A Wish Breathed Into You

AU where Siffrin is the Savior after The King froze Vauguarde.

[Siffrin & Odile] [Alternate Universe, Second Person POV, Siffrin POV]

Follow up fic: Trust The Rogue To Lead You

You remember Vaugarde. Your earliest memory was wandering the shores, alone and confused, the kind hands of strangers reaching out to you and the odd twist of their words calming your upset mind. It was a kind place. A welcoming place. You had loved it and left it, because you were afraid that if you planted your feet too hard, you would wake up once more without any memories, history, a name…

You never wanted to lose another home, so you had refused to make one. You moved on to Poteria. And Andira. And any other place that you could think of, too afraid to stop and risk losing everything.

But while you ran from Vaugarde, afraid to lose it, someone else has moved in. They had planted their roots, refusing to move or to let anything else move around them. They had chosen to preserve their memories in the only way they knew how, making themselves into a gravemarker and taking Vaugarde with them to the grave.

You'd been halfway around the world at the time. There was nothing that you could have done. Nothing that anyone could have done, you assume, because no one did it. No one stopped it. Vaugurde was frozen in time and unlike your home, long lost to the ashes of whatever had burned it from yours and everyone else's mind, it was made into an everlasting memorial.

You had been afraid to forget Vaugarde, to lose it, but you never wanted to keep it like this.

No one had been able to do anything, but… you could. You knew that you could.

You hadn't been able to explain it to your companion at the time. She had asked you a ton of questions when you insisted that you needed to go there, but you hadn't been able to tell her more than, "I have to help. I'm the only one that can."

She looked at you with a deep well of skepticism. You thought that it would be the end of your time together. That she would call you crazy and leave to find more stable company. You were never the best company, you didn't think. Your memories slipped away from you like sand, you got antsy staying in one place too long, and you were terrible at explaining yourself.

She surprised you though, closing her book with a deep sigh, and offering you a wry smile. "I suppose I always did intend to visit the country, though this wasn't how I thought I would ever do it."

You felt warm inside at her agreement. It was nice, having someone at your side that didn't leave you at the first sign of your… well, everything. You didn't know how to properly express your gratitude though, so all you did was smile up at her and say, "Thanks Odile."

"It wouldn't feel right to let you go on such a dangerous journey all alone," she added. "We're traveling companions, aren't we?"

"Yeah," you agreed softly. It meant twice as much to you as it did to her, you were pretty sure, but the sentiment was one that you wanted to hold onto with all of your might. You never wanted to forget Odile. The way that you never forgot Vaugarde, even though you'd always feared that you would. "We are."

It had taken more than a month to travel to Vaugarde from where you were. There had been numerous warnings from everyone that you met along the way. From those that had fled, those that lived along the borders, those that had been curious enough to go take a look at the frozen country, and they all had advice to give you.

The country had become… cold. As if all the warmth was frozen like everything else. A negative space, almost like a vacuum, you thought. You… weren't sure why you thought that.

You didn't think about it.

You took in everyone's advice. Odile took notes and talked with you about the best way to prepare for what you'd find there.

You shared with her your memories of Vaugarde, as best as you could. There were holes in it like everything else you touched, but Odile was attentive and patient, more greedy for this part of you than any other. It was almost embarrassing how much attention she gave you when you opened up about this, and she teased you when your face darkened and you tried to hide in the collar of your cloak. It was… nice though. Comfortable. Friendly.

You didn't tell Odile this, couldn't think of how to say it without sounding greedy, needy, and presumptuous, but you thought of her as a friend. Maybe as more than a friend? She was literally the most important person that you had, but you felt like saying that was… too much. So you didn't. You tucked it away somewhere inside you and cherished the time that the two of you spent together like nothing else you ever had.

When you finally arrived in Vaugarde, you felt like you were walking through glass. The town was like a dollhouse, everyone frozen in the middle of talking, eating, running. It was haunting. You felt like you were walking through a picture book, through a memory you weren't supposed to see.

"Gems alive," Odile swore softly, horrified in much the same way you were.

