#dash. –––– ❛ the guild，is reckless again.

[pyrebcrn]

                     I’m blaming you .... @vasutia​

[mangolover]

Hello! May I request prompt 6 with Bennett from genshin impact? Gender neutral reader. Thank you!

Hello!

Thank you for your request!

I really just wanted to do some “angsty fluff” for Benny since I love him too much and want to meet his dads.

Enjoy! 💖

50 Followers Drabble Event, prompt #6 with Bennett

If you wish to check out the offical “50 Followers Drabble Event”, press here

Title: Two Minuses Make a Plus

Prompt:  “Did you know that you talk in your sleep?”

Fandom: Genshin Impact

Pairing: Bennett x gn! Reader

Genre: Fluff (with a bit of angst if you look into it deeply enough)

Warnings: a bit of sad thoughts, strong language

Spoilers: None I believe

Word Count: 1200+ (once again, i love him)

Description: Both of you were unlucky and always casted aside to walk the world alone. Two minuses. So when you finally met and combined your minuses, you got a plus, a nice treasure and bond that not even bad luck can break.

As someone who believes they are unlucky, I really feel like this is self-insert. 👀

BOUKEN DA BOUKEN!

Adventure with Benny would be epic!

Enjoy!

Two Minuses Make a Plus

You were always casted aside in life. Either it be an adventure, hanging out with people you considered friends or a simple family gathering, you were never truly a part of it. Just a ghost in the background, possibly not even visible in the pictures.

Still, you pushed on, smiled through tears, laughed through bubbling pain in your chest. You were sure you would grow out of your bad luck eventually. No one can be unlucky their whole life, right? Right??

You were a prisoner in your own body, your own bad luck holding a you captive. People always said you should value freedom the most, but only thing you could associate with freedom from your cell was the city you lived in. The Anemo Archon himself gave everyone a choice to be free here. And yet, deep down, you weren’t granted that choice. You weren’t in control of your life. You aren’t in control.

In order to finally take the wheel, you decided to join any adventure team. Possibly the smallest one they had, the one where you wouldn’t be thrown on the sidelines like a plastic bag.

And maybe it was your luck, even if many would beg to differ, but you found the perfect one. Benny’s adventure team. The smallest one they had, with only one permanent member. According to many stories you heard in the guild that day, when you proudly and happily announced that you were joining Bennett’s team, it was laced with bad luck and failure. But it didn’t make you sad or concerned in the least to hear that.

If anything, it made you kinda hopeful. You were not the only one with awful bad luck then, huh? Maybe you two will have luck together, or maybe you two will die on an adventure, with smiles on your faces because you both finally met the mirror image of yourself.

And so, the adventuring began. First it was small, trying to work out the dynamics between you two. Bennett was skilled with sword, while you on the other hand have just picked up a bow after so long. When you were younger, you would go and try hunting with your father, but it would result in empty stomachs or with injuries, so your father just benched you.

You had fun and you were sure Bennett had fun too or maybe it was just both of yours carefully plastered masks of happiness. What surprised everyone in guild the most was when even after two full months, you weren’t quitting. And you weren’t injured in any of yours joined outing, but rather when you were on your own.

You could’ve lived with that. You felt like everything was finally falling into place, slowly but steadily. It wasn’t a smooth ride and it will never be one, but maybe the rough patches were finally left somewhere behind in the distance, greeting the sun as it was setting. Casting it’s orange, purple and pink hues, scattering them across the scenery.

And as the third month passed by, Bennett finally agreed to take you in a domain where he heard from his good friends Razor and Prinzessin Fischl, a great treasure laid hidden, daring the brave and reckless ones to try and claim it.

You two didn’t fit in any of those categories. You weren’t the brave and successful adventures, the big ones that can die peacefully, knowing their stories will be told for years to come. Knowing that their comrades will raise a toast to them instead of letting a tear slip out of their eye and land on their casket. You weren’t reckless either. Knowing full well what your bad luck can cause, you two were always a bit too careful. But bad things just seemed to follow you like duckling it’s mother.

You were both the unlucky ones. The two minuses. Two unlucky souls frantically looking for your luck, hoping it will appear behind a corner any second now. But it never did. At least not until now.

You two made a vow. You will either get the treasure or die trying, your bad luck be damned.

So you ventured deep into the ruins, avoiding every trap, making it to the treasure room without a single scratch. But this was the real test. You and Bennett looked at each other before you thrust out your hand. Both of you smiled and silently prayed that this was your lucky day as Benny placed his hand in yours.

You opened the chest with closed eyes, neither daring to look in case the shine that illuminated your faces was just your imagination, but at last you opened them and let out a high-pitched sound, prompting Bennett to open his eyes out of concern.

There, in front of you both stood a luxurious chest filled with gold and other goodies. You both threw your hands around the other, only to pull away after a few moments with faint pink color on your cheeks.

You filled your bags and started making your way back to Mondstadt. If only the journey wasn’t so long. But the sun started setting and you decided to camp out, sleep underneath the stars. It was your luck day either way, you can afford to have some fun, right?

If only you two were a bit more reckless, the night could’ve gone in a whole different way, but instead you both argued who would keep the guard while the other one slept. You both ended up on that duty in the end. But being so close to Bennett filled you up with warmth. Maybe you started to catch feelings for this white-haired boy with two dashing emeralds as his eyes.

And while you were admiring his beauty, you succumbed to the sleep that awaited in the back of your being, taking you over and giving you the sweetest dreams yet.

You woke up when the sun appeared at the horizon, only to see Bennett next to you, his back pressed to a tree, a smile immediately made its way to your lips.

“Good morning” you mumbled and his gemstones settled on you, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Morning,” he paused and looked to in front of him at the hot and rising star. “Did you know you talk in your sleep?”

You were mortified, your cheeks heating up in an instant. Oh no! What in the hell did you say?

“What did I say?” you mumbled under your breath, hoping he was just messing with you.

“Well, you were mumbling for the most part. But when you weren’t, you said that you really like me.”

Your heart dropped in your chest. You messed up, huh?

“But that’s amazing!” he turned to you with the biggest smile on his lips and grabbed your hands in his.

“I really like you too! And my dads like you too! Isn’t that just amazing? Haha!” he was like a kid that was given some candy and you could feel the butterflies bursting in your stomach.

Soon you both started laughing uncontrollably, full of affection and happiness. You were both finally feeling accepted. You both felt like you finally made someone proud of you and the feeling was amazing. But the true treasure was meeting each other.

Maybe two minuses really do make a plus.

[summonerscenarios]

[1] OKAY anon talking about Mc running off before they find out they're innocent. Okay Mc just wanted to cool down so they skip class and leave campus for the day for self care. BUT THEN they get caught up in app conflict bs like they do when game events happen bc its mc. Maybe helping out the outlaws or somethin- Mc sends the summoner group chat the fyi, that they'll be back. But three days later and the teachers are fucking panicking bc of the situation and they don't know shit AND now the-

OKAY ONCE AGAIN I’M GOING A LIL OFF ON THIS BECAUSE THIS IDEA IS JUST 👌👌👌👌👌 so as you can probably tell in some parts I definitely rambled lmao. I do hope I do it justice~!

And for anyone wondering the original request can be found here!

---------------------

Things had gotten too much. You were so fed up with all the stares, all the sympathetic glances burning holes into the back of your head and all of the whispered words of gossip and speculation like you were some hot topic or reckless wild child who couldn’t be trusted. Everyone was acting like you couldn’t see or hear them, which somehow just made it feel even worse; it was driving you up the wall, even with all of your friends standing by your side the moment you were accused it was hard to ignore everything that came with it. You were pissed, hurt, but the betrayal stung the worst out of everything that had happened so far - you’d put your complete trust in your teachers, looking up to them oh so confident that they’d believe and protect you should the need ever arise, because you genuinely believed that they saw the best in you, even in spite of your faults and encounter track record. You guess that just wasn’t the case though, as that encounter in the staff room still makes you feel sick to your stomach, thinking about the way those same teachers you trusted looked at you with pity and still deemed you guilty of something you so viciously denied. 

They still look at you with pity - Mr. Triton and Mr. Jinn don’t even try to hide it, maybe not even realizing that you’re looking at their expressions when they’d tried to start up a conversation with you. It frustrates you, because it feels like they have no right to pity you when they were the ones there in that meeting and they didn’t try to vouch for you. They didn’t even listen when you told them you were innocent! Surely they have enough faith in you to believe in you, right?!...right? Whatever the case the whole situation has you dreading coming into school everyday, and as the days pass you’re more and more convinced that things would be better if you could just get out of going at all - there’s plenty of other things you could be doing where you wouldn’t have eyes watching your every move, nor the weight that comes with them.

You don’t know if it’s luck or sheer irony that the teacher responsible for picking you up from class is late one day, but it’s the final nail in the coffin before you decide ‘fuck it, I’m out of here’ and skip class. For the past few days you’d felt pinned, suffocated with eyes constantly on you from the moment you step onto school grounds to the moment you’re out of sight, which makes it oddly freeing to be able to run around without those disapproving gazes - but you don’t want to waste time and risk getting caught, not when you’re so close to skipping and being free for at least a single day. Consequences be damned, you don’t care anymore. Even though everything is still weighing heavy on your mind stepping out of the grounds feels...liberating, and you only dare a glance back once you’re out of the school gates, catching sight of students still in their classroom completely oblivious that you’ve disappeared from their ranks. Telling the teachers where you were going was the last thing on your mind, but you at least have the foresight to send a message to the Summoner’s group chat before you turn off your phone and bolt from the premises, letting them know that you were going out for a day to clear your head. 

It was only supposed to be that one day, you swear, but things have never really had a penchant for going your way. If you had stayed just a few hours longer you’d have learned about the person clearing your name; you’d have seen the teachers’ mad dash through the school when they’d realized you weren’t in any of your classes; you’d have watched the outroar as the Summoner’s learned of the truth in your stead. But you’d missed it all, and spent the day wandering anywhere and everywhere instead - wherever you could go where you wouldn’t risk running into any faculty you went, stewing in thoughts and trying to forget just about everything that had happened for as long as you could before you were inevitably brought back to the school. 

Only that didn’t happen; you were able to crash at a friend’s house on the first night, called in a favor with a nearby guild for a place to sleep on the second night, and the hours in between were spent either wandering or getting dragged into fights - how ironic that even now you couldn’t avoid getting involved in other people’s problems even if you tried - it was seriously getting old. In the meantime, the Summoners are the only ones who get word about what’s happening, but even then you keep it vague so that you don’t worry them, not to mention you don’t want them to needlessly lie if they get questioned by the teachers concerning your whereabouts. Which is exactly what happens; the teachers are all worrying themselves sick by the time the third day rolls around without hide or hair of you, and it’s clear that there’s regrets voer what had transpired over the whole week. Jinn’s rolling your last encounter over and over in his head, wondering if there was something that he could have said that would have made you decide to stay put - maybe letting you know you had someone on your side - but the what-ifs won’t change the fact that you left. Triton’s still cursing how long it took for the news of your innocence to come to life, the thought of how you must have felt being looked at with such suspicion making guilt crawl up his spine and settle in his mind. And Mononobe doesn’t stop looking for you for a second - even if you scream at him or scold him or ignore him completely he needs to see that you’re okay and doesn’t want your last conversation with him being left on such bad terms. One thing is for certain though; they need to find you, and soon.

Things finally come to a head on the third day. Usually during after school hours you’d try to make yourself scarce in the area, but this time you weren’t so lucky. All too quickly you’re dragged into a spat with someone itching to boost their ego with an app battle, and though it was clear they’re all bark and no bite it’s tedious and you want it over with quickly. You just wish it was that simple, as the moment you ready your sacred artifact, watching your opponents prep to set up a battle zone, two figures block your view, standing almost protectively in front of you as they activate their respective sacred artifacts. You don’t even have to see them to recognize them - Mr. Triton and Mr. Jinn are both loud as they declare their presence, stepping into the fight in your stead. Before this week you would have laughed seeing the two of them standing side by side talking big about protecting you; but now? You feel your heart sink into your stomach - this could not have been the worse time to see them.

Mercifully, the battle staves off the inevitable conversation for a little while longer, as the three of you have to focus back on the fight at hand; your teachers are skilled, or at least driven by something to end the battle, and you aren’t willing to play around just to avoid what comes next, so it isn’t long before the person who challenged you and his friends to all back off, releasing the battle zone as they flee back into the crowds to nurse their mental wounds. You almost want to disappear into those crowds with them before you can get caught again, however the moment you turn you’re immediately accosted by Jinn and Triton, the two teachers fighting over each other to get the most concerned word in - where have you been? Why did you run away? Are you hurt?! Their concern is sincere, you can tell as much from their faces since hiding their emotions isn’t exactly their strong suit. And right over their shoulders you can see Mr. Mononobe too as he approaches to join the three of you, having not been involved in the battle zone for obvious reasons; but the sight of all three of them in the same place reminds you so much of that day you’d been accused and the emotions burn in your throat like poison.

There’s venom laced in your tone as you ask them why they stepped in, effectively silencing the two teachers as they share a brief glance and answer simultaneously. Hearing them talk about teachers protecting their students you have to bite your tongue because surely they know how hypocritical that sounds, right? But they keep talking, rambling on about making sure you’re safe and protecting you when you need it and it’s like a trigger, sending everything frothing to the surface. You laugh, bitter and sarcastic before asking if they’re serious - they've gotta be kidding - but you don’t even give them a chance to respond before your words claw their way out into the open and you just about lose it.

You don’t care about mincing your words as you practically bare your soul, everything that’s been welling up finally boiling over. You yell and scream and shout until your voice is hoarse because you’re so pissed that they have the audacity to talk about protecting you when they couldn’t even protect you from those accusations, from all those people thinking you destroyed something just because you could. They have no fucking right to even consider themselves your protectors when they looked at you with those same eyes full of pity, now turned to guilt in light of the truth that had come far too late, and you’re gonna make damn well that they know that you aren’t someone to be pitied - you’re vindicated, seething, and feeling so betrayed by the few adults that you were so sure that you could trust. But that trust was shattered - and that’s exactly why you left, because why would you want to be surrounded by people who couldn’t trust you?!

