#ardea answers

[olimpias]

Heeeey! I'm catching up on tags, and I came across your WIP titles one! :D Mind if I ask about "ada the unhinged assassin and her softie bf elliot"? (I'd ask about all of them because your titles are *fantastic*.)

oooh thank you so much!! i love talking abt this one especially since i havent introduced it here yet but there is a lot of stuff in my head soo

it’s a sci-fi dystopian thriller thingy that takes place in the unnamed capital of an unnamed country with an authoritarian government that relies on terrorising the people and threatening them with human experiments (and actually going through with it).

Ada Speer, our main character, is a resistance fighter who lives with her best friend Jaz (a night club singer) and Timmy (a hacker) in the basement of the club Jaz works in. Ada and Jaz met a few years ago when Ada was 16 and killed a guy who tried to molest Jaz and then they somehow moved in together.

Ada is actually unhinged. Like my girl has some serious mental problems and also an unnaturally close bondage with her knives but it’s not her fault ok. When she was 5, her brother (i still have to decide what to do with him) sent her to a girls’ boarding school that was Actual Hell. She had to share a room with a girl who despised her and bullied her in a truly awful way, she saw some of the girls she had become friends with be taken away in the middle of the night and she also had to endure the teachers’ horrible treatment and yeah. All peaches and cream right?

However, during one of her various attempts to run away, she meets a former knife-thrower from a circus and learns how to defend herself and fight (with knives. she hates guns). When she’s 16, she kills her roommate, cuts her hair like joan of arc and runs away for good. She comes to The City, meets Jaz and works on her plan to kill government officials and overthrow the government.

At some point, she meets Elliot in a casino (i yet have to decide why she’s there), a gambler who fights against the corrupt politicians by inviting them to a game of poker and cheating. Hehe. But hes a real sweetheart and hates violence (when he has to do it himself. when ada does it it turns him on tbh) and just wants to have world peace. He btw doesn’t have any less trauma than ada, it just shows differently. But explaining all that too would take too long now.

And yeah, they join forces and they are both into each other but ada is a really difficult person to like. Bc she doesn’t even like herself so. I don’t know how it’s going to end yet but that’s it so far. i love them a lot. very very much

(also here’s an excerpt as a treat)

The first time Ada Speer killed someone, she was sixteen years old. She stabbed the girl with a pair of scissors that she had just cut her hair with and it was insignificant, really. It was a necessity. She had it coming. (Thinking back, Ada was not sure if she would have done it again. Something she had noticed during the years was that people disliked being killed.)

The second time she killed someone was in a dark alley in The City. She was still sixteen but she felt like forty-three at least. A man was molesting a girl in a green, sparkling dress but Ada was wearing black so they only noticed her when she slit his throat. 

This was how she met Jaz.

Later, when they were sitting side by side near the river, Jaz said: “Look, I appreciate you saving me and everything but did you really have to kill him just like that?”

Ada looked at her in astonishment. “What else should I have done? Beat him up? He probably wouldn’t even have been grateful. And it wouldn’t have changed him either.” She wasn’t entirely sure if Jaz understood her reasoning.

What Ada just couldn’t process was why exactly people hated being killed so much. It wasn’t like they had any say in the matter. 

Ada had learnt very early in life that it was better not to be angry about things you couldn’t change. She stopped wondering why certain girls disappeared sometimes without an explanation but she figured that they would stop disappearing if the teachers were dead. This was something she would take care of later. 

At first, Jaz was a little hesitant to let Ada sleep in her room and Ada couldn’t really blame her for that. She liked Jaz and so she refrained from threatening her and in the end, Jaz saw that letting Ada stay with her was the best outcome for everyone.

Sorry if i went a little overboard here lmao i hope it doesn’t bother you but i was DYING to talk about it!

#ardea answers #blind-the-winds #c: ada #c: elliot

[moved-to-void-kissed]

*brings out a very large megaphone*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DRAGON QUEST IX

#a call from the void #a very loud call because this is literally the game I have played the most of all time #(on my 3DS anyway. skyrim has taken more hours on PC overall and minecraft may have done the same. but still.) #it is a *brilliant game* and I *love it so much* and I *really want more people to know about and like it* #heart of the void #because this is from the heart #but also if I may because pavo is in the game and I love her #selfship #selfshipping #love: winged watcher (pavo) #selfship: a celestial rapport (pavo/ardea) #of sentinels and starry skies (DQIX) #if anyone wants to know *anything* about this game then *please ask me* #it can be *any question at all about it whatsoever* I will be *extremely happy to answer* #caps tw #ask to tag

[void-kissed]

How about 3, 6 and 10 for the end of the year asks? (Dragonsmooch)

That sounds like a good idea to me, dear dragon! Thank you very much for sending these questions in!~

(question source: "✨ end of the year selfship ask game ✨" by interstellarboyfriend)

3. did a relationship with an F/O change in a major way (i.e. you started dating a platonic F/O or realised you prefer a formerly romantic F/O to be a friend, got married/engaged to an F/O, etc)? if so, did it happen more spontaneously, or was it something you had planned for a while? - This requires me to remember what happened in the year, haha. Um.. I don't think anything concrete actually took place that would apply for this? There were a couple of instances of crushes becoming romantic F/Os, the most prominent example of this being SOLARIA at the start of the year, but that's more starting a selfship than changing an existing one.

6. talk about any special/memorable moments you had with your F/O(s) this year! Which stood out to you the most? - When I read this, my first thought was playing through the finale of Pokémon Reborn for the first time, and hearing Luna's voice together with all the others when everyone comes together to help save the player. Luna is the only character who speaks in that scene who isn't currently present in the world at that time (as, canonically, she had stayed within the Void that appeared at the Glass Workstation), so it was a very unexpected - but welcome - surprise.

10. have you bought any merch of your F/O or other items that remind you of them this year? - Yes, actually! Specifically, I went to a convention-type event with one of my old friends from school (and one of her old friends from school) for the first time, and while I was there I picked up a number of items of my F/Os! Specifically, I bought a badge of Aqua,a smaller badge of Kirby (who is a platonic F/O), a sticker of Eula, and I also won an Umbreon print that reminded me a lot of Luna because it's of an Umbreon. I'm trying to remember when it was that I bought my small Wayfinder necklace and received my other necklace with the gold and silver wings on it; if those were in 2022, then they count as well, since the Wayfinder obviously is Aqua's and the winged necklace represents both Pavo with the silver wing and Ardea with the gold wing, to me anyway.

I hope that all of those answers were alright, friend!!

#a call from the void #heart of the void #selfshipping #love: voice of a goddess (SOLARIA) #love: dark dreamer (luna) #selfship: void‑kissed (luna/adriana) #love: wayfinding waters (aqua) #friend: shaped like a friend (kirby) #love: glacial spindrift (eula) #and then luna again #love: winged watcher (pavo) #selfship: a celestial rapport (pavo/ardea) #self‑insert: clawed heron (ardea) #what an assortment of tags #out of the inbox #selfship asks #dragon tag! #..this was still in my inbox but I don't know why I didn't post it when I had it ready because I haven't needed to add anything here #except tags #maybe that was why? if I wrote this ask answer while on my phone and then wanted to type out the tags on my laptop?? #either way it's out now. sorry for the wait friend #now this just leaves the sparkles

[laaauc]

What inspired the names constance and area?

anne (mod anne not character anne) chose both of those but the origins are:

constance is named after a love choice character (as a nod to darcy's name being a reference to one of marcy's favorite video games) and ardea is named after a genus of heron (bc of sasha's connection to herons)

#answers #mod lore #ardea #constance

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

My friend @dragonsmooch once asked me to tell them a little (or a lot) about one of my oldest OCs, so I decided to look through my F/O lists and see which OC who is also an F/O is the one I've had for the longest time (since.. this is my selfship blog, haha). The answer turned out to be, on a technicality, Iris!

I say on a technicality because Iris is an OC I originally created for Splatoon, as part of a big group of OCs I made during one very very bored week at school where I had to try and do something that looked like revising but wasn't. Which is why she counts as an old OC. However, I more recently ported her into Dragon Quest IX, which is the version of her that I see as a platonic F/O (as well as her FFXIV version, too!). This is what she looks like in my game!

In terms of personality, Iris is energetic and fun-loving, always eager to take up a challenge and easy to make friends with. She is very creative (especially when it comes to art like drawing), and she can have a certain flair for the dramatic, which helps her out a lot with her vocation.

