#so they can pass EXCEPT i think daemons can’t eat?

[the-silvertonguewitch]

Musings on Lyra’s journey in TSC

I’ve been thinking a lot about Lyra’s journey in the second and (upcoming) third book of the Book of Dust series. Especially about the hints and clues from TSC pointing to some eventual “sacrifice” (to get Pan back, to enter the red building) in the final book. Beware: spoilers for TSC below.

 I don’t think that Will and Lyra reunite, or see each other again. Pullman could’ve made it work at some point, but not after TSC. Lyra’s journey there is too dependent on Will not coming back.

 Let me explain. Lyra and Will could’ve chosen to stay together. They could’ve made the choice to live a very shortened life together. We know why they didn’t: as Will puts it, one of them would’ve died young, leaving the other grief stricken, and it would’ve meant two lives wasted. On the flipside, they would’ve loved each other deeply and intensely – probably more deeply and more intensely than most, since they would’ve known from the beginning that their years together were counted – and it would’ve been, all in all, two short lives well spent.

Again, they could’ve chosen that. Instead, at the end of TAS, they decide to give a life without each other a chance.

But what’s been life for Lyra so far, eight years later? She’s a student at St-Sophia, a good one, gets good grades, is probably somewhat interested – but doesn’t sound passionate – about what she’s studying. Friends at school? There’s Miriam – more a casual class buddy than a real intimate BFF. Lovers? There’s Dick Orchard, though from the look of it their relationship erred more on the “friends with benefit” side (and at some point, it’s strongly implied that Lyra never touched Dick’s daemon Bindi, contrasting the deep, soul-like connection she had with Will). She forbids herself from getting too close with boys she might fall in love with (coughMalcoughcom) out of fear of being unfaithful to Will’s memory. All in all, it’s exactly like what she tells Farder Coram: “I thought all the danger was over… Everything, the good as well as the bad, it was all over. There was nothing left but learning and… Well, just that, really.” (TSC, p. 280) She adopts the new trendy way of thinking of Brande and Talbot, one of cold rationality, hard facts, a black and white representation of the world, because Brande and Talbot’s philosophy deny the reality itself of every traumatic experience she had to go through between 11 and 13: the knowledge of who her parents were (as well as the lack of closure in her relationship with both of them), being almost separated from Pan in Bolvangar, Roger’s death, coming across soul-eating specters, having Pan ripped out of her heart, loosing Will. If daemons don’t exist, if there’s no land of the dead and no specters, if love is nothing but a fancy of the mind, then Lyra can’t be hurt by these things, unless by deluding herself into believing that they’re real. Her fascination with Brande and Talbot is a coping mechanism, and it could almost work, except that it’s the perfect recipe for a bleh, bland life.

 Fact is, TSC’s Lyra probably, consciously or not (but more consciously than not, I’d wager), regret parting from Will. If she had gone with him into his world, she’d be in pretty bad shape by now but so what? She would’ve been happy. Happier, at least. Fulfilled.

 I even wonder if that isn’t one of the reasons behind her estrangement with Pan. Going with Will would’ve meant choosing love over life, and what is a person’s daemon, if not that person’s “life”, in animal form? Why else would daemons disappear when their person dies? Why else would they be forbidden from crossing into the land of the dead?

 And so, maybe, her journey in the TSC is about discovering that the choice she made in TAS wasn’t a “wrong” one after all. That she can still live a wholesome, fulfilling life, and that she can still love as deeply as she once did with Will. That she can still hope.

 This doesn’t mean that Lyra will love Malcolm “more” than Will, nor the other way around (that Malcolm would merely be the “second choice”, the best she could hope for if she can’t be with Will). Pullman pulls tricks like these all the time. He did it with Jim and Sally, and with Ginny in The Broken Bridge, and now he’s doing it with Lyra too: protagonists falling deeply in love with someone, loosing that love, and unexpectedly finding another love. That “other” love is never presented as “more” or “less” than the first, because that’s not the point. The point is that there’s always hope.

 Strangely enough, Lyra and Malcolm’s journeys in TSC have quite a few parallels with Lyra and Will in TSK (and somewhat in TAS too, though I expect the third installment of TBoD to have more parallels with TAS specifically). Only this time, Lyra is Will and Malcolm is Lyra. Lyra is the one without a daemon, the odd one out, the one who makes herself invisible, who’s desperately looking for a lost loved one, who can’t return home, who finds comfort in letters written by someone she cares for, who gets her hand badly wounded in a fight. Malcom is the one searching for Dust rose oil, the straight-face liar, the slightly obnoxious, the one who gets out of sticky situations all the time but still ends up drugged and passed out in a train (but not in a suitcase at least). I’m not sure where the story is going with this or what’s the purpose of these parallels, though I’d guess that they contain some hints and clues of what’s gonna happen in the last  BoD. Lyra’s journey doesn’t only boil down to romance either. Romantic love, and all other kinds of love, is just a part of Lyra’s lost “shadow”. Or Lyra’s lost “Dust”, as I believe that that’s what the “shadow” refers to in the poem of Jahan and Rukhsana. Malcolm concludes that Rukhsana’s stolen shadow = Lyra’s daemon Pan, but I’m not sure if Pullman isn’t pulling another trick on us, because –

 “Nevertheless, that shadow-colored cat on the moonlit lawn…” (TSC, 143)

“As if Gottfried Brande was some kind of enchanter who made you forget everything you used to love, everything mysterious, all the places where the shadows are.” (TSC, 175)

“You’re expecting the sun to describe shadows. The sun has never seen a shadow.”

“But the world is full of shadows.” […] “I came here”, Pan said, “because reading your novel persuaded my Lyra that the things she believed in were false. It made her bitterly unhappy. It was as if you’d stolen her imagination and taken away her hope with it.” (TSC, 360-361)

 I could probably quote more, but you get the picture. It seems like what Lyra hopes to find in the red building is Dust/shadow particles – meaning that she, too, knows that *something* was taken from her – and she hopes to find it there, specifically, probably because she’s already unconsciously linked the red building to the world of the Mulefas, where the flow of Dust was so abundant and where she and Will kissed for the first time.

All that to say, Rukhsana’s stolen shadow = Lyra’s stolen imagination/Dust. Or so I believe for now. We’ll see.

It’s complicated, though, because in the poem, Rukhsana must make a great sacrifice to get her shadow back, and likewise Lyra’s told by that alchemist in Prague that she’ll have to make a great sacrifice to get Pan back – and even then, that she’ll get him back, but “not in the way” she’d expect. We also learn from Dr. Strauss’s journal that entering the red building costs a life. Another sacrifice, another place.

For Pan, I have my own guesses. The “sacrifice” will either be 1) Lyra giving up absolute rationality, which means she’ll also have to face all the traumas she’s been repressing and discounting as “not real” so far, or 2) Pan will return to Lyra, but as an invisible part of her or hidden inside of her, like peoples’ “daemons” from Will’s world. They’ll never part again, but Lyra will lose the companionship that she had with an external part of herself. Hence Pan not returning to her “in the way she thinks”.

Actually, I’d think that we could see 1) and 2) both. In TSC, Lyra questions the realness of daemons and it would be almost too easy to deny their existence altogether if they weren’t visible. Obviously TBoD will not end with Lyra now enlightened with the understanding that Pan never existed and was just a “projection of the mind”, so for Pan to disappear inside of her, and for her to truly believe in his existence regardless, would point to some significant change of faith, which is probably what the books are building up to anyway.

The “sacrifice” needed to enter the red building is even murkier. From Strauss’s journal, it’s sort of implied that Strauss and Cariad were the “payment” for the rose specimens given to Hassall, so I’m not sure if the sacrifice “pays” for an entrance into the building, or if it pays for the knowledge of what’s inside it. Besides, Lyra and Malcolm are probably both going in – or, rather, Malcolm was sent there by Oakley Street with the official purpose of gathering information while Lyra is traveling to Karamakan with the intent of entering the building, so they both seem set up to parallel Dr. Hassall (Malcolm) and Dr. Strauss (Lyra), respectively; however, once they reach the place they’ll obviously both go in, so the “life payment” might not be required.

 How they’ll trick their way into leaving the red building is another matter. Again, I’d expect some nods and callbacks to TAS, especially the part where Will and Lyra managed against all odds to escape from the world of the dead. Back then they had the knife and Lyra’s imagination (part of the deal was that they’d tell stories to the harpies in exchange for their help at finding the way out). Might be that Lyra’s newly returned talent at storytelling comes in handy this time again. Or maybe – and this is just a very big MAYBE –

The story she will tell in the red building is the poem of Jahan and Rukhsana. Oh, but what if it must be a true story? Well actually, it is, and Lyra and Malcolm are right there to prove it. How “true” the story is, that’s like asking how true to reality a metaphor is. It’s a matter of perception, or rather, imagination.

#HDM metas #his dark materials #the secret commonwealth #lyra silvertongue #lyra belacqua #malcolm polstead #my metas #hdm spoilers

[bgn846]

Satum Novum Chapter 5: Revelations of the Heart FFXV Gladnis

<Previous Chapter 4

The blond seemed to be demanding an answer, not that Gladio was going to give one, but Prompto had begged an interesting question.  

“I wouldn’t say that.” Gladio defended.

“Ah come on, you let him sleep in your cabin when we picked him up.   You stayed with him the whole time while he was resting.  Not to mention whatever the heck was going on earlier today, when his head was resting in your lap!” Prompto enthused.  “I’d say that means you like him.”  

“I wanted to make sure he was alright. There’s nothing wrong with that!”

“Gladio, admit it.” Prompto sighed. “I mean it’s obvious he likes you too.”

“Wait, you think so?” He asked quickly.

“Oh emm geee you’re terrible.  Go check on them again, it’s been a few hours since we left the island.  Maybe Ignis woke up and needs something, like another hug.”  The blond added with a smirk.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me blondie, I thought we were friends.” Gladio huffed.

“We are! I’m your wing man and I can’t stand here and watch you mess this up.  Go be the nice guy I know you are and sweep him off his feet.”

“Dork, I’ve already done that, twice.”

Rolling his eyes Prompto turned back to stare out the window.  He didn’t say anything else but Gladio could tell he had a smile on his freckled face.   The kid was enjoying his teasing, but he did make a good point.  He should go check on their guests.

--

Rolling over, Noct tried to figure out why his bed had shrunk when everything came flooding back.  He’d been kidnapped and rescued.   Popping his eyes open revealed a small but clean cabin with two bunks.   Ignis was in the other one and in a deep sleep.

The prince had never seen his advisor in such a state.  The man did look comfy though, the t-shirt he was wearing was three sizes too big and sliding off one of his shoulders.   Even his mouth was parted slightly, he was clearly exhausted.  

Noct was in a funny place mentally, he was tired but not enough to go back to sleep.  Maybe he needed to eat more.  He remembered Gladio had fed them so there must be food somewhere.  He got up slowly and thankfully Noct had enough energy left to walk properly, albeit slowly.   A thought occurred to him that he should tell Ignis what he was up to.  The advisor would probably wake up and freak out if he wasn’t there.

However, he would need to wake him up to do that and he felt bad even considering it.  Noct’s memory flashed back to when Ignis had literally passed out earlier that day.  His advisors face had gone slack and he looked so lost.  The prince didn’t want to interrupt his sleep but he figured he could at least try.

He shuffled over to Ignis’ bunk and gingerly sat on the edge.   “Iggy?” He called out softly.  If Ignis was lightly sleeping, though Noct doubted it, he would hear his name being spoken.  The advisor didn’t move a muscle. He tried again but a little louder.  This time Ignis moved an eyebrow ever so slightly.  “Can you hear me?  I’m gonna go get some more food so don’t worry okay.”

Noct waited to see if this would garner another response.  He was about to give up when Ignis narrowly cracked open his eyes, revealing two tired green eyes.

“Hnnggnn.” Was all he managed to produce in regards to speech.

“Don’t wake up the rest of the way, I’m safe and I’m getting more food okay?” He tried again.

“Mmmhmmm.” Was the response.

“Rest, I’ll be back.” Noct finished as he made a point to tuck the blanket around Ignis’ shoulders better.  This seemed to do the trick and he closed his eyes.  Noct waited a minute to make sure his breathing would even out, signaling he’d fallen back asleep.  It took ten seconds at most and Ignis was conked out and lightly snoring.

Now he had to figure where to find more food.  Pulling the door open slowly he stepped out into the hallway and looked around.  Unsure of what direction to go, he turned right and hobbled along using the wall for support.   He’d opted to leave his boots behind as his socks were thick enough to cushion his feet.

When he saw a pair of stairs leading up to a brighter area he got excited.  Fresh air sounded really good right about now.   However, the second he stepped on the bottom step a shadow appeared at the top.

“Hey are you alright?” A deep voice asked.

Noct was waiting for his eyes to adjust but the voice sounded similar.  The accent was off but it sure sounded like Clarus.  Oh, right Gladio had been there when he’d been rescued.  “I’m good, um – I’m hungry again.”

“Oh that’s an easy one, can you follow me?” Gladio asked.

Noct nodded and slowly walked upstairs.  He hated having to go so slow, but his body was protesting every movement.  Clarus’ son lead the way down another hallway and finally into a larger room.  He saw a kitchen and he immediately got excited.

“I can cook you something or you can pick what you want.”  Gladio offered.

“Are you a good cook?” Noct asked curiously.

“Prompto doesn’t complain.”

“Um – I don’t mind if you cook, so long as you don’t add vegetables.”

Gladio laughed and shook his head.  “No sweat off my back highness, have a seat and I’ll see what I can do.”

Thirty minutes later and Noct was chowing down on a yummy steak with fries.   This was just what he needed.  “Do you think I could sit upstairs for a little bit?”

“Sure I don’t mind, do you want to be on the bridge with Prompto or by yourself?”  

Noct thought back to other man that had been with Ignis when he was rescued.  A shock of blond hair and friendly demeanor were coming to mind, as Noct reminisced.  “Will he mind me crashing if I wanna sit on the bridge?”

“Nah, so long as you don’t mind the nonstop talking.”  Gladio added as he cleared the dirty plates away.  

Smiling Noct shook his head and stood up.  “Lead the way.”  The prince was a little nervous about trying to make a new friend, but he figured it was worth a shot.  Five minutes after Gladio introduced them, Prompto was chattering away like he’d known Noct for years.

It was refreshing to have someone ignore his title and treat him normally.

--

Gladio watched as Noct started to open up to his friend.  Prompto was an easy guy to talk with so that helped.   It only took five minutes before he felt comfortable enough to leave them alone.   “I’m gonna go check on Ignis, page me if you need me.”

“Sure thing big guy.” Prompto replied.

Gladio continued on his way towards Ignis’ cabin.  He wasn’t sure what good it would do to check in on the man.  He was supposed to be sleeping not taking visitors.  By the time Gladio was standing in front of the cabin door, he decided to knock once and then peer in to make sure all was well.

Of course after his knock nothing happened, Ignis was sleeping!  So Gladio slowly and quietly opened the door.  The advisor was out cold, resting comfortably under the blankets.  Well that was easy, his job was done.  However, Gladio kept standing in the doorway staring at Ignis, willing him to wake up.

Finally after a few minutes he gave up and turned to leave.  He had almost closed the door when he heard a small noise.  It had come from inside the cabin and Gladio pushed open the door once more.  Ignis appeared to still be asleep but his face seemed different, it wasn’t calm and relaxed anymore.

Gladio wracked his brain trying to figure out what was wrong.  Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, Ignis was having a bad dream. His only experience with nightmares was Prompto.  The kid would yell and cry it was intense.  Thankfully they’d lessened considerably since the blond first arrived.

Now as he watched Ignis quietly battle with his inner daemons, Gladio had to figure out how to wake him up.   Taking a seat along the edge of the bunk Gladio tried calling his name.   The first time didn’t elicit a response but the second time Ignis sucked in a breath and turned his head.  The advisor’s eyes were still closed but it seemed as though he was struggling to wake up.

He groaned and rolled over towards Gladio.  “I don’t want to die.” He whispered.

“Ignis, hey wake up.  You’re safe, you’re not gonna die.”

The advisor opened his eyes at Gladio’s statement and looked at him. “What happened?”

“You’re safe and so is Noct, we are headed back to Altissia to catch the bad guys. Remember?”

He paused and blinked a few times.  “Oh, yes that’s right.”

“Did you have a bad dream?”

“I was out at sea again, except you didn’t rescue me so I was drowning.”

“Shit that’s scary, but you’re safe and not out at sea.” Gladio offered trying to help.  Ignis seemed so stressed by the dream and Gladio wasn’t sure how to help. Thinking back on how he’d had to learn to deal with Prompto’s nightmares, he asked another question.    “Um – do you need a hug?”

This caught Ignis’ attention right away.  “You don’t mind?” He asked with wide eyes.  “I think that would be very helpful.”

Without answering Gladio extended his arms and pulled Ignis upright and into a hug.  His body was hot and Gladio could feel Ignis’ heart pounding as they embraced.  Taking a deep breath Gladio decided to try something a little more and began rubbing the advisor’s back.

“Mmm –.” Ignis mumbled from where his head was buried in Gladio’s shoulder.

“Do you have bad dreams very often?”

“No thankfully, I fear the stress of my current situation has affected me negatively.” Ignis answered softly as he swung his arms around Glaido’s neck and squeezed.

“Someone trying to kill you and your best friend would do that.” Gladio surmised with a small nod.

“You feel good.” Ignis added after a moment.

“So do you.” He answered without thinking.  Shit, what did he just say?  He wasn’t the one that needed comforting, Ignis was. The advisor didn’t react and didn’t move away, maybe he hadn’t heard him.

“Thank you for being so kind.  I really can’t express how much it means to me.”

“No thanks needed I’m happy I could help.”  Gladio replied honestly as he held Ignis close.  The feeling of muscles and limbs shifting slightly caused Gladio to panic, was Ignis pulling away already?   Instead the advisor tipped his head back to look at Gladio directly.    He didn’t say anything but held Gladio’s gaze with light green eyes.   They betrayed his true condition, exhaustion, despite their beauty.  

Gladio was sure if he was questioned later, he wouldn’t have an answer for what happened next.  Maybe he was caught up in the moment. Before he could stop his brain, he’d squeezed Ignis even tighter and leaned down to kiss him.  The man in his arms melted the instant their lips connected.

The first few kisses were chaste but it didn’t take long and Gladio could feel Ignis’ tongue seeking entrance.  He parted his lips with a moan as they intensified the kiss.   Ignis’ slender but strong fingers were pulling at his hair.  A lightheaded feeling had taken root in Gladio’s head as they kissed, it was euphoric.   He never wanted this moment in time to end, it felt so good.

A broken sigh caught Gladio’s attention next as Ignis pulled away.   “I – I feel – dizzy.” He finally conceded in between breaths.

“Me too, but I think yours might be amplified by losing blood yesterday.” Gladio quipped.

Ignis laughed softly and leaned in again to rest his head on Gladio’s shoulder.  “Don’t let go.” He pleaded.    “I can’t – I can’t – I need you with me.” He tried.

Gladio thought he might understand the surge of emotions Ignis was going through, as he was experiencing something on a similar level.   “I’m not going anywhere, I won’t let you go.”

“Please.” Ignis begged again.  “I need you.”

As they sat there Gladio tried to pour of all his emotions into the hug.  He wanted Ignis to know he was safe.  A small nagging thought in the back of Gladio’s head finally surged forward.  Ignis needed to rest, and this current activity was hindering that.  “Hey Ignis.” He tried gently.  “You need to get more sleep.”

Ignis instantly squeezed harder and whined.  “I don’t want to be alone.”

“I don’t want to leave you; I want to hold you while you rest.” Gladio tried to explain as they sat tangled together.  It took a minute before Ignis answered with a small nod of his head.   It was a slight struggle to get situated in the bunk.  The advisor didn’t really want to relinquish his hold, and neither did he if he admitted it.

Finally though, after he’d managed to shed his shoes, he got them both comfortable.   Ignis was safely situated between the wall and Gladio’s bulk.  “Is this good?” He asked as Ignis glommed onto his body like a starfish.  

“You don’t have to stay after I’ve fallen asleep – I understand if you have work to do.”  Ignis admitted sheepishly.

“Shhh I’m stayin, you feel so good right now and I think we could both do with a break.”

Ignis released a deep breath; the advisor had been worried about his answer.  That pained Gladio a little, he wasn’t going anywhere.   Leaning down he kissed the top of Ignis’ head as he snuggled further into the covers and against Gladio’s body.

This had been an unexpected development.   He knew they’d be discovered like this, Prompto would have a field day asking questions and trying to get the down low.  It was worth the good hearted ribbing; Gladio couldn’t help but feel something special when he was around Ignis.  Now, at least, he knew the advisor felt the same way.

>Next Chapter 6

#ffxv #fanfic #gladnis #gladio #ignis

[caitlinsnicket]

Lee Scoresby SFW alphabet

Request: SFW alphabet for Lee Scoresby.

A/N: HERE IS IT! I finally finished it, I hope you guys like it. Fell free to like, reblog or comment. Also, requests are open!

