are you afraid of the dark? @aarnivalkie - Tumblr Blog

AARNIVALKIE | Flins | Selective & Independent | est. 10.2025

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GUIDELINES (updated 5/27/26):

ooc. I've disappeared from this blog for a while for a few different reasons, but I've come back to do some housekeeping. I've made some updates to my rules (important parts highlighted below, the rest can be found on my pinned) and I'm going to be more selective with my interactions and the blogs I follow from here on out. Networking was not having the payoff it had back in 2018 and I'd rather not spend my energy pretending to be interested in those who have no interest in doing anything but inflating their following.

INTERACTIONS: Currently very selective about who I write with. I write mostly with friends, but if I happen to follow you, that means I'm interested in writing with you. You may follow this blog first, but give me a week or so to follow back. If I haven't followed you back in over a week, then you can assume I'm not interested. Take that as you will. HSR MUSES: I am not caught up on HSR and really am not a fan of Amphoreus or its characters, so I will in general be less invested or interested in interactions with you. I apologize, but please temper your expectations accordingly. DEALBREAKERS: Making too many OOC or personal life posts. Bringing drama to my door. Being only interested in writing ships or smut. Ignoring asks I send to you. Writing replies that mostly rehash my own reply without doing much to drive the scene/plot yourself. Crackposting/shitposting. REPLY SPEED & LENGTH: I try to get replies out within a month, but it depends on my muse. Length will vary, but I rarely write less than a couple of paragraphs. I value creating longterm, connected stories with my partners, not one-off meme-based interactions. UNFOLLOWING: If I decide that I'm no longer interested in writing with you, whether that be for the content you post, your writing style, or your characterization, I will soft block to break mutuals. You're welcome to follow again, but understand that if I have unfollowed you, I will likely not follow you back.

I've cleaned up my following list and will be straightening out my threads next, with the intent to return to activity here at the beginning of June.

#out of character #// disillusioned as hell by what rp (not just hoyoverse rpc) has become lately

aurorarpresources

reblog this if you're fine with your mutuals sending you asks unprompted

#// always #out of character

about me: genshin impact

stolen from: @gggno tagging: let's keep the meme theft going

#// a lot less flins on this grid than I thought there would be #// not pictured: scaramouche being my all time favorite until picking up wriothesley to write on a whim unseated the king #// dori has turned out fine in the story but I still can't stand her voice in JP which is my preferred dub #// since I understand it better than cn #out of character

aarnivalkie

A World You Never Knew

A City of Trees action prompts | Rosaria fervently resists Flins's attempts to comfort / care for them (changeling!Rosaria AU)

gggno

later, in recount of this memory, she will insist her fear to be justified. imagine being tailed by a dark deathly figure in a thick wolfhook mist. good luck staying calm.

the mix of pain and shock has rendered her delirious; out of every concern the stranger has listed, it was the risk of contamination that caught her ear. her movement slows to a halt, and she reaches down her leg, feeling the slash so dangerously close to her knee. something sticky seethes through her gloves and clings to her fingertips, warning her of how little time is left before she may pass out.

“ what do you mean contaminated? ” using her spear as a crutch, she stumbles a few steps and sits on the rock, as predicted by the stranger. her vision is blurring. she must stop the bleeding. she grabs her veil by one end and slices it off with a dagger, brutishly tying it just beneath the knee.

immediately, she tries to get up, just to fall to the ground. “ fuck... ” as disgruntled she may seem, she is more upset about her boots than the injury. the blood will be hard to clean once it dries. she doesn't seem to mind his presence as much now, considering the lack of options.

her headdress — torn without one tail — is disheveled, beneath which are a pair of wings, similar to those of a bat, extending from the side of her head, trembling weakly as she lays helplessly in the dirt. they are covered for a reason, but she is too tired to care.