The emotion behind your voice is raw, and Jinn, Triton and even Mononobe seem to be at a loss for words - no words of reassurance, no advice, no words of wisdom - and that just twisted the knife in deeper when you’re met with no resistance whatsoever. You honestly don’t know what you expected - some kind of fight or rebuttal would justify these feelings that you have - but when you receive nothing of the sort in response you lose the wind in your sails and you choke on your shouts. Your words fail you, turning into sputtering and sharp gasps when you finally buckle and sink to your knees, wiping uselessly at your face as your eyes burn with the sting of tears - a feeling you’ve gotten so familiar with this past week it makes you loathe the feeling. If you could you’d still be yelling, but you just can’t bring yourself to do it - you’re tired, whittled down to your bare bones and you don’t even have the energy to be angry or care that you’re having what you’re pretty sure is a breakdown that wasn’t in the safety of your dorm room. You want to just curl up and disappear - just for a few days, that would be okay, right? Just until you can feel something in your chest that didn’t hurt like hell. The Summoners would understand, you think, they always did - they’d trusted you at least, when it felt like most didn’t. Why could they have been the ones to swoop in and help you? It’s a silly thought, but you feel like you at least wouldn’t be bawling like you are now if it had been them instead of the teachers; you can just imagine how they must be watching you cry in front of them.

Damn, this whole thing really was just a mess....

A hand touches your arm and another touches your back - you’d kick away if you could, but it’s like the touch saps you of all of your energy. Those hands have no right to be so warm, no right to feel so comforting, and yet they are and you want to cry all over again. You have no idea which teacher is the one who helps you to your feet as all three surround you with growing concern once your sobs filter off into broken sniffles, gaze torn between screwing shut to avoid looking at any of their faces and staring right at them so they can see all the emotions in your eyes that your words have failed to convey. When they talk about bringing you somewhere safe, back to the dorms or to the school to discuss everything that had happened, you’re in the right mind to run away all over again, but you can’t bring yourself to do it. Instead, you allow those hands on your back and shoulder and arm to guide your steps, ignoring the concern and grave expressions that the teachers share as the reality of what’s just transpired sets in. You don’t know what’s coming next, but you honestly don’t think you care anymore - all you can think about is how tired you are of everything, and this was apparently the last straw that you could handle.

[crystalessenceswrites]

Burden of the Survivors- Chapter Two

Burden of the Survivors

Pairing: Din Djarin x fem!reader Rating: T (at the moment- subject to change) Warnings: swearing, canon-typical violence *no spoilers- takes place in Season 1 timeline* Summary: Mando works alone- except for when the absolutely can’t. There are few people Din trusts – trusts as in he doesn’t expect a viroblade in the back the second he’s turned around. She’s one of them. Just as cautious and nearly as tight lipped about her past as he is, Din doesn’t mind her around too much. A/N: My inspiration is a fickle thing, I’ve been swinging back and forth between Shadows and BotS for a few weeks now. Finally got enough to sit down and finish this chapter, so cheers to that.

[Masterlist] [Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three] Cross-posted to AO3

Chapter Two

When Vero found you, you were nothing but a pickpocket on the lower-level streets of Coruscant-the byproduct of the horrors of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Empire. You were nearing sixteen and beginning to lose your touch. When you were younger-and smaller-it was easier to weave through crowds and avoid attention. Puberty and a growth spurt made it much more difficult for the teenage you to blend in. You made it work, you had to if you wanted to get by, but it took twice as much work to get folks to look the other way. Ever observant Vero caught on quick but said you had potential, just not as a street thief. The alabaster skinned theelin approached you with a job, a job that paid more than you could scrounge up in two weeks selling your stolen treasures. All you had to do was deliver a small parcel to a pilot friend of his at a docking station a few levels up without getting caught by the city guard before the pilot was scheduled to leave in two hours. It seemed easy enough and you desperately needed the credits. The last thing on your mind was what was in the package you carried. You knew better than to stick your nose where it did not belong, especially when you were getting paid. That decision changed your life.

The job was a test to see if you were capable and trustworthy enough to bring on for a real job as a runner, and you passed with flying colors. Vero took you under his wing and had you running smuggled goods and other products all over Coruscant. It was a reckless job, you knew that-even as a child-but it kept a roof over your head and food in your belly at a time in your life when you had forgotten what that was like. You were one of many street kids on Coruscant that had to turn to life in the underworld to get by, but you thank the Maker you ended up with the one crew on Coruscant that had some small sense of morals.

Vero worked for Shan Tillis, who had grown up on the streets of Corellia himself. Shan was sympathetic, smuggling had been his way out of the gutter, and he offered you that same opportunity. It had not taken long for Shan and the others to realize you were too smart and too quick on your feet to just move goods, that you and your brain could be used elsewhere. So, they taught you. Kom and Redarr, Shan’s lead muscle heads, taught you how to fight and how to fight dirty. Sola bought you your first proper viroblade (you’d nicked one years ago but it was made for hands much larger than yours so you’d always been rather clumsy with it) and taught you every trick in the book she knew, every weak spot on the body, how to wound but not kill and where to bleed someone out the fastest. Her lessons were always your favorite. Tala taught you how to pilot every kind of ship you could get your hands on, and how to hotwire a landspeeder- Vero was not thrilled when he discovered that lesson had been performed on his precious baby.

Everything that made you into the infamous bounty hunter you were now had been taught to you by that crew. Every cautious tick had been drilled into you by Kom and Vero. Redarr had schooled you on blasters, made you practice in-between jobs on how to take them apart and put them back together with your eyes closed. Zena taught you how to read people and how to know when a deal was about to go south.

Shan imparted you with the most practical wisdom of them all. How to know when you’re fucked.

This job seems pretty fucked to you.

The Mandalorian is silent as the two of you settle on the ridge above the compound. Scope out, he looks over the cluster of buildings. Even from a distance you’ve already counted ten nikto out and about, and you can safely assume they’re all heavily armed.

You tighten the various straps and holsters on your person before slipping your tactical mask into place. The contraption covers the lower half of your face and has always been more for the intimidation factor than much else. Redarr had gifted it to you all those years ago as more of joke than practical gear but you’d grown attached. Between the mask and its voice modulator, your hood and dark, nondescript clothes you could remained relatively anonymous when you wanted to, which was most of the time.

“If we come along the east side I think I can make it up to the roof without being seen, provide you with a little more cover.” You did always prefer the higher ground.

Mando nods, continuing to scan the scene, “there’s two on the northwest corner you’ll have to manage.”

Your scoff crackles through the modulator, “they won’t be an issue.”

He grunts before his head snaps back towards the edge of the compound, “shit. Bounty droid.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You whip out your own scope, focusing in on where Mando was watching. Sure enough, you spot an IG unit bounty droid making its way up to the group of nikto lingering outside.

“Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild Protocol Waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset.”

You roll your eyes as the shooting starts. Droids had to have figured out by now it was never that easy. If it was, anyone with a blaster could join the guild.

The droid has a handle on the gunfight, but you groan as you watch the compound go into lockdown, all the blast doors slam shut before the last shot is fired.

“Droids.” Mando snaps as he stands, one hand clenched around the hilt of a blaster.

You jump up, following behind him. Again, with the acting first, thinking second.

As you approach the encampment Mando jerks his head up, “you take the topside.”

“Gladly.”

You scramble up the side of the building with relative ease, there are plenty of odd pipes and vents that make convenient grips as you haul yourself and up over the lip of the roof. When the droid had ruined any chance at a surprise attack, you’d lost sight of the two guards on the roof. You keep your rifle aimed in their last known direction as you settle onto your stomach, ready to cover Mando as needed.

“Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild Protocol Waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset,” the droid repeats.

Maker they really have no learning curve.

“IG unit! Stand down!”

The bounty droid has split second reaction times, shooting at what you can safely assume is Mando when he groans from somewhere down below and out of view. “We’re in the Guild!”

“So I suggest you stand down before you take a bolt to the brains, droid.”

Your quip draws the droid’s attention to your vantage point on the roof.

“You are Guild members? I thought I was the only one on assignment.”

“That makes two of us,” Mando grumbles. “So much for the element of surprise.”

That was a kriffing understatement.

“Sadly, I must ask for your fob. I have already issued the writ of seizure. The bounty is mine.”

“Unless I’m mistaken, you are, as of yet, empty-handed.”

“This is true.”

You have to restrain your eye rolling to keep monitoring the roofline.

“I have a suggestion.”

“Proceed.”

“We split the reward.”

How many people was he going to offer to share your credits with? This was beginning to get out of hand.

“This is acceptable.”

Well considering how much Mando hated droid he at least knew how to manage them considerably well.

“Great. Now let’s regroup, out of harm’s way, and form a plan.”

You were sorely doubting that the droid was capable of forming a decent plan or following whatever you and Mando came up with, but it was worth a shot considering the situation had become even more fucked thanks to him.

“I will of course receive the reputation merits associated with the mission.”

“Is this really the time?” You shout down at the pair.

Mando seems to have the same idea, “can we talk about this later?”

“I require an answer if I am to proceed-”

An orange head pops into view on the roof across from you, “we’ve got company!”

The nikto takes a shot at the droid, “oh, no. Alert. Alert. Alert.”

Whole lot of help this one was. You land a headshot just as the doors of the compound slide open, more soldiers swarming out, blasters drawn.

“Let’s go!” Mando dives for cover and the droid follows after.

Your spot affords you a decent line of sight into the courtyard but there’s more of them then you thought there would be out in the middle of nowhere guarding who knows what you were after. It takes you picking off three of them before they realize you’re shooting at them from above. There’s a flurry of shouting and pointing in your direction and Mando makes a run for the main set of blast doors at the back of the courtyard. You were going to have friends on the roof soon. Lucky you.

Rolling back you jump to your feet, taking a couple pot shots into the courtyard as you make for the far end of the roof. The droid is a decent shot, covering Mando’s mad dash while you focus on the nikto popping up across the roof. One hauls himself over the edge to your left, making a swipe at yours leg with his blaster. The loud crunch of your boot to his skull cuts through the blaster fire around you as the body falls into courtyard. Gross. Two more appear out of thin air, their shots barely missing your head. Losing your blaster you duck and roll, knocking both over as you draw a viroblade from your thigh holster. Neither have time to react before you’re on them, each taking one clean slice to the neck.

Mando and the IG unit have made it to the main door as you duck behind some ventilation equipment at the northwest corner of the building. You appear to have control of the roof for now, but you can see the soldiers in the courtyard beginning to regroup. They have Mando and the bounty droid pinned. Shit. You can hear Mando’s modulated shouts from below but you can’t quite make out what he’s going on about. Hopefully he’s chewing out the dumbass droid who go you into this mess.

The IG unit steps out again, laying out a spread of blaster fire that doesn’t seem to do much. The nikto have plenty of coverage behind debris and the series of pillars lining the courtyard. Their numbers also seem to be steadily growing. Just how many of them were set up out here? Who needed this many bodyguards? It was nearly a small army. The IG unit cannot keep up with the incoming blaster fire, even with your help from above.

Your stomach drops as you catch sight of another incoming nikto on a hover blaster at the encampment entrance. You were all fucked. All you can do is hope Mando’s found good cover down there as you drop to your stomach, bracing behind the ventilation unit. The nikto lets it rip, covering the area with a spray of bolts. Most sound like they’re striking below you, focused on where you assume Mando and the droid are hiding.

Then as suddenly as it started the gun stops. Poking your head out you watch as the nikto is flung backwards and Mando yanks the blaster to him. You thank the Maker for whatever good fortune he earned for that to work. It takes only moments for Mando to swing the blaster around and mow down the rest of the small army.

“Well done,” the IG unit cuts through the eerie silence following the blaster fire. “I will disengage self-destruct initiative.”

“Wait, you guys can self-destruct?” Seemed a bit counterintuitive.

Mando’s visor snaps to where you’re hanging over the edge of the roof, looking for a spot to climb down. He wordlessly offers you a hand and you toss your pack and blaster down to him. Its not too high up so you simply ease over the edge and drop to the ground, ignoring the harsh jolt to your knees.

“Manufactures protocol dictates I cannot be captured; thus I have a self-destruct initiative.”

So the droid could have killed you all if had deemed the situation too risky. Great. You’re glad you hadn’t been aware of that during the shootout.

Mando helps the droid back to its feet. “You know, you’re not so bad. For a droid.”

Had hell frozen over? Mando was as droid adverse as they got, and now he was complimenting one? The universe must be ending.

“Agreed.”

“That blaster hit looks nasty. You okay?”

“Running a quick diagnostic… it has missed my central wiring harness.”

“Is that good?”

“Yes.”

Mando glances back to you, “good?”

“Never better,” you grin. This could have gone significantly worse, so you had no room to complain at the moment.

“Well, now we just need to get the door open.”

The way Mando’s helmet whips back to the large blaster makes you groan. There were easier, less messy ways to go about things. You don’t attempt to talk the hunter out of it, he most likely wouldn’t listen to you anyways. It almost looks like he has fun shooting out the blast door until in collapses inwards.

You all take tentative steps inside the compound. One head appears around a far corner to the right. Mando’s quick draw has him downed before anyone blinks. “Anyone else?”

As if any survivors were going to offer themselves up to be shot.

“I’ll clear the west side,” you offer and Mando nods before heading off with the bounty droid in the opposite direction.

An unnerving silence settles over you as you stalk down the halls of the mysterious compound. The small army camped here had been prepared and well supplied. There are crates upon crates of food stuffs, weapons and ammunition. Some places are nearly packed floor to ceiling with it. What exactly was going on out here? How did they get all this out here in the middle of nowhere?