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Lee loves to show affection, and he does it in various ways: he holds your hand all the time, he showers you with kisses (he kisses your hands, your neck, your shoulders, your cheeks, your lips, your head, literally everywhere he can reach) and he hugs you all the time. He's not against PDA, but he prefers to keep it in private. Except when he's jealous, then he'll probably just start making out with you in the middle of a crowd.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

As a best friend, Lee would be the most loyal ally you could ever ask for. If you ever needed help, he would be there, it wouldn't matter if you need advice or a rescue mission, he would help you until his last breath. You could expect him to be an asshole all the time (and sometimes he is), but he actually cares a lot, he just has a different way to express it.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Lee was kinda reluctant at first when it came to cuddles, he thought the bed was made for two things: sleeping or "sleeping". But after you convinced him to do it for the first time, he gets addicted to it. Every time you guys settle to rest or to search for a job and you are alone in the bedroom, he hugs you from behind and clings into you, until you lay in bed with him. He feels at peace when he's cuddling with you. He loves to hug you from behind, bury his face into your neck and circle his arms in your waist.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

He never thought very deeply about having a family, but the second you mention it, it will be the only thing he'll think for weeks. He pretended to be a ladies man in the beginning, but one night Hester told you the truth behind that: he was scared to get hurt, and if he fell in love with you, he would want to settle down and have a bunch of kids. He was scared that you might not want it, and that's why he didn't give it all in. He's pretty decent about cooking and cleaning, but he doesn't try too much. He has lived alone most of his life, and that's why he knows how to do housework.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He would do it by distancing himself from you slowly until he stopped talking to you, and suddenly he would stop seeing you at all. If you ever asked why he would just play it off, saying that he wasn't ready for nothing serious and that he needed space. he would think about you for a long time after that, and Hester would constantly remind him of the mistake he'd done.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Again, he would be wary with you at first, but he would bring the subject up casually as a joke. When he saw how much you thought about it as well, he would plan something nice to ask you to marry him. Shaking a little, he would suggest it more seriously, anxious for your response.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Physically, he can be very gentle. He still needs to understand how everything works, but he's a fast learner and in no time he knows how you like to receive physical affection and other touches. Emotionally, he's still learning how to deal with his stuff, but slowly he tells you things and observes you to know how you are feeling on that day.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

He only gives hugs when he remembers it. he enjoys it a lot, but you usually have to initiate it. Sometimes Hester will get closer to your daemon, and that will make Lee get closer to you and maybe initiate a hug. He really likes it, but it's not something he does so frequently. He prefers to hold your hand or to kiss you.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

It wouldn't take much time, and it would come out accidentally. You would be fixing something in his balloon and he would be observing you, so awestruck and in love, that it would come out of his mouth and he wouldn't even realize. Only when you dropped everything and said it back after kissing him.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He tends to get very jealous very quickly. If he thinks someone is flirting with you, he gets in protective mode and doesn't even think before punching them in the face. He's working in his jealously, but sometimes he just can't help it: he'll punch someone in the face or he's going to kiss you right in front of them.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

His kisses are playful, passionate and deep, it all depends on his mood. When he's at peace or everything has been going okay, he'll play with your lips and your sides, holding you closely and whispering bad jokes to you. When he's back from mission or something wild just happened, he gets passionate and deep, and those makeout sessions tend to lead to something else. It depends on his mood.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He pretends not to like them, but deep down he loves children, he knows what to say at the right time, and you (and Hester) know that someday he would be a wonderful, caring father. You two discussed this before, but while he was thinking about five children, you were thinking... less.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

He wakes up early, but he decides (most mornings) to stay in bed, just looking at your sleepy face. When you wake up, you go to the bathroom and he makes breakfast for you two. Then, you get on your things, but your mornings are always filled with kisses, hugs and delicious coffee.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Most times you two are too tired to care, so you just share a bath, eat something that Lee has made and go to sleep quickly. But when you two have the energy, things tend to go slower and you two "talk" for the rest of the night. His favorite part is the baths you share: he feels safe, clean and loved.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

It doesn't take much time for him to tell you things about his past: his mother, the place where he grew up, he and Hester playing, how he met Iorek and stuff like that. Those things come in small portions, as night time stories or comments on things that you guys see along the way. The more he trusts you, the more he tells you.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

He's a stubborn man, and when he's contradicted, he tends to get angry. You two fight sometimes, but nothing serious, and Hester always helps him to talk it through. When he gets angry he shouts, but he never ever gets physical.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Surprisingly, he remembers a lot about you: not a lot of details, but the most important things (that are inside his only braincell, Hester) are locked in his head. He usually remembers the details when you or Hester mention them.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

The first time he took you for a ride in his balloon. He asked you if you ever wanted to fly, and when you said 'yes', he didn't think twice: taking your hand, he guided you to his balloon and showed you the sunset. You looked so happy, he fell in love with you even more. You didn't kiss that day yet, but Hester knows how much he wanted to.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Lee can get very protective sometimes, it being jealously or a dangerous situation. He can fight, he can stand up for you or he can just hold your hand and give you emotional support to protect you. And he knows you can protect him phisically, as you are a good fighter and shooter, but he also appreciates when you help him emotionally/mentally, when he's feeling down.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He never thinks too much about it until Hester is screaming in his ear about the gift he forgot to buy. He tries to be romantic and cheesy, but his idea of a romantic date is kinda different from the conventional. He's very good at doing his everyday tasks, as it's something natural to him.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Lee rushes too much into things, and sometimes he doesn't take time to understand other people's views. He does things without thinking, and it can cause trouble sometimes.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Lee is very full of himself. He knows he's handsome, and he cares a lot about his looks.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yes, and he would feel a hole in his heart for a long time. Even entering the balloon would feel sad or lonely without your voice and your smell after you're gone.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Lee is a huge flirt, but he seemed stuck in place when he first saw you. Hester had to introduce them because he was a loss of words when he met you.  After some time you two talked normally, but he was so nervous that he didn't flirt with you as much as he could.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Someone who just cares about themselves, who would do anything to achieve their goals no matter who has to get hurt.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Lee snores sometimes, and he tends to cling into the closest thing (you) to him that has any warmth. Sometimes, he wakes up from nightmares and you have to calm him down.

#lee scoresby #lee scoresby imagine #lee scoresby x reader #lee scoresby x y/n #his dark materials #his dark materials imagine

[crsinclair]

Next part of Daemon Soulmate AU!  Directly follows when Tsuki went to talk to Shouta, and shows how things are going between Hizashi and Sunshine.

Masterpost

When Tsuki returned, he could tell that Sunshine and Hizashi had become fast friends.

He stared at the party that seemed to have unfolded in Hizashi's bedroom – there was music blasting from his bluetooth speaker, snacks scattered on the floor, and Hizashi was eagerly (read: loudly) explaining the “super cool and amazing” mechanics to a video game he'd bought just the week before.  Sunshine was eating it all up, if the way the crest on his head was puffed and curled slightly was any indication, and just as eagerly (read: loudly) chirping about how “super cool and amazing” it all was and hopping all over Hizashi's head and shoulders.

'…This is the existence I am stuck up with now,' Tsuki thought to himself with a smile.  He shook his head and climbed down from the window sill, slinking into the room proper and going over to where Hizashi had set up a little “room” of pillows and blankets just for him. It was placed in the corner, hidden by the desk just enough to block out a good portion of the noise.  Perfect for whatever madness these two were getting up to.

Sleep came easily to him, as it always did; he dozed through the two bright idiots bonding, only idly slipping back into consciousness every now and then to check to make sure things were actually going well.  Time passed, and eventually Tsuki blinked into sleepy awareness to a hand petting him gently between the eyes.  A purr rumbled up in him and his whiskers curled, head butting up lazily into the fingers.

Hizashi let out a quiet laugh, shifting his fingers to skritch his perfectly trimmed nails against the shorter hairs around his nose.  “Hey, Tsuki,” he said, voice soft.  The music had been turned off and the lights off except for the reading lamp by Hizashi's bed.  “Did you have a good nap?”

Tsuki breathed deeply, enjoying the careful attention for a moment longer before stretching.  “Yeah.  Where's the bird?”

“He said he wanted to take a bath, so I got him set up with the sink filled,” Hizashi said.

Tsuki snorted.  “So he's going to get water all over the bathroom.” He gave the blonde a mischievous look.  “Kinda like you.”

“I'm not that bad!”

“You really are.” Tsuki sat up, nudging Hizashi aside so he could properly leave his little room.  “Please tell me you saved me something to eat.”

“Oh, yeah - “ Hizashi stood and padded over to the snack pile he'd moved out of the way.  “I've got a couple of pork buns here.”  He picked them out of the pile, grabbed a napkin and began tearing the buns into small pieces.

When Hizashi slid the broken down meal over for Tsuki to eat, Tsuki rubbed a cheek against his hand.  “Thanks.  Though you could have just given the whole bun to me.”

Hizashi smiled, wiping his hands clean with another napkin.  “But a whole bun is harder for you to eat!  How many times do I have to tell you that I don't mind breaking it down for you, Tsuki?”

He didn't bother replying, instead bending to slowly eat.  He was thankful every day that, while he took the form of a cat, he wasn't actually a cat.  Cat food was disgusting – how real cats could stomach eating that grass flavored cardboard crap, he had no idea.  Hizashi chattered about what Sunshine and he had gotten up to, hands waving excitedly and pinks pink in delight.

It was good to see that the blonde was happy with finally meeting his daemon – with how it had been revealed and the way Hizashi hadn't stopped crying earlier, Tsuki had been worried that it would affect the bond between the two of them negatively.  It wasn't common (for all that soulmates were rare), but it wasn't unheard of.

So seeing the genuine happiness in every line of Hizashi's body was relieving.

“So, um...” Hizashi mumbled, rubbing at his face in nervous gesture. “H-how did your talk with Aizawa go?”

Tsuki looked up from his food, blinking slowly.  “It was...fine.”

“It was?” Hizashi bit his lip.  “You're not just saying that to placate me or something?”

“It was.” Tsuki licked some stray sauce from his face.  “He had some misconceptions about everything, and I did my best to clear them up. He seemed to understand.”

Hizashi breathed a sigh of relief, smiling.  “Okay, that's – that's good!”  He laughed, breathy in a way that let Tsuki know he was doing his best to let go of some anxiety.  “I thought maybe he hated me, or you or – I dunno.”

“If it makes you feel better, one of the reason he was upset was because he thought you didn't like him,” Tsuki said.  “He didn't say it, but I could tell.”

“Because you're his Daemon, right?”

A purr started up in him without his permission, and Tsuki allowed the helpless delight to show.  “Yeah.  I am.”

Hizashi's smile was like the sun.

-

Of course, by the time Hizashi had gone to bed and Tsuki finally had a moment to talk to Sunshine, the good feeling was gone.

“He what?” Tsuki hissed. His tail was fluffed in agitation and fear, ears flat against his head.  “That's it – I'm going back to him.  I should have never left him there, not with the emotions practically living in the walls.”

“No! No no no!  You can't!” Sunshine flapped his wings wildly, hopping in front of Tsuki as if to try and get in his way.  “Wait, wait at least until tomorrow!”

“So leaving Shouta alone now is the better option?” Tsuki scoffed.

“It's not, but it's - “ Sunshine huffed, frustrated and upset.  “Look, if you'd stayed and been there when his parents got home, that's one thing.  But with his parents home now, if you'd shown up?  That would have been worse.”

Hearing that did nothing to ease the helpless frustration Tsuki felt.  He paced, tail whipping side to side as he went back and forth.  “That doesn't make me feel better, bird, that only makes me feel worse.” He pinned the cockatiel with glare.  “Then you get back there and stay with him – Shouta shouldn't be alone with those monsters.”

Sunshine wilted, tiny crest falling not unlike the way his own ears would fall in upset.  “I – I would if I could, but...Tsuki, his parents couldn't stand me.  They'd be mad at Shouta if I came back in the middle of the night, and it wouldn't be good for either of us.  I was lucky most of the time that I can fly – I could get to hard to reach places to stay safe...”

Tsuki stopped, glare easing as he took in the way the tiny bird hunched in on himself.  His stomach churned at the realization that Shouta was in danger – and while Sunshine had been with him, so was Sunshine. He sighed, scratching at the floor with a claw.  Hizashi's parents would probably be upset with him later, but right then he didn't care.  “Fine.  Fine, what do you think we should do then?”

“We can – we can check on him tomorrow at school!” Sunshine chirped almost desperately, little green eyes wide.  “And then one of us can go home with him, okay?  We can trade off every day.”

“Like divorced parents,” Tsuki muttered, but he nodded.  “Okay.  We'll do that.  And we have to tell Hizashi.”  He held up a paw when it looked like Sunshine would start squawking in panic.  “Not right now.  But eventually.  He deserves to know.”

“Okay. Oh!  And we can get Hizashi to hang out after school – keep him out of that apartment for a little longer, too!”

“And how do we get Shouta to go along with that?  He's not upset with him any more, but I doubt he's going to put himself out there right away to get to know Hizashi, soulmate or not,” Tsuki pointed out.

“Shouta likes jelly and juice!”  Easy answer.  “And he's always wanted to go to a cat cafe, even if he's never said anything.  Hizashi can invite him to one. Soulmate thing, classmate thing – he might need some help catching up in Hero Ethics, he seemed pretty confused that first class – whatever.  And cats make him much more agreeable!”

Sunshine was quiet a moment, looking Tsuki earnestly in the eyes.  “He may not be mine,” he said, “but...I've been with him for a long time.  I want him to be happy.”

Tsuki felt the frustration in him melt away at that.  It wasn't completely gone, but Sunshine had said that so honestly; it resonated in him, that want to make him happy.  Hizashi may not be Tsuki's, but he'd been with him for so long and still had a bond with him. There was nothing Tsuki wouldn't do to keep a smile on the blonde's face, to make sure he was happy and healthy.

“...Yeah. I get that.”  Tsuki huffed.  “Not a bad plan, you know.  For a bird brain.”

He turned, making sure to whack his tail into the bird's face, and hide his grin when Sunshine squawked in outrage.

#ravyn writes #erasermic #daemon soulmate au #yamada hizashi #tsuki the daemon #sunshine the daemon #present mic #bnha #this whole au is honestly very adorable and i was smiling while writing this

[sassycassie-s-writing]

Shave

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): Final Fantasy XV/Ignis Scientia

Rating: PG/K+

Original Idea: I think this is an imagine so I’m counting it.

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) I saw the linked-above post and this just kinda wrote itself XD Enjoy!

^^^^^

“Ignis!” I cried as soon as he appeared from the shadows, illuminated by the lights of Lestallum. I ran out into the wild beyond the city limits and threw my arms around him. He was expecting it, since he could hear my footsteps approaching, so he barely even stumbled. I felt scratchy hair brush my temple. “Are you okay?”

“I'm fine,” he replied.

“Your lip is bleeding,” I said.

“A minor flesh wound, is all.”

“You haven’t shaved.”

He shrugged. “I was out hunting. Didn’t have time.”

I brushed my hands brusquely over his whiskery cheeks. “C’mon. Let’s get inside,” I said, pulling him along behind me.

We went back to our apartment—where I started to make something to eat. I heard Ignis get in the shower. Normally he would have done the cooking but I decided he was probably exhausted and needed some rest. He was a much better cook than I was but I made several passable dishes that he liked.

He never took long showers—unlike me but my hair took a while to wash—so I hadn’t even finished cooking when the water turned off.

There was a stretch of silence.

“Darling,” Ignis said from the door to the kitchen, making me jump. I yelped. How was he so quiet? He was blind! “Did you move my razor?”

I glanced over. He had on his jeans and there was a canister of shaving cream in his hand, but not over his facial hair yet. He had a towel draped over his bare shoulders, catching the dripping of his floppy bangs.

“Oh shoot. I must have on accident. Sorry,” I said. I went over to him. He listened to my footsteps and got out of the way. I rushed over to the bathroom and dug through the drawers. A familiar handle found my fingers. “There it is! I thought I heard something drop when I was looking for my makeup bag.”

“Did you make a public appearance while I was gone?” Ignis asked. He knew me: I never wore makeup unless I had to be seen by the public.

“Yeah. Had to send out a search party for a group of teenagers who dared each other to see how far out into the darkness they were brave enough to face. All of ‘em ‘cept two went missing. The two that didn’t came to me. We got the others back alright but heck they were traumatized. Got attacked by daemons. Barely survived. Had to make an appearance to ask for volunteers. I pray this eternal night ends soon and Noctis comes back.”

“As do I, princess.”

I pressed his razor into his hand. “Here it is. Fell into the drawer underneath it when I must have whacked it with my makeup bag.”

“My thanks.”

“I’ll go finish breakfast.” I smiled and ducked out of the bathroom.

Ignis caught my wrist—with startling ease and accuracy. “Princess… I missed you.”

“Missed you too. Now get shaved. We both know how much you hate facial hair.”

“I believe you mean how much you dislike facial hair.”

“Oh please. You preferred being clean-shaven before we got together.”

“A fair point, to be certain.”

I giggled and went back to the kitchen. Our apartment was a tiny two-bedroom thing. The other bedroom usually housed Prompto or Gladio—whenever one or the other was back from a hunt. It was very rare that they were both back at the same time. At the moment, though, both were out slaying daemons.

While I finished breakfast, Ignis entered the kitchen, sitting on the counter the same way I usually did when he cooked—the sitting spot was in a corner and mostly out-of-the-way.

“You’re not going to ask how it went?” Ignis asked.

“Not sure I want to know, if I'm honest,” I answered. “I die of worry every time you go out hunting on your own but you still won’t let me come with you.”

“I want you to be safe.”

“Right,” I said. “But obviously you want to tell me about it or else you wouldn’t have brought it up. So go ahead. Give me a heart attack.” I snorted and glanced over at him—before remembering he wouldn’t be able to see me smiling at him. I tried to be audible as much as I could but even after five years I forgot he couldn’t see me sometimes. Usually because he was so incredibly efficient on his own even without his vision.

He snickered. “It was actually relatively uneventful. It’s difficult not being able to see my watch so I never know when I should get some rest, but other than that… well. The daemons are hardly masters of stealth. I can hear them coming the moment they spawn from the ground.”

“Did you count how many you got?”

“Difficult to tell if I was felling new enemies or if they were fallen ones getting up for another round over the cacophony of the fighting, but I believe over the course of the week I slayed… fifty-two?”

“Wow,” I said. I passed him a plate. “Waffle. Syrup. Couple chocolate chips.” I clicked with my left cheek—the way I used to when he could see and I would wink flirtatiously at him.

That was before we were together, but he knew to associate the noise with a flirty wink.

“Delicious,” he said.

“Coffee?” I asked.

“You know me so well,” he remarked.

I chuckled. “Well it’s not like you’ve changed much in the… seventeen years I’ve known you,” I said. Ignis scoffed. “Well, with one notable exception,” I added. He hummed in agreement. “That exception being you’re no longer single.”

That made him laugh. He knew I meant the loss of his vision, but he also knew if there was an opportunity for a joke, by the Six I was going to make a joke—if the situation permitted.

He reached out for me, knowing my general direction from where my voice was coming from. I took his hand. He brought it to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “I do miss you when I'm not here,” he said. “I miss your jokes and your laugh. I miss the feel of your hair and your soft hands.”

“My hands wouldn’t be so freaking soft if you let me come with you.”

“You’re safer here.”

“Yeah but it’s not like I didn’t slay my fair share of daemons when Noctis was… not in the Crystal.” I rubbed my fingers against my thumbs and palms. Ignis was right. My old fighting calluses were gone. If I tried to fight now, my dagger hilts would slide off my skin.

“You did,” Ignis agreed. “But I feel better knowing you’re going to be here when I come home. And that I won’t have to hold you in my arms and watch—er, listen to—you die out there. I understand that you’re anxious that I may not return every time I leave, but my record of returning so far is impeccable.”

I sighed and cut a piece off my waffle, popping it into my mouth and not replying till I swallowed. “Doesn’t stop me from worrying. Don’t you think I’ve already lost enough?”

“You have indeed. Your father, your adopted father, your brother. Everyone in Insomnia who perished that night. I understand your worry. But I can’t just stay here and I know it’s wrong of me to ask you to remain behind, but I am grateful you do.”

“I know,” I muttered.

“Darling,” Ignis said, sliding off the counter and approaching me. He took my arms with that unnerving accuracy of his and pressed his forehead to mine. “I love you more than anything in the world and I cannot bear the thought of losing you. I know you despise this, but it means everything to me to know I get to come home to you. That you’re safe. It keeps me fighting to return when all I want to do is give up.”

“Iggy…!” He’d never told me that there were times he wanted to give up before. Probably because he knew it would worry me even more than I already worried anyway. Ugh, Ignis was so easy to read sometimes but that smooth professional demeanor of his could hide all manner of secrets and lies.

Wasn’t fair.

I reached a hand up and cupped his face—and suddenly felt myself suppressing giggles.

“What is the matter?” Ignis asked.

“You missed a patch,” I said. I ran my finger over the stubble that hadn’t quite got cut all the way. “It’s okay. I do it all the time with my legs.”

Ignis reached up and captured my hand, pressing it flat to his cheek. “Have I, now? Unfortunate,” he said. “But… that is one of the many reasons I enjoy being around you. Because you always notice and tell me.”

I chuckled. “Glad that’s one of the many and not the only one,” I joked.

“Never. Now, let’s finish these wonderful waffles and then see what we can get up to.” He brushed a kiss on my forehead. I corrected him with a peck on his lips.

“Sounds like a plan. You’re such a good strategist.”

“I try.”

#Shave #Ignis Scientia #Ignis Scientia Imagine #Ignis Scientia FanFiction #Ignis #Ignis Imagine #Ignis FanFiction #Final Fantasty XV #Final Fantasy XV Imagine #Final Fantasy XV FanFiction #Final Fantasy 15 #Final Fantasy 15 Imagine #Final Fantasty 15 FanFiction #FFXV #FFXV Imagine #FFXV FanFiction #FF15 #FF15 Imagine #FF15 FanFiction #Final Fantasy

[insanescriptist]

So, what do you and Umei think is the main distinction between Sky and Earth Flames? And any ideas about how they came to be? Though they're source may differ depending on which fanfic'vsrse it's from, so for clarity I'm mostly asking about Black Sky and Xanxus' Adventures in Parenthood Piracy.

Well, there are differences between Black Sky and XAiPP; lots of Izzy’s wild theorizations of Flames first appear in XAiPP and were further refined over the next few years with Umei as Black Sky progressed. Izzy kinda needs to rework sections of XAiPP but Izzy would need some time to do it in and Izzy is generally pressed enough because work is always short-handed don’t ask which is good for Izzy’s paycheck but less so for Izzy’s stress levels and free-time. Please don’t ask about the customers, please don’t.

Now then, canonically Flames are Genetic. So how Flames came to be is Genetic.