Speaking of vocation, Iris is a luminary! These superstars are charming performers with considerable magical aptitude, able to fight with fans, whips, or boomerangs. Iris uses the first of these options in tandem with magic, which encompasses both healing spells and wind-element damaging spells. She has a lot of different spells and abilities at her disposal, allowing her to play almost any role within the team as needed! I'd say a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, but.. that's actually a boss in this game, haha

In terms of how she fits into the world, Iris appears in the story of my selfship with Pavo, which is essentially "my version of the events of DQIX". She used to be a performer in the Quester's Rest inn, until spotting what looked like a burst of light falling from the sky one late night, and deciding to run out and if she could find where it would land. This falling star turned out to be my self-insert Ardea, whose wings had been lost in the fall and whose halo broke upon hitting the ground just outside the eastern entrance to the Hexagon - inadvertently showering both Iris and Avalon (an adventurer who had had the same idea) with Celestrian power, allowing them both to perceive things like spirits and the Starflight Express. After bringing Ardea back to the Quester’s Rest, and subsequently hearing her story from both her and newly-visible Pavo, Iris decides to accompany the Celestrians on their quest to both recover Ardea’s lost angelic traits and reunite with Aquila, Pavo’s brother.

I hope that this is alright!!

#heart of the void #friend: rainbow luminary (iris) #platonic F/Os #OC F/Os #of sentinels and starry skies (DQIX) #selfship asks #dragon tag! #technically! #maybe I shouldn't be starting with the things that were most complete.. but oh well. they are easiest

[livums]

🙌💀🍩 for anyone from the Marking Blood! - from lorenfinch

I'm gonna answer these for Dove I think! (And kind of for Sylah but that's incidental)

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

Dove - Dove has two older brothers, Ardea and Halcyon. She has a different father than they do, and both of them are much older than she is. Neither of them show up in the story LOL

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

Dove - Dove really really really cannot stand bugs! One of the only things that makes her break composure.

Sylah (I'm also answering for hers because it's Plot Relevant) - Sylah is MEGA afraid of death. Few things make her more anxious than being confronted with her own mortality.

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

Here's where I have a reason for talking about both Dove and Sylah in the same post LOL

They're essentially the closest thing that they have to a rival for one another. They trained together, and both developed a similar (different flavors, but similar) rigidity and respect for authority and systems. Where both experience anxiety in the face of the unexpected, Dove responds more with bewilderment and paralysis, where Sylah (these days) just gets pissed off.

Because Sylah's father and the Guild have not historically seen eye to eye, she feels less connected to Guild structure and culture than someone like Dove, much to her frustration. Sylah knows that the Guild would more likely look upon her with suspicion than Dove, despite all of her effort, and it drives her mad. So as much as they have in common, as much as Sylah is technically Dove's senior, they do experience some tension.

And yet, they are the closest thing the other has to a friend.

Thank you for asking! <3

#writeblr #asks #{sanguis in monte} #ask game

[circa-specturgia]

it's still Wednesday if I squint hehe ! So for worldbuilding thurdnesday, could you talk about Ciro's winged race? :o Do the wings look different, or are they all snowy white? How did they evolve their wings, or are they descended from something completely separate? Do they run into any trouble because of the wings - walking down the street, getting clothes fit, maybe people trying to steal a feather?

OHHH! Ok this is gonna be my chance to geek out a bit! Thanks so much for this ask @muddshadow!!! ✨

Note! Some of what I’ve got below is subject to some change as I’ve just came back to looking over the origins of the world and all and feel like it may be due for a rework of sorts, but this is what I’ve got for the time being!

The Æris (A’eyris), or Winged (Wing’yd), are one of several races inhabiting the world of Circa Specturgia. The unifying characteristic traits for a majority of Æris are:

- Wings. Obviously. It’s kinda self explanatory with the name, don’t know why I’m even mentioning this…

- Height varying between 200-250cm (6’6” - 8’2”). They’re taaallllll, in part because the heigh acts as counterbalance to the wingspan, in order to attain stable flight, but mainly because I like tall people ✨

- Weigh being lower than what would be expected for their height, due to alternate bone composition, more hollow like in birds, reducing weight and allowing for flight

- Unique bone and muscle structure of the upper body, wider shoulders and a far more built upper torso, to allow for proper attachment and movement of wings!

- Unique eyes, most often black sclera, in some cases entirely black eyes, in some cases possessing a colorful iris, colors ranging between predominantly yellow, red, and orange, with blue and green eyes being slightly less common.

- Most age just ever so slightly faster than Humans, though there are some races of Æris which seem to age slower.

Now, for some more specific world-building and biological details! And to answer the question too! *pushes up glasses*

The Æris are mainly comprised of races with avian traits of the clade Passerea.

However, there is a far higher percentage of all Æris of avian traits from the sub-clade of Passerea, Telluraves, these being birds including hawks, vultures, eagles, owls (Like Ciro!), falcons, and passerines! Passerines themselves are the most common of the Æris races.

The lower percentage of Æris possess mainly avian traits of the sub-clade of Passerea, Ardeae, and other sub-clades, these including Æris of avian traits of birds such as tropicbirds, herons, shorebirds, and swifts!

There do also exist a few very small and local races of Æris with traits outside the clade Passerea, these being Æris of avian traits such as peafowl (duh, obviously I added peacocks 🦚 ✨)!

So, yes! There are tons of different races of Æris, most often differing in wing structure, pigmentation, and other such traits, sometimes in diet and height as well! (A rule of thumb is that the greater the wingspan the taller the Æris to counterbalance it properly, though I have been thinking about adding a part of the wings or a form of tail to them!)

Their evolution and coming into being is a bit of an odd part of history but the theory I have for it is a concrete global genetic anomaly which acted as a sort of catalyst that caused the formation of the varied races from a single joint ancestor, approximately 1.8M years prior, to current day during an epoch of ice, with evolution doing the rest! This is pretty subject to change though but a big part of my world will be the ancient history and all that good origins stuff!

One small thing of note before I get into the whole clothes and daily life stuff too!

Some Æris can learn to ‘fold’ their wings away! That isn’t to say that they simply have them pressed to their back, as most tend to carry them, but that they are able to make them melt into their form and become immaterial! The way weight is distributed and all is odd, but, essentially it can be a bit cramping if it’s kept up for too long so while it’s a good skill to learn through lots of practice and attempts, it’s not something they many who even know how to do it keep up for long. When they’re let loose, think of getting up after being seated in the same pose for a few hours, like getting out of the car in a long drive and stretching, it’s that good stretch feel.

The same is the case for the talons and scales on the hands and feet, though these are in a reverse situation; most Æris don’t know how to bring them forth unless they are in some ways pushed to it or simply learn it, as some Æris races (predominantly those of predator birds) have a higher chance of being able to learn this.

Ciro for one is someone who will eventually be able to do both, folding his wings away to be more manageable at some times, as well as manifesting talons and scales!

As for day to day life! Æris LOVE nests. Not like, actual nests, but Æris beds are most often designed akin to wicker baskets with a sort of curvature to them, along with lots of room to lie down with the wings unfolded, and loose! Æris homes and spaces are usually pretty spacious though the winged folk themselves are characterized by their grace, so knocking something over with their wings is a rarity. It’s more often the wind from them opening that’s a bother, so, paperweights come in handy. Chairs and all usually have no back rest/a low back rest to accommodate, and pouches/harnesses for bags, or satchels are pretty common! Clothes usually consist of pants/loose fitting garments that are flowing but which don’t move around too much, ie are bound at the ankles to stay in place when flying. Some wear tailored shirts with a window in the back and buttons at the back of the neck that close it up, some prefer robes more akin to those worn by buddhist monks, with comfy fabric. Silk, while light, is expensive, and hard to come by, and so linen is a more common fabric of choice, being lightweight.

With a variety of body types, and races, any non-Æris seamster or seamstress who has some practice should be able to fit any clothes they’d need, or cut a window into anything that wouldn’t already be tailored to them!

An Æris’ feather, given willingly, can symbolize a lot of things, depending on their intention, from trust, to love, to respect, to a promise or oath. However, to take a feather without permission, to steal one already given or to even worse, pluck one off of a pair of wings is seen as possibly one of the worst insults one can give. Lots of Æris curses as a result reference plucking or the like!