“ i'm not dead, ” she clarifies, mistaking him for some kind of humanoid vulture or, perhaps, death itself. “ just catching my breath. ”

aarnivalkie

"I'm glad to hear it, but I would like the assurance that you'll stay that way." A vulture trails the dying knowing it will soon be dead, so in that way at least, Flins is no different. When she collapses though, he waits and watches with clinical detachment, not the opportunistic hunger of a creature chasing her toward her demise, until he's certain that she won't run again if he gets too close.

He wonders if it's not just the wound she's trying to keep from him. As he approaches, what looked to be the shadow of her veil across her rose-red hair now takes the shape of featherless wings folded close behind her ears - the glimpse of something familiar stuck upon something wholly not. In all other ways, from her chained and belted habit to her mostly hairless skin, she didn't resemble the beast fae that Flins had once known, many centuries ago, and his next step stutters so that a bloodstained pebble skitters across the ground toward her.

The past always did seem to show up in the present when he least expected it.

"May I at least have your name? So that I might preserve your memory on a headstone once you pass on from stubbornness." Stopping just arm's length from her, he kneels and offers the still-white handkerchief for her to clean herself up. "The monsters borne from this mist are manifestations of the abyss. Here in Nod-Krai, we call them the Wild Hunt, but wounds they inflict can contaminate the body with abyssal energy all the same."

Quieting for a moment, his eyes trail from just past the side of her head down toward her knee, then the trail of dark, tacky blood streaked from shin to boot. Here, his gaze stops and he smiles gently, even if worn by his pallid face, it offers little to no comfort.

"... You're a lucky one."

The fog crawling in around them does its best to smother his humanity.

#gggno #thread : a world you never knew #// flins is going to be playing a game with rosaria called 'does she know she's a fae' hahaha #// short reply for now to make up for the monsters on our other threads

aarnivalkie

(Don't) Fear the Bogeyman

A City of Trees action prompts | Klee embraces Flins in a moment of extreme distress

fancoria

Klee clung tightly to Flins – she knew perfectly well that she shouldn't venture out alone without the supervision of Flins or another Ratnik. Uncle Varka had even told her so. However, waiting for others was too boring and tiring for her. And she wanted to have fun, so she decided to start exploring on her own. She had bombs, so what could happen to her, right?

She didn't think there would actually be ghosts here. Yes, it was a cemetery, but she'd only heard such stories in fairy tales so children would listen to their parents. And yet, the girl saw a strange figure that didn't look human. Luckily, she somehow managed to find Flins – or maybe he found her. She doesn't know anymore – one thing is certain: she won't want to come back here.

"Uncle Flinss… it's scary and strange here. I've seen terrible things, please take me somewhere safe."

Wow, this is something new when Klee talks to him. Usually, she was energetic, rude, but also teasing. As Alice's daughter, she didn't know what restraint was. And now? She's like any other girl. Fear changes people whether they want it or not.

When Flins told her to be quiet—because even she noticed the shadow—she squeezed his body tighter.

"Uncle, kill it! Kill it!!! And if you can't… I… I'll try to help you too!! Please!" The girl ignored his plea to be quiet. Now that she was with Flins, she had gained a little courage and would definitely want to help him fight it. She pulled out the bombs she always carried with her.

aarnivalkie

The girl did what she wanted, but if her shrieks to kill it, kill it! bothered Flins, he didn't show it. There was no need to hush her again either, because the thing creeping along the bank below had most certainly heard them. It shuddered to a stop and seemed to change directions. An arm, a head... a tail? It slithered between the rocks before Flins could figure out just what they were dealing with, but it would be upon them soon enough if it had any claws with which to scale the cliff.

"Miss Klee--" The sight of the bright red bombs in her hands shot a look of surprise across his face and stopped him from ushering her a second time back to the safety of the lighthouse. Not because he believed her to be much help against the phantoms that lurked in the dark, but because he feared what she might do with her arsenal should he leave her alone in her current state. The lighthouse was an old, decrepit relic by now, but he'd rather not bring it to ruins quite yet if he could help it. There was only one thing he could do.

"... Very well," he conceded, still in a hush. "But your formidable power must be saved for just the right moment, lest we disturb those souls still asleep in their graves. Will you promise me this, Miss Klee?"

