living coffin / holy vessel ...

head    tilts    with    ease    ,         no    fight    against    the    weight    as    ethereal    eyes    never     falter    from    the    stranger           ───         expression    seemed    bare    ,         blank    ,         but    he    was    trying    hard    as    he    might    to     somehow    see    this    mans    intentions    in    that    small    grin    alone    .

beast    ?         is    that    how    he    perceived    him    ?         odd    ....    ....         as    he    was    so    accustomed    to     people    gaining    hope    from    appearance    akin    to    godlike    .

he    supposed    ,         in    the    back    of    his    head    ,         gods    could    amount    to    beasts    in    some    aspect    or    another    .         their    power    was    surely    devastating    that    much    was     certain    .

the    offer    ,         so    out    of    the    blue    ,         catches    him    by    surprise        ───        but    feels    so    well    placed    despite    ,         like    something    off    he    hadn’t    noticed    had    finally    been    set    right    .         a    true    and    warm    smile    finds    his    features    ,         only    oft    seen    by    his    deer    ,         and    claude    even    more    frequently    .

a    dance    under    the    stars    ,         up    atop    the    goddess    tower    no    less    ….    ….         it    felt    special    ,         like    there    was    a    specific    reason    he’d    chosen    this    place    out    of    any    to    offer    such    a    thing    ….    ….         but    byleth    would    not    mention    it    ,         would    not    dwell    too    heavily    as    the    two    of    them    continued    their    ongoing    dance    around    what    was    honestly    far    too    obvious    at    this    point    .

there    their    hearts    stood    ,          right    on    the    edge    of    everything    they    so    vividly    wanted    ,         yet    never    taking    that    leap    .

❛     i    apologize    ,         my    dancing    hasn’t    likely    improved    any    since    our    last    .      ❜         byleth    joked    ,         smile    still    present    as    pale    hand    met    claude’s    and    chests    pressed    mere    inches    apart    ,         embracing    him    so    confidently    ,         as    if    he    knew    this    space    was    his    .         ❛     at    the    very    least    ,         i’ll    hopefully    not    step    on    your    toes    this    time    .      ❜

even    throughout    all    the    professors    changing    and    growing    expressiveness    never    once    felt    like    something    he    needed    ,         barely    registering    a    difference    when    blankness    shifted    to    joy    ,         sadness    ,         or    anger    ….    ….         he    never    once    tried    not    to    emote    ,         it    simply    just    ….    ….         didn’t    happen    ,         for    a    very    long    time        ───        however    ,         with    this    man    byleth    simply    couldn’t    help    the    small    ,         sweet    smiles    and    the    tiniest    of    laughs    .

for    his    admittedly    limited    knowledge    about    leggings    ,         he    was    certain    they    were    more    or    less    one    size    fits    all          ───         right    ?  ?         for    his    own    sake    ,         he    prayed    that    was    so    .

(      if    he    used    sothis’    power    to    revert    time    if    byleth    was    incorrect    ....    ....         would    the    other    be    unaffected    by    the    shift    of    time    ?         would    she    still    know    if    her    spare    leggings    got    damaged    ?         hmm    ....    ....      )

with    a    nod    ,         he    took    the    pair    from    her    and    glanced    the    fabric    over    .         it    definitely    looked    quite    small    ,         bundled    up    like    this    ,         but    he’d    thought    his    counterpart    looked    rather    nice    in    them    and    couldn’t    help    wanting    to    try    them    for    himself    ....    ....         byleth    would    make    sure    to    be    cautious    .

@fell-star asked : ❛ you are a very important addition to our classroom , i hope you are aware of how proud i am of your progress . ❜

                   for a wallflower like young marianne, such praise did well to bring a very subtle hint of a smile to an often grim portrait.  even as little as she usually felt and the lack of her own self esteem she could feel a breath of motivation with kind regards.  she might never say much at all but she wanted to try harder so as to not let anyone down– even if she felt all she could do was hold everyone back.  she’s no good with faking confidence or playing pretend but maybe … maybe she could eventually be someone who could make a difference.