PHEW, that was FUN. Took me a while, but, I had a chance to think some stuff over and add some detail to some parts I wasn’t quite sure on! Thanks for the opportunity and for the ask, again!!! Hope you enjoyed! ✨✨✨

Taglist! @bloodlessheirbyjacques @athenswrites @magefaery @writingonesdreams ✨

#writeblr #writing #writers on tumblr #writing thoughts #circa specturgia #wip.circa specturgia #writing community #writing inspiration #wtwcommunity #my ocs #speculative fiction #fantasy race #the aeris one

[euphoniouspandemonium]

JANAAAAA i have another music rec. bear with me. bc it’s so great oh my god i love it

it’s “movie queen” by jobriath and it’s sort of old hollywood whimsical black and white cabaret style ITS SO GOOD LISTEN TO IT (if you want) OK THATS IT BYEEE

YOOOOOOOO I LISTENED TO IT AND OH MY GOD IT'S ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL I ADORE IT THANK YOU FOR THE REC BESTIE

#im sorry for answering this late by the way #whole lot of lack of motivation and something along the lines of seasonal anxiety #so interacting with people is Hard :') #but ANYWAYS #you give the best recs ily mwah #asks #the janis joplin to my david bowie (ardea)

[arashicz]

12, 16, 41, 48, 51, 59 for the apprentice ask :D Sorry for the amount but I really want to hear all these :P

12. Favorite place in Vesuvia? Small safe space behind the shop where Ardea feeds the birds. Ardy doesn’t like crowds and she prefers to be alone/with animals.

16. What are their fears? Ardea is scared and afraid of many things, mainly ofthe darkness, loneliness, imprisonement, tight spaces and being stripped of her own will. She’salso afraid that she loses all her memories again.

41. What do they think of Nadia so far? Because Ardy is mainly Julian route MC, she only met Nadia when she asked her for help with finding him and Ardy then straight off jumped into relationship with him so she tries to avoid confrontation with Nadia at all costs.Nadia is admirable in Ardea’s eyes - she is intelligent, noble and graceful and so far does her job as a countess very good. Ardea didn’t want Nadia to discover the truth about her and Julian not because she knew she would be in trouble but also because she didn’t want Nadia to think less of her. Much to her surprise, Nadia was okay with her and Julian and even became a bro/companion/member of Ardy’s guild when fighting with the greater enemy (Devil).

48. Do they have any talents (except magic)? She’s a musical person. Ardy was taught to dance and sing when she was at court and despite she forgot all the dances and songs with the new body, she’s a fast learner.

51. What is their worst negative quality? She used to be pretty spoiled and somehow bratty when anybody wanted her to do something. Ardea grew up in a noble enviroment where everyone took care of her and this mindset is hard to overwrite. She needed exactly one (1) plague outbreak, one (1) magician leaving her and one (1) plague doctor hiring her to be finally able to underestand the value of hard work and help.This changed a bit after her resurrection since Asra took care of her and tried to raise her as a new, slightly better person so she would underestand the value of work, she wouldn’t be too shy and she would be more assertive in the presence of men.

59. How do they flirt?Ardy was a shy goose before her death. She did not flirt. At all. Hell even the thought of her flirting with someone gave her huge anxiety.Asra tried to pour some confidence in her after he resurrected her because he knew her relations with men were problematic before. So he gives her confidence and she’s more hands on. Literally. Ardy is touch centered and when she likes someone and she knows it won’t be a problem, she invades their personal space. She might brush the dust off their shoulders, she might bump into them “by accident”, she reassuringly places her hands on their forearms.

#arcana #the arcana game #fan apprentice #ardea #nadia #arashi!answers

[alistair-phoenix]

Prompt #21: Feckless

[Before Arrival] [Alistair Phoenix: Age 17] “What the hell was that?!” A shout erupted from a hut within a village that lie at the base of a volcano. The sound of wood splintering and furniture being destroyed sounded shortly after. “What was what?” A much softer voice asked, somewhat panicked by sudden destruction of furniture. A few of the scale-covered villagers craned their necks to the sounds of the ensuing argument, wondering what had earned the ire of their most recent champion. They could only imagine what was going on within that stone hut.

“Don't you play dumb with me, Phoenix!” Ardea pointed her claw at the shifty human. “Are you trying to insult me?”

Ardea, daughter of the Salamander Chieftain, was furious. To have become champion in such a manner she felt was disgraceful and unfulfilling. Never in her life had she felt her pride this damaged. Her apprentice had the gall to do something so insulting. “N-no! We would never...” Phoenix paused as he saw Ardea approaching him once more and dodging her attempt to capture him. “Alicia might but-” The poor prince could hardly quell the anger of his mentor. He truly had no idea why Ardea was furious with him after her well earned victory. He thought she would be proud and happy that she became champion. He even heard her father as well as the rest of the Salamanders praising her. So why... Ardea swiped where the fleet-footed Phoenix once stood; her tail thrashed with irritation. “You should have been champion! Yet, you let me win!” Ardea shouted with indignation, a small bit of flames starting to peek out of the corners of her mouth. Her eyes glowed rather fiercely as she continued to stew on her anger. “That is not true, though! We fought you with all we had and you still won, right?” The young adult argued while keeping his guard up. He kept a space between himself and the angry Salamander. “An empty-victory!” Ardea lashed out once more and missing her mark as her apprentice dodged around her attacks. “You could have won! So why didn't you?!” Confusion ran across the human's face at this revelation as he fished for his reasoning or explanation. “We did not want to kill you, Ardea.” He revealed. “So you were holding back!” Ardea's brow furrowed and her tail twitched from her rising anger. “No, we were not.” Phoenix shot back. “Then why didn't you let me fall?!” Ardea raised her voice and her tail slapped the ground. “Why did you go out of your way to pull me back up?!” “Because you would have died, Ardea!” The human raised his voice higher than he had before. “We were not going to let you fall because of some mistake we made! Not again!” The outburst gave Ardea pause but it had also laced her thoughts with uncertainty. “Died?” “You would have fallen into the lava if we dropped you.” Phoenix explained with a small frown on his face. “That is why we pulled you back up.” Ardea blinked at the oblivious human, her fires of anger slowly dying but some of the sparks still remained. “...you thought I was going to die?” She asked her apprentice for clarification. “Yes?” Phoenix replied as though the question should have an obvious answer. Ardea stared at the boy with a perplexing gaze before she took a deep breath and sighed. She ran her claws through her crimson locks. “Alistair... I'm a Salamander?” The young Phoenix raised a brow at Ardea, “Yes...?” Clearly he was not understanding the relevance. Ardea felt her eye twitch a bit. “Lava can't kill us. I would have been fine.” Salamanders were naturally resistant to fire and lava afterall. …

Silence filled the room for a short moment as Alistair processed the last few hours and his actions. “Oh.” Is the only thing that escaped him. After having trained and learned from the Salamanders this small detail escaped his memories for a time. “What do you mean, 'Oh.'?!” Ardea threw up her arms in disbelief. “Don't tell me that you forgot! You can't be that stupid!” “W-we may have...?” Alistair rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit embarrassed now that he remembered. “We knew you were fire-resistant but-” “I don't believe this.” Ardea placed her palm against her forehead. She still felt angry but not as intensely as before this all started. “You risked your life for mine when I wasn't in any danger to begin with. Foolishness. Reckless even. Do you have any idea how badly it could’ve gone?” If anything, she was the one holding back for his sake. Humans and Lava don't necessarily mix well. Fire-resistant magic or not. “...we realize this now. Please accept our apology.” Alistair bowed his head and placed his arm across his chest. Ardea raised her hand and waved the silly human off while placing her fist on her hip. “Forget it. I still can't believe this...” She trailed off before approaching the human in a less threatening manner. “One more thing.” “Yes?” The apprentice raised his head. Ardea swiftly punched Alistair in the shoulder. Feeling that some punishment was necessary. The prince winced at the blow and rubbed his tender shoulder. He was still somewhat sore from the duel with his mentor. “Ow!” “Knock it off with the 'we' nonsense already.” Ardea huffed before leaving her foolish apprentice within the partly destroyed hut. “It’s irritating.” She muttered under her breath. The other Salamanders scattered when they saw Ardea leave the hut and couldn't help but wonder what the damage inside looked like.

