#ooc: we'll see. lol

[lumenflowered]

🏠

Something's changed in Yharnam. Djura can feel it in the air. The night was long, but the sun rose to a Yharnam changed.

A Yharnam nearly emptied, if what the Hunter willing to spare the beasts under his protection had to say was of any substance—he hasn't worked up the nerve to slip in himself, not yet.

The Hunt is over. There hasn't been another Hunt for many days since. The bells of Yharnam are silent, suspiciously so.

His beasts... less agitated than they've been in years. He only wishes his allies, his friends, had been here to see it too.

The most recent fell in the shadow of his tower, fighting the very Hunter who'd agreed to spare his beasts. He hadn't expected her to agree. Hadn't expected her to apologize, either.

He never knew what happened to the second. But the youngest of them, and the first to fall... he met his end upon the blades of the Crow.

The only warning Djura receives, atop his tower, is the near-silent swish of a feathered cloak. He turns, weary, to meet with a familiar beaked mask.

They regard each other silently. Djura doesn't prime his Stake Driver. She doesn't raise her blades.

"Eileen," Djura greets with a nod. "What news of Yharnam?"

"Little left of it now," she replies. "Do you know how long it has been?"

Djura shakes his head. "Weeks?"

"Months," she says, and all Djura can think of is that he was better able to keep track of the time when he wasn't the last survivor of the Powder Kegs. "Did you have any visitors during that final Hunt?"

"One. Novice Hunter, a Dreamer." He pauses. "She bore an axe like that... what was his name..."

"Gascoigne?"

Djura nods.

"He turned." Eileen sighs, the sound full of regret. "She killed him."

Eileen didn't? Huh. The new Hunter must have gotten to the poor man before she could.

"Never mind that," she continues. "There were a few survivors, sheltering in Oedon Chapel. All sent there by her."

"...Were?" Djura asks.

"When it became clear just how little of Yharnam remained," Eileen says, "they decided it might be better to leave."

"They did?" Djura raises a brow. "Yharnamites?"

"With some encouragement," Eileen allows. "There is little left in this city now."

"Little," he notes, "except you."

"And you," Eileen says, which. Fair enough. "I haven't seen that Hunter since the sun rose. Yet the Hunt has come to an end."

Djura nods. Waves vaguely for her to go on as he sits behind his gatling gun, pulling one leg up to his chest.

"Something has changed," she continues, "and I worry for that girl."

"You think something happened to her?" Djura asks.

"Or she did something. Perhaps something rash." Eileen hums to herself. "I wouldn't have seen the sunrise without her."

That is... a story Djura would very much like to know more of. But, thinking on it—if a Dreaming Hunter had been determined enough to kill him, to slaughter their way through Old Yharnam, Djura couldn't have stopped them forever. He couldn't have stopped her forever.

"Nor would I," he admits. "You want something of me."

Eileen chuckles. "You and I, Djura, are now all that remains of Yharnam. I'd like to find out what happened. What she did."

"And you need me for..."

"I am not as young as I once was," Eileen says, which is a sentiment Djura relates to far too well. "It's tradition that the Crow Hunter work alone... but there is no need for Hunters here any longer. Nor our traditions."

"You want me to watch your back," Djura says. He almost laughs from the absurdity of it all. Sure, he and Eileen had an uneasy truce—Hunters willing to test their luck with Old Yharnam were often not far from becoming her prey, after all—but this isn't even close to that.

"I'm sure you'd like to know what happened too," she replies, and honestly, how dare she be right.

"And?" Djura crosses his arms.

She doesn't speak for a time, simply regards him from behind that mask. Not for the first time, almost certainly not for the last, Djura wonders what her face might look like right now.

"...And," Eileen says at last, "I've nothing better to do. You?"

His beasts mean well. Truly, they do, and they're doing much better now that the residual influence of the Hunt is gone. So much better, in fact... that Djura wonders, sometimes, if they need him anymore. If it might not be better if he turned, too.

If he was going to turn, it would have happened during that final Hunt.

It didn't.

He's not quite sure what to do with himself now.