       ❛ professor, thank you … but i wanted some advice.  if you have time, that is.  ❜

people    like    marianne    had    never    frequented    his    life    before    joining    the    officers    academy    ,         it    had    taken    byleth    a    little    while    to    properly    figure    out    the    best    ways    to    urge    out    the    full    extent    of    the    girls    capabilities        ───         byleth    was    happy    to    see    he    was    making    considerable    strides    .         marianne    had    solid    strength    and    real    talent    ,         he’d    seen    it    himself    multiple    times    ....    ....         hopefully    soon    she’d    see    it    too    .

   ⚜️  ⁺   @fell-star           ›  

the pauses alert claude , and have him worry slightly more when the professor speaks their response. it’s only natural that they would resort to the mindset of what they had been accustomed to all their life. in claude’s own life , he witnessed far too many masks to keep up with , including his own. to be able to see right through these façades was simply the result of tending to the many lies borne and passed along while playing the great game. needless to say , with someone of byleth’s origins and prior professions , lying with such a delicate web… well , it was easy for the riegan heir to tell that something was off. 

❝   𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 , 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮: no one will ask you to be a mercenary again. you aren’t alone. you aren’t the only one … having issues facing loss. and death … teach , it’s ridiculously scary.   ❞

this    ....    ....         this    was    difficult    .         out    of    anyone    here         ───         aside    from    possibly    rhea    and    seteth         ───          claude    was    the    one    he    was    most    comfortable    with    the    idea    of    opening    up    around    .         but    all    of    this    ,         the    entire    situation    ,         it    was    ....    ....         hard    enough    for    byleth    himself    to    wrap    his    head    around    ....    ....         the    professor    attempted    to    smile    then    ,         but    it    did    nothing    but    backfire    .          ❛      i    ....    ....         understand    .         but    i    hope    you’ll    forgive    me    ,      ❜         eyes    cast    down    to    the    diary    in    his    palms    ,         white  ―  knuckled    grip    only    loosening    once    gaze    caught    how    tightly    he    was    clutching    it    .          ❛      ....    ....         you    read    it    for    yourself    in    these    pages    ,         didn’t    you    ?         truthfully    i    hadn’t    believed    it    until    recently    ,         how    little    i    ....    ....         felt    .         for    so    long    .      ❜         an    intake    of    air    and    byleth    was    now    glancing    at    the    ceiling    ,         blinking    away    what    had    to    be    the    threat    of    returning    tears    .

    “   you know what’s also deadly?   ”   a pause for dramatic effect.    “   over-working your students.   ”    war, or not. how can they train & learn all at the same time in an over load? or maybe he just really hates putting much effort in it. because he doesn’t take it easy — keith has never known how & he’s not about to start now.

    “   seriously?   ”    a pout; the boy is pouting. those are absolute the bane of his existence. tactics and team leading — that’s not even his area of expertise. not even in the slightest. he can easily plan things solo but that’s when he’s alone. he’s great at being alone; it’s an unfortunate truth.   “   i honestly think you’re out to get me. are you?  ”

the    softest    of    huffs        ───        an    almost ―  laugh    ,         and    with    a    joking    yet    still    somehow    dry    tone    the    professor    replied    ;        ❛     if    you    feel    overworked    now    ,         just    wait    until    you    graduate    .      ❜        sure    ,         outside    of    the    classroom    there    were    no    written    tests    or    study    sessions    ....    ....         but    this    stuff    was    important    to    keeping    yourself    alive    .

NAME! ♡     icarus ! PRONOUNS! ♡     he / him ZODIAC SIGN! ♡     capricorn TAKEN OR SINGLE! ♡     taken uwu

———  THREE  FACTS! ♡

1! ♡    i’m visually impaired & have no sense of smell !    i use a white cane to get around and plan on getting a guide dog when i can afford one

2! ♡     i’m currently on the hunt for a new irl name and fe has me honestly considering ashe bc it’s cute and works as an easily understandable english name........

3! ♡    i studied animation / character + world design in tertiary school !

———  EXPERIENCE! ♡

PLATFORMS USED! ♡     tumblr mostly but discord sometimes too !

———  MUSE  PREFERENCE! ♡

GENDER! ♡     i prefer writing male identifying muses but i have a couple female and nb muses too !

