#octopath exchange letter

[notisaidthefrogg-blog]

Dear Octopath Exchange Creator...

Hello! I really appreciate you reading this letter and I eagerly anticipate your awesome creation! As a writer myself, I’ve probably made my requests/prompts very narrative-based; feel free to take inspiration from any part to turn into art if that is your strength! If you have any questions/would like to challenge any unreasonable requests, don’t hesitate to ask on anon!

(edit: this ended up being way longer than it had any right to be, I just tried to make up for any restrictions with a whole bunch of prompts, I probably rambled way too much, don’t feel pressured to read the whole thing)

First of all, I’ll just introduce myself briefly because I haven’t posted here before. I am Frogg (Nebulariffic on Ao3). You won’t have seen me around at all because I tend to lurk on sites like Tumblr, but I’ve been following the Octopath fandom since the game’s release and I’ve really loved the fan creations that have come from it! This is the first fandom exchange I’ve participated in here, and I’m hoping it will help me come out of my shell enough to post some of my other fan works!

But enough about me, time to get to my gift preferences! I do have some odd tastes by some standards, but as long as there’s no DNWs, I’m sure I’ll love whatever you come up with! Again, if anything here seems unreasonable, just message me and we can come up with something.

I’ll start with what I really like:

- Friendship/found family fluff! I’m a sucker for some high quality friendships and nothing forges friendships like trekking across the continent together! I think that our favourite eight travellers have a lot of potential for fun interactions together, or even if it’s just one or two of them with some NPCs or other characters!

- On the other side of the spectrum, hurt/comfort featuring supportive pals just warms my heart! Cheery friend/s lifting spirits of sad friend/s? Wonderful. Multiple sad friends taking comfort in each other? Exquisite. Again, there’s so much potential with this crew to make something really touching!

- Character growth! This may or may not be self explanatory, but I love characters doing tricky things and becoming better people for it. Things like working up courage to admit fault, apologise, forgive, put aside differences, or generally facing and conquering fears!

- If you have a cool AU idea, I’d love to see it!

Now as for my dislikes, these are mostly things that I’d be okay seeing in general, but I’d just rather not have in something I was requesting.

- This one’s going to seem a bit odd/prudish, but I’d like for no non-canon romantic/sexual pairings. I’m fine with super-close ambiguous friendships with hugs and comfort, but I’ve always felt weird about non-canon ships. Besides, I think we could do with more platonic friendships!

- If you would like to go for a non-canon romantic pairing anyway, I’d be okay with that just as long as it stays Lite(TM). In particular, I really don’t like pieces focussed on marriage proposals, weddings and pregnancies (especially mpreg) - that’s just something I’ve never liked in fic/art.

- Please no excessive emphasis on past abuse... It’s okay for characters to remember dark moments in their pasts, but detailed flashbacks and characters bemoaning their existences just make me feel like garbage.

- I’d prefer no prominent OCs. Background roles are cool, but self-inserts/reader-inserts/fanchildren and the like break my immersion.

And for my DNWs:

- No smut/porn/nudity

- No rape/non-con

- No underage/incest

- No kinks

- No excessive violence

- No character bashing

- No major character death (unless it’s directly portraying/referencing a canon event)

I make that last point because you can’t very well have a Primrose-Chapter-1-centric moment without Yusufa, for example.

Now we get to the fun bit - prompts! I realise that I drive a hard bargain by requesting all eight travellers, and I’d be perfectly fine if you only want to focus on a subset of them. If you have an idea for something based on what I’ve already mentioned, then go for it, but if you’re stuck, I’ve got some prompts based on who I’d particularly like to see! I’ve also provided some general/AU prompts, and if you want to go with one of those prompts, you can include any number of the travellers as you please!

Alfyn - If I had to pick a favourite traveller, it would be this wholesome boy.

I’d love to see him helping out his friends if they get sick or injured, or if they just need someone to listen. Counsellor Alf is a very good Alf!

If you want to go for super-angst, I’d suggest something related to his Chapter 3. There’s so much to unpack in that chapter alone that the game couldn’t even touch on!

Olberic - I think Olberic is really under-represented in fan works, and I’d love to see more of him!

I know he has a softer side, particularly around children, and it would be cool to see that played against his protective aggression. Maybe the group gets attacked and Olberic has to defend them?

H’aanit - Another underrated character imo. If the prospect of H’aanit-speak is too intimidating, I wouldn’t be offended if you just had her talk normally.

H’aanit always strikes me as the kind of quiet, stoic character who doesn’t say much, but every one of her words is meaningful, if a little blunt. Perhaps some wacky antics will get her to open up? (wink wink nudge nudge)

Or maybe she accidentally offends someone and (with coaching from the rest of the team) gets enough social courage to apologise?

Does Linde count as an unrequested character since she’s not on my request list? I jest, but feel free to make something with her and/or her relationship with H’aanit if that strikes your fancy! If you want a Linde prompt, maybe something that contrasts her noble-fierce-wild-beast side with her big-domestic-cat side? 

Other travellers -  If you want to make something focussed on any of the other travellers, that’s perfectly okay too! I just don’t have any specific prompts for them (bc its 2:30am here and I’m tired). Just hit me up if you’d like prompts for a character I haven’t touched on here!

General/AU prompts -

Rescue Fic: Nothing says “I care about you” than “you were in X predicament and I got you out of it”. Ties in very well with the fear-facing I mentioned in my likes. The only question is, is it one or two people saving the rest of the team, or is it seven looking for their missing friend? You decide!

Innocent Bystander: This is one of my bigger prompts, so you can skip this idea if it’s too longwinded/complex. Team OCTOPATH blows through town, leaving innkeeper/barkeep OC (or other NPC) to chase after them and witness/reflect on/clean up after their shenanigans. I can elaborate on this idea further if you like, just shoot me an ask!

Modern AU: How would the backstories/jobs of the cast translate into modern day? How would they meet/become friends? I love seeing theories for this topic.

Band AU: You know that new Break, Boost and Beyond artwork? The one where half the cast is practically a rock band (looking at you Olberic)? Tell me how that happened. Go nuts.

I think I’m going to wrap up this letter here, hopefully some of this was useful! Of course, feel free to disregard my prompts if you’ve already got ideas, or hit me up by anon if you want me to elaborate on any of these ideas. And of course, have fun and thanks for making me a thing!

Sincerely, Frogg (Nebula)

[moonwolfhowl]

Octo Exchange Letter!

Hiyo, first off I’m moonwolfhowl on tumblr and nightmoonz on AO3. I’m really excited that you got me and I just want to thank you so much and I hope you have a bunch of fun with this!! 

Secondly, here are a couple things that I like and dislike, (and some prompts but you can take ‘em or leave ‘em). If you’re not 100% sure on if something is or isn’t my deal my ask box is open and the anon option is turned on.  

Ratings: T-M

General Things I Really Like:

Things I like!

AUs! No, seriously, every kind of AU

Humor! Especially: sarcasm, witty banter, etc…

Angst and hurt/comfort are awesome!

Slow Burns

MUTUAL PINING  and idiots who don’t realize they like/are in love with each other

found families

Fake relationship/dating/marriage you know for a cover/mission/(fill in the blank)

friends to lovers

enemies to lovers

enemies to friends to lovers

strangers to friends to lovers

Happy Endings!! 

General Things I REALLY Dislike/Do Not Want:

Character Bashing

Abuse of any kind

Cheating

Harm to animals

Non-Con/Dub-Con 

Incest

Mpreg

Major Character Death

Unrequested Pairings

Scat and/or Watersports

Spiders especially Tarantulas, this is a huge trigger for me

Okay! I’m gonna put a break here because this is a long post. 

some ridiculous prompts!

So these are just some silly prompts that you can take from or ignore altogether! It’s really just some ideas that you can look to if you’re stuck or need a jumping off point.  And please, if you already had an idea please feel free to go with that instead, I’m sure it’s awesome!! 

Also if you have any questions the anon option is turned on for my ask box.

I’ll separate these prompts with character specific prompts and then have gen/shippy and/or platonic relationship prompts so you have a couple of options. 