You worry your necklace pendant with one hand, an unconscious gesture you have yet to train yourself out of. Something was not right about this job, or at least more than normal. Over the years your own morals had morphed to accommodate your line of work. You worked for the guild and were often paid by unsavory individuals, but that was what you did to survive, and you refused to let that get to you. This however was picking at an old wound, long forgotten.

Another shot echoes through the compound and you find yourself racing back towards Mando and the droid, blaster held at the ready. Swinging around a corner you find Mando standing over a small floating pod, the bounty droid smoking out of its “head” on the floor. Maybe he didn’t want to split the bounty after all.

“Mando?” Your voice seems to cut through whatever trance the hunter was under, head snapping back towards you. “What happened?”

His shoulders drop, the tension seeming to fall away at your appearance. “He was going to kill the bounty.”

“I thought you said the client specified they wanted it alive if at all possible.”

Mando nods, “they did say that.”

That gnawing sense of dreads returns. Stepping up next to Mando you glance down into the pod-which appears to be functioning as some kind of traveling pram-and are greeted with wide dark eyes and pointy green ears.

Oh Maker no…

[inanotherheadspace]

The Adventures of Team Lune - Chapter Two: To Work, or Not to Work

Summary: A dragon slayer, a demon slayer, and a god slayer walk into a Guild Hall... and all goes to hell

Pairings: Natsu x Fem OC, Gajeel x Fem OC, Gray x Fem OC, Sting x Fem OC, Laxus x Fem OC, Loke x Fem OC 

Word Count: 3,078 

Previous Chapter - Masterlist - Next Chapter 

“Caly, I’m bored,” May whined to the plumette as she rolled over on the couch. Calypso offered a long eye roll in response as she continued to work on May’s new cloak.

“You’re such a whiny baby. I’m literally fixing your cape and now you want my attention?” She kept her eyes trained on the needle as she worked, gliding it effortlessly through the fabric as she has done plenty of times.

“I haven’t seen you in months and this is how you treat me?” The blonde huffed, puffing her cheeks out in a frown.

“Go play with Ria.”

“Ria’s playing with Natsu.” May groaned, flopping over the couch once more, and busying herself with the strings of her shirt. “Plus, I don’t want to see them making out.” She faked a gag as her eyes focused on the ceiling.

“I am not out playing with Natsu stupid! I’ve been home this whole time!” Ria shouted from the kitchen, as a pan fell to the floor in a screech.  

May let out a mumble, before stating; “I have a feeling you guys didn’t actually miss me and just wanted to make me look bad.” The girl’s brows were furrowed in thought, now glaring daggers into the ceiling as her eyes turned to slits.  

“You know that’s not true May!” Ria’s frown could be heard in her voice as she continued cooking lunch. “You worry us too much, hell, you worry the guild too much! We’re both so afraid that one day you just won’t come home! You’re too reckless!”

“I’m a fairy tail wizard, I’ll always come home.” May replied blandly, her eyes defocusing on the white paint of the ceiling. Her fingers still intwined with the pink fabric of her cropped shirt.  

“You promise?” Astria’s voice came out in a peep from the corner of the wall, her eyes shining with tears that were ready to pour.  

“I’ll only promise if you two do too, otherwise, nah.” She shrugged absentmindedly, feeling herself slip in between consciousness.

“Fine then, I promise the both of you that I’ll always come back home.” Calypso stated, her slim fingers working wickedly through the fabric.  

“I promise I’ll always come home,” the bluenette followed.

“I promise to always come back home.” May told, standing up from her position on the couch, turning toward the door. “I’ll be home in a bit, I got something I need 'a do.” Her voice came in a squeak as she felt the vile burning sensation begin in her throat.

Before the two could interrupt, the blonde made for the door, swinging it open and leaving the self-made home. The burning sensation continued as she made her way down the steps, stumbling in the process. She proceeded down and out of the building, using the walls for support.  

"Shit.” Her voice left her mouth in a whisper, her hand desperately clutching her side, the other gripping the wall as she maneuvered around the building’s side. She could make it on time. She had to. Her eyes were painfully dry, wishing to experience some sort of relief from the pain, May continued to stagger, letting go of the wall as she faced the forest’s edge. From there, she sprinted.  

Needing to get as far away as possible; she let the pure adrenaline carry her. She didn’t make it far past the edge, before her knees wobbled, sending her tumbling onto her shins on the ground. Her arms sprang in front of her; hoping to offer herself some stability, but it was no use. They quickly gave out in front of her, sending her chest down into the dry dirt. The burning sensation did nothing but continue its way down half her body. Her skin felt hot to the touch, the other half was pure ice.  

Her body trembled from pure temperature change and fear as her mouth opened silently. Her brain flooding with her own intrusive thoughts, now knowing it was useless to fight against it; she fell limp. Her body taking to complete gravitation toward the ground and shaking against it violently. She’d be lucky if the best case were hitting her head on a rock. Her brain continued its massacre; the thoughts continuing to fumble in like a burning rain.  

“What are you doing?”

“Who are you?”

“Who are they?”

“Why are you here?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why are you hiding?”

“They’re afraid of you, all of them.”

The words shot through her skull, sending her head back and into the ground as each word erupted into its own pain. Searing through her skin and blurring her vision.

The darkness was thick. Fog-like and overall terrifying. It wasn’t a part of her. She exterminated darkness. She was not it. She was neither dark nor light. She was human. She was a Fairy Tail wizard. Nothing more, nothing less. No. She was a monster. She was not human.  

Her shriek ripped through her throat, straining her vocal cords more than the burn. Her spit felt like lava and snow, coughing it out into the forest’s floor.  

Where’s the light? There is none. You are the darkness. We are one. You are terrifying. You are nothing more than a demon now. You’ve gone too far. You’ve taken the power and become it.

May’s body continued to thrash ruthlessly, her breathing becoming ragged between screams. Some silent, gasping for air; others earth-splitting and beating through her ears.

I am a demon. You search for blood. You cannot get close to those you love. Their souls are not pure enough. You need pure souls. I need pure souls. Close to those I love. Love. Do you have love? No, you don’t either. Love doesn’t exist in this world. Only death and anguish. You are the bringer of both. You. Are. Darkness. You. Are. Nothing.  

The final scream tore through her chest, her skin molten with it as her head slammed into a tree’s base; blood beginning to dribble down her forehead as her vision blurred immensely. The tears which pricked her eyes fell loosely, dark spots forming. A faint, “no,” ghosting her lips as the darkness took over and the blood continued to pool, staining the grass beneath her unmoving head. And then, the voices finally stopped.   ◊◊◊◊

When she finally shifted, her skin burned once more. Unlike the searing pain from before, her arms just felt raw. As if her skin had melted off, leaving her bare to the air’s painful daggers. A groan rumbled in her throat, her eyes struggling to open. Is it morning? The girl trembled as the breeze continued to agitate her body. When her eyelids finally lifted, she was granted the sight of a glittery sky, littered in bright stars as her mouth gaped open from her previous lack of air. Her arms weren’t the only thing that felt raw, her throat too. Again. Her lips turned into a small frown as disdain racked through her body. She was a monster. She wasn’t a monster.  

The blonde twitched, her subconscious kicking in once more. She tried finding the strength to roll over, but it didn’t exist. She raised her arm, to try and see its damage. Only to no avail. So, this is what I am now. Weak. Worthless. She cursed herself silently. Her arm trying to move once more, this time making it up to her line of vision. Her eyes grazed over the once pale skin, inspecting the redness that formed in lines going up and down against it. Scratches. Scratches created by long, sharp fingernails. Not nails. Claws. The strength she had to hold her arm up dissipated, her arm falling across her chest.  

She had no strength to move it.  No strength to get up. Not even enough strength to close her eyes once more. The grass was dyed red and the girl immobile, lying on rough (once)greenery and tarnished soil. Her head throbbed against her skull, making her wish for at least enough strength to sleep. At least some resilience. Her sage eyes remaining fixated on the blurry sky, her breathing beginning to slow. She could breathe now. She was alive. But she was weak. Far too weak. At this rate, you’ll never be able to save anyone. Another voice sounded within her. One she didn’t hear earlier but has met plenty times before. The girl struggled to speak, nothing but a small squeak coming from her parted lips. I have to, at least try. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t. Her throat still burning, stopping only at the base of her lungs. It wasn’t long before she began to hear sticks breaking nearby.   Her breathing hitched, shallowing in hopes of not being discovered. Her eyes remained heavy, as the footsteps neared closer and closer. Her eyes scanned what could be seen from her peripheral, as her body fell completely still. The next footstep she heard was by her head, as blonde hair and a large scar rolled into her vision.   “Oi, what’re you doing out here? It’s ten 'o'clock.”

“I..” The words came out in a mutter, as her mouth dried. “I took a run and got tired.” “I’m not really someone you can lie to, May.” Laxus shrugged, slumping down on the ground behind her head. His large hands rested against her head, before placing it into his lap.  

“You’ve been coming around more often, Laxus.” Her body relaxed, leaning into his touch. “And what of it?” He chuckled, unraveling his coat and placing it over her. “Get some more sleep. I’ll stay so you don’t get murdered.” The slight sarcasm was enough to let her erupt a small chuckle, before completely relaxing into his lap, and slowly falling back to sleep. ◊◊◊◊

“Natsu! You can’t burn down the entire forest!” Lucy beckoned, standing near a tree whilst Happy sat at the base of it. “Oh brother, why do I bother?” Her tone deflated as Astria also summoned flames to rival against Natsu’s. Flames were swept toward Astria’s feet, as she dashed quickly and leaped above the incoming attack from behind. From her stance above, she managed a quick flip over the pinkette’s larger body, sending her feet into his back as she slammed him into the ground on his stomach. The man’s jaw opened wide, swallowing the dirt beneath him.   “Ria! That tastes like shit!”  

“Then eat some more, flame brain!” A small symbol on Astria’s leg, in the shape of Jupiter began to glow. Her hands moved delicately as she summoned the ground to her own accord; twisting and wrapping around the fellow dragon slayer in an attempt to encage him.  

From there, the earth swallowed him into a pit of Astria’s design. That was until the earth crumbled above Natsu, spouting fire and heat which emanated around the five.

The two continued to spar, flame combatting flame, then Astria took initiative to delve behind her own rock wall, which sprouted in front of her, right before she ducked.

In a swift movement, her fire dispersed before water was ejected straight into Natsu’s flames, turning it to steam.

“Hey, not fair!” Ria and Natsu yelled in unison at Lucy and the newly summoned Aquarius.  

“Call me again to put out the fire brats' flames and see what happens.” The celestial spirit threated Lucy before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

“I was never a fan of celestial spirits, but I do like her.” Ria huffed as she turned back to her fellow dragon slayer.  

“I like her too. It's because she smells like a fish!” Happy said with drool seeping out of his mouth. The exceeds stomach let out a rumble, loud enough to shock the birds out of the trees.  

“I guess it's time for a break then, huh little buddy?” Natsu asked to his blue friend.  

◊◊◊◊

Calypso’s hands worked quicker than her mind could as she continued to focus on the task at hand. The banging on the door was the only thing to break her train of thought.  

“Hold on,” she shouted at the being behind her front door.  

“Hurry up brat.” The man's gravelly voice shouted back, bringing a smile to the young womans face. Calypso opened the door to the taller man dressed in all black. She flashed him her smile, before leaving the door open and going back to what she was doing. This caught him off guard. Gajeel stood in the doorway for a few seconds before deciding to follow her, making sure to close the door behind him.  

“You act like you’ve never been here before.” The plumette teased as she cleaned up what she was working on. Gajeel let out a grumble as he crossed his arms and leaned on the doorway. He kept his eyes on her as she moved gracefully around the living room. “As talkative as always I see.” She continued to tease as she shot the man a glance over her shoulder.  

“I see you’re fixing the shorties cape.” Calypso let out a hum in response as she picked up the cloth in question. She took up her place back on the couch with her legs crossed in front of her. Her usual long, lose and wavy plum locks were tied up in a bun. Gajeel continued to look her over, she was dressed in her usual gear – a white halter crop top with a light grey leather bodice under the bust, a pale blue ankle length skirt with a slit up the side, and a pale-yellow chain around the top of the skirt that had a crescent moon attached at the end over the slit. What managed to catch his eyes were the slight bags under her eyes. For someone who always napped out in the open at the Guild, you’d think she wouldn’t have that issue.  

“As best as I can. I’ve fixed it time and time again. I learned to sew just to fix this for May.” A soft smile graced her lips as she thought back to the beginning of her friendship with the two girls.  

“I’m still shocked you have one friend, let alone two.” The girl in question let out a small laugh before tucking the cape away and turning back to the iron dragon slayer.

“Humm, I’d say it's up to three now.”

“Ha! Who’d you wrangle into being your friend now?”

“You.” Gajeel flinched back at her statement as her piercing green eyes meet his. Ever since he joined the guild and started talking to Calypso – who was by far, one of the very few people he found tolerable – he learned quickly that she has a knack for catching people off guard.  

“In your dreams! Like hell I'd be your friend.”

“Oh yeah?” The plumette questioned as she stood in front of the taller man, her hands behind her back and eyes still locked on his. “Then why do you keep showing up at my house?” This thew the burly man off balance, he took a step back to get some distance between the two. Calypso was mentally faster than him and instinctively took a step closer. Gajeel let out a huff and crossed his arms once more before looking down at her.

“I had a question that you probably have the answer to.”

“Oh?” Calypso sighed before turning on her heels and heading to the kitchen. “What kind of tea do you like?” The black-haired man followed behind her, before taking his perch in the doorway once more.  

“Got anything with iron?” He asked with a smirk.  

“Hmm, May does owe me for fixing her cape. I can melt some of her old earrings and call it tea.” Before he could get an answer out, she was pushing past him and going up the stairs. After a few minutes – a loud “got it” was heard from the upper floor, before the sounds of footsteps made their way towards Gajeel. She stopped in front of him and held up the earrings with a grin on her face.  

He quickly snatched them from her hands before bringing them up to his nose. The dragon slayer gave them a sniff before popping the two earrings in his mouth.  