Which means that having Earth Flames are Sky Flames is by genetics. But you can also test for Flames by some method that’s never explained beyond the ‘learning to spark Ring,’ or ‘obvious unique personality trait.’ The latter of which Izzy now considers less reliable; socialization, background and culture all matter, okay? Anon, please pester me again about updating my Flame Lore.

More to the point, there’s this rather giant plot hole called the Future Arc. Where Flames are a lot more common knowledge and studied. To the point that the wavelengths for the different Flames can be harnessed individually to power Boxes.

If I were a megolomanic, determined to re-write reality, then I’d want some unique troubleshooters being enforcers ie Earth Flames. That Byakuran didn’t -and man, what a missed foreshadow opportunity was that- means Byakuran either didn’t bother with them or had killed the Simon off. And also possible is that Verde and the other two scientist/engineers of the Box Weapon Trio never encountered Earth Flames despite lots of testing. And this is if you play the Future Arc/Saga straight as ‘true as depicted’ and not as something else.

Which either means that Earth Flames are ridiculously rare or that people don’t understand that they exist as separate Flames from the Sky Spectrum. Which is very plausible and likely to have happened in canon until the Simon came out and beat their faces in with evidence otherwise.

Izzy offers two pieces of evidence for Mafia Unawares

1. Wrath Flames

2. Fuuta’s manipulation of gravity

Now, there are only two people with Wrath Flames in KHR; as said before, you’re pretty much born with what you got because genetics are a bitch that way. Those two are Ricardo and Xanxus. Now we don’t actually know how Ricardo and Giotto are related but clearly Ricardo takes after the other side of the family since he’s not blond or Giotto hit the recessive lottery. We also don’t know how Xanxus is related to anybody outside of his mother but we do know he has red eyes.

You know who else ALL have red eyes? The Simon. Wrath Flames being a combination of Sky and a specific Earth Flame makes sense. Also Izzy would like to see more Xanxus and Simon interaction in the ‘how the hell are we related’ and obviously the ‘you can’t help who you’re related to’ and ‘who the fuck fathered such a bastard like you?’ Because Enma’s parents were murdered in Italy, so there was likely to be someone that Daemon helped into the grave that probably fathered Xanxus.

Not Storm, not Swamp but that unnamed Flame that Yamamoto’s fellow baseballer uses that gouges and almost kills Yamamoto? Yeah, that one. The one without a name, officially.

Disintegration at its base is separating molecular bonds by adding energy; basically, setting it on fire. Those sort of gouges in the locker room in both living and nonliving objects without a physical direction to create all of them?

…

Yeah, that’s not Disintegration but it is a whole lot cleaner and faster than Disintegration and also of a much wider area; that old hunter’s adage of one shot, they got it, two shots they’re putting it out of its misery and three shots is them hitting air? That locker room was a mess and it was quick; the mess would have been far worse if Yamamoto had fought back and a lot more spread out if he tried to run. Yamamoto got hit with the Flame-equivilant of buckshot. Buckshot that rips holes in people and things like the magic-bullet it is.

Still, most people in the mafia go ‘you have to be born with it,’ or ‘it’s a special mix of Flames.’ Which yes, it is, but probably not Storm Flames. It’d leave different marks. Compare Xanxus vaporizing a classroom in an instant to how a Storm’s Flames have to ‘eat’ through things.

Now Fuuta’s manipulation of gravity is just a ‘quirk’ of him using his Ranking Powers, according to the manga. Which isn’t as accurate on Rainy Days, for some inexplicable reason. According the the manga.

Or it is, because for all that Earth is said to be ‘Gravity’ what it really is, is Playing with Magnetic Fields and Charges. Because as Magneto, magnet trains and rail guns prove, magnetic fields and charges can lift ‘objects.’ Especially if they’re conductive. And the human body is a conductor and people can ‘feel’ strong enough magnetic forces.

Now Fuuta ranks people, so he has to get that data from somewhere. Fuuta says it’s a ‘ranking planet’ but really, he’s a kid; he doesn’t know for sure and he can’t remember the data after a ranking if he doesn’t write it down. What’s more likely is that Fuuta is using Earth’s magnetic field to pass ‘data’ on to him, which is then processed in an Altered State of Mind and then organized into ‘ranks.’

Altered States of Mind effecting memories is a known thing. Basically it’s the ‘when you’re sober you don’t remember it but you do once you’re drunk again.’ Or high. Or sleep-deprived. Basically if it’s not your normal state, due to pain meds or whatever, you’re not going to be likely to remember it because your brain put it somewhere strange. But once you’re off your rocker again, brain remembers where it put it, because guess where it’s going to put new memories? Strange place again.

Now Fuuta’s ‘requirements’ for a Ranking are a little strange. He has to have met the person he’s ‘ranking’ to do them. Basically, Fuuta’s learning your own specific ‘magnetic aura’ to have something to compare to. And he can do so rapidly and accurately forever afters. No matter in terms of strength, wealth, intelligence or personality.

Fuuta’s a little scary like that, okay? Fuuta’s hacking the earth for all your files. Fuuta’s lack of accuracy when it rains is because the rain is washing out all those ions in the atmosphere; those same ions he’s using to transmit data around the world. It’s why Fuuta can even tell it’s raining when he’s in a windowless underground bunker. He basically gets hit with radio static and Lag.

As TYL!Fuuta goes out and about with Bianchi without a Flame Ring to protect himself with in a ‘future’ where even the lower-ranking ‘enemy officers’ have Boxes and Flames… it either says that Fuuta’s relying on Bianchi entirely for protection or that Fuuta has his own methods despite the lack of Ring and Box. Not that Fuuta ever fought, but it’d be interesting to see how he’d do so. Because not learning how is just Stupid, especially when the Vongola are being hunted down and you know it.

TL;DR - the mafia’s aware that some individuals have Odd Flames. They’re just not aware enough to both realize and weaponize it beyond an individual and personal basis ie X-guns Xanxus made for self compared to Bester’s roar of Box Animal made by Verde. So they don’t realize the Earth Spectrum exists except as Odd Flame/Quirk/some unexplained Flame Thing due to odd wavelength which varies between people anyway. This is XAiPP’s perspective because the wavelengths are there-ish, but the science is still shaky on the exact differences; mostly due to lack of study but also because rarity. Again, Byakuran didn’t use/bother with Earth Flames so is stupidly rare.

…

Which is something that is both canon and that Black Sky supports.

Black Sky however explains the difference.

You know that old elements diagram? The Greek one? Have a stylized one, from an image that Izzy picked from a google search.

Basically, Sky Flames are air-natured, and Earth Flames are earth-natured; hence the names because Sky sounds better than Air. Individual Flames can be found along this spectrum with a bit of common sense and thinking.

Izzy and Umei have discussed where exactly each would fall, but it’s pretty much common sense.

Like Storm is most Fire, Rain is most Water and Lightning is most Air. Sun and Sky fall on the Fire side while Mist and Cloud fall on the Water side. Or something to that effect; you can quibble on the placement on the Fire-side of Air and which is Most Air without much issue beyond someone’s say-so. Izzy’s just saying that Lightning is Most Air because one of the main theories of How to Make Lightning is that it’s oppositely charged particles in the air. Therefore is least ‘dense.’ Or why Lightning’s property of Hardness makes no sense as it is not physical itself but why it makes good sense in a shield so long as you don’t overload it.

On the Earth Side of things, Earth is Most Earth. Glacier, Swamp and Forest would be on the Water Side and Desert, officially unnamed Flame and Mountain on the Fire side.

Now, since this isn’t really a spoiler… a lot of magical enclaves have more Earth-spectrum individuals because genetics influence Flames. A smaller gene-pool means less of a chance of traits ie Earth Flames being bred out of said gene-pool.

Now Izzy is going to look over the chapter Umei just sent and go to bed. It’s like four am and Izzy has plans for once she gets up. Plans that do not involve work for once.

#Izzy answers #I hope this makes sense #Flame Lecture Series #I'm gonna edit this after sleep #because Izzy's sure she missed something somewhere

[bonca03]

@flynns-king-kong-dong I was your Tales Of secret Santa! Thank you so much for your patience, I meant to get this out sooner but I waited a little on the editing part of this >.< I decided to go with your Eizen/Velvet secret relationship prompt, I hope you enjoy!! If you have an AO3 account please let me know, I’ll be uploading this on there at some point so I’d love to gift it to you as well

@talessecretsanta  thanks for hosting this event, I really enjoyed it!

Title: The Way Things Are

Summary: Eizen and Velvet are acting different and it’s up to Laphicet to investigate. He doesn’t really know what to look for though and Magilou is hell-bent on explaining it to him in explicit detail.

Rating: T

Word Count: 5246

When Velvet and Eizen start spending more time with each other than with anyone else, no one thinks anything of it. After all, it’s only natural that the person leading their little revenge/save the world scheme and the person steering the literal ship have to communicate a lot; make a plan, figure out where to go, plot the course, all the little details that no one besides those two and the bundle of walking questions called Laphicet really care for.

The two just work so well together and it’s such a natural transition; overall, nothing really changes so no one pays it any mind. Except for Magilou of course, whose eyes sparkle with mischievousness whenever she notices how close they stand together.

“I’m telling you, something’s up with them!” she whines. Laphicet has watched her get shot down a total of four times so far but she is nothing if not determined.

“Velvet? Nah,” says Rokurou, shaking his head in disbelief. “She’s way too busy with the whole ‘killing the Shepherd’ thing to ever date.”

Magilou grins. “Who said anything about dating? It could just be a simple stress relief. Saving the world and murdering your family can be pretty taxing on a person.”

Rokurou’s eyes widen, although Laphicet has no idea why.

“No way, I know Eizen,” he says confidently. “He’d probably start ranting about, I don’t know, the history of hookups? Trust me, he’d bore Velvet to death and she’d eat him just to make it stop.”

“She’d eat him, alright, but in a different way than what you’re thinking…”

Before Rokurou has a chance to answer, the boy interrupts, “Velvet’s gonna eat Eizen?”

Rokurou and Magilou freeze, look each other in the eyes, and in perfect sync respectively answer:

“No!”

“Yup!”

The two then proceed to have a stare off of epic proportions.

Laphicet, used to Magilou’s antics at this point, pays her no mind. “Well, what are you guys talking about, then?” He tilts his head to the side.

“Uh…”

“Yes, what are you talking about?”

Had it not been for his years of training, Rokurou would have jumped out of his skin at Velvet’s hard tone. Magilou, however, is not quite as fortunate.

“N-n-nothing!” she yelps.

“Hm.” The younger woman seems to consider pressing the issue, but, in the end, deems the information she might get to not be worth the trouble of jumping through Magilou’s conversational hoops. “Anyway, we’ll be at Hellawes in half an hour, so make sure you’re ready.” And with that, she turns on her heel and rejoins Eizen at the helm.

Magilou whisper-shouts triumphantly as soon as Velvet is out of earshot. “Ha! You see! They’re at it again already!”

“At what?” asks Laphicet.

“Look at Velvet!” continues the witch as if she wasn’t interrupted. “She’s warning Eizen that we’re onto them as we speak!”

Velvet was indeed speaking to Eizen and looking down at them as she did so, clearly discussing what had just happened.

“C’mon, that could be anything,” Rokurou denies. “She’s probably just warning Eizen that you’re being even weirder than usual.”

“Trust me, I’m an excellent judge of these type of things.”

Laphicet, finally fed up with being ignored, stomps his foot and yells, “Will someone please tell me what is going on?”

Magilou heaves a mighty sigh before turning towards the younger boy. “Velvet,” she says slowly, “And Eizen…are in…a relationship!”

The blond malak tilts his head in confusion. “A relationship?”

“Yeah, you know like, sitting together under the stars or lighting a bunch of candles in the bedroom and–”

“Magilou, he is ten years old!” Rokurou screeches. Magilou is fondly reminded of a feral cat protecting her young what with the way he hisses and sputters. Laphicet just looks between the two, confusion swimming in his eyes.

Magilou nods. “Exactly! And what better time than now to teach him all about the birds and the bees?” she teases. “He’s going to find out eventually.”

“Absolutely not!” To emphasise his point, Rokurou takes a step closer to Laphicet, as if preparing to grab him and run at a moment’s notice.

“Rokurou, I already know what birds and bees are,” Laphicet chimes in.

“Yeah, Rokurou,” mocks the witch. “What harm could I really do?” She leans down to Laphicet’s level. “Listen carefully, kiddo, today is the day you become a man!”

Rokurou wastes no time and promptly claps his hands over Laphicet’s ears.

Magilou sighs in defeat. “Fine, fine, I’ll preserve the boy’s innocence…for now,”

Although hesitant, Rokurou does release Laphicet from his hold.

“What was that all about?” he asks, turning on Rokurou angrily.

“Well, I…er…”

Magilou giggles. “Never mind that, I have a special mission for you!”

Laphicet’s eyes narrow. “What kind of mission?”

“I’m glad you asked.” The witch spins around excitedly. “It’s a mission of the utmost secrecy,” she whispers, using her hand to shield her lips movement from Velvet’s and Eizen’s watchful gazes. “I need someone to keep a close eye on Velvet, and who better to do that and get information out of her than the one she trusts most?”

“You want me to spy on Velvet?” the malak’s tone is soft but undeniably disappointed.

“Spy is such a strong word.” She screws up her face in exaggerated distaste. “Think of it more as…research,”

“Research?” Rokurou deadpans.

“Yes.” She shoots the daemon a glare. “Don’t you want to know more about Velvet?”

“Well, yes-”

“And aren’t you curious about what she and Eizen are doing?”

“But what are they doing? I don’t understand what you’re talking about!”

Magilou shouts, “Exactly! That’s what you’re gonna find out.”

In the end, Laphicet is all but forced to concede. He protests for all his worth, but Magilou is relentless and, with her threat against Rokurou to give him The Talk (whatever that means), even he had caved and begged him to agree.

So now he’s a spy. Perhaps not the best spy, but a spy nonetheless.

As soon as they dock at Hellawes, Laphicet gives Rokurou a determined nod and then scampers down to join Velvet.

Velvet who is already accompanied Eizen.

From further up the dock, he sees Magilou smirk at him

If he’s being honest, he really has no idea what to look for. Magilou said that they were in a relationship but based on his knowledge and what Magilou has told him, that could mean many different things.

But with the way the witch spoke earlier, Laphicet has no doubt that she hadn’t meant friendship. Which is…odd, to be frank. They clearly get along well, perhaps even better than they do with anyone else, so if they aren’t friends, then what are they?

Despite his reluctance to spy on his friends, however, Laphicet finds himself strangely immersed in his task. He feels a little guilty about it, but, overall, the thirst for answers is stronger. Mostly, he just wants to be able to sleep soundly tonight without weird Magilou-inspired-ideas floating around in his brain; speaking from personal experience, that never ends well.

He stays close to his target as they set off through the town. Velvet is preoccupied and so the young malak opts to simply observe rather than straight out ask her about it. Maybe he will later, but for now, he can learn a lot about the relationship just by watching. Human actions can be quite telling when they think no one is paying much attention and apparently this rule applies to daemon lords and earth malaks as well.

With Magilou, Rokurou, and Eleanor in the lead, Velvet and Eizen seem to relax slightly. Laphicet trails behind them but with how…distracted they are, he doubts that they’ll notice; he’s so short they probably think he’s up with the others.

Perhaps distracted is the wrong word, though; immersed would fit better. It’s like the world has melted around them and it’s just the two of them. They’re walking so close that their shoulders brush constantly and their eyes are either locked to each other or briefly to the ground. Laphicet can’t see either of their faces except for the sides when they look at the other. The expressions he catches are soft and unguarded. It is so different than how they usually look.

Actually, he’s only ever seen Velvet look this…soft (for lack of a better word) when they had first visited Aball and Melchoir had deceived them into thinking the village had survived. During that time Velvet had been so happy and carefree; seeing her look at Eizen reminds him of that.

His musings are short lived, however, as Eleanor calls out to him, “Laphicet, what are you doing back there?”

Laphicet jumps. In front of him, he sees Velvet and Eizen do the same. He runs to catch up with Eleanor and as he passes by he notices Eizen eying him suspiciously.

“Hi, Eleanor,” he greets, falling into step beside the ex-praetor.

“Why were you walking alone? Is everything alright?”

Laphicet nods. “I’m alright.” He pauses for a moment and then asks, “Do Velvet and Eizen seem to be acting strange to you?”

“Hmm…” She glances back at the two, who have since separated slightly. They speak in hushed tones as they had earlier on the ship. “Well, they’ve certainly been more private than usual. I mean, they’re both very private people, but now they’re being private…together?” she says thoughtfully. Her eyes widen suddenly. “Do you know something? Are they keeping secrets from us? Is something wrong?”

The young malak waves his hands in front of him as if trying to physically dispel Eleanor’s worry. “I think everything’s fine. Magilou just said that they’re in a relationship so…well, do you think they are?”

Eleanor looks up at the sky in consideration. “They could be,” she finally says.

“But they could not be?”

“Yeah, it could go either way with them,” she glances back at them again. “But I don’t think I’ve ever seen either of them like this. You’ve known them longer so you might know better but I think this is different.”

Laphicet screws up his face in thought. “What does it mean? If two people are in a relationship how is it different from what the rest of us have?”

The exorcist’s face flushes. “W-well, people in a relationship tend to be more…physical with each other, like holding hands or kissing,”

“Do they always do that? I haven’t seen them hold hands or anything,”

Eleanor nods. “Most of the time they do, but really it just depends on who is in the relationship,”

“Oh. Is that the only difference?”

“Hmm, people who are in relationships usually want to spend the rest of their lives together,” she adds, smiling softly at the thought.

The malak’s eyes widen. “Does that mean Eizen and Velvet don’t want to spend time with us?”

“No, no, no.” She shakes her head, “It’s more like…umm…” Eleanor glances at him nervously, “Like…what Artorius and Celica had!”

Laphicet tilts his head curiously.

“When Innominat showed us scenes from Velvet’s past, we saw Artorius and Celica fall in love,” she explains. “They both obviously cared about Velvet and her brother but they were each other’s most important person. Artorius cared about her so much that when she died during the Opening, he changed completely,”

He nods. “I see,”

“Does it bug you to think of Velvet in that kind of relationship?”

The malak adopts a thoughtful expression before his face breaks out into a sunny smile. “No, if Velvet ever has a relationship like that I just want the person to make her happy,”

Eleanor returns his smile but before she can reply, Laphicet is pounced on by one-hundred-and-some-pounds of overly eager witch.

“Mayday! Mayday! Why did you abandon your post? We’ll all be killed because of you!”

Laphicet yelps in pain. “Magilou, get off!” He shoves at her with no success. She clings to and hangs off of him like a jacket thrown on a very tiny coat rack; unfortunately for him, Magilou weighs a fair bit more than a coat.

“Leave him alone.” Rokurou calmly picks up the woman and pulls her off.

“Thanks,” Laphicet sighs in relief.

Meanwhile, Magilou has spent her few seconds suspended in the air screeching. “Put me down, you heathen! You two are compromising this entire operation!”

From his position, Laphicet can practically see the alarm bells going off in Eleanor’s head.

“What operation?” she asks suspiciously.

The blonde haired woman seems to notice the change as well and goes from a flailing ball of indignation to frantically trying to repair the damage in the blink of an eye. “Did I say operation?  I meant nation; these two troublemakers are destroying the hard work of our saviour Shepherd Artorius and ruining this great nation! Shame on both of you!”

“Magilou,” explains Rokurou as he throws her over his shoulder, “has this crazy conspiracy that Eizen and Velvet are dating so she sent Laphicet to spy on them,”

“Oh, so that’s why you were asking about it.” Eleanor smiles at the malak before rounding on Magilou. Rokurou has continued walking so Eleanor lags behind a bit so she can be face-to-face with the witch. “You can’t make Laphicet do your bidding,” she scolds.

Magilou huffs and rests her head on her hand which she has propped on the daemon’s back. “I didn’t make him do anything! Rokurou’s the one who pressured the kid.”

“I was blackmailed!”

A fight instantly breaks out and rather than try to pry information out of them, Eleanor looks to Laphicet in hopes of an explanation.

“Magilou wanted to give me The Talk,” he repeats dutifully. “I don’t understand what’s so bad about birds and bees, though.”

Eleanor’s face goes shock white to tomato red in a matter of seconds. “Magilou!”

The blonde scoffs. “You two are such prudes. I bet Laphicet would appreciate my teaching.”

“Don’t you dare.” The ex-praetor’s eyes narrow.

Magilou smirks. “When two people love each other very much-“

Laphicet—fortunately or unfortunately, he’s not quite sure—doesn’t get to hear the rest of the explanation due to Eleanor grabbing him by the face and pulling him bodily into her chest to shield him from the words being spoken. On top of that, Rokurou begins jumping up and down as if to shake the evil right out of his captive, Magilou squawks in distress.

Although Laphicet can’t see much of the scene himself, he imagines they look quite silly to Velvet and Eizen walking a few metres behind them.

The boy tries to stifle his giggles but despite Eleanor physically smothering, him he can’t restrain himself. At first, they come in small bursts like the beginning of a firework show. The first few were small and unimpressive but quickly built in intensity until they burst from his throat loudly and in quick succession.

Everyone freezes.

“What’s so funny?” Eleanor asks, pulling back.

“Us,” he manages through his giggles.”We must look ridiculous!”

Rokurou is the first to give in, laughing heartily along with Laphicet’s small chuckles. From there, it’s a chain reaction that Magilou and Eleanor are quick to join in on.

More laughter soon joins in. “You four do look ridiculous,” says Velvet fondly.

Laphicet jumps.

“Mind explaining what’s going on here?” Eizen asks.

Laphicet jumps again. He’s not sure why he’s so surprised, given that he’s been watching Velvet and Eizen together all day, but, for some reason, he hadn’t expected the older malak to appear behind him.

The blond isn’t the only one caught by surprise; around him, everyone else is shifting around guiltily at being caught.

Except for Magilou of course. She quickly gets over her shock and pushes herself up from Rokurou’s shoulder. “These two won’t let me give the kid important worldly knowledge!”

Eleanor huffs in frustration. “She wants to give Laphicet The Talk!”

