sound of cracking bones and ripping flesh.  Road’s not a monster.”

“Is that how you think of yourself?”

“No, not quite, but I know I would be if I didn’t have a constructive outlet for managing it.  Autogenesis being what it is, I’m not being entirely figurative about that either.  I know it’s not normal or healthy to find what I do and how I do it fun or to go barehanded instead of bringing a weapon because I like feeling it all up close and viscerally personal.  But the point is I do manage it.  I just also know it doesn’t look that way from the outside.”

“I think I understand somewhat.”

“Oh really now?  Got some hidden dark depths under that shiny white robe of yours?”

“No, but my mentor does.  I eventually came to learn that she had something of a reputation for employing a considerably more brutal style of battle magic than she ever taught me, one that she still occasionally employed when I was not around.  It was her way of protecting me from herself I think, but knowing what I do now I suspect my younger self would not have loved her any less for it.  As it was, the realization when it came felt like one more lie on a pile.  So, no, I do not think Lacuna would ever see you as a monster.  Nor a liar.”

“Heh, thanks for that.  Let’s see if you still think that way a few missions from now.”

<-Previous Chapter Masterpost Next Chapter->

[enderspawn]

I’d love to hear about your world building :3

YIPPEE okay so. this’ll def be under a cut bc I haven’t written down a Lot of my planning and stuff for this campaign so nows a good a time as any

TLDR background info; this is all set for a possible future Glitter Hearts campaign. Glitter Hearts is a magical girl-based “Powered by The Apocalypse” style TTRPG. Ideally it would have like half adventure focus and half interpersonal/slice of life focus, since a lot of the system seems based around the relationships and feelings of the characters (hell, one of the debuffs you can suffer is feeling lonely and isolated from your friends)

also bc im not super into and familiar magical girls/anime, half the inspo is pulled from superhero-esqe stuff anyway.

ALL of this is to say that like. a decent chunk of this isnt gonna be the fun festive in depth magic world building and more like. making the staff and students at the school. admittedly like half of those are also magic but still dsjkfjl just adjust your expectations going in.

This campaign takes place in the small town of Clearlake, a somewhat northern area settled in this higher up mountainous region with a population of around 3,000 total. Our story focuses on Rayfield High School, Clearlake's only high school, with approximately 50-60ish students per grade for a total of a bit under 280 total students.

At the moment, from the people I've spoken to it seems i'd have 3-5 players with characters ranging from freshmen (14-15) to seniors (17-18). So, I'd need to not only flesh out more than one grade level with at lease Some NPCs, i'd also need to give them an excuse to hang out together and interact because typically seniors and freshmen don't tend to like. yknow. interact.

My current idea and solution to that is to force them all into a club. However, i'd also like an excuse for them to have a set SHARED social circle so I dont have to manage/flesh out as many NPCs-- so its going to be a public club, not just some club thats just them and secretly a front for their magical girl group.

I'd like to have the campaign start with each player having more or less just discovered their "powers" here (or, if they've had it a while they have never used them). the point is they're beginners and don't know whats going on.

On the first day of school, they'd attend an all-school assembly. however, strange "earthquakes" start happening and shaking the school building, leading staff to evacuate the students out the assembly hall in a rush. However, the players would see something different-- monsters, who are seemingly causing the issue.

They would (ideally) sneak away from the group in the chaos, transform, and deal w the monsters (stealthily, since part of the campaign would be keeping the supernatural unknown and their identity a secret....ish). While fighting, another figure approaches them and helps them beat the monsters-- a woman with powdery blue hair curled and whipped into itself, with a protective orange visor over her eyes, red and silver wing-like armor, and large tawny wings.

THIS npc is crucial to me as a dm. meet Coach Amelia Beaufort (she/her), also known as Aeolus or "North Wind".

