#datusha

A quick and silly drawing of Ashrah (and Datusha!), inspired by a post an online buddy sent me 😆

Also, how could I forget: Datusha is also aromantic. And asexual. And disgusted by this whole notion of romance and "acts more repulsive than necromancy," as it describes to Ashrah when alerting her against these things.

boots skid clumsily over stone tiles , nearly overshooting the entrance to the library to see their dearest sister magdalena - who , frankly , could ask anything of her & could consider it done. the princess was precious to all , yes , but especially precious to them - a bond forged in shared humanity , in loss , in yearning. she'd hang thousands of stars in the sky for her , if only she'd ask - truly, magdalena's joy was worth any price .

and oh , it's always worth it to see her eyes sparkle when hotaru tells her stories of their human youth - the wonder & curiosity sparked by the artificer's newest creations , over the various clockwork items that she's gifted to her over the centuries. but this one? oh-ho-ho, this was the invention to end all inventions - it was something they both thought to be a dream , now crystallized into beautiful, marvelous reality !

the doors are thrown open to the sprawling sea of books - & vaguely, she's aware of how she probably looks like a mad scientist, soot still painted over their hands & goggles haphazardly shoved off of their eyes. but they straighten before their princess , practically skipping across the room to their dearest sister , their precious creation nestled in a crate under their arm & obscured only by cloth.

" magpie , magnolia , my dearest beloved maggie --- " the scientist giggles , placing the box down on the only clear table in the room , " --- i have a special surprise, just for you ! c'mon , you can tell me all about what you're reading in a moment, you're gonna flip when you see this! " / @datusha

me and @datusha / j on our clown shit once again like

their teeth ache.

it's an unfamiliar pain - & it strikes during an otherwise innocuous conversation in their living quarters , going over the blueprints of their workshop & figuring out the required materials over a cup of ... well, definitely not tea . ( gods, they miss tea. )

but they suppose that the donated blood of a habitual tea-drinker is a good enough proxy to serve to their guest. plans drawn in ink are displayed in all their glory , their own hands ink-stained with their late-night labors as hotaru's gaze drifts .... somewhere. unfocused, blue eyes wash over the rather charming spymaster across from them like an ocean's tide, their head churning with nauseatingly saccharine daydreams - entirely unnecessary , unproductive , & ... distracting.

( maybe if they focus on the task at hand , the aspiring artificer will forget how their teeth ache - how they crave to dig into flesh , to bite, to sink into --- into --- )

unfocused cyan eyes blink twice - hard , attempting to return to.. some sense of normalcy. new normal-cy? as normal as talking to a royal vampiric spymaster in a royal vampire castle can be. ( it beats the bray manor dungeons , at least. )

" sorry - i ... look , this is probably going to sound strange , but can you please pull your collar up? it's --- " the tips of the inventor's ears burn, clawed fingertips carefully pinching the bridge of their nose as the beginnings of a stress-induced headache begin to form, " --- distracting . " / @datusha