The small malak sighs as chaos erupts around him for the third time today. Eizen surprisingly sides with Magilou while Velvet takes a firm stance against them. Silently, Laphicet wonders if taking different sides is a usual thing for couples or if this means they’re actually not together or if he’s just officially spent too much time with Magilou today and is reading too far into it. It’s probably the latter in all honesty.

“He’s too young,” Velvet waves her hand dismissively.

“He’s ten,” Eizen argues. “And he’s going to be around for a long time. Isn’t it better for him to hear this from us rather than overhearing it from an unsuspecting human he passes by?”

“Okay, but it’s not like he needs to learn about it today!”

“Why not today, Rokurou?” Magilou asks smugly. “What difference does it make if he finds out a week or a year from now?”

Eleanor shakes her head. “Laphicet only regained his free will this year! There is no way you can justify scarring him when he’s still so new to the world!”

Laphicet gives up on trying to follow the argument and finds a nice rock to sit on, away from the arguing.

Everyone involved is surprisingly passionate about their opinions and the argument lasts long into the night. Magilou had once told him that the classic cats or dogs argument divided nations, but his friends had barely responded to that, whereas now they are throwing everything they have into it. Honestly, Laphicet is surprised that it hasn’t become a full-blown fist fight.

They do wind down, although, as far as he can tell, a consensus has yet to be reached. However, by the time they do, it’s late and everyone is tired. What should have been quick trip through the Faldies Ruins quickly turns into an overnight sleepover (which it technically would have been anyway; they had just expected to be past the front entrance at this point).

Eleanor, Magilou, and Laphicet are tasked with clearing away stones and laying out the animal skins while Rokurou starts on the fire. Velvet and Eizen leave to scout the perimeter together, which Laphicet finds rather odd, considering they would usually separate to cover more ground.

“Go after them,” Magilou whispers conspiratory. “Complete your mission, Soldier.”

The malak nods and rushes after them. Behind him, he can hear Magilou yelling about something, likely to distract the others from his disappearance.

Normally, when someone left to check the perimeter it was a fifteen minutes process. Normally, they didn’t go far out of sight. Normally, they didn’t leave together.

Eizen and Velvet are not being normal tonight.

Laphicet heads farther and farther into the ruins but he can’t seem to find them. They are well outside the unspoken boundaries and while he can take care of himself, he also knows that it’s dangerous to be without backup. The Abbey has proven itself time and time again to be underhanded and well prepared. Those two combined with heading off on his own would only lead to trouble.

The malak is about to turn back to see if perhaps he missed them when he hears a noise. Rhythmic thumping is emanating from farther into the ruins. Laphicet glances back towards the camp before turning and heading towards the noise. He decides that since it’s not too much farther in and he has no way of knowing if there’s actually any danger or not, it would be better to do reconnaissance first and then determine if it was a threat and how to deal with it.

Nodding determinedly to himself, he sets off towards the noise.

His footsteps echo lightly as he walks through the hallways. Normally, he would be concerned about the noise alerting whatever it is making it but as he gets closer, the sounds get louder. Loud enough to cover his footsteps, anyway. On top of that, he no longer hears just the thumping now. The closer he gets, the more clearly he can make out the sound of voices.

Eizen’s voice specifically. From where Laphicet is, the older malak’s voice sounds strained and is punctuated by grunts of pain.

Eyes widening, Laphicet races through the ruins as fast as his legs can carry him, the slap of his feet on stone surely alerting every malak and daemon in the vicinity.

He gets closer to the source still and he can make out more now. Velvet is with him—he can hear her moaning too!—and while the thumping is definitely the sound of a body hitting stone, the distinct clash of Velvet’s blade is absent. Laphicet worries that she has been too injured to move and Eizen is trying to fight something off to protect her. He hopes that isn’t the case, but he’s been around the Reaper long enough to expect this sort of thing.

He skids around the corner, paper in his hands and a battle cry on his lip when he sees…Well, he’s not really sure what he sees honestly.

The daemon and malak appear uninjured but that is all his brain can make sense of. Other than that, all he knows is that they are on the ground, Velvet is on top of Eizen, and his…oh.

Laphicet vaguely remembers seeing depictions of something similar in a biology book he read from the library while he was still under the Abbey’s control. The chapter was on reproduction but he hadn’t been able to make much sense of it at the time and he has never considered applying that knowledge to more humanoid species.

Now, though, seeing Velvet moving up and down on Eizen’s…

Laphicet’s face goes scarlet.

“Ph-Phi?” calls Velvet in shock.

He turns tail and runs. It’s not until he’s made it all the way back to the camp that he realizes a high pitched whine has been bubbling from his throat the entire time.

“What’s wrong, Laphicet?” Eleanor moves towards him, concern evident on her face.

The boy just stares in shock. He’s not ready to face this yet; he needs time to process and make sense of and get over what he saw.

Magilou pushes past Eleanor excitedly. “What’s you see? What’d you see?”

He shakes his head. He really doesn’t want to talk about this.

The witch gasps and leans in closer to carefully take in his expression. “I was right!” She jumps up and down excitedly, circling Rokurou as she does so and waving her arms around in a strange dance while chanting variations of, “I told you so!”

“Told me what?”

“Eizen and Velvet are gettin’ it on!”

Rokurou and Eleanor look at Laphicet in horror.

“No…”

“Oh my goodness!”

They are upon the blond in an instant; questions and sentiments of distress pouring out of their mouths one after another.

Laphicet, on his part, can only stare blankly. He can’t process anything.

Anything except the rapid sounds of footsteps behind him and Velvet’s voice.

In his time knowing Rokurou, the small malak has seen his eye turn red once when he was in the heat of battle. Once when he was in his element as a war daemon. Once when he was intent on killing his adversary.

And now again as he turns on Velvet and Eizen.

“Laphicet walked in on you having sex?” he booms.

The daemon and malak stop dead in their tracks. For once, neither of them seems to be able to play it off. Velvet’s face is a similar shade to her top and while Eizen isn’t outright blushing, his eyes are closed and he looks off to the side.

“Phi, can we talk to you?” Velvet asks. She’s trying her best to act as she normally does but it’s clear that she’s out of her element.

Laphicet looks at them hesitantly, turns his gaze back to the shocked faces of the rest of the group, and then nods. He takes a step towards them as Rokurou yells “You perverts are not giving him The Talk! He’s seen enough!”

Eleanor puts her hand on the daemon’s shoulder and nods at Laphicet reassuringly before turning to comfort her friend.

Anticipation twists in Laphicet’s stomach. On the one hand, the absolute last thing he wants to talk to his friends about is their reproductive tendencies but on the other hand, he is finally going to learn what the dreaded Talk is…

Well, his curiosity has always gotten the better of him and it’s probably better to get this conversation out of the way sooner rather than later…

He follows them.

They head through the doors into the ruins. Thankfully they don’t go towards where he saw…what he saw; instead they turn left where a small and near empty room waits.

“So…” Eizen is looking everywhere but Laphicet. “I–er…Well, you probably have a lot of questions…”

Laphicet mimics Eizen by staring a hole into the floor.

“What you saw was…its–uh…adults sometimes…” The malak looks at Laphicet guiltily. “Wh-when people care about each other very much–” Eizen turns his gaze to Velvet pleadingly.

“No,” she says, seeing what can only Eizen’s version of puppy eyes. “No, no, no. You’re the one that wanted to give him The Talk in the first place!”

“I didn’t want to give him The Talk! I just think he needs to hear it!”

“Oh, so you wanted me to do all the work? Typical.”

Laphicet decides to interject before things get out of hand. “Are you guys trying to tell me what reproduction is?”

Velvet blinks dumbly at him. “You…already know about sex?”

“If sex is another term for when animals procreate, then yes; I read a book on it when I used to sneak off to the library. It just…never really made sense until now.”

“Oh,” the Lord of Calamity looks both relieved and nervous.

“Yes, well, Velvet and I are not trying to have a kid. I don’t even know if malaks and daemons can reproduce…”

Laphicet tilts his head. “Then why were you doing it?”

The adults look at each other.

“It’s just something couples do,” Velvet dismisses.

“So you are in a relationship then?”

They both nod. “We were going to tell you, but with everything going on…”

“We decided to keep quiet until after we freed the Elemental Empyreans,” Eizen says.

“I see,”

Silence.

“So…do you have any questions?” the Reaper asks hesitantly.

In all honesty, there are quite a few things Laphicet has questions about regarding the act. Physically, he can’t wrap his mind around how Eizen’s…how Velvet’s…he just can’t figure out how they fit together. Besides physically, however, he’s also confused about why couples do it in the first place. What purpose does it serve? If it’s so normal then why hasn’t he heard about it before—why the secretiveness?

But honestly, Laphicet has had his head filled with strange enough information. He doesn’t know how much more he can stand and instead opts for shaking his head. He can look it up in a book later or, worst case scenario, ask someone to explain it to him.

“Okay then, if you ever want to know anything…”

The small malak nods to the older one and together they turn to walk back to the others.

The walk back is silent and more awkward than before but, simultaneously, he feels more at ease. He won’t have to question or speculate about what Eizen and Velvet are doing (in fact, he knows more than he ever wanted to); Magilou can’t very well send him on spying missions if there are no secret relationships for him to spy on.

No, despite the cumulative embarrassment they feel, the blond boy is more at ease than he has been all day. Just as they are about to walk back through the entrance and back to the camp, Velvet grabs Laphicet’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” she says. “You shouldn’t have had to see that,”

He reaches forward and gives Velvet a hug, smiling against her as he does.

“I forgive you,” Laphicet says softly.

He grabs her hand and reaches for Eizen’s to do the same. Together, they walk through the doors.

The others have relaxed since he was here. Eleanor is reading a book by the fire and, nearby, Rokurou prods at the logs. Even Magilou is subdued; she lies sprawled on the ground, her head on Eleanor’s lap as the ex-praetor idly plays with her hair while her feet rest on Rokurou.

The entire scene is oddly domestic. For moment, Laphicet just takes it all in and remembers how lucky he is.

And then the witch spots him, and chaos erupts.

To be fair, for once Magilou isn’t causing the chaos. She simply spots them, nudges Rokurou with her foot, and it’s all downhill from there.

The daemon is upon him in an instant; one-second Laphicet is standing contently with Velvet and Eizen and then suddenly he’s across the room with his face buried in Rokurou’s chest as he is given the most lung-damaging hug of his life.

“Air!” he gasps, pushing on the man’s shoulder desperately.

Rokurou pulls back. “Sorry,” he says sheepishly.

Laphicet takes a gasping breath.

“So, did you three work everything out?” Eleanor tugs on her sleeves in embarrassment despite her best efforts to remain stoic.

“We’re good,” Laphicet reassures.

“Not quite.” Magilou saunters over to them. “You two”—she points an accusing finger—“have something to tell us, isn’t that right?”

Eizen and Velvet look at each other in confusion.

“What?” the daemon asks.

“Oh, so you’ll give the details to a ten-year-old in all their twisted glory but you won’t even tell us that you’re fucking?” Rokurou glares.

“Look.” Velvet  seems to be fed up with the entire thing. “What Eizen and I do is our own business and while Laphicet shouldn’t have had to see that, we don’t owe any of you an explanation,” she says heatedly.

“That being said,” adds Eizen, “yes, we’re fucking. And before you ask, yes, we’re also dating.” His gaze turns hard and challenging, “Does anyone have a problem with that?”

“No one has a problem with it, we just thought you’d tell us, y’know, before the kid had to sacrifice his innocence for answers.” Rokurou crosses his arms.

“It’s okay, Rokurou,”

The war daemon startles slightly. Despite the fact that he’s been talking about Laphicet and has been concerned for his sake, he seems to have completely forgotten about the boy in his hold up until this moment.

“What?”

Laphicet smiles. “They had their reasons. I understand why they kept quiet.”

“But you walked in on them having sex!”

“But that wasn’t the intention,” he explains. “And now that we know, there aren’t any secrets between us.”

Silence.

“Have I ever mentioned how lucky we are to have you, Phi?” Velvet giggles.

The others soon join in, happily laughing away the awkwardness of the day.

And once again, everything is the same. Despite the massive revaluation that two of his closest friends are now more than friends, Laphicet sees very little change within the actual group. The incident is all but forgotten, and Eizen and Velvet aren’t being secretive anymore, although they don’t act any differently. They’re still just as hard on each other and they’re both still blunt and steadfast in their beliefs. They share soft looks or spend evenings alone on occasion, but, considering how Magilou made such a big deal of it in the beginning, nothing has really changed.

Laphicet finds himself selfishly wishing that nothing ever does.

#talessecretsanta2017 #flynns-king-kong-dong #Tales of Berseria #Tales Games #my writing #hopefully I caught all the italics hhhhh #Velvet/Eizen #veizen

[words-writ-in-starlight]

Ok so I'm not sure if you were serious about this or not but, can we know what daemons the characters of Alleirat would have? Sorry for the bother dude.

“am i serious” OF COURSE I’M SERIOUS PULL UP SOME CARPET BECAUSE THERE IS ONLY ONE CHAIR IN MY ROOM 

Okay in honesty I just threw that in the tags because it was the first thing that popped into my head, but I’ve given this exactly 0 thought, so bear with me here.

Brenneth

So the first thing that occurred to me for Brenneth was actually a wolf (pursuit predator), but instead what I think she ends up with is a mountain lion.  Solitary, adaptable, and an excellent hunter.  He settles when she and Crispin first arrive in Alleirat, so, fairly early (they’re ten), and for a long time it’s a mystery.  Brenneth, as a teenaged blacksmith and sometime warrior, is friendly and reasonable, good with children and happy with her work, quick to cut to the heart of the problem but not excessively aggressive except when the situation calls for it.  Not the type to make someone think apex predator, all things considered.  Her daemon lies under a table in her forge and lets visiting kids’ daemons attack his tail and generally does a good impression of an extremely large and easy-going housecat.

Then Crispin becomes the White Wolf and everyone remembers that Brenneth’s lazy nine-foot housecat is also an exceptionally well designed killer.  And there’s something mythic about it, the Fireheart standing there with her sword drawn and a cougar at her side.

There are statues.  Both of them are horrified.

Crispin

Crispin’s daemon means something radically different in Alleirat than on Earth.  Also, she’s not a wolf, she’s a golden eagle–he earned the epithet before his daemon was common knowledge.  Crispin’s daemon settles a while after Brenneth’s does, upon hearing the prophecy about how Crispin is supposed to save Alleirat from some great evil.  She’s big for a golden eagle, which is a big bird already (like, big enough to carry off a bear cub), and she and Crispin are Separated, to allow her to fly.  After their return to Earth, she’s suddenly far too big for Crispin’s tiny ten-year-old shoulder.  This presents a problem, as a bad mental day for the two of them means that Crispin can’t use his left arm and she can’t fly at all, so she becomes known for riding on his backpack during school. 

On Earth, she’s a symbol of courage, of nobility and strength and honor.

On Alleirat, they pay much more attention to the fact that a golden eagle will eat  anything from a rabbit to a small deer to another eagle–a killer of their own kind.

Additionally, she was caught in the lightning blast when Crispin killed his teachers and started his rampage.  They’re not sure what happened, but now she’s an albino, and nothing seems to change that.

Krei

Krei is enough generations removed from her tree-folk heritage to have ended up with a daemon, although the rules are a little different.  She’s almost a hundred before her daemon settles, after her mother dies attempting to evacuate a house fire.  Her daemon settles as a dog unique to Alleirat, but most similar to a Bernese Mountain Dog.  The breed is a little bigger, its fur is differently colored with a slightly different muzzle shape, but it was originally bred for very similar purposes, primarily for the defense of homes, livestock, and families.  Dog daemons, on Alleirat as well as on Earth, are considered hallmarks of protective personalities and service professions, and his particular breed is known for loyalty and devotion.  He’s almost big enough to be used as a small draft animal (Krei is 6′7″ and he passes her hip), and generally very friendly and easygoing most of the time, which serves both of them well training new recruits.  On the other hand, he’s a dog the size of a small pony and he has the jaws to prove it–more than one person has been put on trial in Dase with a broken arm from Krei’s attack daemon.

She actually shares the dog daemon with her mother, although Torei’s daemon was a rangier, mutt-y sort of animal more like a wolfhound.

Shiko

Shiko’s daemon always identifies as male, even before she transitions, which contributes in no small part to the independent, self-sufficient way she tends to think.  He settles as a red fox, small for his kind but about the right size to tuck himself around Shiko’s neck like a fur ruff.  He’s not super into ghosts.  He’s not super into zombies.  He’s not super into magic at all, really.  He has a lot of complaints about a lot of what’s going on here.  

When they’re traveling through Alleirat, a number of reports come back that he lacks the classic white tips, but the truth is quite simple: he helps Shiko raise the dead, and he frequently ends up with grave dirt obscuring the tip of his tail and front of his throat.

#worldwalker #crispin #brenneth #krei #shiko #original work #starlight writes stuff #you will notice that it is one in the a m and i did not give the daemons names but whatever #here are some bonus shippy thoughts #brenneth's daemon is big enough for crispin's daemon to ride and they definitely do that #not often and not in public but wandering their own home it's just a bird on a cougar and no one questions it #sometimes shiko's daemon gets into trouble and krei's daemon just picks him up in his mouth and puts him somewhere else #krei's daemon is big and fluffy enough to curl up around shiko's daemon and make him disappear #here are some bonus tragic thoughts #crispin's daemon tried to blind brenneth's daemon by tearing his eyes out and the mountain lion had a scar from the most successful attempt #at least he did until they went back to earth #before everything crispin's daemon was a beautiful gold-tipped brown and everyone misses it #sometimes crispin wakes up from nightmares and can't stand to look at her (at what he did to her) without crying #sometimes brenneth's daemon sleeps in her bed (an achievement given his size) but more often he doesn't #they have nightmares and after the first time they woke up in a panic and he actually struck her #actually hit brenneth with his claws unsheathed because he didn't know he couldn't tell who she was they share a soul and he didn't know he #he started sleeping on the floor and he has been for quite a while now with relatively few exceptions #it absolutely fucking kills both of them #idiot teenagers with a queue #anonymous #asked and answered

[razzmatash]

Searching (ffxv)

Pairing: Gladio x oc

Word Count: 1337

Ao3 Link

The Misadventures of Eerie: Insomnia--Outlands

Inktober for Writers: One

Summary: They’ve finally made it to Lestallum, after a detour or two, but Gladio’s more focused on who isn’t there. Takes place at the same time as Chapter one of Alive.

Note: I’m still working on my longer pieces but I haven’t had time after my holiday to properly edit and prep the next chapter of Consequences. And I thought I’d try my hand at quicker prompts for the next month to try to make myself fill in some holes in between the larger stories or more plot just in general. 

             Lowering his phone, Gladio swallowed the panic swelling inside of him. He’d pushed to go to Lestallum directly, wanting to reunite with his sister, but they’d taken a side trip. He didn’t begrudge helping the Lucian people because they needed it now more than ever. But he’d needed confirmation that the people he cared about were safe.

           Not that it mattered since Eerie wouldn’t pick up her damn phone.

           “Still no answer?”

           He glanced at Ignis at the question. They’d made it to Lestallum early this morning, meeting up with his sister finally. They’d spent the day catching up and learning about a possible Royal Tomb nearby. Now they were trying to figure out what to do with their evening. “I don’t get it,” he said lowly, trying not to draw the attention of the others. “The phone should work. It was brand new. I got it for her specifically for coming out here. There’s no reason why she shouldn’t be answering.”

           “Perhaps she’s busy? As a medic, I’m sure her time is being spent helping those fleeing Insomnia.”

           He rubbed his neck and stared at the phone. “I thought that the first time,” he admitted. “In Galdin. But the call went to voice mail immediately. Figured it was because she was working. But I’ve been calling every day since we found out about the attack and not once has she gotten back to me. I left messages but nothing.”

           “She hasn’t called at all?”

           “No.” That was what worried him the most. Even though the last time he’d talked to her she’d been in Duscae, it didn’t stop the nightmares from coming with every day that passed with no word. Every possible situation that could have happened plagued him. Dead in a ditch. Taken hostage because of their relationship. Lost somewhere. Attacked by daemons. Everything kept piling up in his head and he wasn’t getting any reprieve from it.

           “From everything we’ve heard,” Ignis said, thankfully keeping his voice low as well, “people are heading to Lestallum. As the biggest city in the Outlands, it’s logical that she would be here given the situation.”

           “If she’s alright,” Gladio muttered.

           “Eyra is smart and resourceful, Gladio. I’m sure nothing has happened and the problem is simpler than you think.”

           He hoped so but given all the bad news they’d gotten in the last few days it was hard to be optimistic. Iris hadn’t heard from her either, no matter how many times he asked her. He’d tried Kal and Nyx but he’d had no luck with them either. It felt like her entire family had dropped off the face of Eos.

           “You said she was in Duscae last you talked to her?”

           Gladio nodded, calling up the text thread with her. She’d mentioned going to Lestallum for supplies a couple times but the last time they’d talked she’d been at the Chocobo Post. He’d tried not to hope that she would be there but the disappointment he’d felt when she hadn’t had been crushing.

           He could feel Ignis watching him, the weight of his gaze boring into him. Since the news had come out about Insomnia, most of their focus had been on Noct and keeping him from flying apart at the seams. But it wasn’t like he was the only one with family and friends in the city.

           “Don’t,” he said shortly when Ignis went to speak. He knew exactly what he wanted to talk about but Gladio didn’t want to. Not yet. He’d seen Iris but he didn’t want to touch any of the shit rattling around in his head until after her found Eerie.

           Ignis sighed. “Whatever you decide.”

           Gladio watched him walk to the others but stayed where he was at the balcony. He wasn’t much for company right now and he didn’t want to snap at anyone. Looking down at his phone, he sighed as he looked at the last text she’d sent him.

           I love you, big guy. Talk to you tomorrow <3

           Except she hadn’t. Lifting the phone, he called her one more time. It didn’t even ring, dumping straight to voice mail. He listened to the message, wishing against all reason that it was actually her talking to him. He’d give anything to hear her talking to him right now. There was no room in her mailbox to leave a message since he’d already left more than he could remember so he hung up as soon as the beep came.

