#yumerou

[starlit-seadragon]

Day 19 - Taken

The Eorzean Alliance is yet young, though it has many allies.

Some of them are a little closer than others expected.

Set early post-SB

WC: 1453

Rated F for fluff?

My FFXIV Write Masterpost here.

Nanamo was the first to notice.

Had she not been seated next to Lord Aymeric, she might have missed the exchange entirely. Though the mountains in which Ala Mhigo were tucked cooled the air significantly, the day was still hot. For their privacy, the doors of the meeting room had been closed, but the windows remained open, curtains billowing lazily in the desperately-needed breeze. Outside the palace, far enough away that they could not hear, people milled about, performing various tasks.

Beside her, Lord Aymeric straightened suddenly and looked away from the conversation. Nanamo fought the urge to stare. She had not considered the present topic to be an offensive one, but perhaps there was a cultural difference with Ishgard that she was not aware of. She had a mind to inquire about it afterwards─and then watched him break into a radiant smile that was gone from his lips a moment latee but remained in his eyes.

Curious, Nanamo followed his line of sight.

Out the window, the Warrior of Light was walking past. When she caught Nanamo's eye, she waved. Nanamo waved a small hand back.

On her other side, Raubahn leaned forward.

"I must apologize, Your Grace, for not being engaging enough company to keep your focus," he teased.

"Your apology is accepted, Raubahn," Namao replied archly. "Pray rest assured you have my full focus─I merely chanced to espy our friend Shirayume through the window and was returning her greeting."

The other Alliance leaders turned in their seats to peer out the window. Now red-cheeked and smiling apologetically, Shirayume waved to them all. The leaders of the Alliance returned the gesture.

"Perhaps a short respite is called for" Kan-E suggested. "We have been in council for an extended period─a little fresh air and movement might do us good."

The group assented, agreeing to return at the next bell. Slowly, they rose, stretching and making small talk. Nanamo remained in her seat. Raubahn stood just behind his.

"Do you mean to remain here, Your Grace?"

"For a time, I think. I'll follow soon, Raubahn. I'd like to walk the garden. Pray take your leave."

"I should be glad to join you, Your Grace, when you do."

Nanamo smiled. "Then I shall meet you there shortly, my friend."

With that, he quit the room. Nanamo sat back in her seat and sighed. Though the long hours could be wearying, to have so many in the Alliance warmed her heart; these meetings gave her far less headache than did those of the Syndicate. With a prolonged yawn, she hopped down from her seat and rubbed her eyes.

Upon opening them, she noticed the Warrior of Light was still outside the window.

As was Lord Aymeric.

Shirayume beamed up at him, and he mirrored the expression as he spoke. She listened attentively, almost enrapt, one arm crossed over to hold the other, tail swaying gently back and forth. He was inclined towards her, bent slightly at the waist, lessening the distance between them. They did not touch as they spoke, but they stood so near to one another that a breeze could have pushed them into each other's arms.

Nanamo blinked, breath caught. She could not remember when she had last seen Shirayume smile so.

Footsteps announced someone's approach.

"Your Grace?" Raubahn asked. "Forgive me if I've disturbed you; I just wanted to see if you were all right."

Evidently, she'd been standing here longer than she thought.

Raubahn approached her, looking to where her attention had been focused. When he caught sight of the pair outside, he inhaled sharply.

Eyes still on them, he asked in a low voice, "Do you think they're...?"

"Without a doubt," Nanamo confirmed, turning her gaze back towards them.

"I must admit to some surprise. I never would have expected such a match."

Nanamo looked up at him. "No? Whyever not?"

Raubahn scratched his chin. "It feels somewhat foolish to say aloud, but given how long Ishgard had been absent from the Alliance, I expected it would take a longer period of time for them to 'warm to us,' so to speak."

Nanamo smiled. "They may still be warming to us, my friend. But I believe it quite apparent that Lord Aymeric has warmed to *her.*"

They did not hear other Alliance leaders approach until Merlwyb spoke behind them, "Well. That certainly explains the Grand Melee."

"Do you suspect it has been going on since then?" Kan-E murmured.

"For such a strong affection? It must have begun well before."

Kan-E nodded, brow pinched. "He seems quite taken with her."

"Can you fault him for it?" Merlwyb asked. "She has a way of disarming shuttered hearts."

"Has he the shuttered heart, or is it Ishgard who possesses it?"

"Well," Lyse drew out the word as she reached the group and joined their observation. Her cheeks widened with her grin. "I see their time apart has done very little to change their feelings for one another."

Nanamo, Raubahn, Merlwyb, and Kan-E all turned to look at her as one. The grin dropped off Lyse's face. A flush spread over her cheeks.

"...I don't suppose you could pretend you didn't hear that."

After a moment, Kan-E touched a hand to her chest. "Did they intend to conceal it indefinitely?"

Lyse huffed out a laugh. "Only from themselves. There's nothing happening between them. At least, I don't think there is. Though... Yume didn't really talk about what happened during their camping trip..."

"Camping trip?" The group echoed, brows raised.

A tense silence followed.

"Oh gods," Lyse muttered. She cleared her throat and raised her hands, fingers splayed in defense. Her eyes darted wildly between them.

"Look, it's really none of our business, is it?"

Merlwyb crossed her arms. "Ordinarily, I would agree. In this case, however, there is somewhat more at stake. The star can ill-afford its champion playing favorites."

Lyse's voice was hard and sharp as a blade. "She wouldn't. You know she wouldn't."

The silence that descended smothered like the heat.

Lyse scoffed. Her hands clenched at her sides "Has she ever given you cause to doubt her before? What of when she was an adventurer based in Gridania? Did she play favorites then?"

The other leaders exchanged a look.

