#i believe that's the tag for this specific flavor of oc

[vacantgodling]

a guide to: hyacinthus shrapnel

thank you to anyone who's expressed interest in my favorite asshole man--at some point i'll do this for more ocs, but i am not immune to favoritism. gently tagging those who i think would wanna see this:

@henrike-does-writing-sometimes @outpost51 @void-botanist @jezifster @mjjune @sergeantnarwhalwrites @ink-flavored @astral-runic @calicohyde @kk7-rbs @foxys-fantasy-tales @inadequatecowboy @sarahlizziewrites @multi-lefaiye

transposed under the cut!

SLIDE 1: A GUIDE TO HYACINTHUS SHRAPNEL -- the meanest, prettiest, and most emotionally constipated man ever. by @vacantgodling, yours truly

SLIDE 2: BASIC INFORMATION pt. 1

FULL NAME: HYACINTHUS SHRAPNEL (nicknames: HYA (by amon), CINTHY (by aloe, lovingly, and tagetes, degradingly), CINTH (by narci))

AGE: 31

BIRTHDAY: he hates talking about his birthday, so you won’t get the exact date. just know that it falls during the galerian form of “christmas” which is the two weeks of may 12th — may 24th. its somewhere in there :)

GENDER: TROIBEMME (HE/HIM PRONOUNS ONLY)

the galerian equivalent to our nonbinary; an entirely separate gender denomination that blurs the line between masculine and feminine; encompassing everything inbetween, nothing at all, or outside of a binary frame altogether. its considered a ‘third gender’ by the galerian people, and has been observed in galerian history for centuries. old galerian even features multiple pronoun sets, but they have been lost in the modern age. nowadays, those who present as troibemme usually use “they” “he” or “she” but this does not negate their troibemme status. gender =/= pronouns etc.

SOCIAL STATUS: WIFE OF THE KEEPER OF CHATEAU AUX AISLES D’OR

husband and wife refer to the specific social hierarchy in galere. “wife” and “husband” respectively refer to the role of being a breadwinner and connection maker (husband) versus the manager of the house and finances (wife). wives do occasionally lead the way in organizing at home balls. child rearing (in upper society) is usually left to maids and nanny’s—not a responsibility of either parent. traditionalists believe wives should take on this task as children are part of the “home”, but in actual valerian society children are usually pawned off. all of the gunn clan, sans aloe (as he is part of the clergy) are wives.

SLIDE 3: THE GUNN FAMILY TREE

a family tree that showcases the main gunn family tree. lonicera gunn and clematis gunn are crossed out because they are deceased. they were wed first and had 3 children, tagetes gunn de beneaux (40, they/them), iberis winch (36, he/him) and narcissus spokes (33, she/her). while it is not indicated by the chart, clematis had a relationship with moxie shrapnel in lonicera's twilight years, giving birth to hyacinthus shrapnel (31, he/him) and his name is in bold lettering. then, clematis finally married belladonna anvil (who hyphenated her name to anvil-gunn) and had 2 children, lavendula caldern (28, she/her) and aloe anvil-gunn (24, he/him).

SLIDE 4: BASIC INFORMATION PT. 2

SOCIAL STATUS: aside from a wife, hya is also a BASTARD. this is not a well kept secret.

bastards, as per the definition, are illegitimate heirs. hyacinthus is the 4th child of the dodgy businessman, CLEMATIS GUNN, who had an affair with a prostitute, MOXIE SHRAPNEL (where hya gets his surname), during his first wife’s decline in health. 

bastards have no claim to family fortunes, so when clematis passed, hya would’ve been shit out of luck if he wasn’t essentially adopted by tagetes. hya has also never met his mother to his own knowledge as she fled the situation when clematis started getting more abusive.

in order to marry the keeper, tagetes had birth certificates forged. whether or not the keeper knows of this deceit is questionable; but the large dowry tagetes paid to facilitate the marriage has seemed to placate them enough not to question it.

MISC LIKES: coffee (misted ivory geisha is his favorite in universe blend—its imported from the northeast country i have yet to name), fashion (dresses, shoulder pads, and embroidery are his favorite things), gold & white (for jewelry, dress, and aesthetically), MONEY (he’s extremely materialistic), reading & literature (he’s very critical however—in a modern au he would probably be a pretty well renowned critic).

in general however, hya is easily annoyed.

SLIDE 5: what annoys hya, you may ask? FUCKING EVERYTHING. thank you for being polite because he's not :D

SLIDE 6: GENERAL APPEARANCE

HEIGHT: 5’11” (~180cm)

EYE COLOR: dark brown

HAIR COLOR: black, with hime bangs (square bangs in the front with short, square cut side bangs that frame the face and chin), and long hair that reaches to his mid back.

BUILD: broad, girthy👀, and imposing. when he finds time to work out is a mystery to most, but his physique shows he clearly does.

there are 2 photos of hyacinthus to display his looks; a broad shouldered, dark brown skinned man with fox-shaped and narrow eyes, multiple piercings (nose, ears, and lip), and two beauty marks under his left eye. he is wearing an intricate white and gold outfit in the picture on the right. in the one on the left he is wearing an intricate white and gold choker. there are 2 thought bubbles over each. one says "RBF STRONG AF". the other says "even though hya is so well manicured he hates showers bc #childhoodtrauma. he does take baths though!"

SLIDE 7: everything on hya glitters like gold -> here’s a map of hya’s piercings and notable features

the picture shows various arrows pointing to hyacinthus (who has his mouth open to reveal that his canine teeth on his upper row of teeth have been replaced by sharp, solid gold). they point to his beauty marks, canines, and various piercings.

SLIDE 8: IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS

as an aside, hya didn’t have friends growing up because he literally wasn’t allowed to leave the estate his father trapped him in until he was 19… and that was bc his dad died and tagetes ‘adopted’ him.

TAGETES ⟶ despite the fact that tagetes basically raised hya, the two of them hardly see eye to eye. tagetes views, treats, and exploits hya (as they do everyone) as a means to their end goals—though what those goals are is anyone’s guess. hya doesn’t trust tagetes as far as he could throw them. yet, at the same time, they have a strange sense of obligation and “care” (if it can be called that) towards one another. tagetes was definitely the main influence into why hya is Like That.

ALOE ⟶ since aloe turned 10 and learned that he had an older brother whom he hadn’t met yet, he began to try and write letters getting to know hya. despite being generally brash, crass, and a pain in the ass, hya really cherishes aloe’s letters and companionship, and they actually meet for the first time in person during the events of paramour. 

AMON ⟶ y’all knew it was coming. i feel like i don’t even have to explain this one they are obsessed with each other in the most toxic of ways lmao. amon infuriates hya down to a molecular level, yet he is also the only man—only person—hya has ever been attracted to. (and he will not EVER admit that)

SLIDE 9: HIS OPINIONS ON...

… Narcissus ⟶ she annoys him and he can’t understand why she’s so obsessed with trying to ‘fit in’ with other people. also he wished she wouldn’t try to talk his ear off every time she saw him.

… Iberis ⟶ he literally doesn’t have one. the two of them avoid each other like the plague.

… Lavendula ⟶ avoids her like the plague if he can help it, but she actually looks up to him in a way, especially based on the things aloe has told her about him. they aren’t close and don’t really speak until her book but that’s a whole other thing.

… Clematis ⟶ #daddyissues. hates the man’s guts and is glad he’s dead.

… Lonicera ⟶ she died before he was born, but even if she lived, he would’ve never met her regardless. no opinion.

… Moxie ⟶ he’s never met his mother to his knowledge, so he has no opinion of her. she loves him very much and there’s more to that story that we won’t hear about until empire (tagetes’s book)

… Belladonna ⟶ the loathing is mutual

… Erecia ⟶ he doesn’t gain an opinion of her until lavendula’s book, and even then it’s mostly just “that’s amon’s friend” territory

… Viola, Barbatus, & Rumex ⟶ he’s not good with kids so he tries not to interact if he can avoid it

… Helianthus ⟶ finds him EXTREMELY obnoxious

… Terian ⟶ no opinion, they’ve never met.

… Miss Shanin ⟶ she’s always in his way and he’s generally annoyed by and suspicious of her

… Vira, Tamhas, Asahel ⟶ no opinion at all. they’re just servants.

… The Keeper & The Bishop ⟶ finds them genuinely disturbing. distrusts them HEAVILY.

SLIDE 10: ASSOCIATIONS

alcoholic drink: white russian

food: steak bechamel

colors: white & gold

flower: yellow hyacinths

animal: leopard

zodiac: taurus

tarot: six of swords

song: lyin’ to myself — todrick hall

[noblebs]

oc interaction tag

tagged by @fortunatetragedy like 2 weeks ago lmaooo ;;;

your oc:

Khalid is a 12-year-old Son of Ether who is beginning his Ph.D. in biophysics. (Quantum biophysics, specifically.) He is curious, friendly, and socially isolated; also touch-averse and easily startled. He understands more references than you'd think he would. The air around him seems charged with electricity at all times, and he has a shock of white hair in his wavy dark brown hair. He wears safety goggles around his neck at all times hoping no one will notice his neck. (Or he wears a button-up shirt with a tie under a lab coat everywhere. Harder to see his throat that way.)

my oc:

Orion Murphy is a fae creature with a desperate desire for companionship, which manifests as a set of large fangs on his throat, a host of eyes he can't see through scattered across his body, and a frequent craving for human flesh. he wears fashionable (and often revealing) clothes, travels constantly for a job he hates, and smokes a lot. she is dishonest, self-absorbed, and capricious, but generally a people person. she fears the vulnerability of getting too close to others emotionally, but once she decides to hold onto someone, just about nothing will make her let go.

it was tough picking between Orion and Marrow for this--I think Khalid would be fascinated by Marrow.

of course Orion would not mention the neck thing or try to sneak a better look, she's tried to hide her teeth before so she gets it. but also...Orion really likes kids. whether he's good with them maybe depends on who you ask, but he would talk to and treat Khalid like an adult (he does not believe any topics to be age-inappropriate lmao) and would indulge whatever interest Khalid had in checking out the extra eyes/teeth. he wouldn't understand half of what Khalid talks about--Orion's not particularly well-educated--but would certainly be happy to listen if he's inclined to infodump. I don't think Orion could ever say "no" to a child tbh.

might actually be a problem if she gets attached though... faeries' reputation for stealing children is not entirely unearned. and she would be horrified by all the shit I know Khalid's gone through lmao

how likely is it she would eat him? ummmmmmm don't worry about it

I'll tag hmm @writernopal @autism-purgatory @coarsely @ink-flavored and PLEASE ANYONE ELSE who wants their oc to be friends with any of my ocs lol

[raccoonfallsharder]

Hi! I just wanted to say I've been reading through Window Across the Galaxy - inching forward but reading it - and the way you write Rocket is so damn good. Though maybe I'm biased to hell and back because that is also exactly how I pictured pre-vol. 1 Rocket, haha.

