Ink Cove

Due to excessive volume and time constraints, I am unable to respond to all Tumblr asks. Answers to frequently asked questions can be found in the FAQ post.

A link to the AU index for zenith of stars snippets is also included in the aforementioned FAQ post.

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This includes options for early access to new updates, additional chapters, and extra tidbits, as well as a monthly voting poll.

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Whether or not an AU gets continued mostly depends on whether or not I get attacked by the plot bunny haha.

Villain Shiki AU... maybe? It was definitely one of the AUs that weren't planned out very far when I first started it, unfortunately. If we continue with the segment where Shiki fights Sukuna and Kenjaku, I think... it's unlikely that Shiki would prevail against both Sukuna AND Kenjaku in this AU. So.

New chapter for zenith of stars is up!

Chapter 160 (update #171) has been posted.

Chapter 167 (Update #178) was posted this week!

Chapter 167: LINK

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Chapters 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, and 166 are also available in advance!

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Extra this week is a continuation of the JJK OC plot bunny involving Naoya’s Suffering!

LINK

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More extras are also available on Ko-fi. :)

... I think several people would murder Naoya if that ever became a thing in zenith.

New chapter for zenith of stars is up!

Chapter 159 (update #170) has been posted.

Once again I realize I forgot to manually put up the Tumblr Ko-fi post here, oops. At any rate:

Chapter 166 (Update #177) was posted this week!

Chapter 166: LINK

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Chapters 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, and 165 are also available in advance!

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More extras are also available on Ko-fi. :)

The voice is thunderous, deafening. It splits through the air and strikes Ventus with the force of a thunderbolt, ripping through his body as acute physical pain rather than auditory sound. It’s a singularly overwhelming wave of sensation that tears through and disembowels him in a heartbeat, more than enough to send Ventus sprawling to his knees–

–and he only realizes that he blacked out for a moment when there is another arm urgently pulling him upright. A soothing wave of healing Anemo energy washes through him, and Ventus dimly realizes that there’s blood covering the side of his face.

“What just happened?” Ventus asks hoarsely. Or tries to, at least. He can feel his lips part and his throat move, but somehow, nothing comes out.

For a brief, heart-stopping moment, Ventus is stricken by the thought that he was somehow been rendered mute–

Until a pair of warm hands cover his ears, accompanied by another pulse of familiar Anemo energy.

Instantly, sound filters back into his world. The roar of the howling winds surrounding them, the rumbling of the earth as it literally crumbles beneath their feet–

“I have to go,” Barbatos’ hands move away from Ventus’ ears. His gaze is firm, resolute.

… No longer a minor wind spirit but now a deity in his own right, Barbatos does not appear as a small elf but instead as another human. The shape that he has chosen looks as if he could be Ventus’ twin, save for the tinted white hair. A pure shade of snow-white that is undoubtedly homage to the true god of Mondstadt, the god whom they had slain in their unknowing ignorance–

The first time that Ventus had seen Barbatos’ new form, he’d been… flattered, humbled, and scared. Because Ventus knows all too well that he is only human. A human who has made many mistakes, and he does not deserve such regard from Barbatos–

Yes, you made mistakes. So did I. But you’re not running from your mistakes, Ventus. And your heart was always in the right place. So don’t talk like that about yourself; I’ve never regretted meeting you, and I’m glad to call you my friend.

“… I have to go,” Barbatos repeats, as the winds around them heighten in intensity. “Ventus, take this opportunity and leave. Grab Gunnhildr with you and–”

“What are you saying?!” Ventus grips the fledgling god’s wrist, before he can pull away. There is a sudden panic that carves out a hole in his chest, a sensation that he can’t let Barbatos go by himself–! “You intend to confront Decarabian by yourself?! Don’t say foolish things –we started this together, and we’ll see things through to the end together as well.”

For a brief moment, Barbatos’ eyes soften, before they harden with determination.

“Decarabian is enraged.”

“I noticed,” Ventus deadpans.

“… Yes, well,” Barbatos coughs, before managing to school his features back into seriousness. “I need to make sure that the destruction from his rampage is… contained. And I’m not powerful enough to do that if I have to worry about protecting you and the others.”