(in game stats: the coach, the idol, air)

(note: all art and references in this post are generated from THIS site, recolor.me! great for designing a bunch of in depth fun designs)

Coach Beaufort is not only the school's English teacher (and the Coach of the school's [sport] team, but also an experienced magical girl/hero. she acts as an introduction to the actual like... magical world and helps guide the players both as a teacher and a magical mentor.

She would also be responsible for explaining a lot of the worldbuilding, aka the point of this post im only now getting to, to the player characters.

In short, people who have the ability to transform into this magical persona and fight are referred to as "Magically Intuned", or just "Intuned" for short. They're tasked with protecting the people around them from supernatural and hidden threats, but seem pretty uncommon? Clearlake itself only has four Intuned, with one only popping up within the last year-- Aeolus is one of them.

There's actually a little more to it that Aeolus doesn't know, tho i'm still figuring parts of it out myself. For one, Intuned only tend to pop up with one person for every 500-1000 people. In reality, Intuned are created because of necessity. Some grand cosmic kind of force works to automatically balance out things, and the more danger an area faces the more Intuned it creates to fight said danger. So, the fact that Clearlake's Intuned count has seemingly doubled at once (with, unknown to the characters, more popping up after them) is... concerning.

I think one character they'd meet later on, Cherubim, would know a bit more along that line (mainly the creation based on need), but thats bc they kind of specialize in learning about the Intuned in depth.

I think the overarching plotline would part focus on WHAT is causing the players to become Intuned (aka the Threat that is approaching), but also why THEY SPECIFICALLY were chosen.

as for the threat, my current idea is basically "crossing of planes and the thinning of the borders between those planes all culminating on a portal opening in town Eventually to release The Supernaturals on the town". as for why ppl get chosen... im still undecided? after all, i think it would influence a lot of the themes of the story.

Was the choice ultimately random, making a theme of reacting to what life throws at you and taking destiny in your own hands? were they chosen because they had a special certain set of traits, like the Universe knew that they were determined enough to achieve their goals? is it a situation that they had the Most of X, but anyone could be a hero? idk! still brewing on that one, tbh it could change as the campaign goes on to work w the themes that emerge naturally.

One of the features of Glitter Hearts is that, unless it's specifically a drawback of your transformation, you are unrecognizable between your civilian and transformed identity. Maybe through persuasion or un-transforming first to gain their trust or whatever, I'd want Coach Beaufort to learn the player's identities and convince them to join her club, the Newspaper/Yearbook club, to let her keep a close eye on them and help them.

and with that established, then over time meeting the other Intuned can come later, as well as more interpersonal/less magical based plots + dramas. basically in my brain ive laid out the very basics of a session 1 that would Establish the baseline.

other small notes:

it would be explicitly mentioned that the monsters fought in session 1 could only be seen by the Intuned, but not all are like that (+ that they have to keep their identity and the existence of magic + the supernatural secret)

while it may be different in larger towns, in Clearlake there is no like... organization of the Intuneds. like they only know each other bc they find each other while on patrol or word of mouth. theres no real hierarchy

finally im gonna dump some abt the NPCs ive made and more fleshed out, aka the Intuned ones. i have some non-intuned ones drafted too (such as a jokester class clown on the sports team and a suspicious investigator type which may play antagonist and look into the PCs), but. eh! anyway

meet the other Intuned:

Meredith Lane (she/her), the school's librarian-- also known under the title "The Mistress of The Night".

(in game stats: the team player, the warrior, death)

something that doesn't come across in these designs, partly bc i decided it later, is that her transformed form is MUCH visually younger. she's the oldest and the most experienced intuned, having fought for a few decades, but despite being (and looking) around 50-60 in her civilian form, her transformed aspect looks mid to late 20s at best.

part of how I personally designed each intuned's transformation form is like... how they view the role? for mrs lane here, she enjoys trashy semi-erotic romance novels and views her role as a way to kinda embrace escapism and take up a persona from one of those trashy novels. its the same reason her transformed hero name is "The Mistress"-- she just likes those.

shes fairly shy and reserved as the librarian, but much more outgoing and confident as the mistress. also, she has black spiderlace gloves that turn into fucking scissorhand weapons and then she slashes the shit out of things to fight.

