I have been playing a lot of crystal chronicles with @museworthymelatonin and some of our other roommates and I finally made a Yuke character,,, I love yukes so much
His name is Kulophis, It's a combination of the Alur word for Creek (Kulo) and 'ophis' which is just latin for 'snakelike'
He owns a hookah bar where caravanners can come to rest during their journey, when he's not caravanning himself
When he isn't at his bar or caravanning, he also does research into the Miasma, and loves to cook for people!
Fandom: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles (OC centric)
A/N: Not too whumpy, but I feel this still applies on this blog LOL. I mean, nightmares suck right? Better give it to my sweet poor guy! Also, it's Gulru and Rae's debut on this blog!!! I loved these two, and it's been a while since I wrote them so. Yeah!
I only own Rae and Gulru. Everything else belongs to Square Enix.
CWS: Nightmares, crying, romantic Caretaker x Whumpee, male whumpee, referenced death, referenced kidnapping, referenced slavery, tied up, food mention
ENJOY!
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I'll Always Be Here
He couldn't move.
The Thundara spell had paralyzed Gulru, preventing him from moving his body. The electricity sparked around him, and if he moved a muscle, the spell did its work, shocking him slightly. His breathing grew heavy and quickly, as he tried to breathe to no avail thanks to the panic attack rearing its head.
In front of him was Jack Moschet, grinning wide and with hatred filling his eyes, his arms crossed as he watched Gulru struggle. Behind Jack was Gulru's dear Rae, tied to the large, broken pillar, his hands wrenched behind his back. The Clavat's eyes were wide with fear and guilt, as he watched Gulru struggle to stand.
It hit Gulru then. Gulru tried to rescue Rae from Jack's clutches, but he too was caught. Rae was bait for Gulru, and the Yuke fell for the trap, hook, line, and sinker.
"Stupid bird," Jack mocked. "Don't you realize what you've done?"
Gulru flinched at Jack's voice, wanting to scoot away, but due to the paralysis, he couldn't. He whimpered, wanting to get far away from his former master as soon as possible. He needed to get away. He needed to save Rae.
"P-please…" Gulru stuttered, "Let Rae go! Y-you got me, just let him go, please!"
"And let him come after me once I'm through with you?" Jack laughed. "Ha! You're so stupid as always, boy!"
Tears began to fall down from the eyes of his helm, as Gulru whimpered and sniffled. This couldn't be happening. All he wanted was Rae back. But because of his foolishness, he'd never see Rae again. And it was all his fault.
"For what you've done to me," Jack growled, raising his gigantic hand. His claws shone in the sunlight that peeked over the broken roof of Moschet's Mansion. "I'll kill you right here!"
"NO!" Gulru could hear Rae scream out from behind Jack. Rae strained and struggled against his bonds, as tears fell down his face. He sobbed before he begged, "Don't kill him, please! Gulru! GULRU!"
Gulru shook his head, as more tears continued to flow down his helm. No. No no no. This couldn't be happening. He didn't want to die like this. Not when Rae was in danger. Not when he had just tasted freedom for the first time. Not like this.
Jack's claws flew down, aiming straight for Gulru's neck—
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Gulru gasped as he sat up, sweat beading down his helm. If he had eyes, they would be wide as saucers right now. His heart pounded, as he breathed heavily from the nightmare he had.
Wait… nightmare?
Gulru glanced at his surroundings. It was mostly dark, but he could still see where he was. He was in the tent that the caravanners set up for the night, with everyone still asleep in their sleeping bags. Beside him, also sleeping in a sleeping bag, was Rae, alive and safe.
Alive and safe…
Gulru placed a wing to his chest, trying to calm himself down from the nightmare he had. Tomorrow was another day of collecting myrrh—he needed to sleep. But his racing heart wouldn't calm down. He tried to take a few deep breaths to calm himself, something that Rae had taught him whenever he got scared or nervous. But his racing heart continued to pound in his chest. He sighed.
He wasn't going to get any sleep at this rate. He needed some fresh air.
He carefully crawled out of his own sleeping bag, not wanting to wake the others. He didn't want to wake them over something so trivial as a nightmare, so it would be best to let them rest. His eyes adjusted to the dark then, as he carefully stepped over his comrades until he reached the entrance of the tent. Quietly unzipping the flap, he left the tent before zipping it back up; he didn't want to let the breeze wake his friends up.
He sighed, before turning to the remains of the campfire. Smoke rose from the gathered burnt wood, with small embers stuck to their tips. He looked ahead to see the carriage, the Paopamous also asleep. The carriage was the same as it was—at least the Striped Bandits hadn't found them here and tried to steal from the carriage.
