#followed by march and adeline

[angelkissedface]

i started playing fields of mistria...! ( mc's pronouns are he / him thank youuu )

[it-was-summer]

Video Killed the Radio Star - Tape #3 (Spencer Reid x Fem!reader)

A/N: I am exhausted this weekend so if at some point you feel like the writing shows that DON'T BE ALARMED. It is simply just me fighting back the urge to go to bed. The chapter does contain a good amount of sexual assault and violence so please, please, please be mindful of that while reading. I love all the comments here and Ao3, they make my day! I have also been noticing a lot of love towards the original of this series and I appreciate everyone for taking their time to read the remake! Please know that as of right now this thing IS NOT PROOFREAD I JUST NEED TO GET IT OUT! Stay safe, healthy, and happy! -Love, Em.

Video Killed the Radio Star Remake Masterlist

Link to the Ao3: Video Killed the Radio Star

Previous Chapter: Tape #2 > Next Chapter: Tape #4

WARNING: Cancer mentioned, sexual assault, blood, knife, cutting, mentions of death, death threats. Remember that you are not alone.

Tape Contents: Spencer and Derek are sent to discuss your abduction with Adeline. You fight back a sexual and physical attack from Heather. Heather reveals her plans for what will happen if anyone finds you.

Word Count: 4,029

March 5, 20XX

Spencer wasn’t too fond of hospitals, but he was fond of children. He interacted with them, loving that he could see how they processed information–new and old—every day. He loved Henry to bits, the way the kid was so willing to listen to Spencer’s ramblings or the way he was so amazed at a magic trick Spencer was doing. 

Sick kids were a tragically different story, not that he didn’t like them. He always felt like… well, he was having a hard time conceptualizing it as he weaved through the crowded lobby. The pediatrics oncology unit was too packed for his liking. Statistically, he knew that one in two hundred eighty-five children could be diagnosed with some form of cancer before they hit twenty. That didn’t mean he had to like weaving through a small crowd of parents, doctors, and nurses on the way to room two hundred thirty with Morgan. There it was –the words for that feeling– watching someone younger than himself not being able to experience life at thirty. 

After finding the friendship keychain, Hotch decided that Reid and Morgan should find your alleged ride-or-die, Adeline Smith. Meanwhile, Hotch and Prentiss would drive to Norfolk to talk to your mother. Rossi and JJ were handling some information with the police, so they were all paired away. 

Derek and he slipped into the hospital room that housed Adeline and her daughter, Nicole. His chest tightened involuntarily at the sight of a mother stroking her daughter’s head, a smile on both of their faces. Derek was quick to speak, “Excuse me,” The mother and daughter jumped at the noise, and their eyes snapped to the hospital room door. “I’m Special Agent Derek Morgan, and this is Doctor Spencer Reid. We just have some questions.” His hands dug into his jacket pocket to pull out the badge, muscle memory for both.

Adeline’s hand fell from her daughter's hairless head to her shoulder, her fingers giving it a light squeeze. “Questions regarding?” She asked with a curious expression as she stood up, a skeptical look in her eyes. 

Spencer’s eyes met Nicole’s for a second, a small smile rising to his lips, and she gave him a nervous smile right back. He moved his gaze over to Adeline, who was now standing with her arms folded across her chest as she waited for the two men to answer her question. Derek looked over his shoulder at Spencer, then back at Adeline. He gently motioned for her to follow him to a slightly more private area to talk to her, the two moving to a corner of the room near the bathroom.

“Were you aware that Y/N L/N was being stalked?” Derek’s voice was calm as Spencer approached Nicole’s bedside chair and sat in it awkwardly. 

Spencer motioned towards the girl’s stuffed animal, a bright orange cat that sat in between her legs. “I love cats,” he said in a soft voice. 

Nicole beamed at him, grabbed the stuffed cat, and happily petted the top of its head: “Me too! This is Bee.” 

“Bee? Do you like Bees?” 

Adeline’s eyes strayed to Spencer's conversation with her daughter, and she nodded a little at Derek’s question: “We talked about it. She went to the police.” She said, a little numbly, before her head suddenly snapped towards him. “Why?” 

“She was taken from her apartment on March third. She recorded videos for the police to send to us, the Behavioral Analysis Unit, to help find her.” Derek explained gently as he watched Adeline’s face go pale. 

Adeline grabbed her clothed chest and searched for a breath, her eyes wild as she looked at Derek’s face. Her eyes began searching for some hint in his face that he was lying, but she found none. She couldn’t stop the tears that were filling her waterline, and she turned her body away from her daughter and Spencer in a desperate attempt to hide her tears from her daughter. Her knees felt weak as she tried to breathe. 

Spencer glanced back at Adeline and Derek, scooting a little to obstruct Nicole’s field of vision. He didn’t want the young girl to see her mother cry. Nicole shook her head slightly at his question, “No, not really. Auntie Y/N got her for me, and she loves bees.” She laughed softly, her words making Spencer’s heart melt a little. 

“Is Bee your favorite?” 

The girl covered the cat’s plush ears and smiled like she had a secret. “No, but she is my second favorite.” Her fingers scratched the stuffed animal’s ears gently. “Mr. Business is my first,” she whispered to him. 

“Ah, and where is Mr. Business?” His eyes searched her hospital bed, and then he spotted a stuffed cat, a tuxedo cat. He grinned a little, and he motioned to the stuffed animal with his eyes, “Mr. Business is a very fitting name, I think,” 

Adeline held out a hand for some space from Derek, and the hand clutching her chest came up to her mouth as she tried to keep from vomiting all over him. She had been stuck in this hospital when you had called her that first night. Having always loved talking to you, she answered enthusiastically. Still, the more she listened to the situation, the more she realized she didn’t have the emotional strength to comfort you the way you needed. And she said that to you. She said that to you. She couldn’t help you then, and she couldn’t help you now. She couldn’t even help her own daughter. 

A sob rose in her throat, and she shook her head rapidly. “No, no, no, we talked on that day. Th-That night,” She recounted softly to Derek through her tears. 

“What did you talk about?” Derek whispered the question softly as his eyes searched the room for some tissues, but his search was futile. He places a gentle hand on Adeline’s shoulder instead. 

“We talked about college; she wanted her mind off of things, so we talked about our apartment when we were in grad school. It’s been two days! What have you been doing for two days while my best friend went missing?” Her cheeks were red, her fingers pointing accusingly at him before she sobbed softly, and her hand was moving back up to wrap around her mouth to muffle the sound. 

“She didn’t show up to work on March fifth. That's when she was reported missing. We’re doing everything we can. What time did the two of you talk?” 

“W-we talked around nine, maybe nine-thirty?” She whispered back softly before she started to breathe heavily again. “Why didn’t I call? I should have called again. It was getting so late, and she had locked all the doors, and I thought she was just being anxious. I should have called her again. I should have left the hospital to visit her.” Her mind was spiraling, the neverending rabbit hole that showed her all the ways she could have saved her best friend, unhinged its proverbial jaw and swallowed her whole, ready to digest.  

Morgan wasn’t necessarily new to the information, as Penelope had already told him about your call logs from that evening, but he always liked to hear it be confirmed. It also helped him place an estimate of the time of your abduction. “Could you tell me about anyone, anyone at all, that might have been a little too into Y/N? Any ex-boyfriends that refused to leave her alone? Did she break up with anyone around Christmas?” 

“No, she hasn’t dated anyone for almost a year.” Adeline sighed thickly and shook her head as she tried to calm down. “No, all her ex-boyfriends, they were always so mousy. ” She sighed, “And they always look alike,” she paused and gave a soft, sad chuckle, motioning over to where Spencer was as he continued to entertain her daughter. “Well, they all look like your Doctor friend, if I’m being honest. She’s always been too nice for her own good, even in college.”

Spencer tried to talk over the sobs that could be heard from the corner of the hospital room, clearing his throat or laughing as Nicole stumbled through a story. “She’s a loud crier,” Nicole whispered with a gentle pat on Bee’s head. 

Spencer frowned as his efforts failed him, and he looked over his shoulder at Morgan, who was looking at him with a similarly sympathetic look on his face. He was about to say something when Nicole shoved Bee toward him, “You should give this to Auntie Y/N. Mommy said she was sad the other day. Bee always helps.” 

Spencer turned the stuffed animal over in his hands, and he debated telling her the truth, but thankfully, his better judgment decided against it. “It’ll be the first thing I do when I see her,” Spencer promised softly as Nicole smiled wide at him. 

As Derek and he walked out of the hospital, Derek’s eyes stayed on the stuffed orange cat in Spencer’s hands. As they pushed past a small group of people, Spencer found himself almost slamming into a pretty nurse, a gorgeous nurse. Her blue eyes blinked as she shuffled to one side, only to be unintentionally blocked by Spencer once more. She sighed a little and gave him a once over with a frown. Her eyes lingered on the gun holstered against his hip before she gave him a polite smile and said, “Excuse me,” and slipped past the two men with a determined look in her eyes.  

Derek only said something when they got into the parking lot, the two of them walking to the black SUV, “Did you pick one up at the gift shop?” 

Spencer groaned softly, making Derek chuckle as he walked around the car’s front to the passenger seat. “Open the door,” He said bluntly. When they were both inside the car, Spencer carefully placed the stuffed animal in his bag, and Derek chuckled again at the sight, turning the key. 

“You didn’t even buy me one,” 

March 5, 20XX

You were assuming Heather was angry with you. The assumption wasn’t baseless as the hunger in your stomach growled. You were quick to find that the harmony between a full stomach and morphine did matter and that harmony had left you many hours prior. You also were basing the assumption as you had spent what must have been a whole day fighting off tears and nausea. 

The sick part was that you were beginning to get used to how your body got swarmed with heavy, hot, and benevolent warmth. The dull pain in your ankle was silenced under the warmth’s blanket of kindness. It reminded you of a heated blanket in a strange way. 

You had finished the sips of your water before falling asleep and regretting it. You had learned that the bucket off to the side of the dresser was the perfect distance from the bed. Your broken ankle was dragging against the carpet with every movement.  The chain around your good ankle didn’t snag as you sluggishly managed to hold your body up against the wall to pee into the bucket.

Once you were done, you hopped on your good leg and managed to pull your clothes back on. Your body fell face-first onto the bed, eliciting a soft groan from your lips as you found your body reluctant to move from its new home. 

You closed your eyes and fell into the position, letting the bed sink in deeper. Your eyes snapped open with a sense of alertness that you hadn’t felt in hours as you heard the first click of a lock. Your arms weakly managed to push yourself up into a sitting position, pushing yourself back to your former position against the headboard. Your head throbbed at the fast movement, and your vision blurred as you tried to focus on the door. 

When it slowly opened, you sucked in a small breath of air, watching as Heather slid into the room with a tray of food. “Hello, my Catherine.” She sighed as she shoved the keys into her scrub pocket with one balanced hand. “My, my, someone is looking pale today.” She asked as she sat down in the chair off the side of the bed with a gentle, pretty smile. 

You nodded a little. Your lips were numb as you licked them. “What day is it?” Your voice came out quiet and strangled. 

“Monday,” She stated simply as she twisted the top off a bottle of apple juice. She handed it over to your already waiting hands before she carefully lowered the morphine drip’s intake level. You greedily drank the juice without thinking twice, desperate to get something in your stomach. 