“I-” Calypso all but stuttered as she stared at the man before her. Gajeel smirked down at the shorter woman, he was basking in the glory of being the one to catch her off guard.  

“They taste like ear.”  

“...I wanted to make you tea...” The smaller mage began to pout, with tears welling up in her eyes.  

“It would’ve tasted like ear too. Just make me a cup of whatever tea you want.” Gajeel let out his signature huff before averting his eyes from hers. The smile that lit up her face was almost blinding; it didn’t help the blush creeping up on the dragon slayers cheeks.  

“I only really have Jasmine and Oolong. But I like the Jasmine a lot more, so I’ll make us that.” Calypso spoke as she began to prep the kettle. “Oh, and I would’ve suggested cleaning them before you ate them. But you’re greedy, huh?” She kept her back to him as she continued to work around the kitchen – her keen eyes catching the minuscule messes her two roommates had left behind. “You had a question, right?” Her soft voice snapped Gajeel out of his trance.  

“Huh? Oh yeah...” Calypso let out a soft giggle before taking a seat at the kitchen table.  

“I’ve been told my hearing is impeccable. Fire away!” She kept her eyes on him as he went to join her at the table, Gajeel took up the seat across from hers. His broad body filled up the space in the relatively empty and quiet room.

“...How did Astria and Natsu get their cats?” Calypso leaned back in her chair at his question.  

“It’s kind of a long story.” The mage said with a smile as the tea kettle whistled.

[lonedivinity-archived]

[ yingjie ] voicelines

HELLO:  i’m yingjie  ,  surely you’ve heard of the rumors that go around about me  .  i won’t confirm or deny any of them  ,  that’s for me to know and you to find out  .

GOOD MORNING:  rise and shine  ,  new day means new adventures and more people to piss off  .  namely my father  ,  but that’s not anything new  .

GOOD AFTERNOON:  well  ,  look at the time . . . it’s late  ,  shall we grab a late lunch or maybe wait until dinner  ??  we’re going to need the energy for some nighttime mischief  .

GOOD EVENING:  haha  ,  that was fun  ,  wasn’t it  ??  the thrill of almost getting caught and running away just as we’re spotted  .  it’s good exercise after a large meal  .

GOOD NIGHT:  sleep well  ,  sweet dreams  !!  don’t forget our promise for tomorrow  !!

CHAT  —  IDLENESS:  are you thinking of a new adventure  ??  let’s brainstorm together  .

CHAT  —  TRAVELING:  you’ve never been here before  ??  oh  ,  i’ve got so much to show you  !!  forget the path  ,  come here  !!

CHAT   —  LIYUE QIXING:  a glorified authoritative group that thinks they’re just ALL that  .  yuck  ,  they’d be nothing without money  .

CHAT  —  SOCIAL EVENTS:  these are so droll . . . no wonder all the people that attend these are all so old and wrinkly  .

WHEN IT RAINS:  hey  ,  have you ever danced in the rain  ??  it’s a really refreshing feeling  !!  

WHEN THE SUN IS OUT:  this is the PERFECT day to go on an adventure near the plains  !!  or maybe take a short trip around the shores  ??

WHEN IT’S WINDY:  this wind . . . it’s great for setting sail  .  shall we go borrow a boat and go somewhere fun  ??

ABOUT YINGJIE  —  CHILDHOOD:  i wouldn’t call it a childhood  ,  it was more like . . . hm  ,  i’m not sure what the word is  ,  but it was just simply a lot of teaching  ,  words  ,  and swords  .  the only fun part was the explosions  .

ABOUT YINGJIE  —  INHERITING:  it’s not that i’m against inheriting the business  ,  don’t get me wrong  .  i wil  .  i juist want to have all the fun before i get stuck behind a desk and i can’t do as i please anymore  !!

ABOUT YINGJIE  —  RIGHT EYE:  ahh . . . my right eye  ??  oh  ,  stop waving your hand in front of it  ,  i can see your hand  .  it’s just not as good as it used to me . . . i was reckless when i was younger and it got struck by a flying debris when a hilichurl set off an explosive barrel next to me  .

ABOUT US  —  COMPANIONSHIP:  don’t worry  !!  as long as i’m around  ,  you won’t ever have to travel alone  !!  i’ll happily join you in any journey you have  ,  and you don’t ever have to worry about going hungry or lacking money  .

ABOUT US  —  SOUVENIRS:  i saw this in a market on my travels around qingce village  .  i thought it’d be something you’d like . . . here  ,  if you like this  ,  i’ll be sure to keep my eye out for more of the similar things  !!

ABOUT THE VISION:  it gives my father a headache knowing that if i act out  ,  i can burn down his entire warehouse and for that  ,  he’s cautious in reprimanding me  .  i gotta say  ,  it’s useful in more ways than one . . . though  ,  he has empty fears  ;  there’s no way i’d risk so many lives and inventory for a petty tantrum  .

ANYTHING TO SHARE:  the best view in most definitely in jueyun karst  ;  that’s the best place to see the sun rise and set  ,  to see the stars above the clouds . . . it’s so peaceful there  .  no wonder it’s so dangerous  ,  the adepti do have to protect their precious scenery  .

INTERESTING THINGS:  i once came upon a temple  ,  i somehow triggered the mechanism to open the gates and well  ,  it was quite the adventure  ,  can’t say i didn’t get lost in the maze  .  it took me several days  !!  there was no way to tell what time it was  ,  but man  ,  it was a thrill  !!

ABOUT BEIDOU:  captain beidou  ??  truly an inspiring figure  ,  i love her company  .  she’s taken me on a great adventure before and i hope to go again with her as a companion  .  she never fails to bring something interesting back for me or regale me in her tales over a good cup of strong liquor  .

ABOUT NINGGUANG:  . . . i’d rather not talk of her  .  i don’t think i’d have the best relationship with her  ,  i always try to keep our meetings short  .  she’s a difficult person to handle  ,  i’ll admit  .  even the most sociable have to admit defeat one day  .

ABOUT KATHERINE:  she’s really interesting  ,  i enjoy talking to the adventurer’s guild  ,  she always directs me to the interesting places in teyvat  .  they always have something new for me  .  the commissions they give me lead me all over the place  ,  that’s the reason i do it  !!  the fighting is just a bonus  .

ABOUT WEINA:  she’s a really eccentric doctor but she’s good at what she does so i keep going to her to be patched up  .  plus  ,  she’s good at keeping secrets and startling you awake with her cold hands  .  i wonder  ,  how come she’s always so layered up  ,  isn’t she hot  ??

ABOUT CARINA:  i’ve see this little lady walking around and looking very lost . . . i’ve seen her a few times at the gathering of the merchants  ,  but she doesn’t talk much  .  how curious  .  i wonder if her parents know that she wanders the city alone  .

MORE ABOUT YINGJIE   —  I:  if i wasn’t born a merchant’s child  ,  i’d definitely become an adventurer  .  who doesn’t love traveling around and seeing new sights  ??

MORE ABOUT YINGJIE  —  II:  i truly cannot fathom how people are able to sit still at a desk for so long  !!  it definitely is a learned skill that i do not have  .  ugh  ,  sitting for so long  ??  staring at so many words and numbers  ??  how does one really enjoy doing that  ??  unless it’s a rousing novel  ,  you won’t ever find me seated for such a long time  !!

MORE ABOUT YINGJIE  —  III:  i think i will reform my father’s company when i take over . . . i cannot stand how stuck in traditional ways they are  !!  nothing gets done if we do it the way my father did  .  how inefficient  !!

HOBBIES:  i do enjoy collection random trinkets  ,  from those chests and just random scrounging around  .  i discovered some of them sell for a good price  !!  that definitely spurs me to go adventuring more  . 

TROUBLES:  my father and his persistent guards . . . they think they can really keep me from leaving the house  !!  i’ve see the multitude of ways they’ve tried  ,  but honestly  ,  it’s getting rather tiresome of trying to get away  .  they’re getting too smart  !!

FAVORITE FOOD:  my favorite food  ??  noodles with mountain delicacies is definitely the one  ,  i had the pleasure of trying it on my travel to qingce village the first time and i’ve just been going back there for more  !!

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD:  i don’t have one  ,  i’m not a picky eater . . . as long as it’s edible and not suspicious  ,  i’ll eat it  .

BIRTHDAY:  it’s your birthday  ??  why didn’t you say so  ??  goodness  ,  i’ve got nothing prepared  !!  but the excitement is the spontaneity of things right  ??  lend me your day  ,  i’ll make it unforgettable  .

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  INTRO:  oh  ??  this feeling of power  ,  interesting  !!  does this mean i can get even stronger  ??

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  BUILDING UP:  a skilled warrior must always keep his skills sharp . . . like a blade  ,  without polishing  ,  it’ll just dull and become useless  .

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  CLIMAX:  amazing  !!  with your help  ,  i’ve gotten stronger than i can ever imagine  !!  i never knew i can achieve this strength  !!

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  CONCLUSION:  my dear friend  ,  curiosity never killed the cat  ,  it was the anticipation that did . . . so don’t hesitate to answer the call for adventure and remember to keep your skills sharp  !!

Battle and Exploration

ADDED TO PARTY:  care to go on an adventure  ??  /  need an extra hand  ??

ELEMENTAL SKILL:  watch your step  !!  /  all we need is some fireworks now

ELEMENTAL BURST:  you’re going to need some ice for that burn

IDLE:  (  same as the chats above  )

DASH:  where’s the fire  ??

GLIDING:  the sights from the sky is truly beautiful

DAMAGE:  didn’t see that coming

KNOCKED OUT:  i’ll never hear the end of this  /  how can this be  ??

[malibvnghts]

[ yingjie ] voicelines

HELLO:  i’m yingjie  ,  surely you’ve heard of the rumors that go around about me  .  i won’t confirm or deny any of them  ,  that’s for me to know and you to find out  .

GOOD MORNING:  rise and shine  ,  new day means new adventures and more people to piss off  .  namely my father  ,  but that’s not anything new  .

GOOD AFTERNOON:  well  ,  look at the time . . . it’s late  ,  shall we grab a late lunch or maybe wait until dinner  ??  we’re going to need the energy for some nighttime mischief  .

GOOD EVENING:  haha  ,  that was fun  ,  wasn’t it  ??  the thrill of almost getting caught and running away just as we’re spotted  .  it’s good exercise after a large meal  .

GOOD NIGHT:  sleep well  ,  sweet dreams  !!  don’t forget our promise for tomorrow  !!

CHAT  —  IDLENESS:  are you thinking of a new adventure  ??  let’s brainstorm together  .

CHAT  —  TRAVELING:  you’ve never been here before  ??  oh  ,  i’ve got so much to show you  !!  forget the path  ,  come here  !!

CHAT   —  LIYUE QIXING:  a glorified authoritative group that thinks they’re just ALL that  .  yuck  ,  they’d be nothing without money  .

CHAT  —  SOCIAL EVENTS:  these are so droll . . . no wonder all the people that attend these are all so old and wrinkly  .

WHEN IT RAINS:  hey  ,  have you ever danced in the rain  ??  it’s a really refreshing feeling  !!  

WHEN THE SUN IS OUT:  this is the PERFECT day to go on an adventure near the plains  !!  or maybe take a short trip around the shores  ??

WHEN IT’S WINDY:  this wind . . . it’s great for setting sail  .  shall we go borrow a boat and go somewhere fun  ??

ABOUT YINGJIE  —  CHILDHOOD:  i wouldn’t call it a childhood  ,  it was more like . . . hm  ,  i’m not sure what the word is  ,  but it was just simply a lot of teaching  ,  words  ,  and swords  .  the only fun part was the explosions  .

ABOUT YINGJIE  —  INHERITING:  it’s not that i’m against inheriting the business  ,  don’t get me wrong  .  i wil  .  i juist want to have all the fun before i get stuck behind a desk and i can’t do as i please anymore  !!

ABOUT YINGJIE  —  RIGHT EYE:  ahh . . . my right eye  ??  oh  ,  stop waving your hand in front of it  ,  i can see your hand  .  it’s just not as good as it used to me . . . i was reckless when i was younger and it got struck by a flying debris when a hilichurl set off an explosive barrel next to me  .

ABOUT US  —  COMPANIONSHIP:  don’t worry  !!  as long as i’m around  ,  you won’t ever have to travel alone  !!  i’ll happily join you in any journey you have  ,  and you don’t ever have to worry about going hungry or lacking money  .

ABOUT US  —  SOUVENIRS:  i saw this in a market on my travels around qingce village  .  i thought it’d be something you’d like . . . here  ,  if you like this  ,  i’ll be sure to keep my eye out for more of the similar things  !!

ABOUT THE VISION:  it gives my father a headache knowing that if i act out  ,  i can burn down his entire warehouse and for that  ,  he’s cautious in reprimanding me  .  i gotta say  ,  it’s useful in more ways than one . . . though  ,  he has empty fears  ;  there’s no way i’d risk so many lives and inventory for a petty tantrum  .

ANYTHING TO SHARE:  the best view in most definitely in jueyun karst  ;  that’s the best place to see the sun rise and set  ,  to see the stars above the clouds . . . it’s so peaceful there  .  no wonder it’s so dangerous  ,  the adepti do have to protect their precious scenery  .

INTERESTING THINGS:  i once came upon a temple  ,  i somehow triggered the mechanism to open the gates and well  ,  it was quite the adventure  ,  can’t say i didn’t get lost in the maze  .  it took me several days  !!  there was no way to tell what time it was  ,  but man  ,  it was a thrill  !!

ABOUT BEIDOU:  captain beidou  ??  truly an inspiring figure  ,  i love her company  .  she’s taken me on a great adventure before and i hope to go again with her as a companion  .  she never fails to bring something interesting back for me or regale me in her tales over a good cup of strong liquor  .

ABOUT NINGGUANG:  . . . i’d rather not talk of her  .  i don’t think i’d have the best relationship with her  ,  i always try to keep our meetings short  .  she’s a difficult person to handle  ,  i’ll admit  .  even the most sociable have to admit defeat one day  .

