#frontier brain oc

[perotovar]

“Iron Maiden, huh?” They teased. “What, I don’t look like I listen to Iron Maiden?” Frankie smiled, a little of his confidence coming back now that River was here. All of the comfort and teasing was still there from their texts. River hummed thoughtfully, one ring-clad finger running over the side of Eddie’s face on Frankie’s torso. “I didn’t say that. Just thought it was an interesting choice,” they grinned, looking back up at him. Frankie blinked down at them, following their finger that had yet to leave. “Interesting?” he squeaked, swallowing around another lump in his throat. River chuckled and took their hand away, shaking their head in amusement. “Don’t worry about it. C’mon, you promised me a dance, remember?” — into the beat of the night (ch 2) "fear of the dark"

art of river/frankie commissioned by the insanely talented @lights-on-the-ridge !!!! thank you so much, reid, i couldn't be happier with this outcome 🥹

if you ever wanted to properly see river, and with their man, look no further friends, for i have been gifted a FEAST to share!!

and for those of you that haven't yet read their story, you can find it right here -> into the beat of the night (18+)

[tomaturtles]

I've beaten Frontiers twice and it's still not enough

[experimentallifeform]

Felt like putting gyras in a subway boss outfit

I love ingo and emmet as battle facility heads!

[kyoasatsu76]

PICTURE PERFECT ⭐✨

[coern]

if I had a nickel for every time I thought up a joke of 'tsukasa as _ character in _ fandom/universe' and it spiralled out of control and became an actual au I would have 7 nickels

[sege-h]

I beat the final boss on normal mode and then on hard mode and

WAS THAT GODDAMN NATEWANTS2BATTLE?!?!?!? AAAAAAAA

[thetombedspirit]

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - Sky Breaker: WARNING: SPOILERS!!!

1. Getting to run alongside the Zakru on Pa'li was the bomb. My GOD! THEY ARE MASSIVE!!

2. My son has made friends 💙 he's even hanging with Nopsi (a zakru!!!)

Nopsi loves him!!

3. My favourite old ladies are back!! (Love Nafiki calling Anufi darling!): side note, I ship it!

4. Ri'nela really coming into the Storyteller part of being Sarentu!

5. Mokasa's back. And he still has the balls to play victim here. Tried coming at Alma and throwing my mother's name in my face as if he wasn't the reason Alma even knew about them in the first place. Ugh! This bitch!

6. Oh don't mind me, just admiring my giant babies as I make them feel pretty💙

7. It's offical guys. Teylan is our little Anti-Gremlin 💙

(Dammit, no more photos!!)

8. The Games were so fun!! My favorite's the horseback archery challenge! And how does Eetu get to places so quickly!?!🤣

9. Teylan rode a pa'li. The both of them were terrified 😂 don't worry buddy, you'll get there!

10. The RDA are back, they seem to be taking special interest in Anufi and Alma. Guess they're not happy she's back in the driver seat as the Kame'tire's leader.

11. Was not expecting us to be knocked out for several days. Thankfully, it seems the core cast is okay. Mokasa is shooketh over Alma pulling him out of the rubble. Still a dick though.

12. They literally made a Valkyrie crash just to take out as many Na'vi as possible. Assholes.

The poor Zakru were either killed in the blast or fled in the chaos, Nesim is furious (rightfully so) and Harding's back.

13. Anufi and Alma have been kidnapped and Teylan confirmed that the brainscap machine could give someone brain damage and kill em, basically meaning that Spider could have literally died hadn't Quaritch pulled him out.

14. Was freaking out so bad during the NeroSect bit that I only got Alma out by 20 secs. And Harding was drowning Anufi in oxygen!?! WTF!!!

Also, Mokasa came in clutch, saving us at the last minute! But he got shot. Yikes.

15. Okay, maybe I get why people felt Harding's death was lackluster, but it certainly wasn't easy, so I don't know what people were talking about there.

But maybe just a cutscene of her crawling toward us with a pistol to give us that final farewell would be notch.

16. Mokasa finally takes responsibility for his actions toward the Sarentu and the Kame'tire and even has a moment of understanding with Alma. He rests with Eywa now.

17. It's over now. All those that remained of TAP are gone, so all that's left is the Secret of the Spires, DLC. And it makes me wonder who that have planned for the big bad. Surely Nor is gonna make a return, but I doubt he is gonna be the bad guy.

Pros; loved everything.

The new legendary tier weapons and gear, the development of the characters (my baby boy Teylan has grown so much) the colours of the Heartlands animals was stunning (pa'li could have been better) and the upgrade skills bonus was a clever way to spend the points you keep racking up (though that stops when you spend a final 5 points every skill bubble)

Cons; Glitches

There were a lot more glitches this time around. First, one of the Contributions Baskets isn't working and it's ironically the main camp one. I've given it like 20 seeds already and still nothing.

And then there was a tremor machine that was freaking out one of the runaway Zakru, but when I went to hack it to turn it off, nothing happened? Only when I blew it up with a grenade arrow did it work. Or maybe that was just me being a stup 😋

Either way, I loved everything about this DLC, glitches aside and it was a good addition to the Sarentu story and I can't wait to see what happens next.

And I'm almost finished with my Sarentu OC, so stay tuned for that. Buh-bye!!

[salon-maiden-anabel]

figuring out teams for characters who dont have canon teams/only partially full kinda fun sometimes .

I already have talked abt Argenta's team previously bc of CiaCM but im still sticking to my decisions . Meganium specifically is her old starter/possibly child of her original starter? still trying to decide. But Meganium is just such a Her pokemon to my brain in no way i could explain. Same with ninetales it just feels right. Dragonite from the tcg cards and Skarmory from pokemas. Apharos and Floarzel have less explanation else then the vibes just felt right for her

thorton bottom text. Most are from pokemas/one a reference to pokespe team. Rotom just Feels like a thorton 'mon and Cyclizar just feels right in my heart

Darach keeps his canon 5 + gains Haxorus as once again. Trust Me Bro.

