#emperorvastias

[verticordiia]

She was still at least two shades paler than she had been, before. She did not like that, each time she looked into the mirror, she was reminded. Reminded of how fragile she had become. That her left hand had developed a bit of a trembling issue did not help either---it seemed there was no escape. No way to reassert control over her own life without drastic measures.

Maybe, she thought, maybe if things had been smoother, maybe if her hospital stay had not been as much of a disaster, she would not be entertaining this thought. But things had been a disaster on so many levels that she did not even know where to begin. Her life was a mess and she desperately needed to find a way to stablise it.

The current situation was not sustainable.

Tapping her pen against her left cheekbone, she looked at Lyon. '' I know what I get out of this agreement, '' she said quietly, perhaps a bit guiltily. He had told her that she was not taking advantage of him, but---no. There was no point in lingering on this thought. '' But what benefit do you reap? ''

[coruscatiio]

There was a smirk on the older ice mage’s face as he crossed his arms and peered at Gray. Lyon was in a good mood, all things considered. “I know I’m late but — I heard you got in trouble for joining a cult?” Lyon rolled his eyes playfully and tutted at the younger mage. “You couldn’t even find it within yourself to become a leader? Sad.”

Annoyance did not even begin to cover the emotion that Gray felt as he looked at his erstwhile fellow student. Lyon had always had an easy (a too easy) time getting under his skin, and it seemed that this had never changed. He wished it had. How Lyon had even found out about this was beyond Gray for a moment, then he remembered that the pink-haired chick Lyon had been hanging around since their 'reunion' on Galuna Island was the supervisor of Mary's probation period. It looked like Mary had snitched.

That, too, was annoying.

'' Not everyone here wants to be an overachiever, Lyon. '' Grays brows furrowed as he frowned at the white-haired man. Was Lyon taller than him, nowadays? If so, that would be most annoying. '' And having been a cult leader at, what? Twelve? That's not the flex you seem to think it is. And, huh---come to think of it . . . you brought your friend with you for backup since your social skills were probably a tad rusty, right? What was her name, again? Brandy? ''

Gray knew the correct name. He also knew what it felt like when a tree puppet chomped down on someone's body. But since Lyon seemed convinced that Gray was an idiot, well, that was a pretty easy role to play.

[midmare]

📂 : midnight’s hair is naturally curly. back when he was a member of oracion seis, he straightened the white part of his hair manually.

📂 : midnight has a mental stash of blackmail he’s gathered from unintentionally eavesdropping on conversations while people think he’s asleep. unfortunately, he also experiences hypnagogic hallucinations, so he can’t be sure whether something he heard / glimpsed is real or not.

📂 : midnight uses his illusion magic to make it easier to apply makeup. it’s actually how he first discovered the light - bending trick, and how he continued to practice it until he could accurately create detailed images using reflector.

a random yet completely useless headcanon / @emperorvastias

[laxamoure]

Lyon really thinks ""non natural"" natural hair colors look nice.

ren widely agrees. except for green hair. he is inherently suspicious of people with green hair. he cannot help it. the only noted exception is arania webb with whom he is on good terms. but that is because ren has decided that her hair is ‘greenish yellow’ rather than ‘actually green’.

[icehaloed]

“So uh — do you like it?” He was nervous, but it was a different cheese this time with his signature dish. He wanted to try something new but also with change may come dislike. And Lyon needed to be good — it was unacceptable to be anything else. “And please be honest, I need honest feedback.” - childhood days hehe

he had opened the windows, too. ur noted this, almost absentmindedly. she did not enjoy that she was . . . like that, right now. or on other days, too. she did not like being unable to bring herself to leave her bed on some days. she did not like that on those days, too much weight rested on her apprentice. but it was how it was. she could not . . . she was not even sure if healing was possible, for her.

even if she healed, her daughter would be dead.

even if she healed, solomon would be gone.

she adjusted the blankets that covered her legs, then she looked at lyon. '' i will tell you my opinion, don't worry, '' she said and it was . . . not really a lie. a lot of food tasted bland, these days. which was actually an improvement---food had tasted like ash, right after. but this was difficult to explain to someone as young as lyon. she was never fully certain if he truly understood what was wrong with her. she had tried to explain, but some things were difficult to explain. she had never had adina's easy way with words. but even if all food tasted bland, she still had textures she liked better than others. that was really what she was going by when lyon asked for feedback. '' . . . thank you, lyon. you are . . . a good kid. ''

and far too comfortable taking on too much responsibility. maybe she would get to talk to him about this once she felt a little better.

[resolvebound]

seeing the other ice make mage made lyon do a double take. he idly wondered if it was possible he was transported to some mountain landscape away from civilization, but nope, he was still in zinnia. and so was gray. "you're in a city? my city?" lyon peered at gray. "is everything alright?"

