🖊 and Thenasto (TELL ME ABOUT YOUR GODWOKEN TELL ME EVERYTHING MWHAHAHAHA)
So, Thenasto, or Tendon as the shipmates came to knew him aboard the Merryweather, was free elf by the time the Magisters caught him. He was leading a one-elf healing clinic where he sometimes worked for free if people were unable to pay. He accepted trade, food, whatever. That’s where he met the other custom Godwoken of his story, Lady Arne, who was my Husband’s custom character.
As a young elf, he lived in the edge of the Homeland, near a human village where his father was helping the humans with the burials. He literally grew up in a cemetery but it never bothered him. He learned a lot about death, customs, rituals, respect, loss and the Hall of the Echoes was a very interesting thing for him. He also was curious about Source, but he didn’t connect the two yet.
When he was a little older, he had a crush/girlfriend, I don’t how serious it was, but they had a pet squirrel. Only, the squirrel died and he was grieving the poor innocent creature so much, that he somehow brought it back. It was not the same, and eventually not more than a walking (albeit happy) skeleton and the girl was terrified. Of both of them. She screamed and yelled and sent him away. With his broken heart, he ran from home, never to return.
He wandered the forests, silent at first, and then he came to peace with his talents. He vowed never to use these skills as offense, only in self defense, and only if there was nothing else he could do. He was also talented in Hydrosophist spells, so he focused mostly on those. He learned some ice magic, but it was healing that interested him most.
And scholarly stuff. He is a reader and a talented singer. Every night, he would walk the forest and sing to the creatures or the Moon. I know it’s cliche but he really was a pure dumb idiot like that.
So one day, during the New Moon, lizard slavers captured him and it was his voice that saved him. He never stopped singing and didn’t resist. He liked living, even if he wasn’t free. He was immediately put to a different wagon, into a more expensive cage essentially and was sold to the highest bidder. The slavers were paid well for the find.
His first owner was a pleasure garden. He had pretty good life there, the ‘birds’ were respected by the owner, were allowed to refuse clients and most often didn’t even need to perform sexual acts. It was mostly mild things, think courtesan or geisha. They were expensive escorts, not cheap things. It was a prestige to hire a bird and if a client was not behaving they found themselves banned from the garden.
One day, a wealthy human woman came to the garden to buy a new book reader, because her eye sight was failing and her previous one just died. (You know, like you would buy a new e-book reader, I guess?) She quickly chose Thenasto because he spoke more than one language and could sing beautifully.
He continued to have a relatively happy life. He had everything but his freedom. They had fine clothes, free time, were free to leave the mansion and they loved the Lady. The Old Lady was nice, well, as nice as a slave-owner gets, but everyone someone enough owned slaved there.
Thenasto fell in love with a man named Sandor, the cook. The Old Lady allowed them, she said it brought happiness into the ‘big old house’.
But the Old Lady was, well, old and only had relatives that lived in countries where slavery was abolished, and urged her to free her lot, give them wages, but she said she was too old to change now and they’ll be free once she died. All of the relatives squarely refused owning slaves, all but one. So, when she died, everything she had, including all the ‘servants’ in the house, were inherited by her niece, who was the only one not refusing.
Now, the niece was everything but like the Old Lady. She was cruel and selfish. The last year of Thenasto’s slave-life was plain misery. The new lady was keen on showing them what slaves ‘deserved’, whippings were common as verbal abuse and so on. Sandor and Thenasto laid low, but they Lady found out. It led to Thenasto escaping via a literal bloodshed where he killed her, but also lost Sandor.
Since that event he could raise a bloated corpse, one of his starting spells. (Other is decaying touch, also used that night.) He used it only in self defense and was always horrified of it.
He had 3 owners in total, but I’m not sure how long his slave time was actually. He was free by the time the Fog devastated the Homeland and his last hope of seeing his family vanquished.
At that time, he never would’ve thought he will end up with the man he cursed so many times and he would be grateful for meeting him.
(Spelling these all out, I’m now embarrassingly aware how similar some of these elements are to the stories of Fenris and Anders from Dragon Age 2 and Zevran from Origins, but when I conjured it all up, it haven’t played these games yet. Yeah I’m a latecomer.)