Dahlia swaps out Medicham for Quaquaval ! It fits her dancing theme to a t as a fighting type more then Medicham. and also the more i can ignore medicham the better. Gourgeist and Dragapult reserves have just been smtn ive been thinking abt for a couple years now. Which accidentally means she has a lot of ghost types lol

Palmer doesn't change his team. lmao

for the hoenn brains i don't think most of them would shuffle their teams too much and stuff down the line but i do have Thoughts abt additional pkmn they'd have. Specifically how much Greta with a Zoroark would suck so severely it should be banned from the Battle Arena. which is exactly why she should have one. Same logic for Aegislash. "How would she have a Sneasler?" how do half these people have the legendaries they canonically have. Its free real estate.

Tucker's is mostly just following his trend of pokemon that would all later receive mega evolutions bc HOW did all his canon mon receive them. He's the reason the battle frontier didn't return /j

behold the worlds most unique Brandon team /j. Anyways all canon mon else then Gimmighoul which just FEELS like a brandon pokemno but specifically not a fighter. It just sits in his office and torments Samuel

Lucy is Lucy. Lucy has snakes. I imagine Serperior would run a contrary based set to rough up people unprepared. The entire second row are non-combat pokemon though! Arbok being an old pokemon from her youth who was already old when she caught him and is now a little too under the weather to battle all the time. Dunsparce. Typhlosion Mamoswine and Skitty are based off some of her anime-only housecats but i let the first two evolve over time! Skitty is a menace to society. Skitty will make everything Your issue. Lucy refuses to accept anyone trying to tell her that her Skitty is the worlds biggest problem causer skitty.

Noland. Running out of things to say. Gestures with my hands.

I have not added any new pokemon to Anabels list of pokemon. She just has so fucking many between sun/moon and the anime originals

However. That was Fallerbel. Mega-timeline/non eeby deebied Anabel gets a different team layout then her since their life experiences after a certain point are completely different

Spenser gets a Tangrowth bc that just feels right. Given its been a little over 10 years im not sure he works at the frontier anymore though that man is over 100 :sob:

I'm still to this day deciding who takes over the Battle Palace in his place [ive been thinking abt wally but am mortified of being accused of copying other people :sob: so i gotta think] But since Anabel gets deebied to megaverse theres a spot open in the Tower for a new Tower Tycoon so. Slaps oc that needs to be redesigned so badly in here, Dia. She's Perrin's cousin but i created her before Perrin existed :sob: so feeling meh on her design. Anyways.

[crystalelemental]

*deep breath*

Okay, so! As some of you know, I recently replayed almost all of the Pokemon games, because I was in a State, and recently completed this little journey. As part of that, I've been doing write-ups, and in the aftermath, making up some tier lists of game rankings and type rankings. I was going to do the Pokemon themselves region by region, but I've done that before and didn't want to do it again right away. Apparently this was meant to be a mercy. Except I can't let myself be normal, so I decided hey. You know what really needs sorted? All the Pokemon characters ever.

I'm not talking about the specifics here. I will tier by tier in separate posts, but not here. Too cluttered. But I will lay down some explanations here. First and foremost, this is approximate. After a while, your eyes just glaze over and you can't really sustain sorting this individually anymore. On that note, this is intra-tier ranked. If they're higher or to the left, they are rated better. Approximately. Third, I did leave characters off the table. Specifically, anyone who is such a non-entity I can't really comment on them, like all of the Team Flare admins, named shopkeepers who do nothing, or (with apologies to their fans) the Hoenn Frontier Brains I have never met. I didn't do Emerald Frontier. I will never do Emerald Frontier. I do not know these people. I did attempt to supplement some information from Masters, but even then I still do not know these people. But because of this supplementing, I did include Masters OCs. I did not draw from the manga, because I've never read it.

But yeah, cast your aspersions or praises as desired. Or make your own tier list and tag me in it to call me out as having shit opinions/reinforce my personal biases. Either way.

[tessa-quayle]

spotlight on the OFC

(fanfiction recommendations) :)

the reader insert, the second person, the y/l/n convention (which, for me, can disrupt the text and i haven’t gotten used to it - not criticizing those who do it - i'm the problem, it’s me 🤪) are all the rage in fanfiction.  i get the immersive appeal, and many of the fics i love and enjoy employ the second person.  

richly drawn original characters draw me in and capture my attention. I appreciate how creative folks get with their OFCs, the headcanons, and how they have fun showing off these OFC’s quirks and strengths and interior lives and histories.  it’s a joy to read.

here are a few great OFCs in the Pedro Pascal Character universe.  the stories are engaging and this is a fairly diverse list of OFCs (by that I mean race/ethnicity, life experience, nationality, disability).  as always, each author issues their own warnings.

listed in alphabetical order by writer:

@iamskyereads - Ezra (Prospect) x OFC Beatrice 

ongoing series (Compulsion).  love the sci-fi world-building in the first chapter. Beatrice is a sharp and compelling protagonist who’s suffered a traumatic brain injury and has PTSD.  

@intheorangebedroom - Frankie (Triple Frontier) x OFC Gabrielle 

complete series (Pleased to Meet You).  angsty intercontinental love story between everyone’s favorite pilot and a cool French woman.  the descriptions of different cities are vivid.

@jazzelsaur - Frankie (Triple Frontier) x OFC Ellie

complete series (Between the Raindrops).  the slow burn here is a smolder in the best sense.  Elliot (Ellie) is a widow who lives next door to Frankie.  the weight of grief and angst in this series is remarkable. 

@jomiddlemarch - Joel (The Last of Us) x OFC Grace

loose-fit series (On Call for the Apocalypse).  crossover with Ted Lasso.  set in Jackson WY between seasons 1 and 2, Grace is a snarky doctor (scratch a cynic, find a romantic) hanging out with Joel and Ellie  (format better on AO3)

@julesonrecord and @lunapascal ( @stardustandskycrystals) - Dieter (the Bubble) x OFC Andie 

ongoing series (Curls).  we’re rooting for Dieter and Andie amid all the drama and shenanigans surrounding a pregnancy and a wedding.  this reads like a novel you finish in one sitting.  