Again I just want you to know, I seriously will not be offended if you don’t want to do any of these prompts I really just want you to have fun  =^__^=

Character prompts

Therion

My little trash bandit!!! (Who I will fight, die and kill for) Ok, I know this is cheesy but Therion having his first Apple Pie ; __ ;

it can be when he’s little or an adult, AU, Canonverse or Canon divergent

it can be a Birthday treat to himself, it can be the first thing he pays for with money he earned on his own, if you want to include any character I put in my sign up sheet please feel free! And if (and only if) you want to include Cyrus or H’aanit then by all means go for it!

Therion actually pursuing acting! 

But in all honestly I just really l want to see Therion happy and for him to have nice things  ;;; __ ;;;

Prim

I don’t really have a prompt for her but I can tell you I picture her as the troll-y big sister type. I feel like she adopted this persona in Sunshade or maybe just with the octofam, either way I just see her making everyone’s life hell just cuz and it’s fantastic XD.

(I would not object to seeing Prim enlisting Tressa and Ophilia teasing Therion XD) 

Tressa

My adorable little gremlin who has never done anything wrong in her life. I will fight and die for her. 

In canon she has a pet squirrel which is so adorable and so her! So if you want to go wild with an ‘A girl and her squirrel’ type of story I won’t complain.

Tressa spear fishing

Leon

I love how much of his character is wrapped up in mystery so I was thinking maybe: 

What his life was like in Victor’s Hollow? 

Did he stowaway onto the first ever ship he sailed on

Did he ever buy a ship before he rebuilt Baltazar’s? Or did he just steal them >:3 (speaking of which if you wanna include Baltazar you definitely can but please don’t feel like you have to <3 )

Does he have a thing for the arts? Is that why he’s particularly enamored endeared to Tressa spotting the painting? What was it like when he obtained the painting Tressa would later admire?  

Cordelia

I love Cordelia and I think she’s underrated. She’s been through quite a lot and her faith in my best boy helped him in so many ways ; w ; 

I would love to see her having a huge struggle with her writing. You can include everything and anything from: head banging against a desk, crumpled up pieces of paper, scowling at her notebook or doing something else to take her mind off of it for a bit 

I also wouldn’t mind to see her walking through Bolderfall visiting each layer of the city and helping it thrive

Tbh anything. I love her and she deserves the world

Ophilia

I don’t really have any prompts for her but she’s so sweet, I just wouldn’t mind seeing or knowing more about her!

Gen, Shippy and/or Platonic Prompts

Cordelia Ravus/Therion (Thordelia)

Actor & Author releationship: AU, Canonverse or Canon divergent you name it! (This can be platonic or shippy! I have a personal preference towards it being shippy but if it’s not your ship that’s totally okay!) 

So remember when Prim told Therion actors make more in a day than thieves make in a year? And lol Cordelia wrote cool stories of a romantic nature (The Princess and the Noble Thief XD) and sent them off to Noa? 

I dunno I just think this would be really really cute if Cordelia and Therion worked on a play together. She’d write it and Therion would act in it, they could either just become friends or... friends to lovers XD. Also I would not be opposed to Prim and Tressa teasing TF out of Therion. 

Actually ngl anything with them, it can be fluffy, hurt/comfort, mutual pining. Anything. my thirst is real

Tressa Colzione/Leon Bastralle

gods I love them so much.

Any kind of them traveling together and developing feels on the open seas

Meeting at an Art Museum AU

Actually again ngl like Thordelia above anything feel free to go where your muse takes you

Some or all of the characters I requested (and if you’d like you can also include Cyrus, Olberic, and H’aanit but of course you are not obligated to do so <3)

Prank wars! 

Exactly what it sounds like, everyone plays light hearted pranks on each other. 

You can use any setting for this Canonverse, Canon divergent or AUs

Really ANY and ALL AUs (Coffee Shop Au, Mechanic AU, College AU, Tattoo shop AU, Magical School AU, Fantasy AU, Pac Rim AU, legit all the AUs in the world are pretty chill with me)

Tressa Colzione & Ophilia Clement & Prim Azelhart 

Good Old Fashion found family bonding!

I’d love this to be about them being close and/or bonding! I found their travel banter with each other very sweet and I just think some lighthearted teasing, gossiping (or ruining their fellow traveler’s lives by teasing them) would be adorable. 

Very Shippy prompt! Tressa x Leon or Thordelia (however if you wanna include other side ships like Olberhardt or H’aanit x Ophilia for example you can go for it!)

Masquerade! Can be Canonverse, Canon Divergent or AU! 

A Masquerade ball in which

They can either know each other beforehand or not

Halloween Party, Adults, College AU

idk this is just something to have fun with and hey lol if you wanna make it more mature feel free

If none of these appeal then please don’t worry! I just hope you have fun!!!

[alynnl]

What Comes Next? 4/12/22

Well.  I am soaring to new heights thanks to my supportive audience here in the Octopath fandom.

That being said, Travelers, I must consider where I’m going to head next.

I’m already feeling that strange void one has in their free time when they don’t have a project on their hands, but at the same time it’s freeing.  I don’t have to grapple with my personal life to try and get a fic done.

I definitely want to write more Octopath Traveler fic in the near future as it’s become my new niche.  

I am hoping to read others’ fic while I decompress and rest to replenish my creative energy.

(I will be poking through some of you guys’ bookmarks on AO3 first before I go browsing on my own.)

But as far as upcoming projects, I can say for certain I want to work on...

Beginnings of a Fellowship - Explanation here.

Cloaked in Mystery - Explanation here.

All of these will require research.  The first one all the guys’ Chapter 1 stories, and Cloaked will require me to rewatch Cyrus’s Chapter 3.  Plus any other facts, descriptions or synonyms I look up along the way.

After “Cloaked” though it’s unclear where I will go from there.

My original plan for my Oath Keepers AU has me covering the following:

 “Wellspring, but a bit friendlier because things are settled with Erhardt and now our Knight Errant has a Squad of his own who all ride horses like he does, also Primrose somehow joins here?”

“Cyrus taking on Dreisang and gaining the Power of Sorcery” interlude

“Duskbarrow, but Cyrus now has a whole gang of five others to help him vs. Demonic Lucia and it’s an epic Power of Friendship moment”

“Riverford, but Olberic receives a critical injury at the end of the fight with Werner protecting Cyrus, and Cyrus responds by electrocuting the tyrant (accidentally draining his own magical well), so Alfyn must save Olberic’s life, and Therion must take care of Cyrus” 

“A new arc featuring Cyrus, H’annit and Therion traveling to Flamesgrace in order to find a cleric (Ophilia) to help heal Olberic, while Alfyn and Primrose stay behind with Olberic to take care of him and meet Tressa in the process”

“Another new arc featuring the eight coming together, a tearful reunion of Olberic and Cyrus, and Olberic’s subsequent rehabilitation and a friendly duel with Erhardt to show that he has come back stronger than before.”

“A Series Ending, of Olberic, Cyrus and their friends paying a visit to Cobbleston so Olberic may see his found family in the village.  And it’s the Travelers’ rest before they will go on to help the others in their quests.  Olberic and Cyrus are particularly relaxed stargazing at a clear night’s sky.”

“A possible one-shot involving the immediate aftermath of the Fall of Galdera.  The eight travelers leaning on one another in various states of injury, wondering if the whole fight was some kind of twisted shared nightmare” (maybe they accidentally drank Alfyn’s Slumberthorn in their tea?) 

Cyrus remembers the Spurning Ribbon tied to his hair, knowing it wasn’t a dream. 

The group take their time to recover from their injuries and slowly go back to their homes, or in Primrose and Therion’s case, continue their life as wanderers.

Olberic and Cyrus are the last to part ways.  They are satisfied that they fulfilled their promise to protect each other, and swear they will never forget each other, or their journey.

And so they exchange a tearful, yet hopeful goodbye, with Olberic promising he will be there in Atlasdam to read every word of Cyrus’s books and notes alongside him when his business (Phillip’s training) is concluded.

Cyrus says he will wait patiently for that day, and keep researching.

They will stay in touch through letters, while living their own lives.  This story ends with the first letters being exchanged, a mere week after Cyrus and Olberic have returned home, showing that they will fulfill their duties as well as their word to keep in contact with each other.

