#like. it doesn't have to be true that vel was looking for him

[hellisharchive]

・﹒・ comatose dreams [1]

Summary: After suffering from a fatal car crash, you had become comatose and had no hope of waking up anytime soon. You didn't know that, however, you thought you had died. After finding yourself in Hell, you wind up landing a job with Vox as your boss. You both fall quickly and deeply, but true love doesn't always work out.

Warnings: 18+, mentions of sex, masturbation, slight StaticMoth,

Notes: This fanfic is inspired by this lovely post by @timeslugarts! I would suggest reading it for a full summary, however if you want to go in blind, then don't!

﹒Stepping Stones﹒

An entire year working for VoxTech, what was your job, you ask? Well, you started out as a simple camera operator, then worked your way up to personal assistant, and you've had a crush on the television man for a good year now. Unfortunately, Vox always seemed so out of reach, so out of your league, you never even tried to even flirt with him and hoping he'd notice. He was an Overlord, one of the Vees, you were probably seen as nothing to him. Which hurt to think about, but was true nonetheless. So, you worked and went through your days with all your feelings festering inside you, ready to burst.

"Vox, you have a meeting with Vel and Val at three pm today to discuss potential strategies with Alastor returning, would you like to cancel?" You watched him as he adjusted his bowtie, ensuring that his outfit was perfect as always. He also had a tendency to cancel his meetings, but to the chagrin of his partners since he arrengaed them in the first place, but you still forced him to attend at least some.

"No, I know if I don't they'll be on my ass about it later" Turning from the mirror, he looked at you with a bored expression before putting on one of his smiles that you thought would be fake, but it was genuine. From working with him, you've learned to identify what smiles are real and ones that aren't.

"What? Do you really want to be alone with me THAT badly?" His smile then moved to a smirk, causing you get flustered and fumble with the tablet you were holding. Shit. Was that the first time he flirted with you? Vox chuckled as you regained your bearings, clearing your throat, you tried to remain professional.

"Well no sir, I was just uh, caught off guard by your uh...assumption" You coughed as he started to walk out of the room, knowing you'll diligently follow, and you did. You shut the door behind you and followed him as he made his way to his head of operations. He didn't tell you where he was going, but you knew his route every single day, that is- if he does, you'll still follow him wherever he went. You'll always be loyal to him and him only.

"Well, let's hope I don't have to calm Valentino down again today after yesterday..." He scowled just thinking about it. Yesterday, Val had yet again another temper tantrum and you watched as your boss did his thing. It was something you've grown accustomed to with your time as the tv man's personal assistant, they both fucked with no strings attached. Sure, they weren't together, but it still squandered you telling the truth about your feelings even further.

"Hopefully not, sir" You spoke as he entered his main control room, where he could spy on everyone and everything. He mainly has been monitoring the hotel and Alastor, even when the Radio Demon was gone for seven years, he never stopped bringing him up. The deer Overlord has only been back for a few months and he was the only thing Vox brought up for entire days sometimes. You didn't mind it though, it was pretty entertaining to witness. Sitting down in his chair, you grabbed yours and sat next to him as he observed everyone, trying to find Alastor roaming around. He checked the hotel first but couldn't find him with his scope of range. Time passes as he does his daily checking and observing, replying to emails, and the like. You busy yourself with checking his schedules and any business opportunities. You didn't realize that he stopped speaking until his sudden voice breaking the silence startled you.

"Do you think he'll ever take me seriously?" He spoke oddly quiet, his usual self gone as you swore you heard the faintest crackle in his voice. Looking up from your tablet, you saw that his head was down, looking at his lap with his hands fiddling each other as a sign of nerves. Sighing, you stood up and walked in front of him. Gently setting your hand on his shoulder, it caused him to look up with a face similar to a sad puppy. Smiling softly, with your other free hand, you placed it on his other shoulder.

"I know one day he will, sir. Trust me, you'll beat him and be the strongest overlord in Hell" You almost said "with me by your side" but refrained, knowing it was best not to mention that at all to him. This was about cheering him up, not entertaining your stupid fantasies. But, you saw as a digital blush faintly appear on his screen made your heart leap. You? A measly assistant managed to make THE Vox blush? You two were entranced, the feeling of leaning closer overwhelmed you as you both slowly inched closer and closer. What were you doing? You both were about six inches apart as he placed a hand over yours, now smiling devilishly as he chuckled.

"Of course I will, I just need someone by my side to do it" Did he...? You didn't have to fully process what he meant by that as you saw Vox's screen change to an incoming call with a ring. The moment ended as you cleared your throat and pulled away, taking your hands off his shoulders like they became fire. Of course- Valentino.

"Are you fucking-" He scowled as he transmitted the video call to one of his many screens, showing a very scandalously clad moth lounging on his bed, smoking and turning the screen into red before dissipating.

"Hey Voxy~ I need a fuck and I need it now. Angel Dust won't return my calls" Now, you weren't the biggest fan of Valentino, despite Vox also not being the best. But even as a sinner, you still did not agree with how that man treated others, especially his main star. Hearing the fact that he was demanding sex from your boss made your blood boil, yet you remained calm and neutral.