#ffxivwrite2021 #ffxivwrite #Alistair Phoenix #Alicia #salamander #Otherworldly Lore #[Before Arrival]

[olimpias]

13, 14 and 29 for Nicoletti! <3333

THANK YOU YES MY FAVOURITE REVOLUTIONARY!!

13. What is your oc’s confidence like? Are they self-confident to the point of being arrogant? Are they terribly self-deprecating?

Definitely the first. Well, he has some hidden insecurities ofc and how it usually goes but he is the most self-righteous, most complacent little bitch you will ever encounter. He can and will bully you if he doesn’t like you. So make sure he does. (not vicious evil bullying, just showing everyone how much smarter he is and stuff)

14. What is your oc’s speech like? How loud are they usually? Do they have an accent or a stutter?

He is immensely skilled when it comes to speaking and words in general. Immensely. You will not be able to beat him in a discussion. (Maybe also because he just won’t let you talk and straight up ignore you if you want to say something against him. Yes he is very difficult to deal with. Yes i love him for that.) He’s also just a very loud person with a highly contagious laughter. Like he enters a room and everyone will notice him immediately.

His accent, because he comes from the north of Vrozhondiya, is a bit harsher and more pronounced than the accent people from Cantaville have which makes his way of speaking even more intimidating. (Imagine the difference like for example people from northumberland vs old hollywood actors with a transatlantic accent.

29. If a perfume was to be made to represent your oc, what sorts of smells would be included in it?

Wood, the smell of old books and chocolate!! His parents own a chocolaterie and he smelled of chocolate his entire childhood. Now he mostly smells of ld books bc he spends hours and hours in the university’s library.

100 oc questions

#ardea answers #euphoniouspandemonium #c: nicoletti #doll face

[moved-to-void-kissed]

..I'm not sure how else to format this other than like a changelog, and today is Hatsune Miku's birthday, so.. I suppose pretending things are software that has just been updated will do for the moment. I have been feeling a bit like a robot recently at times, so it's only fitting.

"31-08-22 Changelog":

Reworked the selfship information carrd to free up some more elements, so that hopefully I can make it look how I want to when I'm less tired. No information is changed, but please feel free to come and have a read if you'd like!

Cleared inbox due to ask stagnation and inability to come up with answers, plus subsequent guilt. If those who sent the asks really did want them to be answered, you are definitely welcome to resend the asks.

Finally added images for Camille after completing her reference model, plus a reference model render for Ardea, onto my self-insert information carrd. Ardea's reference model is definitely not finished yet outfit-wise, but I like how the render turned out.

Updated Aria's images on the self-insert information carrd to reflect the fact she has a mask again now, even post-KH3. It's just something that feels right for her design; having a mask or scarf on is often a bit of a comfort for me in a way, so that reflects that!

Although I don't have anything particularly directly selfship-related to show, I hope it's alright if I post some of the self-insert renders I've made, as I've found that they have been a helpful distraction to make recently.

I hope that everyone has been well, and I hope to be able to create more selfshipping content soon ^~^

#a call from the void #logistics #creations from the void #made using MMD #this is more of an update post than a ''posting things i have created'' post but I suppose the tags still apply anyway #selfship #selfshipping #heart of the void #from left to right (assuming the formatting is actually retained) the renders I have shown here are of: #self‑insert: dreams and the dusk (camille) #who is one of my skyrim self-inserts and the one I use to selfship with serana #self‑insert: clawed heron (ardea) #who is my dragon quest (specifically DQIX) self-insert and the self-insert I use to selfship with pavo #self‑insert: darkness' champion (aria) #who is one of my kingdom hearts self-inserts and the one I use to selfship with aqua (or anti-aqua in the fallen light AU) #(but she doesn't have this appearance in that AU) #eye contact tw #ask to tag #ardea's lopsided bit of hair on her left is *definitely* blatantly going through her shoulder but it's fine right #I really liked how her eye texture turned out - I made it glowy around the pupil to indicate that she is a celestrian rather than a human #but i'm tired now. things are still not settled here. and i've been more energetic/expressive recently but still not to old levels #so I wish you all a good night (or most applicable time of day for you currently)

[void-kissed]

actually no that last reblog has set off a ramble so let's go down the list

How human are my self-inserts?

(..The actual list is under the readmore, but for most of them the answer is "not fully", ahaha)

Adriana Laverre (Pokémon) - human, but the fact she's originally from the previous timeline and got brought forwards by Anna after dying there probably makes her come across as a bit.. not right. But hey, at least she got cute reverse freckles and fancy Giratina wings from the process. Aria Fiore (Kingdom Hearts, etc.) - not human, because she's a Heartless (so, technically she used to be a human, but isn't anymore). This also applies to her TWEWY version, where she's one of the Shinjuku Reapers (though, again, she was originally a normal exchange student before dying in Shinjuku). Sapphire "Paronet" (Xenoblade Chronicles) - technically human (Gormotti, specifically), but.. also technically a Blade Eater, courtesy of the shards of Avalon's Core Crystal she fell on. Alectra (Genshin Impact) - not human, because she's.. essentially a dead nightingale that got brought back to life through a mixture of emotional and elemental power. So she's an elemental more than anything else. "Lamia" (Genshin Impact) - not human, because she's really a Pyro Abyss Mage! Her current form is a disguise she maintains using magic, similarly to how Enjou does it. Lorenza/"Colombina" (Final Fantasy) - not human, because she's a voidsent! Technically, she's a hybrid of voidsent and the-Thirteenth's-equivalent-to-Miqo'te, like how Zero is a hybrid of voidsent and whatever-the-Thirteenth-calls-Hyur. Calanthe Marsanes (Xenosaga, Xenoblade Chronicles) - human! In Alrest, her accent would imply she's Tantalese, even though she doesn't have the red hair that is commonly seen in people from Tantal. Aline Erica (Xenoblade Chronicles) - human (well, Gormotti, specifically)! Citri Cerinthe (Xenoblade Chronicles) - initially human (or, Homs, strictly speaking, which are not the same as humans because they need ether but basically they're human), but later half-Machina due to being made a Face pilot! Nova Chromalum (Pokémon) - human chosen by a legendary Pokémon (Reshiram, specifically) Catarina di Erinacea (Fire Emblem) - human with a Crest (specifically the lost Crest of the Thorn Dragon) Ardea Volucris (Dragon Quest) - not human, because she's a Celestrian! This is true even after she loses her wings and halo from falling off of the Observatory. Camille Solane (The Elder Scrolls) - initially human (Breton, specifically), but is later turned into a vampire by Serana Lady Telanthera Amaranth (Four Leaf Cloverse) - human! Emily Azalea (Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons) - human (though her boyfriend almost definitely isn't) Seralune (UTAU, etc.) - not human, because she's an UTAUloid, specifically one designed to be like a lunar goddess.

Linaria Volucris/"Ves Fiore" (Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts) - not human, because she's a Celestrian (and that persists even after she loses her halo) "Xiara"/NIL-XIARA (Kingdom Hearts) - not human, because she's a (data-)Nobody MT001524: Echo (Parties Are For Losers) - technically not human, because she's a mutant, but those are more like "humans with powers" Alise Tayle (Four Leaf Cloverse) - not human, because she's fae Carmine the Clever (The Elder Scrolls) - technically not human because she's a Khajiit? Mimi Aster (Kirby, Super Mario) - not human! She doesn't actually know what she is, but she definitely looks human by default despite having the ability to shapeshift. However, she is in fact a magic ancient, which will probably only mean something if you're very into Kirby Cat Teuthis (Splatoon) - not human, because she's an Inkling

Jet Chromalum (Pokémon) - human, even if some suspect she has to be otherwise given that her partner Pokémon is a massive golden Luxray Amber Rylin (The Elder Scrolls) - technically human (Nord, specifically), but is also Dragonborn, so.. "human with the soul of a dragon"? Chiara Verdrose (Four Leaf Cloverse) - technically human as I think of her, but it depends on whether or not witches count as humans in Cloverse, since she is a witch! Elisa Merlot (Scienceverse) - human! Very normal human despite the lab she works in

#a call from the void #heart of the void #selfshipping #self-inserts #no I am not tagging every single one #everyone is here! #echo's info posts #technically #this is.. a long post haha #I think the award of most normal human self-insert probably goes to emily? #but the self-insert who looks most like me is probably catarina. since emily has really long hair

[laurelsofhighever]

5 Questions

For The Falcon and the Rose.