So, where did this idea came from? I wanted to play an elf because I was tired of equipping the shapeshifting mask everytime. I chose male, because female elves terrified me personally. I still respect Sebille but hoo boy. She’s a presense, isn’t she? Thenasto sure agrees. Now, I always had a sweet spot for Necromancy since Heroes of Might and Magic III’s Necropolis and my D:OS Source Hunter was a Geomancer/Witchcraft girl, so I was kind of familiar with the playstyle.
Ah, and Thenasto is a well-read one and he craves old stories about Source users. Source Hunters, Arhu, Zandalor, Jahan, Cassandra and Braccus? He knows everything that was written down somewhere. Meeting Jahan, Arhu and Braccus in person was like a dream come true. Or a nightmare, in the latter case. (He personally almost worships my Source Hunter Busdra, even tho official texts claimed it was ‘Roderick and Scarlett’ or whatever, he always believed the ‘Busdra and Blossom’ version was true. That was what the elves taught to him. That was in the memories that he tasted.)
As for the romance? I didn’t even know this game had romance until I accidentally triggered Ifan with the ‘you know, lonely’ dialogue. I was done then and there. In a week I was shipping this boy so hard with Ifan my heart clenched. Because just imagine the possibilities! The back story was born soon and I’m currently 18k into their ‘idiots in love’ fic and half of it wasn’t even written. Or badly. It devolved from a violent climax to a totally tender one and I’m still polishing it to be good enough to share. It’s a quickly escalating thing, really, much like my real falling in love was. ^^
Ifan, as we know, can be in love with the player since the moment they meet on the ship, and I am on board with that. He saw this graceful parrot with his mohawk, soft words and kind soul and went: that’s the one. Thenasto didn’t need much more than a boop on the nose either.
Neither of them was comfortable prodding the other much tho, both thought the other deserved better. Thenasto was not proud of his past as a slave, especially as that kind of slave and well, we know Ifan’s story. It is extra angsty with an elf.)
Lady Arne and the Red Prince (the rest of the party, Hubbo’s characters) were doing their best to make these two idiots realize what they felt before they left Reaper’s coast. They succeeded, bless them.
We finished our game by sharing the source with everyone, but their canon is that Lady Arne became the New Divine in Lucian’s place. This was more or less satisfactory for everyone. Neither Thenasto nor Ifan really ever wanted it, and none of them wanted to outlive or outstrong the other, so they trusted Arne. Turns out, she is much better than Lucian. The only downside was losing Afrit for Ifan.
Thenasto and Ifan went on about the forest rehabilitation project and lived happily ever after. (Or not, but that’s a different story, and I’m still working on that.)
8 notes
·
View notes
What I'm thinking: Dahlia Hawthorne went through so much as a child and then young adult, receiving no love from her mother once it was clear she wasn't good enough, being only a tool before that. Then being forced upon a father that didn't want her and separated from the one person who believed in her (I do not believe Dahlia was telling the truth when she said she was the one that gave and convinced her father of the idea to send Iris away). And she was what? 14? 'Dating' a grown man? No matter how you feel about Terry personally and how much blame you think does or does not fall on him, someone should have prevented that situation but clearly no one cared enough to do so. It's made clear that her father was not a good man and was abusive. Obviously I cannot condone murder, but she was surviving the best way she knew how when all she was ever taught was that everyone was out to abuse her and the only way to get by was to manipulate and gain any and all advantages possible by whatever means necessary. Iris is designed as a direct contrast. The same beginning, but when she was sent to the temple she gained a proper maternal figure. When she traded spots with Dahlia she got to fall in love. Iris and Dahlia are everything the other could have been. Dahlia could never physically harm her sister, but she does despise her bc she reminds her that she could have been good, could have had good things happen to her, further enforcing that she wasn't worthy why wasn't she deserving? She hadn't done anything wrong when it all started to crash and burn. She was a child. You can't trust anyone, they'll only hurt and manipulate you unless you hurt and manipulate them first. Iris views this as the tragedy it is and bares the weight of it on her shoulders, which only makes Dahlia despise her more. And Dahlia loves her sister in a way that is confusing for her, but more than anything she hates her. Where as Iris is the complete opposite, resenting her sister, yes, but choosing to love her with everything she has. And once she's found out, she becomes a caged tool, yet again. Dahlia is right in her anger. She died too young, yet another thing Iris blames herself for, if only she had been able to love her more, provide more, maybe they'd still be together. And Dahlia lies to everyone about how bad and evil she is bc it's easier if she was irredeemable and no one even tries. If there was no other choice she wouldn't have to even consider feeling remorse bc she would have had no other choice. And when she's 'defeated' it is only Iris who doesn't cheer for her demise, only Iris who understands that it easily could have been her, could have been anyone, that it's a sad thing when someone so young is pushed to those beliefs and dies to them. Iris knows that all Dahlia needed was help and love from the people she should have been able to expect that from, the people she should have been able to trust. And no of course she shouldn't have been committing murders but trying to understand is not the same as excusing. Even Iris, the person who knows and loves her most, can't excuse her actions, she is merely sad about the situation which I feel is the proper response.