"Not now Val, find one of your other whores to fuck, I'm not in the mood" He didn't try to hide is displeasure as he held a very pissed off face staring at the pimp. Usually Vox never denied having sex with Valentino, so the sudden anger surpised you. Valentino just sighed, leaning closer to the camera. You weren't sure if he could see you, you hoped he didn't.

"You aren't fucking anyone else, right baby?" The question gave you whiplash despite not being the receiver. The moth sounded innocuous when you knew very well he manipulated Vox along with others. You knew his game.

"Fuck off Val" The tv Overlord than hung up, growling as he pushed out of his chair and started to walk towards the middle of the room. Following him, he headed back into the rest of the tower and back to his room. Before you could step in, he stood in the doorway, preventing your access.

"Don't bother me, do whatever the fuck you want for the next few hours, I don't care" and just like that, he slammed the door in your face. What the hell just happened? Taking a deep breath in, you mull over what you could possibly do when you decide to just take a walk. You needed some time outside the tower every once a while, so a walk would be perfect. Not wanting to head out in your work attire, you head to your room which was right next to Vox's (easier to be his assistant with you so close) and change. As you walked by your boss' door, you heard him panting and immediately flushed, walking away quickly as it felt wrong to hear him masturbate. You did walk in on him one time by pure accident and even to to this day he still teases you over it and makes fun of you. As you passed by, you could have sworn you heard him moan out your name, but he couldn't have. Right? Your ears were just playing tricks on you. Rushing past, opting to ignore it entirely, you went on your walk.

[cringekind]

I think ultimately the reason I hate Bix's end so much is because she wasn't given the respect of wanting anything for herself before that.

like okay in season one we know very little about Bix, but what we do know is compelling. She's a mechanic and a scavenger stealing parts from the Empire and selling them to Luthen - not out of rebel sympathies but to make money. She and Cassian have some sort of past, clearly childhood friends on top of that, and she's unendingly loyal but potentially slow to trust (hence her keeping her boyfriend out of her scavenging). she's strong enough to resist torture and not give cassian away, but human enough that said torture has real lasting effects on her. She's smart as hell and stubborn, and utterly alone in the world.

that's not nothing when you compare it to her screen time! that's an amazing start to a character! but they squander it (in part I suspect because they didn't have the time to do more).

so. season two Bix, before she leaves Cassian is... what? Well she's still loyal. She has PTSD both from being tortured and from working for the rebellion. She's still a mechanic. As far as we can tell she hardly does Solo jobs for luthen, except to work on / look at pieces for him. she stays home and works. she fights with Cassian over their lives and what they all mean, and it seems to be that at the end of that fight they reaffirm working together, if maybe not with Luthen anymore. But when they get to Yavin her life is the exact same. She's a housewife with mechanics skills. And she leaves because she's pregnant and doesn't want that to deterr cassian so we can assume she's a true believer in the cause. she wants nothing for herself except to aid Cassian the entire season, even leaving is for him.

making her a mother isn't necessarily a bad writing choice. lots of women in Star wars are mothers. it's just that she's *only* a mother, becomes defined by the choice to leave Cassian and raise their baby away from the rebellion. it's not hopeful because she's waiting for a Cassian who will die, and by the time her child is her age the Galaxy will be ruled by fascists again. she's does nothing all season but be put in a position to experience pain and I'm supposed to accept that the last ever shot of her was a "don't worry guys!! she had a baby Cassian will never meet, that's why she left!!". as if leaving him so he would stay focused on the mission (like vel and cinta) wasn't a compelling choice for her to make.

[elsa-fogen]

A part of me is like Velvette is definitely dead in your Breakfast AU but another wants her to be alive.

Warning this is kinda long.

Everyone at the hotel heard her screams but they are still shocked when she comes to the hotel she is barely able to understand her surroundings just curled into a ball shaking and crying mumbling “stop please no stop”.

Nothing they say can really get through her to her and I imagine Alastor just disappears soon after assigning her to marketing.

Velvette also looks more akin to a patchwork doll now her skin looking like it was sown back on just as harshly as it was taken off.

This is also sooo interesting because imagine the dynamics.

Vox and Val might not even know Velvette is still alive and still be falling apart at the seems but when they find out they are even more heart broken cause they can’t do anything. If only if they could go to that hotel. All the Vees want to do is to get Velvette back and protect her and fix her up so they can move past all of this but instead they have to watch while they see the Velvette they knew slowly fade farther away. Vox and Val would do almost anything to get Velvette back but know that in order to get her soul back a powerful deal would be needed that meant a huge loss in power. Was Velvette truly worth that much power? Their hearts said yes but they are too afraid to actually act.

Meanwhile the hotel guests are fucking flabbergasted surprised that Velvette is one alive and two that Alastor could do such a cruel thing.

To everyone except Nifty and Husk this is their first time seeing Alastors true cruelty and I think this could be a start of Charlie’s realization of Alastors true colors.

What she does then is kinda up to you.