You panted lightly as you pulled the half-empty bottle away from your lips, “Th-the date, I mean,” 

“March fifth,” She rolled her eyes as she carefully rearranged a neatly made turkey sandwich on a paper plate, slowly placing the plate on the edge of the bed for you to take. “You moved in here early Saturday morning, don’t you remember?” she laughed out like it was the silliest thing she had ever heard. 

You felt your mouth start to move to correct her, to tell her that you didn’t move in; she had kidnapped you. But as you stared at the turkey sandwich on the edge of the bed, you realized that playing along would be better. Playing along meant more food and less nausea. Playing along meant living longer. “Right,” You said breathlessly as you pulled the paper plate to your lap. “How could I forget?” 

Heather smiled a little as she watched you bite into the sandwich, happy to see you adjusting. You were eating so fast that she was a little worried about your empty stomach. She didn’t want to make feeding you so sporadically a habit. But yesterday, when she came up with a food tray, she thought about your rudeness and how cruel you had been to her. It made her stomach twist into angry knots. She decided that not feeding you for a day would be a lesson.

“I’m so happy our first fight is over. I hate to be angry with you, Catherine.” Heather’s sweet tone wasn’t lost on you as she touched your arm gently. Your chewing slowed for a second before you swallowed, your eyes glued to her hand on your arm. 

“I picked out every gift just for you,” She sighed softly as she traced soft circles against your skin. You fought back the urge to pull your arm away. “You’re a hopeless romantic, you know? You remember in college when you and Adeline dressed up as Lizzie and Jane Bennet. No one got it but god,” She sighed, her eyes finding yours as you stayed frozen. 

The hand on your arm slowly reached for the paper plate on your lap. Your fingers twitched a little as you fought back the urge to grab the food as she placed the plate on the nightstand beside your bed. Everything was happening so fast and yet incredibly slow at the same time.

Then she stood up and crawled onto the bed, swinging one leg over your lap before stranding you with a white smile. Her hands came to cup your face and tilt it up. A soft sigh fell from her lips. “You’ve always been brilliant,” 

You shook your head in her hands lightly. The warmth of the morphine was slow to leave your body, but as your body filled with an intense feeling of dread, you could feel everything. Your ankle throbbed sharply, and you were starting to feel like you were about to be sick again. “I’m not,” 

Heather threw her head back and laughed as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard. When she lowered her head to meet your gaze again, she leaned closer, one of her thumbs reaching up to trace your bottom lip. You cringed a little at the feeling, a sight that she ignored. “You’ve always been so humble, too. How did I get so lucky?” She whispered as she leaned in to kiss your lips softly. 

You felt your lips tighten and bile rise to your throat, and you swallowed it. You let her kiss you once, then twice, then a third time. Your lips stayed closed in a tight line as you tried to imagine yourself in a different position, but with every touch Heather placed on you, the more you stayed cemented in your reality. 

Heather pulled back with a look in her eyes that you could recognize as crazed lust. You didn’t want to. You didn’t want to know what her hands felt like anymore. You bit your lip to silence a whimper. Her hands pulled roughly at your shirt as she grabbed the hem of it and pulled it over your head with a simple yank. 

You shook your head quickly now, “No, Heather, I-I’m not ready. I don’t-” 

She shushed you softly with a gentle smile as she traced the swell of your breast slowly, the touch eliciting your tears to pool over your waterline. “I know you’re worried, but I’m going to take care of you, I promise.” Her eyes lingered on the prominent bruise on the center of your chest. She frowned, leaning down carefully to kiss the blue and black patch of skin. 

“No,” You cried softly, your voice soft before you decided that you couldn’t take it anymore. “No!” You yelled, causing her back to straighten and sit up. 

“I’m sorry?” She asked with a soft scoff. 

“I-I can’t do it, I’m not ready. I don’t want to, Heather. Please don’t make me.” You begged softly as tears rolled down your face. “I’ll try next time, I promise. I just, please, please don’t make me.” 

Heather frowned a little before she let out a harsh laugh, her arms folding over her chest tightly. She looked down at you, “You know I saw your precious little Adeline today,” 

You felt your back tense at Adeline's mention, “What? I thought you worked in pediatrics, not pediatric oncology. W-why did you see Adeline?” 

Heather reached out a hand to press on your bruise roughly, the feeling making you wince. “I work in pediatric oncology. Sometimes, I help Nicole. I loved it when you visited her at the hospital. It was almost too easy to steal the copy of your apartment key from Adeline. She doesn’t love you as much as I love you, you know that, right?” 

You shook your head, and you cried harder as you realized that you had never even noticed her at the hospital. Your focus has always been so zoned in on Nicole or Adeline that you didn’t even register Heather’s presence. Would Adeline remember Heather? You doubted it. 

“She talked to some agents or something and was inconsolable. Fucking useless friend of yours. Anyway, I ran into them in the hallway. Scrawny kid with some buff guy, I’m sure Adeline called them.” 

You found your hands grabbing her hand on your chest and shook your head side-to-side. “No, Adeline doesn’t know. I didn’t tell her anything. I didn’t, I promise.” 

Heather’s eyes met yours briefly before they trailed down to your bare chest and your hands holding onto her wrist. “Say you love me more than her then,” 

“I-I, what?” 

“Say it.” 

You opened your mouth, but all that came out were gentle sobs as you tried to form the words, terrified that she was about to do something to Adeline. The thought of Heather hurting Adeline had you gasping softly for air. 

Her eyes were on yours again as you panted softly, “You don’t love me?” Her spit hit your cheek as she hissed the words in rageful disbelief. She was off your lap in seconds as she moved to the dresser and quickly pulled out a small pairing knife. 

“Wait,” You cried softly as you tried to hurry away from her, making a vain attempt to get up from the bed that was meant with a howl of pain from your ankle and your body slumping over the edge lamely. 

Her hands grabbed your ankles, good and injured, and pulled you roughly to the edge of the bed. A scream left your throat at the contact. “You think I’m going to let them find you?” She questioned in a suspiciously calm voice as she grazed the smooth side of the knife against your collarbone.

You stayed frozen as she leaned in closer, her lips at the shell of your ear, “If they ever found you, Emma. I would kill you and then myself. I’ve already decided. We have to be together,” Her voice in your ear had you breathing harder as she slowly pressed the tip of the knife into the area above your heart. 

The knife only stung at first before it felt like a ripping pain. Heather dragged the knife into your skin with a deliberate sense of control. Not too deep, not too superficial. Something she wouldn’t have to stitch up. She made a diagonal line before staring a few inches apart from the other cut. “We belong together, Jane.” 

You cried out again as she started dragging the knife into your skin once more, “Please,” 

“You just need to open your heart. If they ever found us, I need to mark where to shoot. Stay still.” 

As Heather got close to completing the ‘X’ mark on your chest, marking you as a possible target. You felt your body thrash under her weakly. The edge of one of the lines skewed to the left, and Heather let out an annoyed groan before she pulled the knife away from your chest and to your lips. “Stop fucking crying,” She growled as she slashed at your bottom lip. 

You hissed at the feeling as blood coated your chest and filled your mouth. You stared up at her as soft sobs kept leaving your mouth, “Fuck you.” You muttered before gathering as much spit as you could in your mouth and shooting it directly at her. 

You laughed as it made contact with her cheek, and she wiped the bloody spit away with the back of her hand. She laughed harshly as she nodded a little, “Okay, so you want to be a brat.” She laughed. 

She was sliding off the bed now, leaving you lying on your back, her chest rising and falling quickly as she gripped the pairing knife in her hand tighter. “Enjoy the rest of your meal. It’ll be your last one, Emma.” She snapped at you before stomping to the door and flying it open. 

Once she was gone, you stayed there, staring up at the ceiling wordlessly. You licked at the cut on your lip gently as blood flowed freely into your mouth. You swallowed the copper-tasting liquid as you let the consequences sink in. She was going to kill you if they found you, and you had already called for a team of highly trained professionals to come to find you. 

You almost laughed at the irony. You didn’t want them to find you. You did want them to find you. It was almost hilarious. You tried to smile with your cut lip but found the action too painful to manage. 

You didn’t want to die at twenty-eight. You wanted to see your mom again, Adeline, Nicole, hell, you wanted to go to work one more time. You rolled onto your stomach and cringed the way the fluffy comforter grazed the bleeding “X” on your chest. You reached for the morphine drip and rolled it closer as you slowly turned a knob and upped the intake. Your shaking hands then moved to the sandwich on the nightstand with a sigh. 

She could kill you when they found you, but if she thought you weren’t going to try and manipulate the situation, she was dead wrong. You weakly bit into the sandwich while trying to think of a plan. 

You refused to die without leaving a mark.

TAG LIST: @babyspiderling @cocobean16 @kodzukenie333 @mmmunson

[meanderingsofmistria]

Dance for Joy

Caldarus x gn! farmer

Word count: 902

Warnings: not proofread and honestly kinda rushed, but I was listening to some dance music and felt inspiration. Enjoy!

(I cannot wait for the day that I can smooch the dragon. Lemme plssss give the dragon a smooch)

    “Dance for me. Please.” 

     These words would have been jarring to hear no matter who it came from, but the word ‘jarring’ took on a whole new meaning when this phrase was spoken by Caldarus of all people. Or, well, creatures?

     “Why…” The farmer asks, their confused gaze falling upon the regal statue, an impressive carving standing tall and proud. 

     “The people of Mistria are joyous people-”

     “Even…”

     “Yes. Even March. Even he finds joy in this life. Though I, like many, cannot see it. I can feel it, though. Deep within me, I can feel when he is prideful, when he fashions a blade just to his liking. I can feel Lady Adeline’s desperation when her thoughts are about Mistria’s future and fate. I can feel Holt’s excitement as he thinks of a new joke to share. I can feel the joy of the people as they dance around each other at the seasonal festivals, and how their excitement and merriment are shared with each other as they enjoy themselves. And…I can feel your desire to join them, to dance alongside them. I can feel that, and I can see how you hesitate. I see and feel, yes, but I cannot understand.”

     The farmer remained silent, taking in the new information. They considered Caldarus their friends at this point. Their daily banter and amicable exchanges have slowly made them forget his true heritage. They heard his stories daily, grinned as he recalled some of his past, but at this moment they truly remembered that he was a dragon. 

     “I enjoy dancing, I do. But I don’t enjoy it when others watch me dance. I feel out of place and I get embarrassed, so even if I work up the courage to dance with them, I don’t think I would feel happy doing it.”

     The Guardian of Mistria grew silent. His words were often so expressive that one could easily overlook the fact that he didn’t have the ability to show any expressions on his stone face.

     “Farmer, tell me. Would you find joy in dancing if I were to avert my gaze. I wish only for your joy, for you to dance freely.”

     “Why?”

     Again, the farmer is met with a brief silence.

     “I feel the joy of the inhabitants of Mistria. I feel their content and their happiness. I revel in their joy and laughter…though I find myself yearning to feel yours as well.”

     This time the Guardian is met with silence from the farmer.

     “You…” The farmer pauses, collecting their thoughts. “...you yearn for …my joy?” They ask, hesitantly, as if waiting for the punchline to a joke made at their expense.

     “Yes. Although if I were to put more thought into it, I feel as though craving would better encompass my feelings on the matter.”

     A silence is shared between the two. One lost in raging thoughts, the other calmly navigating through them. 

     “There…isn’t any music. How shall I dance?”

     Caldarus was made of stone, yet the farmer swore they could see him light up.

     “I am of the opinion that the sounds of nature provide the most brilliant music. However…I may remember some music from a long time ago. Music that could be used for dancing. I am not the best singer, but I can follow a tune just fine.”