           Shoving his phone in his pocket, he turned back to the conversation happening in the room. Iris was talking about taking Noct on a tour of the city tomorrow, but the others wanted to take a look now. He wasn’t really keen on going back out into the heat, but a glance at Ignis confirmed his thought. They really didn’t need to split up right now.

           “Everyone back here in an hour for dinner?” Ignis said as they walked down the stairs.

           “We’re gonna eat at the hotel?” Prompto complained. “When we’ve got all these great places around us?”

           “For tonight, I think it best if we remain close together. We don’t need the Empire knowing exactly where we are.”

           “So me and Noct-”

           “Let’s go,” Gladio said, giving him a small push.

           “Aw, man,” Prompto groaned but he started walking.

           Gladio rolled his eyes but followed. He had no doubt Prompto thought he would be cramping his style but he could flirt later. They didn’t have time for it now. “Let’s check the market,” he said.

           “You gonna get something for Eerie?”

           Gladio’s lips pursed at the sudden question. He wasn’t so sure buying gifts for her was a good idea.

           “C’mon, big guy,” Prompto said gently. “It’ll help get your mind off things.”

           Blowing out his breath, Gladio shrugged. “Eerie isn’t big on frivolous gifts,” he muttered.

           “Then find her something that isn’t. I’m sure there’s something in there that you can give her when you guys find each other.”

           He doubted that but they kept toward the market. Stepping inside, he sighed a little as Prompto beelined away from him as soon as they got inside. “Prompto!” he called, not even stopping to look at the shops.

           “C’mon, big guy! The diner’s back here! We could scope out some bounties and grab some eats!”

           “What happened to looking for something for Eerie?” he muttered, still following. He didn’t miss the way people moved out of the way for him, didn’t stop to think about it either. But he didn’t stop, knowing he couldn’t leave Prompto alone for long. Wouldn’t be much point in sticking together if he lost him now. “We agreed to eat back at the hotel,” he called.

           “C’mon, we can scope out the place to begin with, can’t we? No harm in looking around, right?”

           He got close enough to see that Prompto had already claimed a table. “Prompto,” he sighed, shaking his head. “We aren’t here to scope out anything.”

           “But-”

           “Eyra?”

           Gladio froze as he reached Prompto, his head turning to the voice. He didn’t recognize it or the man that had said it but following the other’s gaze…. “Holy shit.”

           Her head turned as well and he watched her brows draw together before she was rubbing her eyes.

           The motion snapped him out of his surprise and he moved across the small area, grabbing her wrists. He grunted when her foot connected with his shin. “Babe, come on, seriously?” he demanded.

           “Sorry?” she breathed, blinking up at him.

           He smiled faintly. “No, you’re not,” he said, pulling her up and into him. He felt her bury her face in his chest, fingers grasping at the sides of his shirt even as he held her to him. His eyes closed and he pressed his cheek to the top of her head. His arms tightened on her when he heard her sob and he choked down on his own. She was okay. Despite everything, she was okay and back in his arms.

#final fantasy #ffxv #gladiolus amicitia #gladio x oc #final fantasy oc #eyra ulric #gladio x f!oc #the misadventures of eerie #part two outlands #my writing #fanfiction #inktober for writers

[shioritsumi]

I made Beacon of Light versions of @darqx‘s Battle Priest characters. (BP being her story, BOL being mine.) I’ll give a very brief overview (or as brief as I can make it given how detailed it is) of BOL before I move on to actually describing the characters in this new universe. Be warned, this is a long one. 

BOL: There exist in this universe, three worlds, three planes. Angelus, the celestial plane of eternal light; Grimasce, the infernal plane of neverending darkness; and Luminaria, the world held in balance between light and darkness. Angeleus is home to the Angeleans, beings gifted with an eternal light, and the natural ability to use this light to summon incredible holy magic. The highest magics exist here.

Grimasce is home to the Grimascians, shadowy beings with nearly unparalleled physical skills, and a neverending dark flame that will corrupt those around it. 

Luminaria, however, is home to a wide variety of creatures and peoples capable of adapting to both light and darkness. Once thought of as a paradise where the races may exist in harmony, and the battlefield for the Twilight War when all three worlds came to clash over the possession of this world. 

From this war came six heroes. The Six Heroes of the Twilight War were: -Meroux the Shadow Dragon of Grimasce -Alubella the Witch of Grimasc -Dusk the Trinket of Angeleus -Nuora the Inventor of Angeleus -Arthur Rincinder the Human of Luminaria -Selene the Harpy of Luminaria

These six won the war for Angeleus and Luminaria, fighting off the self-proclaimed Shadow Emperor of Grimasce (He was actually more of a general that went mad with power and had a huge following. The actual King of Grimasce both supported him and hated him. It’s something to cover some other time. Politics.) The victory cost many lives, but brought many new developments to all the worlds. The founding of the Capitol Knights, an elite force of holy knights, the discovery of electricity, new jobs, new approaches to the interactions between the races, and many other things I don’t have time to explain right now.

Because I want to jump into the characters, already. I’ve given you some very brief history of the world. Further descriptions will accompany the characters so I can explain their roles. 

A.E.D. - Human Capitol Knight Like a majority of Capitol Knights, D. did not actually grow up in the poorly named luxury capitol city of Capitol, and entered the Knight’s Academy partially because it was free and allowed him to more easily protect others from potential Grimascian attack. Among the top ranked Capitol Knights, he doesn’t talk much about his own personal life, although the others correctly assume he’s likely an orphan from some village. They’re honestly not surprised, he’s not the only orphan who lost his parents due to some Grimascian attack in the Capitol Knights. He just happens to be the only one of considerable rank. 

Fun fact: Capitol Knights wield luumia swords, made of a special metal from Angeleus that allows a torch (term used by Grimasce and Angeleus for Luminarians) to easily draw on their own light and use holy magic. It is, of course, not recommended for a torch to use too much holy magic as it may damage their light (light being kind of like a combination of the soul and the power source behind the soul) and corrupt them. Capitol Knights are specially trained in Academy in the use of luumia swords, however, so they’d have to be pretty dumb to let that happen. 

Izm - Smote A Smote is a unique race of Grimascian that is known to have endured more than one go around the circle of life, and as such maintains a spark of Light that allows them to shapeshift and blend in with Torches. This made them for ideal spies and scouts during the Twilight War, but when the war ended and the Grimascians were supposed to all retreat, they found they had somehow lost quite a number of Smotes. Turns out, a lot of them didn’t want to go back to being used as pets and spies by their oppressive homeland and would prefer to remain in hiding in Luminaria. Izm is one such smote. They’re capable of passing for human with some slight vitiligo, or even minor Light corruption on off-days, but otherwise may be free to do as they please. And boy ever does Izm do as he pleases. He runs afoul of a certain Capitol Knight rather often, and his identity is either already out to D., or the Knight simply doesn’t care. 

Fun fact: Smotes cannot hide their Dark Flame from Angeleans, OR Capitol Knights, as the Knights are trained to detect Dark Flame, and Angeleans can automatically sense the void of Light from all Grimascians. 

Fun fact 2: Angeleus and Grimasce share a sort of ‘Circle of Life’ that neither of them like. When an Angelean dies, their Eternal Light is extinguished, and it becomes a void of light, which becomes a Dark Flame. Thus turning them into a Grimascian. When a Grimascian dies, their Dark Flame is reignited, turning them into an Angelean. Luminarians have a completely different life cycle and the idea of reincarnation in this way is foreign to them. Memories of previous lives are not kept, except in extreme cases, or Smotes. Smotes are unique in this way and allows them to build up their skills. 

Marcus - Air Cherub Cherubs are a small race of Angeleans, one of the only ones to be genuinely gifted with wings. They are also gifted with support magics, but tend to learn their magics slower than other varieties and be more fragile than others, as well. Marcus has heard it all as both a student as a cherub-he’s cute, he’s small, he’s ‘slow’ (by multiple definitions), but you better believe this cherub can pack a punch with the air spells he’s got. Gust may not be a spell to injure you severely, but it’s going to knock the wind out of you something fierce. (It’s a suckerpunch spell, primarily, one that ALWAYS hits the solar plexus and never misses. Damage, so-so, and it can’t kill, but god it hurts.) 

Fun fact: Angeleans like to pride themselves on having superior education that trains their children in everything they’ll need to know and to prepare them for a life on the outside. The result is Angeleans don’t really leave Nephilime Academy until they’re well into adulthood, and some Angeleans still aren’t sure that’s enough preparation. Older Angeleans often drop out of school because they’re so tired of prep work.

Wei Ren - Wizard Technician Witches are a female-only Grimascian race gifted with mastery over shadow magic and shapeshifting. When they saw this, Angeleans decided they could do that, too...but with light magic. They ended up creating the Wizard race, a male-only Luminarian race gifted with mastery over shadow magic but with limited shapeshifting. (Primarily bc they were created on Luminaria and not the boundless shadowy plane of Grimasce.) Wizards are almost indistinguishable from human torches, save for their natural affinity with magic and sensitivity to light. Technicians arose as a career following the war, when Angelean scientist brought electricity to the forefront as a practical thing. Although much of Luminaria still doesn’t have access to it in their homes, the role of the Technicians is to help spread the field of technology and convince people it’s a good idea. Welcome to fantasy world IT/electronic salesman pitching.

Fun fact: Capitol and some of the lands to the east are the only areas that currently have fully adapted to the newly acquired technology and include electricity, radio, cellular communications, computers, and electric lights everywhere. In most other places, presence of electricity is spotty. 

Zeke -Human Hunter Look, not everyone in the world has magic or special light or dark-detecting powers. Some people are just people who pick up a spear or bow and go out and bring food back at the end of the day. They may not all be good at it, but the common man does still exist. Zeke is that common man. Why are all these people in his village, the most boring village ever? It used to be a refugee village, but that was forever ago. The only special thing he can think about it might be that D. came from the next village over, before he left to attend Academy in Capitol. Why’s the plot HERE? No, really, he’s got some really impressive people in the village square and he doesn’t know WHY. 

Fun fact: No, really, there’s nothing special about Hunters. They’re the food gatherers for villages and smaller towns. They’re like neighborhood watch plus cops plus....hunters. They can be any race, any gender, any origin, all they have to do is bring back food for the town/village at the end of the day so everyone can eat. 

Rire - Vampire Logos Vampires are generally humans whose light has been irreversibly corrupted, either by exposure to extreme darkness, or through Daemonic possession. Once they’ve gone past the point of no return, a Vampire feeds off the leeched Light of those around them, sometimes even seeking out victims to extinguish the Light of entirely to feed their own damaged Light/soul. Some people have sympathy for Imps, newly turned Vampires. Logos? Nah, screw them, they’ve not only been Vampires a while, they enjoy it and pursue their victims deliberately and have pulled themselves together a small following. Rire has avoided being handled by groups such as the Capitol Knights by being very careful with his hunts, possibly making him much more dangerous than you might want to give him credit for.

Fun fact: Daemons are bodiless Grimascians that can overshadow a Torch’s Light and possess their body. They were used as effective spies during the Twilight War, and the resulting vampires used as a sort of sabotage to follow-up any failed spy attempts. Vampirism results from the corruption left behind by the Daemon after they leave the human’s body. With work and dedication, the corruption can be reversed and even cured. 

But let’s be honest, it can’t make you a good person if you weren’t before. 

PHEW! I think I missed a few characters, but these are the main characters, so I’m gonna stick with that. TA DAH!!!

#darqx #look I did it #I warned you it was gonna be long #and possibly rambly #but here it is #battle priest #beacon of light

[insomniasix]

Tragedia Coram Amandum Quae |Part II|

A/N: Mostly explanation part. Working on the rest now. *whisper* It gets more complicated |names and such|

Words: 2676

OCs: Six Ulric, Elderon Lights, Morticia Blackwell, Sha’van Blacke (If you don’t want me using anyone please let me know! )

Warning: Swearing, Violence, Complicated situations  (If I’ve missed anything please hit me up, I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable!)

Part I

So, you’re still here huh? Good. I’m starting to like having you around.

Alright, so, last time I told you a lot of things about myself and thinking back on it, it seems kinna selfish. You don’t leave in my head. You probably don’t know what’s going on, or half the shit I talked about. So how about I explain a few things before getting to the good stuff? Yeah, things are getting even more complicated by the minute here, so let me try and clear some of it up.

Where do I begin?

How about Noctis?

Yeah, Noctis sounds good.

There’s a legend going around for eons. It tells the story of The One True King. The one who vanished all Darkness from the face of Eos, defeating the Accursed and his mighty army of daemons.

His name was Noctis! And for his actions and sacrifice, the Six Gods of Old named him “Protector of the Light”.

Time moved on and the people –me included, forgot, or didn’t care about the Old Astrals.

“They disappeared” Morticia Blackwell, the High Priestess, said “leaving only the Holy Protector to look over Eos.”

Years have passed and Noctis is the only remaining Astral. The Protector of Light!

Don’t know if I believe the fairytales about his accent in Astralhood but I know one thing: If there’s someone worth believing in, it’s him! I’ve read the stories, about the ten years of Darkness and Daemons; and to be honest, I’d be scared shitless living in a time like that.

I don’t have to though, thanks to Him; thanks to the things he went through and sacrificed.

If you ask me, the “Evil” he fought, this “Accursed”, he was just another pawn of the Six, too. Just like Noctis himself. It doesn’t really matter though. Gods and Daemons have nothing on real, living, fire-breathing dragons!

Second theme of explanation.

If there aren’t any daemons, what do the people fight?

What do we hunt and kill except from each other?

In the beginning, people were content. They and their children and grandchildren wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore. Especially since the sun stood tall in the sky again. But a few years later, the world became trigger-happy! Killing, stealing, eating each other alive –sometimes that last part was literal, too.

Things got real crappy real fast and the world was neck deep in chaos again!

That’s when the Three Kingdoms rose up.

Lucis, standing proud on the Northeast of the map. Home of yours truly. Ruled by the Lucis Caelum bloodline.

Accordo, on the South. Accordo and its people are pretty chill when it comes to… well, pretty much everything. I mean, they’re probably thinking something like “We’re surrounded by water, what could possibly go wrong?”. They haven’t been wrong up until now. The Accordo bloodline seems to keep their nose out of everyone’s business, action that has kept them going all these years.

Lastly, the troublemakers, if I’d ever seen a bunch. The Niflheim Empire. Led by the “Man of No Consequence”, the “Time traveler” and probably a hundred other self-proclaimed titles, Ardyn Izunia Fleuret and his precious witch of a daughter, Lunafreya; the one who enchanted my idiot father and sent me to jail.

The Kingdoms have been at war for as long as I can remember, the only neutral party being the High Priestess no-one dared to fuck with –I’ll get to explaining her story at some point.

About a year ago, the emperor of Niflheim, Ardyn and his daughter Lunafreya, came to Lucis with talks and ideas about how the two powers should unite. It was a bullshit story the King should have foreseen would end badly.

The emperor and his daughter stayed inside the Citadel’s walls for three days. Luna didn’t need more to put some unlucky bastard under her spell. That unlucky bastard being my father, the great Nyx Ulric! The gemstone of the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive all together.

You know, no matter what I call him now, he used to be a good man, a great soldier and an even better father! He was the only family I had.

He was a fool, though.

So, when Luna swayed her magnificent piece of ass in front of him, he followed like an obedient puppy.

God, I hope it was just that. I hope he followed her to Hell because of her magic; it’s the only way the King –the only way I would ever forgive him.

He led both Luna and her father to the Archives when everyone else was occupied with something. Being the captain helped greatly; he knew every schedule of every soldier in the Kingdom.

Try lying to that man when you get home late. Not fun!

Anyway, the enemy royal family grabbed the Kingdom’s most valuable secrets –and my dad, and hauled ass!

Few days later, the Council of Royal Asses instructed King Regis to send me in jail, to pay for the crimes of my family, saying it’s the only right thing to do. Show the world that no crime goes unpunished, no matter your place in the food chain.

I spent a year in jail, a year of everyone –except maybe a handful of people, blaming and shaming my family’s name. The name we worked so hard to build. A year in jail for a crime I didn’t even commit.

I’m not here to vent, though. So, where was I? Oh, right. Explaining. Let’s see.

Enemies of men.

The Astral, Noctis, took care of the daemons, so they’re out of the list, thankfully. There are more beasts running around now. From spiders –reaching the size of an average sheep, to Behemoths and Dragons; the beasts’ sizes vary, with the largest being High Dragons and the last remaining Zu –all reaching unmeasurable sizes when fully grown.

Between you and me though, when it comes to danger, it’s not entirely about the beast’s size as much as it is the brains. I find humans being the worst of all! A beast will attack when threatened, for its survival; humans, on the other hand, have proved to slay each other for their own liking, for fun!

No, I’m not talking about Niflheim! I’m talking about the Glauca band of thieves and murderers!

They top even the Emperor of Niflheim in both creativity and brutality. Ravaging entire villages and cities, no matter what time of day. Torturing and killing men, women and children alike.

I met a guy once, some five years back. We had both been captured by Titus Drautos, the band’s leader. I was sent to assassinate him –my first and only fail, while my soon to be friend, was out for revenge.

The band had been terrorizing his village for years, so he decided to pick up his sword and title as a renowned hunter again.

Elderon Lights of Galahd!

The man was a beast; but even he wasn’t enough to take Glauca down.

The band had attacked Galahd while Elderon was on a Griffon hunt. He came back to witness his home buried in flames and blood!

Elderon run inside, calling out, screaming for his wife to answer him. For a sign that she was alright, but his wife… Hope, never answered back.

His heart stopped as he reached the backyard.

Hope was laying on the ground, her marked torso pressing against the blooded dirt, all sign of life had left her mistreated body.

Elderon sank into his knees, his trembling, calloused fingers grabbed hold of his beloved’s soulless body, moving her closer to him as he cried, making promises of revenge and justice against the Astrals and the murderers.

Blinded by his own hatred and rage, he didn’t notice I was moving to in too, from the opposite direction. As a result we fell right on top of each other. We argued as to who had more right to be there, to take care of things –not revealing our true intentions, stories or identities. We caught one of the thieves’ ear and they were on us in no time.

After about three weeks, Elderon and I managed to get away from Drautos, thankfully before he or his lackeys got their hands on me.

Elderon got most of it! Defying their orders and defending my honor and dignity.

He didn’t even know me, yet I got away with only a few new scars while his own back was barely recognizable.

“Not all men are evil, yet the line between the two notions is getting thinner every day. I know. I’ve seen people there –I’ve been there. Struggling to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s now always clear as day. There are consequences, for your choices and the choices made for you. Those consequences and the way you deal with them, are what defines where you stand.” That quote he told me has stayed with me ever since. Drawing a visible line in my mind and placing people in their right side; I have to admit, I think I’m running out of space on the ‘Evil’ side.

Speaking of the line between good and evil, this is where the explanation for the High Priestess comes in. It’s the last one, too. Promise.

Morticia Blackwell. A mighty enchantress. Morta was given the power to ‘Speak’ with the Astrals when she was only a child. As a result she was the youngest Priestess to join the Chantry. Morta made her way up the hierarchy pretty fast as she was named High Priestess at only 27 years of age. All these years later –she’s like twice that age now, she’s still one of the most powerful people on Eos, if not THE most powerful.

Morticia is the line itself.

The Chantry can’t take place in politics or wars. It’s out for all the people Noctis scarified for. As a result, it’s the highest power there is. Both Lucis and Niflheim desire its power, but Morta quite simple told them to ‘Suck it’. She said she’d rather be trapped in the Beyond than decide who to aid in all those meaningless wars the nations waged at each other.

I have to admit, for a gal her age, she has balls; and the sass is strong with that woman. I adore her –when she’s on our side.

The High Priestess is a unique caster of both Light and Dark magic, although she prefers to use her healing techniques as well as the elements. She has great respect for all living things, even if sometimes she doesn’t agree with the choices made by them. For example, when the Niflheim Emperor decided to abduct her, so she would be seen in Niflheim instead of Lucis, Morticia showed them who’s boss. She took down all the soldiers and assassins the Emperor had sent and appeared on his bedside when he slept soundly. Her dark figure rose above him like a nightmarish shadow, everything, from her hair to her eyes to her dress was pitch black. She cast a spell on the Emperor and his followers, trapping them in each one’s nightmare for two days. Two days of sleeping in their beds soundly while their brains were destroying their spirits. A small price to pay, she said. Needless to say Niflheim never whined about her staying in Lucis, ever again.

Thinking on that story, the way she ‘punished’ them, the way she appeared on the Emperor; just the thought of it sends shivers down my spine. You see, the Morta I know is always cheerful, helpful to the ones in need; helpful to the ones who don’t want to be helped. In that story, the High Priestess appears nothing like the one of Lucis.

When she’s here; when she’s home, she’s the exact opposite. She’s always dressed in white, matching her long silky white hair and her bright smile that reaches up to her rosy cheeks, creating faint wrinkles around her misty hazel blue eyes.

I always wondered if she was the reason Lucis is considered a Good Kingdom. Morticia being the line –the border between the two notions and nations. But I guess I’m over thinking stuff again.

What do you think?

Hah, look at me. Actually talking to you. I must be going insane.

Well, like promised, I have no more explanations as to what has been going on around Eos. So I guess I’ll start telling you what’s going on now.

They got me out of my prison cell, only to put me in another. This one doesn’t have bars and gray walls. This is the Council room. A large chamber, filled only by a round table and a bunch of chairs right in the middle of it. There are statues of Iron Giants on the walls near the entrance; well, I think that’s what they are. I’ve read about them in the Archives. Noctis really fought those things?

The King had sent for me. They gave me plenty of time to take a shower and get into some new clothes, other than the dirty white scrubs they had me wearing for a year. It sure feels nice having a pair of new clothes around my body again. They also gave me my phone and wedding ring back –guess that means I won’t be going back. Wonder what they have in store for me.

