#Bardic Tales

[bardic-tales]

Title: Youth

Pairing: Bianca Moore (f!OC) / Sephiroth

Other Character: Professor Hojo

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 1591

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII, Ever Crisis

Setting: AU: Redemption

Warnings: Abuse, body horror, combat violence, cold & hypothermia, death, emotional distress, experimentation, fear, isolation, manipulation, paranoia, psychological trauma

Summary: In a stimulated combat scenario, Bianca and Sephiroth confront the powerful summons Bahamut and Shiva to prove their abilities to Professor Hojo.

Squared Filled: Youth

Created for: #SephirothWeek which is hosted by @week-of-silver-winds

Note: This is from my redemption!AU where the timeline becomes very canon divergent. Also, for anyone who is following along with my passion project, Sephiroth and Bia meet very young in this AU.

In it, Hojo is the primary antagonist. This fan fic takes place during Ever Crisis before the First Episode of the First SOLDIER. So, Seph is 15; Bia, 13.

Excerpt:

In a cry of agony, tendrils burst forth from her back, surged towards Shiva, and pierced the summon’s defenses.

Still, the battle raged on. The sound of steel and the crackling of frost echoed across the virtual world. Shiva moved weakly as they continued to carve into her. Sephiroth knew they couldn’t waste anymore time. Drawn-out displays wouldn’t satisfy Professor Hojo.

Thump. Thump. Thump. His heart beat. The young man held onto the military saber and slowly lifted the blade parallel to his head and shoulder as he eased into his combat stance. He looked at his companion: the young girl that had been a constant in his life for five years now, the only one he was allowed to converse with.

Their environment flickered and glitch before them. Solid powder-blue boxes swayed, pivoted on their axis, rose, and descended. From the west, a warm breeze blew across the stimulation, waving his shoulder-length silver hair and her waist-length midnight locks behind them like banners welcoming warriors home from a battle. He looked at the force before them.

The battle was yet to be won. He didn’t scowl or have much emotion, other than looking at their foes before them: Bahamut and Shiva.

“On my mark,” he said.

Bianca nodded, as she curled her right hand into a fist and slammed it against the silver habaki and ebony tsuka, gliding her hand to the left and pulling Noctemaris from the void between dimensions. The black and dark gray blade emerged behind her fist, sparkling and glimmering with star dust. “Which one first?”

They had to preform above expectations or Hojo would take Bianca from him and return her shaken, bruised, and broken. Even if that meant endured their training, he had to protect Bianca.

“Shiva,” he replied. “She’s the most threat to us, as you’re delicate around ice and cold.”

Without another word, Sephiroth surged forward. His eyes fixated on the ice goddess who loomed ahead. The air around Bianca and Sephiroth was already thick with frost. The chill clawed at his skin, but he pressed on. His determination was unyielding.

If I hesitate, he thought, it would mean failure. Failure would mean Hojo’s interference with Bianca once again. This was a thought he would not tolerate: her experimentation.

Nameless flashed as he closed the distance to the scantily clad summon. His movements were precise and deadly. The ground beneath him cracked with each step forward, as the frozen ground protested his advance.

Without breaking stride, he launched himself into a serious of rapid slashes. The rapid successions of strikes aimed at childing away at Shiva’s defenses. Her green hair flowed around her as she tried to defend against Sephiroth’s graceful brutality.

Bianca darted to the side, using his assault as cover. She moved with a grace that belied the dark power coursing through her veins. Her wings unfurled and cast a shadow over the battlefield. With a single, powerful beat of her wings, she lifted herself into the air. The surrounding shadows deepened and obscured her from Shiva’s gaze.

Sephiroth knew they would have to finish this quickly. The cold gnawed at Bianca, lining her flesh with ice crystals. If they didn’t end it quick, there was a real possibility for her to develop hypothermia.

He glanced up for a moment as darkness oscillated around her, concealing herself from both Sephiroth and Shiva’s view. As he continued his relentless assault, Bianca descended from above and plunged downward with Noctemaris.

In a cry of agony, tendrils burst forth from her back, surged towards Shiva, and pierced the summon’s defenses.

Still, the battle raged on. The sound of steel and the crackling of frost echoed across the virtual world. Shiva moved weakly as they continued to carve into her. Sephiroth knew they couldn’t waste anymore time. Drawn-out displays wouldn’t satisfy Professor Hojo.