They said there were things called Sadness here. Manifestations of regret and sorrow. Walking through the town, you could understand how such a thing could be true. So many people whose lives were interrupted, stolen… How else could they feel, other than hopeless? What was left for them other than despair?

"It's okay," you say softly. There's a well of confidence in your words that you can't explain. You know that you can fix this. It won't be quick. You'll need to destroy the Sadness overrunning the area if this is going to work, you know that too, without being able to explain how you know it. But you can do it. You know you can. "We'll fix it."

Odile's expression is a mix of devastation and hope. You know she didn't really believe you before, but seeing the reality of things made her want to. She truly hopes that you know what you're doing, but even if you don't, she's prepared to stand beside you through that failure. You're really grateful to her for that.

"I… hope that you're right, Siffrin," is all that she says.

Fighting takes more time than you thought it might. There were only the two of you, after all. You were fast and Odile had access to all craft types, but two people versus multiple Sadnesses was never going to be easy. You spend a few hours clearing out an area and then retreat over the border to sleep. The weeks since Vaugarde had frozen had proven that the curse was no longer moving, so you both felt safe there. There was no indication that the curse moved anymore at all, since you both knew that others had visited the ruins of Vaugarde. Better to be safe than sorry, though.

It took two full days, with both of you making sure to take long rest in between bouts of fighting. Once you were done, you went to the Favor Tree that the town was built around. Favor Trees were specific to Varguarde, but you knew that they were the best place to do this. They were a place that gathered the hopes and happiness of people. A place where people laid their hearts bare. If there was any place where you thought the universe would be listening, anyplace where you thought they'd hear you if you screamed your loudest and hardest, it was here.

The leaves of the tree were frozen, but you had already prepared another way to make this happen. You sat at the base of the tree, aware of Odile standing behind you and watching curiously over your shoulder. You took out a piece of paper and folded a paper crane. You whispered your wish three times into paper as you folded, then you wrapped a string around it and hung it from the tree.

The crane would hold your wish, the string would bind it together, bind it to the ground. One wouldn't be enough though, you knew that. You folded three. And then six. And then nine.

When you got to nine, you knew that you had done enough. They were spaced apart, hanging from the Favor Tree, but you knew that you had done this right. Your wish was safe, nestled deep with the heart of the cranes, grounded to the tree, to the earth. All that was left…

"We have to wait until nightfall," you say. The universe didn't only grant wishes at night, but this was important, you needed to do this right. You needed to make sure you told the Universe your wish as clearly as possible, and you needed to know how the universe would answer.

Odile looked up to the sky. "That's easy enough, it shouldn't be long now."

You smiled at her, making yourself comfortable at the base of the tree, and waited. Odile came to sit beside you, resting on one of the large roots rather than the ground. She didn't ask questions, though you could tell that she wanted to. You were glad that she had decided to wait.

Once the stars were visible in the sky, you stood up. You went around touching each crane, thinking your wishes loudly as you could as you climbed the branches of the tree. You looked to the sky, finding the brightest star, and you whisper your wish one last time.

For a long time, nothing happens. The world is still.

Then suddenly, it isn't. You look up in time to see a ball of heat and light falling toward you. You raise your hands above your head to catch it.

You don't know why, but you know what to do.

The Universe leads…

…you decide to follow.

You open your mouth wide…

It burns all the way down. It coats your mouth with sugar, feels sticky and thick, like syrup. You want to scream, it hurts so badly, but you can't. You can't! All you can do is swallow over and over again as you try and force the hard, hot lump down your throat.

With every swallow you feel the heat infusing you with more and more heat. You feel like the Universe is breathing a wish into you, instead of the other way around.

You blink and you find yourself on the ground.

"Siffrin!"

You… fell. From the tree. But you don't even feel your own body.

Your eyes are drawn to the cranes as they start to light up, until they're as bright as the stars in the sky.

You open your mouth with the intention to say that they're beautiful…

You scream instead.

You scream and scream until your throat is raw and ragged, until you're so breathless that you can't breathe.

You can't breathe!

You don't breathe.

You pass out.

You wake up with a gasp!