The switching perspectives offer so much. I love how much they are misunderstanding each other.

Your work is inspiring me to want to work on my own wip OC fic. I've only just finished reading chapter 2 but I'm so hooked on Jolie and Rocket's tale. I love all these little snippets we get about her and her career as an artist/appraiser/restorer is so interesting.

A few questions, I know there are a lot of little references to the comics here and there, some I recognize from my own forays into reading those, and when I don't, I look it up because honestly, you add so much flavor and life to the worlds you write that I feel the need to know more. For the stuff that isn't a reference or at least a direct reference (as in a product from a known planet), how do you decide on names and other specifics? I personally long to do that in my writing but struggle with thinking things sound believable.

My other question is do you have any tips for writing Rocket? I know technically he hasn't said anything yet where I am in the story - semantics really, lol - but even through his thought process it sounds so much like him.

friend. sunshine. dewdrop. every time i see a comment or message or ask from you, i get giddy as a six-month-old puppy. you are SO kind and generous and I appreciate your words & support SO much

i’m gonna (try to) answer your questions behind the cut because I am a wordy bitch. also these questions are hard because i don’t often think about HOW my brain works so i will do my best.

but first i wanna say that i am SO excited & honored to have encouraged you to work on your own oc fic! if you end up posting here pleeease tag me ♡ and if not that’s okay too. when i started Window i thought it was going to be just for me and honestly it freed me up to do whatever the fuck i wanted, at my own pace, and that is part of what has kept it fun for me.

K BUCKLE UP THIS IS LENGTHY

so in terms of the shit I just make up (Glortho’s Equation, Spartaxian sugardrops, various fruits and foods and soap and recycling-compressors and other general NONSENSE). this is a layered process.

Almost everything I make up, I try to root in a canonical environment/planet, and I want it to make sense for the characters to HAVE it.

so eg, recycling-compressors came about because, like, they just need a practical way to store or get rid of trash. Are they jettisoning it into space every cycle? Dropping it on a landfill planet? Rocket’s comics-canon disdain for Earth + mentions of intergalactic human lifeform rights policies that Earth doesn’t honor leads me to belief that MOST space-folk embrace more sustainable practices. could be a recycling planet, but i didn’t want them needing to travel there every eight rotations or whatever so i decided having a compressor would allow them to have longer gaps between unloading. but like, you could do ANYTHING. maybe most intergalactic packaging is made from products that can be burnt as a clean universal fuel or something ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

similarly i wanted my best raccoon boy to have access to fish. but since he’s a broke-ass bounty hunter 90% of the time, it’s gotta be something inexpensive/accessible (or stealable) - which means it’s probably a cheap export from a planet with a lot of water. Hello, Morag (and the resulting Moraggian moonfish). Sometimes I’ll reference something already canonical in connection to something I fuckin made up just to increase the sense that all these things interplay with each other (zargnut-crusted moonfish sold by a street vendor on conjunction).

Sometimes I do the opposite. I try to imagine what a product from a planet would look like. eg Indigarran beeswax. I thought, what would Indigar export? It’s this gorgeous planet with a cathedral/palace/place of devotion made of glass. if i - an aesthetique lol - had a glass cathedral, I’d want that shit lit up with candles. Can you imagine how gorgeous that would be? Glimmering everywhere. That’s how i spent too much time dreaming up Indigarran beeswax ceremonial candles for a throwaway line somewhere deep in Window I think ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I also figure because of Kree imperialism in this region of the galaxy, a lot of shit is probably Xandaran. Relatedly if it’s a product associated with wealth, I’ll use Xandar or Spartax (also Atraxia but I think I made that planet up lol). I’ll use Asgard occasionally too but less often because it’s supposed to be at the other end of the galaxy. So if I’m referencing a luxury item, it USUALLY comes from one of these places.

For writing Rocket. I think @aliasrocket recently wrote something about this and I agree with like, every flawless thing they said. I listen to a lot of Rocket clips. I try to hear each spoken line in my head in his voice. Some verbs will end in a hard -ing, and some in a soft hanging -in’. I might also use a conjunction (even if it’s not a “usual” conjunction). Sometimes I use something like a liaison in French (I don’t know if there’s a word for it in English, but I basically smush two words together). Moreover, I’ll go back through Rocket’s dialogue on reread and just make sure I don’t go more than like 1-3 sentences without some kind of word-softening. Some examples:

“What’re you laughin’ at me for?���

“Why d’you wanna do that?”

In third-person narration from Rocket’s perspective (non-dialogue) i still try to use these sporadically, but nowhere near as often because I am trying to separate narrative voice from speaking voice just a little.

I also try to consider rocket’s frame of reference for everything from his perspective. What does he know about because he’s seen it? Heard of it? How did he see or hear it? did he learn about it from a fellow prisoner in the Kyln? Someone he did a job for in Conjunction? An alien refugee on earth? Iron Man? Did he steal it? Make it? Buy it? Was it given to him and by whom and why? How trustworthy is his source? How trustworthy does he think they are?

…

OKAY. wow if you made it to the end of this novel you are IMPRESSIVE and I hope it was at least a little helpful. if you have any other questions I will be flattered and happy to answer them and I’ll try to less fuckin wordy. ♡

you are a gem & a blessing & I hope your fanfic-writing brings you JOY

[average-wellington-wellie]

OOC: Introductory post!

This is a roleplay blog for one of my OCs, specifically a Wellie named Alan Earl Days.

I will tag similarly as I do on my main WHF blog @we-joyless-few , but I will also include these tags:

#rp

a tag to indicate it’s a roleplay post!

#ooc

a tag to indicate it’s not a roleplay post!

#daily happenings

personal/main tag

#lore

for any asks/posts that give more lore/backstory into Alan’s life

#story rp

for longer rps with other people!

#letters

for asks

#oc story

mini fic

#messages back and forth

for back-and-forths between characters

i tag people’s ocs’ names (if provided), and different story rps will be tagged with their titles (if applicable) :)

——

Info About Alan (under the cut):

Pronouns: he/they

Occupation: Dishwasher at [redacted] Pub

Favorite Flavor of Joy: Strawberry

Likes: Frolicking, smiling, laughing, having fun, his job, rainbows, mysteries!

Dislikes: Bobbies, Joy Doctors, Anton Verloc, the dark, and the people who took his beloved Carolyn Days away…

Further Info:

Alan is a simple man who doesn’t ask for much. He prefers being kind and civil rather than causing too much of a ruckus.

However, ever since his life partner- Carolyn Days -was taken from him for reasons he doesn’t know for certain, he has gained a secret interest in investigating and solving mysteries.

He has one vinyl record that plays The Make-Believes’s last songs they played together as a band. He also has an alarm clock that reminds him to take his Joy!

He dreams of becoming more than just an average person, but for now he’s content in his day-to-day life.

[mareenavee]

Criminal asks! *grabby hands*

8, 15, and 22 please :)

Maple!! I was half wondering if you'd made this ask game before I saw the actual post this morning LOL. They seem like your kind of discussions, and I'm here for it.

Thank you for these!

From this caustic ask game right here.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

We're all entitled to our opinions, but I refuse to believe Ondolemar actually wants to be a Thalmor. He does some real RIEKLING BEHAVIOR SHIT in the Embassy for you if you get some bard or whatever arrested for their Talos-flavored nonsense. (Please, I hate this quest as much as the next person. I'm definitely live and let live ambivalent about Talos nonsense.) Granted, to get him to help here, you yourself have to not be a [redacted] idiot with the vocabulary of a Riekling yourself. :>

If he agrees to help you, then you get this gem of a conversation five feet from Elenwen, who is, presumably his superior:

Ondolemar: "How dare you speak of the Thalmor in such a disgusting manner!" Razelan: "What? I didn't... hmm? No listen, you must have misunderstood... I would never openly insult your... that is to say..." Ondolemar: "Your insults and provocations have gone far enough! I'd kill you where you stand if I wasn't bound by my oath as an officer of the Aldmeri Dominion."

This is Riekling Behavior. It is Causing Problems On Purpose for some [redacted] just because they helped with a simple quest he could have definitely thrown his power around to accomplish without thievery and tomfoolery.

To my eye he wanted to see if you, the player, were willing to throw away all reason to help him, and do so without getting your ass caught and thrown in jail. He needs people who can manage simple tasks without getting the entire government involved so he can trust you in the future. For what? Very out of character to LET IN RANDOM PEOPLE to secret Thalmor business in a secret Thalmor unjoinable faction.

He does not want to be part of this and/or is trying to do something about them. Bet. (Anyway thanks for coming to my TES talk.)