Never has Ventus felt more helpless about his own mortality than in this very moment. He wets his dry, blistering lips, and swallows roughly.

“I… I know that something about the ritual to revive Lady Balor went wrong.” Barbatos had acted swiftly to protect the people of Mondstadt, as soon as the warm, golden motes of light gathering towards the altar had suddenly turned black, tainted by some energy that sent chills down Ventus’ spine just by proximity alone. That hadn’t really been enough for Ventus to deduce just what it was that had gone wrong, though. And if they didn’t know what the problem was, then how could they possibly fix things. “But what–?”

LOATHSOME WRETCHES, HATEFUL MORTALS. CONTEMPTIBLE INGRATES, EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.

YOU WOULD REPAY BALOR’S MERCY AND PROTECTION BY CHAINING AND CORRUPTING HER REMNANTS, INSTEAD OF ALLOWING HER TO REST?

Even through the glowing barrier that Barbatos immediately created around them, Ventus’ ears are ringing from Decarabian’s incensed rage. “What… what in the world is he talking about? The ritual to restore Balor, through the power of Mondstadt’s gratitude and worship… how would this corrupt her? Barbatos?”

“Someone interfered with the ritual. I don’t know who did it, but…” Barbatos’ jaw clenches. Though their physical features are the same, there is still something about the individual beside him that is undeniably all Barbatos. And as inopportune as the thought might be, Ventus cannot help but think that Barbatos is beautiful in quiet fury. “… they managed to infect the ritual with Abyss energy.”

“Abyss energy?!” Ventus’ eyes widen in shock.

“Yes. It’s what Sal Vindagnyr–” Barbatos cuts himself off, roughly shaking his head. “We don’t have time for this. Balor is half-resurrected and corrupted by the Abyss as a force of disaster right now, and Decarabian’s fury is incandescent. If this gets any worse, and Celestia decides to intervene… we can’t afford to let that happen.”

A single moment of silence, as the gravity of the situation weighs down upon them.

“We need to divide our forces,” Barbatos declares decisively. “I’ll go and stop them however I can, while you and the others find the culprit who brought the Abyss into things.”

Because only then will they be able to find a way to resolve this mess.

Ventus sucks in a long, shaky breath. “… Alright. I will. Take care of yourself, Barbatos –I’ll be back as soon as we figure out how to remove the Abyssal energies. Don’t–”

His throat clogs up, choking in on itself.

Don’t die. Please, don’t die.

It does not take a genius to realize that. And Princess Renshi, daughter of Imperial Prince Motoyasu, is no one’s fool.

Fujiwara no Shiki is a quiet child, with too-watchful eyes and a certain awareness that belongs nowhere in a young child’s countenance. That watchful gaze of hers had only grown ever more unnerving when her eyes… changed.

The whispers of demon and fox-child are quelled only by Fujiwara no Tokihira firmly making it known, in no uncertain terms, that he would not tolerate any further disrespect towards his ‘daughter.’ That any slights against Shiki would be perceived as slights against his own person.

But even then, just because his clansmen no longer speak those sentiments aloud… they still exist, indubitably. This is present in the way that young Shiki is quietly but unmistakably ostracized by her own blood.

An unnatural child. If Tokihira had not claimed her as his own, there’s no doubt that little Shiki would’ve been proclaimed as an oni and quietly silenced before her existence would cause shame to befall the noble Fujiwara Clan.

Princess Renshi loves her husband, but she is not blind to the ways of nobility.

It is for this reason that Princess Renshi finally tells her husband that she will take in his little sister-daughter and raise her within the palace. Princess Renshi had not wanted to raise a child not of her own blood, but she is not heartless, either. If she were to remain silent and do nothing at this juncture in time… Tokihira may not fault her for it, but there would always be some corner of his heart that resented Princess Renshi for her selfishness all the same.

Princess Renshi is a greedy woman. She demands all of her husband’s heart, as is her right as an imperial princess.

