An Introduction!
⚠️ WARNING: YAP AHEAD ⚠️
Hiya! The name's Aurora-Hestia, though feel free to call me either of those names, or just Auri, if you like; I go by she/her, they/them, and it/its. I'm an autistic (and very ADHD) girl-adjacent thing, writer, general nerd, and also very pleased to meet you! Most of what I do here is related to the aforementioned general nerdery, specifically, that of the fanfic variety, which if you'll indulge me I'd like to tell you a little about! I've been a writer of original fiction for most of my life, but from about late autumn of 2022 through to summer of 2024 I'd been dealing with a pretty severe burnout mixed with writer's block, leaving me unable to engage with my writing -- something I've long described as the only thing I've ever wanted to do with my future.
So, what changed? Well, since that summer, it seems that I have Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to thank for busting me out of that art jail. I've rarely interacted with fanfiction, as a reader or a writer, except for a very brief stint with Destiny 2 back in late 2021 (which has, if you're wondering, now returned to the realm of 'very extensive headcanon'), and yet, as I was playing through SV, something about it reached out, grabbed me by the heart, and refused to let go.
The result of that metaphorical thunderbolt of inspiration is the topic of my yapping today: a story called Terastallized, a retelling and reimagining of Scarlet and Violet, written by myself and by my coauthor (slash wonderful, incredibly creative girlfriend). Its main character is Helia Persephone Brillante, an artist, trans girl, and technically a heavily-rewritten version of Juliana. Helia's not doing so hot -- her life's taken a turn for the worse in her most recent school year at Opelucid Academy, one which culminated in an unceremonious, very much unwilling coming out to her family, and her not exactly affirming father, at that. Her mom's had her back, though, and the two of them have just recently moved to Paldea, in no small part thanks to an old friend of her mom's helping Helia to get into Uva Academy. Things might finally be looking up for Helia, but she's not willing to let herself hope just yet -- not after everything. Change is coming, though, whether Helia likes it or not, and as the school year begins, something much stranger than gender dysphoria and chronic anxiety begins to emerge. Otherworldly music, ancient monsters, gay panic, and a certain dragon who maybe likes sandwiches a little too much are all waiting for her as she sets out on her journey -- and I'd be very delighted if you'd join her on it!
If you made it this far, thank you! I do apologize for the absolute yap of this introduction; I am, uh, a rather verbose and long-winded person -- something to be aware of if you're planning on sticking around. On that note, if you'd like to read Terastallized (or even just give it a try), first of all, thank you very much, and second of all, I've provided a link below - I'd love to hear what you think about it, and to have you along for the ride :) At the moment, the first seven chapters of its first arc, The Flowers of Fall, are available on my Ao3. My work has been a little plagued by a few hiatuses as of late, but I'm doing my best to get back in the saddle, and new stuff should hopefully be coming soon.
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon!
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