What I'm saying: lmao girlboss and sadgirl
100 notes
·
View notes
so yeah I still feel the same way I felt at the beginning of the ahsoka series
there are things I really REALLY liked about it. but there are also things that I find frustrating and like. not really fleshed out at all?
like.
ezra's whole arc was amazing. his dynamic with sabine? him getting to make a new lightsaber that looks like kanan's? him finally getting to go home and reuniting with hera? i was almost CRYING at that part and I literally screamed when it cut away before we could see them hug. all of it was AMAZING.
but I'm also like. frustrated with the way that they didn't really explain sabine's past? or like, the things that connected her from the end of rebels to now. like I feel like I still don't understand what happened between her and ahsoka before the events of this show. there was that moment where huyang talked about it to ezra a bit but it's like. so quick and just like "oh ahsoka was worried about sabine turning to the dark side" and then it's never mentioned again???? it's just like how baylan mentioned mandalore's destruction in ep4 and how it drove sabine and ahsoka apart as like a throwaway line and then it's never brought up again? i'm??????
but I also really REALLY liked baylan and shin, and the fact that the mortis gods are referenced at the very end of this season INTRIGUES me. i need to know where this is going.
every time hayden showed up in this series he was INCREDIBLE. probably definitely my favorite part of the series. episode 5 is definitely my favorite episode.
but I'm also like. not feeling great about how ahsoka seems to think about the jedi at the time of the clone wars. she says this line about how anakin was the only one to stand by her, even when no one else would, when homeboy literally turned to the dark side and later tried to kill her in rebels? did she forget about that?
did she forget about all the jedi who mentored her during tcw? about plo koon, luminara unduli, tera sinube, aayla secura? about obi-wan? we haven't seen her even mention any other jedi from that time other than anakin (and kanan, in today's episode, but that's literally because of ezra).
i'm just hnggggggggggg so conflicted. the show does some things so WELL and I'm in awe of those things but then it also just. completely misses the point or confuses me or just makes me vaguely upset and it just leaves me in this state of being frustrated
anyways.
overall I did enjoy the show, even if it sounds like I didn't. It's just. I think it would've been better if the ahsoka series and the rebels sequel were two different things, y'know? it would've given more time for both of these storylines to be fleshed out more properly.
but here we are, I'm accepting that this is the show that we got, and I think it was good. I'm intrigued to see what happens next.