     “You’d sing for me?”

     “If you dance for me, yes, I shall sing for you.”

     “How shall I dance?”

     “You may dance however you wish, farmer. My only request is that you may feel joy in your dance.”

     The farmer smiles wistfully, feeling that aforementioned joy creep up on them.

     “Very well o’ Guardian of Mistria.” They took a dramatic bow before the statue. “Sing and I shall dance for you. Caldarus chuckled heartily, amused by their theatrics. 

     The Guardian and the farmer made good on their vow to each other, singing and dancing for hours upon hours. Even as the day turned to night, the stars provided a spotlight for their performance. The farmer danced and danced, laughing and smiling, singing along as best they could as they talked and shared stories.

     As the night continued, the Guardian Dragon found himself yearning, craving for something he could not yet have. The farmer danced beautifully. They were not classically trained, nor was their technique flawless…but they were having fun. And Caldarus felt odd about that. An odd feeling bubbling up from deep inside of him. He craved…he wanted that joy. He looked upon the farmer and watched as they danced…he wanted to dance beside them. He wanted them to look upon him with a joyous smile and dance alongside him. He wanted to hold them, smile at them, and be joyful in their presence. Ah to feel that joy, the joy of dancing. The joy of loving.

     The night progressed wonderfully, up until a point when the farmer suddenly collapsed from exhaustion, sometime around 2am, if he recalled correctly. They stopped, but he still sang. He sang to them throughout the night, until he could not sing anymore. He was regaining strength, thanks to the farmer and their offerings of essence, but he could not remain conscious for as long as he hoped. No, he could not dance with them, nor could he smile at them. But he could sing for them, if only a little, in hopes that they would dance for him another night.

(Thanks for reading! Feel free to request!)

[yeehawbvby]

When the Moon Fell in Love With the Sun | Ch. 2

March x F!Farmer

Rating: Mature/Explicit (eventual smut)

Chapter Summary: March and the farmer get shitfaced together.

Author's Note: I had an absolute blast writing this one hehehe. Enjoy some drunk March!!

Table of Contents + Work Summary

Check it out on ao3!

Prev | Next

After a long day of hammering silver, and after stopping home for a quick body rinse, some pain meds, and a less sweaty set of clothes, December headed over to the inn. 

She didn’t care much for dressing up, so her outfits tended to be more or less of the following: boots, jeans or shorts, a tank top, and unless it was summer, a jacket. Whether she was farming, mining, or going to the inn, she looked no different. The closest she got to being “trendy” in her own way was to accessorize and/or keep to a consistent palette, with a wardrobe mostly consisting of blues, blacks, whites and silvers. 

For tonight, she kept her hair in the ponytail she’d tied it into earlier; wore a black denim jacket, its back covered in patches she’d collected while traveling — be it for snowboarding, for the guild, or for leisure; a black camisole tucked into dark, ripped jeans; a silver chain, which she conjoined the belt loops on her right side with; and the same black combat boots she typically donned.

As expected, December was met past the Sleeping Dragon’s doors with the majority of the town’s residents. It wasn’t a Friday gathering, but going to the inn for soup and drinks on rainy or snowy days seemed to be the norm in Mistria. It was an unspoken tradition that she had grown fond of, and she drank in the sight of everyone having fun and hanging out while hooking her jacket up near the entrance.

Well, almost everyone. Olric and March were talking business with Eiland and Adeline, if the paperwork strewn across their table was anything to go by, so she figured she’d chill out at the bar before going to pester the brothers. 

After putting in a request with Hemlock to surprise her with something fruity, she was engulfed by two slim arms and an overwhelmingly floral scent.

“Hey!” December smiled, twisting in her seat to hug the source. She was one of her first and closest friends in town.

“I didn’t think I’d see you here!” Celine beamed back. 

She took the open seat next to December and practically asked for the same thing from Hemlock, making it a point to grab Jo and Reina’s attention and greet them too. December waved at the chefs, chuckling when they both flashed toothy smiles back at her.

Hemlock placed down the girls’ identical drinks as the interaction finished off. “Enjoy,” he winked at them before moving onto the next resident.

December sighed wistfully as she gazed into the bright blue, bubbly liquid. “He’s gonna kill me one of these days,” she muttered under her breath. 

Sure, her heart was somewhat (entirely) set on March, but it didn’t stop her from feeling immensely frazzled by the bartender. He was just so cool…

Celine giggled at the farmer’s state, but spared her a comment. She understood it completely: she’d once told December that, as kids, she would put on her fanciest dresses and have her mom braid her hair whenever Reina invited her to hang out at the inn, just because of the crush she had on their friend’s father. It lingered until her teenage years.

“Where were you today?” she asked. “I didn’t see you running around and getting stuff done like you usually do.”

When people described her that way, December imagined that they just saw her as a little dog, zipping through the streets to fetch things for treats... it wasn’t entirely wrong, she supposed.

Her beverage was just bordering on too sweet, but she liked it, and let it fully trickle down before she answered Celine. “Spent the day at the forge.”

“I’m surprised you could stand it for that long.” Celine winced while she took a sip from her own cup. After a moment of visible contemplation, she slid it towards December. “Don’t you hate it there?”

December shrugged, “Just the smithing part. The guys make it entertaining.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Celine mused, having recently become fully knowledgeable of December’s feelings for the redhead. She wiggled her eyebrows and rested her cheek in her palm.

“Oh gods.”

“You’re not denying it.”

December rubbed the inner corners of her eyes. “Stop talking.”

“I probably have some flowers you can bring him next time…”

Embarrassed that she knew March doesn’t actually like flowers, December simply continued, “Please stop talking?”

The blonde snickered, gratefully accepting a replacement drink in the form of red wine from Hemlock. She hadn’t even ordered one yet. “He’s good,” she breathed, watching him leave. 

It was at that moment that December began to think Celine’s crush on the innkeeper hadn’t entirely gone away.

Smiling at the thought, she suggested, “The best in Aldaria, perhaps?”

“Why are you talking about me?” March asked, appearing behind them. All the seats were taken, so he simply leaned against the counter between December and Terithia, who was deep in conversation with Landen.

December groaned. “Big head.”

Celine nodded, teasing, “The biggest.”

“It’s not that big.”

“Sure, physically, but metaphorically…” December trailed off, shrugging with a shit-eating look on her face.

March nudged her with his elbow, deadpanning as the farmer grinned. She returned the gesture before turning to face Celine on her other side. 

She looked smug, like she had something to say.

December narrowed her eyes at her.

“You can take my spot, March,” Celine told the blacksmith. Her gaze stayed on December’s while she spoke, “I think I heard Juni calling me from upstairs.”

December’s mouth gaped for a moment at the blatant lie before prodding, “Oh, did she?”

Celine dodged the question with a light pat to her friend’s head. “See you later!” 

Traitor…

“I didn’t hear it,” March concurred as he swapped spots with the florist.

“Maybe your ears suck.”

“You didn’t either, smartass.”

“Yeah, whatever.” December peered down at the two drinks before her. “Want this?” she asked, sliding Celine’s abandoned one toward him.

“What is it?”

December shrugged, making a noise in place of an “I don’t know.” She took a sip before concluding, “It’s real sweet, though.”

Ignoring the urge to taste it from her lips, and silently cursing himself for even thinking about that, March took up the offer, drowning his feelings by downing the glass.

December’s mouth hung open again. “What the fuck?” she laughed, gobsmacked.

March grunted in approval. “That’s good. Oi, Hemlock,” he called out from across the bar. 

The man reappeared from somewhere beneath the counter, an empty cup in hand. “Yeah?” he responded on his way over.

“What’s this called?” he asked, snatching December’s drink — while she was going for another sip, no less — and holding it up.

Hemlock laughed at the interaction before shrugging and telling him, “Don’t know yet,” then nodded to December, “This snow angel was my test dummy.”

The snow angel silently cursed him for warming her cheeks with that nickname. March noticed it and felt a smidge of jealousy. 

“You want one?” Hemlock offered.

“Two, please.” 

“Why do y—“ December stopped her train of thought when March took a sip from her cup, glaring at her over the rim of the glass. She heard Hemlock laugh as he walked away. 

___

It took less than an hour for the pair to be plastered, with December being just as much of a lightweight as March. They’d relocated to a table — March sat at the head, with December and Ryis on one side, and Olric and Balor across from them — but kept their focus mainly on each other.

Most recently, it was in the form of an arm wrestle.

Fairly tipsy himself, Ryis began treating it far too seriously. While December stretched her hands and shoulders, she took in his pep talk from beside her. 

“I think you can— no,” he placed a hand on her shoulder, “I know you can win this.” Whether he believed it or not, he and December were both unsure, but it didn’t stop him from doing his best to encourage the farmer. 

“I can win this,” she reaffirmed, her brows furrowed and eyes swimming with determination. 

“You are crazy strong,” he kept going.

“I am crazy strong.”

“You are powerful.”

“I am… kinda power—“

“Hey, hey,” he grabbed her by both shoulders now, pressing his forehead to hers to really drive the point home, “you are powerful!” 

With a determined huff, and after grabbing his shoulders too, she nodded. 

“Why don’t I get a cool pep talk?” March asked nobody in particular. “Is it ‘cause you all know I’m gonna win anyway?”

December let go of Ryis and turned away to stare daggers at March. He narrowed his eyes right back until Olric cut in, “I believe in you, bro!” 

March’s fiery gaze darted to the blue-haired merchant. “You’re awfully quiet, Balor.”

“Can’t I just enjoy the show?” 

December’s scowl shifted to him, too. He was unfazed, only grinning in return.

“Alright, alright,” March started, “alright.” He lightly nudged December’s shoulder with his fingertips. “Alright?”

“Alright,” December held back a giggle as she spoke, nodding curtly.

“Alright.”

March took his position at the very edge of his seat and with his elbow on the corner of the table, with December doing the same before clasping her palm with his. Their knees touched in the middle, and even with the wood between them, there was plenty of open area.

December knew after being reminded just how large and thick March’s hands were — those things were like damn clubs, probably thanks to his work — that she was doomed to fail. Even if she could manage to out-muscle him some other way, the sheer weight of his grip would probably ruin this for her. 

She did her best to ignore that, though, and put on the silliest, cockiest face she could manage while she locked onto the blacksmith’s eyes.

March wanted to just win this already — gods, he needed to win — but broke at the sight of his opponent’s expression, snorting and leaning the side of his head onto their tangled forearms. 

“Can— pfft— can you take this seriously, sir?”

March shook his head before sitting back up to the best of his ability. “Your face!”

The farmer played dumb. “What about it?” 

“You just—“ March barked out a quick laugh before imitating December. 

It broke her immediately. Her cackling only made March laugh harder, and they both keeled over, bumping heads in the process.

“Ow!” they exclaimed simultaneously, only worsening the situation. 

When their eyes met just a few inches apart, both pairs were filled with tears, and noticing that forced a second wind. December tried to blink away the wetness on her eyelashes, completely folding in on herself before March draped his upper body over hers.

It was weird, she thought even in her drunken haze, feeling the rumble of his laughter through her back.

It felt cozy.

She ignored that. “Ha! Get off me, dude!”

While March and December continued their bickering and laughing, seemingly forgetting the other three were there, their tablemates simply watched on, laughing to themselves.

“It’ll never stop being strange, seeing them like this…” Balor observed. While his face only housed his usual lopsided grin, with no more than a dignified chuckle leaving his throat, he was thoroughly amused by the sight before him.