Your body is cradled in Odile's arms, which is odd because she's only rarely touched you before this point. It's nice though, so you don't fight it. You don't feel hurt, like you remember being. You don't feel hot or raw at all. Around you, the area around the Favor Tree seems to have come to life.

It worked…

It worked! Your wish worked!

"Thank the Expressions, you're alright!" Odile exclaims. She pulls you further into her arms and you… breathe. You breathe. You relax like your body has been wound tight the entire time and you feel everything pour out of you. "Don't scare me like that, Siffrin."

"Sorry," you say softly. One hand is on the arm she has wrapped around you, as if you can keep her there, though you'd never try if she pulled away from you. Luckily she doesn't. "It's working though!"

Odile seemed startled, as if she hadn't noticed the change happening around you. Maybe her eyes had been so focused on you that she hadn't looked away. Now, they're wide as she watches the way life slowly seeps into the land around you both. The curse is receding. Not far. You knew, somehow, that this process would be slow. One town at a time.

It could kill you if you tried to do more than that, and you weren't sure it would work that way besides. You weren't sure how you knew, but you did. You knew.

Just like you knew that the nagging feeling leading you this whole time had been from the Universe. Making a wish just like you always did.

Maybe it hadn't been that only you could do, just that the Universe needed someone to do it and you were the only one that had answered its call. It made you smile, that you could do something for the Universe, for Vaugarde. Your first home had been lost, but maybe…

Maybe you could build another one after all. Maybe you could breathe life into Vaugarde the way that it had breathed life into you.

"I think you owe me an explanation," Odile said, her expression steely even as she still seemed to be looking over you.

You laugh, happy and exhausted and a host of other emotions that you weren't fully sure how to explain or even name. "Yeah, I guess I do."

Tags

AHHHHHHHHHHHH THIS IS AMAZING OP

Anyflip links to complete bsd light novels

dazai’s entrance exam - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/vpeu/

dark era - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/pcxl/

untold origins - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/ghzd/

55 minutes - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/ppxc/

dead apple - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/wvkq/

beast - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/vaqg/

fifteen - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/msym/

stormbringer - https://anyflip.com/gxcnw/gbxf/

i got a hold of these while z library was still in it’s full glory and thought i’d share! the translation on these is by yen press, if you want a site where you can download them dm me, send any complaints to my ask box :3 i also recommend checking out @/bsd-bibliophile’s website for fan translations

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astralspen

4 months ago

Trust The Rogue To Lead You

Follow up to A Wish Breathed Into You

Odile contemplates the quest that her traveling partner has dragged her into. She trust him to lead her on this path.

[Siffrin & Odile] [Alternate Universe, Second Person POV, Odile POV, Introspection, Character Study]

Siffrin was a bit of an odd fellow, you'd known that since the first time you'd stumbled across each other. They were aimless and air headed at times, while being completely singled minded and determined at others. They could forget their words mid sentence one minute, but tell you the entire translation history of a play in the next. You didn't understand them, but you found them frightfully easy to get along with.

You had already been traveling for quite some time when you met Siffrin, and it seemed that they had been doing the same but with much less grace. They didn't seem to have a destination that they were aiming for and, though you wouldn't realize this until much later, didn't have a place that they planned to return to either. It was easy enough to let them stick by your side for a time and then just as easy to want them to stay there.

It was true that you questioned their decision to visit a frozen country, even when your own desire to do the same was rather high. It was a dangerous, reckless, and ill advised course of action. As much as you thought them to be a madman for suggesting it, you must have been just as mad to agree. As unorthodox as Siffrin's methods could be at times, he hadn't steered you wrong yet. You were hesitant to speak the words aloud, but you had placed a fair bit of trust in Siffrin and it had been repaid poorly.

Still, this "Universe" that they went on about mad zero since to you. It was somehow everything, but also everything was inside of it. It was a guiding force, but also he couldn't tell you a single thing about it when pressed. Not that Siffrin had ever been good at explaining himself under pressure, but that didn't mean you could always stop yourself from trying. You understood that it was part of his religion in some fashion, but you desperately wished you could get a few more concrete details out of him.