“Now, Bianca,” he called above the din, signaling her to finish the summon while he intercepted Bahamut. Sephiroth spun on his heel. The dragon’s roar shook the stimulator.

With a surge of shadows, Bianca’s blade plunged into Shiva’s chest. The dark energies expanded from the blade, as the star-drench blade glowed now: a crimson nebula surrounded Noctemaris, the arms spinning wildly around the length of the blade.

Shiva shattered in a explosion of crystalline shards and darkness.

“Move!” he commanded Bianca. With a swift leap, he launched himself toward the dragon, ready to engage their next challenge before Hojo ended the stimulation.

Sephiroth now leapt at Bahamut. His saber poised to strike as the air seemed to crackle with the dragon’s raw, untamed power. The beast’s eyes glowed red as it inhaled the surrounding air. The very air sizzled around Sephiroth as the dragon prepared to unleash a burst of Mega Flare.

There was no time to hesitate. He pushed forward, leaping up into the air again and bringing down Nameless with a downward strike. The ground beneath him split into a pentacle. The impact sent a tremor through Sephiroth’s arms, but he didn’t relent.

Bahamut recoiled while Sephiroth concentrated. A large fireball hovered over his hand, which he immediately threw at the dragon’s large silvery leathery wings.

As Bianca still soared through the air, her tendrils quivered and writhed around her. The darkness emanating from her wings intensified, casting blackness over the entire stimulation. With a fierce cry, she dove before the dragon’s belly and jabbed at it with the tendrils. They lashed at Bahamut’s underside.

The dragon roared in fury. It swatted at Bianca with its colossal claws, but she weaved and bobbed out of reach, siphoning blood from the creature through her appendages. As she danced through the air, Sephiroth struck from the ground. A rapid sequence of eight quick thrusts and slashes severed the joints of Bahamut’s massive limbs. His blade moved like a flash of silver.

With a surge of dark energy, Bianca unleashed her fury. Her movements became a blur as Noctemaris carved through the air and Bahamut. Each stroke left behind a trail of shadow, sapping the dragon’s will and strength.

Bahamut’s once-mighty form wavered. With a last thrust from Nameless, the giant beast collapsed. Its form and energy dissipating into the air.

Silence fell across the stimulation as Sephiroth reached into his coat and retrieved his flip phone. With the press of the downward arrow, he scrolled through the options and hit ‘Mission Successful’. The screen flashed in confirmation. Before the stimulation collapsed around them, he took one look at Bianca and ensured she was unharmed. Tiny cuts and bruises lined her arms, but nothing severe.

After they removed their V.R. headsets, they were met by the calculating gaze of the Head of Research and Development.

“You both need to be faster. Train harder or you’ll never unlock your full potentials.” The mad scientist, a Shinra board member by the name of Professor Hojo, held the clipboard in his hand. He was shorter than the teenage boy, but he still held power over Sephiroth.

In his other hand, Hojo held a pen and scribbled down notes on the sheet of paper clipped to the board. “Especially you, Bianca. You have barely tapped into your potential abilities."

Sephiroth’s brilliant cyan gaze flicked towards Bianca. Her indigo eyes widened, blowing out her feline-like pupils. The string looping around their separate wrists pulsated an angry red, allowing the anxiety and fear running through the strings to settle deep within his own stomach. It amplified the fear, sending it back to the small girl.

“This separation will make both of you stronger,” Hojo said, as he gripped onto Bianca’s right bicep. His spindly fingers bit into her soft knitted turtleneck.

Although he didn’t show it, his heart galloped as he watched Hojo lead Bianca away. He had to shelter her from Hojo, and he would. Thump. Thump. Thump.

tagging some fellow mutuals: @themaradwrites @littleshopofchaos @serenofroses @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@nightingaleflow @seastarblue @prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen

@chickensarentcheap

[asirensrage]

Happy Tender Tuesday. This is for an OC of your choosing. Does your OC have any siblings? What is their dynamic like?

It's Saturday, but I'm answering it now lol

I think it'd be most fun to answer this for Takara. Mainly because of the two different lives she leads or has led.

In her role as Takara, she has a younger brother, Takemichi. He's the hero of his story, and when Takara meets him, she gains a deep affection for him and his story... especially as he tries to help her adjust. The two of them care about each other deeply and both are the type to sacrifice themselves for the other. Which causes problems.