He sat on one of the logs that were around the small campfire, watching the embers and black smoke slowly rise from the remains. His mind tried to focus, to focus away from the terrible nightmare he had. But every time he tried to think of something else, that nightmare came back. How Jack had attempted to kill him. Right in front of Rae, no less. And Rae… seeing Rae scared broke his heart. He always boasted how he was brave and would never back down. But at that moment, seeing Rae crying and fearful for Gulru's life scared the Yuke more than anything else.
And it was all Gulru's doing. He was caught because he was reckless trying to rescue Rae. And now not only was Gulru traumatized from that ordeal, Rae was as well.
"Because of you."
Jack's words to him before he attempted to kill Gulru echoed in his head.
"Because of you."
It kept repeating in his mind. Gulru held his helm with his wings, trying to shut out his former master's voice.
"Because of you. Because of you. Because of you."
It had been a year since Jack was killed after that incident. Why was his voice still haunting Gulru? Why?
Tears began to form in the eyes of his helm, as he sniffled. His body shook, as the voice continued to blame him for what had happened.
He tried to hold in a sob, but he failed to, as he held his face in his wings. His crying was muffled, careful not to be too loud as he continued to cry. The nightmare repeated itself in his mind, as he cried and cried.
"Gulru?"
Gulru stopped suddenly; he would have widened his eyes in surprise and shock if he had them. With trembling wings, he removed them from his wet helm before turning his head.
Peeking out from behind the flap of the tent was Rae, a small frown on his face. Upon seeing how wet his boyfriend's helm was, his eyes widened. He left the tent fully then, turning for a moment to zip the flap up, before he turned back to Gulru.
"R-Rae?" Gulru questioned, his helm red in embarrassment. Oh Cosmos, did he hear him cry? "D-did I wake you? I'm sorry, I didn't m-mean to—"
"No, it's okay," Rae whispered, "you didn't wake me up, I promise. I noticed you were gone and I had to check up on you." The Clavat studied Gulru's helm, to which Gulru looked away shyly. He didn't want Rae to see that he was crying over a dumb nightmare. "...You're crying."
Gulru shook his head, as if denying that he was crying. "I-I was… it's—"
"Oh Gul," Rae said with a voice full of sympathy and worry. He walked towards the log Gulru was sitting in before joining the Yuke. He took Gulru's wing, gently squeezing it; it was Rae's way of telling Gulru that everything was okay, that he was safe. "What happened? Who made you cry?"
Gulru frantically shook his head at the last question. He knew how protective Rae was to Gulru; he never forgot the one time a Selkie had yelled at Gulru to the point of tears, and Rae threatened the Selkie to apologize to the Yuke. It nearly got the group kicked out of the town due to Rae's actions.
"N-no one did," Gulru finally said after a few seconds. "I…" He paused, unsure if he should say what had happened. Would Rae be annoyed or laugh at him over his problem? It was so trivial—nightmares had happened to Gulru before, and they never bothered him as much as this one.
But feeling Rae's warm hand and his worried expression pushed Gulru to at least tell him. Rae never judged him during the few years they knew each other. He wouldn't judge him over something like this.
"I-I had a nightmare," Gulru sighed, tears beginning to form in his eye holes again.
Rae only nodded, squeezing Gulru's wing. A cue to keep going.
"Jack… he kidnapped you," Gulru continued, his voice slowly cracking, "a-and I tried to save you, but he caught me… and he killed me. You were tied up a-and you couldn't do anything… I was scared, you were scared, and I-I…" He couldn't hold the tears any longer, as he buried his face with his free wing and began to sob.
Rae's frown intensified, scooting closer to Gulru. He released his hold on Gulru's other wing, before wrapping an arm around the trembling Yuke.
"Hey…" Rae soothed, "it's okay. It's just a nightmare. We're both safe."
"B-but," Gulru hiccupped, sniffling as he tried to wipe away the tears. They kept coming, however. "It was all my fault. If I-I had paid more attention, you wouldn't have gotten kidnapped and hurt. None of that would have happened if I wasn't s-so stupid—"
"Gulru," Rae piped up firmly, shocking the Yuke. Gulru turned to see Rae's face, noticing the narrowed eyes. He wanted to scoot away, feeling that he made Rae angry at him, but Rae held firm. "Don't ever call yourself stupid again."
"...What?" Gulru whimpered.