“Right?” Olric beamed, “They’re both so nonchalant, usually.”

“Well, she is,” Ryis agreed while pointing his thumb at the girl next to him. “I don’t know if I would call an angry gremlin ‘nonchalant.’”

“Hey!” March sat up, having sensed the others talking about him. He kept his forearm in December’s back, holding her down while she hopelessly tried to bat it away, and pointed over her, getting the digit as close to Ryis as he could manage. “Who are you calling a gremlin?”

“You, dumbass!” December answered in the carpenter’s place, her shout thoroughly muffled by her thigh. Ryis nodded into his next sip of beer before nearly spitting it out as March noogied the woman’s spine. “Ow— ow, quit it!” 

She managed to reach March’s oblique, tickling him in hopes that it would trigger the end of her suffering. As fun as this was, it did hurt. He had no idea that December had been through what she had, though, so she couldn’t exactly blame him for not knowing she was a bit fragile. 

“Fuck!” March yelped, his laughter ramping back up while he scrambled away. He would have fallen out of his seat if Olric wasn’t so quick to hoist him upright.

Just a table away, Luc, Maple and Dell gasped and giggled at the smith’s choice language, and were now thoroughly invested in his and December’s antics.

“Are they fighting?!” Dell asked Ryis, who she was closest to, all too excitedly.

“Sure, something like that,” he laughed, ruffling the young lady’s hair.

“She should use a sword.” Dell stood up onto her seat, removed her own from her pocket, and began waving it through the air at nobody in particular. “That’ll show‘im!”

Luc sighed. “If only I could give her some bugs to unleash on him…”

“Why can’t you?” Maple asked her brother.

“They’re probably sleeping! I already said goodnight to them.”

“I declare you awaken them at once!”

“No, they need their rest!” Dell interjected, pointing her stick — sorry, her sword at Maple. “If they’re gonna be part of the Dragonguard someday, they need to be strong and healthy.”

“You dare defy your queen?” Maple giggled, standing up and slamming her palms to the table, sloshing some of her milkshake over the side of its glass. 

Luc placed his chin on his hands, shaking his head. “Oh no…”

Back at the other table, March and December were finally winding down and beginning their battle. 

“Wait,” December asked, squeezing his hand as if it was going to leave. “What are the stakes?”

“Fuck if I know.” He flashed her a goofy smile. “I just wanna beat you.”

After swallowing a hiccup, she groaned. “So it’s just bragging rights?”

Olric, determined to play matchmaker, practically felt the lightbulb turn on in his otherwise rock-filled head. “Why doesn’t the loser walk the winner home?”

“That’s so far, though…” 

“So you admit defeat, then?” March prodded. 

December practically growled. “Fat chance!”

With that, their tussle had finally begun… and was over just as quickly as it started.

“Best two out of three,” December insisted. 

March was about to happily take the crown, but her big, sad eyes — a result of her fatally wounded pride — convinced him to go a little easy on her. 

He never thought he’d see the day where he was willing to give up a win just for someone else’s sake. Neither did the others. The three of them shared a knowing look.

“Fine,” the redhead sighed. “Round two, come on.” He wiggled his fingers, prompting December back into position.

She shot his hand a dirty look that made him giggle. “Eugh,” she reacted, taking hold of it anyway. “Don’t do that, y’little creep.”

“What, you can’t handle a little finger action?” March winked. 

The realization hit him like a train.

Oh no.

He dropped his shit-eating grin and froze, his eyes wide; December’s immediately followed suit, her cheeks and ears darkening several few shades beyond what the alcohol could ever achieve on its own; and beside them, all three men’s mouths hung open. Then, December averted her view and yelped an explosive laugh into her free palm, hiding her face to the best of her ability while her opposite hand clutched March’s with white knuckles. 

“Wait, wait,” March scrambled, laughter bubbling in his throat while his eyes darted between the four people around him, “hold on—“

Olric was the first to respond verbally, an incredulous smile on his lips. “Wow!”

Ryis tried to react, but was doubled over in a near-silent fit of laughter. 

This stole Dell’s attention again, and while she didn’t know what was going on, she patted the man on the back in a poor attempt at comforting him. It was her sworn duty as Mistria’s future best knight ever, after all. Through broken giggles, he thanked her, but politely redirected her attention back to her friends.

“On that note,” Balor announced, “good luck and goodnight,” before retiring upstairs.

[venlazlo]

Fields of Mistria Birthday Approximations

Still in an art rut so I calculated all their birthdays on the Gregorian Calendar under the read more for those that like to draw their favorite characters on their birthdays.

edit: compressed into a single image

Also the math isn't perfect so I will list all the flaws in the data and my own calculations at the end but I am pretty confident in what I have managed to achieve so far. The fat chunk of text at the end is by no means required reading but may answer some questions that may arise.

edit: sorry forgot abt Adeline. Shes Jan 26

Jan 1-3 Errol 7-10 Darcy*

Feb 9-11 Hemlock March 11-13 Ryis 31 - Olric

April 1-2 Olric 19-21 March

May 5-8 Luc*

June 4-6 Elsie 17-19 Vera

July 7-9 Balor 13-15 Celine 19-21 Josephine

August 1-3 Eiland 14-16 Nora 21-23 Maple 30-31 Valen*

September 1-2 Valen* 9-11 Landen 16-18 Merri

October 5-7 Reina 12-14 Holt 18-20 Dozy 31 Louis

November 1-2 Louis 7-9 Teritha 20-22 Juniper

December 6-8 Dell 19-21 Henrietta 22-24 Hayden

*The middle date of the range is my assumed option. (i.e Reina is October 5-7 so I'll just assume Oct 6) *This is based on the Northern Hemisphere since it snows in Mistria. Spring 1 translated to our calendar would be equivalent to March 1-4. *There was an extra day that could not be equally distributed so I picked a day that would be ultimately inconsequential. (Feb. 28/Winter 28) Aside from the estimated dates, putting it anywhere else only makes it so Henrietta has one day in Capricorn. and changes the bullet point above. *Darcy, Luc, and Valen have four days while everyone has three bc 365/112 produces a decimal value (3.26) so I evenly distributed an additional day to every 1st, 5th, 9th, 13th, 17th, 21st, and 25th day. >>This decision was unfortunately subjective. As opposed to doing the 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, 20th, 24th, & 28th which would have affected the following: >>>Vastly increased the list of 4 day estimates to Ryis, March, Balor, Josephine, Eiland, Nora, Landen, Reina, Dozy, Louis, and Hayden. This puts too much guess work on a "center" day >>>Everyone's estimated dates are effectively shifted by -1. >>>March Would still be either an Aries or Taurus without a skew towards either, Maple would be a pure Leo, Juniper would be a pure Scorpio, and Hayden would have one day in Capricorn. >>>Had this been the decision, I would have probably put the extra day into March 1st/Spring 1 purely because the thought to do the days divisible by 4 was an afterthought and I'm too lazy to retype all the numbers and putting the extra day on Spring 1 just realigns everyone with the data presented above.

Thank you for reading!

p.s. if someone can get me Caldarus' birthday bc I have seen that screenshot where he tells you that it is his birthday but it does not show the in-game UI so the date is not visible. There's a random gaming article that lists it as Spring 25(May18-20 Taurus) but I do not trust any of them to do their jobs right honestly.

[thalassophiliascripte]

texas hold me

Balor/Female Farmer, 2k, read on ao3 here

With Eiland intoxicated, there's no one to run Dungeons and Drama. Balor has another suggestion for how the group could spend their Friday Night - and there's definitely no ulterior motives there.

Friday nights at the inn were always interesting, but there was an arcing electric current in the air tonight.

Perhaps it had something to do with the drinks being half-off. Perhaps it had something to do with the kids being off camping in the Western Ruins. (Maple had seen the ancient circlet and the lost Aldarian crown in the museum, and insisted they go camping to see if she could find a real royal crown for herself.)

Perhaps it had nothing to do with either of those facts, and more to do with the warmth along her side where she was leaning against Balor. Eiland had stumbled in from talking to the kids at the ruins and plunked himself down at the bar—so Dungeons and Drama was cancelled for the night. Adeline had wandered over to ask him what was going on, but the wild look in his eyes and the muttered comment about Dell was enough to send her back over to the newly-emptied Dungeons table shaking her head.

“I’m not sure what happened, but it couldn’t have been anything good to leave Eiland looking like that,” she said. Then she clapped her hands together. “Even if we can’t play, we need to find something to do. I’ve set aside the next few hours on my calendar to have fun, so let’s get to it!”

“Right,” Aryn replied. “Right.” Technically she wasn’t officially part of the game, but Eiland had asked her to voice an NPC a few weeks ago, and then the rest of the players had been enchanted with her small gnomish barbarian, and dragged her along with them as they pursued their next objective, so she also needed to find another form of entertainment for the evening.

Balor watched the other table with a wistful look in his eyes, which he then turned on the remaining Dungeons and Drama players—which was only Celine, Aryn, and Adeline at this point.

Holt had pulled up a chair behind his wife, and with Olric watching his brother at the bar, she was slowly piling up a ridiculous number of poker chips while he watched her with shining eyes. Juniper and Valen leaned on one another, having taken the blacksmith brother’s place, and steadily descending further into drunken hysteria from the frequency of their giggling.

“It’s been such a long time since I was able to play a round of poker,” he sighed.

Aryn glanced at Adeline, then at the boys at the bar. Reina was still serving them drinks, but when Aryn caught her eye, she winced and slowly shook her head while miming taking another drink.

“We could play a round,” she said slowly, “but only if you get Olric, March, and Eiland over here to join us.”

Balor followed her gaze toward the bar, and grimaced. “I’m not certain how good they’ll be for it,” he said as he stood up. “I’ll try though—the doctor is off duty, and there’s nobody that can help if they drink themselves unconscious.”

Aryn watched him at the bar for a few minutes, having some sort of hushed conversation with the drinkers. March’s face flushed an interesting shade of red, and Eiland was nodding before Balor had finished the offer. Then he nearly slid off his stool. Balor had to steady him as he made his way over to the table. March and Olric followed, leaning on each other.

“Good old-fashioned poker is all well and good,” Balor began once he’d gotten back to their table. “But we were talking over by the bar, and we’d be able to just rotate in to the other table if we wanted to do that. So, does anyone care to wager something a little more…interesting?”

It just so happened that the last of his announcement left Balor murmuring in Aryn’s ear. His breath tickled the hair on the nape of her neck. She bit the inside of her lip in a desperate bid to avoid shivering.

“What did you have in mind?” Aryn asked. Balor hummed, and stroked his chin theatrically. Before he could say anything, Adeline interrupted him.

“Not drinks.”

He tsked. “You make a good point, Adeline, but that’s no fun.”

“We could attempt Caldosian variant poker,” Eiland hiccuped. “They didn’t wager for coin or chips—really, it was a fascinating byproduct of their non-monetary economy. Depending on your social class, in order to procure goods and services you might engage in a barter economy or a gift economy, which also created a disparity in the variety of good available to the common man—” Eiland trailed off. “What was I saying?”

Balor raised an eyebrow. “So you suggest we make no wagers?”

Eiland snapped his fingers, “Ah right! I was talking about poker! No, I was suggesting we go with something non-monetary. Like—” he waved his hands around “—like favors or something.”

March muttered something indecipherable, his face mushed into his brother’s bicep. “March says he’s hot,” Olric volunteered. March reached up to stroke Olric’s face.