In her old life, she had two older brothers. Her family was very sports and goal-oriented. They all loved each other, but things happen as the youngest in the family. Especially when you're the only girl. She learned how to rough house, but she has been held to a higher standard than her brothers. She's had to work twice as hard to get any of the same chances they did (like needing to do figure skating and gymnastics just to play hockey) and deal with the sexism of being a girl in male-dominated areas. Still, she was close with her brothers....as long as she remembered them...

[salmonandfox]

Happy STS from the Creators Club! What role does community play in your writing process?

Oh lord; SO MUCH. I am an introverted little gremlin human but I also have -intense- imposter syndrome paired with deep doubts as to my skill to do ANYTHING because -well- the short answer is -trash relatives- that turned everything into a competition and if you weren't -perfect- you were -terrible- and you -literally can't- be perfect at being creative.

SUPER AWESOME.

So I am VERY bad at socializing but I also -crave- knowing if I'm doing things 'right' or at least 'all right' so I tend to seek friends and acquaintances and just -toss fragments of writing at them- to see how they feel about it and I've found out a few times that some people -only- like the creative parts where I'm doing something they can immediately -see- and where it might be -for them- and they get -real bored- real fast when I go -hey so I'm embarking on an 80 thousand word delusion that I can make a book that does not involve any of your characters because that would be... awkward... if published but -would you look at parts with me- and tell me I make sense?

And then there's a handful others that went 'fuck yeah let me see' or even just 'this isn't my prefered genre but I have -fully got your back- let's do this-, and god that made a MASSIVE distance.

I'm still pretty sure that the idea people are actually interested in the end product MAY be all in my head because only one person has read it so far but it's REALLY nice to know which people are ok with watching me be a delusional gargoyle at my computer and occasionally reminding me that I need to move and stretch or I'm going to regret it.

Next I'll work on actually taking their advice.

[poore-choice-of-words]

Happy STS! What inspired you to start writing your current story?

Happy STS! Thanks for the ask!

So, funny thing: I got an ask like this last week too, great minds think alike I guess! I got into a side project and the broad strokes of The Heroes' Guild.

So I'm gonna get into the the weeds of what inspired the two Heroes' Guild stories I'm working on right now.

So for The Arcana Club (the general series name Summer's Summer with Summer falls into) is my love of magical girls, but also Naoko Takeuchi's method of writing who you would want to be friends with. It's kind of a gift to my younger self, which is also why the MCs are all in the same homeschool group (inspired by my old homeschool group).

Rising Ark as a series was mostly just inspired by Firefly, then what a story like that would look like if it took place in the future of The Heroes' Guild universe.

[sunflower-bardic-inspiration]

Everyone at the table choosing classes: "Bards? Pfft, just jokes and seduction."

Meanwhile, my bard:

Level 2: Sweet-talked a socially awkward necromancer into freeing her friend, an elven sorcerer who accidentally got trapped in the soul stone because of curiosity (argh, mages!). Not a single weapon drawn😌

Level 5: After surviving cannibals’ attack and rolling a 29 Performance check (+10 modifier😁), strolls up to one of them. The dude looks like he's about to faint.

DM:They're convinced you are demonically possessed now.

Next turn:

DM: Okay, your turn. What do you do?

Me: (Holding a piece of their dead friend's brain, hissing and coughing, with illusory tentacles decorating hair and ears): “Fooood… Eat it.”

Cannibal: sobs with scared eyes, then eats it anyway.

[nicholasandriani]

Discover the Heartbreaking Tale of The Wanderer - Reviewing An Anglo-Saxon Elegiac Masterpiece That Will Leave You Breathless! Including Considerations from Japan.

Greetings, dear audience! As a comparativist of medieval comp lit and researcher of storytelling methods, I am excited to take you on a journey through one of the most poignant and moving pieces of English literature – The Wanderer. The Wanderer is an elegy, a poetic lament for the loss of a loved one or for a bygone era. It is a powerful and emotive reflection on the transience of human life…

[iloveyou-writers]

Happy birthday. I can't tell you how much reading your positive words have inspired and motivate me when I had writer's block.

I hope you have a wonderful day today!

🥹🥹

This made me so happy. Thank you. I adore running this blog. I'm glad the words I've been needing to hear also help you guys too. 🥰🥰

Have a terrific day! Thank you for the birthday wishes.

[missriggie]

STOP SCROLLING!

You have been given Bardic Inspiration by the Half-Drow Morrjexia!