I’m sitting on one of the chairs, waiting for someone to appear. I’ve gone through all my missed messages –all from Ignis. The man knows how to make a woman blush. He knew I wasn’t going to answer but he still sent a “Good Morning” or a “Good night” every day. My eyes passed a few “I love you”s too, as well as some “I miss you”s. I did too, my love. Once this charade is over, I’m coming home!

-Iggy, are you there?

Sent him a message? What the hell am I thinking? How is he gonna answer it? How is he gonna see it? Stupid! Stupid! Now he’s just gonna worry if it’s –oh, it’s been delivered. Oh, Noctis. What am I doing?

-My love? Is this really you? By Noctis, Six, what have you done?

He answered? How the –he’s probably with someone. Maybe he’s gone to Morticia for healing.

-They got me out. Gave me new clothes. I’m waiting for a Council meeting as it seems. Are you alright?

My heart is pumping like crazy. I still get nervous every time I text him.

-So that is why. His Majesty sent for me as well. I should be at the Citadel in an hour. Do you think you can stall them enough? I have missed your voice.

Aw, Ignis. There’s chatter coming behind the doors. Guess they’re here.

-I will do what I can. Make it quick, can’t wait to see you again.

The doors open, here comes the Council of Royal Asses! I look up at them, eyebrow raised and they all stare back, jaws clenched as they see my posture. I’ve crossed my legs and placed them on their table, my eyes never leaving my phone as I wait for Ignis to answer.

The King walked in behind them along with the new Princess, Sa’van Blacke. She’s the only one worth respecting of the entire bunch. The King is… is he smiling at me? This is getting weird. Where is Gladio?

Let me sit correctly, my ass is starting to cramp. Sa’van took a seat next to me instead of her rightful place next to the King.

“Are you alright?” she asks.

“I’m fine. What is going on? What have I done this time?” I whisper only for her to listen, my eyes never leaving the creepy smile the King is blessing me with.

“We are in need of your help, Six. So please” did she just place her hand on mine? I mean, I like Sa’van, I respect her, but is the situation that bad? “Please listen to what His Majesty has to say before the witty comments.”

“Alright” this should be interesting.

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#ffxv #ffxv au #ffxv fanfiction #Six Ulric #ignis scientia #ignis x oc #tragedia coram amandum quae #tragedy destroys every cherished thing #elderon lights #morticia blackwell #Sa’van Blacke #nyx ulric #ardyn izunia #lunafreya nox fleuret #regis lucis caelum #gladiolus amicitia #Noctis Lucis Caelum #oc #first person writing #titus drautos

[yodepalma]

ffxv rarepairs week day 3: fairy tales

Title: the best thing | ao3 link Rating: PG/Teen Pairing: Dino Ghiranze/Noctis Lucis Caelum Summary: Noctis gets turned into a frog, and then gets worse. Fair warning: this is like 4,300 words long.  I don’t know what happened.

Being a frog sucks. Noctis croaks miserably as he huddles in a crevice of the rocks and resists the urge to rub against them. He's so slimy. And a minute earlier he'd eaten a fly. He'd just been trying to get comfortable and the stupid thing had buzzed over his head. He hadn't even thought about it. His tongue had just....reacted. It had been terrible. It's still terrible. He's going to have nightmares.

A shadow falls over his hiding place, and he has to force himself not to jump in alarm at it. He glares balefully up at the person leaning into the rocks. He hopes it's not someone else who's going to try to kiss him. Even Luna hadn't been able to break the curse. There's no way some random stranger is going to manage it.

A hand moves toward him and he presses himself flat against the rock. Maybe he'll jump on their face. It'd serve them right for putting their lips all over him.

Except the hand passes by him entirely. Noctis makes another stupid chirruping croak as some dirt falls on him.

"Easy there," a voice murmurs in a soothing tone. "I just want a look at this rock. You're safe."

A pebble lands on Noctis' head and his legs are moving before he registers the alarm. He lands on the person's arm and tries to whine, but it just comes out as another croak. He shifts on his unwanted perch so he can turn and glare. Or whatever the frog equivalent to glaring is.

"Well, if you insist," the man says. His whole arm shakes under Noctis' feet, and the man makes a startled little noise before he slowly pulls his arm toward him. Noctis almost slides off, but the man catches him in his other hand. HIs fingers close around Noctis gently. "Careful."

Why won't the guy just put him down? Noctis tries to wriggle free, but it feels like he's in a cage. And the man completely ignores him in favor of inspecting the rock, though Noctis doesn't see what's so interesting about it. Admittedly, pieces of it are very shiny and the light reflects off it to make a little rainbow on the man's face, but it's still just a rock.

"Lovely," the man says, and puts it in his pocket. Weirdo. Then he turns his attention to Noctis, moving him closer. "Now let's get a look at you, hm?"

The man loosens his grip and pokes at Noctis with a finger. Noctis croaks and shuffles away. He can't believe things are still getting worse.

"I've never seen anything like you before." He runs a finger down Noctis' back, which actually feels kind of nice. Noctis sits still and waits for the inspection to be over. "You're the exact color the rumors say the prince is. But that's just silly, isn't it?"

Noctis makes a tiny hop in the direction of his face. The man smiles and pets his back again, then leans down to deposit Noctis back in the rocks. Noctis refuses to move until a finger pokes at his butt. Rude. He hops back into his crevice and tries to glare again.

Shockingly, it doesn't have any effect. The man looks at the sky and says, "I'd better get back before the sun sets."

Oh no. Noctis hadn't even thought about the daemons. It wouldn't be a problem if he was human, but how was he going to protect himself as a frog? Maybe daemons didn't eat frogs. He might be fine. He probably shouldn't risk it.

When the man starts walking away, Noctis croaks as loudly as he can and hops after him. The man doesn't notice until Noctis gets annoyed and jumps in front of his feet.

"What in Eos?" The man bends over so he can get a good look at Noct. "You again? Please don't tell me you're actually the prince."

Noctis jumps onto his shoe.

The man sighs. "I'm choosing to believe you're an actual frog. Just really strange. And fond of me for some reason." He scoops Noctis up and starts walking again. "All I wanted was a rock."

Noctis lets himself doze as the man carries him, so he's startled when he's suddenly deposited on a hard surface. He leaps forward in alarm, and then he realizes there's another person. He turns around and hops back toward the man, trying to find somewhere to hide. Why are there people? People are the worst.

"Dino, why is there a frog on my counter?" The new voice belongs to a woman wearing a red chef's jacket. She leans on the counter. If she kisses him, Noctis is going to pee on her counter. "Black like the prince, hm?"

"You noticed that too?" Dino's voice sounds sour, but he covers Noctis with a warm hand. "I'm worried he might actually be the prince."

"That doesn't seem very likely." The chef finally moves away and Noctis relaxes a little. "It's a very long distance for a frog to travel from Insomnia."

Noctis wonders just where in Lucis he is. He knew it'd been a long drive in the truck he'd stowed away in, but he'd found it hard to track the distance when he couldn't see where they were going. He wishes he could smell anything properly. He hadn't realized until now just how much information there was in the way the air smelled.

"It's not so far by truck, though." Dino taps his fingers on the counter next to Noctis. "And the Crown never denied the rumors that the prince had gone missing this morning."

In all fairness, Noctis can't be sure that anyone in the Citadel realized he was gone. It wouldn't be easy to find a frog even if he was still there. As far as anyone knew, he was hiding in a corner sulking somewhere. Which is what he'd intended to do anyway, and then the stupid truck had driven off before he could find a way out of it.

Noctis doesn't have many regrets, but getting in that truck is definitely one of them.

"Have you tried kissing him?" the chef asks. Her voice is ridiculously calm considering her stove appears to be on fire.

Dino chuckles. "I'm not kissing a frog. Why would I even want to?"

Noctis feels kind of insulted. What's wrong with kissing him? Prompto had said he was an adorable frog, and if it worked Dino would get to marry a prince. Everybody wants to marry royalty.

"Hmm, but I heard the prince was very attractive." The chef gives Dino a quick smile. "Prettier than you, even."

"Coctura." Dino shakes his head like he’s disappointed in her. "Nobody is as pretty as me."

Noctis croaks in disgust. He's totally prettier than Dino. How dare he.

Coctura laughs and brings a plate over to the counter. Whatever's on it makes Dino smile, and he lifts his hand off Noctis' back to reach for his fork.

"I was thinking of taking him to Insomnia," Dino says. He takes a bite of his food and chews thoughtfully. "I'm sure the king would know if it's his son or not."

Probably not. Noctis is just a frog like any other frog, and his dad certainly hadn't gotten close and tried to kiss him. Oh man, now he feels sick. He hops closer to the plate and thinks about jumping into Dino's food.

But he doesn't feel like being that much of a jerk right now, so he opts to just sit next to it. The heat from the food makes him drowsy, and the conversation going on over his head about jewelry isn't helping. He's still tired anyway. A nap won't hurt anything.

Dino brings Noctis to his room afterwards, dumping him onto the bed as he wanders off toward what’s probably the bathroom. It's hard to hop on the soft mattress, Noctis’ feet getting tangled in the blankets, but eventually he makes it to the pillows. After a half dozen failures, he manages to climb up onto it and flop down in the very middle.

He looks up when Dino comes back into the room, but he has to shut his eyes immediately. Dino's naked. Noctis wants to yell at him to put on clothes, but he's still a fucking frog. He doesn't think he can make his croaks emote.

Dino flops onto the bed and sighs. "Of course you take my pillow." He pokes Noctis in the side. "I doubt a real frog would be acting like this. I didn't think you'd be so shy, Your Highness."

Noctis wants to bite him, but frog teeth are completely useless. He can't wait to be human again. If only it didn't take so much kissing.

"Well, we'd better get some sleep." Dino's voice softens just a little and he gently pats Noctis' back. "Tomorrow's going to last forever."

Dino wakes Noctis up way too early in the morning. Noctis croaks his displeasure, but Dino ignores him as he heads back out to the restaurant. Coctura is still there, yawning at the lack of work. Noctis wonders if there's anything on the menu that he can eat without getting sick. He would  kill for a piece of cake. Or some fish.

He doesn't get to find out, because something big and buzzing flies right by him. Noctis leaps from Dino's hand without thinking about it, and he feels lucky to land on the counter. Even if he is swallowing another fly whole. Ugh.

"Do you really think he's the prince?" Coctura asks as she sets a couple of dishes down in front of Dino. "He just ate a fly."

"Well, he is a frog at the moment." Dino carefully picks Noctis up and deposits him in a bowl half-filled with water. "What do you think, Your Highness? You were looking a bit dry."

The fresh water actually does feel really nice. Noctis closes his eyes and lets himself float in the middle. He won't drown if he falls asleep, right? How do frogs breathe underwater anyway?

"I suppose he likes it." Coctura dips her fingers in the bowl and sprinkles some of the water over his head. Noctis decides he likes her. "You better hurry up and eat. The hunters are getting ready to clear out."

"Already?" Dino's voice is whiny, but he keeps his complaints to himself and makes short work of his breakfast. "Thanks again for the bowl. I'll return it when I get back."

"Take your time." Coctura pokes at Noctis in his bowl. "And if you are the prince, little frog, stop by sometime. I'll make Dino buy you dinner."

Noctis definitely likes her.

Dino says goodbye to Coctura and walks away from the restaurant with the bowl held close to his chest. The water Noctis is half submerged in sloshes as he walks. Noctis moves to the side of the bowl and tries to look over the rim.

"Please stay in the water." Dino prods him back into the middle of the bowl. "You're going to fall out."

Noctis realizes he misses being able to sigh. Why couldn't Ardyn have changed him into a dog?

The hunters Dino asks for a ride from seem bewildered by him. Noctis listens with half an ear as they talk, and eventually Dino climbs into the backseat of a cramped little car. He balances Noctis' bowl on his knees and reaches for his seatbelt.

It doesn't take long for Noctis to start dozing, but it still seems like too short of a time before they're pulling to a stop. He peeks his head out of the water curiously.

"No, I'll just stay here," Dino says. "With my frog. And the car."

There's a short pause before the hunter says, "You don't know how to fight, do you?"

"Not a clue." Dino sounds way too cheerful about that, considering where’d been just the day before. How does he survive if he can't fight? Maybe Noctis should introduce him to Gladio. Or Cor. Cor would eat Dino alive.

"We'll try not to be long then," the hunter says, and the car door slams loud enough to make Noctis' water shake. Jerk.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Dino puts the bowl down on the seat beside him. "I'm going to stretch my legs," he says when Noctis looks curiously up at him.

Noctis supposes that's fair. He watches Dino get out of the car, but when he's no longer visible through the window, Noctis closes his eyes again.

The hunters take forever to come back, and Dino doesn't return to the car until they do. Noctis croaks as loud as he can so Dino will know he's annoyed. And bored.

"You could've just gone back to sleep," Dino says, apparently completely unconcerned about how crazy he looks talking to a frog. He settles the bowl in his lap again. Noctis turns his back to him instead of croaking again. Dino chuckles and pokes his butt, and Noctis nearly jumps out of the bowl. Why won't Dino stop poking him?

Maybe Dino will be just as touchy-feely with Noctis when he's human again too. He doesn't know how to feel about that idea.

The rest of the drive takes about ten years. Noctis has never been so bored in his life. Except during council meetings. Which don't count, because every time he sits in on one he swears he's been suddenly transported to Hell.

When they finally make it to Insomnia, Dino doesn't waste much time thanking the hunters before he heads for the nearest subway. It takes anotherten years before he seems to figure out where he's going.

If Noctis had thought the subway rides were awful when he was human, it's nothing compared to how miserable the trip is now. He tries to hide in his bowl so nobody can see him, but he can’t keep himself from sliding around every time the train turns a corner or stops. At least it's the off hour, so when the water inevitably splashes right out of Noctis' bowl it doesn't land on anybody. Well, at least not on anyone who will complain.

"This better be worth it," Dino mutters to Noctis when he gets off the train. "If you're not the prince, I'll make soup out of you."

Dino rushes across the courtyard and up the stairs, practically skidding to a halt in front of the reception desk. Noctis pokes his head over the side of the bowl to see who's working. Laura looks up at Dino with a politely baffled smile.

"Can I help you, sir? I'm afraid visiting hours are over."

Dino clears his throat and shifts the bowl in his arms. "I'd actually like to request an audience with the king," he says. He doesn't even sound nervous. "I found something he'll want back."

Laura's eyes immediately fall to the bowl. Noctis thinks a glare at her really hard. She's going to brush Dino off, he just knows it.

"Sir, you can't just bring a frog in from the pet store—"

Dino interrupts her with a huff. "I found him hiding in some rocks, not a store." His voice is icy. "And do you really want to be the person who turns away a man who might be holding the king's only son?"

Damnit, now Noctis actually likes him. He hadn't been expecting that.

"I'll see what I can do," Laura says, her polite tone disappearing. Her voice is quiet as she picks up her phone and speaks to someone, but eventually Cor comes down to take Dino to the throne room. Noctis ducks back into the water before Cor can get too close and glare at him.

"Follow me," Cor says, and walks off without even a hello for the receptionist.

"Pleasant man," Dino murmurs. Noctis croaks at him, amused. He guesses he can see how Cor might seem unpleasant at first, but Noctis has known him all his life. Cor doesn’t like to say anything that doesn’t need to be said.

Cor silently leads Dino to the elevators. He silently pushes the up button and ushers Dino in. They stand awkwardly next to each other in absolute silence. Noctis breaks it with the loudest croak he can manage.

Cor sighs. "I see why you believe this frog is the prince."

Dino's still snickering when the elevator door opens to let them out on the right floor.

Cor turns to Dino before he opens the door to the throne room. "What's your name?"

"Ah, it's Dino Ghiranze."

Cor's eyes narrow. "The reporter."

"I'm not here for a story," Dino says quickly. He holds up the bowl and Noctis croaks at Cor encouragingly. "He wouldn't leave me alone."

Cor stares at Dino for another long second. "All right." He opens the door and walks in without waiting for Dino to follow. Dino sticks close to him as they walk across the cavernous room. Noctis supposes it is kind of imposing if you're not used to it.

"Wait here," Cor tells Dino and walks up the steps to the throne. There's a brief silence.

"Mr. Ghiranze," Regis says in his stupid king voice. "The Marshall says you might have my son with you."

"I do, Your Majesty." Dino shifts on his feet. "I found him while I was looking for gemstones by Galdin Quay."

"And for what reason do you believe this frog is Prince Noctis?"

Oh no. Noctis hopes Dino doesn't mention how much he embarrassed Noctis by sleeping naked right next to him. "He doesn't really act like a frog, Your Majesty," Dino says, his tone thoughtful. "And he's attempted to respond to things I've said, though I'm not sure I always understood."

Regis taps his fingers on the throne's armrest. "And have you tried kissing him?"

"What?" Dino's voice cracks and he clears his throat. "I really don't—I'm sure it's not really necessary. Is it?"

Regis taps his fingers a few more times. It's even starting to make Noctis nervous. Finally he sighs and says, "Ignis, please verify the frog's identity."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Noctis finds himself relaxing a little at the sound of Ignis' voice. If anybody will recognize Noctis it's him.

Ignis adjusts his glasses as he peers over the rim of the bowl. Noctis stares back. "Do you mind?" Ignis asks.

Dino must shake his head, because Ignis immediately dips his fingers into the water beneath Noctis' stomach and lifts him up to his face. Noctis wonders if he'd stick to Ignis' glasses. As soon as he's close enough, he reaches out a hand and presses it against the lens. Yup, definitely sticking.

A tiny smile curls Ignis' lips. "I do believe this is actually the prince, Majesty."

"Excellent." Regis sighs again, but this one sounds relieved. "We can get back to attempting to break the curse in the morning."

Oh, fuck no. Noctis has had enough of kissing every person in the kingdom. He turns back toward Dino and leaps for his face. He lands on Dino's forehead and sticks.

"Noctis, please be reasonable." Regis says. Noctis climbs into Dino's hair and nestles there, croaking. He turns around and watches Regis pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Fine. I still have matters to attend to. We can take up the discussion tomorrow. Ignis, could you please show Mr. Ghiranze to Noctis' bedroom for the night?"

"I—of course, Your Majesty."

Ignis leads Dino through the hallways to the living quarters, his footsteps echoing eerily in the silence. He unlocks Noctis' door and steps inside, looking around like he's expecting there to be a new mess since the last time he stopped by to clean up. Dino steps past him and heads for the bed, putting Noctis' bowl on the nightstand.

Ignis closes the door behind himself. Dino turns toward him, and Noctis croaks softly when he sees Ignis’ crossed arms.

"What are your intentions toward the prince?" Ignis asks, flicking a brief glare up to Noctis.

"I was merely trying to see him home." Dino's sounds unperturbed. Noctis kind of wishes he could see Dino's face, though the expression on Ignis' almost makes up for it. He gets the feeling Ignis has already decided that he doesn't like Dino. "Please don't look so sour. I have no interest in the throne."

Ignis' eyes narrow and he leans toward Dino. "If any harm comes to the prince because of you, I will be the first person you answer to."

"Then it's a good thing I have no intention to harm him, isn't it?" Noctis can hear the smug smile in his voice. Ignis snorts, but he must consider Dino to be threatened enough, because he leaves without saying anything else. Dino watches him walk out the door.

"That's quite the protector you have, Your Highness."  And he hasn't even met Gladio yet. "I don't suppose you'll get out of my hair now that we're safe in your room?"

Noctis thinks about it for a second. He supposes he could, but Dino's head is pretty comfortable. He shifts position a little to make sure he doesn't fall off. Dino sighs and sits on Noctis' bed.

"If I try to break the curse, will you leave me alone? I do have things to accomplish back home."

Well, Noctis supposes he can't keep Dino around forever to fend off people trying to kiss him. He croaks and jumps down into Dino's lap, looking up at him expectantly.

"I don't know if it will be worse if you turn into the prince or if you don't." Dino makes a face at him, and puts his hand on his leg with his palm facing up. Noctis jumps onto his hand and Dino lifts him to his face. "Though I suppose anything has to be better than letting Aunt Viatrix kiss me again. It always felt like a dog was slobbering on me."

Dino hesitates for a few more seconds, frowning down at Noctis. "I just want you to know that this is the worst thing I've ever done." He pulls Noctis toward him and finally presses a very gentle kiss to the top of Noctis' head.

Noctis has a second to think that nothing will happen, and then he can feel the magic working. It tingles through his body like static and he closes his eyes when a bright light surrounds him. Dino lets go of him, but Noctis doesn't have far to fall before he lands back in Dino's lap, human again.

He opens his eyes and stares at Dino, who's covering his eyes with one hand and leaning away from Noctis. Dino slowly lowers it, blinking slowly in the aftermath of the light show.

Noctis swallows nervously. He hadn't really taken notice before, but now he realizes that Dino is actually hot. Like, really hot. And Noctis is sitting in his lap. Naked.

"Fuck." Noctis scrambles off Dino's lap and looks for something to cover himself with. But his room is spotless thanks to Ignis, and he can't get to the blankets beneath Dino. He covers himself with both hands and feels his blush spread down his neck. "Do you have to stare?"

Dino leans forward and grins. "It's just such a lovely view." When he stands up, he towers over Noctis. Not as badly as Gladio, but being as tall as Ignis is bad enough. "And I did break the curse, didn't I?"

He steps forward until he's practically on top of Noctis. Noctis tilts his head back and glares up at him, but he refuses to back away. He's the prince. He's not going to blink first.

Dino brushes the back of his fingers across Noct’s cheek and his smile turns soft. “I don’t suppose you’d let me kiss you for real? Being your true love and all.”

Noctis doesn’t even want to think about how red his face must be. Dino’s pretending he doesn’t notice Noctis’ lack of clothes, but Noctis can’t help being hyperaware of it. He licks his lips and nods anyway. Who’s he to argue against true love? Anyway, after being kissed so much as a frog, he feels like he deserves at least one as a human.

Dino’s lips press gently against his. Noctis’ heart flutters nervously in his chest, but he presses forward despite it. Dino slides his hands over Noctis’ shoulders, deepening the kiss until Noctis feels dizzy. Noctis clutches the front of Dino’s shirt and decides he doesn’t care that Dino is smoothing his hands down his naked back. It’s not like anyone will know about it except them.