ABOUT KATHERINE:  she’s really interesting  ,  i enjoy talking to the adventurer’s guild  ,  she always directs me to the interesting places in teyvat  .  they always have something new for me  .  the commissions they give me lead me all over the place  ,  that’s the reason i do it  !!  the fighting is just a bonus  .

ABOUT WEINA:  she’s a really eccentric doctor but she’s good at what she does so i keep going to her to be patched up  .  plus  ,  she’s good at keeping secrets and startling you awake with her cold hands  .  i wonder  ,  how come she’s always so layered up  ,  isn’t she hot  ??

ABOUT CARINA:  i’ve see this little lady walking around and looking very lost . . . i’ve seen her a few times at the gathering of the merchants  ,  but she doesn’t talk much  .  how curious  .  i wonder if her parents know that she wanders the city alone  .

MORE ABOUT YINGJIE   —  I:  if i wasn’t born a merchant’s child  ,  i’d definitely become an adventurer  .  who doesn’t love traveling around and seeing new sights  ??

MORE ABOUT YINGJIE  —  II:  i truly cannot fathom how people are able to sit still at a desk for so long  !!  it definitely is a learned skill that i do not have  .  ugh  ,  sitting for so long  ??  staring at so many words and numbers  ??  how does one really enjoy doing that  ??  unless it’s a rousing novel  ,  you won’t ever find me seated for such a long time  !!

MORE ABOUT YINGJIE  —  III:  i think i will reform my father’s company when i take over . . . i cannot stand how stuck in traditional ways they are  !!  nothing gets done if we do it the way my father did  .  how inefficient  !!

HOBBIES:  i do enjoy collection random trinkets  ,  from those chests and just random scrounging around  .  i discovered some of them sell for a good price  !!  that definitely spurs me to go adventuring more  .

TROUBLES:  my father and his persistent guards . . . they think they can really keep me from leaving the house  !!  i’ve see the multitude of ways they’ve tried  ,  but honestly  ,  it’s getting rather tiresome of trying to get away  .  they’re getting too smart  !!

FAVORITE FOOD:  my favorite food  ??  noodles with mountain delicacies is definitely the one  ,  i had the pleasure of trying it on my travel to qingce village the first time and i’ve just been going back there for more  !!

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD:  i don’t have one  ,  i’m not a picky eater . . . as long as it’s edible and not suspicious  ,  i’ll eat it  .

BIRTHDAY:  it’s your birthday  ??  why didn’t you say so  ??  goodness  ,  i’ve got nothing prepared  !!  but the excitement is the spontaneity of things right  ??  lend me your day  ,  i’ll make it unforgettable  .

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  INTRO:  oh  ??  this feeling of power  ,  interesting  !!  does this mean i can get even stronger  ??

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  BUILDING UP:  a skilled warrior must always keep his skills sharp . . . like a blade  ,  without polishing  ,  it’ll just dull and become useless  .

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  CLIMAX:  amazing  !!  with your help  ,  i’ve gotten stronger than i can ever imagine  !!  i never knew i can achieve this strength  !!

FEELINGS ABOUT ASCENSION  —  CONCLUSION:  my dear friend  ,  curiosity never killed the cat  ,  it was the anticipation that did . . . so don’t hesitate to answer the call for adventure and remember to keep your skills sharp  !!

Battle and Exploration

ADDED TO PARTY:  care to go on an adventure  ??  /  need an extra hand  ??

ELEMENTAL SKILL:  watch your step  !!  /  all we need is some fireworks now

ELEMENTAL BURST:  you’re going to need some ice for that burn

IDLE:  (  same as the chats above  )

DASH:  where’s the fire  ??

GLIDING:  the sights from the sky is truly beautiful

DAMAGE:  didn’t see that coming

KNOCKED OUT:  i’ll never hear the end of this  /  how can this be  ??

[friendshipcampaign]

Session Recap 12/1/20: But If I Had To Perish Twice

Amaranth took the first watch of the night, kept alert by the sounds of rain outside, followed by Ditto. By the time Erwyn awoke for the last watch, the rain had stopped, and his was instead unnaturally quiet. Nothing manifested, however, and the night passed without incident.

In the morning, once everyone was awake, Kriv checked the Infinite Library and retrieved a message from Hubris. She had written that she would keep looking into the mystery goddess, but her guess, given the remnant of Conjuration magic they’d found in the tomb, was that some kind of wishing magic may have been involved in erasing the deity. She also mentioned she’d gotten Amaranth’s message and was glad the tiefling had enjoyed her tavern recommendation in Wayspell -- and also, of course, that she’d passed on the news of the breaches to the others. Palava, apparently, had wanted to head out to Veritas immediately, but Violetta convinced him they needed to do some more preparation. She said that some contingent of the Gatekeepers would teleport out to the nearby city of Sconz, which had the closest teleportation circle, and that they would need to communicate with the party about where to meet them in the city.

The party made their plans for the day, discussing what options they still had in the city for trying to gather more information. Hoping to talk to Thodri later, they nonetheless decided the first thing to do was still to keep their appointment with Tress. As soon as they stepped outside, though, the demonic pigeons began following them again. A particularly large one flew down in front of them, clutching what looked like the tail of a small creature in its claws. The ruff of its neck lifted up to reveal a humanoid mouth, and it fixed its many visible eyes on Erwyn before speaking in Abyssal:

“Let us know if you require help. We’ll be waiting.”

The pigeon flew away and Erwyn stepped forward to investigate the tail, which it had left behind. It proved to have belonged to an imp. He translated what the pigeon had said for the group, and they continued onward. Dark clouds were gathering in the sky as they walked, seeming to forebode that a storm was on its way.

The little lantern outside of Tress’ shop was not on, but the door wasn’t locked and movement could be heard inside. She opened the door to greet them, wearing the same clothes she’d had the night before, and commented that the quasits really weren’t letting up. Tress asked Kriv if he would keep watch for them while she worked with the others, since she had a demonstration she wanted to try, but only needed one blood sample from each race. He cautiously used his Divine Sense to see if anything was amiss, but nothing came back, and was persuaded when she mentioned that she’d noticed there always seemed to be more of the quasits around when the party stopped by and she would feel safer if he kept an eye out.

Tress took the others to the back and told them that she’d gotten the same reaction from mixing the tiefling blood sample with the tinctures as she had in her earlier tests with her own blood. She expanded on that, however, saying that she had an idea for an antidote to the petrification process that involved basilisk venom, a substance often used for similar cures. She said she wanted to actually test it on humanoids, if the party was willing.

“Did you drink any of it?” Voski asked.

There was no response.

“Tress,” she said.

“I like to be certain of things!” Tress said.

“Tress!” 

Voski started scolding her for being so reckless with herself, especially since she wasn’t sure of her antidote yet. Tress argued back that she had needed to try her theories. She added that if the party members present were willing to help, she could get four more data points from them and try to refine them. They agreed, Voski perhaps more begrudgingly than the other three, and all drank the vials they were presented with.

As they waited for Tress to be able to gather her data, Voski asked her where her dog was. Tress replied that Palette was in the back with some minor mechanical troubles. Continuing to make conversation, Voski asked her about her clients for the Guildhall Gala that year and Tress said that the Papermaker’s Guild had been working with her on something rather grand. Cautiously, Erywn asked if, since she tended to work with fairly wealthy and important clients, she had any business with some of the out-of-town philanthropists in the city currently.

“Mostly I’m asking,” he said, “Because if a woman named Esmeralda Vilar asks for anything from you, please be careful.”

“Really? I’ll take it under advisement,” Tress said. Then she turned to the back. “What do you think?”

At that moment Erwyn, Voski, and Ditto were all struck with the effects of the “antidote” they had just drunk -- which had actually been poison. Amaranth managed to shake off similar effects. The door to the back room opened, and a scowling, red-skinned tiefling, a human woman in an elaborate dress of red and black silk, and a fire genasi man emerged. Amaranth drew her weapon and shouted for Kriv, but the woman -- Esmeralda Vilar herself -- snapped her fingers and three bolts of crackling red-and-black energy (that matched her dress) shot towards her, all of which hit.

Voski had been keeping her eyes on Tress the entire time and noted that, as the three newcomers appeared, she seemed to go entirely vacant, eyes staring into the distance.

Amaranth charged forward and went to attack Esmeralda, but the tiefling woman at her side stepped forward and took the damage instead. From behind the curtain to the back, a few more figures stepped forward. They looked off, in a blank way, similar to Tress. One was a tabaxi and the other two tieflings -- one of whom was Creed. Erwyn, reeling from these developments, suddenly took an onslaught of psychic damage from an unknown source

Tress went and tried to backhand Amaranth, with a strength that seemed unnatural for her, but she was able to dodge it. Then the genasi man raised an arm, on which he was wearing a complicated-looking bracer, and shot a bolt of ice towards the doorway. It exploded and expanded, creating a sheer wall of ice that cut the back room off from the storefront -- where Kriv had been waiting. When he ran to towards Amaranth’s call, he found the door completely blocked and started to try to cut into it with his sword.

“What’s going on?” he shouted. “What the fuck!”

“We’ve got company!” Amaranth shouted back.

Ditto, finding that she couldn’t move thanks to the poison, told Tiktik to get to safety. They bolted past everyone and ran into the back room. Whatever they found back there seemed to distress them. Erwyn addressed Esmeralda and told her to let everyone go, asking what they had done to her. She replied that they’d cared too much about her business. Her tiefling bodyguard pulled out a spiked chain and whipped it at Amaranth, causing it to wrap around her and pin her arms to her sides.

Voski, looking incredibly angry, looked directly at Esmeralda and said, “It makes sense you’d have to control her. You couldn’t afford her.”

Esmeralda smiled back and said. “Oh no. But I know someone who can.”

At that, the woman took out a small book from a pouch at her side and held it open in front of Amaranth, grabbing her hair to pull her close and force her to look at it. She felt a strange tugging and her form flickered. Suddenly, from the rest of the party’s point of view she vanished. From Amaranth’s, she found herself in a strange, featureless room with high walls and what looked like a strange, stylized vine curling down one of them.

Voski felt a tugging at her mind but managed to lock down in anger, ending the effect. At that moment, however, Tress hit her and she found that it caused her to take psychic damage anyway. Voski noted, however, that when “Tress” brought her arm back, there was a strange unnatural wrinkle in her skin. Across the room, the genasi man adjusted some kind of setting on his armband contraption.

Kriv, having heard Erwyn shout in distress when Amaranth disappeared and frustrated due to not being able to break through the ice, decided it was time for another plan. He dashed outside and spotted one of the pigeon quasits that had been following the party around, looked at it, and said if it could understand Common, the party was in need of help. He then ran back inside and started hacking at the wall of ice again. This time, he managed to break through. He ran towards the back room to join the others and the genasi man fired some kind of a corrosive liquid at him, but the attack missed as Kriv skidded on the leftover ice.

Ditto managed to force herself to move, combating the effects of the poison. She tried to run towards the exit of the room and ran into Kriv in the hall. On seeing him, she shouted, “Everything’s really really bad!” and cast haste on him. Telepathically, she also told Tiktik to hide, and her familiar replied that there was some kind of a giant ooze thing in the back.

Forcing his way through the poison as well, Erwyn again addressed Esmeralda and told her to bring Amaranth back. The woman laughed, saying that she couldn’t do that, since Amaranth was going to be very useful to her.

“What else are you going to do, then?” Erwyn said. “You’ve already proven that you’re not very good at killing people!”

It was at this point that Esmeralda’s bodyguard stepped forward and stabbed Erwyn twice with her knives. At the second blow, he fell to the ground, unconscious. 

At around the same time, Voski forced her way through the effects of the poison as well. First, she turned to Tress and told her, “Snap out of it! You’re better than this!” in an attempt to inspire her. She then whirled to face Esmeralda and cast Heat Metal on the particularly opulent gold necklace the woman was wearing. Esmeralda shrieked, tearing it off.

From behind him, Kriv heard a rushing of wings. He went to duck his head and a stream of demonic pigeons flew past him and into the room. They started to attack everyone other than the party members -- who they recognized, having been stalking them for so long -- with their talons. Esmeralda stepped back and cast a Hellish Rebuke, immolating one of the pigeons, but their numbers were overwhelming. She, her bodyguard, and the genasi man, however, seemed to be the only ones actually fighting back. Where the pigeons’ talons cut through the other figures in the room -- “Tress” included” -- they didn’t bleed, instead spilling a viscous, jelly-like substance.

Reaching up through all the quasits, Esmeralda extended her hand and snapped her fingers. A red bead shot towards the top of the doorway, causing a red dot to appear and blossom into a Fireball. Ditto tried to Counterspell it, but was unable to stop the casting, and the room filled with fire, hitting the party members inside -- including the still-unconscious Erwyn -- as well as Esmeralda’s own bodyguard.

Meanwhile, inside the book she’d been contained in, Amaranth tried grabbing at the strange vine. She was unable to climb it, however, and when she pulled her hand away it seemed to be covered in a substance like paint.

In Tress’ shop and in the aftermath of the powerful Fireball spell, all the pigeons had been immolated. The oddly-vacant figures (“Tress” included) all turned to Esmeralda and pointed at the deathly-still Erwyn on the floor.

“We can’t get any information from that one,” they intoned in unison.

Voski then felt a powerful tugging at her mind and a blast of psychic damage. She also fell unconscious. In the aftermath, another one of the figures hit her for more damage. They then all went to link hands, one of them grabbing the hand of the tiefling bodyguard, who also was in pretty poor shape after getting caught in the Fireball. The genasi man took a decorative fork from his belt and linked arms with Esmeralda. The group then all vanished.

Kriv burst into the room just as they disappeared. He rushed over to Erwyn and tried to use his Lay on Hands ability on him.

Nothing happened. Erwyn was still beneath his hands. Esmeralda’s spell had killed him.