Reblog for +1d6 in your dice rolls today.

Please, continue...

[bardic-tales]

Thanks so much for the tag, @lexiklecksi. This generator is always fun!

Azrakiel / Asmodeus

Azrakiel is very good at walking in platform heels: 8 / 10. Azrakiel is the Prince of Lust. While he is the antagonist of the story, he is also a very peacocky person. He would wear and walk in platform heels and look good doing it.

Azrakiel likes being alone: - 0 / 10. No. He doesn't like to be alone. As Asmodeus, Azrakiel enjoys being around his subjects, participating in the hedonistic parties that he hosts, and desires to be all-present.

Azrakiel is going to hell: - 10 / 10. As a Prince of Hell, he rules over the hellish Kingdom of Lust. This was his reward for being one of Lucifer's top generals in the Civil War that split the divine beings' allegiances in half.

Bianca Moore - Final Fantasy version

Bianca steals other peoples clothes: 6 / 8. This is how Bianca's design came about. As a person who can bend reality, she tends to look at what people wear and create clothing based upon that. Her illusionary clothes feel real to the touch but takes a long of concentration to focus. Once she escaped Hojo and Shinra's confinement in [ ν ] – εγλ 0004, she tried to remember what the people's clothes looked like on Gaia. The only thing she could think of was a combination between Zack's SOLDIER uniform (which she changed the turtleneck to a biker's vest) and Sephiroth's trench coat.

Bianca is gay: 0/10. I was conflicted on this one. Bianca is not a lesbian, but she also is not straight. She is demisexual and demiromantic. However, she doesn't care what a person has under the hood, as long as she forms an emotional bond with them.

Bianca will go feral. Watch out: 10 / 10. She already did. When she was escaped her captivity in '04, Bianca slaughtered several SOLDIERS and troopers with her claws before finding Noctemaris and Solstice. She reveled in the blood shed.

Seraphine

Seraphine is constantly singing for no reason: 10 / 10. As a celestial being, Seraphine has a fondness for the arts. She particularly enjoys singing. As Bianca's living conscious, she tends to sing within Bianca's mind now. She did a rendition of Say You'll Be There by the Spice Girls.

Seraphine is great with kids: 6 / 10. Seraphine committed the greatest sacrifice to save her daughter from Azrakiel's machinations. She is a living conscious now, like Jimmy Cricket, but she is still an archangel. She is still righteous and can be condensing and cold to her daughter if she doesn't listen to her advice. Like Azrakiel, Seraphine is using Bianca for her own means: making Bianca into a Watcher of the Mortal realms like she was before her physical death. However, she sees it as necessary and different from Azrakiel since it's for the greater good.

Seraphine is oblivious to any and all romantic interest someone may show them: 10 / 10. As an angel, she doesn't understand mortal emotions, such as romantic interest. Intimacy is done for one reason alone in the Celestial Realm, to bolster ranks among the Celestial military. It's not done for love or even lust.

Tagging (softly and gently tagging) some OC creators and my new followers:

@residentdormouse @asirensrage @arrthurpendragon @megandaisy9 @prehistoric-creatures

@late-to-the-fandom @ddgraywrites @sinbadalexandros and @serenofroses (cause I want to hear SWTOR headcanons so gently tagging. :)) and an open tag for anyone else who wishes to do this.

✎ rating oc headcanons!

(huge thanks to @yourpenpaldee and @pixies-love-envy for the open tag! check out their posts here & here :D ++ bonus thanks to dee for the template i used, it made everything 10x easier)

RULES: use this headcanon generator to generate some headcanons for your OCs! how accurate are they?

(TAG UNDER THE CUT)

— alex

Alex chews their nails when nervous.

0/10. Alex is more likely to drum his fingers against a table or bounce his leg when nervous. He saw those pictures and videos of the long-term effects of nail-biting and it was enough to scare him into never doing so.

Alex hates being alone.

5/10. Even though he thrives when he's alone, I rated this one a 5/10 because there are times where he can't stand being alone with his thoughts—especially after Wally's passing.

Alex can't handle criticism.

9/10. Alex would tell you that he handles criticism well, but he's so obsessed with proving people wrong that criticism often leads to spiraling.

— bea

Bea is a great artist.

4/10. Bea can make sure her make-up looks good, but that's about it when it comes to art. The kids at the daycare center where she works tease her about her drawing skills, and she can't really sing, dance, or play instruments either. She's more sport-oriented.