15. That one thing you see in fanart all the time

Hmm. I am usually in awe of fanart to be perfectly honest. But I suppose, and this is likely my very Aro/Ace brain, if I see a lot of fanart of pairings of OC/NPC, and I can't tell what the OC's deal is outside of who they are paired with -- ie, set aside, they have no personality at all on their own, then I'm going to be a little less likely to give the art attention. I want to know who the characters are, not just who they're [redacted.] Ya know what I mean? Sorry that's pretty blunt but it's true. I think this is why my favorite fanart is from or for people whose characters are part of a larger work -- ie a comic or a fanfiction. So I can understand the character.

This is specifically about fanart of pairings with no story other than x OC is with x NPC, that's it, that's their story. I am usually still in awe of just OC artwork, or just NPCs. And yeah there's always going to be exceptions but the question brought to mind maybe three artists I find myself bored of seeing work from LOL out of the hundreds I do love to follow.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

...Am I allowed to say Athis here?

Okay so. I don't think I have to defend him to you, Maple lol (: But for others who may be out of the loop -- we stan a good Athis and we just want him to make something of his life. Yes, yes.

Anyway he exists. He's that one elf dude in the Companions? That one, yes. He was a shell of a character, yes, in Vanilla. He also looks a bit... We'll just keep our opinions on the vanilla art direction to ourselves in this case. Anyway it's little wonder he's been ignored...

But yes, please, you're ignoring a favorite bean, friends. Write more Athis. I don't even care how you write him, but please. Join me in the tag. LOL he deserves attention.

I picked him for World because he was a shell character and due to the project I've become enamored of all the iterations that could be. So ... join me in the brain rot. Yes, thank you.

[cure-icy-writes]

Hi I am going around to everyone who reblogged that post with tags: please use this ask as an excuse to ramble about your ocs I want to hear about them

OwO? Well, if you insist~

Here's my first picrew approximation of Lux! Not a final design, but I wanted to figure out their facial features a bit-- they've got sort of catlike, narrow eyes, messy white hair, long/thin nose, sharp chin, and thin expressive eyebrows.

As for their clothing, their default design changed a bit-- frayed/saggy sweater that used to be recognizable as cable knit, and faded jeans with an inoffensive patch or two and large pockets. Mom jeans, y'know?

Lux's character is based on two things:

Aging is not a curse. Getting older doesn't mean you're missing out; it means you have new perspectives. Lux has the ability to see what the children in the story cannot, and life skills that they're lacking. So what if Lux isn't physically at their prime anymore? They can make phone calls and answer emails and spot scams.

You can still leave a legacy without having biological children. This one's important; Lux is some flavor of neurodivergent, and saw firsthand what happens when someone who never wanted a child is saddled with one.

Lux lost their parents at a young age, too young to really remember them, and for the most part will shrug and tell you that you can't miss what you never had. But they do feel a confused sort of grief and longing for what could have been, and visit their parents' graves once a year.

They ended up being taken in my their only living relative, their aunt. And this woman... she didn't want children, she was unqualified to raise children in a lot of ways, and she didn't do the best job. She wasn't really abusive, but she definitely was emotionally neglectful, and Lux was something of a wild child as a kid, wandering around and getting into fights.

But the adults in the community started to take notice of this, and began to provide for Lux in small ways. It started out with just little check ins, free clothing and food, but eventually Lux was having a home cooked dinner at someone else's house nearly every night. It takes a village to raise a child, and that village had started to step up.

When Lux left home, however, they lost this support system and started to revert back into their old ways, traveling and living on ramen, keeping a frankly abysmal sleep schedule, not even owning a comb.

They were eventually properly socialized, so flash forward to the present day, Lux has no kids, three money, and takes care of the neighbor kids sometimes. Because the other adults in town consist of:

sort of pathetic meowmeow scientist

former unshaven addict who had a daughter due to critical contraceptive failure and realized "oh shit oh fuck i have a child i need to get my life together STAT." he's doing his best to manage his addictions and keep his daughter safe, but there's a lot he falls behind on, and he doesn't feel like he can leave town for fear of relapsing

late bloomer lesbian who only realized she liked women after getting a husband and a son. the divorce didn't go great for her, but she kept custody

So Lux is an adult with back pain and a favorite kitchen appliance (it's the dishwasher. no question) and knows full well that they shouldn't have kids for fear of ending up like their aunt, but they also really enjoy being the cool aunty/uncle figure to the local kids.

They're the sort of genderqueer where they like a healthy balance of gender, don't believe in the pressure to perform androgyny, and use they/them for convenience. they only refer to themself as having a binary gender in a very specific mood, or when it's funny. gender is a performance and you gotta do it For The Bit.

oh also they forcibly adopt an edgy eleven year old who has beef with them as their weird little nephew and it's the funniest fucking thing. child you are not horrible or irredeemably evil, you are eleven. cmon let's go to mcdonalds and then get you some black eyeliner and introduce you to emo bands and sonic OCs, you need an outlet.

[forestlovesyou]

HAI HELLO!! WELCOME :]]

About me

I'm Aura (online I also go by Forest) and I'm your local friendly nanite swarm reporting for duty! :]

My pronouns are they/it (or pretty much anything) and while i'm neutral about other pronouns, these are my preferred ones. I'm agender and on the aroace spectrum also I'm a neurodivergent otherkin (elf- and robotkin). For extra info check out my pronouns page!

I put warnings under my posts in the form of tw and cw but general warning for blood, gore, nudity (art) and possibly other adult themes.

I am a legal adult (refer to my age on top of the page) and I will mention my boundaries regarding that later in the post.

Extra info about my interests, personal tags and boundaries under the cut! :]

Interests

My main hobbies include: drawing, playing video games, writing/roleplaying (although sadly not as often anymore in lack of a playing partner) and cooking. These are the things i mostly like to post about in no particular order or frequency.

Beloved media (hyperfixations come and go, some stay for longer while others don't, so I'd just list things I like again in no particular order): SAYER (podcast), Subnautica, Portal games, Ultrakill, Omori, Needy Girl Overdose, Dave the Diver, FNAF, IHNMAIMS, Psychopomp, Slay the Princess, The Stanley Parable, Umineko, Smiling Friends, Grand Theft Auto V, Steven Universe, Blade Runner movies, Breaking Bad, Stranger Things, Gatobob's and Scopophobia Studio's games (18+) and more...

Music I like: And One, Deftones, Sewerslvt, femtanyl, Twin Tribes, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Type O Negative, Home, IOTO, Rob Zombie, Joji, Jack Stauber, Lemon Demon, Sidewalks and Skeletons and more... as for genres: alt rock, synthpop, nu metal, goth, ebm, indie, dnb, electronic

Aesthetics: Weirdcore and all sorts of flavors within that but especially liminal spaces, Dreamcore, Meatcore/Gorecore, Vaporwave, Fairy grundge, Webcore, Goth

Personal tags

#thus spoke auramoeba - random musings of all kind

#auramoeba's art corner - my very own art and doodles! :]

#auramoeba hcs - headcanons of media I like

#auramoeba's writings - fanfictions and oc related stuff

#auramoeba's ocs - posts about my ocs in general :]

#diagnosis </3 - posts about my oc story "Diagnosis"

#HTTAC: Desire for Flesh - posts about my oc story "How to Tame a Cannibal: Desire for Flesh"

Boundaries

This isn't specifically a blog for mature content, however since I use it as a personal space to share my interests and thoughts, it is bound to happen. I use warnings but still I suggest minors to not interact with my content. (May change on this depending on the content I post, however even now I ask people under 16 to DNI)

Basic DNI criteria - I believe it's more comfortable for both of us to just avoid eachother, I'm not here to have debates on the validity of my, my work's or anyone else's existence nor am I here to deal with borderline illegal creeps. Also in general don't be mean to people for dumb reasons, it's not a good look.

Gatekeepers, elitists and fakeclaimers of any kind are not welcome here. They are partypoopers who ruin the mood by putting others down.

My DMs and asks (+anon asks) are open so feel free to chat with me if you don't cross any of my previous boundaries :] I prefer tone tags to be used with me, especially if I don't know you!

You may ask about my queer/neurodivergent/otherkin experiences/thougts respectfully.

I'm open to respectful discussions about religion and spiritualism, however do not invalidate my thoughts on that, I won't invalidate yours either. It's a very scary and uncomfortable experience, so let's keep it interesting and fun instead.

For additional info check my carrd :] You can also follow/reach my on my instagram or check my playlists out on spotify, If you want to chat with me on discord, I'm only comfortable with that after talking here for a while.

dividers by @k1ssyoursister :]

[umbralstars]

General Info

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual

Race: Human

Ethnicity: Faerghal

Age: 21 (Academy); 26 (War)

Birthday: 12th day of the Etheral Moon, IY 1159

Height: 6'2

Family:

- Rufus Cassius Blaiddyd

- Darya Artemi (deceased)

- Katya Artemi Blaiddyd

- Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd

- Others not listed

Crest: Major Crest of Blaiddyd

Starting Class: Mage

(More info below!)

Basic Backstory

Emyr was born to Grand Duke Rufus Blaiddyd and Dutchess Consort Darya Artemi in 1159.

While not the oldest of Rufus' children, due to his mother rising to the status as Dutchess Consort, and his bearing of a major Crest, Emyr was named by Rufus to be his hier to the Grand Dutchy of Itha. In his youth, Emyr devoted himself to his studies especially in the realms of magic, natural science, law, poetry, and other pursuits. However, he was rather isolated as a child because of his status as the favored and made little connections among his half siblings (if he even knew them). He always had a rather combative relationship with his father, who's expectations Emyr felt he could never reach or satisfy. His relationship with his mother fared better for the little time he had her as she would pass away when giving birth to Katya when he was 8.

As he got older, he began sneaking out of the palace to cause havoc with the local kids much to his fathers' chagrin. His closest relationship by far is with his younger sister who Emyr would do practically anything for. Part of him had wished to simply give up his status as hier for years because he felt it was more a strain on his life than a boon, but he didn't want to abandon Itha or Faerghus so he remained. He knew his Uncle Lambert scarcely, but always respected and looked up to him far more than he did his own father.