Ditto followed Kriv into the room. She rushed over to Voski and gave her a Greater Healing Potion. The dragonborn was roused, although everything still hurt and she found she had a strange splitting headache. Seeing Erwyn near her, she went to go heal him herself. Kriv grabbed her wrist with his free hand, the other still resting on Erwyn’s chest. She turned the spell back on herself so that the healing at least wouldn’t be wasted.

“Shit,” she said.

Suddenly, a strange dark patch appeared on the wall. The humanoid shadow demon that the party had fought at the inn materialized. It extended a hand, and spoke in halting Common.

“Give him to me,” it said.

“You were late,” Kriv replied.

“I can still help, if he will come with us. There is not much time.”

Slowly, Kriv scooped up Erwyn and stepped forward. The shadow creature placed its hand on his chest and sent a pulse of energy into him. After an agonizing moment of waiting, the elf drew in a breath. 

The demon had brought him back to life.

[hiraethr]

Ahru Hiraeth;; LFRP

THE BASICS ––– –

Age: 32 Birthday:  21st Sun of the 4th Astral Moon Race: Miqo’te - Half-Seeker, Half-Keeper Gender: Female Sexuality: Bisexual Marital Status: Open (Multi-verse)

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE ––– –

Hair: Usually worn short for ease, though when it gets longer she tends to pull it back in a simple ponytail. Pale blond at birth, a recent incident turned it nearly pure-white, save for a few remaining pale wisps of gold. Eyes: Blue at birth, similarly, an incident ‘claimed’ her right eye. Beneath the eyepatch she often wears it is now pale gold. Height: 5′1″ Build: Slightly on the petite/lithe side, with athletic toning - her appearance belies her borderline unnatural strength. (Her ears are a bit more on the wolfish side, with her tail being particularly long and luxurious - taking care of it is one of her few noteworthy points of pride and pampering.) Distinguishing Marks: Many. An old faded scar on her lower left cheek, another slightly more recent dashed across the bridge of her nose. The gold right eye - more to those who have known her for a greater length of time as being particularly distinguishing. Light, faded scars and marks of lesser wounds adorn the whole of her body at almost any given time, but most noticeable are the two large scars almost criss-crossing her chest. The first, from her left shoulder down over her left breast is considerably lightened, but the other, from her right shoulder nearly down past her stomach still appears quite gastly. Lichtenberg marks dance down her right arm, and burn wounds down the right side of her waist and thigh. Two old ceruleum-burnt bullet wounds mark her lower right abdomen and upper left chest, the latter exiting through the back. Time-faded, singed scars marked by claws carve down her back, and a thin almost benign-looking scar curves across her lower spine. (There are a number of more innocuous scars here and there but the listed are the ones with stories.) Common Accessories: Punching gloves - she doesn’t generally wear much in the way of jewelry or the like.

PERSONAL ––– –

Profession: Adventurer, "Warrior of Light", Bard Hobbies: Reading, fishing, traveling, studying (language, history, and the void are some of her favored topics). Languages: Eorzean Common, Ascian, some Hingan, the Hiraeth tongue. Residence: Private quarters at the Rising Stones, a private apartment in the Goblet. Birthplace: Hyr'asra - the Hiraeth village in a secluded wood said to be in the northernmost reaches of the Shroud called Fier'vanha. Religion: N/A Patron Deity: 'Oschon', but most among the Hiraeth 'revere' Arshadaya. Fears: Failure, losing her friends & family, having no choice or control over her own path or future. In a similar vein, she has trouble sleeping for fear of nightmares, and eating/drinking in public for poisoning. 

RELATIONSHIPS ––– -

Spouse: N/A Children: N/A Parents: Ahnia Hiraeth (mother), X'rahl sas Corvellus (father) Siblings: Nia Hiraeth (twin brother), Fianah Hiraeth (younger half-sister) Other Relatives: X’rhun Tia (uncle - not required for interactions), X’vhel Tia (exact relation unknown, they generally refer to each others as cousins) Pets: Mochi, an old (but surprisingly spritely) fat cat who is regularly found prowling around the Rising Stones. Caesar, a stray Garlean wolf pup she saved from coeurls in La Noscea - he has since gotten fairly large. 

TRAITS ––– -

* Bold your character’s answer.

Extroverted / In Between / Introverted Disorganized / In Between / Organized Close Minded / In Between / Open Minded Calm / In Between / Anxious Disagreeable / In Between / Agreeable Cautious / In Between / Reckless Patient / In Between /  Impatient Outspoken / In Between / Reserved Leader / In Between / Follower Empathetic / In Between / Apathetic Optimistic / In Between / Pessimistic Traditional / In Between / Modern Hard-working / In Between / Lazy Cultured / In Between / Uncultured Loyal / In Between / Disloyal Faithful / In Between / Unfaithful

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ––– –

Smoking Habit:  The occasional cigar, but it's far from common or habit. Usually in company that also partakes. Drugs: Used to smoke Somnus post-Calamity, has been clean for five years and has no desire to use again... no matter how bad the insomnia or night terrors are. Alcohol: She used to have very high tolerance and drank quite frequently, but no more.

RP HOOKS ––– –

Warrior of Light: Who hasn't heard of her? Canon faithful with some small variations. Need an eikon put down? An army routed? An item of absolutely no consequence fetched? She’s your lady! Storied Adventurer: Even if there are folks who don't recognize her as the realms savior, many among the adventurers guild have heard tales of the well-traveled miqo’te lass. If you've got the right connections, you just might be able to hire her. Bewitching Bard: Those who know her among the Scions and the Adventurer’s Guild likely also know of her talents as a bard, but she’s also keen on keeping her identity as a Scion and Warrior of Light more on the hush-hush side when she’s singing in taverns or telling tales at hunters camps. Her songs are said to fortify the spirit and uplift the hearts of those who hear her, even bordering on having outright restorative effects. She often goes to various encampments to bolster morale. Ascian Influence: Her clan was founded by an exiled Ascian, Arshadaya, now enemy to his own kind - though with a multitude of questionable aims himself. While not entirely, his presence has long had its effect on the Hiraeth bloodline and the magics they use. This is not something most anyone would know without discussing it with her (or me!) - unless possibly they themselves were Ascian or were inclined to be more sensitive towards such influences and energies. This would be most apparent in her white magic, which is of Amdapori descent handed down by Arshadaya through her ancestors.

CONTACT INFORMATION  ––– –

Tumblr primarily, but if we've RPed as mutuals for a while I'm more inclined to share my discord. 

[animesshadow]

NatZa - The wrong choice

“Titania” a raven haired dark mage covered in a green battle uniform spoke up to the redhead in a pretentious way. He was standing at a higher platform than her. His dark purple eyes were looking down at the so-called Queen of Fairies.

Erza frowned at this man’s arrogance. She hated to admit it but he was strong, way stronger than she first anticipated. Her body was covered in bruises and scratches. A few drops of blood escaping her mouth, making their way down her chin. As much as Erza wanted to dash at him with all her might, she couldn’t. Her eyes pendled between the two man next to the dark mage.

Two man were chained and crucified a few meters next to him on each side. They were both unconcious and motionless as the chains tightly pinned each man on an iron cross.

Both of these man were people Erza shared a deep connection with. The man on the right side (from her point of view) was a azure haired man with a red tattoo under one his eyes. It was none other than Jellal. His clothes were torn and some bruises could be seen on his body.

To the left was Fairy Tail’s infamous dragon slayer Natsu Dragneel. He was the worst shape of them all. Multiple bruises and scrathes all over his body. He had at least 3 stab wounds on his chest which were still bleeding out a lot. Everyone could see that he was barely holding onto his life. His beaten face was overshadowed by his pink hair because of the way his limp head was hanging down.

“This is why only fools are heroes.” The dark mage spoke up causing Erza to twitch her eyebrow.

“Because you never know when some lunatic will come along with a sadistic choice” 

He held up two similar looking device’s which looked like magical remote controls. A small red light was blinking on each of them.

Turning his head towards Natsu he continued “Let die the reckless dragon slayer and fellow guild mate”

“Or..” He then shifted his head to the other side “Suffer the death of your childhood friend, turned psychopath”

“Stop this! I will not let you hurt one of them!” Erza screamed in response

Even though her words sounded as brave and prepared, on the inside it was quite the contrary. Fear grasped her heart. Its grip grew stronger with each word this maniac said. She quickly thought through every possible solution that came to her mind, trying analyse the situation and find a way out of this. Without any one of her friends dying. The two man she cared for most are being held hostage and threatened to kill. Even though she tried her best, she couldn’t come up with a way to stop him. Panic started fill Erza’s thoughts as her heart started to beat faster and faster.

“Make your choice..” taunted the dark mage. His oversized green robe danced at the rythym of the wind. The wicked smile on his head started to disappear as he put on a serious face again.

Right after he threw both remotes in each direction. Once one of them hit the ground it would be over for one of her friends. 

Erza’s mind went blank. She had to do something, NOW! Losing control over her body she let herself get controlled by her instincts. She immidiatly requiped into her ‘Flight Armor’ and dashed towards one of the remotes. 

Just as she caught the one she dashed towards and trying to run for the other one, she heard the sound of something hitting the ground a few meters away from her. The next few seconds felt like an eternity. Following the Click sound of the broken device loud mechanical sounds could be heard.

Split second after that the sound of something forcing its way through flesh and bones echoed through out the big hall. 

Erza’s eyes widened at the sight of this. Only now she realized which one of the remotes she subconciously chose. Natsu’s body was now pierced with multiple spikes that shot out of the iron cross right through his back. The tips of those spikes poked out of his chestregion. The dragon slayer’s eyelids shot open as he regained conciousness at the sensation of his body being stabbed open. His eyes were wide open in shock as he saw the bloody tips of said spikes. Pieces of his flesh hung down from some of the spikes.

Shortly after the spikes made their way back into the cross and the magical chains started to dissolve. Right before Natsu’s limp body was about to crash on the floor Erza caught his body, gently putting him down on the floor.

“Natsu! Natsu! Are you alright? Please, answer me! You can’t die here you here me.” Erza desperately shouted at her fallen comrade. So many tears went flowing down her cheeks. She was crying every last bit of her tears.

“haha... HAHAHAHAHAHA! See, this is what happens when you try to be a hero” A wicked laugh echoed through the large hall they were in.

Those words however were ignored by the Scarlet Knight. The only thing she could think about now was stopping Natsu’s blood from flowing out through the many holes in his body. It was pointless though. Those injuries could never be treated in time.

“Natsu please, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay. So please.. don’t die. I need you. Please don’t die!” Erza cried out. Her throat was sore and started to hurt but she didn’t care. She tried everything to keep Natsu alive... In vain

Jellal who seem to have woken up just in time to witness this horrific choice. He was in shock too. He helplessly watched as her dearest friend sunk deeper into despair. Not a single word dared to escape his mouth. He was only able to watch the following.

Natsu gathered all his strength to to raise one of his arms. His arms twitched and shook in pain but he didn’t care right now. He put his hand on Erza’s neck who still tried to close the wounds while begging him not to die.

Even though his heart was shredded to pieces by the many spikes that went through his body, the one thing that broke it was seeing Erza in such a desperate state. Tears started flow down at the sight of the broken nakama in front of him.

Natsu pulled her head towards him and gently placed her forehead on his. The shock forced Erza to stop her frantic cries and widen her eyes in surprise.

“I-It’s alright...”

His voice was weak and trembling. He was in unimaginable pain right now but he put on the brightest smile his tense muscles allowed him to make.

“Everything is gonna be fine. Stop crying now, will ya. Tears don’t suit your beautiful face.”

Erza just stared at him in disbelief. Drops of tears dropped down on Natsu’s face mixing them with the tears of his own. Yes, Natsu was crying too. The emotional impact the image of her desperate friend made was even worse than his physical injuries. He innerly cursed himself for being the reason why Erza cried. He promised himself he would never let anyone make her cry again, yet here he was, breaking that promise by himself.

“I-I’m sorry, Natsu.. This is all my fault.. If I had caught that thing, if I had stopped that mania-” Erza sobbed before being interrupted by Natsu

“I told you everything is fine...” 

His voice was getting weaker and weaker with every second. The light in his eyes started to fade away. They both knew... It was over.

“Promise me to stay strong okay..”

He mumbled out his last wish to the broken Scarlet Knight. 

Erza wouldn’t accept this. She REFUSED to accept this! 

“Don’t talk like that. You are going to be fine. You always are, so don’t you dare dying on me here!” 

Her shouts were growing more desperate as she felt Natsu’s grip on her neck became weaker every second. His grip may be weak but she couldn’t move an inch away from her position. Their foreheads still connected as she looked down on the bloody mess that was her friend.

“Hehe.. give that ice princess back in the guild a kick to the ass for me, okay” the fire mage smiled weakly. He was a little glad his rival wasn’t here to see him in this pathetic state.

Erza sobbed but didn’t say anthing. Her tears didn’t seem to stop any time soon too. ‘Even in this state he still thinks about fighting Gray’. That thought made her smile a bit again in sadness.

“You can’t lose yourself to darkness, you understand me” Natsu got serious again. “No matter what.. You have to stay true to yourself. Live on for everyone back at the guild. Seeing you cry like this just breaks my heart. Please stay the strong Erza we all know. Don’t let this darkness get the better of you .. Promise me”

“I promise.”  was everything Erza could respond to Natsu’s final wish. She realized already that there is nothing she can do anymore. There’s nothing anyone can do. This was the end of their path together,

“Thank you... I.. I love you.. Erza...” were his final words. 

The usual fire in his eyes went out as the little life that was left completely left Natsu’s body. His tense muscles relaxed and his limp hand on Erza’s neck finally fell down next to his body. The usual warmth Natsu radiated grew cold. A bitter smile was the only thing Natsu left behind. He had no regrets any longer. Everyone who was present knew... He was gone now.

Those last words triggered something in Erza. She gritted her teeth as she slowly realized. She made the wrong choice! Sadness and despair were replaced by pure hatred. She subconciously considered Jellal to be the more important one. More important than someone who was always beside her, encouraging her and saving her from her darkest moments. Her hatred started to rise beyond measure.