Bea instinctively cleans messes in their own house as well as other peoples.

10/10. It took a while for Bea to accept that her home wouldn't be tidy as long as she lived with her overworked and naturally messy father. She's the kind of girl to help your mom with the dishes after dinner, take her shoes off at the door, and make your bed even if she sits on it for five minutes.

Bea cringes at their middle school yearbook photos.

0/10. Bea was homeschooled by her aunt in middle school.

— julia

Julia does intricate and expensive cosplays.

6/10. Julia doesn't cosplay, but she used to take Halloween very seriously before her brother passed away. Intricate? Yes. Expensive? No… her elaborate dance costumes are where the expenses come in.

Julia gets road rage.

0/10. She doesn't drive yet, but Julia accepted that some people are going to be stupid on the road. She's mostly excited for the freedom to go wherever she pleases whenever she pleases.

Julia is a cry baby.

8/10. As a child, Julia was teased for how much she cried in school. She doesn't cry as much in public anymore, but she knows that she needs to cry in order to process difficult moments in her life—thanks therapy! Dance is also a huge outlet for her emotions.

— pj

PJ wears Hello Kitty socks.

10/10. She stole them from Bea… then replaced them so they have matching Hello Kitty socks!

PJ has an incredible short-term memory but an awful long-term memory.

0/10. PJ has amazing short- and long-term memory. She remembers things you forgot about yourself.

PJ doesn't know how to say "no".

1/10. The only person she doesn't know how to say "no" to is Bea. If something comes up that messes up plans they'd already made, she does everything in her power to make it up to her. As for everyone else, "no" is one of her favorite words.

— wally

Wally is a horrible liar.

10/10. Wally didn't lie much because he could never get away with it. There was especially no lying to Julia.

Wally can play the piano.

10/10. And he could play it well! He took piano lessons from age three all the way to the time of his death. He loved to play for Julia's dance company's recitals.

Wally can't spell resturaunt.

0/10. My boy was a 3-time spelling bee champion. He would never let you live it down if you made a typo in a text message. He had to teach Alex how to spell appreciate.

i'll tag: @ibuprofen-exe, @mitchell-nihil, @charlies-storybook + open tag! have fun :D

teenage vows taglist (ask to be added/removed!): @fleurtygurl & @wildswrites

[book--brackets]

The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy by Clare B. Dunkle (2003-2005)

For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from Hallow Hill, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have moved there with no idea of the land's dreadful heritage--until Marak decides to tell them himself. Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be the goblin king, and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom . . .

Healer and Seer by Victoria Henley (2000-2004)

Legend states that there exists a mighty sword that makes its possessor invincible to his enemies. But there is a curse on anyone who lifts the sword for conquest. King Kareed of Archeld goes after this sword anyway, winning it from the King of Bellandra. When he returns home from battle, he brings his daughter, Princess Torina, two special gifts. One is a unique crystal, in which she can view visions of the future. The other gift is the defeated king’s son Landen, who is to be her slave. Torina immediately releases Landen, who becomes a member of the King’s army and her close friend.

But trouble is lurking in the kingdom of Archeld and people are accusing Landen of plotting against the King. Torina refuses to believe he would hurt her family. Then Torina begins seeing deadly visions in her crystal. Can she save her father’s life and the future of her kingdom?

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones (1985)

Polly has two sets of memories...

One is normal: school, home, friends. The other, stranger memories begin nine years ago, when she was ten and gate-crashed an odd funeral in the mansion near her grandmother's house. Polly's just beginning to recall the sometimes marvelous, sometimes frightening adventures she embarked on with Tom Lynn after that. And then she did something terrible, and everything changed.

But what did she do? Why can't she remember? Polly must uncover the secret, or her true love — and perhaps Polly herself — will be lost.

The Medoran Chronicles by Lynette Noni (2015-2019)

Dreading her first day at a new school, Alex is stunned when she walks through a doorway and finds herself stranded in Medora, a fantasy world full of impossibilities. Desperate to return home, she learns that only a man named Professor Marselle can help her... but he's missing.

While waiting for him to reappear, Alex attends Akarnae Academy, Medora's boarding school for teenagers with extraordinary gifts. She soon starts to enjoy her bizarre new world and the friends who embrace her as one of their own, but strange things are happening at Akarnae, and Alex can't ignore her fear that something unexpected... something sinister... is looming.