Does Charlie work to take Alastor down unable to stand his cruelty or continue to work with Alastor as she thinks she needs him. Maybe she reaches out to her Dad to see if he can start to help with the Hotel more.

Maybe she slowly force Alastor to free her friends.

Omg and poor Velvette. Charlie and the others try soooo much to help but she just continues to spiral anytime she sees Alastor and knife and radio anything. Vel sometime gets close to her normal self and that hope for Charlie that maybe she can save Velvette too. The Hazbin gang does everything to try and fix Velvette up too but unfortunately they lack the resources. Vox would have had the money and power to fix Velvette’s body to be less jarring but they don’t have the ability to get good enough doctors at the hotel.

GROWLING AND CLAPPING MY HANDS NOW THIS IS DELICIOUS ANGST

The most interesting part of it all is that how Charlie would react to this all... [SPOILERS WERE CUT OUT AHAHAHHA]

i ALSO have some ideas on what 2/3 Vees can do to save Vel... oh this gonna be interesting!

ALSO!!! thing for this AU, i already thought about it in one other ask, but now it's canon: Alastor is at his full power and he never disappeared, he doesn't have that deal that holds him back, and he really helps the hotel because he bored, also i don't think he has some grand scheme to be played, he just silly little agent of chaos and destruction, true chaotic evil

[oh-three]

Andor S2E6:

Love how Luthen is sometimes just. Cassian's taxi service.

Cassian wanting no involvement in Ghorman's fight because he can tell how very wrong it will go.

Did not realize that Vel was in contact with Syril.

Also. "Visiting friends?" / "I have friends everywhere." is definitely a code phrase at this point. It's been said twice now.

Yeah, no, gotta agree with Perrin on that one. Going to a shitload of parties in three nights sounds fucking awful.

VelCinta reunion ❤️

Cinta indirectly revealing that she's starting to care for Vel more than the cause. About damn time.

VelCinta carrying on with helping the Ghormans launch a mission Cassian told Luthen was a bad idea. This oughta be fun.

This season is wild though. Covering immigrant targeting and now addiction via trauma. Tony Gilroy is a real one for talking Disney into this. Even aspects of season one.

"I don't know who I am sometimes." 😭

Luthen really does just withhold information from the couples working under him, doesn't he?

Oooh, Senate scene.

Heard a bit of the Jedi: Fallen Order theme for a second there.

They did recast Bail 😭

I mean, at least he looks somewhat like Jimmy Smits. Shame he was too busy, though.

Even the ISB is at that party lmao.

Kleya out there completely willing to destroy Lonni's reputation (has a wife and child) by pretending to flirt with him to conceal transferring information.

Oh god, Luthen (and Mon) gets to meet Krennic.

RIP road

Ohhhhhhhhhhh. Vel & Cinta really should not be there right now.

"Criminals love to lie." Yes, true, but rebels aren't criminals, Krennic.

Kleya, how are you going to explain the blood.

HE DID NOT JUST SHOOT CINTA.

Omg, she's actually dead, noooo 😭

Kudos to Vel for not killing the kid for his fuck-up. They're both never getting over this.

"We should have killed Krennic while we were up there." Honestly, you really should have.

NO.

LUTHEN DID NOT.

He sent Bix after Dr. Gorst 😭

Guess that's one way to get her back in the game.

Lmao, and they blew the guy up.

[the-grand-av3]

for val and vel: have you ever tried indirectly suggesting to al about vox's obsession/crush and if so how the fuck does he still not know

Trust me, we have~

he has the same density as the earth jfc

here look at our attempts of trying to convince him of voxs crush

Hey, Ally~

Ah, greetings! What have I done to earn a personal visit from the two of you in the kitchen at this late hour? I was just stirring up some jambalaya for Vox.

Wh

Why?

He said he was feeling ill, of course!

...

...

He's a TV.

Doesn't spare him from the common flu.

he doesnt have the nasal shit for that

Doesn't spare him from oral intake. Now, don't bother me, I have to treat him.

Did-- Did he ask you to take care of him?

Yes, he did. Poor soul, he was pale and stumbling all around.. i wonder what caused his sickness..

HE CANT GET SICK

Velvette! I expect more empathy from you.

HES GETTING YOU TO BABY HIM CUS HE WANTS YOU TO DICK HIM DOWN

Enough. I don't want to hear anymore of you two.

It's true though~ he has a big, fat, thick, erect crush on you~

Ah! Shhh.

ALASTOR YOU FUCKING

Ap-bup bup bup! Shhhhh

DONT TREAT ME LIKE A KID

Then stop acting like one. There are some leftovers for you two. I don't want to see you all acting up again.

See what we mean?~

so fucking stupid im losing my mind

[boundlss]

"you're quiet today." (Veltempest)

"Oh, am I?"

It's still a dismissive answer, but it's not nearly as fake as he might have given to someone who wasn't Vel. There isn't, at least, the sudden appearance of a bright smile or the rapid shift in demeanor from contemplative to exuberant. Instead, the denial is ordinary.

He can't really tell Vel what he's thinking about, after all.