@ladamedusoif - Mr Ben (SNL) x OFC Lydia 

ongoing series (Visiting).  Lydia is a European art historian who goes to teach at an East Coast liberal arts college and meets the dashing Mr Ben.  delightful and smart (and I'm not just describing Mr Ben).

@radiowallet - Marcus (We Can Be Heroes) x OFC Amy

ongoing series (Eyes Open).  Single parents Marcus and Amy find love in the workplace, HR be damned.  Amy contains multitudes and the portrait of her as a mother is especially real and sweet.

@whatsnewalycat - Din (Mandalorian) x OFC Charlie

ongoing series (Passenger).  Gritty, dark, cool AU where Din Djarin is a trucker/bounty hunter and Charlie is making her way west.  this fic has a lot of postmodern energy.

@yespolkadotkitty - Pero (Great Wall) x OFC Jade

complete series (Fighting Blind).  Fun, winsome adventure between a museum curator and our favorite Spanish warrior.  Love the time-travel element, the nod to the Asian diaspora, and the rich world-building.  This series is stay-up-past-your-bedtime reading.

feel free to share your fic recs and favorite OCs/OFCs (your own and/or others)!  ❤️

[havealotonmymind]

Fears

Summary: Drunk after another fresh victory, the party discusses their silliest fears with one another. When Astarion chooses to abstain, Leviathala (OC) grows ever curious as to why.

Rating: T

Category: Astarion/Original Female Character(s), Astarion/Tav, Astarion & Gale & Karlach & Lae'zel & Shadowheart & Tav & Wyll (Friendship)

Additional Tags:

Party Banter, Alcohol, Developing Friendships, Astarion Being Astarion, Developing Relationship, Blood Drinking, Sexual Tension, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Feelings Realization, Asexuality Spectrum, Named Tav, Tiefling Tav, Fighter Tav

Also available on AO3!

This was partially inspired by that moment in Act 3 when you try to send Astarion up to the circus stage and he gets upset. I just thought it was funny and it led me to wonder what other silly things the main companions might be scared of. Or at least intensely dislike.

Then it devolved (or evolved depending on how you look at it) into Astarion/Lev shenanigans lol. I think of this as a prelude to the first night they spent in the woods ;)

“Needles,” Gale said after taking a long swig of wine. “I don’t like needles. They make me feel, er…well, squeamish gives the impression of a worm. Uncomfortable, I suppose.”

Wyll couldn’t help but laugh. “You’ve faced down an entire goblin army with all manner of blades pointed at you. I’m surprised you’d shy away from the mere prick of a needle.”

Settling by the campfire after dinner had become their party’s unspoken tradition for the past tenday or so. Those first few distant nights had been tough. After all, how could anyone find pleasure in leisure with a mindflayer tadpole swimming around their brain?

When it was clear that they wouldn’t transform into monsters right away, however, that nervous energy died down, instead replaced by the kind of camaraderie brought on by good spirits and fine stories. Tonight, after many cups of wine and ale passed around, their group dared each other to reveal the silliest fears they had.

Gale frowned. “All right, well, what’s your silliest fear then? I’m sure everyone along the Sword Coast would want to know what could possibly terrify the famed Blade of Frontiers.”

“I’m sure there are some people who would like to know. Enemies, mostly, though I suppose I can make an exception for close friends.” Wyll poured himself another glass of ale. “I was raised to always be vigilant. A Duke’s son is susceptible to plenty of kidnapping and assassination attempts, after all. I became quite good at spotting would-be attackers hidden in crowds or up in rafters. Adroit as some of them thought they were, one good arrow to the chest stopped them cold.”

“I hesitate to ask, but how many such attempts have you or your father endured? It sounds awful,” Leviathala piped up. Her navy blue tail swished lazily back and forth in the dirt behind her.

“I’ve dealt with a fair handful before I became the Blade. I imagine my father faced even more so, given his travels. He used to tell me stories about roaming gangs of petty bandits he felled while on the Risen Road.”

“He may have embellished those a tad,” Shadowheart said. “Just to make sure he didn’t scare you.”

“Perhaps,” Wyll relented. “But it wasn’t the stories of bandits or monsters that scared me. As a child, I knew that there were always things I couldn’t control. Sometimes, whenever my father went off on some diplomatic trip, I worried that his caravan might overturn and tumble down a steep cliff or a bad storm would tip his ships. Bandits and monsters I believed wholeheartedly he could best, but a spot of bad luck? How could you fight against fate?”

“That’s hardly silly,” Karlach pointed out, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “I think every kid worries about their parents to some degree. Surely you’ve something a little sillier than that.”

He shrugged. “Sorry, that’s the best I have as far as silly fears go.”

“Man, your definition of silly needs some work,” Karlach said. “How are we supposed to laugh at that?”

“I thought the point of telling you all this was not to laugh.”

“I meant on the inside. I can stick to a promise no matter how drunk I get.”

“Well, what silly thing are you afraid of, then?” Wyll asked with an amused smile. Despite his heroic mien, he did have a bit of a mischievous streak to him.

Karlach rolled her shoulders and assumed a faux boxing stance. “Right, rough and tumble kid from the Lower City. You’d think I’d be pretty fearless, right? I thought so, too. Thought there was nothing I couldn’t beat down. Petty bullies, underbelly criminals, hell, even monsters.”

“You are much the same now,” Lae’zel pointed out.

“Yeah, but back then, I was afraid of something pretty silly in hindsight.” Her bravado dimmed just a tad. “I guess it’s kinda like Wyll’s fear, in a way. I was scared of thunderstorms. The really big ones with winds that felt like they could rip the roof right off your house. Thought they would just up and whisk me away from home.”

A far-off look passed over her face. Who knew that would come true in one way or another for her? Leviathala passed her the bottle of red wine they’d all been sharing for the past half hour without a word.

Karlach took a few long sips. “I stopped being scared of that a long time ago, though. I mean, thunder’s just all noise, right? No offense to the weather, but it’s gonna have to try a little harder to take me away from all this now. I really like all of you, you know?”