An unwilling pawn in a deadly game, Alex's shoulders bear the crushing weight of an entire race's survival. Only she can save the Medorans, but what if doing so prevents her from ever returning home?

The Girl With Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts (1980)

Everyone knows that Katie is different. The first thing people notice about her are her shiny silver eyes, but even they are not her most unique feature. If they paid a bit more attention, they might see that, as well as being very clever, she attracts strange activity. She can move her glasses back up her nose without touching them and freak weather seems to follow her around. However, when Katie moves to a new neighbourhood, she begins to realise that she might not be the only one who has the ability to do unbelievable things. Join Katie as she struggles to learn more about her place in two very different worlds. A magical story about a magical girl, with powers almost as sharp as her sensational silver eyes.

The Song of Albion by Stephen R. Lawhead (1991-1991)

From the dreaming spires of Oxford, Lewis Gillies drives north to seek a mythical creature in a misty glen in Scotland. Expecting little more than a weekend diversion, Lewis finds himself in a mystical place where two worlds meet, in the time-between-times--and in the heart of a battle between good and evil. The ancient Celts admitted no separation between this world and the Otherworld: the two were delicately interwoven, each dependent on the other. The Paradise War crosses the thin places between this world and that, as Lewis Gillies comes face-to-face with an ancient mystery--and a cosmic catastrophe in the making.

The World of Riverside by Ellen Kushner (1987-2002)

On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless—until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.

The Tarot Sequence by K. D. Edwards (2018-present)

Rune Saint John, last child of the fallen Sun Court, is hired to search for Lady Judgment's missing son, Addam, on New Atlantis, the island city where the Atlanteans moved after ordinary humans destroyed their original home.

With his companion and bodyguard, Brand, he questions Addam's relatives and business contacts through the highest ranks of the nobles of New Atlantis. But as they investigate, they uncover more than a missing man: a legendary creature connected to the secret of the massacre of Rune's Court.

In looking for Addam, can Rune find the truth behind his family's death and the torments of his past?

Bardic Voices by Mercedes Lackey (1992-1997)

With the proper schooling young Rune would be one of the greatest bards her world has ever seen. Even if only she knows it. Unfortunately, the daughter of a tavern wench at the Hungry Bear, no matter how talented, doesn't get much in the way of formal training. What she does get is frustrated. 

One night, to back up a brag she probably wouldn't have made if she weren't so mad, she went up to play her fiddle for the Ghost of Skull Hill. Everyone knows that no one who has ever gone up Skull Hill has come down again. Not alive, anyway. 

But when the ghost appears Rune Strikes a bargain: if the ghost tires of her playing before morning her life is his; if he is still listening when the sun glints over yonder hill she will have earned both life and a sack of silver. Let the music begin...

The Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris (1998-2010)

Life for the young orphan Terence has been peaceful, living with Trevisant, the old Hermit in a quiet, isolated wood.

That is, until the day a strange green sprite leads him to Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, who is on his way to Camelot hoping to be knighted. Trevisant can see the future and knows that Terence must leave to serve as Gawain's squire. From that moment on, Terence's life is filled with heart-stopping adventure as he helps damsels-in-distress, fights battles with devious men, and protects King Arthur from his many enemies.

Along the way, Terence is amazed at his skills and new-found magical abilities. Were these a gift from his unknown parents? As Gawain continues his quest for knighthood, Terence searches for answers to the riddles in his own past.

[bardic-tales]

Title: Lost

Pairing: Bianca (f!OC) / Sephiroth

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 448

Fandom: Final Fantasy VII

Setting: FF VII OG

Warnings: Violence, mental health, body horror, dystopian elements, fear / anxiety, paranoia, toxic relationships, isolation, enviromental destruction

Summary: Bianca and Sephiroth navigate the ruins of a decaying city in search of a remnant of Jenova.

Prompt Filled: Lost

Created for: #SephirothWeek hosted by @week-of-silver-winds

Excerpt:

“I think we already came this way,” the short, raven-haired woman craned her neck up and stared at the buildings towering towards the sky.

“We’re not lost. I know where we’re going.” Sephiroth replied. As he walked beside her, the wind whipped his silver hair around his waist and shoulders.

“I think we already came this way,” the short, raven-haired woman craned her neck up and stared at the buildings towering towards the sky.

Metal and other debris fell from the buildings, crashing around them, and kicked up dirt, dusting her darkened wings. Her feathers fluttered, shaking the crud from her velvet wings.