“Shh, shh—you didn’t have to tell them that,” he slurred, before breaking into giggles. “I’m always hot. ‘S a part of bein’ a blacksmith.”

It was Balor’s turn to snap his fingers. Aryn knew that he and Eiland spent time together—but had Balor picked the habit up from Eiland, or had Eiland picked it up from Balor? “I know!” He leaned forward, and set his chin in his hands, devilish grin spreading across his face. “Has anyone played strip poker before? It’s a passing lark that people like to play in the Capital.”

Aryn flushed. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Balor draped an arm across her shoulders. “Ari, Ari, Ari. Of course it’s a good idea.” There was a strange intensity to his gaze.

“I can’t,” mumbled Celine.

“What?”

“I can’t!” Celine wailed. “My parents are right there!” She dropped her forehead against the tabletop. “I really want to play though. It sounds like fun.”

She was probably tipsy too—her cheeks had been awfully red before she’d face-planted onto the table. “We could go somewhere else?” Aryn suggested, hoping that she could pick up some water before they left and then—she might be able to sober up her friends before they went back home.

Adeline tapped her chin. “The park maybe? Near the old oak tree with the swing? It’s close enough to town that we shouldn’t get into any trouble, and still a decent ways away from where the kids are camping.”

“Sounds good to me,” Aryn shrugged.

As they left, Aryn made eye contact with Ryis, and cocked her head—a silent invitation. He shook his head, and gestured at Landen, who was leaning heavily on his shoulder. She shrugged again, and turned back toward the rest of her friends. It would have been nice for Ryis to come, but, in turn, he was too nice to leave Landen alone while drunk. She’d stop by in the morning to check in on him and tell him any embarrassing details from whatever was about to happen, she promised herself.

The night air was brisk on her face, as they made their way through the town toward the park. The clear sky sent shafts of moonlight across the paving stones, and Aryn was struck by the thought that it would be very nice to have someone’s hand in hers. There weren’t many crickets left, but the ones who lived to brave the early autumn chill were playing their hearts out in the otherwise still air. Balor’s arm brushed up against her side, and then his pinky looped through hers.

She hoped the cool air kept her from blushing. ***

They wound up in a lopsided circle in the moonshadow of the old oak tree in the park. March was splayed out on the ground with his head in Olric’s lap, snoring gently, and Olric had waved himself out of the game with a sheepish look at his brother. Eiland was doing slightly better than March, though that was partially the result of Adeline filling up his flask with water every time he wasn’t paying attention. He’d likely had about two or three flasks-worth of water, and they were clearly helping level him out.

Celine, on the other hand, kept bursting into random fits of giggles. She was lucky that she was the one sitting against the trunk of the tree, since Aryn had her doubts that she’d be able to stay upright by herself otherwise.

Balor flicked open the box of cards, and began to shuffle with practiced movements. His slender fingers and dexterous hands left the cards practically flying through the air, and if Aryn had to guess, he was showing off quite unnecessarily as he finished shuffling.

“How do we do this?” asked Adeline.

***

Things derailed quickly. It only took a half-round, actually.

Celine and Eiland were both overconfident drunks.

Olric was glancing wide-eyed between Celine and Eiland, who’d both lost their shirts, and in Eiland’s case, his cape. “I think it’s time that I take March home,” he stammered. And then he proved that his muscles weren’t just for show, as he hoisted his brother over his shoulder and booked it for their house.

“To be fair, he lasted longer than I expected him to,” said Celine. Aryn snickered, and anted up.

“Poor Olric,” said Adeline. “And March wasn’t any help.” She tossed her last few chips in the palm of her hand, weighing them, then sighed. “I’m out.”

Balor narrowed his eyes at Aryn, and dropped another round of chips in the pot. Struck by sudden burst of confidence, Aryn caught and held Balor’s eyes while she shimmied out of her shirt, and dropped it onto the pot.

Eiland wrinkled his brow. “I thought you were supposed to bet on what you’re taking off before the round ended. Or have I been doing this wrong?” He glanced mournfully at where his cape had been folded up neatly with the other stripped clothing, and shivered.

“I didn’t think it was fair that you and Celine were already shirtless,” she said, and thanked her lucky stars that she’d worn her cutest bra—despite the fact that the lace was annoying—since it was the last clean one before she did laundry the next morning. It was nice letting it dry while she was at Saturday Market.

Eiland’s eyes remained narrowed, and his brow remained wrinkled, but he didn’t say anything else.

“I’m out,” Celine sighed after looking at her cards. “I’m having terrible luck tonight.” She leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. After a moment, she started to snore softly. “In that case—” Balor laid out his cards. A royal flush. Again. Somehow, Aryn didn’t think that it was an accident that Balor had been sent over to the Dungeons and Drama table and as far away from the poker game as possible. Damn him and his pretty hands.

She sighed, and dropped her two pair on the ground. “Another round?”

Adeline stood up as Balor started gathering cards. “I’d love to, but I’ve run out of fun-hours, and I should take Eiland home so that Elsie can laugh at him and help him sober up a bit so he’s not totally out of it tomorrow.”

Eiland frowned. “I’m fine—” he started, then Adeline pulled him to his feet. He clutched his head and groaned. “Nevermind. Lead the way.”

Ah. So it was just her and Balor. That was—fine—everything was fine. She wished that she hadn’t taken off her shirt now. The air that had been previously still stirred, and this time she couldn’t hold off her shiver. Balor had gathered up the cards, and was shuffling again.

“Another round?” he offered her. "I know there's only the two of us, but…"

“Is that all that’s on offer?” she said, and then clapped a hand to her mouth. “Wait. I don’t know why I said that.” If she hadn’t been blushing before, she certainly was now.

Balor had stopped shuffling, and his cheeks were pink. “I don’t know,” he said slowly. “Were you looking for more?” He was grinning now though, and her heart lurched. “You know me—I pride myself on offering all kinds of goods and services.”

His hand cupped her chin, and she looked up into iolite eyes. “I’d love to make a deal,” he continued.

She leaned in.

“After all—I’ve always had an eye for pretty things,” he breathed, and then his lips were on hers.

[fieldsofwriting]

FoM Pet HC's Pt. 2

As requested here is the second part of this! Check out the first part.

Ryis:

He's a bird guy. You know how much he loves birds if you've gotten his heart events.

I could see him more specifically running a bird rehab. Like if a baby bird looses it's momma he takes them in and does his best to make sure they get rehabilitated.

He'd definitely keep going doing it after moving in with you. But I think he would also like to have a dog.

He's kinda like March with the dog vibes.

He would love getting up and throwing a stick for the pup, or the taking them for walks.

Adeline:

She needs a sleepy cat who would lay on her paperwork to get her to stop working

Her cat is treated like a PRINCESS.

Only the best for her Fur Baby. I’m talking bows, fancy little clothes, fancy collars

She would bring her everywhere. Just walking around town and there is her prissy little cat following her.

Tbh it’s a therapy cat. When it thinks she’s worked enough it will just plop right onto her papers and meow until Adeline stops and pets her.

It always works.

Eiland:

I wanna say he’d have a cat so bad.

But he likes to dig!! So I think he ether has a cat that acts like a dog or a dog.

Like you know princess and pauper? How Wolfie acts like a dog. That kinda shit for him.

A cat that would like to roll around in dirt and then torture poor Adeline’s cat.

He would also spoil the shit out of his cat. So many treats

if someone comments on him getting chonky he’d be so sad and gives extra pets

Valen:

Tbh. Hear me out. A mouse or rats.

I can’t explain it but she gives me those vibes.

Like her little guys have the most lavish house, spoiled spoiled.

They have the best care in the world too, there’s no way Valen hasn’t researched and gotten only the best.

She’d be walking around town and just peeking out from her coat is a little rat. And that’s just how it goes.

I think she’d be the type to have like- tubing all over her house so they can run around and find her wherever she is.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed!!

[blackwwatch]

something i haven't seen wrt FoM feedback is the character writing and dialogue. there's a lot of it, and they can react differently if you give certain items, seen certain dialogue, experienced different events, etc. which makes it really fun to talk with them several times over the course of an in-game day.

i think it's also nice that they have preexisting relationships with each other. i think it would be even better if there was more conflict, goals, and distinguishing characteristics between them to allow them to develop as characters.

1. dialogue

it's a little difficult since many characters have similar backgrounds and therefore speaking styles, but i think the character voice could be improved by varying sentence length, word choice, structure, and topic. otherwise, many of the characters talk very similarly--very articulate, forward, and kind. if i take away the speaker, can you distinguish who's speaking which lines?

You're so busy, and you still find time to be this thoughtful! Thank you, [player].

Adeline was originally suspicious of me, but she let me stick around. Guess I have my uses!

This gift is wasted on me, [player]. But maybe I can pass it on.

I like to drop by the General Store on Friday before everyone starts gathering!

Early mornings are my least favorite time in Mistria. Everyone's so... cheery. Like they're about to break into song.

the answers are: Adeline, Balor, Valen, Reina, and Juniper.

it was probably easier to narrow down the last one to either March or Juniper, right? and i think that adds to their popularity--they're distinguishable from the other characters in that they're ruder and less cheerful. they talk about you or others more than they talk about themselves.

that being said, i'm not saying dialogue quirks is what needs to be added. we already have holt, dell, maple, and luc.

each piece of dialogue should say something about the character themselves. whether that is their outlook on life, their aspirations, etc., and every character should have something different about them. they can be cheerful--i think that's a charm of Mistria, where it's so safe and trusting that celine keeps her door unlocked so that juniper and the player can barge in to ask for help--but emphasize different parts of the cheer.

is adeline more optimistic than everyone else? is balor more persistent in his beliefs? does this translate to shorter, and more casual dialogue for balor because he's preserving his out-of-town accent?

does valen have higher standards for you? is her dialogue full of more jargon and prose than adeline because she believes you also share her language?

is reina confident in her organization and time keeping? does she talk as if she's giving you advice because everyone could use a little help in time management?

2. progression

i think seeing character development as you gain hearts with the characters would make it more rewarding to talk with them every day. we have mini "plot lines" that follow them (Balor getting more into D&D, Juniper and Terithia speculating about the townsfolk), and i think there could be more "subplots" to add to the excitement of a new day. for example,

could Adeline be so focused on running the town that she doesn't realize that Eiland would actually prefer spending all his time at the dig site instead? do you get to encourage her to put Eiland on more hands-on tasks instead of paperwork?

is ryis struggling to get noticed as a maturing carpenter in his own right? does landen ask for your help to promote ryis and officially retire?

it could be rewarding to see ryis or another character achieve their goals because you helped them, or even saw a different villager help them. it's nice that you could see them grow and change because you had taken the time to build that relationship.

3. heart events

i would also like to see heart events for non-romanceable characters because i think it would add more life to the town. since this is early access, i assume they're still in-progress.

[kohiiflux]

I will stop posting about FoM only when they update the game or me getting a part time job smh. The good thing about FoM is that it is an early access game and I could not pick a character to fell for from youtube videos like Stardew for example.

I think I played SDV during its height at the pandemic and so I quickly chose Penny as my farmer's SO, and did not try and connect with the other characters. With FoM, I am obliged to try and woo as much because of the lack of content for now. Because I know if it is a finished product I might jump to Celine ASAP.

But enough of the chit-chat, and get on to the content, Adeline being the highest contender for Flori's affection. I think the turning point is me being turned off by her on her two heart event and then I realised something interesting.