"... I've just been enjoying the sea breeze," Tempest provides, a lie only in the sense that he knows Vel is looking for more than what he's willing to give. Perhaps out of guilt, he doesn't turn to look at Vel just yet, eyes on the direction of Aiva, though it's no longer visible behind them. "I'm rather fond of the ocean myself, you know. What sense is there in wasting away the last few days we'll have free from fey madness below deck?"

He dares to sneak a glance at the pointed look Vel is undoubtedly giving him. It makes something in him soften a little---he pushes away from the railing of the ship to turn around, back to the water so he can properly face his...

My 'something'.

It's not really true, but the thought puts a soft smile on Tempest's face anyway. There's no harm in imagining, he supposes. No lines are crossed in thought.

"You shouldn't be so concerned about what's on my mind," he says, and finds that he actually means the lightheartedness he's attempting to convey. It always does seem like a much more difficult choice to face when he's left to his own. "I wouldn't say no to your company, though. I'll promise you it's nothing you need to worry about if you promise to let me use you as a distraction from it. You know how much I enjoy our little talks."

the thunder saga. / accepting. ( @spiterisen )

[niuttuc]

So I saw a post about this concept and thought it would make for a interesting ask. Magical damage, like a necromancers fingers slowly turning black and losing sensation or a wizard with lighting bolt scares across their arms. What dose it look like when Arnoss, Zarunpel, Sezashi and Dancing-Hands push their magic beyond what their bodies can handle?

I find this question funny because of all my characters you could have picked, those are probably the ones that can strain their magic the least! So instead, let's talk about why they don't really do that, and we'll touch on the question! But I do appreciate the effort of narrowing down your questions to some characters for the copy-paste when it comes to my inbox, it hasn't gone unnoticed.

Most of the magic for Arnoss and Zarunpel is passive.

Zarunpel's "blessing" from the Wilds might not even function under the same rules as traditional magic, it follows more narrative rules. It affects her body and hair in many ways, but when it comes to the limits of it, it often is more about what would make a better story. She's stronger than someone that looks like her should be, but depending on what she has to do, the exact degree to which this is true varies. As long as it's somewhat reasonable, in important situations she's often just strong enough or almost but not there, depending which tells a "better" story. Of course, she has no idea how that works.

As far as her spellcasting, it's mostly temporary protection spells, they're more likely to be cast too late or not last long enough than to hurt her when she overuses them. Which means she or whatever she's protecting gets hurt the way it otherwise would have been. When the Urborg panther living in her shadow gets "killed" or banished in some ways, Zarunpel can also be left without a shadow for a time while Vel reconstitutes.

Similarly, Arnoss's magic is mostly passive buffing and reinforcing his scales, when it is overstrained, he gets hurt the normal way. However, it also depends on how many people need and want his help nearby, and in some cases that can be overwhelming to feel during major disasters in populated areas. So many people needing help and he can't help all of them. And he's found that when he tries to help all of them in a city when it's not a disaster, he exhausts himself going from one to the other for hours and days, there's always something in large population centers.

Sezashi has a hard cap on the number of spells he can maintain at once, at four, represented by the floaty objects that orbit him. While some are harder to maintain than others (maintaining multiple charges of the same nature on someone else requires concentration and effort), the failure point is usually just that one or multiple of the spells slip and come back to him, and he probably isn't in a state to reuse them just yet. With that said, premature failure of magic that can manipulate sizes and create duplicates is generally not a good idea, plenty of unfortunate timings possible. Also duplicates that are ended in this way don't fuse back as cleanly to the original, which certainly causes headache and can cause the loss of memories the duplicate had.

Dancing-Hands's innate telekinesis can be overpowered or overwhelmed, but it's very difficult, and it generally doesn't strain the kitsune much to use. Using it on non-physical things is more relevant here. It only works on nonliving elements. Using it on eldrazis, even scions and briefly, made him feel sick and gave him headaches, and he couldn't sustain it for more than a few seconds. He rediscovered how to use it on magical effects not too long ago, and that has taken a lot more out of him, and could potentially replicate or redirect harmful effects to him if he's not careful. The telekinesis itself is invisible if not for its effects.

As far as his Kanji magic, well, he typically only uses ink, and on paper, but much more powerful and dangerous opportunities are possible when this type of magic is used with blood (or other living material) and on living tissue. Be it using his paper blade on himself or drawing with his own blood on paper, the result would be white paper and fur marred in reds. It's not something he'd ever want to do, but in theory, it's possible.

[voxiiferous]

VOXVAL KIDS WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THIS. At least one of them? AND/OR VoxTello kid??? - @e-m-p-error

If they had a kid... | @e-m-p-error

Vox/Val

Name: Cristobal

Gender: Male

General Appearance: When they were born, Cristobal and Vidal were identical. They aren't as adults. Both of them look more like Valentino, with his more moth-like form. Cris has Vox's eyes; red, with pupils. His wings aren't moth like, but they do glow as if illuminated! Same with what seem to be permanent lichtenberg figures up his neck, onto his cheek. Before he and Vidal's relationship collapsed, they got piercing's together, Cristobal got his eyebrow.