“We’re not lost. I know where we’re going.” Sephiroth replied. As he walked beside her, the wind whipped his silver hair around his waist and shoulders.

Bianca held back her sarcastic remark. His frustration echoed through the bond that tied them together. Clearly, he knew where they were going, as they passed the same bent street sign three times. He insisted he could feel the remnant of Jenova — a cluster of cells that was hidden away by Shinra.

Sephiroth walked further ahead of her now. His boots crunched over the fallen leaves and crumbled cobblestones in the relentless pursuit of his mother’s cells.

“There’s Pestock Ave again,” Bianca pointed out as they passed the green sign another time. They were going in circles — or so she thought.

Except, this sign did not read Pestock Ave. Rust eroded the first half of the name, but if one really squinted, they could make out the letters: est Prestock Ave.

Once again, Sephiroth marched forward. He held Masamune in his hand with the blade of the ōdachi pointed behind them. The black and silver blade gleamed in the moonlight flowing down on them. “This way.”

Fifteen minutes went by before they stood before a dilapidated building with a blinking green cross. Over the decaying arch, Bianca and Sephiroth could make out the words ‘Evergreen Hospital’.

As they stood before the ruined hospital, Bianca looked towards Sephiroth. Her stomach dropped. She couldn’t go in there. Through the bond that linked both of them through time and space, Bianca had been privy to the suffering Sephiroth had gone through at the hands of Hojo, as well as her own vivisections by the hands of the mad scientific and his assistant, Diana Ravenscroft. She was only alive thanks to her demonic regeneration.

No, she thought. I can’t.

“Come, Bianca.”

“Sephiroth? Are you sure it’s in there?”

He didn’t answer her. Instead, he walked to the entrance. She didn’t want to stay out there by herself. Who knew what types of fiends his presence kept at bay?

As she glanced over and stared at the back of his leather coat, which contoured to his body and stopped at his ankles, Bianca took a deep, steadying breath. He held the door open for her. Despite the anxiety rising in her, she stepped inside.

Still, she wondered if they were still lost.

tagging some fellow mutuals: @themaradwrites @littleshopofchaos @serenofroses @megandaisy9 @watermeezer

@nightingaleflow @seastarblue @prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen

@chickensarentcheap

[asirensrage]

Trick or Treat, from the Creators Club.

from this post

TREAT!

What is your favourite part about writing Bianca's story?

[glbettwrites]

Happy STS. What's your favorite character archtype (the hero, the mentor, the innocent, etc) to write.

Hi & thank you @bardic-tales. Hope you're well :)

My favourite one to write is almost definitely The Caregiver, especially if they take on a parental role. I think it's something I aspire to be in the future and also something I haven't had in my life since I was a kid, so writing it really makes me feel warm and fuzzy :)

[kckramer]

Happy WBW! What kinds of technology or magical advancements exist in your world?

Hello, thank you!

And this one is much easier, thankfully! For Iron Horizons, the biggest technological development is the -Nth Dimensional drive that allows starships to travel at speeds far faster than light while also not violating any laws of causality.

Relying on the work of Dr. Albert Einstein, who realized that if Energy equaled the mass of an object times the speed of light squared and it could be expressed as an equation, there must be a way to re-equalize the formula- leading to the discovery of what came to be called “negative dimensions” into which a ship could slip and travel the stars.

It’s not instantaneous, and requires objects to have mass to function, but it makes interstellar travel and trade feasible and profitable.

[blackbirdswhispers]

Things I can do in bg3: go on a long, thorough, epic adventure with lots of nuance, and choices that matter. So many things. More things than I have time to do probably ever.

Things I wish I could do in bg3: shower gentle love and affection on one (1) traumatized vampire lover to provide him with unconditional support and love as he learns how to exist in a world without being chained to the person who tormented him for five times the length of the lifetime he lived as his actual self

[mayarab]

Happy STS from the Creators Club! Do you find it challenging to address heavy topics in your writing (if applicable)?

Happy STS!

Depends on the heavy topic at hand. I'm currently having a hard time with the AroAce Boyfriend Novellette I'm working on because aphobia is a topic that affects me directly and a major point in the novella, but in the Flash Fiction Bingo with only whump-tropes for prompts I'm thriving.

Guess I'm saying I have an easier time with heavy topics that aren't directly affecting me during the writing process.