Her gaze slowly shifting back towards the raven haired black mage. Erza completely forgot Jellal was even there, completly ignoring his shocked and worried look at her.

‘The promise’. She remembered what she just promised her deceased friend. No, he wasn’t just a friend. He never was JUST a friend. He was so much more. Erza didn’t realize how much she needed him before but it was too late now. 

‘I’m sorry, Natsu’ she thought as she looked up to man who caused all of this. Pure rage turning her vision red. Fury and hatred were the only things that remained in her mix of emotions. ‘I won’t be able to keep that promise’

This man right there had to pay. He would not leave this place unpunished, he had to pay! Even if it cost her everything! 

With that, every last trace of Erza’s sanity that remained, faded away.

[tastesoftamriel]

Into Oblivion, part 5 (a long tale by Talviel)

Unfortunately, this attracted the attention of the middle dremora, which was initially heading towards Brynjolf, and I had two angry minions of Mehrunes Dagon chasing after me. I sprinted straight toward the trap tile, and leapt over it at the last second. The dremora weren’t so lucky. In their clunky armour, they stepped heavily onto the tile and a massive guillotine dropped from the ceiling, decapitating one and slicing the other in half. I whooped and ran around in a circle. Brynjolf had already dispatched his dremora, and stared at me doing my victory dance. “You’ll always be that 17 year old rookie thief who did the exact same thing after we got the Eye of the Falmer off Mercer.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Don’t be a killjoy, let me have my moment! You’ve got to admit, that was a nice kill.” I laughed, skipping over the safe tiles to him. He simply knuckled my hair and forged onto the path ahead.

The path wound upwards. Two more dremora as well a few pods were quickly dealt with, and we sifted through our treasure (which by now was rather hefty) before facing another door. “After you, Vi.” Brynjolf said, bowing to me. “Why thank you my darling Bryn, for sending me to my death.” I said sarcastically, pushing it open. To my relief, it simply led to another corridor slanting down. My relief was quickly replaced with annoyance when I discovered a daedroth, scamp, and two more dremora. By this stage I was getting tired of fighting; I was a thief, not a mercenary. I instructed Brynjolf to help me round them all into a corner, where I froze them solid with the Ice Form shout and slashed at them all one by one. The next floor down was the same, just with different enemies. I couldn’t use the Thu'um, so we had to pick them off the hard way. Thankfully, we reached a door on the ground floor and caught our breath before finding out what was on the other side.

We were back out in the open again, on a path edged by rock walls as in the beginning. We climbed up the rock, only jumping down to break open pods (by this stage my sack was almost unbearably heavy). We cut down a few lone scamps and atronaches, and found ourselves back at the beginning where the long stone bridge led to the gate. To our relief, the gate was open from the levers we’d pushed earlier. I reached for Brynjolf’s hand. “Bryn, this is the final stretch, and the hardest. Let’s make it out alive. And if we don’t, I love you.” I said, my voice quivering. He kissed my forehead. “I know. We’ve come this far, lass. We’ll make it, I know it.” “Three million bloody septims isn’t enough compensation for all we’ve been through.” I sniffled, rogue tears running down my ash-stained cheeks. “Aye, I’ll agree with you on that one. Now let’s patch up your wounds, lass, and make that final sprint. Together.” He handed me a couple of potions, and I chugged them down, feeling my broken flesh knit over, and praying to Talos and Nocturnal for the best.

To our surprise, nothing came charging onto the bridge towards us. We walked forward, scared but with our heads held high and our weapons drawn. As we reached the gate, a horn bellowed and various ominous noises cackled to life. Taking a deep breath, we stepped beyond the gate, and inhaled sharply. At least a dozen dremora and atronaches were roughly assembled, clannfears and daedroths roamed around in great numbers, and innumerable scamps flew through the air. Beyond them, an intimidating glow radiated off the top of the immense tower we were aiming for, containing the great sigil stone. Brynjolf swore under his breath, looking defeated for the first time since I’d known him. “We’re not going to make it lass.” He whispered despondently. “Yes, we are. Hold me, Bryn.” “What?” “Just do it. Trust me.” He hugged me tightly from behind, and taking a deep breath, I shouted “Wuld Nah Kest!” We were propelled forward at an inhuman speed, past our enemies and almost to the door of the tower. “What in the-” Brynjolf spluttered, unable to believe his eyes. “No time, run!” I yelled, as our unsavoury company turned to rush towards us.

We reached the tower door and slammed it behind us. Brynjolf rummaged through his sack and pulled out a solid piece of timber, using it to bar the door. “That should keep them out for a while, but the ones I’m most worried about are the dremora, since they’re the ones who know how to open doors.” “Let’s move it then, fast. The sigil stone is at the top of this tower. Let’s do this, come on!” I shouted, taking the precariously uneven stairs two at a time. My hope faltered when I saw the opponents that faced us. Three dremora, including an archer and a mage, blocked the curving corridor ahead, and looking up, there were more on the top level, where we needed to be. “Steady lass.” Brynjolf said under his breath, pulling out his bow and arrows. “I’m going to get the mage first, in case it feels like healing its cronies, then I’ll come up with my blades. Think you can handle them?” I gulped and nodded, swinging my sword nervously. Brynjolf gave the signal, and I charged up the stairs. I swiped at the first dremora and punctured its armour, then aimed for its face hoping to smash it through. I was fatigued and slow though, and it made a low blow to my left knee and I rolled down the stairs, feeling the dent in the metal greaves that thankfully had taken most of the impact. “Vi!” screamed Brynjolf. He had taken down the mage and was now wielding both blades, slashing with reckless abandon at the dremora that had downed me. I groaned and struggled to my feet, feeling a sharp pain in my knee before something pinged off my breastplate. The archer was aiming for me, and nicked my arm on the next try. “Brynjolf, help!” I cried. He plunged towards the archer and sank both his blades deep into its skull. He bounded down the stairs, lifting me to my feet. “Ssh, it’s okay, lass. Almost there. Can you walk?” I winced and nodded, but hissed in pain when I tried to take a step. Brynjolf quickly pulled my arm over his shoulder, and helped me limp up the stairs.

We had reached the second storey when the pounding on the door began. “We’ll have to hurry.” I groaned. “They’re coming.” “Sorry to tell you this lass, but you’ll have to limp a little faster. I’d give you a potion but we don’t have time.” I grunted in reply, and used all my strength to surge forward as fast as my injured leg could take me. Brynjolf picked off the two dremora and spider daedra that guarded the top floor balcony alone when the sound of cracking wood came from downstairs. To my horror, a horde of dremora and some other monsters broke through the door, streaming into the tower. “Oh Talos. Bryn, Bryn, we’re almost to the stone.” I gasped, hobbling towards the final door that lay between us and our prize.

A dark corridor opened on the right to the Sigillum Sanguis, a red-lit room, with surprise, more enemies patrolling it. Brynjolf swore. “Lass, we’re going to make it. Now the plan is to ignore all the enemies and get to the stone. If your book was right, that should dump us back on Solstheim. We do this the Guild way: get what we need and get out. Understood?” I nodded weakly. “I’m not dying in this fucking place. Let’s go.” A daedroth greeted us at the base of another flight of stairs, and we groaned in unison. Hauling me along as fast as he could, Brynjolf dragged us up the stairs, only to find more dremora waiting. “These fucking things won’t stop!” He yelled. “Come on lass, one last set of stairs, I see the stone. We’re almost there.” He panted. I tried to take some of my weight off him so we could move faster, and gritted my teeth through the pain. As we started to climb the stairs, almost at our prize, the door burst open and the horde of monsters poured in. Our way above was blocked by a spider daedra.

“Not on my bloody watch are we going to die here today!” Brynjolf roared. He slashed at the daedra with one hand, and it hopped backwards. By now the monsters downstairs were almost upon us, flooding in from both sides. The sigil stone was just a few steps away. Brynjolf and I limped what felt like a mile, yet before we could grab the stone our enemies had flooded in from both sides. “Bryn, right or left?” “I don’t know, right!” I steadied myself and screamed to the right with all my might. “FUS RO DAH!” The monsters flew backward, some toppling down to the ground beneath us. The ones on the left side however, continued their way forward towards us. “Now!” Brynjolf shouted, and reaching for the the stone with one hand, unconsciously reaching for each other with the other, we grabbed onto the sigil stone. “I love you, Vi.” He whispered, and the last thing we saw was a daedroth charging towards us.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading and congratulations! Next week will be the epilogue, bringing a close to Into Oblivion. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!

[pyrebcrn]

      rox.     ... so i got 2 nonnies who wants g.ratsu pain, anyone guilty here ?

[seraphladyvenom]

We Are Family. [Fairy Tail FanFic]

Chp.2: Meet the guild.

Most of the guild was gathered around you, concern painted on their faces.  You sat on a bench with an ice pack on your head.  Shifty eyes went back and forth to each and every one of them them as you sat there with a grimaced frown, debating if you should say something or just blast them all into the next life.

Lira sat on the table in front of you as she looked up with concerned brown eyes.  She kept quiet though because she knew you were in a rather foul mood, which was understandable, I mean really...you had a fully grown man thrown at you like a sack of potatoes.  I mean what can anyone say to that really?

"Here you go." A soft, and gentle voice spoke as a beautiful, white haired woman placed an X bandage over the bumps on your forehead and back of your head.  It was Mira.  Mirajane Strauss, an S class fairy tail wizard also known as the shedevil.  Which was a rather strange nickname seeing as she was nothing like a devil of the sort.  She had kind eyes and a friendly smile and her voice that could sooth and calm even the devil himself.

  Almost immediately your anger subsided just by her voice alone.  "Thank you." you managed to say as you pulled the ice pack away from your head.  "How are you feeling?" Another heavenly voice spoke.  You looked up and noticed the blonde haired woman looking down at you with sincere worry in her big brown eyes.  It was Lucy Heartfilia.  The Celestial mage who helped save Fiore from the impending dragon attack not too long ago.  Of course, she did have a part in starting it to begin with but...

"My head still hurts a bit, but not like before." You managed a smile.  She sighed in relief.  "Thank goodness, I was so worried there for a second, when I saw Gray crash into you like that I expected the worst!" She exclaimed as she pointed towards Gray with her thumb.  Gray was standing not to far back behind the crowd, shirtless and arms crossed as he leaned on a pillar, a small scowl on his face as he just huffed at Lucy's response.

That sparked an immediate response from Lucy as she began to yell loudly at him.  "Hey!  At least show a little sympathy for the poor girl!  You almost killed her for crying out loud!"  "Hey don't blame me for her not being quick enough to dodge."  "Really Gray?!  How can you be so rude, clearly she had no idea just what goes on around here on a daily basis so how do you expect her to react quickly?!  AND WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?!"  Grey clicked his tongue but immediately panicked and looked down letting out a small gasp when he saw he was bare again.

You sweatdropped.

She sighed once more.  "Honestly, just what are we going to do with you." She shook her head disapprovingly as she massaged her temple.

Gray reacted the only way possible by pointing at the pink haired fire eater who was just giggling away.  "Don't get mad at me!  If anything it's HIS fault!  He's the one who started it!"  Natsu snapped back with a simple "What'd you say?!"  "You heard me lava for brains!" The little tick forming on his forehead and they were face on face.  "You wanna fight then fine let's duke it out right now!!  But don't go crying when I beat you ice princess!"  "Bring it on cinder brain!"

"Quit it guys!  Your interrupting my drinking time!" A voice from the bar spoke.  The woman in question was sitting at the bar downing a full barrel of alcohol and your eyes nearly popped put of your head at the sight alone.

"Cana, when isn't it drinking time for you?" The older blue haired gentleman spoke.  It was Macao Conbolt, former master of this guild.  The girl was Cana Alberona, the girl who can use the Fairy glitter spell, one of Fairy Tail's strongest spells, and obviously this guild's heaviest drinker.

That's right, you knew exactly who each and every member of this guild was, you did your homework and studied them for quite some time now.  And you needed to for a reason.  You averted your eyes towards the rumbling duo on your left while Lucy tried to break them up, obviously now doing a very good job.

Gray Fullbuster, the Ice wizard who once faught the demon Deliora.  Powerful, but quite the nudist.  "Oh Gray my love, you look so dashing even in the midst of a fight!" She spoke with hearts in her eyes.  She was wiggling like a worm just pulled out from the dirt.  Juvia Lockser, the water mage who was once with Phantom Lord's element 4, turned good.  It's obvious why this bimbo changed sides judging by her reaction toward the streaking Ice prince.

You quickly dismissed them as Gray tried to pry her off him as she latched onto him in the middle of the squabble.  Your eyes gazed towards the pink haired mess standing with his arms crossed next to Lucy with a childish pout on his face.  Natsu.  Dragneel.

You knew that name all too well.  There wasn't anywhere you could go without his name coming up wether it be about the magic games or how he nearly took out a village.  Yes he was famous, but to you, his name meant something more.  "Natsu..." You whispered to yourself.

"Hmm?" He looked up at you questioningly and it was then you remembered about his dragon slayer magic.  He could hear a mouse take a piss from across the street in the middle of a rush, of course he'd hear you whisper his name.  A small tint of pink powdered your face and you immediately looked down and put the ice pack on your head to try and distract this whole situation.

Before anything could be said Grey's voice broke the awkwardness when he yelled at Juvia to back off.  As he did he pryed her off but stumbled backwards and crashed into Natsu, causing another dispute against them.  You mentally sighed in relief and thanked the wizard God's for intervening in the knick of time.

Before the fight could ensue even more a loud, deep, womanly voice thundered throughout the guild.  "Enough!"  This alone sent both men to their side of the corners in a frightened state.  Hell, it made the whole guild minus a few tremble in fear.  The red haired vixen clad in armor stomped up and gave a menacing glare.  Even you and Lira had to admit that even y'all were a bit shaken.