Emyr's life was completely changed by the Tragedy of Duscur in 1176 when he was 17. When news of the tragedy reached Itha, Emyr made the choice to leave Faerghus all together with his younger sister in tow. A combination of fear for his own and Katya's safety, Rufus going to assume the throne as regent, accusations of his father potentially being involved, rumors of Rufus' desire to potentially replace Dimitri with his own son going back years all lead to him deciding to simply vanish. He does consider it to be a cowardly action on his part, but after he ran there was no going back.

He would meet Jeralt and his mercenary company in Remire while on his was to Abyss (originally he had planned to just go to Garreg Mach but rumors of the under city seemed trustworthy enough). He was able to prove himself a capable fighter when he assisted the company in a job near the area and officially joined them after that. He grew close to Byleth as the two were barely months a part in age. While their relationship seems somewhat combative on the outside the two do enjoy being around each other. He remains a member of the company by the start of the game and goes with them to Garreg Mach in 1180.

Emyr is a skilled fighter who prefers magic and bow due to his propensity to break other weapons.

Basic Personality

Rational - Emyr is a rather rational and pragmatic person at his core. He doesn't like to be uninformed on a subject or situation nor go into something using only half-baked assumptions. He cares a great deal for the truth and places great respect in honest people.

Independent - Doesn't like to conform to social expectations and always strives to do things his own way. If rules and conventions are standing in the way of his success, rules and conventions be damned.

Determined - Extremely goal oriented. He can dedicate himself to mastering specific subjects or skills if he feels he's lacking in an area or another. Rather ambitious and passionate when an idea or movement captures him.

Curious - Strong desire to learn everything he can and open minded to new ideas as long as said ideas are based on strong logic. Enjoys finding new hobbies or goals to explore just so he can keep learning.

Combative - Do not try to get him to follow anything or anyone blindly. Can be rather blasé and sarcastic towards others which can cause offense even if he doesn't mean to. He will defend his ideals and principles relentlessly and has to be proven conclusively wrong to budge. He does apologize when he realizes he has overstepped and reflects to make sure he doesn't breach boundaries again.

Humble - Doesn't treat people as being lower than him and is respectful towards his elders (not his father however). Feels that he always has much to learn and will take sound advice from wherever he can get it.

Loyal and Dedicated - Emyr does really care about the friends and family and is fiercely protective of them. He'll leverage his social position to help others if the option is available. When he says he'll do something he will keep his word.

Likes: Poetry, nature, his homeland, learning, combat, high-quality weapons, hunting

Dislikes: His father, deception, gossip, bitter foods, people who treat others as if they're lesser

Other Notes

He's a brunette with blue eyes. His eyes are the same Blaiddyd Blue as Dimitri's cause of his Crest.

Doesn't like Axes or Brawling because he feels he can't control his strength when doing using either of those weapons. Heavy Armor makes his feel too constricted so he prefers much lighter armors.

Does regret abandoning Dimitri after the Tragedy especially after seeing how much everything affected his cousin. Actively avoids Dimitri for awhile at the monastery before finally confessing the truth at some point before the war begins.

Will be aligned with Faerghus no matter the route. Straight up will not join on CF and will die during the route if not spared by Byleth. Becomes the Grand Duke of Itha in Azure Moon post-war and helps Dimitri with his reforms.

Actually religious but not in the way you think. Prefers to follow older Faerghal polytheisic beliefs after connecting with them as a teenager and talking with Mhara.

Spars with Byleth to get better with his swordsmanship. Goes about as well as you think, but he's gotten better at controlling his Crest thanks to Byleth not reacting poorly to broken weapons.

He really does mellow out and change because of the war, but I haven't figured out how yet.

Hiding his name and dropped the "Blaiddyd" part all together. Only starts using it again during war phase.

On Azure Moon he has to hide in Abyss due to Cornelia tracking down the rest of the Blaiddyds. He sends Katya to Derdriu with Arash and tells them to flee to Almyra if the situation grows more dire. He's organizing a rebellion against Cornelia and the Empire when Byleth awakens.

[ratgingi]

my dialtown ocs !! click for better quality, info on them + extra flavor doodles under cut (its long be warned)

Michy Knight | she/her + pansexual, will date you regardless of head choice

- full name is michelle knight, but she usually goes by her nickname, michy (funfact: i named her michelle before finding out that was mingus' previous name lmao)

- she decorates her head with stickers but takes them off for work, so they change often

- she works at the post office and delivers telegrams on the side

- shes a very bubbly hopeless romantic, and likes to pretend she's a cupid delivering love letters

- she's incredibly social and knows a number of people in town, but does not actively have anyone she really considers a close friend

- she focuses heavily on her jobs, she adores mingus and (pre chapter 3) wants to be part of mingus' "perfect dialtown", believing doing her jobs well will guarantee that for her

- she loves to write, most specifically she writes fanfiction, and publishes them online. occasionally people she knows are featured in these under code names, most prominently of which is mingus

- she technically is aware of norm, but doesnt actually know anything about him. she found the shack while travelling in search of writing inspiration, and now she thinks hes just a hermit who needs some company, so she often sits outside his door and reads her fanfics to him

- the player meets her as a passer-by on the street in downtown while shes headed to her job, and after explaining the situation she gets excited and offers to help find a date. when her offer is accepted she becomes part of your 'party' and goes to the park with you to talk about who she thinks would be a good fit with you (this is determined by the head you have + a few dialogue options with her that show her your personality). after that she tags along with you for other character interactions

- her route is hard to get, as it only "unlocks" after the player loses all other routes she's aware of (namely: olivers, randys, karens, jacksons, and lilliths) while she is with you, after which she apologizes for being a bad cupid and offers to take you to the funfair herself instead

- in her route, you try to help her learn that it's unhealthy to hold herself to certain standards that she does all for the praise of someone she wont achieve, and help her learn that the over-glorified version of love she has in her head isnt something to prioritize over true love; that true love is mutual, and can be messy and imperfect but is just as worth pursuing

- the only other route she appears in is bigfoots (she runs into you while you're outside town hall before the mingus encounter, and asks if youre going inside. if you say you are, she offers you a package and asks that you leave it with tango at the front desk as its a gift for mingus and she's too shy to do it herself. the player instead leaves the package on the office desk after picking up the rug. ("here, i'll put this on the desk, that way it's like a trade! we're even now.")

- her route's hatchling has a lovebird for a head

Jackson Coxx | he/him + gay, will only date you with a phone head

- works at an arcade located in uptown, hes close friends with a coworker of his named exie

- he's a gym bro whos in extreme denial about his sexuality

- he has a lot of false confidence and often remarks on how strong / attractive he is

- hes pretty tall (like 6'2" when he isnt slouching)

- he has very bad fashion sense and often wears the same thing multiple days in a row

- he likes to play with the plastic bit of the case around his head's charging port when hes bored, and this as resulted in it becoming misshapen and sticking out at the bottom (his head is based on my phone irl that i do this with so ngfdkjbgk)

- the player encounters him in the apartments after approaching his door. you catch him as hes leaving his apartment and headed to the gym to work out some. a dialogue scene follows where you can ask him out; asking him out as a typewriter will result in the route-lost pop up ("Yeah, uh... You're.. okay, i guess, but not my type, sorry, haha.") and asking him out as a phone, he will quickly state that he isnt gay, and a bit of a back and forth scene will take place, by the end of which he will agree to take you to the funfair as long as its 'just as homies'

- during chapter two while looking for jackson the player heads to his place of work and meets exie, who says that he's on a smoke break out back but that she'll keep you company while you wait for him. theres a scene between the two where the player makes a comment that he must be homophobic for how much he hates the idea of being gay, and he will defend himself by saying exie is wlw and the two are very close, after which she makes the comment that jackson is also gay, and he gets annoyed with her and tells her not to lie to strangers

- in his route, the player will be teaching him to accept himself, and that its okay to be true to who you are regardless of what people around you might think or say about it, that its important to be who you are and not let the pressures of those around you change that, no matter how scary that may be

- his hatchling has a wolf for a head

Charlie Steiner | he/him + aroace, doesnt have a route

- owns a morgue on the outskirts of town (the morgue is also legally registered as a church)

- he is very full of himself and over the top (think classic funky cartoon villain), hes also incredibly good with people and loves to socialize

- he's very 'animated' when it comes to behavior, he talks with his hands a lot and constantly overexaggerates words/movement

- his head is a phone with a coffin case on it, he almost never opens it though

- he loves dressing fancy and often with a religious aesthetic, usually with big boots and long coats. hes always wearing his gloves, even when outside of the morgue

- he doesnt have a route of his own but is very very present in lilliths, so much so that his interactions even determine what endings you get. he is very protective of and close with them.

- he is the first person you meet during the morgue encounter. if you ask him out as a phone, he will say he isn't interested and that you should look elsewhere for love. when you ask him out as a typewriter, he will state he himself cannot help you, but that he has an assistant down the hall who may be able to help you

- there are two times talking with him changes your route. the first is after lillith accepts your offer for a date. while they are getting ready, the player returns to the main room in the morgue and he asks how the talk went, and after being told they accepted he requests that you allow him to secretly tag along and help him make sure lillith doesnt know, offering to give you tips during the date. telling him no results in the good end being closed off, after which you can only get one of the three 'bad' ends. the second time is during chapter two before a second date with lillith, he will again ask that you let him secretly tag along, and telling him no will set you up for the shit yourself and die end.