@allisondraste tagged me to answer five questions (thank you!!) about a chosen fic, and hey, I’m always down to talk about my mammoth WIP. In return, I’ll tag @naiatabris, @out-of-the-embers, @skyholdherbalist, @adorable-and-getting-better and @thejeeperswife - only if you feel like it, of course!

1) What was the idea that started the story?

Falcon started from a ‘what if’ idea about how the events of DA:O might have been different without the threat of the Fifth Blight to take attention away from the Fereldan civil war. I had just finished a Cousland playthrough and was awed by how much of the story is relevant to them specifically, and I loved the idea of Rosslyn and Alistair meeting and falling in love no matter how their lives led up to their meeting. Really, it’s a story I wanted to read, but one I couldn’t find anywhere, so as I started thinking seriously about it, it gained a lot of influences from the codex entries and WoT, and I got deep into the worldbuilding - maybe too deep. At least half the details in the story started as questions about Ferelden’s culture, and as the plot grew, it influenced how the characters behaved.

2) Did you make an outline? Did you stick to it?

I started with a vague shape in my head that took me several weeks to solidify into a proper plot, and some of the bigger twists didn’t appear until I started writing properly. I’ve stuck to the main points of the plot so far, because I always knew where I wanted it to go. The main change is in the length, because since starting I’ve discovered a lot more plot points that need to be added in, or expanded, or given their own focus. At the start, I thought 60 chapters would be the upper limit for how long it would be, but since then I’ve added a word count document that keeps track of things for me, and as of right now, that original estimate has expanded to 75 chapters, which may or may not include the epilogue. Unsurprisingly, the detailed planning/first draft is nowhere near finished yet.

3) What’s the favourite part of your story?

To be honest, the whole thing has been my obsession for almost three years now (and I still have a way to go before it’s finished). So far, the parts I’ve been most looking forward to writing are the milestones between Alistair and Rosslyn, because I’m sentimental trash and I love my OTP. Their first meeting, every scene where they realise they’re falling a little deeper for each other, their fights and reunions, are all great because as the story goes on I can show how their reactions change as they learn and as they get closer, and it’s super rewarding any time I go back to early chapters and see how far they still have left to go.

I should also give a special shoutout to all the worldbuilding I put into writing new codex entries for some of the chapters. I’m not sure if anyone else reads them, but I love the context you get from the codexes in the games, and as far as homages go they are so fun to write.

4) Who is your favourite character and why?

Is it cheating to say Alistair and Rosslyn? They’re certainly the characters I’ve learned the most about since starting out, and their scenes have so much flow, especially when they’re together. Rosslyn has so much drive and such a strong belief in justice, but her upbringing means she can get a bit detached from the reality most people live, so Alistair works well as a foil because of his more grounded nature. On the other hand, he has a tendency to doubt himself, so Rosslyn’s trust and encouragement really help to grow his confidence. Really, they’re my favourites because I love writing a relationship that has so much mutual respect and I project really hard onto both of them.

Apart from them, there are some honourable mentions: Guard-Commander Gideon became a bigger character than I was expecting, his experience makes a great mirror against Rosslyn’s naivete, especially in the beginning, with his dour, no-nonsense approach. Ardea Tabris as the voice of common sense when everyone else is talking in abstracts, excellent for getting the plot back on track and driving scenes forward. Cailan has been fun too, because the only words we get from him are the overly optimistic glory speeches at the beginning of Origins that are meant to rouse the troops, so he’s been a challenge of trying to balance that idealism with someone who has experience and vulnerability.

5) Did anything happen that surprised you as you were writing?

How long it keeps getting.

The biggest surprises have come with characters who were meant to be throwaways who have turned into recurring names with their own arcs, and have even managed to solve plot problems on occasion. I’m also writing about ten chapters ahead of what I’m posting, so it’s interesting to see the relationship in pacing, and seeing exactly how things are going to pay off in the future. 

#personal rambling #ask meme thing #the falcon and the rose #allisondraste #long post #my writing

[nizynskis]

17 & 20 🖤🖤🖤

Thank you Ardea! beautiful name!!!

17. Ten friends’ luck no contest that’s all I ever wanted

20. already answered 😺

#asks #ardea tag

[distant-rose-archive-blog]

A Once And Future Thing (2/7)

Notes: Sorry this took so long! I struggled a bit. It’s been a trying week, ladies and gents. Anyway, it’s up and the next chapter might not be until Monday unfortunately. Anyway, thanks to @welllpthisishappening, @peglegsjones and @cynmoon for being awesome and looking this over! Cheers! Summary: Beth’s quest for vengeance against her boyfriend’s killer goes a bit haywire when she and her former best friend Jim Hawkins are sent into thirty years into the past. Now, they must figure out how to find a way back to the future without wrecking the first meeting between Beth’s parents, Emma Swan and Killian Jones.  Rating: T+ Chapters: One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Epilogue  Word Count: 5,700+

“So those are your parents?” Jim whispered to her quietly as they trekked behind Mulan.

“Yes,” Beth answered tersely, not wanting to discuss the matter more than she had to.

“That’s your mother in the red? The blonde?”

Jim didn’t seem to understand that she wasn’t in the mood to have this conversation nor how dangerous it was. She didn’t want to think of what would happen if they were overheard. If Beth had felt like losing her balance, she would have attempted to kick him.

“Yes,” Beth bit out.

“And that’s Captain Hook? Your father?”

“I think this has already been established, Jim,” Beth replied through gritted teeth.

“And those two actually get married?” Jim continued as if he hadn’t heard her.

“In three and a half years’ time, yes.”

“And they’re true love?”

If her hands hadn’t been bound, she would have thrown them up in defeat. She honestly didn’t understand why he felt the need to reiterate all of this.

“Yes,” Beth sighed in defeat. “Confirmed multiple times over the course of the thirty years, some in grizzly and disgusting ways. Or else I wouldn’t be magical or some shit.”

“And they actually produced four children? Really? Them?”

“Seriously what is the point of this line of questioning? You already know all of this!” Beth hissed.

“Huh.” After all of his questioning, his grunt was a bit anticlimactic.

Beth gave him a sour look.

“Huh? That’s all you can say? Huh?”

“Well, yeah, it’s kinda hard to believe, but I can see it. I mean you look startlingly like your mother but with your father’s coloring and a bit thinner and a bit taller. I mean, the hair difference kinda throws it off and perhaps the cosmetics too, but I’m surprised they aren’t at least somewhat suspicious. The name that you threw up there doesn’t help matters. Emma Swan? Elizabeth Swann? Not your finest hour, love.”

“Fuck you, Jim,” Beth replied, but it sounded more tired than pissed off.

Jim chuckled ruefully and this time they were overheard by Mulan who looked back at them to give them a dirty look.

“What’s so funny?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at them.

“Nothing,” Jim replied smoothly. “Just passing the time with a few light jokes, which my partner here doesn’t seem to appreciate.”

“That’s because you can’t tell a joke to save your life,” Beth replied dryly.

“Let’s keep the jokes to a minimum then,” Mulan replied unimpressed.

A silence fell between them as they kept hiking through the woods. It was a hassle to walk with her hands tied in front of her and Beth was almost embarrassed by the amount of times she nearly fell. She was used to walking across decks during the rockiest of seas and during harsh squalls, yet being pulled by her hands had her veering every which way like a drunk monkey.

She glanced over at Jim to see how he was faring and she was surprised to see that his shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. He looked horribly amused more than anything. Beth stared at him in disbelief.

“What the fuck is so funny?” she hissed quietly, not wanting to catch Mulan’s attention again.

“I’ve imagined meeting your parents a thousand ways, love, but this…I never could have foreseen this.”

Beth blinked.

“You imagined meeting my parents?” she asked in disbelief.

Jim’s amusement immediately faded away and was replaced by an expression that Beth could only describe as extremely hurt.

“We’ve been friends for nearly three years, Kid, I would assume that would warrant at least meeting your parents at some point. I mean, you’ve met mine,” he replied with a small shrug.

“I’ve met Long John Silver,” Beth corrected, eyes cutting to his.

“And he’s the closest thing I have to a parent,” Jim responded automatically. “I certainly don’t remember Leland Hawkins, he died before I left the cradle. My mother died when I was at sea the first time with Silver when I was thirteen, so yeah, you’ve met my only living parent. I figured you would do the same courtesy since Will met them and all. I’ve known you longer than Will did.”