"I'll think about it," Djura says, his mind already made up.

"You do that," Eileen says. "I'll return tomorrow."

She departs as swiftly and silently as she'd come. She also doesn't go near the ladder, for evidently age has not diminished the Crow's preference for avoiding the ground.

[piningpercussionist]

transfem scott getting lots of support from ramona and kim in the early 2000's when shit's very taboo but they all 3 have a fire forged bond and lord if they aren't going to make sure they're all as happy as they can be because they've come this far and I dunno it just makes me happy all three of them

YES YES YES

It makes me very happy as well,,

Like I've said before. General Trans Scott enthusiast here- I love the idea of their little support network *violent coughing* I (we?) mean polycule *violent coughing* so fucking much.

Ramona I think has a bit of a more gentle hand with reassuring Scott with gender issues, but sometimes she just can't help herself from some pointed banter or teasing- how could you with someone so dense? (Said w affection)

And then Kim I think is more blunt. But like, in a good way mostly, you know? The kinda blunt that makes you snap to attention and go "Oh. Yeah that was silly of me." And if Ramona's started some sort of banter? Kim is SO piling on. Maybe sometimes she's a bit TOO blunt with it- but it's only because she's so firm in her support. She wants Scott to Get It Together- and be happier for it. So if some ribbing now and again is in order, then goddamnit she will do so! Anything to crack that shell.

And ohhh can you imagine how they would react to some transphobic bullshit?? Unholy terror would be driven into the offender before they walk off with an absurd amount of coins between them. I can feel it in my bones. Scott doesn't even have to lift a finger (if the transphobe is even noticed/processed at all, bc I honestly can see Scott just. Not realizing someone's being transphobic.) Kim giving someone a lashing with her tongue as distraction and then Ramona coming in with the hammer- BAM! Free Money! Paying literally with your life for your transphobia. A Better And Just World.

And of course (transfem Scott more specifically, here,) the way Scott would start to flourish under their support... cagey and maybe a little (perhaps a lot-) resistant to start- but Kim's blunt affirmations and no nonsense attitude for bullshit (which is what Scott insisting on "being cis" would be, c'mon now,) and Ramona's also low bullshit tolerance but less Stabby (bc I won't lie, that's probably how Kim's comments would feel,) assurances? Ough... My Heart... Be Still-

I would Kill for them, Your Honor-

(Ran out of tags so putting this in the body of the post- I am SO tired someone pls sound off if this isn't as coherent as I am hoping this is. I WAS trying to nap and get the extra sleep I desperately needed but the writing bug... it Bit Me.... only a little but enough to stop that process-)

[royaletiquette]

Hi, I'm gonna be gone the second half of the month and immediately after my dog is gonna be going through upsetting treatment for a couple of months. So ya know, slow replies, slow dm's, we'll see how shit goes.

[aranostra]

ooc // okay now that i've woken up and fallen back asleep several times and i'm extremely overheated because fuck living in texas maybe this migraine will leave me alone enough to write stuff like i want to

[r3dblccd]

When I was joking that I'm waking up from my grave and emerging from my cave I meant it

[malusrecord]

((Mutuals only and you'll be at the mercy of my whimsy (re; brainrot) Cap: 3.))

[wyllzel]

a very nice thing about doing a wyllzel duo run (origin lae'zel) is that i get to hear more wyll lines since he's the only companion whose dialogue can trigger 😁💗

[mcnagerie]

hi.

[djsouled]

watched all 3 of the quiet place movies with some buddies lately and my only thought the entire series was "mic would win"

[reginrokkr]

By the time I will post this I'll already have completed 「Bedtime Story」, meanwhile here are some thoughts as I go through the quest without delving too much into each of them:

✧ It's very interesting to see how this quest is foreshadowing right from the very beginning Natlan in a way, with the thematic of someone without a name vs the importance there seems to be in the [Ancient] name in that nation.