Lillith Morozov | they/them + lesbian, will only date you with a typewriter head

- charlie's assistant in the morgue

- unlike him, theyre very antisocial and much prefer to avoid people, spending most of their time at the morgue. they struggle to process and display emotions in a 'proper' way, and when they get over stimulated will either shut down or have a physical outburst depending on the type of emotion that caused it

- theyre mute and communicate through sign language (which shows in the dialogue box like {this}), they even taught charlie sign language and he translates it for people when needed

- their favorite hobby is preserving bugs/flowers/bones through taxidermy/pinning/jars/etc

- their head is a folding clipboard, though they usually keep the font part clipped back. whenever they get upset/feel a strong emotion in general, they 'close' their head, as it makes them feel more secure

- charlie will occasionally use their head like a normal clipboard when the two work together (they do not mind this dont worry)

- theyre technically 'petite' but are incredibly strong, usually taking the more physical jobs around the morgue

- during chapter 2, there is a little date scene with them (that you can only reach if you told charlie yes, after which he will give you a tip that you use to get the good end) where the player makes a remark that the waitress serving the two of you is cute. lillith will become closed off after this remark and once this is noticed the player will be presented with 3 options: you can continue to make comments about the waitress and pick at lillith over it (this will lead to bad end 1 where lillith essentially snaps and pickles the player lmao), you can tell lillith that theyre the only one that matters and put them on a bit of a pedestal; becoming cold/mean toward the waitress to prove it (this will lead to bad end 2 where the player tries to preserve lillith 'like a delicate flower') , or you can assure lillith that you remarking that you thought the waitress was pretty wasnt a sign they were being replaced and that you thinking someone else looked nice does not lower their value (here is where charlies tip plays in as he tells you that way of thinking is smth lillith has trouble with, and will lead to the good end)

- as you can probably tell, lillith's route is about teaching them that the opinions of those theyre close with do not immediately raise or lower their value as a person, and that its okay to struggle and be imperfect - that they and their actions have value regardless and do not need others to actively/constantly see it for it to exist

- the hatchling for lilliths route has a lamb for a head

congrats !!! u made it to the end have some doodles i made of them all

[razzle-dazzle-dandy]

I decided to create this little game just out of curiosity! Let's play an alternate reality! Think of at least 2 TWST boys to ship or interact with your Sona/MC/Yuu or OC! Let's see the park burn and have fun! (〃ﾟ3ﾟ〃)/💗

Ooo, okay! This sounds fun! Thank you for the ask! ❤️

I have a few TWST OCs, so I guess I'll go with Sara for now since she's the most developed at this point.

I ship her with Leona first and foremost because they're my favorite children and I'm biased I think Sara's quiet but confident personality and difficult childhood would give her a different perspective on Leona. She knows herself well enough now not to be phased by most of Leona's posturing and half-hearted insults, but she's also dealt with feelings of worthlessness and irritability that would be familiar to Leona. Sara has sympathy for him, but also acknowledges that he needs to find a way to move forward instead of stagnating where he is. I think Leona would benefit from having a calm, stable presence in his life, romantic or platonic. Speaking from experience, sometimes nagging someone into action will only make them dig their heels in further. Sara definitely starts as more of a mom friend to him and Savanaclaw than a love interest. It's only after they've had a chance to spend time together and learn more about each other that they start to develop feelings. They probably don't properly start dating until at least a couple years after they meet. Once they do though, they will literally kill for each other. Sara is fiercely loyal by nature, and I headcanon Leona as someone who drops everything to protect what's important to him once he realizes that it actually is important to him.

(Unrelated to shipping, but since I know different people have different views on Leona's behavior; I personally believe he's suffering from some form of depression brought on by the most toxic mix of inferiority and superiority complexes with a dash of existential crisis for flavor, which he never got proper help for because every monarchy is a nightmare.)

If I had to pick a runner-up??? Jack was my first thought, but that feels too easy sooo... I'm gonna say Vil! Sara would be pretty indifferent to him at first, but I can see her being impressed by his dedication to his career and health. Iirc, Vil and Jack sometimes jog together? If it's not canon it's certainly believable, so I can see Sara and Vil getting to know each other during early morning jogs that turn into them just hanging out when Vil has time. Vil definitely introduces Sara to spa days, and she gets lost in the basically incomprehensible luxury. She starts having romantic feelings for him after his speech at the beginning of Chapter 6. His grace in defeat and his willingness to make things right endears him to her. I'm not sure what would draw Vil to Sara specifically, like they'd get along but I don't know what would make her stand out to him romantically? My first thought is that she genuinely has no concept of him as a celebrity. Not in the "she doesn't care me and that's hot" way, but in the "she has no preconceived view of me because she's literally from another dimension" way. So it's refreshing for him to talk to her about projects he's interested in and not hear that it doesn't suit him for any number of arbitrary reasons, or to watch a movie together that most would assume is too childish or cheesy for Superstar Vil. Just being able to indulge a little with someone. Might be out of character though, so take that with a grain of salt lol.

And that's it! I didn't write any scenarios, but I might reblog this later with some if I feel inspired. I really enjoyed writing these, even if it is me rambling lol. Thank you again Nicoli! 😘

Edit: Got permission to tag people, so if @pinkanonwrites , @veevz-drawz and @anunluckyrabbit would like to do this too feel free!

[capnhanbers]

Is Anaya entirely an oc or is she partially a self insert?

she's entirely an oc, especially now after existing for 6 years, but she did start out with a couple self-insert traits to make her easier to write! the biggest one was speech patterns. in early joat, naya talks just like how i talked in 2016 lol. a lot of dialogue was written like "ok how would i respond in this situation." that changed as the story went on and she got more established as her own character but there's still a lot of me-flavor in her voice.

the other self-inserty thing about her is small details. like interests, tiny memories, little little things. examples of this are drinking pickle juice from a sippy cup, playing a lot of lazer tag as a kid yet being bad at it, what kinds of video games she plays, huge fear of haunted houses.

but that stuff^ is true in ALL of joat. EVERY character has bits of me, or of people i'm close too. every setting has bits of my world. sans (and naya increasingly) having big sibling energy as a part of their dna, em and her history of panic attacks, hector w/ his two beloved dogs, the abandoned sears w/ the best taco stand, the trailheads with great views, The Mountain, these are all borrowed from me and my life. it helps me make things more believable. the more specific your little details are, the more real everything feels.

[whileyoureinschoolidothisallday]

1, 22, & 26-28 for the weird writer questions?

YUH THESE ARE GOOD ONES!!! Thanks for sending me some ^_^

I'm putting it under a readmore cause some of the answers got long!

What font do you write in? Do you actually care or is that just the default setting? Believe it or not, I prefer to write in Comic Sans. Studies show that it improves productivity and unfortunately that proves true for me lmao 22. How organized are you with your writing? Describe to me your organization method, if it exists. What tools do you use? Notebooks? Binders? Apps? The Cloud? I'm pretty organized. I have a writing space in my Notion app that's organized by genre and then has sub-pages. Like this:

Each project has it's own little section under the genre tag. Even in my offline writing program, I have it organized with subfolders and everything.

I dislike not being able to find my shit when I need it and writing is lowkey stressful enough that a clustered workspace just makes me extra cranky about it lmao. I am definitely one of those people that needs an aesthetic, vibe-filled writing space for maximum output. I can't easily afford them in reality so I make digital ones instead!

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

If it's a canon character, honestly, I am probably so obsessed with them and have consumed so much content of them if I have the desire to write about them in their pov that I'm like that tumblr meme that's like 'They're not real to YOU. I know them personally.' and I get basically fuckin possessed by my image of them while I marathon write until 6am LMAO

For my OCs, most of them all have at least tiny slivers of myself in them--if they're not outright reader inserts--that it's not super hard to put myself in their heads or get out--with the latter especially it's kinda more like acting??? where there's like a 'annnnnnd cut!' and I'm back to normal lol. I do A LOT of character work on the side with them as well though like I'm pretty sure everybody has playlists or multiple playlists, I usually have fashion picked out, I I try to figure out their favorite movies and flavors, and I usually try to find multiple other characters to influence them on that have similar vibes, archetypes, and/or motivations. I am a VERY character driven writer so this is definitely what the majority of my focus goes into.

The problem comes when I have to get into the minds of my OCs like Ariana and SA, who were created during a time where my mental health was at its worst and those experiences are core parts of their personalities, so in order to write them accurately I have to be back in that miserable headspace of things I've long since recovered from. I definitely write them better when I'm authentically feeling shitty. It's not so much that writing them puts me in a bad place, but it's just really exhausting to do after awhile.

Another thing I like to do, which is a little unhinged lol, but just like...talking to them helps? Like just imagine scenarios where you're hanging out. Ask them questions. Write it down or not. I used to write letters to my ocs as a kid and have them write back. It doesn't even have to be you specifically, but just making up the equivalent of a filler episode with the characters of your choosing helps a lot. Be silly with them! RP with your friends! Put them in crossovers or AUs! Redo one of your favorite media scenes but with your charas! Everyone's afraid to be cringe with their characters now, but I'm a hardcore believer that being a little cringe is really important to their development actually.

Sorry that got long lmao

27. Who is the most stressful character you’ve ever written? Why?

We'll say Ariana, cause the other two in the series I know are gonna be worse I haven't technically written yet

28. Who is the most delightful character you’ve ever written? Why?

Oh, definitely my OC Cloud. Hands down. Writing a fearless know-it-all asshole is endless fun lmao

THANKS AGAIN FOR THESE!!!!! =D

Ask me weird writer questions!!!!

[endcant]

i entreat you to taste the sour rancidity of fruit punch peeps yourself and tell me this again. also dont call me buddy if youre not willing to live up to that

is this a homestuck fantrolls roleplay thing

i hope this is coming from a standpoint of wisely having never eaten hot tamales. rather than not being able to identify the flavor of cinnamon without tasting notes. also give me your tamales

i like to believe that keyboard smash was the sound of water suddenly rushing out of a busted pipe, interrupting your speech, and you had to yell the rest of the tag over the sound of it

canadian penalty

no it was made by my roommate for me and hal

hal’s pronouns are he/him, and specifically not they/them

is this a blorbo that i should beware or an oc that i can comfortably forget about

[thatboxylady]

and not to be like hehe my ocs because you have some custody of versions of them too, thaddeus and jeffrey: 19 29 36 47

19. How do they eat ice cream? What’s their favorite flavors?

Jeffrey is obsessed with mint chocolate chip. He'll eat Ben and Jerry's straight out of the tub with the biggest spoon he can get his manicured hands on.