“A story set two years after the Fall of Galdera with the original four guys coming back together in Cobbleston for a new adventure.”  

Alfyn is in town to deliver new medicines (both cures and preventatives) to the village to stop the spread of a new plague.  

Therion is in town to chase off a group of bandits even dumber than Gaston’s old crew that are holing up in the same Brigand’s Den.  

Cyrus as taken his first voluntary vacation in order to see Olberic in-person, as they have kept up their joint research (and close bonds formed on their journey) long-distance and Cyrus simply wants his company.  

And then Olberic surprised to meet old friends, but ready to help in all respects - catching up with Cyrus, helping Alfyn in his deliveries, and fighting alongside Therion in the Brigand’s Den.

After that, the group spend a night at the tavern and Olberic’s home, happy to be together again.

“A story set twenty years after the Fall of Galdera with Olberic finding himself at a loose end, now that Phillip has surpassed him in terms of swordsmanship and he has control of the elements thanks to lessons from Cyrus.”

Olberic decides there isn’t much keeping him in Cobbleston with Phillip being the powerful defender of the Highlands, so he sets out on a more permanent journey to Atlasdam.

There he reunites with Cyrus, and the two old friends speak as if they’ve never been apart, but it’s really been some five years since they have seen each other in person.  It has, however, only been two weeks since Cyrus’s last letter to Olberic.

When Cyrus asks how long Olberic will be visiting.  Olberic confesses he wishes to stay, and Cyrus quietly accepts.  And he welcomes Olberic home.

The two reminisce about old times (especially the Werner fight, where Cyrus accidentally overcast his magic and it bleached a streak of his hair, that is hardly noticeable with all his natural grays, and Olberic remarks he still has a scar from the fight and it aches on rainy days, but the day he reunites with Cyrus for good is a sunny one, and so he is pleased.)

Cyrus mentions how he published books about the Eight’s adventures, and Olberic knows of this, owning a hard  cover of every single one, and remembering Cyrus’s letters about the subject.

Cyrus believes they can write a new tale together, and Olberic looks forward to it.  There is also no shortage of visits, letters and gifts from old friends around the world.

Looking at some of these (especially the last three, Post-Galdera ones) I realize I could possibly separate them from my AU if they feel like they could stand alone (And thus, I wouldn’t have to wait to write them.)

I might be inclined to tackle “Two Years Later” sometime in the near future because it’d be right in my wheelhouse.  Maybe right before or after I work on “Cloaked.”

The rest of it though, I must confess, is up in the air.  I ran the numbers and if I proceeded at the pace of “A Reason to Fight” (four months for the drafts and the editing combined) It’d take me two years and then some to finish all this!

So I cannot promise I will get to all of this AU as one huge thing.  It has likely grown beyond me and my ability to deliver.  I do not say this to undersell myself, but I know when I’m faced with something I truly can’t handle.

But now I at least put into words, the purest essence of all the arcs I’d planned, and y’all can get the basic idea of where I was going with this.

My biggest snag is of course, the Wellspring arc because so much happens and I do not know how to fix it.

But I don’t want to end this on a negative note.

I merely wanted to show you guys what I’ve been brainstorming alongside the fics that actually got written.  Just because I felt these ideas were too good to keep to myself.  Who knows?  Maybe I will work it all eventually but for now, I suppose I will stick with the two I have lined up and then think about the post-Galdera plots as little bits of wish fulfillment that I can write any time I want.

What’s important, as I have been reminded of many times, is that I write what makes me happy.

So I will do just that, and go as far as I can!

For now though I will have a reprieve!  I’ll also see if I can figure out what the heck to do with my spare time.

If you got this far, thanks for reading.

I was happy to finally put this into a coherent post.

Walk on, Traveler... 

[wolffyluna]

I am a bit stressed, so my decision making has gone out the window. In my free time today and tomorrow (along with listening to TMA so I can catch up!), should I?:

Play some more Octopath Traveler, and really... octo... those paths

Write some aggressively self indulgent fanfiction, canon reviews and ability to post it non-anonymously be damned

Write an exchange letter for the Little Black Dress Exchange... two months early

Draw deeply self indulgent art.

[broomballkraken]

Title: The Scholar and The Huntress, Chapter 12: The Scholar and The Huntress

Fandom: Octopath Traveler

Pairing: Cyrus/H’aanit

Word count: 3366

This chapter is the final chapter of this fic that I started exactly one year ago!

“Good morning everyone!”

“Good morning, Professor Albright.”

Cyrus walked into his classroom, adjusting his grip on the pile of books in his hands as he gazed around at the tired faces of his students. He chuckled and shook his head when a couple of them yawned, and a few others had to be nudged awake by their neighbors. It seems that he would have to put together a special lecture on the importance of getting a good night's sleep. He moved to the front of the room and climbed onto the stage, setting his books down on the podium.

“All right class, please turn to page 374 in your history texts. Today we will be continuing our lecture series on the regions of Orsterra, with the eighth and final region, the Woodlands.” Cyrus said, and he paused as the sound of flipping pages filled the room. He normally would be excited to educate his students on the dangerous beasts of the region, or the masterful hunters that were descended from an ancient clan, but he found that his heart was heavy. The cause of his inner turmoil was the simple fact that he missed H’aanit. Terribly.

“Now then, the Woodlands are, as the name implies, nestled in the midst of a large forest. Many dangerous beasts…” Cyrus began, turning to write on the chalkboard as he auto piloted his lecture and let his mind wander. It had been four months almost to the day since he left S’warkii to return to Atlasdam, and not a day went by where he did not think of the love of his life.

Cyrus had only received one letter from H’aanit since they parted, telling him that she and Z’aanta were departing on a hunting trip to the Highlands. He knew that he had no reason to worry about her; she was the strongest person that he knew, and she had Linde and Z’aanta with her. He more so just...missed her. He missed her radiant smile that would like up an entire room, her beautiful laugh that was the sweetest of melodies, the secure feeling of her strong arms wrapped around him, the intoxicating taste of her lips…

“Er, Professor?” Cyrus was snapped out of his thoughts and he looked to find his students staring at him oddly, while some of them were trying to suppress giggles.

“Oh, yes Dominic?”

“You’ve been writing the same sentence over and over.”

Cyrus blinked as he turned to look at the board, and his face flushed with embarrassment as the laughter of his students erupted behind him. The sentence “The Woodlands consist of three major villages.” was indeed written five times in a row. Cyrus cleared his throat and hastily erased four of them.

“Ah, I am terribly sorry. I find myself a bit...distracted today.” Cyrus said when he turned back around, and one student giggled and twirled a finger in her hair.

“Professor...were you daydreaming about the person who gave you that scarf you’re always wearing?” she asked, raising a curious eyebrow. The rest of the students stared at him, waiting with bated breath for him to answer. Cyrus averted his gaze and shuffled back and forth on his feet, one hand moving up to brush against the soft fur of the scarf in question.

“W-Well, you are not wrong, Ingrid.” Cyrus said, and a couple of girls in the class gasped and whispered excitedly amongst themselves. “But, ahem, this is not the time to be discussing that. Let us resume with the lesson.” Many students let out annoyed groans, but they did fall quiet and Cyrus continued his teaching, trying harder to keep himself focused.

“Victor’s Hollow is quite famous for its arena, where warriors from all over Orsterra compete to find out who is the strongest. I myself was lucky enough to witness-” Cyrus paused mid sentence as he scanned his students. He saw that Therese was looking out of the window with wide eyes. How curious.

“Therese, is something the matter?” Cyrus asked. Therese gasped and looked back at him, looking frantically between her classmates, who were all staring at her.

“Oh, uh, well Professor, it’s just…” Therese mumbled, and Cyrus’ brows furrowed with confusion.

“Professor.” Cyrus looked to the spot next to Therese where Princess Mary sat, “I think Therese is feeling a bit under the weather. May I escort her outside for some fresh air?”

“Ah yes, please do, Your Highness. But hurry back if you can. This lecture’s material will be on your midterm examinations.” Cyrus said, and he watched as Mary grabbed Therese by the arm and practically dragged her out of the room. Cyrus turned back to his lecturing, hoping that whatever sickness Therese had was not contagious. He most certainly did not want an epidemic plaguing his classroom. There was too much that his students still needed to learn, and they could not afford to take days off.

