| backstory |

Cèdre Sterling (born as Day Bierce) is the eldest progeny of Ambrose Bierce and Mary Ellen Bierce. Their early years were spent being homeschooled while moving all over the United States due to their father’s military background granting him a prominent government position. Home life was tense, however; Cèdre’s father was a pacifist and despised his job as a result, meanwhile Cèdre’s mother was caught having an affair. Many of their early memories are of confrontations between their parents, as they tried to shield their younger brothers from the fighting as best they could.Cèdre was ten when their parents’ divorce was finalized, and their mother took them away; however, Cèdre’s brothers stayed with their father. Mary Ellen relocated the pair of them to France, trying to refine the child she’d been able to keep into a fine lady of society in the hopes that Cèdre would attract the attention of a wealthy man. Cèdre, however, cared little for their mother’s attempts - a small part of them wanted to believe they’d someday find true love, but the louder majority of their mind had decided there was no such thing. It was also not long after coming to France that Cèdre took on a new name, as did their mother, in order to avoid any contact from their relatives in the United States.At the age of thirteen, their ability - The Moonlit Road - awakened; unbeknownst to them, this was due to their father committing suicide and the ability passing on to them. Said ability rapidly caught the attention of the French government as a viable interrogation tactic. Cèdre at first considered it an honor to help their country, but they were already beginning to show signs of mental trauma before the Great War broke out. They began to be monitored by a handler to ensure that they wouldn't flee; Cèdre's mother was rather neutral on what was happening, as she had begun avoiding the teenager once the ability had manifested.At sixteen, they were enlisted by the government as part of France’s ability user forces sent out in the Great War. They were shifted from regiment to regiment, dependent on where torture/interrogation was expected to be needed for their time of serving in the war. They happened to be with Mimic when the Great War ended, and as a result they were also driven out of Europe by the Order of the Clock Tower. Cèdre drifted aimlessly with Mimic until the group fled to Yokohama in an attempt to escape the influences of the Order of the Clock Tower and the Transcendents.At twenty-five, Cèdre was part of the conflicts Mimic got into with the Port Mafia under Dazai as they struggled to find a safe space for themselves. Due to his knowledge of the usual circumstances that would lead to Oda’s death, Dazai took immediate action to swiftly eliminate Andrè Gide and the other members. Cèdre was captured and coerced into using their ability on their commander, resulting in his suicide. Cèdre themself was determined to be a non-threat and was allowed to leave after all of the others in their squad were dead.Cèdre was an emotional wreck after being let out of the Port Mafia’s custody. It did not take long for a gang leader in the slums to decide he was going to claim the terrified vagrant for himself. The relationship that followed was extremely abusive, and Cèdre frequently self harmed as well as had anxiety so crippling that they often couldn’t speak as a result. While their abusive boyfriend was out, they would wander the streets of Yokohama in search of a possible way out.One particularly rainy night, they got lost and wandered too far from their usual streets. They saw a gated building in the distance on the outskirts of town, and they desperately ran to it. The high fence presented little issue to them as they scaled it and dropped to the other side, picking the lock of the first door they encountered. It was in the pantry of this orphanage that Mori Ougai encountered the disheveled individual that had sought shelter … and decided to steal some food while they were at it.Mori was an observant enough man who had seen enough trauma to recognize that Cèdre couldn't answer him when he asked what they thought they were doing, rather than deciding that it was Cèdre being difficult. Instead he offered them shelter and food freely, much to the other's surprise. The intention was for Cèdre to get back on their feet and leave the following morning, and he was very confused when he woke up to the intruder cleaning and indicating that they wanted to stay.Able to infer that Cèdre was afraid to go back to wherever they came from, he relented and let them stay. He kept them isolated from the others in the orphanage, particularly Atsushi and Kyouka, for several weeks as Cèdre slowly adapted to the environment and began to show signs of improvement. Someone made the mistake once of looking for Cèdre at the orphanage, only to run away screaming that he'd seen a ghost as Mori showed himself to the man he inferred to be Cèdre's ex-boyfriend. It wasn't long after that incident that Cèdre finally found their voice again.Cèdre settled into their new life gratefully, falling completely in love with Mori; he was slower to reciprocate, feeling himself unworthy of their affections and shocked when Cèdre stayed after Elise revealed his past for him because she'd grown tired of her master denying himself this chance at happiness. Usually accompanied by Elise, they began helping with errands that required going to the city since Mori could not risk being seen and it coming to light that he'd faked his death.In this way, Cèdre found their reality and their hope - even if this world was fleeting, that didn't matter. The love they felt for Mori was real. The companion they found in Elise was real. The joy they felt seeing Atsushi and Kyouka also move on from their past was real. And that was enough.