Thaddeus is chocolate anything-and-everything without caring for a particular brand. He bites into his servings like a goddamn maniac.

29. Who gets jealous easily?

Jeffrey. Anytime he sees someone eyeing Thaddeus (and he feels like Thaddeus might be interested back), he gets... very anxious. Jeffrey tends to take that anxiety and project it as self-defensive anger as to not seem weak, which is a super unhealthy way to deal with your feelings. He’s been getting better, at least.

36. Who sets the other’s ringtone to something loud and obnoxious behind their back?

Jeffrey will take Thaddeus' phone and make the ringtone whatever awful song is popular at the time. Unfortunately, Thaddeus keeps his phone 99.73% of the time on silent. He never notices.

Thaddeus changed Jeffrey's ringtone only once, set to Madona’s Material Girl. It hasn’t been changed since.

47. What apps do they have?

Jeffrey has:

separate calendar apps for tracking manicure and hair appointments. No broken nails or visible roots allowed... blondes with nice French tips always have more fun.

an app for tracking his blood sugar levels and gauging his a1c.

I refuse to believe he doesn't use Instagram.

he had multiple hookup apps for awhile. He eventually had to delete them to make more space for all the selfies he takes with Thaddeus...

some kind of tracking app that communicates with the tag hidden in the bumper of Beatrice’s car. If she gets within a certain distance of him, he gets a notification. Better to be safe than sorry when dealing with your stalker ex-wife.

Thaddeus has:

Reddit for easy access to r/motorcycle. He's also active on a lot of autism and trans resource groups.

some kind of basic note app to mark down parts he needs to service his bike.

an app he recently downloaded for identifying bugs. He used to love catching them as a kid to get up close and personal, but his parents were always trying to sway him out of the hobby. Jeffrey of all people has been recently encouraging him to get back into it. For all the bravado and hot air, his boyfriend genuinely seems to want to see him happy... it’s nice.

Facebook. He never posts and only uses it to keep in contact with the one sister in Red Deer who isn’t weird about him. He also lurks on other family member profiles to see how they’re doing (specifically the other two sisters and his mother). Even if they dislike him for what he isn’t, he still loves them. Maybe they’ll come around someday.

[anchoviesinthenightsky]

As promised, here's a preview of my new fic (coming out 9.26)

*Two notes before you read. This is a Luca/Alberto fic, but Alberto doesn't show up in the preview. He will be in the chapters uploaded on Sunday.

Additionally, my initial idea for this fic was "what if a character fake-dated two people. but only one of the relationships was actually fake? Bet that would be confusing for that character"... insert Luca. So know that's part of the story.

[fic announcement here]

[read more snippets here]

preview below cut. length: 1285 words

tags: no archive warnings apply, luca/alberto, giulia/female oc, fake dating, aged up [Luca (25), Giulia (25), Alberto (26)]

In Luca’s opinion, there was an unwritten pact between childhood friends that dictated the ways of maintaining those friendships far into adulthood. This included guidelines like never forget a birthday, be there to listen when they need someone, and when getting them flowers, the flowers should be in their favorite color. The most important rule, though, was to go along with their haphazard plans when they’ve dug themselves into a whole.

Which Giulia had.

Which was also why Luca found himself walking down the hallway of his old Genova high school, on the last day of classes with a bouquet of orange flowers and a box of chocolates under his arm. He nodded as he passed the other science teachers in Giulia’s hallway. He didn’t know most of their names, and he didn’t particularly care to.

Giulia’s room was decorated with vintage constellation posters that clashed with the modern-day Principles of Physics posters. Giulia was crouched over her desk, scribbling notes onto a piece of paper. Luca plastered a smile on his face, ready to put on a performance.

He cleared his voice and spoke loud enough for the teachers in the hallway to hear. “Congrats on another successful year, sweetie.”

The words felt blocky and bitter in his mouth. Only Giulia could see his face as he cringed at them.

“Oh honey, what a lovely surprise!” Giulia exclaimed. She mimed excitement, glancing over Luca’s shoulders at someone.

Luca turned to see who. One of Giulia’s coworkers was standing outside the door, glaring at Luca.

“Sorry for interrupting,” He said in a tone that sounded not the least bit sorry. “I was hoping to steal Giulia for a moment.”

“What for, Eugenio?” Giulia asked. She adjusted the handkerchief in her hair, tightening it.

“I wanted to get a second opinion on something.”

“Oh. Well, I’m busy right now,” Giulia said as she walked to her classroom door. “But I think Mr. Bianco is still in the building. I’m sure he could help you.”

“I was hoping for your opinion, specifically,” Eugenio pushed.

“I’m sure Mr. Bianco can help. I need to catch up with my boyfriend.” Giulia flashed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes and started to close her classroom door. “See you next school year.”

She shut the door the rest of the way.

“Lock it.” Luca mouthed.

Giulia shook her head.

“Just in case.” He whispered.

Giulia rolled her eyes and locked the door. As she walked back to her desk, the doorknob jiggled as someone tried to open it from the other side.

“Told you,” Luca whispered. “That guy is a grade-A asshole.”

“He really is.”

“I can’t believe he still works here.”

“Yeah, well HR didn’t particularly do anything with my complaints about him repeatedly asking me out and not taking no as an answer.”

“You could tell him you’re a lesbian,” Luca suggested.

“Absolutely not.” Giulia pressed her pen hard enough as she signed her name that the paper tore. She sighed and smoothed the tear and reached for a piece of tape. “Either he won’t care and keep asking me out, or he’d be a creep about it.”

“You could tell him you’re dating someone.” Luca said, thinking of the woman Giulia had been seeing for the better part of the last two years.

“I am telling him that I’m dating someone.” Giulia said, giving Luca a pointed look.

“Oh right.” Luca said sheepishly. He looked down at the bouquet in his hand. “These are for you, by the way.”

He set them on the desk by Giulia. She picked them up and sniffed one of the lilies. “They’re lovely. Thank you, Luca.”

“No problem.”

Giulia eyed the box of chocolate in Luca’s hand.

“Oh, these are for me,” Luca said with a smirk. “But I guess you can have some.”

Giulia laughed, genuine and bright. “You’re too kind.”

“I do my best.” Luca grinned back. He opened the box and handed it to her to pick the first one. “Do you and Rosina have any plans?”

“We’re going down to harbor to get lunch and drink wine.” She selected one of the chocolates with a pink swirl on top.

“That sounds like a great time.” Luca said. He plucked what he hoped was a coconut flavored truffle out of the box.

“What about you?”

“Packing.” Luca bit into the chocolate, and scrunched his nose at the taste. It was caramel.

“The coconut one has the white dot,” Giulia said.

“Oh right,” Luca popped the rest of the caramel one in his mouth and took the coconut chocolate. “Are you packed yet?”

“I did it last night,” Giulia took a bite out of her chocolate. “I’m surprised you didn’t. Normally you’re packed a week before we head back to Portorosso.”

“Well, you know. It was the last week of school. I had classes to prepare for.”

“For third graders? What do they even learn the last week of school?”

“Not much, but I had a lot of parties.” Luca grinned.

“That sounds like fun.”

“If you like a bunch of screaming nine-year-olds, who have had too much sugar.”

“I do not.” Giulia said. “That’s why I teach high school.”

“You’re missing out.” Luca bit into his second chocolate. “You’re right this one is coconut.”

“Told ya.”

Luca rolled his eyes and changed the topic. “Hard to believe we’ve been teaching for two years.”

“I know right? I still feel like I’m a kid sometimes.”

“Me too! Except then I look at actual kids, and it’s like ‘wow you are so young.’” Luca said.

“They are so young!”

“I know!”

“When did we get old?”

“We’re not even that old yet!” Luca said animatedly. “We’re only 25.”

“Imagine what it’ll be like when we’re 70.”

“I can barely even imagine what 28 looks like.” Luca laughed. “God, and the kids think we’re old. One of my third graders told me today that he hoped I was still alive next year so that he could wave at me in the hallway.”

“Geez.”

“I know!Apparently, I look like I have a foot in the grave.”

“You don’t even have any gray hairs yet.”

“Maybe after another year of teaching,” Luca joked.

“Don’t I know it. I found a gray hair last week, and I considered quitting on the spot.” Giulia said.

“Would you ever actually quit teaching?” Luca asked.

“Nah,” Giulia answered immediately. “I love it too much.”

Luca nodded. “You’re good at it too.”

“I am,” Giulia smiled. “What about you?”

“I don’t know,” Luca leaned against a desk. “Maybe not in Genova.”

“Oh?” Giulia turned to look fully at him. “Where would you want to teach?”

“No idea,” Luca answered honestly. “I’ll just stay here until I figure that out, I guess.”

“Mm.”

Luca waited for Giulia to say more, but if she had any thoughts, she kept them to herself. Luca pushed himself off the table.

“Well,” Luca said. “Can I walk you out? I’m sure Rosina is waiting.”

“I’m sure she is,” Giulia laughed. She shoved the last few papers from her desk into her bag and slung it over her shoulder.

Luca offered his hand and Giulia took it.

“This won’t be forever,” Giulia said as she unlocked the classroom door. “you know that right?”

“What? Us doing this?”

“Yeah,” Giulia paused with her hand on the door. “I know it’d been rough on you.”

“It has not been rough on me.”

“I heard you had to turn down one of the first-grade teachers when she asked you out.”

“I probably would have turned her down anyway,” Luca said, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t have time to think about dating.”

“Do you not have the time, or do you just not want to?” Giulia asked as she opened the door.

“Both,” Luca answered.

"Or maybe there's someone else?" Giulia gave him a sly smile.

Luca shook his head. "I'm just busy. That's all."

Giulia gave him a look but didn’t push any further.