"I don't know what to tell you, Odile," Siffrin had shrugged at you when you'd tried to poke at his words. "The Universe leads, all we can do is follow."

He said it with such finality that it must have been a common saying in… wherever Siffrin was from. You'd yet to figure it out or get anything out of him on that mystery. The only thing you knew for sure was that he had no intention of returning there. Whether that was because he refused to for some reason or perhaps wasn't allowed to, you had yet to figure out.

It hadn't taken you long to begin writing down all your observations about Siffrin. It had taken even less time after that to realize that you'd need a separate notebook if you really wanted to understand all the strange oddities of your new companion. There had been one too many instances of scribbling in the margins of an already filled page for your liking, so you made the investment for a Siffrin specific book.

It worked out in your favor, as he seemed to get a kick out of trying to peek over your shoulder and you enjoyed the little game you'd made of pretending to hide it from him. It also gave you a chance to learn more about them. You'd learned earlier on that they couldn't read Ka Buan, so you'd made a game of seeing which scripts he could and could not recognize. Poterian seemed to offer him no trouble, which made sense as the two of you had met in Poteria. He scrunched up his face at Mwu script, which led you to assume that he didn't have much, if any, familiarity with the language. He had no trouble with Vaugardian, but seemed to take longer to parse out Andiran, despite the languages similarities.

You were used to others becoming a bit uncomfortable if you paid too much attention to them, so it was a refreshing change of pace that you could tease Siffrin in this manner. If anything, he seemed flattered by your attention.

It also made it easier to show your affection in this way. You weren't very physically affectionate, but you could list out the traits that you found endearing about them and smile as they slowly slunk into their cloak to hide their darkening face.

So, you were reasonably fond of Siffrin, you trusted him, and you were more willing to go along with his insane plans than you perhaps should have been. You didn't have a problem with any of this until you watched them fall out of a tree and scream bloody murder for so long that you knew you'd never be able to get the sound out of your head.

You hadn't questioned them on their little rituals, they'd always had them but this was one of the areas you were able to be patient in learning about them. You hadn't had any regret for that decision until then. If whatever they had done had led to this, you couldn't fathom allowing them to do as they pleased again.

Only… it worked. You hadn't truly believed that he could "fix Vaugarde" or whatever their insane idea had been, but as you looked around and saw life returning to the branches of the tree, you had to second guess that assumption. It seemed that "wishing" had more validity to it than you ever could have guessed.

"Wishcraft?" You asked with some incredulity. You had demanded that he allow you to check him over for injuries, but amazingly, he didn't seem to be hurt at all. You weren't sure how that was possible with how hard he had fallen and how raw they had screamed themselves, but you decided to let it go for the time being. Too many mysteries at once would give you a headache.

Siffrin simply nodded at you. "Yeah. It's… I'm not sure how to explain it?"

You tried to control your expression so that you didn't look as skeptical as you felt. "A craft based around… wishes?" You repeat. "I've never heard of such a thing before."

Siffin sank down into his cloak the way he often did when he was embarrassed, before he looked back at you and shrugged. "I… don't know why I know it, just that I… do?"

There were a great many things that Siffrin didn't know why they knew. His memory was unreliable at the best of times, yet his knowledge was usually spot on. He was more likely to underestimate his knowledge than overestimate it.

"Tell me more about this… Wishcraft."

"Like what?" They asked with such an unassuming expression that you knew they were not simply trying to withhold the information from you. Sometimes you weren't sure how someone as expressive and kind as Siffrin had made it on their own as long as they did. You often sent thanks to whatever Expression had guided them to your side instead of into the hands of someone worse.

"How does it work?" you asked, opening your notebook so that you could keep track of whatever they told you. "What does it do?"

"Well, it works by wishing?" He didn't sound particularly certain as he said that, but you attributed that more to him explaining it to you than any actual uncertainty in what he was trying to say. "And… it can do… a lot? Maybe not anything, but… I mean, if you wish for it…"

You wouldn't get anywhere this way.

"Alright, how about you tell me about this?" You gesture to the Favor Tree.