A few minutes went by, and as Cyrus was writing on the board, he considered sending someone to check up on Therese and Mary, but he suddenly heard loud gasps coming from his students, and he turned to see what the commotion was about.

“What is-” Cyrus began, but he was cut off when something large barreled into him, sending him crashing to the floor onto his back. Dazed, he tried to push himself up, but suddenly something wet and scratchy scraped over his face.

“What in Aelfric’s name...?” Cyrus wondered aloud, wiping his face when his assailant pulled away. He lowered his hand, and his jaw dropped in shock. He could not believe his eyes.

“Linde?!?”

The snow leopard meowed and sat on her haunches in front of him, her yellow eyes sparkling as she gazed at him. Cyrus blinked at her a few times, and he had to rub at his eyes, because he was not certain that he wasn’t hallucinating at this very moment. He shook his head and reached out with a shaky hand, petting her head, and Linde purred loudly and nuzzled him back.

“I-If you are here, then that must mean…”

“Linde! Thou muste not runneth off on me!”

Cyrus’ heart leapt into his throat as the most beautiful voice in the world hit his ears, and he turned his gaze to the door, his eyes welling up with tears of happiness. H’aanit stood in the doorway, awkwardly eyeing the students who were staring at her. She turned her attention to Linde, and when her eyes finally met his, the smile that crossed her face almost caused Cyrus to have an aneurysm right then and there.

Scrambling to his feet, Cyrus almost tripped over Linde as he rushed off the stage, and he actually tripped on the stairs and tumbled to his knees. He barely heard the amused laughter of his students as he jumped back to his feet and sprinted to the back of the room, barreling right into H’aanit and lifting her into his arms with surprising strength. H’aanit yelped in surprise, placing her hands on Cyrus’ shoulders and wrapping her legs around his torso to keep herself from tumbling backwards as he spun her around excitedly.

“Oh, H’aanit! Is it really you?” Cyrus said, laughing as the happy tears he had been trying to hold back finally spilled down his face. H’aanit giggled and pressed her forehead against his as she wiped his tears away with her thumbs.

“Aye, of course ‘tis me.” she said, and before she could say more, Cyrus pressed his lips to hers, kissing H’aanit tenderly. He felt her smile and she wrapped her arms around him, her hands moving to the back of his head as she deepened the kiss. Cyrus’ felt like he was in a daze. The last thing he expected to be doing today was holding the love of his life in his arms, after far too long a time apart. It was truly a miracle granted by the gods.

“Gods, Professor! Get a room!”

“Aww, they are SO cute!”

“Wow, she’s super lucky that she’s managed to get with someone as handsome as the professor!”

“SHE’S lucky? He’s the lucky one! Just look at her arms!”

“Man, she could bust a tree in half with one punch, I bet…”

“...Do you think she’d step on me if I asked?”

The chattering around him reminded Cyrus that he was inappropriately kissing his lover in a room full of his students. He quickly pulled away from H’aanit and set her back on her feet, his face flushed a bright red as he cleared his throat. H’aanit’s face turned a similar shade, and she dropped her gaze to the floor, embarrassed.

“Ahem, yes...well, a-apologies, students. How very unprofessional of me.” Cyrus said, swallowing thickly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Hehe, it’s okay, Professor. We certainly don’t blame you.” Therese said, giggling as she exchanged a mischievous look with Mary as they walked in through the door.

“Anyway, surprise! H’aanit arrived earlier than expected, so I had to lie to you about Therese feeling sick so that we could go out and greet her. Sorry about that.” Mary said. Cyrus stared at her with wide eyes, and then he chuckled.

“Well, this is most certainly a surprise! I did not expect you two to be plotting behind my back with my darling H’aanit.” Cyrus said, his hand slipping into H’aanit’s, their fingers entwining automatically. “Is that why I did not get many letters from you, my dear?”

“Aye. I ended up sending most of my letters to Therese.” H’aanit said. “I didst not wanten to risk the letters getting mixed up and spoiling the surprise.”

“Ah, but of course. A brilliantly executed plan, dearest.” Cyrus said, chuckling. He then looked about the room to find his students crowded around Linde, petting her and chattering away about the large cat that had suddenly appeared in their midst.

“Oh dear...I do not think that I will be finishing today’s lecture…” Cyrus mumbled, sighing as he shook his head.

“Oh, it’ll be fine, Professor.” Mary said, a sweet smile crossing her face. “We can watch over Linde for a while, if you and H’aanit want to go and spend some time together.” Therese winked at Cyrus and the two girls dissolved into giggles when he sputtered with embarrassment.

“W-Well, all right, if that is okay with you, my dear?” Cyrus said, and H’aanit chuckled as she nodded.

“Aye. Linde can taketh care of herself. She wilst enjoy the attention methinks.”

“Very well. Students!” Cyrus said, catching the attention of everyone in the room for a brief moment, “I will be ending today’s lecture now. Please be ready to resume our discussion of the Woodlands during our next class period. My dear H’aanit here is actually from S’warkii, so I may be able to convince her to give a guest lecture at some point.” The students buzzed with excitement at the possibility, before Linde recaptured their attention by meowing loudly. Cyrus turned to look at H’aanit, who was pouting at him.

“Cyrus, I told thee beforen that teaching ist not foren me…” H’aanit mumbled, and her pout deepened when Cyrus laughed, pulling her into his arms.

“Oh my dear, I do not think one little guest lecture will kill you. I do believe my students could learn a lot from you.” Cyrus said, lifting a hand to brush H’aanit’s neck with his fingers. She shivered under his touch, a dusting of pink appearing on her cheeks.

“I guesseth I could try it…” H’aanit said, a sly smile crossing her face, “But only because the most handsome man in Orsterra asked me to.” She laughed when Cyrus’ eyes widened and he averted his gaze while rubbing at his neck.

“Oh dear...you are too adorable, H’aanit. I do not know what to do with you sometimes…”

“I can...think of something.” H’aanit said, grinning as she leaned up towards Cyrus, and he bent over to meet her.

“Professor~”

Cyrus jerked back and looked up to find Therese and Mary looking at him, the former letting out an exasperated sigh while the latter giggled and shook her head. Cyrus laughed sheepishly and tugged on H’aanit’s hand, pulling her out of the classroom and into the hallway.

“Gods, there we go again with our public displays of affection...Some things never change, do they, my dear?” Cyrus said, chuckling as he brought H’aanit’s hand to his lips, placing a light kiss on her knuckles.

“Aye, that seemeth to be the case.” H’aanit said. Laughter filled the hallway as Cyrus led H’aanit to his office and she stepped inside and looked around. It was unsurprisingly lined wall-to-wall with overflowing bookshelves, and the desk sitting in the middle of the room was also stacked with various tomes. A couch was pushed up against the front of the desk, blankets and pillows piled on it haphazardly.

“Ah, I apologize for the mess,” Cyrus said as he closed the door behind him, “Had I known you were coming ahead of time, I would have-” Cyrus was suddenly cut off when H’aanit turned around and shoved him backwards, pinning his wrists to the door as she pressed her lips against his, kissing him roughly. Cyrus’ surprised noise was muffled, and he smiled against H’aanit’s lips, his eyes slipping shut as he gave himself over to the intoxicating taste of her kiss. His hands clenched into fists, and H’aanit released her hold on his wrists, allowing Cyrus to slip a hand to the back of her neck, his fingers resting in the loose hair at the back of her head. His other hand went to her waist, and he pulled her flush up against him, relishing in the contact after such a long, long time apart.

When H’aanit finally pulled away so that they both could catch their breaths, Cyrus pressed his forehead against hers. Her breathtakingly beautiful emerald eyes gazed deep within his darker ones, and he was reminded once again that he loved and was loved in return by the most beautiful woman in the world.

