Skies of Stories

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One more and then I go to bed!

While under the Navy, Phoenix was careful to only follow her fire-lighting love when she wouldn’t get in trouble for it: ovens, bonfires, and pirate ships were the most likely to be hit by her.

But... now she’s no longer with the Navy. And she knows where all the most important Navy documents and highly flammable things are. c;

As your second fact: the only reason she doesn’t end up burning down the ship she’s on is because Isabel is so much so like a scolding motherly figure about it that it reminds Phoenix of her Auntie! And letting her Auntie down was such a terrible situation for her to imagine that Phoenix is absolutely so ashamed of the disappointment in Isa’s glare, and she avoids it as much as she can. She’d never admit that, though.

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Three three! Three facts for Celestine!

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The name ‘Tilly’ was given to her because of a miscommunication between Frankie and her when they originally started working together! When asked the question “Who are you?”, Tilly was confused because her species doesn’t really have names, so she just answered with the name of her species, instead! Tilanee! Frankie of course thought this was her actual name, so started calling her Tilly. It wasn’t until much later that they realized their mistake, but Tilly by that time was too attached to her given name!

It’s also an inside joke on how Tilly’s glow colour is Teal. Teally. Tilly. XD

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@peepos-prose has recently started calling them Celesmeanie. XD

Celestine may have lost the majority of their memories from before, but they still retained a fair amount of knowledge on magic! It just has to be brought forth, or triggered in some way--if asked a specific question about magic, they would likely know the answer, but trying to think up details on their own is very difficult!

It’s very much so like muscle memory for them, as well, since magic is very intrinsically connected to sirens on a biological level: when casting, Celestine just knows how to manipulate their magic a certain way, at least when they’re not using conduits. But they know a lot about conduits, too--one of the main reasons they collect trinkets is because each one triggers memories about what magic each could be used for, and Celestine hopes that one day they’ll find just the right thing that will give them the rest of their memories back.

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Technically I wrote Gertrude last. XD Want a fact about the ghost chicken? Sure, let’s go~

Gertrude was caged on board a Merchant vessel being shipped across the ocean to the West Indies before it was attacked and chased by pirates! For some reason, after a bit of sailing, the pirates just... backed off. The crew was confused until they started hearing... singing.

A few minutes later, none of the crew were left on board.

Gertrude was affected by the singing as well, but was saved from being lured by the sirens because she was trapped in a cage! A day or so later, the crew of Captain Xuân’s ship stumbled upon the now ghost vessel the hen was on~

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LKAJFLKDJGDKSG RAPIDFIRE FACTS TIME

And there you go! Eight facts!

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@kd-holloman Let’s talk about Caelin!

When interested in something, Caelin is actually marvelously fast at picking up knowledge! Unfortunately, his dyslexia makes it very difficult to learn things by reading, and he grows bored easily, so hearing rants or lectures from people excited about what they’re teaching is the best way for him to learn! A hands-on approach is even better, because he’s very touch-oriented (just make sure it has nothing to do with balance--this child will fall over immediately).

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@chayscribbles I am vibing with... uh, let’s go with Dr. Zhaohui Shen (whom you folks know absolutely nothing about)!

Shen is Caelin’s mother! Or... was. Kinda. It’s confusing. She left her husband and child when Caelin was only about three of four years old, out the blue, with no explanation. The rumours that spread through the village following her disappearance were mostly negative: had she found another partner? That would explain why she seemed so distant all the time. Had she become too sick to come home? She was a medical doctor. Had the ship she left on sunk?

Shen wishes for nothing more than to be able to see her child again, but she’s not allowed to leave where she’s currently being held.

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Dione Nikolaeva and Captain Viðarr Sørenson actually worked together for a while. Though he was advised by his superiors to not question the unusual practices Dione got up to while on board his ship, Viðarr was about as close to the saying “curiosity killed the cat” as you could get, and his tendency to ignore higher officer’s input was commonly a cause of him falling into trouble (something that his daughter definitely inherited).

After almost meeting his death at the hand of several curses, and a fair while of persuasion, Viðarr became one of the very few people Dione entrusted with some of her knowledge of magic. Something kept secret from even her magister, from even her fiancé. 

It didn’t end well for either of them.

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Frankie may be a government secret agent, but that wouldn’t be so secret if they didn’t have a cover story!

So to avoid suspicion and questions, Frankie also has a part-time job as a custodian! It fits perfectly with why they work so often at night, and why they travel so much all over the place! Their favourite part of their custodian job is when they clean at elementary schools and they get to see all the art and projects the kids did~

Occasionally, a teacher will find out their birthday, and on that day the kids will leave sweet little cards and candies for them to find in the evening!

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Pirate!!! I have many pirates~ Shall we do my most piratey pirate, Isabel?

Isabel has figured out a way to embroider with only one hand! George has helped by whittling a few parts, but she’s set up a adjustable stand that holds a hoop, so she can move it around without too much trouble. She still needs some help fitting the fabric into the hoop, she’s a little messy with her stitches, but she’s still practicing, after all~ She loves to decorate her skirts and shirts with flowers and vines, and little song birds! She’s also put a few little cute flowers on Caelin’s clothes, too. ^u^

Which is hilarious when you recall she’s a badass, plundering pirate.