✦ I keep talking about how level-headed Dain is, but I was amazed once again by this when he asked Aether if he thinks Lumine has betrayed him. Considering that he himself is in the position where his own brother actually has and that their relationship is apparently irreparable (there might be some relation with the fact that he figured out the whole truth of what happened with Vedrfolnir, whereas Aether still didn't), it would've been quite easy to spill some venom not necessarily to cause harm and shit talk Lumine behind her back (and even still, they had that dispute hundreds of years ago and still have) and still he not only doesn't, but he cheers Aether a bit by saying that their relationship isn't to a point of no return. The capacity this man has of staying logical despite being the emotional individual he is at times is genuinely outstanding.

✧ Without reading too much into it due to lack of information, the way Dain makes sound that the five sinners betrayed the nation and him seems to suggest that perhaps all six of them shared something in common until they didn't (this beyond the fact that it seems like they were the pillars of Khaenri'ah) or that they gave him their word that they were going to do something which eventually they didn't. We only know a little more about Vedrfolnir, Rhinedottir and Surtalogi so far, but presuming that the missing two are just as powerful in their respective fields as the former three seem to be, it is quite interesting to think that Dain might've been similar if not an equal to them enough to earn their respect beyond the fact that he's Vedrfolnir's younger brother.

✦ Special vengeance talk bullet point. I talked about this recently, so I won't go deeper into it again. However, it's quite ironic to see that Dain's stance on the gods so far was one of bitterness at best to describe it somehow, meanwhile he looks and sounds very angry when talking about them and claiming that he'll never forget their names. Even though he's been affected by the memory erosion, it speaks to lengths that his drive for vengeance against them is so high that, if we were to imagine a what if he were to become say a Black Serpent Knight fiend with no more intelligence or memories, what would persist of him would most likely be his wish for vengeance against all five of them.

✧ More talk about the six: besides five of them being described as carrying the hopes of Khaenri'ah (while Dain put himself out of this, it remains uncertain if it's because he didn't consider himself that important or because he doesn't want to be associated to them in a group together beyond the scope of stopping the Vinster King to prevent the disaster + protecting Khaenri'ah), it's quite telling how powerful they are to become like some kind of regulating system of the monarchy at the time, either by the people's desire or as a thing they attributed to themselves precisely due to that power / influence they had over Khaenri'ah.

✦ The transcendent being notion is heavily interesting if we think about Jakob and René, who became such themselves and if we think about how Vedrfolnir used this exact terminology himself. Suffice to say and just judging Gold alone (and potentially Vedrfolnir too, considering the prophecy of Fontaine and that those stone slates were quite ancient in olden ruins), it's not surprising to believe that all five of them pushed the limits of mortality that would've corresponded to them as humans (?) before the Cataclysm. Given that this seems to be linked to the five of them sharing among them the power of the Abyss, it's quite intriguing to think if Dain himself is a transcendent being or if his mortality limits were nuked strictly by the curse.

✧ Assuming that the power of the Abyss is equal to the world-shattering power he speaks of, it's very interesting how this serves as a contraposition (or maybe not so much contraposition) to the power of beyond Skirk mentioned, supposedly wielded by Dain to defy this world.

◜The six of us, together... We should have been the ones to prevent the disaster, the ones to stop the Vinster King from continuing to rock the foundation of the world. [...] And when the cataclysm occurred, not one of them stood up in defense of their nation, not one came forward to prevent the tragedy... And for that, they shall never have my forgiveness.◞

✦ This here makes me a bit confused as to what to think. By the way this is worded either out of convenience (HYV has a long track record of making Dain's speech be purposefully blurry / uncertain, it's never a matter of hearing him say that the sky is blue and the reality being like that— there is always more to it), it seems like if they stopped the Vinster King, they would've prevented the disaster (unless these two are different things). I say this because later he mentions that the sinners didn't lift a finger to prevent the tragedy nor defend the nation during the cataclysm, supposedly a result of not preventing the tragedy when something could've been done about it time before the cataclysm erupted.

✧ To conclude with the Sinners talk, the notion that if they're left unchecked they could do irreparable damage to the world which... considering it's related to the power of the Abyss and what was caused in Fontaine alone because of Narwhal, hence because Surtalogi, it wouldn't be all that far-fetched to even think about.