FoM saves me from art-block, but may one day my energy for drawing returns. As of now, please be content with this fanfic, a separate heart event between my Farmer and Adeline.

Chapter 1: "Archetypes" Farmer Two-heart event (Adeline)

Adeline observes the general store's renovation, she can not believe it, Mistria are building, even grander and better than before. They are even on track to be a ruby-graded town really soon. Mesmerized by the speedy construction, she jolts down every details of the building procedure.

The summer heat is really intense today. Adeline attempts to keep a bold face but her body is failing her. Her hands melt to the to her sides.

"Hey. Boss-Lady!" A brash, confident voice boomed across the plain field.

"Flori? I thought you are working?" Adeline tries to cop her hands shading her eyes from the pesky sun.

"Me and Ryis decided to take an hour break because of the heat. I brought this for you. Here ! Your daily dose of reprieve from work." Flori hands a glass of iced coffee fresh from the inn to Adeline.

"Care to talk with me in the shades for a moment?"Flori ushers her to the shades, sensing that she will faint in a few minutes.

"Sure" Adeline nods and follows the stalwart farmer to a nearby shades.

Distant, everything felt distant.

The first time Flori arrived at Mistria, she was flirtatious. In any chance she has, she will almost certainly flirts with anyone that has a pulse - aside for March and Juniper who immediately shuts her advances that is. She even flirted with her at the first moment they met, and regularly gave her tulips every weekdays and coffee every Saturday - but not anymore.

Was it because of the board meeting?

Adeline has felt a riff between her and the new owner of the "Vinegrove Estate" building since she brought her in one of her regular work meetings. Was she put off by her ?

"Hey, Flori." Adeline nudges Flori who is lost in her own thoughts.

"Oh- yeah hm?" Flori jumps out of shock at the single nudge.

"You were the one who asked me to talk to you? Why the silence then?" Adeline slurps her iced coffee ever so loudly.

"Oh right uhm... I just wanted to talk to you about some new quest board mechanics that might make it easier for me to help the people. -- Oh ! Have you seen these new bruises ? it came from the mines..." Flori rocks back and forth, pinching the edges of her shirt to hide her nervousness.

"You know you could just tell me if there is something bothering you. Right?" Adeline read her like a book.

They might not be as close as her and Eiland, but Adeline has read a plethora of romance book to infer some deductions of the farmer. Although she is unsure at which archetype the farmer belongs to as of now, she hates the fact that one of the people she works with are hiding some things from her.

"How can you see that? There's nothing bad between us y'know. You don't have to worry about anything." Flori finishes her lemonade.

"Really ? I was a bit worried. I mean you are the town's philanderer... It's kind of worrisome that you didn't try to romance all the gentle men and ladies of the town - that includes me..." Adeline shrugs

"Not that I really enjoy your advances but … It's a bit weird for you to act so differently." She continues enjoying her iced coffee.

"Ah... About that..." Flori sighs.

"Do you remember about that work meeting you invited me to?" Flori tries to drink the melted ice from her drink.

Here it is, Adeline thought. Another person getting put off by her working habits. It is nothing new.

"You were...so sincere then, you know?" Flori fiddles her finger on her ponytail.

Adeline stops and looks back at Flori, the wind blows ever so softly between them and leaves fell slowly to the ground. Time always marches forward but it goes slower for the time being.

"Heh? Are you trying to flirt with me right now ?" "No I mean it !? You ruined me, Adeline." Flori chuckles.

Flori pinches her nose bridge and shakes her head.

"I can't possibly play around when you were so sincere at your work rebuilding Mistria. It's sorta inspiring actually." Flori shyly moves away from Adeline. At this point she looks like Dozy who was scolded by Juniper.

Come to think of it, There's an increase of shipments from the Vinegrove Estate by ten-folds in the past weeks. Adeline stares at Flori, every moment worrier than the last.

"Are you sick ? You shouldn't work in this condition ?! Where is Valen when you need her ?!" Adeline shakes Flori.

"I am serious ! geez- the point is, I will support you as a friend and will do better for Mistria as a farmer. You'll have my word."

Adeline let out a sigh of relief and smiles.

"Alright, at least I know you are sincere at your work now." Adeline pats Flori at the back.

"Let's hang outside of work more ? Who knows. I might join Dungeons and Dramas one of these days..... How's Dame Silverslash sounds?" Flori grins.

"Flori ! times up ! Let's head back to work !" Ryis calls everyone back to earth.

"Times up ! Come on Adeline !" Flori runs back to the construction site, leaving Adeline to dusts.

Adeline has read a lot of romantic books in her past time, she remembers all of the characters' motives, archetypes and more. But it is not that simple for a person. Adeline smiled and follows them back to the site.

-END-

Man I am sorta convince that I should pair them in the end but we'll see.

[purplephantomwolf]

Savoring the Finish Line

Chapter Five

Story Synopsis: Max Verstappen falls in love with a woman who owns a bakery.

Note: This is not an accurate portrayal of how the real people in this act. I do not know them personally, so I will not be portraying them accurately. Also, this is not an accurate portrayal with how a bakery works. I did my best with research, but it's not 100%.

Warnings for this chapter: Badly translated French

Previous chapters: Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four

Masterlist

March 19, 2022

     The flood lights are bright against my eyes. “Night races are beautiful,” I hum to myself. I walk along the paddock an hour before qualifying is supposed to start. I watch all the engineers, drivers, and working personnel rush about. I hum to myself, walking towards the Red Bull garage. 

     “Good evening, Adaline,” Max says, stopping his conversation with Christian Horner and Geri Horner. I jerk to a stop, surprised. 

     “Hello, Max,” I smile at him. Both the Horners look between us

     “Christian, Geri, this is Adaline, the girl who owns the bakery I was telling you about. Adaline, this is Christian and Geri Horner,” Max introduces us. 

     “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs.  Horner,” I say, extending my hand. Christian shakes my hand. 

     “Please, call us Geri and Christian. Any friend of Max’s is a friend of ours,” Geri says, pulling me in for a hug. I blush and nod, as I pull away from her. 

     “So, Max has told us that you own a bakery?” Geri asks me.

    “Yes! It’s a small bakery in Monaco called Delicieux Gateries,” I grin, always happy to talk about my bakery. 

     “What do you sell?” She asks, starting to walk into the hospitality. 

     “Well, I sell all sorts of things. There’s croissants, kouign amanns, scones, macarons as some of my most popular selling items,” I list off, following after her. 

     “You say my and I, do you work at the bakery by yourself?” Christian asks, appearing behind Geri. 

     “I’m the only full time employee. I have this older couple who works the front of the bakery for me part time, but I do all the baking,” I explain. Max comes up next to us. 

     “Louis and Estelle right?” He asks. I nod to confirm it. Geri and Christian exchange small smiles, and I grin at Max. Max glances at his watch and nods to Christian. They start the descent down to the garage to get ready for qualifying as Geri and I continue talking about my bakery. Suddenly Max comes rushing back into the hospitality. “Will you wait for me after qualifying? I want to make sure you get back to your hotel safely,” Max asks me. I blush and grin. 

     “Sure, you might find me asleep here, but I’ll wait in here for you,” I smile. 

     “Great, good, awesome,” Max says, fumbling over his words. He rushes back downstairs, as Geri lets out a laugh. I turn to her blushing, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush. 

     “Oh sweetie, that’s just too cute,” she smiles. I nod, blushing. 

     “I should probably go down to make sure I’m in place before all the excitement starts. It was nice meeting you, Geri,” I say. 

     “It was nice to meet you too, Adeline. I’ll make sure to stop by your bakery some time when I’m in Monaco,” she says. I nod, grinning. I head down to the garage, getting into place. Max looks over at the area for guests and smiles when he sees me. I send him a quick thumbs up, smiling. He quickly looks back at the data and his race engineer. 

     I grin as the lights go green at the end of the pitlane. I take a deep breath, breathing in the smell of rubber and fuel. It smells wonderful. Max pulls out of the garage, sending a big vibration through my body from the roar of the car. My eyes flick between the screens and the track. I’m keeping an eye on the times as I watch the cars fly by on the track. I smile when Max makes it into Q2 easily. I have no worries about Max making it into Q3. I bop my head along to the music playing throughout the paddock as I wait for Q3 to start. 

     I frown as I hear Max on the radio saying something about his tires being fucked when he goes slow. “That’s not good,” I mutter. Max goes out for his last lap. I cross my fingers as he crosses the finish line. “Yes! Let’s go, Max!” I cheer as he finishes P2. The garage claps and cheers at his results. 

     The garage starts to clear of the other Red Bull guests. I linger, trying to stay in the garage as long as possible. Eventually the engineers start leaving too, so I head up to the hospitality. I take a seat at one of the tables, waiting for Max. 

************************************************************************

     “Adaline,” I hear my name whispered. I jolt up, looking around. I rub my eyes, trying to get rid of the tiredness. 

     “Oh, hi Max,” I grin, spotting him squatting next to my chair. I stand up, grabbing my bag. “Ready to go?”

     “Yeah, I’m sorry I made you wait so long,” Max says, looking guilty. 

     “It’s okay! I’d rather have someone to walk me back this late at night, than go back by myself,” I shrug. Max looks relieved. 

     “Which hotel are you staying at?” He asks, grabbing my bag from me. I start to protest him carrying it, but he gives me a stern look and I stop. 

     “The Hilton,” I answer, walking out of the hospitality. 

    “Oh, good! That’s just down the road from my hotel,” he smiles. Max leads me out of the paddock. “Did you enjoy today?” He turns to me. 

     “Oh, yes! Congrats on starting P2 tomorrow! You were amazing,” I gush. 

     “Thank you,” he grins, as we arrive at a car. 

     “Is this your car?!” I gasp, looking at the Aston Martin car. 

     “No, it’s just on loan to me for the weekend,” Max replies, “All my cars are back in Monaco.” 

      I nod, “Makes sense.” Max opens my door for me, and I slide in. I run my hands along the seat, marveling at it. 

     “Do you like it?” Max asks, sliding into the driver’s seat. 

     “Yes, I’ve never been in such an expensive car,” I look over at him. He pulls out of his parking spot, and I admire him as he drives to my hotel. 

     “Thank you for the ride back, Max,” I thank him as he pulls up to my hotel. 

     “Of course, Adaline. I’ll see you tomorrow? I can drive you back after the race,” Max looks over me, hopeful. 

     “I would like that,” I smile at him. 

     “Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow after the race. Hopefully I’ll see you before the race too,” Max says. 

     “Hopefully! Good night, Max,” I say, opening my door.

     “Good night, Adaline,” he says, as I shut the door. He watches me walk into the hotel before pulling away. I head up to my room, falling into bed. I sigh happily, before quickly falling asleep. 

************************************************************************

March 20, 2022

     I thank the driver of the taxi as I climb out. I scan my pass to get into the paddock. I walk pass the Ferrari hospitality and spot Carlos outside. Louis is a big Ferrari fan, so I figure getting Carlos’ signature on his hat would make him super happy. “Excuse me, can you please sign my hat?” I ask Carlos. He quickly signs it, before heading inside the hospitality. I head inside the Red Bull hospitality. I sit at one of the tables, waiting for it to be closer to 6 to head down to the garage. I’m reading an article on my phone when the chair next to me is pulled out. I look up and see Geri sitting down. “Hello, Mrs. Horner,” I greet her. 

     “Please, dear. Call me Geri,” she waves her hand. 