| beast universe dynamics |

Atsushi Nakajima is initially wary of Cèdre, recognizing them from the day Chūya dragged them into Dazai's office. Similarly, Cèdre is on edge as they recognize him as the reaper. Over time, and with some help from the children at the orphanage, the pair begin to let down their guards around each other. Even though Cèdre is older than him, Atsushi comes to be protective of them due to his tiger side recognizing the weakness in the other individual.Elise oversees a lot of Cèdre’s care at Mori’s behest to get them back to health. She has a very blunt, no-nonsense attitude towards both Mori and Cèdre, but she is loyal to both of them. It is often her sharp tongue that helps snap Cèdre out of dissociative states.Kyōka Izumi is often annoyed that Cédre seems incapable of taking her seriously due to her age, but she also appreciates Cédre's attempts to act as a sisterly figure to her. Neither trust the other enough to show their true selves for quite some time.Ōgai Mori is initially very reluctant to let Cédre be close to him, convinced that he won't be good for them; his intention was to save their life and get them on their feet, but when they begged him to let them stay and work with him he decided to let it play out. The two of them come to trust each other, and gradually they help each other become better adjusted people.Osamu Dazai symbolizes Cédre's biggest regret as they constantly relive the moments of him tormenting them until they broke and unleashed their ability on their fellow members of Mimic. Dazai's death has done nothing to lessen these flashbacks, and Cédre still wakes up screaming many nights.

| moridre dynamic |

H-hey. I just wanted to say ... thank you. Thank you for taking me in. I'd probably be dead if not for you, and I... I don't know how to repay you, but I... want to try for you. - Cèdre breaking their mutism to speak to mori for the first time

Cédre is the last surviving member of Mimic, a gifted army regiment that was driven from Europe after the Great War. They eke out a living in the slums of Yokohama, resorting to theft to get by. They end up in a relationship with one of the leaders of a small gang in the area, but they are treated poorly and end up fleeing after months of abuse. They’re later taken in by Mori after being caught stealing food from the orphanage he is the director of. Cèdre is an extremely distrusting individual who keeps to themself, desperately desiring human closeness but terrified of being hurt any more. They initially present as mute, but they eventually regain the confidence to speak. They possess the ability The Moonlit Road, which is most useful as an interrogation method.

Mori is the former boss of the Port Mafia; he faked his death when Dazai Osamu assumed leadership of the Port Mafia. As a favor to the now-deceased Dazai, he acts as caretaker for Kyōka and Atsushi following their termination from the Port Mafia. In stark contrast to his standard universe counterpart, he openly regrets not being able to save many of the people in his past, especially Dazai. He seeks to atone for his past and cites control with fear as one of the worst crimes someone can commit. He possesses the ability Vita Sexualis, which allows him to manipulate a summon named Elise who he appears to treat as an equal and employs to help with running the orphanage.

Elise is a physical manifestation of Mori's supernatural ability, and she acts as the orphanage's head nurse as well as the main face of the establishment. At Mori’s behest, she oversees a lot of Cèdre’s care to get them back to health. She has a very blunt, no-nonsense attitude towards both Mori and Cèdre, but she is loyal to both.

Relationship: Mori is initially very reluctant to let Cédre be close to him, convinced that he won't be good for them; his intention was to save their life and get them on their feet, but when they begged him to let them stay and work with him he decided to let it play out. The two of them come to trust each other, and gradually they help each other become better adjusted people. The pair do not risk public outings to keep the fact that Mori is alive a secret, and they spend much of their time together as a very domestic stay-at-home couple.

Aesthetics/Themes: anchors, baking together, calathea leaves, cherry blossoms, cuddle days, lewisia, mirrors, pink tulips, red carnations, redemption, self-harm recovery, snowdrops, tea parties, thorny vines, white chrysanthemums, white daffodils, wisteria