"It hurts me to see you depreciate yourself, Gul," Rae continued, his narrowed eyes changing into concerned ones. "You didn't do anything. Jack is the one at fault in all of that, not you. And even if you are at fault, you fixed it by coming for me. You even killed Jack by yourself." He leaned on Gulru, his head on the Yuke's shoulder. "You saved me, Gulru. And I'm alive. You're alive. We're both safe. You're my hero that day, and even now."
Gulru sniffled, the tears finally stopping. He wiped away a stray tear that fell, before he asked, "Y-you think so?"
"I know so, Gul," Rae confirmed. "You're brave, and strong in your magic… you're definitely a hero to me."
"...Rae," Gulru whispered, reaching out to hold Rae's hand again. The Clavat took it, squeezing his wing. "I-I'm sorry that I made you worry."
"It's okay," Rae whispered back, a small smile on his face. "Just know that I'll always be here. Always."
"And the same goes to you too, dear," Gulru chuckled, scooting closer to his beloved. If he had a mouth, he would be smiling. Smiling that he was lucky to have a boyfriend like Rae.
At the corner of Gulru's eye, he spotted a small bright light shining from across the hill. He gasped, seeing the sun slowly rising from behind the hill. The sun's rays shone, its light brightening up the dirt roads and the trees, giving them more color. It was beautiful; it shone just like the giant crystal that Gulru had seen in Tipa. How long were they sitting here, talking it out? Gulru wasn't sure. But he didn't mind at all.
"Wow," Rae piped up in awe, his eyes sparkling. "It's been a while since I saw the sunrise. This is beautiful!"
"I-it is," Gulru agreed. Despite seeing it many times, Gulru never took the sunrise for granted; after over a decade as Jack's slave, he missed the little things such as this.
The two watched the sunrise together, cuddled up to each other and enjoyed the view. It wasn't until a few hours later did the two heard stirring in the tent nearby.
Rae reluctantly released his hold on Gulru before standing, much to the Yuke's disappointment. But he understood why; it was another day of collecting myrrh.
"I gotta go make some breakfast," Rae said, stretching his arms up with a sigh.
"I-I can help," Gulru offered, also standing. "I got enough ingredients to make some apple fritters."
Rae smiled at his beloved, nodding to accept his offer. "Sounds great! Thanks, Gully."
Gully… another nickname. That's so cute.
The two began their work on breakfast, their bond stronger than ever after that night.
lays in a snowy field under a soft cotton paintstroke sky and stares into the clouds until he feels like he could fall asleep and dream of something far away and warm and maybe scaled, or feathered or furred, and scarlet light through wings wrapped protective around me, but all so far away
rain taps against the window. cold, damp. shift of felt over jacket, shivering little human. A tail slithers from the shadows to enfold him, drawn in against a warm hearth of scales and gentle firelight, nosed over by concerned snout and big gentle eyes. more loved than he knows.
breathing soft, repeating, soft, soft. Growls that rumble below and above like benevolent thunder-rhythm with each soughing breath, so warm and so present and surrounding you in a sense of being seen. noticed. thought of. protected. he can't really communicate any of it. more loved than he knows.
protests softly, this is ridiculous, he thinks
why would something out of myth give a lick about something like me? what have I done to deserve that? and it's the same answer as love will ever echo, that he simply was himself, even if that isn't always the best thing
Anis are bizarre, coal-black cuckoos with long floppy tails and unique, curiously tall, flattened bills. Groove-billed occurs in a variety of open and semi-open habitats in tropical lowlands and foothills, typically staying low in shrubs and grasses. Gregarious and not particularly graceful; usually seen crashing around awkwardly in small groups.
groove billed anis are a hilarious cuckoo situation where they ended up laying their eggs in one another’s nests instead of anyone else’s. they hang out together in groups of up to five pairs until a nest gets built (sometimes by committee, sometimes they just hang around hopefully until someone does it all on their own) then they start sneaking over and laying an egg in at a time. the females who lay for the first time will sometimes flip prior eggs out of the nest like ‘oh i KNOW this one isn’t mine! away it goes’ but eventually everyone’s laid a couple eggs in there and is stuck with the mutual hostage situation. then they take turns incubating until all the kids hatch and everyone pitches in on feeding them, because no one knows which of the kids are theirs so they all might as well.
they also like to do a team handshake where they clump up and mutually make a low bubbling noise together, to signal group affiliation. go team!
Also their eggs are incredibly beautiful. They’re a very pretty blue color, but covered by a white chalky outer layer that is easily scratched off, so they end up in various stages of in-between.
romaincrisis
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vaporwave
discoholicmusic
snowghoul
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stormborns
kianamaiart