“Chk!” Lae’zel turned her nose up at the campfire. “I knew the beings on this Plane were weak, but I did not expect them to be this soft-hearted. I expect none of you would last more than a day in crèche K'liir.”

Shadowheart rolled her eyes. “Oh, and are you going to say you fear nothing?”

“A githyanki who would give in to fear is not worthy of serving Vlaakith.”

“What about when you were a child?” Gale asked before the two could break into another petty fight. “Surely even then, you must have had some irrational fear of the dark or monsters.”

At least Lae’zel seemed to ponder the question this time. “Githyanki do not tolerate any expressions of weakness. Like any young gith in-training, I wanted to prove myself above fear. But there was one creature on this Plane that I feared beyond all reason. Its body is pure muscle, strong enough to crush its prey if you were unlucky enough to find yourself in its grasp. Even a drop of its venom is said to paralyze you so you could do nothing but watch yourself be eaten. And yet, for all its prowess, it deigns to slither unassumingly along the ground.” She scowled as though the description alone was enough to make her sick. “For a creature to crawl so low and to strike so quickly…it disgusts me to this day.”

“Wait, so what were you scared of? Worms?” Karlach asked.

Leviathala snorted. “Snakes, I believe.”

“Funny, considering you look like one,” Shadowheart sniped.

Lae’zel’s eyes flashed with rage. “I suppose you are lucky I choose not to strike you down, then.”

“Do you expect me to thank you for staying your hand, gith?”

“I expect istik to be worms beneath my boot. And my time here has only proven me right.”

“Hang on, we all haven’t shared yet. You might find something worthy of fearing among us yet,” Wyll piped up from over his cup of ale. Ever the mediator. He nodded at Shadowheart. “And you, Shadowheart? Any silly fears we ought to know about?”

Her face fell. “I can’t remember.”

When everyone started to groan, she added, “It’s true! Perhaps there was something long ago I feared that’s just out of reach. Maybe if I faced it again, I would no longer be afraid of it.”

Leviathala threw her a look. Fearing wolves might not be deemed entirely silly, but it was something to tell the group at least. Especially when they were still camping out in the wilds.

Still, Shadowheart had divulged that information to her in confidence. No need to push the matter if she didn’t trust it to the others quite yet.

“Astarion, are you planning on joining us?” Gale called out over his shoulder. No manner of coaxing had successfully drawn him to their fire. Not yet, at least. It was still a courtesy they extended to him regardless.

Once everyone glanced back at his tent, Astarion’s mouth curled into a sneer. “And wantonly reveal my weaknesses just like that? No, thank you.”

“All right, killjoy.” Karlach passed the bottle back to Leviathala. “Go on then, Lev. What about you?”

Leviathala slung the bottle to her lips. “All your fears have been rather sensible so far,” she said. “But you might laugh at mine.”

“Aw, come on, we swore not to at the start of all this, didn’t we?”

“That we did, but Wyll still laughed at my discomfort with needles,” Gale said.

Wyll looked affronted. “I wasn’t prepared for it. But I do apologize. It wasn’t fair of me.”

Gale smiled and he bowed his head. “Apology accepted. I appreciate your candor, your grace.”

“All right, no need for grand titles,” Wyll grumbled, brushing him off. He gestured at Leviathala to continue. “Go on. Before anyone else starts calling me Lord or some other ridiculous thing.”

“As you wish, my Lord.” Leviathala made a show of bowing theatrically low and the others snickered.

“Walked into that one…” He knocked back the rest of his ale in a few gulps.

“Leviathala.” Her name rolled slowly over her tongue. “Named after a deadly creature known as the leviathan.”

“A rather fitting name for one as vicious as yourself.” From anyone but Lae’zel, it would have sounded like a sarcastic jab.

Lev tried not to preen at the compliment. “I must have been, oh, four or five when I asked my parents what my name meant. They handed me some monster guide or other. I don’t remember. All I do remember is trying to find the creature I was named after. When I saw it was a many-tentacled sea beast as big as the Gate itself, I think I started crying. I couldn’t help but imagine the leviathan learning of me somehow and hunting me down for stealing its name. I refused to go near any banks of water for weeks. Even now, getting on boats makes me queasy.”

A sharp burst of laughter behind her almost made her jump. Leviathala turned, stunned to find Astarion doubled over with a genuine smile on his face.

“Being afraid of your namesake is such delicious irony,” he said. “I imagine your parents must have been devastated when they found out.”

Karlach frowned at him. “Hey, we all promised not to laugh! Don’t be rude.”

“I promised no such thing. And besides, you can’t fault me for finding that funny.”

“Her parents are gonna be sad to hear that, y’know.”

“No, no, they found it as funny as Astarion did,” Lev said as she waved them off. “Which is why I rarely ever tell people unless you manage to get me drunk.”

Karlach glanced between him and Leviathala for a moment then gave an unsubtle grin. “Hey, Astarion, I have a question for you.”

“If it’s some roundabout way of asking me what ridiculous thing I fear, I’ll have to abstain.”

“Nah, nah, nothing like that.” She gestured at Lev. “You’ve been feeding on Lev’s blood for the past…I don’t know how long before I got here. If you drank her blood now, would you get drunk, too?”

Both Shadowheart and Gale, absolutely blasted off their minds on wine, failed to hide their laughter.

“That’s…a rather interesting question, actually. I suppose we’ll have to see tonight, won’t we?” Astarion flashed them all a toothy smile that showed off his fangs.

“Karlach, I’m not letting him drink my blood right now,” Lev said.

“Aw, come on! I wanna know!” She tipped violently as she made another grab for the bottle Lev still hoarded.

Leviathala kept it out of reach with a smile. “I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink.”

Karlach managed to right herself again. “No, ‘m fine! ‘s all fine. Just a bit…dizzy.”

A quick glance around revealed pretty much everyone was veering on positively drunk. It was harder to tell with Lae’zel’s stoic stance, but even from this distance, Lev could see the flush in her cheeks.

She pushed the cork back over the bottle of wine. “All right, that’s enough for one night. We still have more adventuring to do tomorrow. I’d rather we all not venture forth with hangovers.”

