#aetherose

[abyssmalice]

@aetherose: Starin' at you resource hoarder /silly

(resource hoarding? nooooo........ i have noooo idea what you mean :3)

[bloodtwin]

@aetherose : It's been… not all that long since Nimue first arrived at the Cult of Bhaal, delivered by Sceleritas Fel from the Church of Corellon Larethian that was left a bloody spectacle by her hands. Once a holy priestess in training, now an ice sorceress drenched in sin.

Well, in truth, that was always what she was destined to be; that much she knows now. But it still hurts. A lot. Everything she ever knew is gone because of her; everything she ever believed has been shattered to pieces by the revelation of her heritage. Her true father. And her true family; other Bhaalspawns, extended family she never once dreamed of having.

Although none of them are quite like her… all but one. Only one other who was also born of Bhaal's very own gore and faced the same urges, as Sceleritas had explained. Puck.

And now she stood here with Puck; in some corner of the temple where few others went, for some peace away from all the chaotic goings-on. Because Nimue admitted she felt… overwhelmed by it all. "…I don't know how to be what they all expect of me," she began quietly, hesitantly. "I'm… used to expectations. Everyone always expected so much from me, from as far as I can remember."

Nimue's gaze is locked to the floor, her brows furrowed. "But it's… all of this is… so much. None of this quite feels real. I'm the daughter of a god, I'm supposed to help in killing the world in his name and its-" Her words grow shaky.

"For so long I felt guilty for these urges. Believed something was fundamentally wrong with me. Now I'm meant to embrace them and live up to the expectations of my divine father and its…" She trails off, words failing her now as she hugs herself, trembling; her thoughts swimming in not just overwhelm, but lingering grief of what she's done, guilt and self-hatred for all of it.

Puck dreaded looking in the mirror. As a child, he would squirm restlessly in place as one of his parents held up the looking glass after combing his hair. He would squeeze his eyes shut as tightly as possible, starting to thrash when they tried to coax him gently out of his childish tantrum. His visage was never his own, not even back then. He wept at the sight of a monster staring back at him. Now, he knew that monster was his Father -- & his Father was himself. There was nothing of Puck to reflect ; he did not exist.

Nimue did not look like him. Not in a physical sense, at least. But she was the second closest thing to a true reflection of himself -- one that did not need a mirror.

(The first, of course, was Iago. There was no one else it could be. They were twins after all, mirroring each other in all aspects. Puck had no use for a looking glass. He had Iago instead.)

Nimue reflected Puck from a different angle. He felt drawn to her in a way he had yet to experience. A need to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder, to position her wrist as it held a ritual knife over the altar. He did the latter for novices all the time, yet he felt little more than obligation towards them. He wanted to help Nimue, felt responsible for her growth & well-being.

She reminded him of the young boy that had walked into the temple a decade ago, shaky hand clasped in his twin's. He had been overwhelmed & overwrought with guilt, left almost entirely to his own devices. There was no one to guide him. Sceleritas Fel & his Father's followers worshipped the very ground he stood on. They indulged him but did not teach him. He would not allow that to happen to Nimue.

Upon seeing her distress, Puck took her to one of his many hiding spots in the temple so that she could breathe freely -- & speak her mind, if she would like. He listened patiently until she began to curl into herself, then pressed a reassuring hand to her shoulder.

“ There is nothing wrong with you, ” he said, first & foremost. “ The guilt is only natural, especially when living in a world that teaches you to feel it. In my experience, it wanes but never fully fades. ”

A pause as he tilted his head in thought. “ Tell me, how does it feel when you kill ?  Not the aftermath, but in the moment. ”

[alanemeseos]

ACCEPTING ( short starters call ) / @aetherose.

he doesn't draw, not yet. this ⸻ well, they certainly appear human, but something about their clothing, their demeanour, makes him nervous to define them as such. " are you lost? " he asks, not unkindly. his eyes travel to the book by her side. " are you an author, perhaps? "

that could explain why she travels on this path, the thick bamboo of qingce village. visiting a friend?

[bloodyarn]

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐃  𝐀𝐒𝐊𝐒   //   somewhere  in  my  memes  tag  ♥  .

 ▌@aetherose  sent  : What’s  in  your  mouth?  What  do  you  have  in  your  mouth?!?”  kicks  down  your  door  grabs  an  RP  meme  throws  my  sorceress  (Nimue)  at  your  seamstress-

       Now  she  felt  silly.         Was  Babette  not  paying  enough  attention  when  Halsin  explained  how  one  could  eat  parts  of  a  tree  without  harm    ?    The  little  hexblood  stopped  the  crunching   &   gnawing,  there  were  splinters  of  soft,  now  wet,  bark  on  her  lips.

    No,  she  did  not  attempt  at  looking  like  a  starved  beaver.

And  it  was  still  beyond  her,  how  these  animals  could  not  see  a  problem  with  putting  wood  between  their  teeth.

       ❝  The  nice  druid  said  trees  are  edible.  ❞      Apologetic,  but  what  Halsin  surely  meant  was  the  inner  part  of  palm  trees.  Not  exactly  .  .  .  oak  trees.  The  bark  in  her  hand  also  wasn't  exactly  the  core  of  one,  to  put  another  layer  of  absurdity  onto  the  moment  presented  in  front  of  Nimue.

       ❝  It's  not  very  tasty  .  .  .  ❞

[romanticaisms]

@aetherose replied to your post “"I bet no Construct in Babylonia would understand...”:

Nanami vc Ooooh! That's the 'Loss' meme popular back then, right?

​Yulia nods solemnly and promptly, not batting a lash. To her, Nanami doesn't really count as a 'Babylonian' Construct anyway. More like a 'whatever and whoever and wherever' Construct, sort of.