I think she had one other Intuned to fight alongside for a lot of her early life (who i kinda want to have been Killed In Action), until Amelia came about and she took her under her wing to train. It's kind of an earlier pointing to the slowly increasing amt of intuneds.

going off of age + years of experience, next up would be Amelia but we've already covered her so 3rd out of the 4 intuneds of the town is...

Kyle Thompson (he/him), the math teacher's college-aged TA (he's taking courses online, but needs an irl semester+ of assisting for his education minor). However, he also dawns the persona when transformed of Gawain.

(in game stats: the loner, the defender, metal)

Much like how Meredith views her transformation as escapism, Kyle? Kyle is roleplaying. Gawain is his all-good noble knightly character that he plays and thus his design was made to reflect that. IRL he's a bit of a loner, awkward, and a bit grungy so he uses Gawain as if it were his WoW character.

Finally, the newest and youngest of the town's Intuned...

Azrael Young, though they go by "Azzie" for short (they/xe). Azzie is not only a fellow classmate, but an incoming freshman, though for almost a year now has been secretly fighting as their persona Cherubim (they/he/she).

(in game stats: the true believer, the tactician, love)

im not gonna lie i fucking love azzie they're probably lowkey my favorite oops. it started with like... subverting expectations? one of the everday identites you can choose in game to build your character is "the goth" so i was like "what if... i made a goth.... who WASNT that". then, when making the super form i was like "but what if... the emo... was LOVECORE BASED".

then i added extra autism (specifically surrounding angels, which is why they chose the name Azrael for the angel of death as well as an angel name for their transformed persona).

also something i think is neat: the everyday identity I gave xem, "the true believer"? gives a minus one to mental skill. which is what the tactician uses. but also, i really LIKE that they're presumably shit at their role bc they're still NEW to it yknow? also it means xe can use xer powers without transforming and i think thats neat as hell (bc i also decided their transformation downside is that it takes a While. so its a balance of "transform and save your identity" or "act now and protect ppl".

bc of the true believer thing being "highly tuned into the weird side of the world" as well as the tactician being like the intellectual strategist role, Azzie is in charge (self appointed) of learning more abt the intuned and supernatural. kind of the guy in the chair cliche, kind of the walking exposition and plot delivery.

finally, i have not one of the established intuneds, but rather a classmate that WILL gain powers later into the campaign.... and be a villain >:3c

Lola McKinley (she/they), high school junior and head photographer of the Yearbook club. When the campaign starts, she is genuinely Just another student. She's kind and sweet and seems fairly popular even. But, some amt of arcs later the party would start hearing about a new antagonist popping up with underlings referring to their boss as "The Green-Eyed Witch" (she/her).

(in game stats: the savant, the witch, envy*)

so the fun part abt this character, beyond it being the first npc i came up with, is that she's part homebrew. Each character has an element (physical or emotional) they're tied to which dictates certain abilities they can have. Lola's element is envy, which is also what fuels her villainy. she would be jealous and envious of the ppl around her, especially the PCs. then, even when she gains mystical powers she'd find that those people she envied not only already had them but are stronger and have a team. so, she goes mad and tries her best simply to be better.

i mean. thats all the rough idea, and im sure it'll be adjusted with play and over time so it feels more natural. but the gist is that she'd feel shunted aside and grow jealous of the players, then when she gets powers she uses them for Bad bc of that jealousy. in my mind, this is 100% a fight the players talk their way to success, not fight (i might even try to balance it that way by making her hard to defeat in combat). theoretically, if they DO talk to her she can convert to the Good Side and I'll open up the homebrew envy abilities to the players to possibly add to their own arsenal (under the idea they learn it FROM Lola)

also the fact she Doesn't have green eyes at all, in either form, but other npcs Will is very funny to me. i want discovering who the green eyed witch is to be a bit of a mystery before the Grand Reveal so consider them a few red herrings. especially bc the envy thing is home made, its slightly less likely their mind will go to that saying.

