ㅤbyan's family (biological, adopted, & found); feat. sol, the boyfriend (@lee-sol); lena, the older sister (@chronal-anomaly); ardaka, the parental sibling figure (@apexulansis); kit, the (sort of but not technically) younger sister (@florafound); garrett, the vaguely guardian-esque figure (@gnarledbite); & dox, the mom (@grimesucker)
“It’s aiight,” Max started in a small, tired voice as he rose back up to his feet. Blood stained his shirt and his arm as a testament of the wounds he received in the battle against these thugs. “Ya don’t need to heal me.”
And it was an honest remark, that he made sure to follow by lifting his shirt and showing the other that whatever carnage had happened in his body was no longer there. His regeneration was that advanced, which is exactly what gave him the confidence of straight up picking a fight with seven people at the same time.
IT TAKES A GREAT MIND TO KEEP A MACHINE RUNNING, and it takes many, many machines to keep the UC doing the same. now, lucky for them, they have PLENTY of MACHINES, but GREAT MINDS?. . yeah. you can’t have your cake and eat it, too.
STILL, THOUGH, those rare geniuses that DO shine through are nearly LEGENDARY, and TR4C3 likes to consider herself AT LEAST on the path to greatness. somehow. maybe. there isn’t MUCH anyone can achieve down here, but whatever she can get, she’ll take. it’ll be enough.
BACK TO GREATNESS, AND THOSE INVOLVED IN IT — there’s one name TR4C3 has come to recognize, through talk from other mechmenders alone — KEJJA, one of the undercity’s BEST, though rumor has it he’s all but VANISHED; some say he’s DEAD, others theorize he’s LAYING LOW, for whatever reason. and TR4C3? TR4C3 is about to find out.
TAP-TA-TA-TAP-TAP! her knock is CHEERY, INVITING; even now she continues to assure SHE ISN’T AGGRESSIVE. the building before her is pretty. . . erm, well, it isn’t much to look at, but to be fair, not many houses down here ARE.
. . . ANOTHER SET OF KNOCKS. maybe this time someone will answer.
i answered this for darcy, ruvi/pysera, and adalet. i put it under a read more because it got long.
Are there any places that people actively make pilgrimages to?
went with darcy for this one! a legendary creature in veradon known as The Creature (this goes more into that) & in various retellings of its story there’s always one location that The Creature can be found/sought after and, in those stories, the human makes a wish or a plea, both of which are said to be granted by the creature. that belief has persisted and those who truly believe in the creature’s existence go to this place at least once in their life. the location in question is in the north of the kingdom, a parting in a forest where a rock, surrounded by a shallow but always clear body of water surrounds it.
Are there any taboos that exist for the major races or species? What are they and what consequences does one suffer for dabbling in them?
this one’s for ruvi & pysera! one rule among dragons is that you don’t kill other dragons. it was always a taboo - the dragon population was very small in the beginning, so it was a rule for self preservation at first, but as the population grew it became more of a morality concerned rule. if a dragon kills another dragon then they are put under trial by the high dragon council and there’s usually two main outcomes. one, if you’re a dragon with wings, that ability to fly is taken away and you must be a dragon who remains, clipped, on land. the other, the ability to shapeshift is taken away for a period of time and so the dragon must live entirely human (the latter punishment is usually the go-to. dragons have a longer lifespan. the former is a form of punishment reserved for the intentional, crueller decision to willingly kill one of their own)
What’s a well-known myth or legend? Is there any truth to it?
this one’s for adalet! the tale of the Goddess Khidia and her lover Utaria - the story pre-dates the existence of the kingdom (which is named Khidia, after the goddess) - and the story is very real, often found in murals and stories and art throughout the kingdom. to give you the short version of the story, khidia was once human and utaria a magical bird. the two were friends. after utaria saved khidia’s life by sacrificing their bird form, becoming human, they got injured, and khidia’s tears of love and grief resonated so deeply with other divine beings that she was elevated to the status of a goddess, utaria was healed, and they now live together in a palace in the sky, protectors of the sky and those that live beneath and above it. // depending on the interpretation of the story, things happen a little differently, but it is very real, khidia and utaria are very real, and their harmony, their love, is what keeps the skies above the kingdom bright and clear.
CHIN TO PALM , A DOPEY SMILE WORN ; dark eyes half-lidded, SOFT in the dim light, an uncommon WARMTH captured ‘round the edges--- she works & HE WATCHES, the drag of an inky pen leaving trails of her choosing in its wake, & he a WILLING CANVAS - it’s so RARE to find someone to TRUST.
YET AT HER DIRECTION, HE SITS STILL - boundless energy contained so she might complete her work, the only disobedience being the insistent, restless jostling of his left leg ; UNNOTICED, he otherwise too enraptured with the decorations she adorns him with.
“ thought you said you were drawin’ a flower--- should’a TOLD ME you never seen a flower before. ”
she rolls her eyes at the remark and the only reason she doesn’t elbow him is that it will mess up what she’s trying to work on. “oh, fuck off. this is a MASTERPIECE and you know it.”
skin isn’t a canvas she works with often, but it’s fun to let her pen trace patterns over his hand, to be this close to someone other than chase and not be worried about the proximity. it’s relaxing, in a way. she trusts him. and he trusts her. and neither of them is going to say that aloud any time soon.
she pulls her pen away, admiring her work. lips twitching into a slight smirk. “maybe next time i’ll just draw some dicks, if you’re not gonna appreciate the flowers.”