“H’aanit…” Cyrus said, a hand moving to cup her face. She smiled and leaned into his touch, her gaze never leaving his, and he gently caressed her cheek with his thumb, like it was made of the most breakable glass. “I...missed you so, so much, my love. Having you back in my arms fills me with an overwhelming amount of joy. Gods, I had almost forgotten what it was like to be this happy.” H’aanit giggled and nuzzled her nose against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Thou ist so dramatic...but I woulde be lying if I said that I didst not feelen the same.” she said, placing a quick, tender kiss on his lips. “Being apart from thee, it felt like theren wast a hole in my heart. I felt...incomplete without thee by my side.”

“Ha! And you called me dramatic!” Cyrus said, laughing as H’aanit playfully swatted him on the arm. Her laughter joined his, and when it died down, H’aanit was staring at Cyrus, a very different look in her eyes as a sly smile crossed her face, and Cyrus felt his face heat up.

“Ist thou...free foren the rest of the day?” she asked, dragging her hands over his chest. Cyrus swallowed thickly and nodded.

“Ah, yes. I only had one class to teach today, as I needed the afternoon to catch up on some grading…” Cyrus said, and H’aanit raised an eyebrow at him as she pressed herself flush against him again. “B-But, ah, I think I can put it off for another day or two, if you have something more...interesting in mind.” His voice dropped to a low whisper, and he smiled when H’aanit noticeably shivered against him before she brought her lips to his ear.

“Aye, we hath a lot of catching up to do.” H’aanit said, she yelped in surprise when Cyrus suddenly swept her off of her feet and into his arms, quickly crossing the room to the couch.

“Well,” he said, leaning over to steal a kiss from her lips, “we had better get started right away then.” H’aanit giggled as they tumbled onto the couch together, and they spent the rest of the day (and night, and most of the following day) showing each other exactly how much they loved and missed one another.

*

“Are you sure this is what you want, my dear?”

“Aye, of course it is.”

Cyrus turned his attention from the rising sun to gaze at H’aanit, who looked absolutely radiant in the light of the dawn. They were standing at the railing just outside of the Royal Academy, looking out upon Atlasdam as the townspeople began stirring for the day. Linde was sprawled out at their feet, and Cyrus chuckled as he took a sip of his tea. This had been their morning ritual for the week that H’aanit had been here, and Cyrus had finally managed to ask her what her long term plans were in regards to their relationship. To his surprise, she had informed him that she planned to stay in Atlasdam with him. Cyrus was extremely happy about this, of course, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty, as she was choosing him over her home of the Woodlands.

“It’s just...I know how much you adore the Woodlands. And Z’aanta is there as well…” Cyrus said, and H’aanit sighed and rolled her eyes.

“‘Tis not like I wilst never seeth him again.” she said, slipping her arm behind Cyrus’ back and pulling him closer to her. “I wast going to propose us living in S’warkii during the months when the academy ist on break.”

“Oh, I do like that idea. I find myself missing traveling after our long journey had come to an end. And just think of all the wildlife I could study! Plus, Duskbarrow is not far and many of the ruins there still have not been explored in full…” Cyrus said, his words coming out as mumbles as he rambled on. H’aanit laughed and leaned up, kissing Cyrus to stop his excited muttering. He blinked a few times and a sheepish smile crossed his face.

“Oh dear...I was blabbering on again, wasn’t I?”

“Indeed. But thou always looks so endearing whilst doing so.” H’aanit said, smiling as she rest her head on his shoulder. His arm fell across her back, and he let out a content sigh.

“I love you so much, my dear H’aanit. I cannot wait to see what life has in store for us. I feel like I could conquer any of life’s obstacles with you at my side.” he said, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

“I love you too Cyrus. And I feelen the same. You bringeth out a strength in me that I did not knoweth that I had.” H’aanit said. She turned to face him, setting her teacup down so that she could cup his face with her hands and rest her forehead against his. “Please, stayeth by my side, forevermore?” Cyrus smiled and nodded as he pulled her into a loving embrace.

“Of course, my darling. Forever and always.” he whispered, placing a kiss on her forehead. A loud meow from below caught Cyrus and H’aanit’s attention, and they both looked down to find Linde staring at them. H’aanit chuckled and reached down to pet her head.

“And Linde wilst be with us to the end as well.” Linde purred in response, her tail swishing behind her. Cyrus nodded and scratched the snow leopard under her chin.

“Indeed. Who would get us out of trouble otherwise?”

The two lovers shared a look, and their laughter rang throughout the courtyard. Adoration sparkled in Cyrus’ eyes as he looked upon the love of his life. To think that a scholar and a huntress as different as night and day would manage to fall so deeply in love with each other, both looking forward to living a happy, fulfilling life together. And they wouldn’t change a thing.

[transfemininomenon]

hey alice I've seen you mention then before and they seem really interesting and I was wondering if you could tell us more about your dnd characters! (Whichever your favorite is or who you feel like talking about) or even a tag you have where I could read up more!

:O i would LOVE to talk about some of my dnd characters

my three main ones are my half-elf raven queen warlock gwyndolin (aka gwyn), my human swashbuckler rogue gertrude, and my life cleric alicia 

gwyn was the character i played when @speechjam was DMing who is a half-moon elf with Parental Baggage (because what’s a half-elf who doesnt have an iffy relationship with their parents) who is very gay and very trans and canonically Really Hot because she has a literally goddess gifted body. her parents raised her in an elf city where she experienced a lifetime of racism for being a half-elf, and that combined with not having a great relationship with her parents as well as dealing with dysphoria eventually led to her attempting suicide. however when this happened, she suddenly found herself before the raven queen, who told her it was not yet her time, and offered her a deal - a new body and some of her power in exchange for making a pact with her. she readily agreed, and was reborn as gwyndolin

since then she’s spent a few years acting as a servant of the raven queen, acting as a sort of soul bounty hunter tracking down people who had unnaturally escaped death and dealing with necromancers/undead infestations. eventually she happened to take a job that led to her meeting the party, including happening to bump into her elf druid cousin solira played by @lyssatbqh

she’s also a total Disaster Lesbian and cant talk to women to save her life which is a problem when Lots of women want to talk to her on account of being Really Hot. she has a thing for knives and has like 8 of them on her. she also has a spirit familiar in the form of a raven named crawford who she always makes keep watch for her at night instead of doing it herself

THEN gertrude is the character i play in @lyssatbqh‘s campaign, which is a homebrew campaign set in the dark souls world. gertrude’s whole life was spent believing that humanity didnt matter and only existed to serve the gods - lessons instilled in her from birth by her parents. often being left alone while her parents were off doing whatever religious things they were off doing, she grew used to wondering the city of anor londo by herself, exploring every alley and climbing every roof top, having just a dagger given to her by her parents as a form of protection 

as she grew older her parents tried getting her more involved in the way of white (the religious organization they were a part of), and gertrude never really quite got the whole “sit and study and pray” part of it, but she found ways to use her natural charisma and dexterity to instead serve the gods by acting as a spy against people who might speak out against the gods. this is how she met the party initially, being sent by one of the gods to spy on a book club founded by @speechjam‘s character brillin. long story short the party ended up encountering some of the witches of izalith, went to izalith right as the witch of izalith was trying to recreate the first flame, and they all fucking DIED 

some long period of time later the party all mysteriously came back to life, and have since came back to life any time they have died, always returning to whatever fire they’d rested at. the whole experience of dying and coming back forced gertrude to, for the first time in her life, have to think about being a human and what humanity meant and what her place in the world was, and she proceeded to go into a several week long existential crisis. during this time the party investigated some mysterious happenings around the city of new londo involving other people coming back to life, fought some demons, and eventually made their way back to anor londo

the whole time gertrude was hoping returning to anor londo would get her some answers from the god she had been working for by the name of flame god flann. however, upon returning he offered no real help, and seemingly didnt even remember that she had worked for him. this furthered her growing crisis and fear and doubt, and eventually the party confronted her about her sneakiness and dodging questions, and she confessed the nature by which she’d originally joined the group, and asked for their forgiveness and explained that she’d suddenly had a Lot to think about and that a lot of things she thought she’d known had been thrown out the window. the party was initially hurt, especially brillin, and gertrude suddenly found herself for the first time Caring about other people and how her actions had effected them, but they eventually forgave her and they continued to all work together to maybe figure out a little more on what was happening