✦ Perhaps this is attributed to Dain's intellect and no more, but for someone who is struggling with erosion and how it affects his memories, it's quite intriguing that he'd know what is something that was falsely implanted in his mind if up until that point he had already lost some of his memories.

✧ Ironically I've been talking recently about his capacity of looking at things from a broader perspective / having a very down-to-earth mindset and I think this is yet another example of that: there could be other things Dain could be focusing on just at the notion that someone could implant memories, but not only he doesn't do that, but he realizes on the spot that they're still after the eye of the first Field Tiller and thinks ahead of time to lay a trap for the Abyss Order, as there is something quite clear that makes him think it's impossible for him to have given the eye. And yet Caribert makes him believe that he handed over the eye to Aether and Dain is fine with that wtf.

✦ How does that eye even make it inside Dain's body hello?

✧ Following the miscellanies alongside other subtle details about him throughout his quests, it was abundantly clear to me his connection to Irminsul. But to see him grunt in pain because the Ley Lines were being tampered with to implant in him a new memory really seals the deal for me that the connection he has with Irminsul must be considerably deep to even experience pain. As that is some big sentience that even Paimon points out and that I don't think was seen before except for Rhukkadevata— and she was a divinity and Irminsul's avatar.

✦ I'm positive that I mentioned how "coincidental" some of Dain's actions during the 「Caribert」 quest were, so I won't get back to those. But to add one more as a genuine follow-up to that quest, it's surprising how eerily similar the ruins where he leads the Abyss Order and Aether in are to those where Vedrfolnir was. And Dain hasn't experienced that memory Lumine had 500 years ago... apparently. Locations are different, that's for sure. But there is an undeniable level of excitement at seeing how these ruins mirror the others that makes me wonder how deep can Dain look into things (aka Ley Lines? Irminsul? Some connection to his brother because brothers™?).

✧ To add to the sus from before, the Cryo Abyss Herald was also introduced during the 「Caribert」 quest and he was guarding the entrance to a larger room where Vedrfolnir was.

◜The Abyss Order is putting something in motion. If you return to Vimara Village, I suspect you might finally have the opportunity to locate the missing villager.◞

✦ I've discussed in the past about Dain's foreseeing abilities but sir, what the heck— (I say as this is what exactly happens after Aether leaves the ruins lol).

✧ Although it would be easy to think that his grunts are signs of memory implantation in his mind, the fact that Caribert implanted the last false memory before they entered the cave refutes this. This is because Dain's last reaction (and the most painful one, as even his voice was intertwined with the pain he felt) was when they were already in the last chamber of the ruins they were last together. This concludes that his sentience isn't just on himself and to figure out what said false memory is (as he does notice that), but it's a genuine sentience on the Ley Lines and the disturbances they're suffering.

[lacomandante]

The new Sharpe book's confirmed to have Teresa in it for the first time in 24 years which has me both excited and very nervous. Sharpe's Skirmish was a great little book that gave more insight to her and Sharpe's relationship, but it's been so long since she's been in the books that I'm so nervous for her. At the very least she can't DIE in this one, but....I don't know....I hope he does her justice and she's not in it for just five seconds 😭

[aurouxa-potion-sin]

((i've been left alone for the weekend... and i have bleach and scissors... and of course being online.... i might... i might do a thing with my hair, ngl. i've always had help when bleaching it but i may just say fuck and go for it... also online, hi! ))

[hopegained]

LET'S GOOO WG.A

[young-botanical-genius]

perhaps today is the day i finally work on my verses page...

[demcnsinmymind]

I know I'm super reaching and ridiculous due to new/old fandom brainrot but now I can't unnotice the fact that "Death Awaits" was written in yellow and the patient room aka Lance's room had yellow walls

he's my king in a yellow room

[ikkaku-of-heart]

💜 It's been so dang hot this week,but it's a long weekend and I have the house to myself for several days, so I'm hoping to hit the draft pile and get active again over gge weekend. Maybe reach out to a few people I don't have many threads with to plot. Feel free to reach out to me if you've got an idea for out muses! I'm gonna lurk while I decompress but my DMs are always open.