“Will was different though,” Beth said quietly.

“As in you were planning on settling down and having 2.5 kids with Will,” Jim concluded. “I didn’t realize that you had your sights set on being a queen. I never pegged you as one for domesticity.”

Beth stopped in her tracks, completely shocked by his words. They cut through her as sharp as any knife and they hurt more than she ever imagined, especially coming from Jim who had always been her pillar even when she never asked him to be. Her halt in movement was ill conceived however because she was almost immediately dragged forward by Mulan and sent crashing face first into the dirt. Beth coughed as she unwillingly ate grass, glaring up at Jim.

“What is your problem?” Mulan hissed, turning around.

“I tripped on a root,” Beth lied smoothly. “It’s hard to balance when your hands are in front of you.”

Mulan picked her up roughly, but made no move to help her aside from that. She merely gave Beth a cold look before she turned back to keep up pace with Aurora, Emma and Snow White.

“Next time, watch where you’re stepping,” she called over her shoulder.

“Beth…” Jim looked at her in concern.

“I don’t want to talk to you right now,” Beth replied, not looking at him. “You had no right to say that.”

“That doesn’t make it any less true,” Jim muttered under his breath and Beth was almost certain he hadn’t intended for her to hear that.

Silence fell between them and Beth took this time to study the man and woman ahead them who would someday be her parents. It was strange seeing them so young and so distant from one another. Beth knew logically that the Emma Swan and the Killian Jones of this timeframe were nothing more than strangers, but her heart ached. They were always a united front all of her life; there wasn’t a damn thing that they didn’t tackle together even if they disagreed. And if they weren’t united in action, more often than not, they were always in each other’s space. Beth couldn’t picture her parents without them touching each other in some shape or form; her mother had a habit of running her fingers against the shorthairs on his neck or rubbing her thumbs against his collarbone. Her father, on the other hand, had always favored tangling his wife’s hair between his fingers or playing with her hands. Even when they sat together, they touched; Beth’s mother enjoyed placing her feet in her father’s lap on the couch or hooking her leg around his at the dinner table. This Emma of this era was not nearly so tactile, trying to keep a large distance between her and Hook.

These people weren’t her parents. They would be someday, but right now, they were little more than strangers wearing their faces. The more Beth realized this, the more she wanted to leave.

“I don’t understand this…” she murmured aloud without thinking.

“What don’t you understand?” Jim asked quietly.

“Why would she send us here? To this time period? I don’t get it. It’s not like she’s a fucking Weeping Angel or something,” Beth muttered as a piece of rebellious hair fell in her face. She glared at it and wished nothing more than to be able to tuck it behind her ear but with her hands tied up, she had to resort to blowing at it like a toddler.

Jim was silent for a moment and Beth was almost surprised by it. Normally he liked to have an answer for everything, which was sometimes good and sometimes bad. It was almost fun to pick his brain because it seemed to work on a different wavelength than hers, but at the same time, he could be a horrible know-it-all.

“I have no bleeding idea what a Weeping Angel is, but I think her plan is self-annihilation…or at least that’s my best guess,” Jim said after a few minutes passed.

“What?”

“Self-annihilation. I’m assuming she sent you here because she knows you’re a goddamn bull in a tea shop and she expects you to wipe out your own existence, which is still a high possibility. One wrong move and that epic ass love story between your parents goes up in smoke. You die by your own hand, wipe yourself from existence and Ardeas lives.”

Beth closed her eyes, sighing heavily. Ardeas was the entire reason she was in the mess she was in. He had tried to assault her in order to get her cache of magic beans and she had responded by chaining him to a rock and dropping him at the bottom of the ocean while he screamed that he was immortal and she would regret this decision. Ardeas was not immortal, but she did come to regret the decision when his mother Circe had taken issue with her son’s death and had made it her mission to make Beth miserable. Considering that Will was dead and she was stuck thirty years in the past, it was fair to say that Circe was succeeding.

“It’s always what it comes down to isn’t it? That I killed him,” Beth responded, licking her chapped lips.

“Pretty much,” Jim said bluntly.

“I suppose that you think I was wrong to do that…” It wouldn’t surprise her if Jim had disagreed with the decision, though he had never made his opinion on it plain before.

“Out of all the idiotic decisions you’ve made in your life, it’s the one I judge the least. He got what he deserved. What you did was justice,” Jim murmured softly.

“And what I’m doing now isn’t?” Beth asked in clarification, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope,” Jim responded simply.

“Nope? That’s all you’re going to say? Just nope? No grand lecture on how you’re right and I’m wrong?” Beth questioned.

“It’s not my job to teach you ethics, Elizabeth,” Jim said impatiently. There was a lot of frustration in his tone and it made Beth bristle. He made her feel like a naughty school child sometimes.

“No, it’s not,” she agreed with some of her own frustration. “You’re not my fucking father.”

Jim made a strangled noise.

“The day that sentence ever comes true in any proverbial or literal form, I would kill myself.”

Beth tried to not to be offended by that.

“Better to kill yourself than to have a daughter like me?”

Jim blinked rapidly and shook his head in disbelief.

“Something like that.”

Another silence fell between them, this one more uncomfortable than the last. Every part of Beth wanted to scream, yell and cry a bit, but she could not. Such an outburst would do nothing for her. She needed to stay calm. She needed to be like Jim; calm, cool, collected and planning each move like she was playing mental chess. Beth hated chess. She had no patience for it. Maybe that was the problem.

“You said that we are at the beanstalk, what did you mean by that?” Jim said quietly, breaking the silence once more.

“Like I said this is my parents’ first meeting,” Beth replied tersely. “Their first adventure was them climbing the beanstalk to get a golden compass.”

“Beth, I need to know more than that. We need to know more than that. We need to keep the original events as intact as possible if we’re going to survive this. You know that, right?”

Beth made a low noise in the back of her throat.

“Of course, I know that. I’m not a fucking moron, so stop treating me like one,” she snapped.

“I know you’re not a moron. Stop getting so offended all the time,” Jim replied tiredly. “In fact, you’re clever as hell when you want to be, but you’re impulsive and this is emotional for you. You’re thinking with your heart and not with your head. We need your head right now. So, what do you know about the beanstalk?”

“All I know is that Mom and Grandma Snow were trying to go back to Storybrooke because they landed here by accident, much like I did three years ago. Anyway, Dad met Mom, Mom didn’t trust Dad but he knew how to get to them back home with a golden compass at the top of a bean stalk. So, despite their differences, they climbed the beanstalk together and got the compass then Mom and Grandma Snow were able to go home. Dad ended up in Storybrooke somehow, but not with them. I don’t really remember. It was their go-to story whenever I had to do a school project with someone I didn’t like.”

“That’s…not entirely helpful,” Jim sighed.

“Well, that’s all I got for you. Sorry,” Beth muttered under her breath.

“I know, I know, it’s just…” Jim let out a small huff.

Beth knew just by the look on his face that if his hands hadn’t been tied in front of him that they would be running through his sandy brown hair. He had a tendency to do that when he was anxious and right now, Jim Hawkins was more than a little anxious.

“It’s just we’re screwed,” Beth finished for him with a sigh of her own.

“You said it, not me,” Jim replied quickly.

“You didn’t have to say it, you were practically telegraphing it. I know your faces, J. I know that you’re privately thinking we’re fucked whenever you scrunch your eyebrows together like that,” Beth sighed.

“Scrunch my eyebrows together?” Jim asked, looking bewildered. “I didn’t realize I did that.”

“Well, you do,” Beth replied. “Like this.”

She furrowed her brows together purposely and set her lips into a deep frown, copying his expression. Jim’s eyebrows rose as he studied her and his mouth opened, making him look like a gaping fish.

“I do not look like that,” he said with a shake of his head.

“You totally do,” Beth responded, trying to keep from snickering.

“If you two don’t shut up soon, we’re going to separate you,” Mulan called from in front of them, rearing back to glare at them.

“I feel like I’m in grade school again,” Beth muttered under her breath.

“They bound you and dragged you in grade school?” Jim asked in disbelief.

“No, but me and my friend Sylvie were constantly being yelled at to shut up,” Beth replied with a small chuckle.

“Ah. That I can believe,” Jim grinned. “You are a bit on the loquacious side, love.”