     “Okay, hello, Geri,” I say. She laughs and greets me. 

     “Are you having fun this weekend?” Geri asks me. 

     I nod quickly. “This is the most fun I’ve had since I opened my bakery. I haven’t taken time off since then,” I answer her. 

     “Oh, honey. You must be working yourself to death then. You should take some time off,” she says, looking worried. 

     “I am looking at hiring another baker, that way I can take time off. It’ll be nice to not have to work every day,” I explain. She nods, smiling. The door to the hospitality opens, and Max walks in. He’s deep in conversation with someone, so I just wave to him when he looks over. He waves back, before heading down to the garage. 

     “So tell me, how did you and Max meet? I know Max, and he wouldn’t give out garage passes to just anyone,” Geri asks, turning to me. 

     “He came into my bakery having a panic attack. I helped calm him down, The garage pass is a thank you from him. I told him I didn’t need them as a thank you, but he refused to take them back,” I tell her. Her eyes get a worried look when I say the panic attack part. 

     “Thank you for helping him. Do you know why he was having one?” Geri asks, looking concerned. I shake my head no. “Okay, thank you,” she sighs. I glance at the time. Seeing that it’s 15 minutes before the race is supposed to start, I stand up, Geri standing up with me. 

     “It was great talking to you, Geri. I hope we can talk again after this weekend,” I smile. She pulls me into a tight hug. 

     “I’m sure we will,” she grins, letting me go. I head down to the garage, getting into place as the national anthem finishes. I excitedly slide the headset on. 

     Max enters the garage, a concentrated look on his face. The thought of how cute he looks when he’s concentrating enters my mind. I shake my head at this thought. I cannot start liking this man, he’s so far out of my league. Max slides his helmet on and climbs into the car. There’s a muffled roar of engine as he pulls out of the garage. 

************************************************************************

     The lights go out and Charles goes across the track to block Max from taking P1 at the first corner. I gasp as Esteban and Mick collide, spinning Mick around. I let out a relieved sigh when Mick continues on. I always get so worried when cars collide. 

     Hamilton slides as he pulls out of the pits, trying to warm up his tires. I smile and clap my hands once when I see Zhou pass him. Hamilton quickly passes Zhou again. Max pulls into the pits, and I watch as they put a new thing of soft tires on his car. It’s amazing to watch the pit crew work so quickly. 

    Charles comes into the pits, and I bite my fingernails as I watch them do a slower stop then Max’s. “Come on, Max,” I whisper as Max comes down the main straight. I groan as Charles comes out in front of Max. They battle all throughout the lap. The Red Bull garage breaks into cheers when Max passes Charles and then groans when Charles passes him back. The two drivers repeat the same fight on the next lap. I groan as Max locks up on the third lap of the fight, not letting him take the lead. 

     Max comes in for a second pit stop, putting on medium tires this time. Charles does the same thing the next lap. I groan as Charles comes out in front of Max again. Max is angry as he comes on the radio, complaining about how he took it easy on the out lap, when he could be ahead. “I’m never doing that again,” he says. 

     Max comes into the pits again, and as he pulls out of the pits, he complains about the steering. I hold my breath as I listen to his radio, hoping everything is okay. I gasp suddenly as I see Pierre Gasly pulled off to the side. He leaps out, as his car catches alight. The full safety car comes out, and the cars bunch up. Max keeps coming on the radio complaining about the steering. 

     I groan as Max gets a poor restart after the safety car. My hands clasp together as I pray that Carlos doesn’t pass him. A few laps pass, when suddenly Max comes on the radio asking about the battery. Max is tumbling down the order. “No!” I gasp, hand flying up to cover my mouth in shock. “He was doing so well,” I pout, “He was so close to finishing.” He pulls into the pits, and I just know he’s going to be angry. He climbs out of the car, and walks back into the garage. Suddenly I hear a shout and my head flies to the track. Sergio Perez has lost the engine and spun around. I’m shocked that Red Bull has had such an awful start to the season. 

     The race finishes with a Ferrari 1-2, but I could care less at this moment. I know Max is going to be upset, and I just hope he knows there’s nothing he could’ve done to prevent it. I wait in the garage until after the podium ceremony, waiting to see if Max comes back in. Eventually I head into the hospitality. I take a seat to wait for Max. 

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

Taglist: @milaeth @fanboyluvr @fangirl125reader

[hibischush]

the request board matchmaker

description; When the farmer first arrived in Mistria, she was pleasantly surprised with the amount of warmth the townsfolk showered her in. Even Lady Adeline herself showed the newcomer such geniality, which shocked an adventurer coming from the capital. Most nobility would hardly blink an eye towards one of the masses, let alone treat her like she was a long-lost childhood friend that recently returned home. It was a nice change of pace. That was until she met the local blacksmith.

notes; the moment i played the demo for fields of mistria and met such a grumpy and toned tsudere i knew immediately that society would go wild for the guy. i just wanted to reimagine what the first meeting would be like between a female player and him (you could totally read this with any pronoun and it would still work fyi!)

word count; 1,048

After Lady Adeline gave her the quest of meeting everyone in town, the new farmer was determined to fulfill it. All morning she had been received affably, which she greatly appreciated. The capital was all too often unwelcoming towards anyone and anything. As she wound up at the blacksmiths, she expected much of the same.

Walking into the establishment, she was greeted with the sounds of heavy clanging. She shifted her glance over to two men hovering over an anvil-- shaping some sort of weapon. One of the men, who was much taller than the other, looked up immediately to see who came in and offered the farmer a wide, cheery smile. The other, seemingly annoyed with the disturbance in his work, only followed his gaze as he slowly dropped the hammer to his side.

“Hey! You must be the new farmer everyone’s been talking about. I’m Olric, and I work here with my brother,” the friendlier of the men explained, shaking her hand eagerly. His brother, seemingly very interested in the wall to the left of them, said nothing. The newcomer took her time in observing him. The smaller of the two was in no way less toned than the other, and his arms were wicked in sweat from working near the forge. His fiery red hair was partially pulled back from his face with a navy bandana, but his bangs were so long that they still easily covered most of his forehead, giving an almost “edgy teenager” kind of hair-do. His facial expression matched the previous description too, frowning bitterly at the wall with narrowed eyes. 

“It’s a pleasure,” the young farmer replied with a gentle smile of her own, “and who might you be?” she asked the red-headed brother. 

At first, he didn’t respond, and was unwilling to make eye contact with her. When eventually got his eyeballs to function again he locked his black gaze into her own. The young man had the audacity to slowly observe her from head to toe, almost as if he was sizing himself up to her. He defensively crossed his arms and pinned her down with a steely stare.

“The name’s March. What do you want?”

Immediately, the farmer faltered a bit. It seems like she was already getting used to being treated cordially here in the countryside. However, Olric didn’t flinch at this interaction, so she assumed that was just what he was like regardless of who he was talking to. Regardless, she tried not to let his cold attitude get her down, instead offering a hand with a smile, “I’m the new farmer in town. Thought I might introduce myself to everyone.”

He slowly and hesitantly shook her hand, and quickly crossed his arms again as if her touch burned him. At least he had some sort of manners, no matter how reluctant.

“I don’t see what that has to do with me, farmer,” He drawled out, spitting out her occupation like it was poison.

 “Regardless of what Adeline says, we really don’t need an outsider to come in and solve our problems for us. I--” he stopped himself, and she began to understand why he was acting so prickly to her, “--we have everything under control. Just don’t get in our way.”

And with that, March turned his back to the farmer and continued to work on shaping the weapon on the anvil. The farmer just stood there, dumbfounded. Olric even seemed surprised with that last admission from March as he scratched the back of his neck and chuckled awkwardly. 

“Sorry about that, March is a little upset about not being the center of attention in the town anymore,” Olric whispered to her, confirming her suspicions.

“No worries, Olric. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually. I could see myself working with the two of you to improve the town,” she said optimistically. Olric smiled at that and returned to the working side of his brother as she turned away to leave.

March grumbled to himself as he slammed the hammer down onto the molten iron. Who does she think she is, strolling into Mistria thinking that she deserves love and praise despite not yet doing anything for the town? I’m sure he’ll come around eventually? I could see myself working with the two of you to improve the town?! Oh please, as if he needs help from some dumb and pretty outsider. Her blind optimism almost makes him feel sick to his stomach, and her saccharine smile made his stomach churn in a weird and unwelcome way.

“March? March!” 

March looked up from the anvil and over to his brother with a confused but annoyed cock of his head. Orlic only huffed as he adjusted the slowly but surely forming sword on the anvil. 

“You were going to strike the metal with half of it hanging off the side! Gosh, that farmer’s really got you in a mood huh?” Orlic huffed.

March stiffened and reddened with frustration, “No way! She’s just some boring outsider. There’s no way she’s actually going to contribute to Mistria.”

Orlic crossed his arms with a scoff, “I know you dude. No one has ever made you this mad by simply existing,” March flushed further, upset that Orlic sniffed him out this fast. His brother studied his facial expressions and the young blacksmith prodigy fidgeted with his hammer. Olric broke out with a wide grin after a few moments.

“No way.”

“W-what?” March bristled.

Orlic shrugged, his mouth still graced by an insufferably large smile, “Oh, nothing, nothing,” he said, heading over to a shelf to grab his own hammer. For a second March let out a huff of relief that his teasing brother was letting his quips go, until--

“That farmer is pretty cute, dontcha think?”

March sputtered and vehemently denied it.

“Oh sure, sure. It’s not like I watched you oogle her or anything.” 

“Shut up! That didn’t happen. Let’s get back to work, we’ve already wasted enough time over pointless chit-chat.”

Orlic shrugged and quietly went back to work once he was satisfied with getting a rise out of his sibling. 

It didn’t take that long for March to discover that he enjoyed working with the farmer. And to come to terms that he found her cute, too.

[secret-fungi]

Then Came The Sun

Book: Astrea's Broken Heart Paring: Mikael/ @mikaelsrose mc (Adeline) Word count: 1802 Fluff: Rating: T Warning: mentions of physical harm

After a hard day, Adeline comes home.

When Adeline had returned home it was long past midnight, the light of the manor had already started to turn off.  “I’ll tell him how it went, you go ice your arm.” David said, his eyes on Mikael’s office window, lit up like a candle in the darkness. Adeline reached to pet the wolf that had so eagerly rushed to her. “You look nervous.” She noted 

The man made a face as if she was being unreasonably cruel to be making a joke at his expense. “I can come with you.” “if you come in with a pack of peas on your arm he won’t listen to reason.” David almost complained. She let out scoff, rolling her eyes at him as they made their way up the steps, Bruno following closely behind.

They parted ways soon after that david with a weariness in his step marched to Mikael’s office and Adeline headed towards the kitchen.

It was dark, in the spacious room, the only light coming from within the large windows, as she reached for the light Bruno did a walk around of the space as if checking to see if it was safe.

It was a bit peaceful, the eerie silence that came with the manor, she had learned to associate it with a strange form of warmth. She limped over to the freezer and grabbed a pack of frozen carrots. In an instant she placed it against her hip, any minute now Mikael would call her in, postponing her bath in order to hear about the mission. 

She slumped down into her chair, moving the frozen carrots to her warmed wrist before she closed her eyes, letting the melodic song raphael had started to play soothe her. 

Her body ached and stung with all the scrapes and bruises she had gotten during their outing, and with each note it seemed as if Raphael had reached out and soothed them. 