Almost as if he was slowly being taken over by his own element, Gray stilled, frozen as he heard the familiar voice. Damn it. Wasn’t Lyon supposed to be out of town? Buying him a birthday present had been enough of an awkward ordeal, but now he might have to give him the gift in person? instead of leaving it at his house as he’d planned? Outrageous. Did the universe truly hate him that much?

He turned to face Lyon, shifting his hands and the gift they held as he did so in order to keep them concealed behind his back (so casual, so subtle). Clearing his throat, he shrugged before answering, opting for a defensive approach.

“Yeah, I’m in a city, so what? Am I not allowed here or something?” Of course, he wouldn’t admit that the fact Lyon had almost immediately asked him if everything was alright meant…something.

Shifting his weight from foot to foot, he winced slightly as regret at sounding like a petulant child kicked in. He glanced away, awkwardness threatening to tinge his skin with a faint flush.

“I was just here to, uh…see Sherry, that’s all.”

[iceshrouded]

Solomon had not had this clear a head in . . . months. Maybe years. But he was entirely lucid, right now, and he was going to use this to make bold moves towards his goal. Even if this meant that he had to potentially delay what had been his initial goal, he was making his current one his priority. And for all his flaws, he typically had a good sense of what should be his priority.

He had always planned on coming back for her. But days had become weeks, then months, then years. To stay away had been to keep her and the . . . had been to keep them out of the line of fire. It had not had the desired effect---one almost-dead, one supposedly-dead, but hells.

He had not predicted the outcomes he was now seeking to change.

He had not predicted that the kid would be this stubborn either, but he supposed that while the cat had come, some birds of a feather still sought to flock together. And she deserved that kind of stubborn loyalty, really. It just meant that his secondary priority was now to keep the kid from getting himself killed. And this kid---Lyon, he reminded himself---was definitely not gifted with a good sense of self-preservation.

Thus, Solomon sighed deeply as he supervised the k--- Lyon as he purchased some travel supplies with the money Solomon had given him. They really should get going, rumour had it that some dark guild was making moves towards obtaining the "Glacified Demon" and Solomon really would prefer if they would not get it.

@emperorvastias

[thousandflame]

Lyon really loves animals.

SINCE YOUTH, CYMBIE HAS LIKED REPTILES.  when she was younger, she used to use her fire magic to warm up rocks on colder days to lure out the lizards and snakes that dwelled in the garden so that she might just watch them do their thing. she has not done so in a long time, but she fondly remembers those times.

[icehaloed]

She ran her hand through her hair, fingernails scraping against her scalp, almost hard enough to draw blood. The hiss of pain was enough to centre herself, enough to get her to snap out of whatever weird mood she was now in. There was much she had to say, but few words that were willing to leave her throat. Then, when had words ever been her friend? She had always been better at actions.

"I was . . . unwell." This felt almost like an understatement, but this was not about her, not really. This was about Lyon. "And you were a child. I should have been more present, more of a caretaker." More of a mother, but she could not bring herself to say it. And wasn't that almost funny in the most tragic of ways? How words were always what got stuck in her throat? Even when she really, really wanted them to cooperate with her? How no matter how much time passed, she could count on that? "I figured that along the years, you would have arrived at this realisation as well, that it wasn't fair. That you deserved a degree of warmth I . . . wasn't capable of as I was handling things quite badly at the time. And that's what I am sorry for."

She bowed her head, her hand limply dangling at her side. There was a weird type of exhaustion that came with her attempts at . . . making amends. She wished that would stop, she did not want to live as a ghost of her own past---did not want to be a haunting to others. Had she come back for that? To just be as before when surely, by now, she should have started to heal so that her pain would cease to harm others?

She shrugged. Weakly. "I guess I still worry about you, even though you're an adult now," she admitted.

it was almost astonishing how quickly one can slip back into an old, old habit. it was one that, when thought of, made adult lyon cringe just a bit. the habit is the part of him that waited on the edge, eager to listen, to wait for ur too talk. his attention was focused, he felt impatient, each second an eternity. but he always waited. all the way back then, when she was his teacher and now, when she ... well, teacher is a rather retired title. he's learned how to learn and grow on his own now. his dynamic ice make has come a long, long way.

mother felt...personal. and legal. he's never called her that.

mentor, maybe. mentor could work. it was flexible, more mature. his mentor finally spoke and — lyon was left in confusion.

"ur..." lyon's brows furrowed, "why would i be angry with you?" it was genuine. he ... he made his own fair share of mistakes. his entire...moon drip experiment was dangerous. what could he be angry about? with ur, at least? in fact, he's let go of a lot of anger over the years.

ah, wait. "if it's about .... not contacting me, that's .... i mean, i get it, ur. you literally came back to life. i'm not on the top of the list of priorities after something like that, i get it. besides, i'm an adult now." something coiled within him and he crossed his arms over his chest.

lyon's thoughts lingered back to The argument. surely, she knew he learned from that? right? she didn't die originally thinking he still thought himself as a replacement, right? it distressed him a bit, but he found himself not willing to ask.