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You saw the one for Io already, but here’s one for Xuân! This one’s a special treat for those that read these ask responses~ c;

Captain Vũ Thọ Xuân is her full name, or at least... the name she chose for herself.

Vũ is actually her mother’s surname, and despite being fully aware of the surname that would normally have been passed down to her, Xuân never particularly felt connected to that side of the family, so even though she saw very little of her mother, she decided to use that name, instead! It’s a token to remember her by, as well as a way of honouring the mother that gave up... well, everything for her.

When being referred to in official business by those that know her “true” name, Xuân is unfortunately terribly embarrassed (and tries to avoid this whenever possible). See, normally those of her community would gain a second, ‘full’ name after turning a certain age. Xuân never had that chance, as she was taken from her home when very young, and has yet to gain access to another community that could finish the ceremony for her, so her official name is... actually currently that of a child. If she did have that ability, her surname would be expected to be Ren’vũ, but having more an appreciation for her mother, it would likely be the other way around, Vũ’ren.

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At the beginning of the Anchored Souls series, Celestine has been living on her own for about 14 years with little exception. Not only that, but of the people she’s encountered, she’s erased almost all memories of her existence.

The people of Whitecap Ridge, the village she currently resides on the outskirts of, know of her as the Little Spanish Girl for her accent, but only some can vaguely recall anything about her. They know she lives in the previously abandoned cabin over the ridge, away from everyone else. They know more or less what she looks like and more or less what she sounds like, but no one has any idea how she ended up there, nor how she survives on her own.

Of course, no one can recall all of the trinkets and food she’s stolen from all of the village residents. ^^’ To most, there’s just a vague sense of unease when talking about the poor little soul that lives on her own, and there’s a belief that the place she calls home is cursed, since anyone who’s gone to try and seek her out returns not even remembering that they went there in the first place.

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Kieran! I haven’t talked about the over-protective troublemaker for a long while~

Kieran and their twin Keeva are both a part of the Polaris Shiver! Shivers are travelling groups of Surge and/or Mist sirens, and Kieran’s is made up of them, their twin, their adopted sibling Celia, and another older couple of Surge sirens and their four finlings (children). They usually remain further South from where One Siren’s Soul takes place, instead frequenting around the Caribbean, but rumours of the humans having made a device capable of blocking magic had attracted them Northward to help out a fellow Shiver.

Due to the unfamiliar waters, the parents of the other family in their Shiver would often scout ahead, leaving Kieran and Keeva in charge of babysitting the younger finlings (because STARS KNOW you don’t leave Celia in charge of ANYTHING). You might be thinking the ever patient, friendly and sweet Keeva would be the ultimate babysitter--... exceeepppt, kids... freak them out. Enter the scary, rude and snarky twin~

Well, wait.

Despite what everyone else thinks, Kieran is actually heckin’ amazing with younglings! But don’t tell anyone. I mean, it’s not as if you’d be believed, but Kieran will kill you if you reveal that they’re actually a softie for playing tag and telling stories with clam-shell puppets. ^^

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Io began wearing gloves on a daily basis immediately after the pirate attack on her home village. At the time, she solely had access to the gloves she wore for practicing fencing, so they were quite a bit hot and chunky and difficult to do... well, pretty much anything with. She absolutely refused to take them off for any purpose. Dr. Charlie Mellor, the family friend who was named her guardian after her parents... mm, became... unavailable, had enough experience with the girl to know her stubbornness wouldn’t let up for anyone. Besides that, many believed it was some way of coping with the trauma for the young girl, and after just losing her family, no one wanted to take that away from her.

Charlie instead purchased her a much lighter pair of silk gloves that extending back nearly to her elbows, with pretty little floral embroidery in gold thread--dainty and in-fashion enough that it wouldn’t be questioned for a girl of her social status to be constantly wearing them. After much convincing, the girl finally exchanged them out.

Upon getting her own pay from working in the Navy, Violet pretty much immediately went out and bought a simpler, wrist-length white silk pair, something far more practical for her situation.

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Phoenix!

When the Compass is docked, Phoenix has managed to convince the ship’s cook to allow her access to the kitchen so she has a chance to cook with fresh ingredients for her friends! Eggs and milk are basically impossible to get while out sailing, so Phoenix has taken to buying them when she’s able, so she can make some lovely desserts for the crew! (She loves to cook, and doesn’t have the opportunity very often!)

To be honest, the ship’s official cook really enjoys her company, it’s just that Phoenix is a bit big for the space, so on any normal day at sea, there simply isn’t enough room for the both of them. ^^’

Phoenix has also convinced the cook on the Diluculo to allow her the same option!

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Despite his difficulty with overall balance, Caelin is actually extraordinarily dexterous with his hands! He’s particularly good with fast or detailed finger movements, meaning his fiddle playing is just incredible! He’s also extremely good with tying knots and has picked up a vast knowledge of different kinds and types, to the point that the crew of the Diluculo has stopped allowing him to participate truthfully in knot-tying competitions because he just... doesn’t stop winning. XD

He also frequently is caught stimming with a length of rope or twine, tying and untying various knots, and he will also continually fold and weave his fingers when given nothing to do--the transition to learning sign language from Dione was frankly pretty darn natural for him!