[danifics18]

↪  Into the Unknown  ↩

being awoken on a beach shore not knowing where you were was a scary thing, it was even scarier realizing you weren’t in the world you were meant to be in. with no recollection of your past life besides the backpack with a few of your items, the only thing you could do was adapt, and so that’s what you did.

Tags : Pirate! Ateez // OC Reader // Dark Themes of Death, Prostitution and Slave Trading // Themes of Deities and Spirituality // Alternate Universe // Eventual OT8xReader???

A/N : This is my first attempt at a multi-fic, and I’ve had this thought in my head for a while. The world that this takes place in is different than our own, although, time-wise is very similar to our 17th Century. My OC does have two names Adrie/Adrian, seeing that she does conceal her identity for a while Adrie is pronounced like A-Dree. I know most people would pronounce it as Audrey, but I’m trying to make the names make sense to use them that similarly. The next chapter will be a bit more fast paced, and will actually have a sign of the boys, so stay tuned!

As always, let me know about any mistakes I may have made, anything I should tag if i haven’t already, or let me know what your thoughts are !!

Word Count : 4416

    General Masterlist    Ateez Masterlist   

   Into the Unknown Masterlist

    Next Part

One.

Sometimes I didn’t know if this was just some fucked up nightmare that my mind was tricking me to believe, or if I just had the worst fate ever. As much as I appreciate Dorian, and all the years he put into making sure I would actually grow up in a normal environment, I do wonder what would’ve happened if he hadn’t found me.

It was obvious that I wouldn't have made it out alive. A random fourteen year old, covered in pruned skin, and a sun bloated body found being washed up on the beach after a particularly bad storm. That enough would've made people suspicious, but to find out that kid was a woman as well? Witchcraft. I wouldn’t even be able to plead for a different outcome, I would’ve been killed in the courtroom.

Thankfully, no one really questioned when Fisherman Dorian Meadows started to bring a new face to the village, claiming that the boy is his son from a different island he frequented. Well not really everyone, his sister and town merchant Arcelia Meadow, knew better. She knew her brother was still heartbroken over the loss of his wife Gilda and son Augie, although their deaths had happened at least twenty years prior. So she knew that this new boy wasn’t biologically his anyways, deciding that she would offer support if he needs it, but would otherwise separate herself from the small boy in case he was bad news.

It took a while for me to really get my footing on learning how to live here on the island of Reindall. Not only from living in a new place, but also learning how to live as a boy. When Dorian had found me it was very obvious that I was just some really skinny kid who hadn’t hit the age of maturity yet. I hadn’t developed any curves or anything that most people would expect to see if they saw a woman. And I didn’t have any signs of sprouting facial hair, or deepened voice that you’d expect from a man. I just looked like a pretty faced child that could pass off as either sex, with green mid shoulder hair. At first, it even took Dorian by surprise when I had asked him why he kept calling me “boy”. I didn’t know if it was just one of this places customs to call all kids “boy”, regardless if they were or not, or if that was his way of speech. And with a paled face, he quickly stepped away from the pot of stew he was tending, and gave me a choice that changed my life forever. Present as a woman and have a difficult life on this island, or present as a man- and even though it would still be difficult, it wouldn’t be difficult in the same way. I wasn’t happy with choosing to present myself as a male, but even though I didn’t quite catch on to what Dorian had meant, I didn’t like the unsaid implications even more. And with that, I was given some old, patchy, oversized clothes that stank like coal and fish, and was given the name of Adrian- opposed to my actual name, Adrie.

Within the first week of me living on this island, I realized that Dorian was shit at explaining things, and he was also shit at keeping his emotions in check.His over all attitude felt vaguely familiar to me, a grumpy old man who would rather just do the thing himself rather then explain to someone else how to do it. He didn’t want to immediately send me off to work for some random person, knowing that I was probably useless, so instead he instructed me to spend the days chopping wood for fire, and taking care of his pet chickens and goats that were kept in separate pens on the side of the cottage. It took days for me to even be able to swing the ax hard enough to split wood, before I would always have my aim slightly off, or the ax would bounce off the wooden stump- instead of split it. After noticing I had improved with the wood chopping, he slowly increased the amount he wanted me to do- which ended up being not only for the cottage we were at but his sister’s as well. When it came to the animals, this is where Dorian would be frustrated with me. I could handle the goats, all they would do was headbutt my thighs- leaving some nasty bruises- and chew on my clothes on occasion, but I liked them. The chickens on the other hand scared me. It wasn’t until Dorian got pissed off enough that he just locked me in the pen for a few hours while he went down to the local tavern. That’s when I finally realized that the chickens weren't so scary, and their pecks weren’t too bad.

 As the first few months of me living in Reindall passed by, I developed muscles from chopping wood, building fences, and carrying heavy items for Arcelia- while Dorian would go out to sea to fish. I’d also finally gained some weight, making me look more filled out, which made it even more difficult to hide the fact that I was not a boy. This was, however, the first time I was really able to connect with Arcelia- one of the days I had been finishing the chicken coop she wanted behind her house, she noticed a red patch on my trousers. At first she thought I had hurt myself, until I confessed to her what was really going on. She had quickly let me have a pair of new trousers, and when her brother came over after being done with fishing for the day, she pulled him to the kitchen and they had a long discussion.

From that day forward, she helped me hide identity even better. I was taught to double layer shorts and pants just in case my bleeding started without me expecting it, and to bind my growing breasts anytime I went out. I was also able to convince her to cut my hair off to my jaw, not that men only had long hair, but for the simple fact that building items and having long hair didn’t work well together.

There isn’t very much that I remember before waking up here, but I was told that I had a bag with me. A black bag with two straps and two zipped pouches with a ‘Jansport’ tagged in some type of fake leather. Inside of that bag I had clothes and a journal of some sort. The clothes, while not similar to what is worn here, were sized up so even as I got older, I could still wear them comfortably- although besides the pair of small black stretchy shorts (my double layering shorts) I never found a chance to wear.

The journal however had at least a little bit of information. My name is Adrie Ramona, I was born on April twelfth 1999, I never talked about any siblings, I did write about how my mother let me dye my hair green before I got enrolled into a big school, and apparently I like to travel to villages called ‘Target’- yet I still wanted to go to places such as ‘New York’ and ‘Italy’. The strange thing was the fact that according to the journal, my hair should’ve went back to it’s dark auburn color, and not stay green. Also, according to Dorian, he’s never heard of the places I mentioned, and the dates aren’t comparable to each other. My last recorded date was on September thirteenth in 2013, while the date I was found was on the fifth of Rain’s Hand. The people that Dorian associates with don’t exactly know the year either, seeing that only people of high status were allowed to know- even people like the main maid of the Knight’s Guild, Ms. Ophelia, and the ex-pirate turned fisherman, Eden, were forbidden to know- because it was, as the King puts it “A god’s gift to know so much knowledge of the world” . It wasn’t so much that the people didn’t know how long a year was, they just didn’t know things like how many years the kingdom had been alive and things like that. The most years that the other villagers have recorded was up to one hundred years- which was because the local tavern owner’s father had recorded his life from his childhood onwards, and instructed his children to do so as well.

With only my limited knowledge of my past life, I had no choice but to take up Dorian’s offer of letting me live with him as long as I worked to repay him. Throughout the years of living with him, and working for Arcelia, I learnt how to sew clothes and sails, how to hold myself up in a brawl, how to use herbs and some bandages for first aid, and how to use herbs with other foods to make more flavorful meals along with baking bread. As I got older, Dorian slowly let me have more of a say in what I did, so by the time I was sixteen, I had started my own garden next to Arcelia’s chicken coop, and I would sell my vegetables at the village market.

Eventually, Dorian had to stop working for himself as a fisherman and had to start working under the King’s local fishery, due to how many boats started to go missing because of pirates. It took weeks for Dorian’s stubborn ass to finally decide to join a specific crew though. He would never admit it, but he hated how so many of the fishermen were kiss asses to the King, because they felt they’d get a pay raise. It was very obvious that he was scared that he wouldn’t come back home to see his sister and I, it would be written on his face every morning he gave me a hug before leaving- although he would always claim the opposite. Dorian was always cold and rude, but after getting to know him, I had to learn that it was his way of showing compassion. Which I didn’t like, but I did deal with. I had faith that some day he’d openly start to warm up to me.

 The crew that he joined was named ‘The J.R.’, being named after Captain Eden’s last boat before he got captured. It was a shock that he was never killed, being a pirate and all, but he was given the option of being hung at the Gallows for his crimes, or becoming the main fisherman at the local fishery. With, supposedly, his crew being dead, he decided to become a fisherman, and now he catches the most expensive fish to sell to the King himself. He must’ve been one lucky bastard though. His crew was the only one to not be affected by the pirate raids, every single other crew being raided and killed- sometimes their boats would float back to shore, sometimes only pieces would.

It wasn’t until I’d turned twenty that things started to change. The people on the north side of the island were starting to rapidly die off. It wasn’t hard to tell why. With the amount of crime that had to flourish in order for people in poverty to survive is outrageously high, on top of the Knight’s Guild using those people as someone to pin their personal crimes on. So with the north side citizens along with a lot of fishermen still being picked off, it was no surprise that the island started to run low on supplies. Not enough fisherman to catch fish. Not enough gardeners to aid their vegetables and fruits. Not enough herders to sell their animals. And most important of all, not enough running gold to keep the King happy.

Walking out of the wooden and stone cottage, I see Dorian perched against the wooden fence that surrounds the home.

“Aren’t you guys going out today?” I question as I walk towards him, seeing that he would usually be out by dawn. “No,” he replied before taking a deep breath “Listen, kid,  the King has an announcement today in the village court. If it’s what I think it is, I need you to lay low for a while. There’s no telling what will happen, but it doesn’t seem good. Join Arcelia when she goes, I’ll be joining with Captain Eden.” And with that, he nods at you and walks towards the docks, keeping his eyes low.