OKAYYYY this post is too long but. i think ive gotten the GIST of everything ive been thinking abt for this campaign down.

i mean like. i still have a few other NPCs and coming up with clubs/extracurriculars ppl can join, and class schedules, and yadda yadda but thats with time. it's looking like if i DO run this it'll be like. in a month or two Next Year anyway so ive got time.

also i wanna make a form w questions for the players to answer for me to give me like. both an understanding of their character but also things to play with. for emotionally damaging reasons. but agaiinnnn ill make it later.

in the mean time Thank you both for the excuse to ramble and finally type this up, but ALSO for reading to this point. i love you. mwah.

[kyrodo]

If you took basic psychology maybe you'd stop taking actions against people that you've understood on a 90% off fucking discount. You don't have a fucking excuse. Last I recall when R block evaded me likely using his ad, I didn't break into his house. All sorts of stupid shit happens when people get heartbroken and you haven't given people time to recover. You could have fucking waited. Stalking the same way we started our parasocial interaction, communicating the same way we were already communicating, block evading, name changing, emotional posts in places only you would check, looking him up on telegram. Invasive, ridiculously emotional, but par for the fucking course. I'm sorry, what about my actions doesn't make any fucking sense to you asshole? You know I've never looked at a wounded animal and wondered why the fuck they're crying. Cringing in pain or doing whatever it takes to cope with those emotions. The expressions of emotions I made were colorful and loud, but I didn't do a single thing to you bitch. If only you gave people more than a week to fuck off, or better yet actually wanted them to in the first place before hitting them with a fucking ruler.

How many times do you need me to remind you that your actions are purely aggressive, not reactive. You deliberately sought my attention looking for me to respond to something the moment this should have been fucking over. The moment I was finally about to get out of your hair but the iron was still hot. When a part of me would still be searching for hope false or not. And you made a fucking decision. Decisions like yours come with a fucking price tag.

Had I been dealing with anyone else in your position I was still well within my lane in the grand scheme of things that happened and what I felt. Too bad you're not most people. Only you would choose the third option not a week in after I said this was over. Not many people would hack someone they haven't even tried to talk to. That's all you. This is your answer to every conflict and every dispute that you don't actually give a fuck about ending peacefully.

I don't understand how you fucking live doing shit like that to people. Not because they deserve it but because you want whatever shitty feeling of superiority over people you don't like. I am a near endless source of words when I'm mad, some of which can be exploited by those who want cheap forms of revenge against. But your actions speak louder than my words EVER will.

How can I be so loud, so noisy, but the special bitch of the moment turns out to be you. How does that make any fucking sense? You would have been better off letting me rant and rant till my keyboard broke, poke fun at it with all your friends, block me everywhere, recover, move on talk about me in whatever demeaning way you pleased, and I would have remained the villain here whether you did me justice or not. "Oh look at this asshole who was stalking me on Twitter." You had that advantage and you threw it away. You don't understand how little you had to do to be the hero or the victim at the end of the day. But you don't know when to fucking stop.

Sometimes the best thing you can do about something is nothing at all. Maybe you should try it sometime. This wouldn't be the same tragedy if you weren't a fucking prick.

And think about things from my position for once. Whatever feeling, whatever I'm hoping for. The things I'd be self conscious about and trying to find clues on what's being discussed about me before you start instigating a fucking "zoom meeting" with me. If you had even the slightest sense of emotional intelligence, I'd have so much less to be mad about right now. Just because you like horror doesn't mean you can't be a decent fucking human being. The way I see it didn't take a whole lot of guess work to actually figure me out, you just didn't fucking care.

Even though I used to scatter information about myself to the four winds, you had more than enough immediately visible information not be a fucking bitch.