“Aw, come on!” Karlach whined. “I could do with a nightcap.”

“Drink some water, Karlach. I mean it.”

Karlach threw her hands in the air but headed off to her tent regardless. “Gods, okay, mum.”

“Don’t make me ground you, young lady,” Lev teased.

Their little group dispersed off to their own tents, some wobbling more than others. Leviathala’s gaze roamed over their camp, finally settling on Astarion’s tent. He still stood off to the side, eyes locked on yet another novel she picked up from the goblin camp. She recognized the cover: a faded copy of Journey of the Jungle with an equally dusty book ribbon.

Leviathala tried not to smile. Her tent was filling up with tiny stacks of books she’d taken from all the places they’d been. That particular copy of Journey of the Jungle had been at the top of her Finished pile. She had meant to put those all away in the Traveler’s Chest or sell them once she had the chance. Glad to see this book got at least one more use before then.

She drifted to him, trying not to trip over her own feet on the way there.

“I’m not apologizing, you know,” he said without even looking up.

She frowned. “For what?”

“Laughing at you.”

At this, she couldn’t help but scoff. “I’m not that fragile. Laugh away. I’ll find out what your silliest fear is yet. Mark my words.”

“Is that why you’re here?” The question was brusque, but not altogether unwelcoming of her presence. 

“I’m not prying it out of you, if that’s what you’re wondering. Where’s the fun in that?”

“Then go bother someone else. You’re in my light.” His eyes flickered up to her. “Unless you want me to test out what Karlach asked.”

“I am a bit curious, I won’t lie,” she said. “But I’ll try to drink a lot more water before I sleep tonight. Hopefully flush the alcohol out a bit.”

“My dear, you act as though I’m a lightweight. I can handle myself, don’t you worry.”

Leviathala hid a laugh behind her hand. “I won’t forget when you came back to camp drunk from bear blood. I don’t think the bear was indulging in spirits that night.”

He allowed himself the barest smile in return. “I’ve never had the blood of a creature that large before. It was quite the experience. Though, not as heady a tonic as your delicious blood, darling.”

“Spare me the flattery. I’m not sober enough to appreciate it.”

Astarion’s smile grew just a little wider. “Oh? I seem to recall you telling me to curb the compliments. Who knew you were hiding how you truly felt?”

“It’s not as if you mean most of them, anyway.” This was not a jab, but rather spoken as fact. As blue as the sky and as dark as the night, Astarion was a liar through and through. “But you make me laugh and that’s enough. I think anything concerning my blood is the only honest compliment you’ve given me.”

He smirked. “Hard to lie about the very source of life sustaining me.”

“Surely the animals you feed on are more filling. My blood can’t be more than a sip in comparison to the gallons at your disposal.”

“Are you telling me to stop drinking your blood?” Astarion asked, pouting. “I have grown rather fond of the taste, you know.”

“And how does it taste to you?” Leviathala leaned in just a little closer than she normally would. “I am morbidly curious. Is it sweet? Tart? Do different blood types have different tastes, I wonder?”

He laughed again, a high, breathy sound that made her feel warm. “Gods, you are a chatty drunk.”

“Is that bad?”

That stubbornly still-sober part that navigated her inhibitions and insecurities tutted at her. Yes, of course that’s bad. Stay quiet. Stay vigilant.

The alcohol dulled that nagging voice, and for once, she saw fit to ignore it.

Astarion shut the book and tossed it inside his tent. “Not necessarily. You’re a rather fun person when you aren’t snapping at me or being sickeningly helpful.”

“I consider this nightly ritual of ours a good deed in its own way. What’s a pint of blood when it lets you down our enemies in a single strike?” she said breezily.

“Careful, darling. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost think that was a compliment.”

Lev smiled despite herself. “Then I had better sober up fast. I wouldn’t want the alcohol to reflect on your performance tomorrow.”

“Oh please. The miniscule amount of alcohol seeped into your blood isn’t going to have any effect on me whatsoever.”

“Care to test that theory?”

After nights of sleeping through his late-night feeding, Lev hadn’t noticed any lingering pain or marks left behind. Just a general wooziness that went away as soon as she cast Lesser Restoration on herself. Surely he’d figured out some gentler bloodletting method that wouldn’t hurt as much as that first night.

“What, now?” he asked incredulously. “You wouldn’t rather wait until you were asleep first?”

She plopped onto the plush stool right by his mirror. “If I fell asleep now, I wouldn’t get to see how the alcohol affects you, if at all. Besides, I’m drunk. I don’t know if I’d feel your bite.”

“Really? Been bitten enough to tell the difference?” he teased.

“I trust you not to hurt me.”

At this, Astarion faltered. A bold claim indeed.

Leviathala tilted her head, baring her neck expectantly. “Well, go on then.”

This was neither dare nor command. It was simply one last thing to check off her list for the day, as routine as changing into sleeping clothes or putting seed oil on her spire-like horns before bed.

“Very well. Since you’re so insistent about it, how could I say no?”

His hands fell heavily on her shoulders to secure her in place. He was a lot stronger than she thought. Lev dipped her head, suddenly shy despite her earlier openness.

“You need to look up, darling,” he said with a faint smile like he could guess at her thoughts. “I can’t get a good bite in with your chin tucked like that.”

Leviathala took a deep breath and offered her neck to him once more. She fixed her gaze on the campfire, watching as the flames darted this way and that. A shoddy distraction. She could still spot Astarion closing in out of the corner of her eye.

His breath was like a chilly night breeze, welcome in the humidity of the oncoming summer nights. She squeezed her eyes shut the moment that he bit down. The alcohol did little to dull the numbing pain coursing through her. It wasn’t unpleasant, but that didn’t stop her from wincing anyway.

Her nails dug into the wood of the stool, more a reflex than any expression of pain, but she didn’t stop him. For all his playful lies and half-truths, she knew she could trust his restraint.

His slim fingers slid up the back of her neck to tangle in the soft wisps of her hair. Oddly enough, it almost felt…nice. Gentle. Gods, she must have been drunker than she thought.