"You have to make a wish in order to use it," he started slowly. You could practically see him trying to arrange the words in his head. "And you can wish for anything, but the way that you wish makes a difference."

"How so?"

You could tell from the way that their face scrunched up that this isn't something he'll be able to answer. Or if he can, certainly not easily. You decided to try a different avenue.

"What are some ways to make wishes?"

Siffrin perked up a bit at that question. It must be easier to answer than the others. "There are rituals," he answered. "Like, if you're just saying your wish aloud, you can say it three times, or six, sometimes nine, but it isn't usually a good idea to go higher than that. You can, but…"

But he can't explain the ins and outs of it.

"What else?" You asked, writing that down.

"You can wish on a dandelion, but you have to blow all the seeds away in a single breath or it won't work. And you can wish on a star, but you have to really want it for a star to grant your wish and that's only for bigger wishes, anyway."

Siffrin had mentioned stars before, but you weren't sure why they had a hand in granting wishes. In fact, you weren't sure that any of this made sense to you. You didn't see any connecting thread between these things. You gestured for him to go on anyway.

"With the cranes, you have to fold a certain amount of them and the more that you fold, the bigger you can make your wish," he told you. "But just folding them isn't enough. You have to focus on your wish while folding and then whisper it into the folds of the paper so that the paper holds the wish and keeps it safe."

"Why does the paper need to hold the wish?"

He looked confused at the question. "Something has to take your wish to the Universe. So like, with a dandelion, each seed is carrying your wish away, but if you don't want it enough, then it won't be granted. That's why you need to blow off all the seeds." That… almost made sense to you. "Cranes can fly, so if you tell them your wish, they can carry it to the Universe for you, but only if you fold them right. Otherwise your wish will fall out and it'll be dropped before they make it to the sky."

Wishcraft sounded utterly absurd, but it was clear that there were rules. Rules that operated under some kind of logic even though you were clearly lacking the connective tissue to follow that logic.

You finish writing down everything he told you, even the parts that didn't make sense to you. Perhaps if you revisit the topic down the line, it will.

"So… unfreezing Vaugarde." It sounded completely mad when you'd first agreed, but now the task had gone from impossible to merely… daunting. You couldn't imagine taking on more responsibility than you seemingly just had. Unfreezing an entire country, fighting off hordes of these Sadness. Would it be just as volatile of a process every time? Would Siffrin need to use the same ritual? Would it always… hurt him?

You suspected that Siffrin wouldn't have the answer to these questions if you asked him.

"We should get some sleep," you told him, closing your book and pushing yourself to your feet. You felt the strain in your limbs just a bit and when you stretched, you could feel the creak in your back. "I suspect we'll have quite a lot of work ahead of us when the town unfreezes."

Siffrin nodded and pushed himself to his feet.

Tomorrow you might not have a choice in how things proceeded, so you should probably ask now, while you have the chance.

"Siffrin." They stopped and looked up at you. "Are you sure that you want to take up this task? It will not be easy and it will not be quick. It'll be more dangerous than our previous travels and more labor intensive as well."

Silence settled between you for a while. You hoped that they were considering your words and not considering how to distance themselves from you for the audacity of asking.

"I have to do this, I think," he said eventually. "Even if the Universe didn't guide me here, I owe it to Vauguarde. Also… I might be the only one that can." He looked up. "So I have to do it. I don't want Vaguarde to become just a memory." Another pause. "You don't have to help me… if you don't want to."

You reach out to place a hand on his head. "I'm not leaving you to do this alone, my dear rogue. This old lady will be with you for a while longer, yet."

He smiled, small and shy, but full of warmth. "Thanks Odile."

In the morning the two of you watch as the town comes to life. People that had been frozen in motion lurched forward, bird song slowly began to fill the air, the lightlessness receded from the world, and the air warmed. You and Siffrin tried to follow the wave of the curse breaking to catch those that were stuck in awkward positions and try to explain what had happened.

By the afternoon, most of the town was unfrozen and by nightfall, you could see the borders where Siffrin's wish had stopped.