There’s a short knock at the door, and it swings open before Noctis can yank himself away. The heavy silence stretches for a small eternity.

“Well.” Ignis clears his throat. Noctis groans and leans his head on Dino’s shoulder. Of course it’s Ignis. “I—brought you some toiletries.”

“Thank you, Ignis.” Dino doesn’t remove his hands from where they’re resting on Noctis’ lower back. Why isn’t he embarrassed? Noctis feels like his skin is going to literally catch fire.

“I’ll just. Go inform the king of this development, shall I? Welcome back, Highness.”

“Thanks, Specs,” Noctis mutters into Dino’s shirt. He’s not going to be able to look Ignis in the eye for weeks.

“That rather ruined the mood, didn’t it?” Dino’s hands press into Noctis’ back a little harder. “Perhaps we should get some sleep.”

“Yeah,” Noct says. “I’ll just find some pajamas. Unless—unless you want—” He tugs on Dino’s shirt.

“I do prefer to sleep naked.” Dino leans down and his lips brush against Noctis’ ear. “If you’d care to join me.”

Noctis doesn’t let himself think about it, just kisses Dino again and fumbles at his buttons. He’s going to end up marrying Dino anyway. What’s the worst that can happen?.

#ffxvrarepairsweek #dino/noctis #dino ghiranze #noctis lucis caelum #alternate universe #fairy tale #ffxv #fic post

[anchoredtether]

Title: Bandages

Author/Artist: AnchoredTether

Rating: Explicit [graphic depictions of violence, major character death, dark themes, discussion of suicide, graphic/disturbing imagery]

Series: Vengeful Retribution

Chapter: 4/?

Spoiler-free Summary:  Rokurou thought nothing had changed until he felt something he could only describe as innately human. Velvet swore she felt a warmth, a luxury she was certain she would never feel again after her humanity died. It seemed even daemons could change.

CHAPTER 04 --- BANDAGES

"Why are you so proud of your clan name if you hate your family so?" The thought was at the back of Velvet's mind as she observed how he said the name Rangetsu despite all the negative glimpses she understood about the samurai's family. "I never said I hated them." Rokurou protested. "And besides, wouldn't you be a little bit proud of your last name if you belonged to the world's most renown line of swordsmen?" He gave her a devilish grin. Velvet growled. "I- well… I guess." She shook her head. "But you want to kill your own brother. And he killed your mother. I'm not…I'm not judging, but that's not exactly what a happy loving family looks like. If you don't hate them, then…what is it…you feel towards them?" Rokurou let out a quiet exhale. He wanted to retort that she was asking an emotionally dead daemon about how he felt concerning his relatively emotionless family. "It's…hard to explain to someone who doesn't come from my culture. It's not so much a family, like what you know and have grown up in, as it is a clan. We're not brothers and sisters or sons and daughters - we're comrades. Like soldiers in a battalion, or wolves in a pack. Blood relation doesn't necessarily mean anything." "If you're supposed to be like comrades, why are you killing each other?" "It's just part of our training. Part of being a samurai. We fight all the time. But if one of us ends up killing another while training…" He shrugged his shoulders as if they were talking about something far more trivial. "Then the one who's dead simply wasn't strong enough. That's just how it is. The strong survive and become stronger while the weak perish and die." "That's…terrible." Her voice sounded dead even though she felt horrified inside. He shrugged again. "Not terrible, just….different." "No, it's terrible." Her tone was almost angry now. "Have you never known what it's like to be loved?" She looked as if she were surprised she asked the question, and quickly added, "Or what it's like for someone to even give a damn if you live or die?" He blinked a few times, taken aback by her question. "Attachment and sentiment are weaknesses that will only slow you down in battle. Mercenaries can't afford love. That's just the way it is." "Well I'm going to do what I can to change it!" She said furiously, her golden hues passionate in their fervor. "I care if you die, Rokurou! You're not just an ally to me, or a comrade, or a means to an end. And I'm certainly not tolerating you just because you're repaying your stupid debt!!" She shook her head at the ridiculousness of his promise. "I don't want you to die because you're my friend, Rokurou! And you better remember it!" She playfully, half not-so-playfully punched his shoulder to make sure her point came across to him. He threw his head back in a spirited laugh. "If you say so!" In a more serious tone, he looked down at her with a warmth in his amber hue. "Don't worry about me, Velvet. I'm sure you had a wonderful upbringing with your sister and brother full of love and selflessness, and you simply wish I could have had the same. I don't yearn for something like that because I've never known any better. All I've ever wanted was to be the best swordsman I could be. That's all that has really mattered to me. Everything else is secondary." Velvet lowered her eyes with a thoughtful hum in acknowledgment. There was still plenty about Rokurou she didn't understand and his daemonicy certainly didn't help her get any closer in most cases. Most of the time he couldn't remember his human life, and if he did, he couldn't remember any emotions tied to those memories. When she thought about it, Rokurou seemed lively and full of spirit on the surface, with his care-free attitude and bizarre enthusiasm. But when she saw him more clearly, broke past his comedic facade, Rokurou was empty… as if the curse of his daemonblight tore his very soul from his body. When she thought about it, she would always take her lack of taste and sense over his lack of feeling. Because at the end of the day, Velvet hated the pain she felt…but it made her feel alive. It reminded her that she was more than a monster, that she had to keep on fighting. The pain gave her a reason to live. ][ --- ][ "Uuuhhhhgggghhhwwwwuh." "Looks like the daemon finally rose from its grave." Morgrim said dully. "There ain't no grave can hold my body down." Rokurou said groggily as he made his way to sit across from the malak at the table. "Where the hell are we, anyway?" "We're still in Mierchio-" "Obviously." The cold might not have bothered him as much anymore, but it still cut like daggers into his open wounds. Morgrim looked annoyed at his interruption. "-in an abandoned house on the edge of town. Well, by abandoned I mean of humans. Nathaniel is a malak that lives here and has so kindly allowed us to hole up here by my persuasion of sharing a special curry recipe with him." "Wouldn't happen to be a java curry recipe?" He could smell it wafting - it was the only reason he hauled himself out of bed, which he was already starting to regret. If only if one of his friends who could heal were here - Laphicet, Eizen, Eleanor, or even Magilou - he never thought he'd desperately wish the witch were by his side. This Nathaniel character knew an amateur healing art, but it wasn't anything like what he became accustomed to over the past year. "You have a good nose." Morgrim said. "I take it you can still taste your food?" Rokurou nodded. "Is that a common side effect of daemonblight?" "It would appear so." Rokurou quickly learned he couldn't use his right arm for the time being - he had to eat his curry using his left. Luckily for the swordsman, he was pretty ambidextrous, so it wasn't an issue. Realizing the extent of his injuries was troublesome, however. "How far did your markings spread before you nearly died from that code red daemon?" Morgrim stirred him from his thoughts. Rokurou was silent a moment as he looked at the black burns that marred his body, barely showing between strands of bloodied bandages. "Down to my elbow, and some ways down my shoulder blade. I can't exactly look back there all that well." "It seems your wounds have stimulated the spread of your daemonblight…as if it's trying to heal you." "I noticed that. Well, more like I felt it." It was hard to describe, but he could feel the dark markings crawling down his torso, creeping into the claw marks like a poison infecting his bloodstream. It didn't cause any pain, but he could tell it was turning him less and less human. "Judging the damage done, how long would you reckon it'll take me to heal?" He tilted his head at the cat - no, nekomata - across from him. "I haven't seen anyone survive with wounds that bad." Nathaniel picked up, speaking from the kitchen. "I'd wager it'll take at least a while. I'm honestly surprised you could even get out of bed after only four days." Rokurou nearly choked on his curry. "Four days?? Then how long have I been here?" "This would be day six since you went out into the icefield." Morgrim answered. "Damn." He couldn't remember the last time he had an injury this bad… well, except the day I died. That wasn't exactly an encouraging comparison. "So safe to say at least another week or so?" His tone was utterly defeated. "I would advise longer, but knowing you, you'll probably leave before a week has passed." Rokurou growled. "Stop acting like you know me." "I knew your brother." "That doesn't mean anything." Morgrim gave a soft smirk, and it only made Rokurou more infuriated. ][ --- ][ "I've been wanting to thank you." Velvet said unexpectedly one night on the Van Eltia. She was perched along the railing, looking out at the ocean waves crested in moonlight, while Rokurou walked over to rest his arms against the wood and joined her in watching. He found he couldn't sleep and it seemed Velvet was the same. "For what?" He asked. "For keeping what I am a secret. You didn't have to." "What, for not telling everyone that you were actually a therion instead of just a daemon?" The rest of the crew just recently learned that Velvet was the therion for the earthpulse point at Titania, even though Rokurou knew from the beginning. "What difference would it have made?" He turned his head to look at her. "You only told everyone you were a daemon, so I figured you didn't want anyone to know the therion bit." He shrugged. "I didn't really understand what a therion was anyway." "Neither did I." She looked at him, her gaze serious yet kind. "But as we all journeyed together and learned the truth about therions and Innominat…I'm actually kind of surprised you didn't make some kind of connection and think aloud some kind of epiphany with all of this, revealing what I was." Rokurou gave her a sly grin. "You're giving me more credit than I'm worth. I'm no genius, Velvet." "You're cleverer than you think." She sighed, a sound of slight frustration. She made a half-hearted gesture with her hand. "Will you just accept my gratitude already?" He laughed. "Alright alright! You're welcome. It wasn't that big of a deal though." "It was to me." Her voice was soft, her eyes lost as she stared at her arms folded on top of her knees bent close to her chest. "You also never told anyone about what lies beneath my bandages." "Actually I told Magilou." Velvet perked up a bit, her eyes wide. "You-" "Joking." Rokurou gave a playful tilt of his head before letting out a snicker. "No, I never told anyone. It's your business. You've never told anyone how I got my markings, so technically we're even. I'm simply paying back the favor." "Why does everything have to come back to repaying debts with you?" "Every act of kindness in life is a favor or a debt. There's no in-between." "That's extremely black and white for someone who lives in shades of grey." Rokurou narrowed his eyes at her, although it wasn't threatening albeit more on the lines of curious. "It certainly is." Velvet could see the crimson markings on his face more easily in the darkness of night as they faintly glowed with an ominous light. His daemonic eye shone like a nocturnal predator, and she caught glimpses of its gaze as the wind shifted his bangs. Velvet frowned slightly, her brows furrowing in thought. "There's a lot we've entrusted with each other…" She mused, "And have yet to tell anyone else." Rokurou's gaze softened. He stopped leaning against the rails only to hoist himself to sit on them like a bench, facing out towards the ocean. Velvet was sitting along the rails horizontally so she faced his side. The conversation felt more personal now, as if they were both on the same level. "I vowed to aid you in your quest for revenge the day we met. It was only natural that I come to trust you in time." "But it wasn't for me." Her voice sounded surprised. "I showed you my weakness, my vulnerability…when I barely knew you." She scoffed the words as if reprimanding herself, her lips set in a frustrated scowl. "You were only a means to an end. I wasn't supposed to trust anyone if I was to go through with this. I shouldn't have let you follow me to begin with. And yet -" Rokurou raised a brow at her, patiently waiting for her to wring out her frustrations. She sighed. "I always told myself that I didn't need anyone. That I could avenge Laphi all on my own. That it had to be done by myself, and myself alone. Even if I died in the process, that was fine. So long as he was avenged, and then that way no one else had to suffer. No one else would suffer because of Artorious, and no one would have to suffer because of me. That's how I wanted things to happen." "But that's not how things happened." He offered her a downturned smirk. "It's a good thing you've entrusted an emotionless daemon then - you don't have to worry about me suffering because of you." He turned his head to look out at the ocean, but Velvet kept her gaze set upon him, her words catching in her throat. "I'm sorry." Was all she managed to say. "For what?" He asked again, this time keeping his eyes on the water. "I'm sorry you can't feel." She almost sounded angry. "There are times when I hate the pain in my heart and I wish I didn't have to feel anything, and I envy you and I wish that I could be void of emotions - that everything would be so much easier - but then I remember that those feelings are what remind me that I'm alive, that I'm more than a monster, that I have a purpose and I desire to fulfil it." She bit her lower lip to steady herself and keep her voice from wavering. She could feel tears threatening to make an appearance as her heart ached for the man sitting beside her. "You don't have that." Before Velvet could notice, Rokurou's hand was placed on top of her bandaged one. He still looked out at the sea with a thousand yard stare, but the grip of his hand expressed that he was paying close attention. "We all fight different battles, Velvet." His voice sounded far off, as if it weren't Rokurou speaking anymore. He wasn't his usual sarcastic or cynical self, and his voice had a dark streak of sobriety. "There are plenty of things which I lack. But there are plenty of things I do have…and that makes all the difference. I think the reason why I… why I admire your resolve and strength and passion… is because a part of me recognizes that I was once like you." He turned to look at her now, his amber and crimson hues resolute. "You may have lost your arm, but you have the bandages to cover it up. You may have lost your brother, but you've regained your sisterly love with Laphicet. And you may feel you have lost what makes you human, Velvet… but feeling sorrow for what I am? Proves you haven't." He angled his torso to better face her, taking both of his hands to hold her bandaged hand and arm. "You do well to hide it from the rest of the world, but I know what truly lies beneath these bandages." He held her arm so delicately, as if it would crumble beneath his grasp if he weren't too careful. "You're not a monster, Velvet. You didn't succumb to malevolence. You're a victim of circumstance. You're a veteran of suffering. I brought my curse upon myself. Yours was forced upon you. There is no need to feel sorry for me." She was quiet a moment, desperately wanting to retreat into herself, but at the same time she couldn't pull her arm away from him. She looked up to match his gaze. "You say you brought your curse upon yourself, and that your own malevolence is what turned you into a daemon…but you've also told me that you died…that you…" She wasn't sure how to phrase the words on how he lost half of his head the same way she lost her left arm. "…that the malevolence brought you back. It doesn't add up, Rokurou. Dying wasn't your fault just as much as losing my arm wasn't. Unless you…" Velvet bit her lip, grateful that she stopped voicing that train of thought - that Rokurou died on purpose. He briefly mentioned suicide once so she had no idea the extent of how it affected him. "No, it doesn't really add up." He explained, his voice bordering close to something sad. He was silent, looking down at Velvet's bandages, his thumb idly gracing over the back of her hand. "I died fighting Shigure. I mean, ultimately, he wasn't the cause of my death, but he might as well have been. We were fighting at Mount Killaraus when a blow from Shigure pushed me over the edge of a cliff. If the fall didn't kill me, the fact that half my head deteriorated from lava definitely did the job." At this point Rokurou noticed that Velvet had her right hand covering her mouth, her golden eyes narrowed in a mix of disgust and horror. He gave her an apologetic look, but before he could speak Velvet's voice came through softly muffled. "I'm fine. I'm just…trying to absorb this." He offered her an encouraging smile, and moved both of his hands to hold both of hers. He looked down at their joined hands and part of him was surprised Velvet hadn't slapped him or something. "It was still my malevolence that brought me back to life." He said softly. "In the act of dying, I was filled with hatred towards my brother. That hatred and desire to kill him was so strong it brought me back from the dead." He laughed. "So to answer your question, no, dying wasn't my fault. But coming back from the dead with the sole purpose of killing my brother, definitely was." "Maybe that's why you can't remember or feel anything." Velvet said suddenly. Her hands, which were acting like dead fish until now, gripped Rokurou's as if he were her lifeline. Her eyes shone in the moonlight with the light of an epiphany. "You lost half your brain. It's no wonder you can't remember anything from your human life. It's no wonder you can't feel emotion. You can't recall emotions, you can't remember what it meant to feel alive when you were human because half those memories are gone…" "Hmm…perhaps you're right. I never thought about it like that. It makes sense." "…There's probably no way to fix it either. Just like how I will never get my arm back." "Like I said, you have the bandages to cover it up." Rokurou tightened his grasp on her hands in return. "You haven't lost everything, Velvet. And I don't think any loss could ever truly extinguish your fire." Her head tilted slightly, as if she were trying to examine the samurai from a different angle. "And you may have lost your memory and your emotions…but you still haven't lost this." She released her right hand to place it over Rokurou's chest, directly where his heart lie. She could feel it beating, alive and strong. "You might not be able to feel things like shame and sympathy and nostalgia and envy and love…but you have such heart Rokurou, whether you've come to realize it or not." "…I think that's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. That I can remember, that is." He was incredibly still, so still that Velvet thought he might be holding his breath. His eyes kept shifting ever so slightly, and it wasn't until he drew in closer that she realized where his gaze diverted in distraction. Without thinking Velvet pushed him away with the hand that was still on his chest… …and Rokurou fell overboard. "…SHIT." She lunged in after him, plunging into the turbulent ocean waves. She couldn't feel the temperature of the sea, but she could only imagine it must have been freezing. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU JUMP IN AFTER ME??" Rokurou yelled as he swam against the current towards the Van Eltia. Velvet realized he was mad at her for jumping in after him, not for shoving him off in the first place, and then understood how little she thought this through. "I - I DON'T KNOW, YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY SWIM AGAINST THESE WAVES!" She yelled back, now swimming alongside him towards the ship. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST THROW A ROPE TOWARDS ME OR SOMETHING?" "I DON'T KNOW I WASN'T THINKING!!" How could she be so rash? Why didn't she think to grab a lifeline instead of just jumping overboard? The samurai leaning in to kiss her really knocked her off her boat…literally. "WELL IT'D BE EASIER FOR YOU TO SWIM IF YOU DITCHED THE SWORD!" "I AM NEVER ABANDONING MY SWORD!!!!" Velvet growled in frustration. Why was he wearing it in the middle of the night anyway? Did he sleep with the damn thing? "I HAVE AN IDEA." "ENTERTAIN ME." Although she had never swam with her therion arm activated, Velvet figured she could fight against the rolling waves more effectively. The massive crimson claw engulfed her arm, and she said sternly, "GRAB ME." Rokurou raised a brow. "THAT'S ENTERTAINING." "SHUT UP." Even though Velvet should have been mad at him, the anger in her voice was only halfhearted and she was too preoccupied with fighting the ocean to properly snap at him. If the circumstances were different she would have probably struggled with hiding a snicker because, despite their situation, she found his response incredibly inappropriate and simultaneously hilarious. Contrary to his words, Rokurou wrapped his arms around her waist in an innocent manner, and Velvet clutched his torso with her right as her therion arm dug into the water, drawing them closer to the Van Eltia. When they made good distance, nearly reaching the back of the ship, Benwick appeared at the stern and had a line tossed to them. A few crew members, including Eizen, were gathered ready to pull Velvet and Rokurou up to safety. She insisted that he go up first since she could keep up with the strengthening tide, and once Rokurou was pulled up she grabbed the rope and ascended out of the water. Her left arm vaporized in black and crimson smoke to reveal her almost-human arm, and with a gasp Velvet saw her bandages were all but gone, revealing the rawness that she kept hidden from everyone. In a panic, she quickly wrapped the edge of her cape around her arm before she reached the top, and withdrew from the help the pirates offered as she stumbled off to the side, careful to keep her arm facing away from everyone. "What the hell happened, exactly." Eizen did not sound amused, his piercing stare appearing more ominous than usual. Velvet's lips parted to say something, she wasn't sure what, but Rokurou beat her to it. "Sorry, I was- well, am - increeeeedibly wasted, and somehow I tripped or somethin and…" He made a gesture with his hand, complete with a plummeting sound. "I guess I pulled Velvet in with me."