"Yes, it is. Not many people recognize this though, at least where it concerns the people in Babylonia." A pause. "Just like the game."

[sleetkissed-a]

@aetherose sent

To say Nimue was shaken would perhaps be an understatement. No, horrified would possibly be a better word, as bile threatened to arise from her throat as she isolated herself from the rest of camp come nightfall under the excuse of just wanting some fresh air. However, in reality, her thoughts were racing about what happened with that squirrel she’d momentarily blanked and kicked without at all intending to, as if something had possessed her. Thankfully, it’d seemed no one had given her little… accident with the squirrel any further thought. Whether it was thanks to her quickly telling them to proceed or them merely not caring much for it, she did not care and was grateful they moved on so fast. She didn’t want to talk to them about this. About these… urges of hers. Urges that were quickly becoming apparent to sometimes manifest as compulsions, based on the events of today. And she was terrified. Terrified that she may lose control of herself again. What if it was for longer next time, what if she hurt one of her companions next time, what if, what if, what if- So many possibilities consumed her mind, although, from an outside view, she appeared still as a statue, eyes blankly staring out towards the nearby river as she sat on a log. She did not blink, she did not move an inch; she merely kept staring. It was frankly unsettling, but it also meant she wasn’t paying attention to the world around her… and therefore, not to her sister’s approach, either.

   𝙻𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙴𝚁𝚂 .   plotted interactions ────────────────────────

      Serenity embraced this night's stage.      Esteri was quick to notice someone missing from camp   —   companions who were not already resting occupied themselves with the last minor tasks before heading to their bedrolls. Her keen eyes, however, did not spot her dear sister amongst them.

The day's events have been entertaining for once. All this play, all this acting as heroes rubbed Esteri the wrong way, but dismissively agreeing most of the time (not always without arguments). The pale woman had little to say against their plan. After all, every one of their merry group somehow ended up with a visitor in their head, which she was dying to know how to get it out of there.

But oh, what an interesting show she witnessed earlier. That rodent being kicked against its own presumable tree, rich brown bark painted in glimmering, wet red. How intriguing. How fascinating. And all that caused by Nimue   —   That goody two shoes with an arsenal of decisions Esteri could at best scoff at. Maybe they were more alike than the bhaalspawn thought   ?

Silent steps led her towards the riverbank   —   her little search coming out as fruitful as she saw Nimue sitting there, in thought. A subtle smirk seemed to tug at Esteri's lips for a fleeting second when making her way to closing up on her, standing behind her sibling  &  sharing the wistful gaze towards the water.

      ❝ It appears I underestimated you. I was close to thinking you would pet that thing, instead of making it fly against the local flora. ❞     A sharp comment which was laced with amusement. A glance flicked down to the sitting figure before resuming the stare far away.

     ❝ That look in your eyes back there   —   glorious. Utterly fascinating. You must felt it too, am I mistaken  ?   That . . . satisfaction. That feeling of hunger, sated for the time being. ❞     Esteri was not familiar with these strong, carnage-infused emotions. Her brain had as many holes as a waterdavian cheese wheel. Yet, the sorceress was sure she picked up the right assumptions. Nimue must share these urges. These waves of bloodlust.

     ❝ Don't tell me you are brooding  &  mourning after that fuzzy thing. Killing these goblins didn't seem to bother you as much. Why sulk about it   ? ❞

[charlatanry]

❝  nimue. ❞  he  greets  her  warmly,  open  arms  and  a  charming  smile  —  the  sort  of  reception  that  might  lead  one  to  believe  they're  close  friends.  in  truth,  anyone  exposed  to  astarion's  particular  brand  of  navigating  social  situations  for  an  extended  length  of  time  should  easily  be  able  to  discern  his  true  intentions.  he  wants  something  —  the  only  true  question  is  what.  ❝  darling.  just  the  sorceress  i  was  hoping  to  see.  you  know,  i  have  been  enjoying  my  time  back  at  camp.  it's  so  easy  lounging  around  while  the  rest  of  you  do  the  heavy  lifting  —  and  the  ambiance  is ...  well. ❞   for  a  moment,  the  spawn's  mask  seems  to  crack  as  his  gaze  sweeps  around  their  campsite.  dirty?  insect-ridden?  he  isn't  so  prudish  that  he  can't  handle  a  bit  of  filth —  but  this  isn't  even  the  fun  kind.

giving  his  head  a  brisk  shake,  astarion  decides  not  to  finish  that  particular  train  of  thought.  ❝  it's  just ...  at  the  rate  things  are  going,  i  might  start  to  believe  that  you  don't  like  me. ❞   the  elf's  voice  dips  into  an  exaggerated  pout  —  too  exaggerated  to  take  seriously.  she's  going  to  hurt  his  feelings!  really!  what  a  travesty!  ❝  if  you  were  in  need  of  an  extra  dagger  the  next  time  you  decide  to  brave  the  trials  and  tribulations  beyond  our  little  sanctuary  here,  i  wouldn't  say  no. ❞   and  there  it  is.  his  true  motive,  revealed  —  and  what  a  mundane  thing  it  is.  boredom.

❝  assuming  we  aren't  going  somewhere  cramped  and  dreary  with  nothing  worth  killing,  of  course.  but  i  trust  you  to  have  better  taste  than  that. ❞

@aetherose &&. liked for a STARTER.

[dinomites]

@aetherose | catch, sender catches receiver by the waist after they bump into each other. (From Rodya to Gregor)

His face turned bright red when Rodya caught him by the waist.

"..." He wasn't sure what to say but this felt a bit... strange!

"Vermissen, you don't have to um... hold me there anymore?"