Personality: Cris is a perfect heir to Vogitek-- he's well spoken, with a natural talent for appearing in front of the cameras. He has an ease with words that makes even the most devout contrarians fall in line. Though he is a bit of a playboy, and has been a frequent figure in the tabloids since he was a teenager!

Special Talents: Cris doesn't have Vox's innate skill with technology, but he's got a way with people that Vox had to learn and practice in a mirror. His ability to capture attention and opinion may be in part to his inheritance of some of Val's powers.

Who they like better: Vox

Who they take after more: Vox

Personal Head canon: Cris and Vidal were born to save their parent's relationship, and it worked. Sort of. For a few years it did! But his strongest memories of being a child are being sent to spend time with their 'Auntie Vel', or having Hellaina mind them at work. He blames Valentino for the tumultuous childhood, and has never really forgiven him. This choosing of sides is something that split he and Vidal's relationship.

Face Claim: This picrew

Name: Vidal

Gender: male... but his adherence to gender is sort of dependant on day.

General Appearance: Once identical to Cris (well, save Vi's pupil-less eyes!), the twins have grown apart physically. Vi still looks more like Valentino than Vox, with flowing wings that look more mechanical than moth-like, but he only has one antenna. He's the slightly shorter twin, both are taller than Vox, but are shorter than Valentino. Vi's piercing is his nose.

Personality: Vi is outwardly quite docile, or at least calm. Where Cris is posing and flattering every camera and commenter, Vi is more likely to be on the sidelines. During his teenage years he spends a while playing fashion model for Velvette, especially when Vox and Valentino get into fights. Of the two, he's more likely to use drugs.

Special Talents: Vi inherits less of Vox's skill with technology than Vox, and more of Valentino's. Where Cris takes over the Vogitek business aspects, Cris is the true artistic one between the twins, though his projects tend to be less lascivious or amusing than either parent's! He is master of the arthouse and auteur creation.

Who they like better: Valentino

Who they take after more: Valentino

Personal Head canon: The glasses are prescription! He chooses the same heart shape as Val, and has a pair of prescription sunglasses to match. Also, he's the person that would end up with an older man-- potentially someone like Seviathan or Sir Pentious.

Face Claim: This picrew

Vox/Tello

Name: Carlotta 'Lottie'

Gender: Female

General Appearance: Visually, Lottie takes after Ostello, more than Vox, to an upteenth degree! She has his same pale fur with blue accents. Her ears, the area around her eyes, and a handful of other body details are black, but her hair is brown, much like Vox's was in life, and her eyes are blue, that are, depending on lighting, the same as her spots! (Incidentally, it's the same colour as Vox's blue).

Personality: Lottie was born, all things considered, not long after Vox's Fall, and spent her entire life around show-business, she's seen each in and out and dirty secret by the time she was old enough to really realize how much of it is made up for the screens. She's a lot like Vox was as a child-- quiet, inventive, more time spent reading books to get ahead than socializing with peers. As an adult, she ends up working behind the cameras as Vox's company. Originally as backstage tech, and later as an engineer.

Special Talents: Lottie takes after Ostello in terms of singing, but she tends to be shyer with it.

Who they like better: Both, but when Tello starts to fall for Val, she's still relatively young, and it drives a temporary wedge between them-- she's worried he's going to leave Vox.

Who they take after more: A pretty equal split of both.

Personal Head canon: Lottie's had glasses since she was a toddler, and has a shockingly good poker-face! The consequences of having two performers as parents.

Face Claim: This picrew

[passionfell]

23. having a nightmare (veltempest)

Maybe it would be marginally more difficult to tell that something was wrong with Vel if Tempest wasn't right next to him in bed.

Or maybe it wouldn't; that's how far things have gone, recently. Tempest doesn't even have to look all that hard to figure out the smallest nuances of Vel's expressions. There's really nothing Vel can hide from him. He might have been less scared of that fact if it didn't mean the reverse was also true, but he's beginning to accept that he doesn't really mind that Vel can see every little shift in his expression.

(Not when Vel would never let anyone know what he saw there. Vel would probably take even a secret as insignificant as that to his grave.)

Before he can reconsider his own actions, Tempest reaches out, gently pushing a strand of Vel's hair out his his face. His hand stays where it is, though Vel's expression twitches again, and Tempest surmises that he really is having a nightmare. It probably wouldn't help anything to wake Vel abruptly, so he doesn't move from where he is, thumb swiping slowly back and forth against the side of Vel's head.

He's not sure what he's trying to do, really. To soothe him, maybe. To pretend that he's being any help at all. Frankly, he wouldn't blamne Vel for a nightmare on any day, but after the fight they've just been through...

(He'd woken from one too, with a quiet gasp for air, and had turned over to confirm Vel was still there. It's sort of funny; even in his dreams, even when his waking mind knows it's all too possible, he can't conjure up the image of Vel hurting him.)

The light of morning doesn't flicker in, so it must be fairly early in the night, by Miri's standards. But Vel's eyes flick open anyway, and Tempest pulls his hand back like he's been burned, replacing it where it had been before—clasped around his own folded legs. He doesn't look away, though, and Vel's eyes meet his.