encountering two strange people known as skin man and skeleton man, the party worked with them and eventually learned that skin man also was coming back from the dead, but also seemed to be fading away more and more each time he came back - becoming less of himself and more just a blank husk. eventually skin man went missing, and the party found him by a mysterious machine that could answer questions for them - in exchange for memories

gertrude used it to ask two questions, choosing first between the memories of her time working for flann, her time with the way of white, and her memories of brillin, who she had grown increasingly close with throughout their travels (because gertrude is a Fool and JUST kept jokingly flirting until she fooled around and caught real feelings), eventually choosing the way of white. she then had the option of flann, brillin, or her forgetting the memories and associations that her daggers had with her, eventually choosing daggers

her questions were if the gods cared about her, about people, and then the second was if she, too, was gonna steadily fade away the more she died. she received a simple answer for both - no, and yes 

initially going into another crisis, she soon shock that feeling off and decided on a new course of action, a flame suddenly lighting in her as she realized that she couldn’t rely on the gods anymore, and that it was people, and her new found friends, that she had to rely on. the gods were seemingly uncaring about their current plight, and she would find answers on her own. no longer being shackled by the gods, she would suddenly live as she was meant to - as a person, as a human 

the party eventually fought a couple more demons and, with the help of skeleton man, defeated them. in the aftermath, gertrude and brillin FINALLY smooched and it was RAD, and they later had a roof top discussion about everything and about Them. they came to the conclusion that neither of them really knew what was happening, or what their place in the universe was, and the weight of the inevitably of them both hollowing was ever present, but they wouldn’t focus on that - they would focus on the now, on living as best they could in the moment, and deciding that they would eventually figure things out, and they would do that Together 

dang i didn’t mean to do just a plot summary of that whole campaign so far but i got TOO into talking about gertrude i just……………….. love her so much guys she has learned and grown so much she literally started off as half a joke character i literally threw her concept together 10 minutes before the first session started and she became so!!!!! much more than i could’ve ever expected

anyway my other character is alicia aka the Divine Lady who i cant talk about TOO much because i just started playing her and friends in that campaign follow me and there’s #spoilers but she’s a life cleric who was once a shy awkward little boy named joey who has grown in to a slightly less awkward but no less shy but STRONG woman. she’s a life cleric and JUST wants to help people she’s really caring and is always worried about someone and i love her she’s such a change of pace from my usual edgy characters she is TOO good for this world and has two beautiful lesbian blacksmith moms and a million adopted “cousins” who she all loves dearly 

she’s surprisingly Buff, enjoys blacksmithing (she made all of her armor and weapons), is a big fan of beauty in all forms, is an avid reader, and is constantly writing letters home to her family and keeping a diary of her adventures. she worships lethandar (aka god of birth & renewal) as well as sune (aka goddess of beauty), with the symbol of sune crafted into her shield and her mace designed to have a sun motive for lethandar, and she has big dorky glasses because she’s blind as a bat

some other side characters include primrose my college of swords bard who is JUST primrose from octopath traveler, ailce my water genasi druid that i usually play in one shots who in the most recent one shot i played her in adopted a wonderful child who has bat ears and was NOT appreciated by their parents and she loves them with all her heart, and ari “the banshee” who is a city cleric in a modern space based campaign who is an anarchist and part of a punk rock band 

oh! also i have a tag for gwyn (which is just #gwyn tag) and TWO for gertrude (#former gertrude tag and #gertrude tag, former being for dagger related things since she lost her love of them) and im sure i’ll get an alicia one going! its all just like aesthetic stuff or things i relate to them but you can get a good sense of those characters through those 

[misomilk]

Octopath Exchange Letter

Good day to you, fellow traveler!

I am misomilk @ tumblr & AO3.

I haven't interacted with anyone in the Octopath Traveler fandom before, so thank you for being the first! XD I hope that you have fun creating whatever it is you're giving me. Please don't be overwhelmed with things I've noted here! May they be guiding stones rather than obstacles for you.

Things I like

Ships (in order of what I like most to least--though still love a lot)

OlbericXTherion. The easiest way to satisfy me is by using my main ship. Ignore their ages, I just really, really, really love their dynamic. They're both seemingly silent characters, but are not...? Olberic is kind, serious and deeply loyal (to a fault), juxtaposed to Therion who is snarky, cunning, and distant. Their contrast is so good! Yet they even have similarities, like how they've both been betrayed by someone they trusted a lot. The other six probably would never see through them e way they develop throughout their journey, how they start to confide in one another. I'm incredibly weak to that development. (I understand, however, that it's not a typical ship. -weeps- So feel free to give them a hard pass.)

Olberic X Therion X Cyrus (any pairing combo you can make with these three: e.g. OxT, TxC, CxO) - O/T listening to C ramble on--going from annoying to pleased to I-kinda-miss-his voice; C reading books to O/T. refer to: esakateia’s art bec they’re pretty much on point.

Alfyn X Cyrus

Primrose X H'aanit X Ophilia (any pairing combo you can make with these three)

Olberic X Erhardt

Platonic Pairs

above-listed ships (platonic version)

Primrose+Therion

Tressa+Therion

Olberic+Ophilia

any of the eight patting Linde

motherly Ophilia to anyone else in the group

any interactions within the eight, the one I like least being: AlfynXTherion (there’s already so much content for them. Which is great! I just don’t want one dedicated to me)

Things I don't like

m-preg

physical and mental abuse

That's pretty much it. Anything else, even the problematic sorts of things, even the wildest or most hardcore thing you can imagine, I'm 99% probs fine with it.

Prompts

Here are some prompts to help inspire you.

SHIPPY Basically: soft fluff with a lot of physical touches, to hardcore smut; CONSENT AND COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT!!!

(Orsterra) A and B sneaking out of the hotel to watch the stars together (on purpose or by accident)

(Orsterra) A going back to B’s home city post-adventures to pay them a visit

(Orsterra) A and B meeting before the adventure but not remembering they ever interacted (optional: revealing they met before once they’re already in a relationship)

(au) "seeing a movie alone, the movie theatre was full and we ended up sitting next to each other"

(Orsterra/au) “I’ve been in love with you for so long.”

(Orsterra/au) “I never thought you’d notice me.”

GENERIC Basically: friends-closer-than-family dynamic, hugs and teasing and sweet soft caring and love

Camp: What happens when they camp, or stay at an inn? What sorts of talk happens? Who cooks dinner, who helps set the table, who stays out of sight until it's ready to eat?

Tavern: Who helps plan the next course of action? Who makes a mess of things? Do any of them remember what they finalized that night before?

Dinner: Tressa+Therion stealing food from everyone else while seated at the table and no one noticing

Penniless: Tressa keeping the group budget and not being able to buy new weapons/stay at the inn; letting Therion steal some good weapons for more $$; how the rest of the group react to their pennilessness

Magic Gone Wrong: new Scholar (any of the 8, except Cyrus) casts a spell during battle that goes wrong: someone turns into a toad? Or maybe someone gets aged down and everyone else has to take care of them? (Alternative: group reacts to effects of Bewildering Grace)

generic AUs: slice of life ones, like coffee shop or college or neighbors au.

Thank you so much for reading this letter, and I'm so sorry for rambling so much! Please know that the most important thing for me is that you enjoy whatever it is you make, because then I know I'll enjoy what you've made, too.

Again, may these be guiding stones rather than obstacles for you. If you find you are inspired by something else entirely, that’s totally okay, too! Feel free to send in an ask (on anon?) if you’ve got any clarifications!

Happy (creative) travels! misomilk

[catatonicatnap]

8path Exchange Letter!

Gonna put it under the cut so that no one has to read if they don’t want to! It’s quite long and really just intended for the exchange participants, nothing more.

The lovely Octopath Exchange can be found here (I’m not worried about links because I won’t be putting any tags) and signups are finally open!

(May or may not be edited.)

Hello! People call me Song, or Cay if they like. My Ao3 is SongofThunder! I write what I feel like writing (usually oneshots) but I can work with prompts if preferred! (I do also draw fanart, but sadly my tablet is a bit out of commission right now.) Now that that’s over, let’s keep going!

Let’s get the dislikes out of the way first.

Ratings! T-M. No farther than M, please.

Do Not Want!