"Can't you see that you've caused enough problems for today?!  Your reckless actions nearly cost this poor young woman dearly and all you can do is continue fighting?!" Her voice was dark and threatening.  "That's enough out of you two."  "Yes ma'am!" They yelped in unison.

Erza Scarlet.  Also known as Titania Erza, queen of the faries.  Her requip was so fast and so rare and her collection of armours was so vast.  Her presence alone was intimidating.  It's no wonder she's the strongest female of the guild.  You felt those butterflies in your belly start acting up again.  She was indeed an amazing woman and seeing her in person was just so...cool.  Her menacing stare then turned towards you.

Nevermind.

You heart sank to your ass as she began to approach you.

What did you do to piss her off?  Was she going to scold you too?  Was it illegal to come into the guild if you weren't a member?  Just what was gonna happen?!  As she approached her stare softened alot and a smile appeared on her face.  "Please forgive the craziness in here.  I am truly sorry you had to go through that ordeal earlier.  It's quite an embarrassment and very shameful on our part."

You relaxed your shoulders and smiled waving franticly.  "Oh no, it's okay really, it was my fault, I should have announced myself before just barging in!"  "Don't be silly, you needn't announce yourself before entering.  Are you feeling alright?"

"Huh?  Oh yes.  I'm much better thank you.  It takes a lot more than that to bring me down, honestly." you chuckled nervously.  Erza chuckled in return.  "I can see that, what's your name?"  "Oh that's right!" You stood up and bowed.  "Forgive me, my name is Seradith, it's a pleasure to meet you all even under these certain circumstances." You smiled.  "Pleasure to meet you Seradith.  My names Erza."

"Oh I know!" You immediately mentally berated yourself at how desperate and creepy that sounded.  "I mean...what I meant to say is I've heard a great deal of this guild and read a lot about you all on Sorcerer Weekly.  I'm...that is we..." You look Lira. "Are bit of a fan." You blushed ever so slightly and looked down.

"Wow to think we've gotten this big and have such a strong fan base, it's so amazing!" Lucy sighed dreamily as she clenched her flushed cheeks.  "Pretty soon, I'll have adoring fans rushing to me asking for my autograph, and men just throwing themselves at my feet wanting a chance to be with a star such as myself!"  "You need to wake up from your dreaming Lucy." Natsu replied monotonously with an unimpressed look on his face.

"Can it jerk!" she snapped back.  "So what brings you to Fairy Tail Seradith?" The small blue haired child asked curiously.  Wendy Marvell.  The sky maiden.  A small, petite little girl with the power of a sky dragon slayer, clearly looks can fool you.  She was amazing, you heard the stories and you see her right in front of you oozing with such power, it was exciting.  But the question asked made you a bit uneasy as you sat back down, both you and Lira looking down shyly.

"Well you see..." You began.  It was a few moments of silence that made everyone sort of on edge and curious as to what y'all were about to say.  "It's just that, we are really big fans of Fairy Tail...and we came here in hopes of meeting you all..." Lira proceeded.  "And maybe meet our idol's." She fiddled with her paws.

"Aww how cute, that's the sweetest thing!  Of course you can meet us, we won't turn you down cutie!" Lucy exclaimed as she cuddled her tightly causing Lira to blush and giggle.  Pretty soon the whole guild was riled up about their new fans coming for a visit and it wasn't long before you were introduced to the members currently in the guild and things went back to the normal fairy tail way.

[vesperia-ship-bitch]

A New Beginning

This was started a month or so ago with Nightfoot's encouragement (@nightfoot, the one who likes to write torture and shit). I swear I'll keep writing it eventually. This is the written version of Nightfoot's plot skeleton that she was never gonna get around to writing, and I swear she gave me permission to write it. And get this shit -- it's not porn! This fic includes: fluff, adorableness and purity. Enjoy! --- Honestly, Flynn could have never seen this coming. To be honest, Flynn had always held wishes for a simple life. Something where he would be able to balance his average job (hopefully at least in the Public Quarter) alongside spending time with his average wife, and his beautifully average future children, with his ridiculously average and reckless best friend poking in every now and again. Normalcy had always been something he’d craved, longed for, because complications were often too much for him to handle. By the day since boyhood, he’d made plans for his life in the form of messy drawings that Yuri would make fun of him for and his mother would pin to the walls of the kitchen in pride, so it had been something ingrained in him that he would be able to live a peaceful life upon reaching his adult years. But….what kind of fool would he have been to think at such a young age that he would grow to become the youngest commandant in history. To think that his best friend, the brash Yuri Lowell, would have the biggest hand in saving the world from what could have easily been utter destruction. To think that Flynn would be able to request the hand of the princess in marriage--much less expect her to say yes. The mere thought of it all swarmed in his head in somewhat of a nervous fit as he stood by the base of the great tree of Halure, dressed in a simple, yet nice outfit that worked well to hide his purpose there in that little town, but also show himself in a more presentable state than normal. By a stroke of luck, Yuri had managed to talk the mayor into allowing a private ‘meeting’ for the afternoon, secluded enough that no one would be able to know what was going on unless they were allowed beneath the tree to witness. Flynn was more than certain it was because both the commandant and the princess (not to mention the savior of the tree) were involved, but he didn’t question. Instead, he’d chosen to appreciate the effort Yuri and his guild put into organizing the event, despite how he did want some decision in how things were handled. “Hey, there. Getting jittery already?” Flynn’s shoulders jumped as his thoughts scurried away, his blue eyes shifting to recognize Yuri clapping a hand on his arm in welcoming. For once, he, too, was dressed appropriately; Flynn was aware that the particularly elegant outfit Yuri wore was not the latter’s favorite, but Flynn was quite certain that it looked nice on him. Fitting. Estelle had called it ‘dashing’, but honestly, Yuri was anything but that. Stubborn, maybe. Insufferable. “Don’t black out on me, now.” Yuri’s voice brought him back again, and Flynn let out a sigh. “Sorry,” he responded, shifting and adjusting his posture. “I guess I am getting a bit nervous. Not that you’d understand.” Mock offense lit up Yuri’s eyes and his hands raised defensively. “What, you think I’m not going to get married? I’m hurt, Flynn. I didn’t think I was that ugly.” Flynn let out a snort, already able to feel himself relaxing despite himself. Whether he admitted it or not, he did appreciate Yuri’s attempt at easing his nerves. “You, settling down? I’d likely die first.” A rather rare smirk crossed his lips as he closed his eyes, turning his head. “I doubt any woman would be willing to put up with you at this point.” “And I doubt you’d be able to find a woman to put up with that stick up your ass if this one cancels on you last-minute. Let’s hope that thing won’t get in the way on the honeymoon. It’d ruin all the...interesting positions.” Flynn’s cheeks flared red and he shot Yuri a glare, lips parting to offer a retort. However, the two of them were interrupted by the gentle sound of an unfamiliar voice clearing its - his - throat. “Gentlemen? We are prepared to start.” The officiant. Flynn’s chest tightened with a mixture of excitement and apprehension as he shifted, respectfully bowing his head and following behind to get into his proper position, Yuri standing by his side. It was a common sense decision to pick Yuri as the best man, and Estelle...well, Rita was her obvious choice for a maid of honor. By the time that Raven, Karol, Judith, Rita, and Repede had all arrived, Flynn had gotten into position with a somewhat queasy look on his face, which Karol couldn’t help but laugh at until Rita smacked him upside the head to shut him up; apparently, her abuse just showed how serious this was to her. Yuri snorted at the display, but didn’t move from his spot beside Flynn. Once Rita had gotten into position across from them, the officiant gave his cue to begin, and Flynn’s heart began to race in his chest. Today, there would be no music, nothing fancy and no massive banquet. Today would be a simple, sweet wedding, something free of the complications of his everyday life. It would be something to remember specifically for its peaceful atmosphere, and Flynn could appreciate nothing but that. His eyes closed and he breathed in the sweet, floral air to calm his nerves, reopening them as the sound of ginger footsteps against the grass came into earshot. Never was there a sight that took Flynn’s breath away as much as the one he was blessed to have seen in that moment. His senses gave out for about everything except for the throbbing of his heart as Estellise finally made her presence known, approaching the base of the Great Tree with slow, practiced steps. Bashful green eyes lifted to meet bright blue, and Flynn’s heart melted at the sight of petals the same shade as her beautiful hair fluttering down from the tree as they had been all week--but in this moment, it was the most wonderful gift nature could have given him. He found himself getting dry in the mouth as she smiled at him, wearing a soft white summer dress with an ornate design scrawled up the hip and across the underside of her left shoulder akin to that of lilies that reached just below her knees; somehow, he preferred this much more than any of the elegant and fancy wedding gowns he’d imagined seeing instead. She was stunning, and if the way he stared like a child meeting his first crush didn’t speak volumes for her, he wasn’t sure what else would. The vision of her walking toward him like an angel stepping down from heaven itself seemed stuck in his mind, because before he knew it, Yuri was nudging his back with an elbow gracelessly and snapping him out of his haze to see that the man who was to marry them had already begun to speak. Flynn turned as Estelle took his hand, returning her smile with all of the confidence he could muster, because yes, this was really happening. As familiar words tumbled into his ears, he tightened his grip on her smaller hand and let the last of his nervousness fade. It had been a faster ceremony than he had first thought. It had still taken an hour or so, but it was nothing compared to the royal wedding they would have in the next few days, so Flynn had taken his blessing without protest. When they kissed to seal their matrimony, he’d distantly heard the flat-out sobbing of Raven, whose composure had long since been lost and was reduced to being comforted by Judith. “You kids are gettin’ to be too much for this old man’s heart,” he’d wailed, and Flynn was somewhat touched by his emotional response; joke or not, (probably not, judging by the look on Karol’s face) it was heartwarming. Even Rita, apparently, had been too overtaken by the event that she didn’t swat at Raven or snap at him to shut up; instead, she was wiping her face--and only then did she snap at Yuri to shut up instead, for he had patted her back in a display of pure smug sympathy. Still, the odd expression even he had carried was one to remember; Flynn could not remember a time that he’d seen Yuri looking so happy. They had eaten together after the ceremony to celebrate, which involved quite a bit of alcohol for Raven and Yuri, for Flynn had managed to weasel his way out of downing too much. Their time together ended up dragging on into the late hours of the night, until they had parted ways into their own rooms at the inn after Raven had passed out (leaving Karol straining to drag the old man to Brave Vesperia’s room while Judith and Yuri had stayed out a while longer), and Flynn finally had his opportunity to pull Estelle close to him, pressing his face into her neck after the ginger kisses they’d exchanged to curl up and fall asleep together. For such a luxuriously simple wedding, Flynn could not have felt more pleased with the turnout. When Princess Estellise and Commandant Flynn had returned to Zaphias a few days after their official wedding day, preparations for the royal wedding had been completed. Flynn had been forced to wear a suit far more pricey and flashy than he ever would have liked, and Estelle had worn an elegant white and lavender gown with an impossibly long train trailing behind her, a tiara resting atop her neatly styled hair. Under the watchful eyes of every official and higher-up of the Empire (as well as several prominent Union members that had been invited), they were once again wed. Flynn had felt a mixture of pleased eyes resting upon himself and his wife as well as displeased stares burning into the back of his head, but he ignored them all, for once again, he got to relive the wonderful reality of marrying his beloved. While he was enjoying himself and doing excellently to sell that this was their ‘official’ wedding, he had easily seen the glimmer of thrilled mischief in Estelle’s eyes; he knew that she was pleased to be tricking the masses with such a ploy. It was utterly cute, in his opinion, but voicing that any time later would have gotten him a huffy response from the princess. For the days after their second wedding, Estelle continued to spout on about her grand experience deceiving the entirety of the Empire, and Flynn could do nothing but smile at her lively expressions. After the festivities, their honeymoon had been in Nam Cobanda, where they were both more than happy to spend their time alone curled up in the warm sands of the beach and discuss things they never talked about in Zaphias. How one day, Estelle would have liked to sleep in a bed in Myorzo again, (but with Flynn so he could understand just how outstanding it was to have such a large and wonderfully soft bed that acted as a floor for half of the room) or how Flynn still failed to understand why Nia fruit had become a delicacy in some parts of the world when it tasted so acrid and disgusting on his tongue. They had laughed and bickered about normal things for once, things that never often came to mind when they were with each other, and it was nice. During their trip, Estelle had refused to let him work at all, which was a bit disappointing. “It’s our honeymoon. If I’m not working, then you can’t, either,” she’d pressed sternly, and so he had given into her demands without much protest. After all, he did like when she put her foot down. Regardless, he had been chomping at the bit to get home after the first few days, until Estelle had finally admitted she was alright with returning to Zaphias after they’d stayed at least another day or two, so she could enjoy watching the sun rise and set without worrying about other things with him. Flynn gave her that without much protest, because the look in her eyes had been so demanding, and his heart had long since waned to give her what she wanted. Still, he was adamant to get home after those two allotted days. After all, he had work to do as the commandant, and a stand-in or an absence of such a position wouldn’t do past a week or so at best. Estelle had understood this easily, because she knew how serious Flynn was about his job. Yuri had often described it as, again, ‘the stick up his ass’, but Estelle could never call it something that bad. Well...sometimes, she disagreed with Yuri’s wording, anyway. Other days, she would simply smile and laugh instead of protest the description, leaving Flynn to defend himself from such claims. That was a cute display for her to watch, especially when his butt stiffened up like the metaphorical stick had shifted. On the day of their return, she had slept with her head in his lap for most of the way home, leaving his fingers to gingerly comb through her pink hair while he watched her peaceful expression with a soft smile. Upon returning home, they would have quarters to share, things to discuss as a couple, and a massive workload. However, as his fingers gently brushed her cheek, he decided that the coming stress would be okay. Such a drastic change in his life would be welcomed this time around.

[pyrebcrn]

                      when they failed on bangin’ laxus ... @xfulmen , @i-ced 

[pyrebcrn]

              @i-ced    .   @ancientbled    . @mirascontrolcore   .  @xfulmen

           “ Zzzz... ”