Despite everything, Tempest pulls his face into a smile.

"Look who's finally up," he teases; it isn't often that he wakes sooner than Vel, after all. He doesn't address the nightmare. Part of him wonders if Vel can already tell that he knows. "You've slept through the whole day and gone into the night, I'm afraid. I didn't think you were capable!"

He feels like he can relax, now that Vel is awake. He doesn't have to be worried about what might be happening in Vel's dreams, at least—and he always feels better when he has Vel to talk to, anyway. He stretches his legs out, arms falling to his sides in a more leisurely position. "Kidding. I doubt it's been more than eight hours at the very most; everyone else is probably still sleeping. I thought about taking a walk, but I didn't want you to wake up without knowing where I'd gone. Care to join me?"

spotted! / accepting.

[once-vel]

more zakri fun facts. because i want to and i can

his qou body's hair has been like. very specifically and intricately designed to be as easy to take care of as possible. probably had kelzil's help with it. this is the only way i can justify giving him such long hair because there is no fucking way he would be able to take care of that much hair under any normal circumstances. even so, unnamed kiv probably helps with it a lot

his larval form definitely had significantly shorter hair (a bit past shoulder length at most). often keeps it in a ponytail, braid, etc. realistically he would have it cut very short for manageability but i like drawing his hair, so. alt!zakri's hair is also significantly shorter, though he just wears it loose

fidgets with his hair a lot. this isn't indicative of anything, it's just there and he does it without thinking. unnamed kiv likes to play with it, which zakri, surprisingly, doesn't mind (he actually enjoys it highly but will not admit it because he is zakri. unnamed kiv is very aware of this because he's bad at hiding it)

he had glasses or whatever the obesk equivalent to glasses were in his larval form

larval form had a ton of freckles/markings/etc scattered across his armor. i haven't quite decided what they look like but i think it would be fun to take inspiration from real bugs with markings on their shells for this. qou body also has a lot of freckles, but not as many

despite his grouchy persona he is also a vel through and through and is an incredibly very mischievous little bastard

the extra things on his face are eyes! i mention this one here and there i think but i'm adding it here for fun. he can't see out of them very well though, so they're mostly for decoration. they can have pupils i just can't be bothered to draw them

his freckles on his qou body glow a little tiny bit. not very much but. a little bit. i mainly draw them pink but sometimes i like to throw other colors in there for fun

if you're too nice to him he'll get like. visibly lightheaded. he will deny this happened afterward

pain tolerance is miserably bad. despite this, he has not turned off true pain in his qou body

he has like. obesk adhd. this is not on purpose and is more because i have adhd and it would take more work to write a character that doesn't have adhd

a lot of his qou body was made with kelzil's help. mostly because kelzil judged his qou body craftsmanship really bad and zakri went "ok fuck you fix the problems yourself if they annoy you so bad" and then they did

has a twitch (stolen directly from myself). claims it's a problem with his qou body, but he had it when he was larval too. kelzil and unnamed kiv both know this, but neither say anything. ranges from a mild hand or receptor twitch to entirely freezing up for a second and almost falling over. one time unnamed kiv said it was cute which he responded to with an insult but he did think about it for a very long time

loves coffee simulacrums

can be bribed very easily, the amount of shit you can get him to do if you offer him a treat is very high. kelzil uses this to their advantage often. he will always realize he is being bribed and he will complain the whole time but he'll still do it

voice isn't notably low or high and is quiet and monotone. has a mild tendency to trip over his words. has an odd metallic edge/generally synthetic sound post ascension. this isn't a super accurate comparison, but think a well tuned utau voicebank or an old vocaloid voicebank

will swear at things that annoy him, such as walls after he walks into them, or formerly, his own coat after he tripped on.

good at talking for a long time straight without realizing it, if you let him. unless he has a lot of thoughts on the topic at hand he'll probably get very off topic though. solid chance he will forget you're there

often wears like, 2 inch heels because otherwise his coat is just long enough that he will constantly trip over it

[isaackuo]

So here's the thing. Cassian wasn't going to Ghorman regularly. He went to Ghorman twice. Once to conduct an initial meeting with the Ghorman Front, to provide an assessment to Luthen, and once to try and assassinate Dedra.

After the first mission, Cassian walked away from Ghorman. Luthen wanted Ghorman to burn "very brightly", and Cassian wasn't okay with that. Remember that his own home planet burned "very brightly", but no cared about the Kenari genocide. Cassian wasn't cool with purposefully causing the same thing to happen to Ghorman, so he parted ways with Luthen.

But who DID Luthen send to Ghorman regularly? Vel and Cinta oops never mind he lost Cinta and Vel to Ghorman right away. I mean Wilmon.

Did Wilmon and Syril meet and work with each other? That would be funny, but I really don't think so. See, Syril really earnestly was looking for outside agitators. He was focused on protecting the Ghormans from outside agitators. If he had worked with Wilmon at all, he would have quickly realized Wilmon was the outside agitator he was looking for.