NSFW. I have no problem with other people liking NSFW, but I myself am most certainly not a fan. (Which was probably implied by the ratings above.) Jokes about it, flirting, allusions, I get it, that’s okay. Anything farther than that or explicit? No. I’m not alright with it.

Pedophilia, non-con, underage.

Spoilers! I haven’t actually completed the game and if you could do me a favor and not spoil it that would be great. I hope that’s not too difficult of a request! I already know Cyrus, Tressa, and Primrose up to Chapter 2, and I know Therion’s entire story. (I do also know vague details of the final boss, the story behind him, and the side characters involved, so allusions to him are alright. Please don’t go farther than that.)

Generic Likes! (NOT REQUIREMENTS!)

AUs! Any kind of AU! Specifically modern, coffee shop, the travelers being reincarnations/chosen of the gods, and soulmate AUs are all incredible! (Not a requirement, and not even a preference- I like both AU and the canonical universe!)

Found Family dynamic. Hhhhhhh. I’m so weak for that trope with these eight.

Humor and witty banter! There’s so much potential with the eight idiots!

Friendships in unlikely places!

Happy endings are always nice!

And angsty endings are a thing too!

Angst!!!

Fluff!!!

Angst and fluff!!!!!!

Preferences!

I’m a big multishipper, so pretty much any romantic relationship, within reason, is alright! (Although, not a big fan of Alfyn/Cyrus or Olberic/Cyrus, so I guess if you really want to you can, but try not to do those?)

I have no preference for a specific character, I love all eight!

Vague Requests!

I’d love to see more of the dynamic between Therion and Primrose. They’re best friends and you can’t tell me otherwise.

I’d also like to see Alfyn and Tressa being pals! Cheery idiots out to explore the world!

Olberic being a dad to the team.

Olberic being a dad to Philip.

Olberic being a dad.

Nightmares. Those are always fun to work with. Specifically Olberic, Primrose, and Therion.

hehehehe... dancing lessons

Some of the backstory of the travelers, before they began the events of the game! What was their life like?

Oblivious Cyrus, and Primrose laughing the entire time.

Everyone reuniting postgame with a long time no see!

hhhhhhhh... prank wars

Letters between the team. Did they write back to their loved ones on the road? How about after?

Everyone being a family and being supportive!

Alfyn as a kid with Zeph and Nina! And possibly his mother and her death

Ophilia learning how to trust Josef and Lianna as a child!

H’aanit and Olberic teaming up to teach Tressa archery and spearmanship.

A fluffy snowday! Travelers yeeting snowballs and having a nice time in the snow!

[sealticge]

Octopath Exchange Creator Letter

Dear Creator, 

Thanks for signing up - I’ll try to keep this short! You can find my Ao3 here: LandOfMistAndSecrets - I pretty much write what I like, and also -  Alfyn is my favorite, and I would genuinely enjoy pretty much any content centered around him. If you are interested in writing shippy fic, I ship him with a TON of other characters so you have tons of options that I would love -- in order from most invested to less (but still love it): Therion, Kit, Ophilia, Zeph, Olberic, Cyrus, Primrose I also would love anything with Olberic/Erhardt - set any time really - before the fall, after, during events of the game or after, I just love them a lot.  I also love Primrose and would love to see some Primrose/Ophilia content. I love Ophilia having a big gay awakening and having no idea how to handle it ok. 

NSFW content is ok (encouraged?? I love fluff and i love smut and I love fluffy smut......)

But if you would prefer not to write shippy stuff I also just love stories/themes of found family and platonic intimacy. I am easy to please. 

Thank you and looking forward to seeing what you come up with!!

[xek-xek]

Octopath exchange dear creator letter

I’ve never written a dear creator letter before so please bear with me u^u’

Thanks in advance for the gift.

This is my main blog and @olberic-gaysenberg is my octopath side blog.

Obviously I didn’t put this on the official form so you don’t need to feel tied down to it but I do pretty strongly head canon Olberic as gay. So if you’ve been itching to explore any gay Olberic head canons you’ve had now’s your chance C:

Olberhardt is my Octopath OTP I especially love medium burn reconciliation related stuff or pre-fall of hornburg stuff. A little angst makes the world go round but happy endings keep the lights on.

You can include as many or as few characters as you want.

OCs are welcome if you have any especially if they’re hornburgian(Hornburgese?) or OC family members for canon characters.

I also like found family stuff and character studies.

Just want to thank you again for taking the time to read this and uhh have a good exchange UVU/

[sgdlr]

Octopath Exchange Creator Letter

dear creator, 

my ao3 is gsaiyn, i dont write as much as i used to so my art blog can be found @henbees, too! I’ll be putting this post under a read more so i dont clutter the dash

of my requested characters, I’ll list them from favorite to not-as-favorite (by the slightest margins):

therion

primrose 

h’aanit

olberic 

erhardt 

cyrus

I’m a big fan of erhardt/olberic, especially after they reconcile, and primrose/h’aanit is also a nice one, love those funky lesbians! cyrus/olberic has grown on me as well. i also ship therion with alfyn but that isn’t required, i really enjoy the emotions behind his story as well as primrose’s. 

ships by all means are not necessary! i enjoy pieces that are full of intense emotion. an example would be H’aanit curled up with Linde thinking about Z’aanta, or Olberic examining his blade with philip in the room. those are just a couple of ideas, anything goes prompt wise!

if a prompt you have in mind requires extra characters, I am okay with that, too!

I am uncomfortable with therion/cyrus, though, so i would prefer that to be avoided in any case. I have no problems with mature or explicit ratings but no mpreg, cheating, dubcon/noncon, and other things of the sort. 

thank you so much for the work you will put into this!

[moonwolfhowl]

Fic Author Tag Game

AO3 Name: Nightmoonz

Fandoms: BnHA has the most fics (due to Seroroki for sure), Shades of Magic, Octopath Traveler, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Star Trek (RIP NEVER FINISHE), Hawkeye Matt Fraction run, Teen Wolf, Promare 

Number of fics: 32 although there were some that were orphaned on Ao3. 1 on LJ, a number on FF but we do not talk about the fandoms or fics on FF and I know thankfully none of you will ever find them

Tagging @zerounitrgb​ @walkingtheplankonasinkingship​ @ellieb3an​ @thecookiemonster77​ @slumbrslumbrs​

1) Fic you spent the most time on: err well we have several WIPS that are partially published but if we’re talking finished fics then it’s Soba Saturdays and it’s honestly my favorite work I’ve ever written. I wish more people would read it but it’s primarily a gen fic with a sprinkling of a rare pair so it doesn’t shock me that it’s not as read as others... Still it’s a brother bonding fic between the Todoroki brothers (Natsuo and Shouto). Ngl it’s kind of a love letter to my younger self explaining that it’s okay to not know how to feel about an abusive figure in your life (I think you guys know who I mean in this scenario). It transitions to Natsuo ruining Shouto’s life by being 5000% obnoxious when it comes to Shouto’s crush on Todoroki. >:3  Basically I just love this fic a lot and I am super proud of it. For Fics I have yet to complete it’s If You Could Hold Me Closer... (Tiny Dancer). So this has been in the works for a long time and the reason for this is well life happened, but also I know how I want it to end but every time I go to write it... the words just aren’t coming out right and this fic means a lot to me especially since @zerounitrgb​ gave me the title and it’s been so much fun to work on I just really want to get that ending right yk?

2) Fic you spent the least time on: The least amount of time? Mind You Always for Octopath Traveler. So This was for an exchange, see I was a mod for it and one person disappeared off of the face of the planet so I had to be a pinch hitter. I had less than 24 hours to write this and uh I did the damn thing. I got super inspired and my friend and co-mod beta’d it. Despite the rush, I think it turned out really well and I really like it.