As I trudged on the stoned path to Arcelia’s home shop, all you could think about what the King could say. It wasn’t very often that he actually went to a town square himself, he usually sends a courier over who reads on the scroll in an obnoxious loud tone. Kicking a rock and looking up ahead past the trees, I can see the door to Arcelia’s shop door wide open, with what looks like not intention of being closed.

“Huh, that’s not weird at all,” I mutter to myself “Why hasn’t Aunt Arcelia said something?” knowing that with all the food my adoptive aunt sells, she makes it a rule to always have the door shut if no one is coming in or out.  

Jogging up, the sounds of yelling get louder until it was apparent who was making the ruckus. Mathew Roswell, the head knight’s son, and the nephew of the King. Mathew has a reputation of being a spoilt brat to any townspeople who didn’t work under his family, and my family definitely was not exempt. Growing up, I had fought him and his friends way too many times to count- and apparently getting older isn’t going to change the matter.

Walking in through the door, stepping over the clutter of items that looked to be thrown on the ground, a loud slap echos throughout the room, and Arcelia’s head snaps to the side with a red print. I didn’t take much time to think about what to do. Rushing over to big brute, I threw a punch at his jaw, making him stumble down enough for me to continue throwing punches. It wasn’t until one of Arcelia’s frequent customers pulled me off of him that I realized what I had just done. As Mathew and some other kids who were training to be in the Knight’s Guild were running out, Mathew gave me a dirty look and I just knew his father was going to be told. In all honesty, I could’ve been hung for touching that spoilt boy, but for some reason his father usually finds humor in it.

Snapping out of thought, I walk over to my adoptive Aunt to make sure she’s fine.

“Yes I’m fine. Adrian, you really shouldn’t defend me like that. The last thing me or your father need is for you to get yourself killed for messing with the head Knight’s son.” Noticing throngs of people walk by she huffs and says “You are cleaning this mess when we get back, but for now let’s go so we don’t miss whatever news if being brought upon us.”

As we walk through the crowds, I noticed that the Gallows was reassembled in the off center of the town square, right beside the big tree that sits center of the square. It seemed like that was the stage for whoever was giving the announcement. Just as aunt Arcelia and I stop, whispers erupted in the crowd like a wildfire. The King’s court actually came to the town square. With the King’s Head Knight and brother, Kitt Roswell, walking up the stairs to go to the left side of the “stage”, he looks over the crowd with a blank face. Soon enough King Roswell himself walks to the middle of the stage and the whispers die off immediately.

“Good afternoon citizens. This is a brief get together, but one that will aid our island in many ways, so listen. It is an obvious observation to see that as a community, we are not doing well. We have lack of needed supplies and we need some way to get them. Looking upon other island villages, it is clear of what we need to do. Looking at the actions of our neighboring island village, Sternist, we need to make a big sacrifice. Any women who have made it to their matured woman hood are unmarried and do not have needed jobs, need to say goodbye to their families, if they have any, and turn themselves in for the greater good of our people.” The King pauses as gasps fill the air “I know, it is unfortunate, but a lot of people will sell much gold and supplies for women. Thankfully, I am King, and I do think of the greater good of our people, even in these hard times. Knights will be going door to door to collect those who are eligible. Think of it as serving your King. That is all.” And with that, King Roswell and his followers lead back to the Castle.

In the following weeks, there was a big absence of women that were usually in my daily life. The single woman named Mira, who usually blushed as she bought bread from me, would no longer show up. Quite a few mothers left, leaving behind their husbands and children. Even a girl as young as twelve years old met the requirements- and since her parents tried to hide her, they were met with the Gallows as the girl was shipped away. There was a solemn silence in the village after that day.

It wasn’t any easier on Dorian and the crew of ‘The J.R.’. Many men were imprisoned for not following orders of the King. Even more of them died as “traitors” for being against the trading of women. Or even not wanting to take women on board for the fear of their ship sinking. Somehow, even with their friends and acquaintances disappearing, their crew never had to take women. Some people think it’s because the King secretly respects Eden, but I know it’s because Eden and his crew has been the main source of fish coming in lately.

I thought I would’ve been left out of the crossfire of any of this, until Dorian told me that I no longer worked for Arcelia, but I would be working for Eden on the boat instead.

"Why didn't you fuckin' listen to me kid, that's all I ever ask of you, and you don’t do it the one fuckin' time I specifically ask you to," Dorian exclaims, slamming the door open to bounce against the wall " One thing is all I asked for and now I have to find a way to clean up your act"

I back from the pot of stew that was cooking for tonight's dinner, hooking the ladle on a rack, before turning to fully face the enraged- possibly drunken man.

"What are you talkin' about Dorian? I haven't done anything wrong, and we both know it. I've been doing what I always do, and I've been bringing in more coin, just like you asked," I retort, "Whatever your problem is, it can wait until later. Foods almost done; we can talk then."

He steps close, hands flying up to his grayed hair in disbelief "Talk later? Lass. Adrie, we will be lucky if we have the time for dinner at this point. From what Ms. Ophelia was talking, you caused quite the disturbance with Matthew, again. So much that there are whispers about how his father wants you in the Knight's Guild, Adrie. The fuckin' Knight's Guild! You just had to go and fight the damn boy didn't ya?" Each time he says my name, his pitch gets higher, and every word is more venomous than the next.

Thinking back to the past few weeks, when Dorian first gave me my warning, it dawns on me. The first thing I had done after talking to him was get in a fight with Matthew. I thought it would've been ignored- especially since I wasn't in the wrong. I guess I was proven wrong.

Looking Dorian in the eyes, my face pales as I attempt to explain myself.

"I wasn't tryin' to cause trouble, you could've asked Arcelia too! The bastard slapped her, and I wasn't going to let him get away with it. I was damn near the only one who could. Anyone else was too scared to, and I've done it before without getting in any trouble. It's not my fault I know how to fight, and he doesn't," I cry out. "It's too bad kid. You might be able to act and dress like a lad without people getting suspicious of you, but you need to remember how easy it is to be revealed you aren't one," the older man says, while looking down, before grabbing a sack to fill with water canteens and extra food we have in the small kitchen area," Yes, you can fight, but you wouldn't last a week in that Guild The first few months alone are learning how to be a team with one another. That means spending every single day with multiple men just to sleep, shower, fight, and live. Hell, you'd be found just by a quick bad and body check, and we both know it," he gravely retorts before tossing me two burlap sacks," Now gather all your belongings. Thankfully, I was with Captain Eden at the tavern, and he offered to let you come with us to the trip to Zetharl. We are supposed to be doing some trading there, and there's quite a few safe houses there that you can stay at, until Arcelia and I can escape as well. Captain does not know about you and we are keeping it that way. He may be kind, but he's still an old pirate who still holds a lot of those olden beliefs. He has a strict rule about women being on his ship. So, it'd do you good to be on your best behavior and not raise any suspicions. If you do, I'll throw you off the damn ship myself, you hear me?"," Yes, I understand," I reply, defeated, and turn to make my way to my room to collect my items.

Taking a final look around my room, I let my hand drop down to brush against the scratchy blanket on my cot. It feels strange that I'll be leaving the only place I've ever known. The only people I've only known. I had always had a slight feeling that I would leave this place someday, I just never expected it to come so abruptly.

With a sigh, I hike my two bags up over my shoulder, and walk through the small cottage one last time, and stopped in front of the gate where Dorian was with a big barrel resting inside a wheelbarrow.

"Get in kid,"," The…barrel?" I ask, cocking my head to the side. "Yes the barrel. Hurry. The guards have already been on the lookout for you. I don't know why they haven't checked here yet, but I'm sure they're on their way. Hurry up into the damn thing so we can get you on that ship unnoticed,". Resting my hands on the sides of the opened object, I hike myself into it, thankful that it's big enough for me to fold my knees to my chest. Putting the light bags inside with me, Dorian places the top back on, leaving me encased in complete darkness. With a huff- the older man straightens the wheelbarrow up, and starts walking us on the dirt path.

As we continued on, I found myself hoping that I wouldn't get this same feeling on a ship- the rocking motion making my stomach feel queasy, and almost grateful that I hadn't ate since lunch.  Hearing a shout in the distance, I stiffen up, and press my ear against the wooden barrel in an attempt to hear who it was.

"Sir, under orders of the Head Knight Kitt Roswell, we need your boy to come with us now. Your son finally has a chance to bring some honor and glory to your family," a hidden gruff voice demands "My boy? Ah shit, Adrian? He's out in the forest picking herbs to sell this week. You see, I have a job to do tomorrow with captain Eden," My father figure pauses, before letting out a cough," I'm trying to get my stuff over to the ship now since we're leaving tonight, per Captain's request,".

Stifling a chuckle by biting my hand, I quickly thank the gods that these guards are idiots, as the main talking guard tells two of his guards to push the wheelbarrow for Dorian, while he and the others go to find me. Traveling at a faster pace, I hear the guards towing me try to make conversation with Dorian- which gets caught off as my world gets tilted to the side briefly.

"You fishermen really need this much shi- items on your journey?" One of the guards huff, clearly out of breath," Yes, we do. Pick the barrel up and place it over with the other, and take the wheelbarrow back to mainland- we're leaving now, and you two imbeciles need to get off my ship," A new commanding voice demands.  Captain Eden. Inside my barrel, I curl up slightly as I feel myself being moved- and unceremoniously dropped with a thud that makes my ears ring.

I stay hidden in my barrel until I hear commotion, men yelling all around my barrel, with footsteps rushing all around me. Moments later, I see the moonlight creep into my barrel- the top lid being pulled off, before seeing a roughed hand pull the bags out, and then eventually catching onto my shoulder to pull me up. Standing up with my eyes squinted from the sudden light, I see it's Dorian who has a hold of me, with Captain Eden standing a few feet away.

"It's good to see you, lad, it's been a while," The captain greets me before continuing, " I hope you don't get seasick, because you'll be on this ship a while- and you're definitely going to learn how to help out around here!"