Instead, when he saw Cassian he figured Cassian was the outside agitator. He thought Cassian told the Ghormans not to listen to him. He thought Cassian was the outside agitator purposefully leading the Ghormans into a genocide. Obviously it was too late for the Ghormans, but Syril could at least take down Cassian Andor to prevent him from doing it again to the next planet.

Only one problem with Syril's theory ... it was wrong. Cassian wasn't the outside agitator, Wilmon was. And Wilmon was as oblivious to Luthen's true intent as Syrial was oblivious to Dedra's true intent.

So boy was Syril confused when Cassian said, "Who are you?"

Sooooooooooo

Let's compare to your interesting scenario.

Cassian takes on the Ghorman mission, but Luthen never tells him what he really intends, and Cassian doesn't figure it out himself. The Ghorman Front is more competent than what we saw in the show, so Cassian doesn't walk away.

As soon as Syril sees Cassian, though, he thinks he has hit the jackpot! He doesn't know Dedra's true plan, so he's excited to report back.

Cassian, though? He recognizes Syril's face, even if he never got a name. Cassian's like:

"Huh. So you're on our side now?"

" ... They ruined my life."

"Yeah. That'd do it."

Obviously Cassian wouldn't 100% trust him right away, but he could pretend he mostly trusts him, at least at first.

But the fun would begin when Syril excitedly reports back to Dedra and Dedra has to pretend to be all excited also, while inside her brain her brain gears are turning, like, "We could get Axis! No, we need to stick to the plan. No, how can I do both? Oh no, I've been staring into space for fifteen minutes straight and Syril is almost starting to think it's weird."

Been thinking a lot about things I wish had happened in Season 2 today and I'm still kinda shocked we never got to see Syril meet and work with Cassian while he was still a double agent on Ghorman??

I'd been convinced this was gonna happen since the Celebration teaser. In my head, Cassian was gonna turn up to help the Ghorman Front and they would be like "hey you should really meet our man on the inside!"

And then Syril would walk in and have to pretend he's not been obsessed with Cassian all this time. Try to earn his trust, maybe even develop a friendship with him (which might've become genuine, causing Syril to start questioning everything that's been driving him these past few years.)

idk how this would've worked alongside the whole Ghorman false flag operation. But it would've given a whole new meaning to the"who are you?" moment.

[despiour]

@lathsuledin liked this for a one-liner.

Nethra moved in on Vel from across the room, his arms folded across his chest. He wore a subtle smile as he spoke. “I heard you were looking for me.” 

[moragmacpherson]

Okay, now that I've watched it again, I have some feelings about Andor. Heavy spoilers ahead.

When it debuted, I have to admit: I was deeply annoyed. We knew exactly two things about Cassian's past. He was from Fest and he had been in this fight since he was six years old. And instantly, in the first episode, that one thing we knew, we discover, is a lie. He's from an even more obscure planet, Kenari, and unless he was a very overgrown five year old, he wasn't in any apparent struggle against the Empire when he was six years old.

After so many random retcons and deus ex machinas and "somehow, Palpatine returned"s, I was genuinely miffed. Cassian Andor was an entirely new canon character. How could he already need a retcon? We don't even know that much about Fest, what was the point?!

After the other D+ series, I honestly didn't have much faith in this one. And I definitely didn't believe they could justify this seemingly gratuitous rug-pull.

I was dead wrong.

Throughout the series, we watch everyone around him misjudge who Cassian Andor is. Skeen thinks Cassian is a true mercenary like himself. In all fairness: so do Luthen, Vel, Cinta, and Kleya. Even more laughably, the Empire convinces itself that Cassian Andor is some kind of Rebel mastermind, maybe not the 'axis' they're looking for, but clearly vital to the operations of the entire Rebellion.

And we, the audience, believed that Cassian Andor is a hardened rebel spy, willing to sacrifice everything for the cause.

We were wrong too. The audience can be wrong, and we were.

Instead, we meet Cassian Andor, a man who loves and cares maybe a little too easily, and does a piss poor job of keeping his guard up to stop himself from loving and caring for more people. He's a man who cannot bring himself to say goodbye or let go of the people he cares for. He holds onto Nemik's manifesto. He would have gone back for Kino. He goes to check on his mother and Bee and Bix every damn time.

Was the audience wrong about him to the point where we were fooled by the title? That we all believed he was that Andor, while in reality it was Maarva the whole time? Is that theme song her funeral march, or the one that will never be played for him?

There's certainly an argument to be made there. Because while Maarva was sparking that rebellion we all believed Cassian had dedicated his life to, he was just using it so that he could rescue Bix from the hotel.

If Cassian wasn't the Andor of the title this season, he will be next season. He's done running. He's taking up the mantle Maarva held up for him, being the force for good she knows he can be. Luthen had him pegged from their first meeting: "You and I both know you're going to wind up dying fighting these bastards."

At their last meeting, Luthen says Cassian is a hard man to kill, and Cassian replies that he's going to make it easy. Seemingly offering Luthen a choice to either kill him or bring him in. But it's not. Either way, he's choosing death. Cassian knows he will die fighting these bastards.