46 notes
·
View notes
I WOULD LIKE TO ASK QUESTION ABOUT OCS IN FACT 🤲 how was meeting yarrow for the first time like for grimm? and reverse? i love them and how tender they grow together so dearly
HELLO THANK YOU FOR THE ASK AND THANK YOU IN GENERAL EHEHEHEEEE they are eating at my brain all the time <3
OKAY so a vague timeline of honeybee's three main parts is here BUT there is a (not actually secret) part 0 that is how they first meet. i want to include it in the story but i'm concerned telling a story like this
might get a little confusing for people so. we shall see
i DO have my reasons for wanting to tell it this way and also p0 is a single scene. but also i might combine it with p1 idk. it's a mess, i'm a mess
anyways at this point grimm is ~18 and still pretty freshly out of their whole "i was a bodyguard/scout for the people who destroyed everything i loved for several years because i fell in love [was manipulated by] the family's young heiress when i was vulnerable and also a child"* ordeal and now making a living for themself being an outlaw. it travels from town to town and takes on odd jobs, mostly recon stuff because it's very good at sneaking around. also having a robot dog designed to jam signals and camera feeds helps
*this is A Lot. i know it sounds edgy as fuck, but a consistent source of conflict in this universe is how people in power (those with a lot of money in this case) consistently fuck over everyone else and each other for the sake of more power/a perceived advantage/money and grimm is a victim of that to a more extreme degree than most
grimm takes a job that involves getting some sort of intel out of the offices of a medical clinic and gets caught halfway through. they can fight too, so they do get out, but not before sustaining a pretty bad injury to their jaw (originally this was going to be a gunshot, but after doing research i realize that hm sustaining a gunshot wound to the jaw usually requires reconstructive surgery that grimm would not have access to, so i think they were hit with something instead). on their way sneak-stumbling out, they happen across one of the interns in the stairwell, who sees them injured and bleeding and goes "stay right there i'll get something to help you!" because shit, why else are they working at a clinic if they aren't going to help people who are hurt
normally grimm wouldn't stay, fuck that, but it's dazed and possibly concussed, so it does. yarrow (who is about ~19) comes back with some bandages and painkillers, quickly does a quick patch job, and sends grimm off with a "i'm sorry this is all i can do" and grimm gets the fuck out of there
now yarrow isn't stupid, he knew that grimm wasn't supposed to be there, but if he can help, he will help, especially if someone's in pain. grimm wasn't anyone meaningful to them at that point, and i think that whole ordeal is something that occasionally crosses their mind in the next ~3 years before they cross paths again, but there weren't any severe consequences to their actions (if any, still dunno if they got caught) nor was their life really under threat, so it wasn't any more shocking than someone coming in to the clinic with a severe injury
ON the flip side though, grimm cannot stop thinking about this. it has encountered so little kindness in the previous ~6 years of its life that a total stranger helping them out is inconceivable. now, grimm will save its own hide first and foremost, so it doesn't stick around, but this whole incident leaves it with a sense of being indebted to yarrow, whose name they don't even know at that point. nothing it would go out of its way to act upon, but this "i owe my life to that stranger" thing it marvels at from time to time.
so, when the two cross paths ~3 years later in a different clinic in a different city, grimm feels compelled to at least get yarrow out of there before shit goes down; they've graduated to working riskier jobs with teams of outlaws instead of alone, so it's very much a "you saved my life, i'll save yours back and get you out of here and we can part ways for good" situation. or, that's what grimm tells itself :)
bonus pt0 grimm and yarrow designs hehe
11 notes
·
View notes
Mercedes, taking a deep breath : Ok. Dorothea, I have a favour to ask. Can I flirt with Edelgard to make Byleth jealous ?
Dorothea, after visibly short-circuiting for a few seconds : ... *takes a deep breath and holds her clasped hands in front of her before letting it out and pointing her hands to Mercedes* This is wrong on SO many levels. First off, making your crush jealous has to be number one in the top ten of stupid ideas. Why don't you just talk to her ? Also, why MY Edie ?!
Lysithea, holding her head in her hands to fend off a headache : Dorothea, for the tenth time TODAY, you and Edelgard are NOT dating. No matter how big your crush on her is, and how big HER crush on YOU is, even if she still doesn't realise it, she's not YOUR Edie yet.
Dorothea : STILL ! Gals before pals, girls ! Mercie, you know that !
Mercedes : All valid points. To answer your questions, I've tried pretty much everything else to get Byleth to understand my feelings, short of pushing her against a wall and kissing her that is, and since it could be considered sexual assault on a professor if it goes wrong, I'm not going to risk it. And I'm asking for Edelgard specifically because it would be VERY easy to find flirty comments to say to her ; if Byleth weren't there, and if you hadn't called dibs, I think I would have tried my chance with her.
Dorothea, standing up and slamming her open palms on the table : YOU STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY WIFE-
Lysithea, screaming to the high heavens : FOR THE LAST TIME, SHE'S NOT YOUR WIFE, YOU'RE NOT EVEN DATING !
Edelgard, at the other side of the dining hall, watching the three girls make a racket while talking to Hubert : I wonder who that girl Dorothea has a crush on is.
Hubert, who's heard Dorothea say "I love you" to Edelgard more times than he can count : I have no idea.
94 notes
·
View notes