You tried to explain, as simply as you could, what had happened. Neither you nor Siffrin really wanted to get into the idea of Wishcraft, but you didn't really need to. People understood that the two of you were responsible for unfreezing them and the rest didn't really matter to them all that much.

"We're so grateful to you, saviors!" Your eyes went to Siffrin when one of the townsfolk grabbed your hands to thank you. From the way they were shrinking into their cloak, you didn't think that they would appreciate the correction. Siffrin didn't particularly enjoy too much attention on him and while you knew that the attention would inevitably come, you didn't need to hasten the inevitable. "Please, is there any way that we can help you?"

You only needed to consider your response for a moment.

"There's a long journey ahead of us, a sizable task. And aid that you could offer…"

"Of course!"

"Anything for our saviors!"

The people of Vaugarde were generous. That could be expected from a person in their position, but you were fairly certain you would not receive this warm of a response from Ka Bue if your home had been in the same position. They offered you supplies for your journey, as much food as you could reasonably carry, and begged you to stay long enough for them to hold a celebration with you both.

You agreed, of course. There wasn't a time limit to your journey. Between fighting and traveling, the task would be arduous enough, but you weren't yet sure what burden Wishcraft would put on Siffrin, so you wanted to give them ample time to relax while they could.

During the height of the celebration you decide to check the Favor tree. You aren't yet sure what significance they hold to Vaugarde, you haven't gotten the chance to ask anyone yet, but Siffrin had told you what they were called and it had served as the base for their wish which seemed like it must be significant somehow. To your surprise, the light that had been housed within the paper cranes had died.

You spent a long time staring at them and at the people surrounding the favor tree. There were still so many unknowns about this journey, this mysterious craft. You weren't yet sure how to navigate it all, how you could help Siffrin, but you were determined to try. You knew that much.

"Hey, Odile!" You turned to Siffrin smiling up at you, holding out their hand. "Flower for you!"

It was a simple thing, the flower. Just a small token. But it had been frozen just hours earlier and now it was alive. Because of you. You and Siffrin.

You accept the flower with a small smile. "Thank you, Siffrin."

The smile that they gift you with is even better than the flower, but only one of those can be bundled up so that you can keep it with you forever.

Tags

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME GENIUNELY ADORE THIS AU NOW Would you mind if i made lil fanart doodles of it?

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astralspen

5 months ago

Hey my server is doing a content exchange secret santa this Christmas! If you want to be a part of that we haven't officially started yet, still just gathering people until Nov. 20th (give or take a few days)

After that I will pair people up with what should work best for everyone and then sometime between Christmas and New Years we will actually exchange the content.

This will be an event taking place in my server which you can join either from my pinned post or right here:

Discord

Join the BSD Clubroom Discord Server!

Check out the BSD Clubroom community on Discord - hang out with 104 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

-E

Tags

bsd bungou stray dogs

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astralspen

1 month ago

I must share this whimsical wonder so bear with me for a moment.

My couch is very old and the cushions don't stay in place, so I have what is dubbed 'the couch hole'. This sounds bad. Generally, it is. But me being the oversized and extra needy cat I am, absolutely love it. I am telling you, I get into the couch hole and I am squished and compressed so perfectly I will sleep all day. Nothing shall disturb me except for the need of more blankets, of which I have plenty supplied on the couch in case of emergencies such as couch hole chills. I believe everyone should experience the bliss of the couch hole at least once in their life.

Tags

maybe oh no no tumblr this will find the people on their own ok probably not but i need to speak of the joys of couch hole

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astralspen

1 year ago

Ok this is kinda random but please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks black sheep from Scott pilgrim fits skk so well

Tags

bsd bungou stray dogs bsd chuuya bsd dazai bungo stray dogs skk bsd soukoku bsd skk Sokoku bsd thoughts I CANT EVEN EXPLAIN WHY ITS JUST SOME SORT OF SIXTH SENSE THAT TELLS ME i dont even watch scott pilgrim i just found isaa corvas cover of it on yt and fell in love with the song this might be because i was drawing skk with said song on loop BUT YOU SEE IT RIGHT istg i might start making animatics purely to get this bug out cause its too perfect

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