"She did not," Kan-E conceded, slow and even-toned, "but this situation does not quite compare."

Lyse shook her head. "I don't believe this."

"Mistress Hext is right," Nanamo interjected. "We ought to trust in our friends and allies. We are all of us adults. Since Ishgard's rejoining of the Eorzean Alliance, Lord Aymeric has been naught but a staunch ally."

"A little before that, even," Raubahn admitted.

"And that aside," she continued, "Shirayume deserves our confidence in her. As our friend and hero, we owe her the benefit of the doubt."

Kan-E, Raubahn, and Merlwyb looked to the floor. Lyse leaned against the window sill.

"And... just look at her," Lyse said softly.

They did. Aymeric spoke with animation, and in response Yume laughed so heartily that a few other people around them turned to look.

"Even if it doesn't go anywhere..." Lyse said. "The Twelve know there's been enough misery lately... we can afford them a little bit of happiness, can't we? Just a little."

She threw them an imploring look. They acquiesed with tight smiles. Nanamo met Lyse's eyes with open regard.

"We should certainly make an effort to," Nanamo agreed. Lyse returned her smile.

The bell struck then.

All in the meeting room turned towards the open window to find Aymeric and Shirayume, looking back at them with disquiet. Only Lyse had the presence of mind to duck to the side, out of sight.

Their gazes held a moment longer before Shirayume's lips moved inaudibly. Aymeric turned to look at her and then nodded stiffly before walking away. Shirayume turned in the opposite direction. She did not look back to the window.

Moments later, Aymeric reappeared in the meeting room's doorway. His face was a mask of composure, the only sign of his discomfiture the redness in his cheeks.

"Shall we proceed?" he asked calmly as he took his seat. Without another word, he took up a quill and scanned the parchment in front of him.

The other Alliance leaders remained standing, staring at one another.

Finally, in strode Lord Hien, whistling an airy tune. He stopped short as he took in the scene before him.

With a hint of confusion, he spoke, "I... trust all had a pleasant and refreshing recess?"

Nanamo chuckled as she retook her seat. "Some of us more than others, I expect."

Aymeric froze, quill mid-air. Lyse smirked.

"But pray," she said. "Let us return to business."

[syllyism]

some ace attorney sona/oc mullings :3

[meracydia-miqo]

~ House Borel Family Portrait ~

commission for my friend @starlit-seadragon

[shinigamichan]

being a fictive is actually humiliating

[alfiely-art]

I'm never sharing my rice ever again

[i-can-not-art]

ICE CREAM DELIVERY!!!!!!🍦♡ྀི give ice cream to your favourite bloggers and help them stay cool this summer. 🍧♡

It’s actually kinda cold where I am but thank you none the less

[gorgin-gals-muses]

anyways what if yuma was 3 inches tall but her ass and only her ass was still the same size

[drahzzle]

WIFOSLHHGKSJFGKFGGFDLLDDSHFGSJHFSDJHDFAJAHAFJHA EATING THEM OMNOMNOMS YAYUMMUERS!!!!

[nergisblogsposts]

görüyor musunuz denizin gerisinde

kumsaldan hayli uzakta bir ev var

tek pencereli bir ev, içerde bir iskemle

üzerinde gençliğim

görüyor musunuz denizin gerisinde

kumsaldan hayli uzakta bir ev var

tek pencereli bir ev, içerde bir iskemle

üzerinde gençliğim

bir yatak, bir yorgan, bir kırık masa

bir ip sallanır boynumda

bir yatak, bir yorgan, bir kırık masa

bir ip sallanır boynumda, boynumda

odama sımsıcak iklimlerle geldiniz

gözleriniz kararlıysa sevmeye, sevilmeye

bu gece sabaha dek ipi siz çekeceksiniz

sımsıcak deniz gidemediklerimiz

odama sımsıcak iklimlerle geldiniz

gözleriniz kararlıysa sevmeye, sevilmeye

bu gece sabaha dek ipi siz çekeceksiniz

sımsıcak deniz gidemediklerimiz

bir yatak, bir yorgan, bir kırık masa, ah

bir ip sallanır boynumda

bir yatak, bir yorgan, bir kırık masa

bir ip sallanır boynumda, boynumda

[999moreyears]

i love u lettuce i love u baby carrots

[starlit-seadragon]

Day 30 - Two Heads Are Better Than One

Going out with a whimper with another unfinished piece XD

Young Esha and Estelle respond to a cry for help, because that is what heroes do.

My FFXIV Write Masterpost here.

Esha was the first to hear the cry.

She stopped in the street, twitching her long ears, face a mask of concentration. Estelle, several steps ahead, realized her friend was no longer keeping pace and turned around. She bounced on her feet in an attempt to redirect her energy. Anyone else, she would have asked right away, but she had known Esha long and knew that impatient inquiry would only get her shushed. Esha would tell when she was ready.

Several long moments later, Esha met Estelle's eyes.

"Do you hear that, Stel?" she asked.

Estelle indulgently strained her ears. With her long, Miqo'te ears, Esha could hear sounds a great deal farther off. Estelle, with her mixed Auri-Elezen heritage, did far better with environments conducive to vibrations.

She was surprised that she did hear something, though.

Far off, a distant and frightened "kweh" floated on the wind.

Estelle's brow furrowed. She and Esha nodded at each other. Without a word, they took off towards the sound.

[heathertsuki]

i gotta play this gmae. fuck

Minnatsuki

[shinigamichan]

Raincode+ holy shit

[mspaint-flower]

i love ur art sm yayayay /gen can u make like. mini rin. eating a huge orange. idk man

yumer

[birdblitz]

yumer

[pixelatedraindrops]

I second this.

His head is TOO pettable.

I firmly believe that Yuma Kokohead thoroughly enjoys head pats.

.