“Are you calling me a Chatty Kathy, Hawkins?” Beth asked in amusement.

“A chatty what?” He looked confused.

“That’s it!” Mulan fumed, stopping and turning around. She jerked the rope, causing both Beth and Jim to stumble a bit. “Emma! Snow! Stop, we’re doing a prisoner switch because these two can’t stop plotting together.”

“We weren’t plotting,” Beth responded with a roll of her eyes. “Believe me, neither of us can plot to save our lives. Our battle plans last like two seconds. We’re more the make-it-up-as-we-go-along type.”

“I honestly don’t care, you’re just annoying me,” Mulan responded with her own eye roll. “You’re definitely going up front. You’ve got a mouth on you and I don’t appreciate it.”

“Really?” Beth smirked. “Most people do.”

Jim groaned beside her.

“You really couldn’t keep that one to yourself, could you?” he asked with a shake of his head.

“You know me too well,” Beth replied cheekily.

“I’m so not dealing with this anymore,” Mulan growls before shoving her rope at Emma. “You deal with her.”

“You’re seriously making me deal with Captain Flirt and Little Miss Flirt as a collective?” Emma groaned. “They’re just going to be flirting the entire time and it’s going to be gross.”

“Trust me, you don’t have to worry about that with him,” Beth muttered under her breath.

“You wound me, Black Swan,” Hook grinned, leering at her.

“Black Swan? Where the fuck did you get Black Swan?” Beth asked with a raise of her eyebrows.

“Well, you’re a Swan and she’s a Swan,” Hook said, tilting his head towards Emma. “She’s the Gold Swan because of her gorgeous blonde locks and you’re the Black Swan because of your own beautiful black hair. Being between the two of you lovelies…well, that’s just every man’s fantasy.”

Beth pulled a face and looked to Jim for support, but found her companion was biting his lip to keep from busting a gut. She glared at him. Nothing about this situation was funny. It was gross; so gross that not even Game of Thrones would touch it. Or maybe they would. The jury was still out on that one.

“If you let me out of this bind, I will beat him for you,” Beth remarked to Emma with pursed lips.

“Tempting, but no,” Emma remarked. “We need him. You, on the other hand, are expendable so I would be on my best behavior.”

Beth sighed. She had the strong urge to scream again.

“Don’t worry, love, I’ll wear you down, both you and the other gorgeous Swan,” Hook smirked.

“Keep dreaming,” Beth bit with a roll of her eyes.

“Now that’s something you don’t have worry about,” Hook winked.

Beth blanched, but said nothing. She didn’t want to add any more fuel to the fire. She couldn’t help but wonder how her father would react to see his younger self acting so aggressively flirtatious with his own daughter; knowing him, he would probably be mortified and run himself through with his sword.

They moved forward again, this time with Beth walking next to Hook instead of Jim. She tried not to look at him, but she couldn’t help herself. It was so strange to see him look so young. Her father had always been a handsome man, but as long as Beth could remember her father had silver hair, noticeable laugh lines and crow’s feet. Her father was a man that smiled with both his lips and his eyes and was full of warmth.

This man smirked but his eyes had a hardness to them that Beth had never experienced before. It made her feel cold. On top of that, she felt more like she was staring at shorter and skinnier version of her brother than her father. She always knew that Harrison had an eerie resemblance to him, but she never really saw it until now. Though Harrison was not one for leather nor did he swagger, not like Hook. It was just a strange experience.

“You said you were a pirate,” Hook said after a moment.

“I am,” Beth confirmed, trying to keep her answers short.

He snorted in disbelief. Beth nearly gaped at the sound.

“You don’t believe me?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Hook smirked at him, his eyes slowly taking in her form. It made her skin crawl. No father should look at their daughter like that. Ever.

“Well, you look the part, but there’s more to it than that,” Hook replied, licking his lips. “I think you believe you’re a pirate, but you strike me as more as some rich noble’s spoiled daughter who is rebelling against Daddy in hopes he’ll pay attention to you.”

Beth’s nostrils flared.

“Is that what you think?” she asked tightly.

“You’re too well-bred and too demanding to be anything else, love,” he smirked.

“You think I’m well-bred? My mother would heartily disagree with you,” Beth replied tersely. “And too demanding? You wouldn’t say that if I was a man.”

“If you were a man, I would say you’re an ass,” Hook replied. “Take it as a compliment, love. I like demanding women. They know what they want and they don’t keep you guessing.”

“If my hands weren’t bound, I would run you through,” Beth responded. “You know nothing.”

“No,” he agreed. “Not yet, but I’ll learn. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. Makes you a bit of an open book.”

Beth nearly stopped at his words.

“Fuck you,” she spat.

“I’m delighted with the offer, love, but a man likes to be wooed,” Hook responded easily.

She made a noise of frustration. Beth honestly couldn’t believe how much of an asshole he was. She couldn’t believe this infuriating man would someday be her father; the man who was patient and taught her how to fight, tucked her in at night with a gentle kiss and sometimes even braided her hair. She saw nothing of that man in this one. It made her heart sink more into her chest.

“Given up already, love?” Hook taunted. “That doesn’t seem like you.”

“You don’t know me,” Beth replied snappishly.

“I’m starting to. Like I said, open book,” Hook replied easily. “Shall I prove it?”

“Something tells me that you’re going to anyway,” she replied dryly.

“Quite right,” he grinned. “Like I said, you’re wealthy. Lived well. Well-bred and used to people following your orders. You like being in charge, but you also crave danger. Hence the interest in piracy and your current…risky business. Though you’ve got some steel to you. You’re not a fragile flower or you would be complaining about the rope burns by now.”

Beth couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“What’s so funny?” Hook asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Steel,” she mused aloud without much thinking. “Dad says that too. He says that I was born with stars in my eyes, steel in my bones and the sea in my veins.”

“I’m guessing dear sweet Daddy is a merchant sailor?”

Beth couldn’t help it; she laughed heartily at that, amusement dancing in her eyes. Merchant sailor? Beth couldn’t imagine the man in front of her nor her father being happy with that descriptor.

“No. Not at all,” Beth snickered. “My old man was a pirate. My mother could be considered noble though, I guess. But my old man would be insulted to be called that.”

Her own mother would have been insulted by the descriptor as well, but regardless of how she felt about, Emma Swan was technically a noble considering she was born a princess.

“Hence the desire for piracy, then. I was right, a Daddy’s Girl. A pirate absconding himself a noble lady. He must be the quite the legend,” Hook mused.

“He is in his own mind,” Beth snorted.

“Your father suffers from delusions of grandeur?”

“Some would say so…” she snickered, licking her own chapped lips as she smirked.

“As entertaining as this conversation has been,” Emma said dryly, turning back to look at him. “I need Hook.”

“I knew you would warm up to me, love,” Hook smirked, arching a rakish eyebrow. “How do you want me?”

Beth was used to her father flirting with her mother. Normally she gave as good as she got and her younger brother Neddy would pretend to gag, causing them all to laugh. However, this Emma Swan was unmoved and unimpressed. She didn’t smile, just huffed in impatience.

“Cut the crap,” Emma said shortly. “Are we going in the right direction or not? How far are we from the compass?”

“We’re going in the right direction, so don’t you worry, love,” Hook replied easily. “We are just a few hours walk.”

“A few hours walk,” Emma repeats. “How much are we talking?”

“Judging by our pace, another five or six hours, give or take,” he said with a small frown.

“Five or six hours? How the hell do you know where we’re going then!” Emma demanded, looking more and more irritated.

“Don’t insult me, Swan,” Hook replied with a scoff. “I’m a seafaring man. I know my sense of direction. The compass is north. And north is that way!”

Hook pointed in the direction in front of them with his bound hands.

“And how do you know that?” Emma hissed. “It’s not like you have a GPS.”

“GPS?” Hook looked bewildered.

“He knows because every moron knows that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west,” Beth replied with a roll of her eyes. She gestured towards the sky with her head. “It’s late and the sun is in that direction. That’s west. He’s right, we’re going north.”

“I didn’t ask you,” Emma snapped.

“No, but that’s the answer nonetheless,” Beth replied with a snort.

“We should make camp here for the night…” Snow White said, breaking the tension between the three of them. “Sun is setting in maybe an hour or so. Walking in the dark is a bad idea. Best to continue this tomorrow.”