Bruno rested his chin upon her lap, whining softly as she adjusted the carrots against her skin. “Do you think Mikael’s giving David a hard time?” she asked the wolf.

        “It’s usually the other way around with David.” Cassiel said, skipping a greeting as he reached for a bottle of dark liquor and a glass before taking another look at her and grabbing another glass. She watched him pour their drinks silently as he came to sit across from her, he pet Bruno, scratching behind it’s ear and down to its neck. She almost forgets that the wolf is a giant wolf and not a lapdog, Watching as it climbed onto Cassiel she suspected that she wasn’t the only one in this. 

She stared into the drink for a long while, letting the day’s events unravel into the table. She supposed that why this place felt so gloomy, because that's all anyone laid upon the tables, the sofas, the beds; Sorrow.

“Have you seen Mikael about it?” he asked after a while. “It’s just a bruise.” she said, taking a sip of the harsh drink, letting it burn her throat as she swallowed. 

He arched his brow and pressed his lips into a shape that said he didn’t think it was a good idea but said nothing as he took another drink.

As neither one of them felt the need to break it, the pair sat in silence for a while, sipping drinks and enjoying the music that bled into the kitchen.

“Go rest, if he wants you he’ll find you.” He instructed. “I think I’ll stay here a little while longer.” 

The man smiled softly, downing his drink before he patted her shoulder heavily. She watched as he walked away, Bruno following close by, And maybe it was the drink, or maybe it was the melancholic cries of the strings, whatever it may have been the sight made her want to cry.

She lingered with the weeping notes of Raphael’s tune, letting her tears wet her face and her drink burn her throat. 

As often happened whenever she had three sips of drink she stood up abruptly with the same thought as always: I should see Mikael. 

But He was busy, and surely would have something to say of her not coming to him sooner, So she decided to listen to the gloomy man’s advice and she made her way to their room and started getting ready for bed.

        Their room smelt of citrus and vanilla, and felt like coming into a home warmed by cookies in the oven after being in the winter’s air. Books neatly lined up on shelves. It was hard to distinguish the line between his things and hers, they blended and meshed and then sometimes they’d stick out, like his coat whenever he draped it on the back of her vanity’s chair or her shoes that sat wherever they landed when she kicked them off at the end of the day.

She went to the bathroom, and started the water before returning to their room. She sat at her vanity and pulled off her shoes, rubbing her sore and blistered foot with before she worked to undress herself, only flinching slightly at pain her movements brought The wind carried whispers of unease and she ignored them as she tied her robe and returned to her vanity.

The house sounded alive from their room, she could hear footsteps coming up the hall and Raphael’s lament, Cassiel talking to Bruno, and the soft creaks of someone walking above her. 

And as horrible as the day had been the lingering spots of Mikael’s presence seemed to soothe it, if only a little. 

She took off her lashes, and wiped the shadow from her lids, and as sure as the sun rising the door opened, footsteps coming up behind her and when Adeline looked over her shoulder, she found Mikael.

He came up to kneel in front of her silently as he looked her over, a frown forming as he gently took hold of her hand, his thumb swiping over the tender bruise that had already started to form on her thin wrist. “Adeline.” he said softly, so warmly as if her name was something like darling. He pressed his lips against the bump before he once again rubbed it with his thumb, one swipe, two swipes — gone. 

 “I didn’t want to bother you over such a small thing.” she said “Bother me for all things.” he said with another kiss to the inside of her wrist, right against her pulse.

She moved her hand, letting it encase the side of his face.

Her fervent worshiper, down on his knees as he kissed her every ache away, as if he wished to make up for some grave sin, some failing he was not worthy of being forgiven for.

“Mikael.” she said, her thumb swiping over the bags under his eyes. “You look tired.” he smiled softly, kissing her palm once again. “I’ll join you.” he said, complying with the idea she had only just begun to warm him up to. 

“Good.” she said, her fingers combing through long ribbons of light hair. Whenever the strands caught the light she swore it was almost iridescent. She leaned forward bringing her lips to his.

Lazily, they kissed, letting all of the troubles that burdened them fall along like they were stripping clothes, and when he finally rose to his feet she kissed just above his navel, letting her head fall back as he combed his fingers through her hair, his nails scraping her scalp as she smiled contently at him.

He didn’t tell her again to come to him when she was hurt, he didn’t beg for her to tell him her troubles, and truly he didn’t need to, like the sun finally peaking through a blockade of clouds he was there.

Her arms wrapped around his hips, muttering against his skin so softly. “I missed you.” “I will only send you on assignments that I go on, then.” he decided with another pass over her hair, gently coaxing the knots from the long strands. 

“That’d be great, we could make a date out of it.” she agreed with a grin just as amused as his. He looked down at her as she closed her eyes and let his gentle touches soothe her. 

Once again he pressed his lips to hers, simply because he could. He had the right, the privilege and it was only right of him to take advantage of it. 

“I love you.” he said against her lips. “I love you.” she muttered lazily, half asleep from his movements. “You’re falling asleep.” he noted, pulling away slightly.

“Does it hurt to heal people?” she asks “it’s no burden.” he said with a smile “so it does.” He let out a rumbling laugh, that pleasant sound she always loved.

“It’s not pain.” he said, unable to explain quite what it was like to her, but she didn’t mind, letting his answer be enough as he reached for her brush, freeing himself from her arms before he walked behind her, taking hold of the ends of her hair as he brushed.

She continued to take off her makeup, small cotton rounds tossed into the trashcan after doing all they could.

   She pulled off his coat, hanging it on the hook on the door before she helped him undo the buttons of his waistcoat, and after he took that off she helped with his shirt, earning a smile from the man as he pulled her to him. 

He pulled her in, holding her hand as she stepped into the warm water, He sat behind her, placing sweet kisses to her soapy shoulders.

She almost fell asleep in his touch, strong and pleasant, it roamed over her as he washed her.

Only the sound of splashing water caught her attention now, and with a smile she tilted her head back to look up at him.

“Did David tell you?” she asked. The man’s face twisted into annoyance once again before he grumbled out something about “Minor bruises.” A lighthearted laugh slipped through her smile before she kissed his chest. 

Contentment may be a foolish man’s prison —

Love may have been the answer to many of life’s sorrows.  

Where else do you find love but in the faintest, sleepy whispers of care?

After they had helped each other, and after he had dried her with a towel and she had warmed him with a kiss, the lovers climbed into the plush bed, wrapped within each other's arms, the woman pressed her lips to his clavicle, then the center of his chest letting her every prayer and hope be buried underneath his skin, her every secret his heart’s to keep.

— But what a privilege it is to be kept by the one you love. 

[kohakhearts]

guys im sorry fields of mistria has me in a chokehold. i followed the development for a while and i was like i will definitely marry adeline and now im actually playing the game and i cant stop going in the mines to bring back ore for my beautiful bitch ass redhead march

[cutekittenlady]

Been playing Fields of Mistria a lot lately. Been focusing a lot on building up the town, and unlocking the various areas available in early access before turning my attention towards befriending all the villagers. With this in mind I present the following question;

[giantchasm]

Kirby characters and birthdays

A while back I was thinking about Kirby and birthdays. And so I decided to create potential birthdays for every character... and I figured I’d share, since they’re all based on stuff like release dates and reveal trailers, which I figured could make them pretty usable by just about anyone. It'd be fun to celebrate characters' birthdays 'individually' instead of in sets.

Generally, I followed the rule of thumb of giving the most important character from each game the earliest birthday, although there were some exceptions

Enjoy!:

Kirby: April 27th (Kirby’s Dreamland JP release date) Dedede: August 1st (Kirby’s Dreamland NA release date) Meta Knight: March 23rd (Kirby’s Adventure JP release date) Bandana Waddle Dee: September 22nd (Super Star Ultra’s NA release date)

The rest will be placed under a cut.

Whispy Woods: August 3rd (Kirby’s Dreamland PAL release date) Nightmare: May 1st (Kirby’s Adventure NA release date) Rick: November 22nd (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 AU release date) Kine: May 1st (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 NA release date) Coo: July 31st (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 EU release date) Dark Matter Swordsman: March 21st (Kirby’s Dreamland 2 JP release date) Gooey: March 27th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 JP release date) Nago: November 27th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 NA release date) Pitch: July 24th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 Wii Virtual Console release in Europe— the first ever time it got the game) Chuchu: September 5th (Kirby’s Dreamland 3 NSO release) Adeline: March 24th (Kirby 64’s JP release date) Ribbon: June 27th (Kirby 64’s NA release date) Zero: June 22nd (Kirby 64's EU release date) Marx: March 21st (Kirby Superstar’s JP release date) Gryll: Febuary 1st (Star Stacker’s digital release date in JP) Dark Meta Knight: April 15th (Amazing Mirror’s JP release date) Shadow Kirby: July 2nd (Amazing Mirror’s EU release date) Dark Mind: October 18th (Amazing Mirror’s US release date) Drawcia: March 24th (Canvas Curse’s JP release date) Daroach: November 2nd (Squeak Squad’s JP release date) Dark Nebula: December 4th (Squeak Squad’s NA release date) Galacta Knight: November 6th (Super Star Ultra’s JP release date) Prince Fluff: October 14th (Epic Yarn’s JP release date) Magolor: October 24th (Return to Dreamland’s NA release date) Landia: October 27th (Return to Dreamland’s JP release date) Taranza: January 11th (Triple Deluxe’s JP release date) Sectonia: May 2nd (Triple Deluxe’s NA release date) Shadow Dedede: May 16th (Triple Deluxe’s EU release date) Susie: June 10th (Robobot’s NA release date) Haltmann: April 28th (Robobot’s JP release date) Star Dream: June 11th (Robobot’s AU release date) Zan Partizanne: March 16th (Star Allies’ almost-worldwide release date) Hyness: April 26th (Star Allies’ South Korean release date) Francisca: January 12th (Francisca is first revealed on Twitter) Flamberge: February 16th (Flamberge is first revealed on Twitter) Elfilin (& Forgo): March 25th (Forgotten Land worldwide release date) Elfilis: September 23rd (Forgotten Land reveal date) Leon: March 3rd (Forgotten Land demo release date) Clawroline: February 14th (Clawroline reveal trailer)

Some notes:

☆ I gave Rick the AU release date for Dreamland 2 because of his accent in the anime dub. Tehehe. ☆ I'm aware Zero debuted in Dreamland 3, but seeing as how so many other characters also debuted in Dreamland 3 I was forced to base its birthday on Kirby 64 instead ☆I gave Haltmann the earliest Robobot release date birthday so Susie's birthday would be right before Star Dream's. I thought that would be funny, in a darkly ironic sort of way. Since it's sort of a replacement goldfish for her.

[fieldsofwriting]

Before leaving a request please read the rules below!

I reserve the rights to deny any request I feel I would not be able to write, or handle correctly.

That being said, the rules are as follows:

NSFW is okay, however I will go with what I am comfortable writing.

I will not under any circumstances write: piss, scat, kinks in volving bodily fluids, noncon, rape, incest, teacher/student, pet play or anything within the Yandere scope. Anything Horror related or adjacent. I am a scaredy cat, this is a safe space for scaredy cats.

Please do not send in the same ask over and over. I will get to the requests in a timely manner.

For other blog rules, please see Rules.

Characters I will write for are:

- Adeline

- Balor

- Caldarus

- Celine

- Eiland

- Ryis

- Reina

- March

- Valen

Characters I will not write for are:

- Hayden

- Juniper