Leviathala grunted in surprise when he wrapped an arm around her back, tugging her forth. The motion made her arch into him and she tried not to squirm. He hadn’t done this the very first night he bit her. There was a new hunger here.

Her breath caught when his lips trailed after a stray drop of blood. Feather-light and barely there, an unwitting kiss to her collarbone to collect it at last. As Astarion traced his way back slowly, so enticingly slow, up her neck once more, Leviathala had to bite back a gasp. Every nerve was alight, her chest tight, breath quickening to compensate.

And just like that, he broke away with a satisfied sigh. The warmth of it, made only so by her blood, was an odd contrast to his cold, firm hands still set on her trembling shoulders.

His eyes shone brighter, almost glowing even in the dim firelight. “Mm…It does taste different. Sweeter. Although I don’t suppose you’d indulge in spirits every night just to satisfy me.”

Her mind was still a riot of lingering sensations. She could think of nothing witty to say. Or indeed, anything at all after that.

Instead, she dug her nails deeper into the stool, trying to reaffirm that this was real and she was as solid as anything else around her. To say that hadn’t thrilled her would be a lie, but it also overwhelmed her more than she was prepared for.

Leviathala fixated on a dark mark on his pale skin. There, that errant drop along the edge of his lips. The traitorous stray that caused this havoc in her mind.

She swallowed hard and said, “You’ve got some on your mouth still.”

The slow flick of his tongue along his lips gave her pause. This close, it was easy to study every detail of his pretty face. The thick lashes, dark eyes half-lidded and burning into her, sharp, clean jaw…

Leviathala’s eyes fell to his soft, bloody lips. Her blood. She would only have to tilt her head up just so and…

“Gone?” Astarion asked, sounding breathless. Ravenous. He wanted more.

Was that why he hadn’t moved away yet?

Gods, he was making it so hard to think.

“N-No, it’s…Here, I’ll get it.” Leviathala reached out to absently swipe at the corner of his mouth with her sleeve. She had to scrub the reminder from existence.

Quicker than she could react, he had a firm grip on her wrist. “Don’t touch me.”

A hint of rage and something else flashed in his eyes. Fear, she realized.

So many things clicked into place in that instant. His casual cruelties, why he always opted out of any group activities at camp…

Touch was a very loaded sense. Most times, Leviathala thought she might crave it. For someone to hug her when she was lonely or to physically reach out as a show of support. Whenever anyone did, however, some deep, primordial part of her recoiled. It was so strange to crave something so commonplace and yet loathe its very presence.

She was trying her hardest to get over it. She would hug her friends, her family. Even then, that stiffness never left her. Somewhere inside her, she feared she would never overcome that.

And now she saw that same revulsion echoed in Astarion. Funny how such a kinship could finally put her unquiet mind at ease.

Her hand went limp immediately. “I’m sorry. I’m—”

“Not thinking. Yes, I know. Clearly.” He let her go with a disgusted sigh.

Lev opened her mouth to apologize again then faltered. It would only anger him more, she was sure. 

“You don’t feel anything, then?” she asked instead.

His gaze turned sharp. “What?”

“My blood. The alcohol. Nothing?”

At this, he visibly relaxed. “O-Oh, right. No. Nothing.”

“Shame. It would’ve been funny to see you tipsy again.” Lev leaned back with a sigh. Parts of her felt like they were floating away. Maybe it wasn’t such a good decision to drink herself silly and let a vampire drain her on the very same night.

“And while it is very entertaining to see you tipsy, I was almost finished reading that dreadful novel,” he said as he stooped down to retrieve it. “So do take care to pass out somewhere else for the night.”

Leviathala made a big show of rolling her eyes. “Fine, I’ll get out of your hair. You’re welcome for the blood, by the way.”

“Oh, um…thank you,” he said haltingly. “I do mean that, you know.”

“I do know.” The rest of the tension in her shoulders crumbled away at last. Those rare moments he showed humility were endearing.

As she began to head off to her tent, a sudden thought occurred to her. Perhaps it was stupid to worry over a simple misunderstanding, but it was better to be clear than let any discomfort linger.

“I won’t touch you without your permission again.”

She said it aloud without turning to look back at him. His silence needled into her spine, twisting as painfully as any dagger would. She clasped her hands behind her back to give an air of casual indifference. Her tail swinging nervously to and fro still gave it all away.

“Funny, I seem to recall you being cursed to put your hands on everything.”

A cracked note of amusement forced itself through. His own strained attempt at brushing the matter over.

She smirked. “I’m being serious. Don’t tease me.”

“If only you weren’t so fun to tease.”

Leviathala chuckled as she absently rubbed the sore spot on her neck. There wasn’t a speck of blood when she drew it back. Impressive. Maybe vampires had coagulant in their saliva. Or Astarion was just very careful.

It dawned on her that perhaps he had already worked out the cleanest way to feed from her these past few nights. Another part of her wondered how gently his lips might stray over her entire body should she allow it.

She shook her head. Best not to pick at that loose thread yet.

“Clowns.”

Leviathala glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’m sorry?”

He kept his eyes fixed pointedly away. “My silliest fear. I’ve never been very fond of…clowns.”

Even as out of it as she was, she could tell this had taken a great deal of internal debate to admit. It was a surprise he’d even tell her at all.

The growing silence made him shift on his feet. “Don’t tell the others.”

“I won’t. I promise.” The answer was immediate. Instinctive. Astarion’s trust was a fragile thing. She would not tarnish it by spilling a fragment of a secret, no matter how silly it was. She spread her arms out wide. “Although it’s very possible I’ll simply forget it in the morning. Who knows?”

Astarion smiled. “Oh, I count on it. Why else would I admit my darkest secrets to a drunkard?”

“Come now, I don’t drink very often. This is a fluke.”

“What a shame. I rather like this more open side of you. You’re very cheeky without it being grating.”

A warm swell of pride filled her whole being. “I’ll try to be more open when I’m sober then.”

He snorted. “Sure. I’ll look forward to that.”

“Good night, Astarion.”

“Do try not to dream of krakens tonight.”

“Ha ha,” she said sarcastically. “I’ll trust you won’t dream of circuses, then.”