LEAST FAVOURITE FACE(S)! ♡     humans are a myth only animation exists ??

MULTI OR SINGLE! ♡     i prefer single a lot more but i’ve caved and made some multi’s before !    they’re fun i just find single blogs easier to manage

FLUFF / ANGST / SMUT! ♡     yes, please & thank u !!

PLOT / MEMES! ♡    both !!

in    honest    truth    ,         byleth    was    exhausted    .

a    lot    had    happened    in    the    last    stretches    of    memories    his    head    held    in    tact    .         his    father    had    passed    ,         and    so    had    a    close    friend    ;         she’d    given    him    her    power    as    she’d    left    ,         and    from    there    things    only    got    stranger    .         he    was    deemed    a    god    in    his    own    right    ,         for    the    power    he    held    within    .         appearance    had    changed    and    role    along    with    it    ,         then    not    a    month    past    until    war    broke    lose    and    he    was    sent    falling    to    his    abyss    .

byleth    wasn’t    certain    what    had    become    of    himself    in    the    years    since    ,         if    body    was    merely    floating    in    the    lake    below    ,         only    stirring    once    found    and    awoken    by    a    kind    stranger    ....    ....         or    if    he’d    been    floating    somewhere    more    ethereal         ───         if    body    had    departed    the    world    entirely    for    those    years    and    only    returned    as    binding    to    some    sort    of    fate    .

either    way    ,         he    would    not    complain    .         he    was    simply    ....    ....         exhausted    from    it    all    .

eyes    that    glowed    something    divine    did    not    falter    ,         did    not    look    away    as    chin    was    tipped    and    mortal    met    beast    .         they    stared    ,         olive    green    at    neon    teal    .         byleth    detected    worry    there    and    offered    a    small    smile    ,         letting    claude    see    the    tiredness    body    held    .         he    wasn’t    trying    to    hide    .

❛      i’m    alright    .      ❜         murmured    ,         a    promise    ,         and    his    own    hand    gently    pressed    against    the    wrist    near    his    chin    .          ❛     you    don’t    need    to    worry    ,         i’m    just    readjusting    .      ❜

this    was    nothing    he    could    not    handle    ,         he    just    had    to    get    his    bones    used    to    working    again    and    his    mind    caught    up    to    all    that    had    changed          ───         the    whiplash    of    seeing    everything    so    different          ───          everyone    so    different    ,         would    take    a    little    doing    .

yet    claude’s    sincerest    smiles    had    not    changed    ,         nor    his    worry    ,         or    his    eyes    ....    ....         byleth    knew    ,         yes    ,         he’d    be    just    fine    .         at    that    moment    eyes    slipped    closed    and    head    tilted    forward    ,         foreheads    gently    pressed    and    reassurance    whispered    once    more    .

       ❝  really?  ❞   well,   he  supposes  that’d  be  so.   being  a  mercenary  must  not  leave  room  for  such  things.   one  never  realizes  what  luxaries  they  have  until  stepping  into  a  different  walk  of  life.   he  should  know  that  fact  of  life  quite  well.   either  way,   ❝  it's  well  to  hear  that  you  have  started  to  improve.   there  is  always  room  for  growth,   no  matter  what  it  is  you  are  improving  in.  ❞

       they’ve  not  much  farther  until  his  study.   really  he  ought  to  pick  up  his  own  personal  training  again.   his  arms  are  starting  to  get  tired  walking  around  with  all  these  book.   (  he  supposes  he  really  IS  lucky  that  byleth  was  nearby.  )   ❝  i  have  been  studying  books  for  a  long  time  and  every  time  i  pick  up  something,   there  is  something  new  to  be  learned.   just  another  thing  to  love  about  the  human  race,   you  never  seem  to  run  out  of  stories.  ❞

there’s    a    nod    of    agreement    and    a    slight    hum    to    go    with    it    .         picking    up    knowledge    here    are    there    was    much    more    common    for    him    on    the    battlefield    or    with    different    types    of    weaponry    ,         it    was    nice    to    be    steadily    improving    on    something    less    high     ―    strung    for    once    .         ❛      yes    ,         it’s    been    a    pleasant    experience    .      ❜