“Here? Really?” Emma asked, raising her eyebrow at her mother.

“Why not?” Snow White replied with a shrug. “I mean, it’s not the best place to camp but it’s also not the worst.”

Emma let out a heavy sigh before handing the ropes off to Snow White and pulling out her sword. She paused only to give Hook and Beth a dirty look.

“Watch them, I’ll make sure the area is secure and we haven’t been followed,” Emma commanded, scanning their surroundings and pressing her sword through the bushes.

“You think Cora’s following us?” Snow White questioned.

“Possibly. Probably not, but you never know, maybe Will Turner is,” Emma replied almost jokingly.

Beth stiffened at her words; her heart aching in her chest. She was a fucking idiot. She should have chosen a different name. She hadn’t been thinking about the Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner romance when she had made the Keira Knightly character her chosen alias. It had been in oversight of epic proportions.  

Emma immediately noticed her reaction and her joking demeanor grew more serious.

“So there’s a Will Turner then.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

At one point in Beth’s life, she had an excellent poker face. However, it appeared that was no longer the case. Another unwelcome change in her life since Will’s passing.

“Will Turner?” Snow White questioned, brows furrowed.

“Will Turner,” Emma repeated, and it felt like another knife to Beth’s gut. “The epic trio slash love triangle of Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner in the movies. I wasn’t certain there was one, but her face says it all.”

Beth closed her eyes. She didn’t them open to know that Emma was gesturing to her. She swallowed sharply. If her skin felt like it had been crawling when Hook had looked at her, it now felt like it was running off her bones.

“Where’s your boyfriend?” Emma asked, nudging Beth’s shoulder with her blade.

“He’s not here,” Beth said roughly.

“I find that hard to believe,” Emma snorted. “If your relationship is anything like the movies, he wouldn’t let you out of his sight.”

“That was true once upon a time,” Beth replied, biting her lip and opening her eyes. She stared her would-be mother in the eye. “But that’s no longer possible.”

“Why?” Emma asked, her voice demanding.

“Because he’s dead,” Beth snapped. Despite trying to keep her composure, all the anger and all the pain came out.

The eye contact between them was long and uncomfortable especially when Beth wanted nothing more than to scream. Whatever Emma saw in her, Beth didn’t know, but she gave her a quiet stiff nod. She put her sword back in its sheath.

Out of the corner of her eye, Beth could see Hook looking at her strangely. She straightened her back, making a point not to look at him or anyone. She couldn’t handle it right now. She felt like a livewire, vulnerable and raw.

“If we’re going to stay here tonight, we’re going to need to secure them,” Emma said, gesturing to Hook, Beth and Jim. “Tie them to the tree or something.”

“I’ll take care of them,” Mulan said, jerking Jim forward with his rope. “I’ll secure him. Then the girl and then Hook, if Snow will assist.”

“I have no problem with that,” Snow White replied, looking at Beth and Hook out of the corner of her eye distastefully.

Beth was used to her grandmother looking at her in disappointment or exasperation. They never really clicked. Snow’s idea of bonding was shopping for frilly dresses, having heartfelt conversations and talking about how to style Beth’s hair. Beth preferred talking about sword techniques, trying to climb up trees one-handed and out drinking her “cousins.” They loved each other, they just weren’t close. In all of Beth’s years, her grandmother had never looked at her like she was something distasteful like she was right now. It made her feel even more hollow.

“What can I do?” Aurora asked.

“Sit and be quiet,” Emma replied with little patience.

“But I want to help!” Aurora insisted and the whiny tone in her voice gritted on Beth’s nerves.

“Then collect firewood,” Snow White said in a cool and patient tone.

“Just collect firewood?” Aurora asked, slightly offended with being given such a menial task.

“Aurora, just do it,” Emma snapped.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Mulan hissed at Emma, eyes flashing.

“We don’t have time to coddle her. We need to get settled so we get moving quicker. I want that compass and to get back to my son. Nothing else. I’m not here to play nice,” Emma replied, narrowing her eyes at Mulan.

“How much do you want to bet that we could take the lot of them, love?” Hook’s voice murmured in Beth’s ear.

Beth nearly jumped out of her skin. She didn’t realize he was that close to her. It was unnerving that he had managed to get this far into her personal space without her notice. For the time during this entire insane experience, she felt genuinely wary of him.

“It’s three trained swords against one trained sword, a bowman and two unskilled women is good odds,” she muttered back. “But I’m not staging a break away. That’s not my game here.”

“We don’t need the navy man, love,” Hook whispered. “Just you and me. The princess is more of a burden than help to them. The brunette seems feisty but soft. The other Swan, while gorgeous, isn’t familiar with a sword as you cleverly pointed out earlier. The warrior is the tricky one, but we could manage.”

“In a hypothetical situation, sure,” she responded. “I’m not leaving him. I can’t leave him. He wouldn’t leave me. Not now. Not ever. Even though he should. And I’m not doing this. So, forget it.”

“What if I told you I could bring you to a treasure unlike your wildest dreams? A true giant’s horde, we’re talking. I think we could make quite the team, love. I think you’d find me a better and more exciting companion that big, tall and boring back there. What do you say?” he replied, stepping closer into her space.

Beth took a step back, glaring at him.

“I would say that you have no idea just how big my wildest dreams are,” she said firmly. “And no. It’s not happening, Hook. Besides, I thought you didn’t think I was a real pirate. What did you call me? A rich noble’s daughter rebelling against her father in hopes he would look at her?”

“I misjudged you,” Hook admitted.

“You could be misjudging me now,” she responded, turning away to watch Mulan tie up Jim. He wasn’t focused on his captor at all, but watching Beth and Hook warily.

“No…I don’t think so. Just answer me this…How did he die? Your Will?”

Beth sucked on her teeth at the question. If her hands hadn’t been tied, she would have punched him.

“Swann? How did he die?” Hook asked again, more insisted.

Beth let in a heavy breath, debating in her head whether or not she should answer him. His bound hands nudged at her side. He wouldn’t let himself be ignored. She hated him for it, but it was typical of her father. He refused to let her be if he knew she was upset. This man wasn’t her father though, not yet.

“He was killed. A spell meant for me killed him,” she monotonously.

“His killer?”

“She breathes…for now,” she whispered.

“You don’t want treasure. You want revenge,” Hook said softly, looking at her with sudden understanding. She wanted to hit him even more for it.

“I want justice,” she said firmly.

“Sometimes they’re the same thing, love.”

Beth didn’t get a chance to respond as Mulan somehow materialized at her side and jerked her towards a tree adjacent from where Jim was situated. She winced slightly as she was pushed roughly against the tree.

“You think you would be a bit more thoughtful considering that we willingly surrendered,” Beth muttered under her breath.

“Maybe, but I don’t like you,” Mulan responded easily.

Beth rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She watched as Aurora carelessly tossed sticks into the middle of the camp. She nearly snorted. It reminded her of the time they went camping and Neddy pouted constantly at being handed small tasks because he wasn’t as “big” as the rest of them. The thought of Neddy made her heart yearn for home, her real home. She wanted her mother to run her fingers through her hair and unknot the tangles. She wanted her father to cuddle her and whisper a story that she had heard a million times before. She wanted Harrison playing his guitar and singing to her something off a Jimi Hendrix album and Wes to crack a snarky joke while Neddy placed a whoopee cushion under someone’s chair.

Most of all she wanted Will and his radiant smile; the one that took up his entire face and made the corners of his eyes crinkle. She wanted to hear the laugh of pure joy he made that one time after they swam in the ocean naked during a warm afternoon on his family’s private beach. She wanted his kisses that were like a rip tide; taking you by surprise and pulling you in before you even had the chance to comprehend how it happened. But Will was gone and he wasn’t coming back.

And if she didn’t think fast, she wouldn’t get back to her family. Her real family. Not these people who were, but weren’t because those events hadn’t happened to them yet.

“Beth…” Jim called softly. “Are you okay?”

And for the first time in six months, Beth answered that question honestly. Whether it was because it was Jim, who had always been her rock and seen her at her lowest, asked or if she answered without truly thinking about it for once, she didn’t know. However, there something both liberating and almost physically painful about it.

“No. I’m not.”

#captain swan #cs ff #cs fanfic #cs fanfiction #cs fic #cs future fic #cs children #little pirates #little pirates fic #my fic #my shit #beth jones #jim hawkins #a once and future thing