3) Longest fic: this should probably surprise no one Little Words, I think my claim to fame Kiribaku fanfic XD

4) Shortest fic: Adorable Idiots in which two characters are just talking for 554 words XD

5) Most hits: Again, should surprise absolutely no one, Little Words 

6) Most kudos: ... Little Words

7) Most comment threads: XDDDD Little Words

8) Fave fic you wrote: So, I’ve explained why Soba Saturdays means so much to me and that it’s my absolute favorite so let me feature my 2nd favorite: All Tongue Taped :,D I love this fic so much This is just a straight up romance fic full of pining fools, angst, 4 times the didn’t tell each other how they really felt and the one time they did, idiots to lovers and... they’re roommates

9) Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: There are so many... I guess the most notable has to be If You Could Hold Me Closer... (Tiny Dancer) which is the most ridiculous crack fic of all time but I left it on the worst cliff hanger imaginable but that is because I did not know how I could possibly expand it without ruining its crack like nature...

For a serious pick I would say I'm my old college roommate's fake date to his sister's wedding like I actually have an outline-ish idea for this expanding but I don’t know if I could actually sit down and write it. if anyone wants I could post my ideas/outline for it but YEEEEEAH LMAO I have a lot of ideas for this, maybe I will finish it but I would really like to finish If You Could Hold Me Closer... (Tiny Dancer) first.

10) Share a bit of your WIP or share a story idea that you’re planning: kjdhfgjsk... I have far too many. I have like two for FE3H, one for Pokémon SWSH, like... 5ish for Seroroki, but tbh I don’t think I’ll post those... but heck if you want to send me an ask for one of them go ahead and I’ll post a little. 

Oh and Thank you @traincat ^___^

[octopathexchange]

The Octopath Exchange is open!! Sign-up here!!!


Hello fellow Travelers!


As you can see sign-ups are open and they will close on May 31st 11:59 EST! 
Remember you will need an Ao3 account to sign-up. Ao3 accounts are completely free, you can request an invitation here. It may take a couple of days to get one, so the sooner you get one the better!


Sign-Up Guidelines!


Writers: Your fic should be a completed fic at the minimum of 1000 words in English 

Artists: Your piece doesn’t have to be colored, but it must be a completed work and cannot be drawn on lined paper.


Either of these fanworks must be fulfilling one of their recipient’s requests. There is no maximum word count or size/number of pieces you can create.


Abridged info on Requests & Offers!


Requests


You must select 1 character that you would like to see in a particular work but you may request up to 8.


You can request a fanfic or fanart, however if you select the “Any” option then that means you’re open to receiving either or. 
Your creator will match with you on any 1 character + any 1 medium from your requests. If you do decide to give prompts, please keep that in mind! 


Offers


You must offer to create for at least 2 characters but you may offer up to 8. You can also offer to create fanart or fanfics, or both! (Just remember you will only have to create a piece from one medium or the other)


You can also offer to write fanfic or draw a fanart piece. If you select the “Any” option then that means you’re open to creating either or.


If you get a recipient who listed all the characters you offered then you can (but do not have to) create a piece that includes all of them! You must, however, create a work with 1 of the characters they requested.


One Huge “No” is if you include a character that is not on your recipient’s sign-up list. An exception is if your recipient gave you a prompt that permits you to include an extra character, then you may do so, but that character cannot be the main focus of your work. 


If you have any questions please feel free to come into our ask box otherwise known as The Tavern


Other Resources and Gen Info:  
| FAQ | Expanded Req & Offers | Letters Spreadsheet | Info on Letters 1, 2, 3 |


@zineapps @a-yearful-of-events

Reblogs Appreciated!

[bird-214]

Octopath Traveler Exchange Letter

Hey! I’m Mikado and this is a letter for the exchange participants of this event! I’ll put the rest under the cut so I don’t clog up anyone’s dash.

So! As I said earlier, you can call me Mikado. My ao3 has the same name than my Tumblr (mikado214) and can be found here. There’s only one fic on it (but at least it’s octopath related)

What I do not want/like: -Explicit NSFW. Just, really not my cup of tea. Jokes are fine though! -Character death -Bad endings -Fic in any other person that the third one. -Most of the other usual taboos? Like non-con, incest, all that stuff, but most of those are already encompassed in the “No NSFW” one so yeah.

What I do like: -Found family!!!! It’s my biggest weakness in any piece of fiction -Hurt/Comfort! -Witty banters! -Interesting emotional conflict!

Preferences: -I am. So soft for Alfyn/Therion. It’s one of my favourite ship in the whole fandom and I just love their shared dynamics so much. I also really love H’aanit/Primrose! Other than that I’m not really into any other ships -Therion is, and will always be, my favourite character of the game. I just love his backstory and his personality so much. -But I also really want to see more of the other travelers! The fics that I tend to enjoy the most are the ones that include all the travelers but are seen through Therion’s POV. -As for fan art, just do whatever you want honestly (or use some of the prompts as inspiration)

Vague prompts: -”Deleted scenes”! What could have happened between Alfyn’s chapter 3 and Therion’s chapter 4? Something about the life of a traveler that the game doesn’t show us? Banters we don’t get to see? Who knows! -Kinda ties in with the last one, but post-fight respit. The travelers often have to deal with big scary monsters (or people) and with some nasty injuries, why not show how those times go for them? -Learning to trust each other. Really anything that shows the travelers surely but slowly bonding through all the fights they go through and how they somehow turn into a family. -Emotional conversation about someone’s past! Those are always... So good. -Campfires talk. Somewhere in the deepest part of the forest, eight travelers decide to rest for the day. With how tired they are, it becomes easier to talk... What do their conversation sound like? -Someone please hug Therion. Actually everyone please hug Therion. He needs it so badly.

[multi-void-household]

Octopath Exchange Creator Letter

Dear Creator, HELLO. SORRY IN ADVANCE THAT YOU GOT ASSIGNED TO ME :3 Here is my AO3! Tragically I had to wipe my entire account about half a year ago for some Reasons, so it’s only semi-populated with fics right now. You might not glean much from me from checking out what I have posted! Here’s some info to help you out, instead! I like shippy fic of all kinds -- the fluffy, the angsty, the funny, the nsfw-y, anything! My list of Octopath ships is absolutely massive but I’m really up in here hoping for a fic where the main ship is Olberic/Erhardt, Olberic/Cyrus, Olberic/Erhardt/Cyrus, Primrose/Ophilia, or Alfyn/Kit. Those aren’t neccessarily my four favourite ships or anything, just the ones I most want to see fresh content of! I also love platonic Olberic/Primrose if I somehow got paired with a non-shipper hah. I’m not gonna lie, I love NSFW fics. If you’re comfortable with writing it, I would love it. But if you’re not, I also honestly just love good solid shipfic where nobody bangs <3 My favourite SFW fics are ones where the two main players come into some sort of conflict that must be resolved, be it a dumb petty little interpersonal squabble or some large relationship ending conflict. The catharsis of the fight and the making up melts my serotonin receptors pleasantly. Anyway I really love Olberic. Cover me in Olberic. I’m happy as long as my sad strong boy is there.

[broomballkraken]

Octopath Exchange Letter

Yo this is my letter for the Octopath Traveler Exchange event, please feel free to ignore if this doesn’t apply to you lmao

Hello! BroomballKraken here, your friendly neighborhood perma-resident of rare pair hell! You can call me Kraken or Jade, or whatever floats your boat. I’m also BroomballKraken on AO3. Feel free to check my stuff out.

Alright, so if you’ve seen my stuff pop up on AO3, you may notice that I spam the tag with my H’aanit/Cyrus shipping agenda most of the time. That’s because I love the crap out of that ship. And, on brand, it’s very much a rare pair. So, my lovely creator, I humbly request some good Cyrus/H’aanit content.

However, if you get assigned to me and absolutely feel uncomfortable creating for romantic Cyrus/H’aanit, then that’s okay, I’ll take a platonic/friendship scenario instead.

Here are my DNWs again: Non-con/Dub-con Any type of abuse Character death ABO Just...nothing depressing lmao

And here’s some stuff that really butters my eggroll: Domestic fluff!!! H’aanit or Cyrus getting into some dumbass trouble and the other has to get them out of it (or, hell, have both of them get into a stupid situation and have someone else save them lmao (bonus points if it’s Linde doing the saving)) Cyrus oogling over how badass H’aanit is I also don’t mind NSFW (as I have written some myself <.<) Those are just some suggestions, don’t feel like you have to create for those exact scenarios! Also, I don’t mind if other characters make an appearance, as long as they’re not the focus.

And that’s basically it! Thanks for reading, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with! <3