Her brows were furrowed incredulously as he explained. With his hair wet and slicked back, and the strange explanation he gave, almost made him appear like a completely different person. The swordsman wasn't a scant drunk. She knew him well enough to tell, and she would have been able to smell the sake when his lips were dangerously close to hers… She shook her head, regaining her serious composure. "It was a blur." She said with a dismissive gesture of her hand. "Sorry to bother everyone." Not only did Rokurou's lie cover up the fact that it was Velvet's fault for pushing him in, but also hid her blunder of jumping in after him with no means of saving him. "Either way, you two need to get thawed." Eizen said. "I'll go get you two dry clothes." Benwick cut in and dashed off. "Even if you can't feel it Velvet," The malak continued, "I can tell you're hitting the first stages of hypothermia." Suddenly Rokurou was flanked along Velvet's right side, grabbing her bicep still hidden beneath her cloak. "Don't worry, we'll go into the kitchen and get a fire going." "You're wasted, Rokurou. I don't think you should be lighting fires." "Aeh, the salt water sobered me up. We'll be fine." He turned to give Eizen a reassuring look. "It's my fault we got in this mess, so it's only proper I make the amends." The malak sighed. "At least let me start the fire. I don't want you accidentally setting the ship ablaze." ][ --- ][ ][ music ][ When they reached the kitchen, Eizen got working on setting logs into the hearth and starting the arte. Rokurou stated, a little too loudly, "Velvet, can you hold my sword for a sec?" "Whhhat?" Her eyes were wide. She was wondering if he slept with the damn sword only moments ago, and now he was wanting her to hold it?? She clumsily grasped the massive sword with her right hand, and he was making a weird face at her, his eyes doing a strange twitching - then she realized he was trying to wink at her. Clearly Rokurou lacked in the winking skill. Having half his face daemonized only made his attempt look even weirder. "OH." Was all she could say. With her cape still wrapped around her arm, she held the sword horizontally with both arms in a way so that it effectively covered her left arm without it being too suspicious. Rokurou unsuspectingly started to peel off his upper layers, which would have been impossible without taking off the sword first anyway. He was covering for her in more ways than she could possibly repay him. Benwick came in with a dry change of clothes for the both of them, and insisted he worked on making a hot soup to help warm them up. Neither of them could object since they reached the stage where they stopped shivering. "Be glad you can't feel it." Rokurou sighed. "I guess in this instance it's a blessing." Velvet mused. There was a silent agreement between the four of them when Rokurou and Velvet took the dry clothes and went off into separate corners to change, that Benwick and Eizen turned their backs while making the soup. While Velvet was clumsily pulling off her pants and leggings, she heard a soft whistle from Rokurou and a moment later a roll of medical bandages landed near her feet. She quickly snatched the roll as if it were gold, and hastily started wrapping up the abomination that was her left arm. She kept it wrapped to hide it from the world, but in truth it was mostly because she couldn't stand to look at it. Once her arm was properly covered, she made a grunt of annoyance. She spoke just loud enough for him to hear. "I hope you weren't looking to throw that." Granted, her hair was long enough that he wouldn't have even seen her exposed rear, but the thought of him looking at her nude made her flustered. "I'm a swordsman, Vel." He said in an equally quiet tone. "Even when I'm drunk I can hit targets without looking. Usually." She was slightly surprised that she was smiling. She mused on the fact that he just called her 'Vel' - she wasn't sure how she felt about the nickname and what it was supposed to mean. Once they were both clothed, they sat as close to the fire as they possibly could, and to each other. Velvet thought it was strange to see Rokurou wearing normal clothes, but he probably thought the same of her. They sat with their backs facing the fire, both wrapped up in thick blankets, and with the yaksha on her left side, she could only see the blackened side of his face. It was strange to think she came to know him so well that she could now read the emotion in his scarlet eye. "I've never been this cold before." His words were slurred and slower than usual. "If we wanted to warm up faster," Her words came out slowly as well, as if she were in a daze. "It would be better for us to get naked and heat up each other." Rokurou turned his head to fully look at her, his face scrunched up as if he were thinking too hard. "Joking." Velvet jabbed, although the word came out dully. "That only works if one of you doesn't have hypothermia." Eizen broke in. "I'm certainly not going to volunteer." "I was joking, Eizen." She waved her hand at him drunkenly. "I don't think we have it that bad." He let out an amused laugh. "If you say so. The soup is almost ready." ][ --- ][ After they ate a serving of soup (several for Rokurou) and their hair was mostly dry, the two of them were left in the kitchen as Benwick and Eizen returned to bed. Velvet was leaning into Rokurou's chest, his arm wrapped around her, and somehow her right hand found way to join with his left. Normally Velvet would have started reprimanding herself for getting into this kind of position with a man, but she tried to justify it with the hypothermia. It was just the hypothermia speaking, the instinct for want of warmth. "I'm sorry." "For what?" Her voice was tired, and sounded more like a statement than a question. "For trying to kiss you." A silence stretched thickly between them. The attempt to kiss her nearly evaded her mind - she was too preoccupied with surviving. With a sudden stab in her heart, Velvet wondered how long her life was preoccupied with merely surviving and fulfilling her brother's vengeance. When did Rokurou first fall in love with her? How long had she been oblivious? She knew he wouldn't have pulled a stunt like tonight on a whim. She said so herself, Rokurou had heart. He wouldn't have tried to kiss her unless it had meaning. When she saw Stormhowl glinting in the corner from reflected firelight, her eyes watered. Never leave your lifeline in the hands of another. Although Rokurou technically still had his daggers on his person, he treated that sword as if it held his very soul in its sheath. He gave it up to Velvet in order to help her hide the aberrations of her arm. She didn't realize how out of character that was for him until the hypothermia had faded. "Thank you." She said softly, her voice wavering. "For trying to kiss you?" Velvet elbowed his ribs. "No. For…for covering me." In more ways than one. "It's nothing." He said simply. "It's not nothing, it's-" "No, it's nothing." Rokurou said decisively. "Supporting you is no burden to me. In fact, I wish there was more I could do. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay that debt I owe you." "It all comes down to that debt, it would seem." "It's become more than just a debt, Vel." There was that nickname again. She angled her head to look up at him, her heart skipping a beat when she looked into his crimson and amber eyes. When did it become more than just a debt? When exactly did Rokurou change from an indebted samurai to someone who desired to always serve and remain at her side? When was he no longer a mere companion but instead became an invaluable partner? She couldn't imagine facing Artorious without him. She couldn't even think about what she would do with her life after the fact, and imagining it without Rokurou somehow felt…meaningless. She drew up the courage as she straightened her back to properly look at him as she asked, "When…when did it become more than just a debt?" "…When you said you'd care if I die." Rokurou claimed he couldn't feel emotion like he used to, but Velvet could have sworn his eyes were filled with it.  While showing him her bandages when they were still strangers was a vulnerability to her, this was Rokurou's. She had never seen him so vulnerable before - didn't even know he could be. "My whole life I was a number. The sixth son. A hired mercenary. Simply the next swordsman who had survived. I've never had anyone care if I died. Hell…not even I cared if I died." His right arm which was wrapped around her moved to entwine with her left arm, until he laced his fingers with her bandages. "I don't know how you did it Velvet, and I commend you for achieving the impossible…" He exhaled slowly, his lips turning into a sad smile. "…You gave someone who wanted to die a reason to live." Velvet's gaze softened, her lips parting ever so slightly. She saw the pain in his eyes and heard the suffering in his voice, and couldn't help but feel that she was seeing him in a completely different light. She pulled herself close, watching the firelight dance dangerously in his eyes, and hesitating for only the briefest of moments, moved to press her lips against his. She felt the conviction of his reason, and Velvet was moved by the amount of meaning in his kiss. After so many years of darkness, neither of them had ever felt so alive.

#tales of berseria #vengeful retribution #rokuvel #rokuvel fanfiction #tob fanfiction #tales of berseria fanfic #tales of berseria fanfiction #my fanfiction

[someobscurereference]

Promptis Soulmate AU where you can only see color after you see your soulmate for the first time.

Except Noctis sees his soulmate on like the first day of first grade and they lock eyes and suddenly Noctis’ whole world explodes with color. He’s dizzy with it. Everything is so bright.

And Prompto ducks his head and looks away.

And Noctis is? Confused? Because he’s like 6 but he’s heard enough to know how this is supposed to go. People whisper all the time about who the soulmate of the prince will be and what they’ll be like and when they’ll meet. It’s super important. His soulmate will be who is by his side when he becomes king. But he’s also kinda dizzy and adjusting to his new world view, so he doesn’t say anything about it because this is the first thing that’s privately his and he’s not going to give that up just yet. He pretends everything is normal and looks at Prompto sometimes–his hair so bright, his eyes like the sky–and he gets through class. When his dad asks him if anything interesting happened, he says no. He wants this to be his for a while. And he should meet his soulmate first before he tells anyone.

Except the next day Prompto doesn’t approach him either. Nor the next.

And Noctis is like, “All right, he’s shy. I’ll give him space.” Noctis has his own princely worries and concerns that make up his life, and Ignis is always telling him to be more patient and if there’s only one thing in the world he’s going to be patient with, it’s his soulmate. So he waits for Prompto to approach him first, not wanting to rush anything and only slightly aware of how intimidating that must be. He’s waiting for them for when they’re both ready.

So years pass and Prompto isn’t ever in his class again, usually in the class next door, and it’s kinda frustrating and it makes him agitated that they barely glimpse each other in the halls some days, but Noctis swore he’d be patient and they’re young anyway and there’s always more work to do. So he waits. And around middle school Prompto starts looking at him a lot more and Noctis thinks that Prompto is finally working up the courage to approach him. And he does, once, except Prompto trips into a hole and Noctis thinks he says something wrong because the whole interaction only lasts about a minute and Prompto is red faced, stammering and running off at the end, and Noctis curses himself for fucking it up. Prompto barely looks at him for two weeks after that, and Gladio forever refers to that time period as Noctis’ Hell Week because of how shitty Noctis acts after that. There’s a mark on the calendar and everything.

By this time Noctis has let it slip that he can see in color, but only a few people know (Ignis knew first because of a slip up, and he told Gladio and Noctis’ dad, but nobody else knows because Noctis won’t say who his soulmate is and they don’t want the world on alert that he’s met his soulmate just yet.)

And then high school happens, and Prompto looks different and he claps Noctis on the back and says, “Nice to meet you” like it’s the first time they’ve ever met, like they’re not soulmates, like he doesn’t make Noctis’ world light up.

But they’re close now and talking and it’s the easiest thing in the world because they’re together, finally, and Prompto is shy, and if it makes him feel better to take things slow, then they will. Noctis has waited years for this. He doesn’t want to rush it now. He’s happier than he’s ever been to have Prompto so close, and Ignis quietly comments on how he smiles more. Noct and Prompto don’t talk about the soulmate thing because it’s understood that they’ll move forward when they’re ready and just being together is enough for now. Noctis is so, so happy. When Prompto starts hanging around more, Noct doesn’t tell anyone explicitly but he figures Ignis and probably Gladio have to know. He doesn’t make it a big deal even though it feels like fireworks are going off in his chest every time he looks at Prompto.

The thing is.

The thing is Prompto doesn’t see in color at all.

He’s shy because he’s socially awkward and he doesn’t know anyone and it’s startling when the Prince of Lucis looks directly at you. He’s lonely, but he doesn’t know how to approach anyone, and it’s not until Luna’s letter that he considers ever trying to approach Noctis. But the letter is encouraging, and he does notice that Noctis looks at him sometimes? He thought he just looked funny, but maybe Noctis is lonely too. So he tries to approach Noct when he’s alone one day.

Prompto trips over himself, and Noctis’ mentions that he’s “heavy,” and Prompto has never been so mortified in his life. He runs back to his empty home and buries his face in the sheets and doesn’t make himself dinner that night. He’s miserable. That’s when he decides to reinvent himself.

He loses weight, he wears contacts, he keeps Luna’s letter taped to his mirror with a photo of himself to keep him motivated. When high school rolls around, Prompto works up more courage than he’s ever managed in his life and slaps Noct on the back. He pretends it’s the first time they’ve met because he doesn’t want to remind Noctis of how embarrassing he’d been. And Noctis accepts it. They become friends. Great friends, and he loves hanging with Noct and it’s the happiest Prompto has ever been in his life.

He sleeps over Noctis’ apartment. They play King’s Knight, they gripe about homework, they volunteer to clean up parks and run errands for people who can’t get out easily. They’re together practically every day, and Prompto takes eight thousand photos because he doesn’t want to forget a second of it.

One day they’re eating junk food and Noctis says, “I thought you only liked red peppers on your pizza?”

Prompto just looks at his pizza because it’s not like he can see what color the peppers are, he just likes hot foods–

Suddenly it hits him that Noctis can see color and he thinks Prompto can see color, and Prompto doesn’t want to admit that he doesn’t think he has a soulmate because soulmates are for people, and he’s... not sure he qualifies.

So Prompto says, “Oh, yeah” and scrapes everything that looks remotely like a pepper onto his plate. Noctis looks at him funny, but Prompto distracts him with some joke and the moment passes. It’s a good day and Noctis says he can stay the night, but Prompto insists he goes home instead and he lays in bed that night devastated because he’s not sure what to make of anything.

Noctis has a soulmate, he thinks. He’s met his soulmate, and Prompto thinks it must be Lunafreya because she’s amazing and Noctis is amazing and they would be amazing together and that’s why Prompto hasn’t met whoever Noct’s soulmate is in person yet. One day they’re going to get married and leave Prompto behind, and Prompto always knew he didn’t have a soulmate, and it was stupid to think he could hang with Noctis for the rest of his life, but those early morning moments when Noctis pressed his forehead to Prompto’s felt like they could last forever even though they obviously couldn’t and–

Insomnia collapses, and then it’s off to Altissia and a million things happen between here and there, and Noctis is always there, holding Prompto’s hand in the dead of night, and Prompto can’t do anything or say anything because he’s never known what to do, but he’ll sit with Noctis until the dawn rises. So that’s what he does.

Prompto falls off the train.

Actually, Noctis pushes him off the train, but Noct’s eyes widen as he does and he makes an anguished sound Prompto barely catches over the wind, so Prompto bets that this is all because of Ardyn somehow. But that’s also easy to doubt because Noctis had chased him around the train earlier, trying to stab Prompto and yelling awful things, but he wasn’t acting himself either–

Prompto hits the ground rolling, and everything goes dark.

Later, after the taunting and the darkness and the pain, after Noctis pulls him from his shackles and lowers him to the floor, Prompto asks, “Where you worried about me?”

“Of course I was,” Noctis says, words half-choked, like he can’t believe Prompto is asking this, like he couldn’t fathom otherwise. His eyes are wide and dark, and the doubt leaves Prompto’s mind.

Noctis, meanwhile, had been running himself ragged trying to find Prompto, destroying everything in his path and nearly losing his mind every time an illusion with blond hair ran by the corner of his eye. And the whole time Ardyn had been saying shit like, “Did you know daemons can’t see color? Fascinating.” And MTs are made from daemons and people, and he says other garbage Noctis literally could not care about because the singular thought on his mind is Prompto, Prompto, Prompto until he’s hearing it everywhere.

They’re friends. Prompto loves Noctis more than anything in the world, and if he has to come clean about his past to get Noct and everyone out of here, then that’s what he’s going to do.

He raises his codeprint to the door and says, “Turns out I’m one of them.”

Noctis’s face is ashen and his lips are parted and he’s looking at Prompto like he’s never seen him before. He looks disgusted, and Prompto hates himself.

“What?” Noctis croaks.

The only thing Noctis can think is, He doesn’t know.

#ffxv #ffxv spoilers #promptis #Prompto #Noctis #Prompto Argentum #Noctis Lucis Caelum #soulmate au #my text #long post #a fic I may or may not write at some point #I fucking L O V E soulmate aus but I barely ever write them Bc nothing ever seems to fit what i want #this specific idea struck me yesterday #I wanna do a 'first words your soulmate ever says are tattooed on your skin' some day for ffxv #but I don't know the phrase I would want #I would focus on Prompto of course Bc I'm predictable like that #wrote this between classes today

[foking-trash]

Final fantasy XV asks: 14 & 15?

Any headcanons you want to share? This can be about plot or just the characters themselves. If another blog posted headcanons you really like, tell us about those too! Well, it’s hard to share headcanons if I don’t know which character they should be about so I’ll just assume you’re talking about Ardyn, since this blog is entirely about him at the moment and I have no idea how to write headcanons for other characters except him. This is going to be short though ;)- He loves taking long walks and doesn’t notice how time passes. This might be one of his favorite things to do, because he rarely sleeps and would rather spend the whole night plotting something while walking down the beach in Galdin Quay, for example. - He hates it when people touch his hair. Only someone he really loves and trusts is privileged to do so, but with all the daemons eating him up from the inside there is not much love left to give. So no one is allowed to touch his hair. Ever.- He loves wine. He is probably that one person who orders every wine on the menu but just a sip so he can try them all and taste the different aromas. Also, he is extremely charming when he is tipsy and knows how to have a good time. (this is making my hands itch to write something unghhh)- He is probably Pansexual. Can’t say for sure, he never said it (duh), but he seems like someone who wouldn’t care about gender and would probably be game for any gender if the person fit his criteria. And I think he isn’t someone who doesn’t enjoy sexy times. He had lived for 2000 years, I think he is just bored at this point and for a few moments it makes him feel something. But if you want more high quality headcanons go over to @dreamyfanfiction, they do it much better than me. (GOOD SHIT)Who are some of your favorite XV blogs?uuuuuughhhhh I don’t want to be “that” person and say I just don’t want to leave anyone out and disappoint them or something…I’m sorry, all of the FFXV blogs I follow are GREAT. If you’re not on the list doesn’t mean you’re not cool. I still love you okay???But here come my picks.@dharma-fishbiscuit, @superespresso, @stephicness, @tylantismax, @thatonedaydream, @the-daemon-chancellor, @takahashidemon, @kuolemantuoja(these are my senpai, bless them)

#ardyn izunia #spoilers #ffxv #ff15 #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy xv #headcanons

[hawwwlf]

a script so far

CAMERA: Integral character, the POV is a uniting factor in the piece. An innocent and young observer.

LADY: In her mid-30’s, sick and dying (from an illness that is not important and unknown).

WOMAN: 50’s, some sort of platonic relationship to LADY that is brief and unclear (could be a sister, a friend, a colleague). They are close, have been for a long time. Depressed. The two love each other.

SASHA: Step-daughter of WOMAN. Serves as a representation of both women. The viewer, as with the camera. They are siblings of sorts, or tied as souls, CAMERA her daemon…

DAD: Biological father to SASHA, husband to WOMAN (newly-weds). DAD has been apart from SASHA’s biological mother for a while, not clear how or why. He’s cool.

GENERAL SETTINGS: Upstate NY, just a bit out of the city. Like you can take a weird train there, I am not really familiar with upstate but it is one of those places. The house is nice but slightly neglected, in the woods. Everyone commutes in to the city, often. So the train is a pretty strong space. The woods are a strong space too, don’t have sunny scenes.  

FADE IN:

To a beachy path - Southern California, it’s later in the day but still sunlit. Close to the moment where you begin to count down the sunset. CAMERA, “walking” down the rocky path to the shore, aimless and calm. Motion of footsteps. The sound of waves are consistent, do not change with the proximity of camera to beach (prerecorded).

Closer to the shore, the path now shows the water. A couple can be seen to the left, a SASHA in a bikini resting back on her palms, a BOY lying down beside (tense vs loose). CAMERA continues, they show in frame for only a moment.

Closer, at the water now, camera up and down (waves as well). It shows the water then fluidly turns back, the SASHA holds the frame (shoulders up). CAMERA settles on her.

She is in mid-thought, CAMERA focuses, she is speaking aloud though can not be heard as the waves hold the same volume through the scene. Her face is crinkled, perplexed, processing… She will say a few words, pause, all while staring to the right to the horizon. The BOYs hand can be seen, rubbing her bare shoulder, rub, rub, rub… This is not affecting her thought, she continues on, words, pause, words, maintaining thoughtful expression. She is not smiling, though is not sad or angry.

CROSSFADE:

NY subway car, mostly empty, coming to a stop. CAMERA (cell phone) is focused on a pole across from where seated. This fills the frame, about 16’’ of pole, the door visible behind. Doors open.

A few people enter, it is not a busy time of day. Conversations are overheard and the loudspeakers announce to stay back from the doors. A hand rests upon our 16’’ of pole, loosely. Seconds pass…

The train starts with a jolt, the hand grips tightly.

CUT TO BLACK.

Harmonica grows on black screen, overwhelming and swelling until it fades again. Next swell brings purple to the screen, colors manipulated with the sound.

SILENCE.

A kitchen table. WOMAN and LADY sit at together, the table is around and they are at a position between across and adjacent from each other. This is the house of WOMAN, the table is cluttered with papers and dishes, this is the home of a family. The house is quiet, you can hear Joni Mitchell quietly playing from a cell phone speaker on the table. LADY is reading from a book which is resting on the table and WOMAN is eating, cutting vegetables with a steak knife. The sound of metal on ceramic is slightly amplified.

Both reach for mugs, and as they lift them SASHA walks quickly through the room, feet thumping loudly (not arrogantly, just comfortable thuds, this is her house). They place sip and place the mugs down as SASHA leaves the room.

FADE OUT.

BLACK SCREEN. TEXT READS

“CHAPTER ONE”

View down a country road. A yellow school bus can be seen down the road, and if comes to a stop at the corner in view, where a gravel road meets the paved one it drives on. The stop sign swings out and two kids get out, they do not interact and aren’t close. One is SASHA.

They begin down the gravel and CAMERA settles where it keeps both in frame. SASHA is ahead of the other, with longer legs so she keeps the lead. The road goes over a bridge and up a hill. As SASHA is walking she is receiving texts from BOY.

Talking about romeo and juliet, how it’s a tragedy not a romance, everyone dies, shakespeare doesn’t do romances, only tragedies and comedies and historicals. They are debating this

SASHA continues to be followed up the hill, her path home. The CAMERA steadies at the foot of the private driveway to the home. The house is held in the frame and the surrounding forest - it is nestled in and a little overgrown, settled but decrepit.

So CAMERA is still, stiller than most other shots. This signals a shift, and will be repeated through the piece.

SASHA approaches the door, both far away, but the sound of the opening is clear. She is still texting, opening her home mindlessly.

Door shuts, silence. SASHA lets out a blood curdling scream, the dog barks, then it is quiet.

NEXT SCENE

Dark room, you can see light on objects, it’s a bedroom. The door opens, it’s DAD.

DAD

Sasha?

SASHA turns over in bed, her head is at the bottom of the frame, near the camera. The camera is being held, it is clear. She is bundled.

SASHA

(whispers) Dad?

He comes over, and she is crying. The little bit of light present fades out.

FADE TO BLACK

LIGHTS UP on a kitchen scene, same kitchen as earlier except now the camera is at the entry, the way the SASHA entered before. WOMAN and DAD and together, DAD sitting on the counter like a little child, WOMAN leaning back on an adjacent section of counter. It is the same evening, quite late, crickets are heard out the window.

They stand together silently for a bit, not awkward, just taking a break from the conversation. Allow the viewer to take in the different parts of the room, maybe the camera focuses on certain moments, post editing idk

WOMAN

Hey,

DAD

Hey.

WOMAN

You think we should go in in person? To talk to someone in person about it. idk

DAD

Maybe but we don’t really need to, i don’t think.

Depends on how long, i guess.

WOMAN

(as she speaks, camera moves to hold her face center, similar to the beach scene with SASHA)

I mean it makes sense if it was a while, that sounds terrifying. I’d be terrified, I wouldn’t want to ever be here, ever. I can’t imagine it. I can’t imagine experiencing what she experienced. I can’t imagine her experiencing it. I think it’s unimaginable. I mean, I can’t imagine you experiencing it. I can’t imagine anything right now. I am blank. I feel like I might just fall over because I can’t imagine standing up straight, and this is just from not being able to imagine the experience that she experienced. I think you understand. Do you understand?

CAMERA slides, curves, to face DAD, first hitting his chest (which is in line with WOMAN’s face) then raises to hold his face in the same way it held WOMAN and SASHA. His face is a little odd, and his head curves down to the side. One lip is a bit pouted. His face is just unsymmetrical.

DAD

(long pause as he stares down)

I think I get it but I don’t think I should let her know.

FADE TO BLACK