From the very first time that Princess Renshi had set eyes upon Fujiwara no Shiki, she had known that this was a child who would never be able to fit in with others. That her husband’s quiet wish to have her grow up peacefully and happily within his clan would never come to fruition. She’d known that, eventually, it would fall upon her to take care of this child–

But that is of no consequence. Princess Renshi had decided right then and there that she would wait until the Fujiwara Clan had shown themselves to fall short of her husband’s expectations. Then, and only then, would she step in as the magnanimous and kindhearted lady who wished to support her beloved husband and ease his burdens. Even if it meant giving a child who was not truly her own the title of daughter of Princess Renshi –thereby firmly placing her husband into her debt and earning his gratitude in one fell swoop.

… 

The girl is thin. 

Unexpectedly thin, for a daughter of a noble clan. Princess Renshi does not think that any of the Fujiwara Clan’s servants would be so brazen as to starve their clan head’s illegitimate daughter, not with the very clear attitude that he’d expressed after little Shiki’s near-drowning…

But for all that the girl is odd and precocious and strange, there is something unexpectedly charming about the way that she nibbles at her salted riceball like a small, fluffy cat with its fish strips.

New chapter for zenith of stars is up!

Chapter 158 (update #169) has been posted.

This is by intentional design. The Iron Cavalry’s original creators were humans, after all. Humans whose homeworld had been endangered by the threat that the Swarm posed, and so it only stands to reason that these very same humans would find humanoid forms to be more comforting than that of insectoid ones.

… That being said, ‘majority’ does not mean ‘all.’

Kakavasha knows this intellectually. But he has yet to actually see an Iron Cavalry Knight who cannot pass off as a regular human… until now. Perhaps things are different in the heart of Glamoth, but out here in the Psamides, Kakavasha has only ever seen Knights like Firefly. And–

The Psamidian student beside him gasps softly, instinctively taking an apprehensive half-step backwards. Kakavasha, on the other hand, mentally reminds himself Don’t be a dick, and consciously chooses not to display any outward signs of discomfort.

This is met with a low chuckle. “Well met, young student.”

“Ah, hello,” Kakavasha blinks.

The Knight in front of him… is, without a doubt, one of the Knights who’ve retained more inhuman traits. Six pairs of buzzing red-violet wings fold neatly against their back as they alight upon the ground, chitinous scythe-like feet sinking deep into the sand. Their arms and hands are fully humanoid and perfectly normal, though… if a little slightly too numerous. This Knight has two pairs of arms on each side of their body.

Most prominently, however, it’s their head that marks them as thoroughly different.

The lower half of their face might be sculpted into a chiseled human jaw, but the top half of their head is completely covered with thick layers of gleaming carapaces. Kakavasha does not see any eyes, but there are feathered antennae that twitch sensitively in his direction.

“Puca!” Firefly moves forward with a broad, delighted smile on her face. Kakavasha’s fellow student makes a strangled sound in his throat when she tiptoes upwards and hugs her fellow Knight, a gesture which is returned with all four of the other Knight’s arms. “I didn’t realize that you would be the one accompanying us. How long has it been since you last left Glamoth?”

“Long enough that Idalia of all people told me to go out and stretch my wings,” Puca hums, deep and comforting. Firefly gives him one last squeeze, then moves back from him, still smiling. “If it’s alright with you, I’d like to accompany your group on your next trip.”

Firefly falters. “Is this about how we were attacked last time?”

“Partially,” the other Knight admits. “No one would question your competence, Firefly, but the situation is… unusual. And there are also other factors to consider here.”

“I understand.” Is it Kakavasha’s imagination, or did Firefly’s gaze briefly flick towards him for a moment? “… So. Is this what you and the others were hiding from me the past few days? I thought it was Sluagh who’d be coming here!”

Puca wiggles their fingers. “Surprise?”

… The way that Firefly and Puca interact with each other reminds Kakavasha of himself and his sister a bit, and he finds himself smiling, too.

Chapter 165 (Update #176) was posted this week!

Chapter 165: LINK

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Chapters 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, and 164 are also available in advance!

.

Extra this week is a continuation of the JJK OC plot bunny involving Naoya’s Suffering!

LINK

.

More extras are also available on Ko-fi. :)