“It’s far too late for that. I’m already traveling with one.”

“Says the main clown.”

Their laughter mingled in the air between them. It helped to bridge the gap like an outstretched hand. A silent offer of true companionship laid hidden in his sharp-toothed grin.

Lev clasped her hands behind her back, her tail swishing happily behind her. “Good night.”

“Good night, darling.”

She shuffled back with a dopey smile stretched across her face before turning away again.

If she was more sober, she might have dodged the warm thoughts swirling around her mind. As it was, indulging in them now didn’t seem so bad.

There was no denying that Astarion was handsome. Beautiful, a bolder part of her insisted. He made her laugh. He paid attention to what she said, remembered small details she mentioned only in passing. And the way he stared at her…

Well, it was enough for any tipsy heart to hope. To feel safe enough to fall for him.

It was the alcohol and blood loss talking, she was sure. All this would disappear in the morning. Leviathala fell against her bedroll with a content sigh and drifted off almost immediately.

It was a horrifying thing to open her eyes and realize that every single floaty, drunken thought still rang true in the morning. The moment she met Astarion’s eyes across the campfire, he smiled knowingly, letting his gaze linger just a little longer than normal.

Did he know? Had he known all along?

Leviathala averted her gaze, face burning and absolutely mortified.

Shit.

[diamond-dangeresque]

For the OC's Background game: 👑🌹🐾 for the OC who is on your mind right this moment!

I had Dragon Age on the brain, but seeing Charr pfp dragged my dumbass back into Guild Wars Lalaland, soooooooooo

surprise! it's not my Revenant!

👑 ~ "Person who raised your OC and/or was important during their formative years": While his mother Natalie raised him for the bulk of his life, the most important figure in his life was his father Arthur. He vanishes from Erik's life when the boy's about four or five years old, basically just leaving the family one night with no explanation and no context that Erik is cognizant of. Arthur was a proud man with a kind heart and lots of love for his only son, though Erik doesn't remember too much else about him. Where Natalie tried to harden her son's heart, Arthur remains as the lingering memory and lesson that being soft is not weakness.

There's an old, ratty devourer plush Erik takes meticulous care of through his exemplary Tailor training. It was once the grand prize of a trick archery game stand from a carnival that passed through Queensdale. His father won it for little Erik, and it's one of the last physical things of his father he still has.

🌹 ~ "First relationship": Of course, Erik is attached to the hip of one Braham Eirsson. They had met in the early months after Zhaitan's demise, but their relationship didn't officially take off until at some point when the Commander reaches Elona, and specifically after the events that lead to the God of War's demise. Some rumormongers peddle the idea that it started earlier, such as after Braham's last sighting in Bitterfrost Frontier, but rumors are all it is.

For those within the Pact, and especially from the Pact's early days, the Commander and the first Marshal had a closeness that couldn't quite be called "friendship", but calling it a "relationship" was also something of an exaggeration. It started with bonding over Orr and its history and sharing what each knew, and soon the talks grew longer into the night, less about Orr, and eventually behind closed doors altogether.

Only two people know the truth, and one of them's dead in a dragon corpse.

🐾 ~ "Pets": Despite his father's Ranger proficiencies, Erik only ever had one pet: a small white rabbit named Nemmy who was originally used to lure a salamander drake and ended up surviving its job by virtue of said drake never needing to be lured (itself a long story). He keeps and raises it for several years, and it lives a good long life as a spoiled white rabbit.

And then it dies. Of natural causes, of course. The rabbit wanted for nothing and, again, was well-cared for. Nemmy went to sleep one day and simply didn't wake up. A good death by pet standards.

There's a whole other story about young boy Erik awakening his necromantic magic by accidentally "resurrecting" Nemmy and creating his first Bone Minion, but that's also not for this post. Nemmy is still around in the Haptem manor, a large and old Bone Minion with a pretty pink ribbon around its thin, sinewy neck.

[experimentallifeform]

Little sneak peak into something I had been working on, I want to start drawing again and posting here as iv mentioned before so I'll be posting again soon, I still need to properly bring back the comic that I wanted to start

Here is a my own frontier brain symbol, I hope you all can tell what it is~

[lixenn]

Progress report

Update on the wiki:

It's coming along nicely and I'm nearly done with Dan's character page! I will need to rephrase his history section as well as add some figure out some more info on the relationship part but I think I will be done soon (or as done as I can be lmao).

However I still need to work out some formalities with the wiki itself like the main page (hahahaha haha ha... i don't know what to do with that OTL) adn style and editing guide stuff like that. Also... I might redesign the Varia emblem thingy... maybe.... I'm shit at designing things but I want my Varia to have its own logo which I can add to the wiki. I might go with the default logo thing for now because redesign takes a lot of brain power for me.

Anyways! It might take some more time but I think I will be comfortable with launching the wiki soon so you guys can look forward to that!

Otherwise, currently doing not much sequel writing because I got distracted by wiki and depression but I will try to work some more on chapter 6 at a later date 🫡

As for art I'm currently just kind of... back to the basics? I have this sketch practice thing going on with me reading the Shangri la Frontier manga from the beginning after catching up with the anime. I'm kind of also drawing a lot of hands because my brain decided that's where to start with anatomy practice (don't ask me why I think it's because I found a nice tutorial video which I really liked). I actually want to draw reference sheets for my main OCs but for that I kind of need to either find refs for each body type (cause all of them have different ones OTL) or i need to figure out how to draw the full bodys myself. Both kind of sound... like a lot of work so I'm kinda putting it off lmao. Also I think for full colour drawings I need to find a different line art brush again which is annoying. And I kind of want to have at least a semi-consistent art style for my ref sheets so I will need to figure that out as well (I have plans for the eyes but other stuff like hair and clothing is kind of... ugh).

In conclusion:

Wiki will be launched soon (hopefully), sequel is a bit on the back burner (because i need to scratch together a lot of writing brain cells for the wiki) and art is - like always - kicking my ass!

Cheers!

[jewishdragon]

For Yonah and/or Sophia:

1, 3, 13, and 19!

you got it!