[lamiacrowned]

look under the cut for a Throwback as well as what i beleive is on the best things i ever graced the ftrpc with in like 2014? maybe?

[verticordiia]

special tags!!

[coruscatiio]

When dealing with Lyon (@emperorvastias), Gray will pretend not to know the name of Lyon's trusted right hand woman. Does he know her name? Absolutely. Will he refer to Sherry by a multitude of other alcoholic drinks that could pass for names (think Brandy, Gin, etc) to see how long it will take for Lyon to say something. Absolutely.

[fidelii]

things you said when we were on top of the world + sherryon

he had not come gently into her life. no, he had crashed into her when she had been chasing her cousin down the halls of the family residence — dressed in strange clothes, using terms she had never heard before and holding a key that had belonged to a chest that was no longer in the hallway. then, it had made no sense. now, it did. she had never heard the terms he used or seen such clothes before because lyon did not just come from another country, he also came from another time. as for the key … they had found out that it was  the key  to lyon’s travels from his world to hers, though they knew little else about the phenomena.

for sherry, daughter of the comtessa, meeting a strange man of unknown intentions and origins was — life-changing. she had always thought herself a bit of a romantic; many had shunned her friend when jura had broken off a politically advantageous engagement because his heart had been captured by another while sherry had thought that love, true love, was too rare and too precious to pass it up when it came along.

when love had come for her, she had first not really seen it. the stories and songs spoke of feeling like the world had shifted on its axis, of thinking that the stars shone a little brighter all of a sudden, but this was not how she had felt. it had been — gentler, quieter. love was no carriage ride on a sunlit day, for her, it was days spent in the library where she kept sneaking lyon so he could learn more about her world, her country. sometimes, he told her about his world — a wondrous, fascinating place she would like to see but never would. once, he had brought something he had called  photographs,  whispering that he was probably not supposed to and still showing her the places he called home.

she had not yet told her father about the stranger she harboured in his home and she did not think her father would ever find out. lyon disappeared from her rooms and there, he reappeared again, too. some of the servants may have noted that  the young lady  was near paranoid about no one disturbing her, but as far as her cousin had said, they all thought that she was writing love letters … and they could all continue to assume this if it meant they respected her wishes.

today however, today sherry had taken a risk. sneaking lyon into the stables had been — difficult but the herbal tea she had gotten for her supposed lack of sleep had helped him slip back into his world before anyone had seen him. taking her father’s horse so they could ride to the hills, well, this was the real risk. eralt was her father’s pride and should the earl find his horse missing, he would be greatly upset — and know immediately who had taken it. no one else would dare to remove eralt from the stable, after all. usually, sherry would never do something that would, as lyon had once put it,  piss off  her father, but angelika could not carry two people.

“ in how much trouble will you be in, should your father find out? ” lyon asked as sherry leaned against the tree, blue eyes roaming across the wide landscape and then resting on eralt who was grazing nearby, likely happy to be on an adventure.

she shrugged, squeezing his hand as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “ i’m heiress to our family, ” she said, lips forming a thin line for a moment. “ he can be upset, but i’ll live. i just … i just figured you might want to see a bit more from this world. ”

“ i’d … i’d like to  really  show you my world too, ” he said as he hummed a song she had never heard before. “ when i find out how the key wound up in my aunt’s possessions, i’ll maybe find someone who travelled between our worlds, too, and figure out the rules. i … i don’t want to risk you getting hurt. you said it yourself: you’ll be comtessa, one day. we can’t have you getting lost between the worlds or something because i gave you a … trading card or something. ”

[coeurspire]

what kind of heart doesn’t look back?

▌█  ❥▐  ’ & @emperorvastia.  THE BEST PART OF ME WAS ALWAYS YOU.

the evening air was  chilly and sherry was grateful for her warm sweater as she stepped out of the inn where she had left their client to his own devices. gloved hands were shoved into the pockets of her coat and the doll play mage sighed as she watched the little clouds her breath made. her husband, she knew, was not bothered by the cold. he had never been, not in all the years she had known him for.

“ it's a nice evening, ” she said as she stopped next to him, her shoulder not quite touching his as her left hand reached for his bigger one. “ peaceful. i'll miss it. ”

she had expected to  find nostalgia on this quest, had known from the moment they had left zinnia behind them. this would be their last proper quest together. everything that would follow would be different, would not feel the same way. and after all the years they had spent together, she had grown used to the familiar way they worked as a team. she would miss that more than the thrill of the adventure.

[caelitus-a]

Lioness- Is your muse a Girlboss or a Malewife?

meme / accepting

Jellal's time as Seigrain was definitely his girlboss era. He has that malewife attitude when it comes to things now but still with the girlboss attitude when it comes to taking shit down cough atoning cough.

[lucentaire]

📂  ------  @emperorvastia​

01.  evergreen is a strong swimmer,  and she has always enjoyed trips or even vacations to the beach with friends.  after the events surrounding the x789 s-class trial,  however,  she has not been able to find the same levity under palm trees.

meme  /  accepting.