But to keep the people he loves safe, he'll do it.

And at the end, he'll be with someone he loves. She won't be safe in his arms, but he'll hold her all the same. He doesn't know how to let go.

How am I supposed to know all of this and feel anything other than unwell?

[emiwrites3reads]

Foxheart - Chapter One

All life, all of it is struggling to survive, I think as I walk to where the so-called "Leader of the Forest" calls all predators for a meeting with his howl. Of course, I know it's going to be tense. But not this tense, all the predators are avoiding any eye contact and stay yards apart. The leader stands on a rock over a den. His howl dies out as he sees everyone come. He shakes his mangy black fur. The wolf's yellow eyes cast upon all of us along the large clearing. I stay around some shrubs.

"I'm glad to those who came" His voice rings over the silence. Everyone here knows there is no way he could really know if everyone is here. The thing that I and some of the other predators know is his name, Convel(con-vel). Others most likely know by now, word gets around faster than you would think. 

"A great terror has come to us this past year, killing some loved ones, food, plants, and polluting our waters" His Beta, Accalia(uh-keel-la) a she-wolf with a pelt mixed of mud and earth colours, like greys and browns. Her eyes hold a kindness that Convel's doesn't have, his has power. 

"It's best for us who live independently change our ways, any lone wolf in need of help is welcomed to join our pack" Convel says. He just wants more members, more members equals more power. Accalia looks across the predators. 

"as for other animals with similar eating habits, we will gladly let you have some of ours. only in modest amounts. our pack to needs to be fed" Accalila says. She's a much better leader then Convel. A feline jumps onto the rock, Her grey striped pelt all most blends into the rocks underneath her. Her blue eyes focus on the other predators. 

"My clan wants no rule of the forest, We think that everyone would be better off if we live by our own set of rules, some of the rules stop us from getting the things that we need" Her voice is calm, patience, and her words are true. The rules give wolves more advantages. If a wolf wishes to take fox's shelter, the fox must leave. Convel hates foxes, and felines. 

The huge black wolf's eyes glow with danger, no one says a word. I step up on a large rock to get a clearer view. The she-cat turns to the wolf, her eyes challenging. She holds the gaze for a moment. She leaps down and joins her clan where a cluster of cats sit in a corner. Convel jumps down to the cats. Accalila looks like she wants to stop him, but hesitates. 

"You question my leadership? you nothing but a stupid ball of fur" His words are full of danger, death, and the demand for more power. I glance to my left to see some predators sneaking away. I see the black wolf give the retreaters a glare that demands them to say.  They listen, a fox, wolf, and a coyote come back. I should help her, but how? I think. 

I approach the two, the feline hesitates to see me, a fox walk up. "What she says is true, Your power hungry thug" The words just slip out without meaning too. The leader of the clan turns to me with a surprised look. Her clanmates meow in agreement. I guess the greatest allies can really be the most unexpected. Accalila steps down. Chills crawl done my spine. She has no emotion in her yellow eyes. "Enough, fox" She growls. No wolves like foxes, I guess its circle of life. 

"A true leader would care for all his or her people" The feline says, I realize that this cat is Starkeeper. She's one of the best leaders oak willow clan has ever had. The she-wolf and the She-cat have a death stare. I need to do something. 

"Until you prove to us that you can care for everyone, I am not following your biased laws" I say with power in my voice. I'm actually doing this. The cats and their leader meow in agreement, I hear some barks and meows from other predators. 

"Fox you are no longer welcomed in this forest, same for you and your clan Starkeeper" Accalila says. Wolves jump out of the bushes behind them, ready to chase us out. they start running towards we run to the northern border. My fur prickles with fur, but under there is satisfaction.

@lucifer-theone-true-king-of-hell

[boundlss]

[ rain ] (veltempest)

"Fancy meeting you here."

He doesn't speak until he's actually reached Vel, though he's been close enough to see the slight upturn of Vel's lips sooner than that. Sooner still had Auri caught sight of the back-and-forth of Vel's sopping tail through the crack in the bench and smiled himself (though, really, he hadn't stopped since setting out).

He takes his seat next to Vel, pressed up against him. Vel turns to him, and the natural course of things plays out as it usually does in dryer conditions; they kiss without needing to even understand eachother. A greeting as much as it is a grand, romantic gesture. As Auri reaches up to hold Vel's face in his hands, he thinks about how lucky he is to be here.

(Vel delivers his succinct reply when they part. Like always.)

He looks beautiful in the rain-soaked nighttime. Auri almost considers it unfair that it works so well on him, but the keyword is almost; he's too busy relishing in the sight himself.

"What a beautiful sight," Auri says with calm cheer, not bothering to disguise the fact that he isn't talking about the city in the rain, even if that's also true. "You should have invited me to tag along earlier."

Not that Vel had asked him anyway. Bemused, Tempest finally turns his gaze out towards the street, though he doesn't place himself any further from Vel when he does. Instead, as though to cheekily keep Vel with him, he reaches out for Vel's hand.

(And smiles wider when Vel allows it.)

kisses. / accepting.