Was your OC influenced or inspired by any particular fictional character(s) when you made them?

Ok so both Yonah and Sophia are explicitly based on characters from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Princess Sophia started off as basically a clone of Princess Cimorene except instead of tall and pale skinned she's short and dark skinned. The only difference was Sophia liked being a princess (though i made it better to be one), she was just not good at it, acted out, etc (turned out i gave her The Autism and ADHD without realizing it). sophia's personality has developed a lot since her inception and she's no longer a cimorene clone but that is how she started.

She's also based on the prince from EFC book 1 who was cursed to be a half-stone statue. basically he was made of stone but could still move. Sophia has a similar curse but it turns her into glass (they have figured out a way to temporarily disable this for about 4hrs at a time)

and instead of being kidnapped by a dragon she's kidnapped by a giant wizard.

which brings us to Yonah! the giant wizard! He is not an as much of a clone of an enchanted forest chronicles character as sophia was... but he's REALLY similar to Brandel the fire witch who lives in a tower in a swamp. wants to be left alone (very shrek vibes )

as Yonah is a half-giant half-fire witch who lives in a tower in a magical forest. also got some shrek vibes. remember one of the firsts scene in shrek? where he tells a group of soldiers that he's not a giant so he doesnt grind bones into bread, but had a bunch of other specific threats involved turning body parts into food? yonah also wouldnt do that but only bc that's too much work but uhhh he aint above biting of limbs >.> he is an EVIL giant after all! Hire him to pillage a town or something :D

3. What genre would your OC do badly in but it would be hilarious or interesting to watch?

My OCs being designed to be genre savvy would probably be hilarious in most genres since ideally they'd be adapted to be savvy for them! But let's say they arent savvy in other genres. Their source genre is farcical fairytale/fantasy so they'd not be great at horror or romance XD they'd be ok in SciFi. 13. What Pokémon would be on your OC’s team and/or what would be their preferred type?

I HAVE SOMETHING BETTER THAN LISTS I HAVE ART OF THIS

Yonah and sophia as gym leaders/elite four/frontier brains. art by @fedoraqueen

Sophia's team is Forest Themed: the largest lycanroc (her starter), Trevenant, Shamin (does not battle), Shroomish, Usaring, Stantler

Yonah's team is Mage/magic themed (sort of): Mismagius, Bewear, Aloan Marowak (shiny), Alakazam, and Snivvy (his starter, who he named Sophia, does not fight)

his Bewear is NOT short, yonah is FUCKING TALL.

19. If your OC was in Star Trek’s Starfleet, what would be their role/position? Or, if that doesn’t really fit your OC: why would they get kicked out of Starfleet? Yonah is Science and Sophia would basically be asexual!beckett mariner from lower decks (parents are an admiral/captain and while she willingly joined starfleet she was forced to go into command and there are high expectations and she CANNOT get kicked out even if she acts reckless and disobeys orders)

Also in most AUs/alt versions of these characters taht arent in a fairytale world, Yonah was Sophia's babysitter rather than her evil captor. (they still are obviously best friends tho, yonah would have been like 12 when he started babysitting a 5 year old sophia, so once Sophia is an adult they are besties)

[historia-vitae-magistras]

☕🤒🌴🩹 for the maple boy?

☕️ HOT BEVERAGE — does your oc prefer coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk, water, or some other drink? how do they like to take this drink (ex. coffee with milk, hot chocolate with whipped cream, a specific kind of tea, etc)?

He's got 20% of the world's fresh water and is still chronically dehydrated. But his coffee and tea consumption is a lot like his sexuality: 'a port in any storm.' If it's warm and someone's offering, he'll take it. Probably was mostly in the habit of taking whatever someone was making without fuss. If his heart rate is already 150 billion and Alfred gets him a triple espresso, it'll go down the hatch. He veers slightly towards tea because there's more variety, and a shit cup of tea is still going to be a lot less awful than a bad cup of coffee on the frontier. Part of his divorce settlement was a shit ton of top-grade matcha that Kiku left in one of Jan and Matt's former Dutch Antilles seaside fuck shacks, and he got pretty fond of that. Spoils of whore, as it was.

🤒 FACE WITH THERMOMETER — does your oc get sick easily?

Not by a human standard, nah. By Alfred's standards, Matt is a wuss. His problem is that he avoids issues and won't admit anything's wrong with him until he's keeled the fuck over, and if anyone suggests he should do something different, he probably will avoid them, too, until he feels better. Zee suggests he stop smoking after he gets his lungs ceviched for a fourth time, and he just ducks her for a few months. Science proves gulping freezing air is terrible for the lungs? Doesn't count. He's Canada, goddamn it. Jack will call him a blue-footed tit, and he has to check, but he's fine lol.

🌴 PALM TREE — does your oc have a green thumb? Do they enjoy gardening?

Yes! Gardening doesn't like him out of certain habitable (to the colonial project, at least) river valleys, but he has a knack for keeping things alive. He's one of those softies who will pick up cuttings from the floor of a plant nursery and slowly coax them into whole-ass plants. There's an account of children in New France bringing their kitchen herbs to sleep with them in bed before central heating. The absolute most dire symbol that Matt's about to lose his mind hardcore is when he transfers custody of his plants to a willing human. Have you seen the ficus? No? Oh god, is he in the bottom of Hudson Bay again?

🩹 ADHESIVE BANDAGE — does your oc have any physical and/or mental disabilities?

Unfortunately, the collected effects of 300 years of vitamin D deficiency are poorly understood so ehhhh. Lungs are a bit fucky. He transferred too fast from Italy to France in 43 to 44 without letting his back heal from the chunk of shrapnel Alfred tugged out of him, and that's been a bit fucky since. Ankles are the normal hockey levels of a bit fucky. Brains a lot fucky, but in a way, thats really only intrusive on him when he's by himself because, god, he's made a fine art out of avoiding being a nuisance. He's one of those people where you're not sure if there's actually a problem that wouldn't be solved if he could just get his shit together (most of the family + friends view) or wow he's actually just fucked (social model of mental illness view.)

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