All of a sudden, the ground rumbled beneath their feet. Flins took two quick steps backwards, pulling Klee with him, his lamp still held aloft. Its blue light spilled over barren earth and his eyes darted from rock to grass to headstone in search of the telltale swell of abyssal energy, like an abscess rising to rupture. But all soon fell silent and still.

"A cave-in, perhaps," he mused, but the tight lines of his face said he didn't quite believe that either. Whatever it was, he couldn't just leave it alone now, so he started down the hill. His spear manifested in his free hand, and he faced the wind to make sure Klee was following, his long hair whipping behind him.

"Come. We'll make our to the base of the cliff to investigate. Stay close and I promise to keep you safe."

#fancoria #thread : don't fear the bogeyman #// I can bring them to the coast in my next reply I just didn't want to move too far without a response from klee hahah

gggno

absence note: trapped in bunker.

gggno

@aarnivalkie,

half truths make the best lies; and, when constructing one, it's wise to make room for a little accident; this way, when you recount such events, your reactions will be genuine.

a glimmer of light shines from above, teasing an outside world that's more than rust and doom. illuga must've been staring at the ceiling for a while now, enough for a dull ache to set in at the base of his neck. despite his strict routine to stay fit, no training could've prepared his body for the strenuous burden of a nightingale; sometimes he gets sores that only old men should get.

congratulations, illuga. i hope this was worth the trouble. now you're trapped in a doomsday bunker because you couldn't just lie and get over it.

but being the leader of the investigation unit, illuga doesn't leave room for other decisions; either today or tomorrow, he would've ended up in wavechaser plain all the same. the truth is: there is no illuga outside of nightmare orioles and piramida; light keeping is all he knows. nikita had attempted to lure him away with tamer activities, but nothing seemed to stick like the landing of a spear; despite aino's best efforts, illuga couldn't wrap his head around all that engineering, and the frustration was what drove him here.

still, for someone who cannot even name a favourite dish, it is a relief to at least figure out something he hates.

with a cant of head, his attention returns to his companion of misery: the mysterious mr. flins. wanting to talk, his body moves before his brain remembers the sprain on his ankle; reflexively, he reaches for his spear, one of the weapons that was confiscated by the automaton that ‘greeted’ them with blaring sirens upon arrival, only to stumble against a metal-plated wall.

arrival. he chides himself. that's one way to put it.

( they tried to follow the automaton, hoping it would lead them to the exit — or entrance — but human feet were no match for a hovering robot, especially when one of them did not land right during the fall. )

he looks up again, this time to check the construction of this room. standing in front of them is a big looking glass, on top of it an overhead vent; however, the opening is too small even for a child to squeeze through, and yet the path forward lies on the other side, clearly visible and out of reach. tentatively, illuga bangs on the glass, getting a feel of how sturdy it is; then, exasperated, he turns to flins.

“ mr. flins, we have run into a ‘no-door’ situation. would you happen to have a special trick up your sleeve? ”

the young master is no master troll, but he does have a mild petty streak. he still remembers the morning he was accepted as a lightkeeper. no matter what flins and nikita claimed, he is sure of one thing: not a single soul walked through the door that night.

aarnivalkie

Like Illuga, Flins has been contemplating their unconventional entrance, but unlike Illuga, it hasn't held his attention quite as well. A master of appearances, he emulates the young master's helpless frustration with his chin raised toward the ceiling, if only to hide the sidelong stare he's fixed on the boy. What will he do next? How will he save himself from this predicament? These questions fascinate Flins more than that of their escape, which is a privilege afforded only to one who knows he is not trapped. Suspiciously, he has landed without so much as a scratch on him nor a hair out of place, but these details obscure the more damning evidence of his supernatural nature: the absence of humanity's pervasive anxiety. Illuga can't see the forest for the trees.

He's growing bored of this act though, so he's glad when the young captain finally gives up on whatever calculations he'd been trying to make to get them back up to the hole they'd fallen through and begins to hobble around in search of something else to puzzle out. Flins watches him wordlessly as he does this, one arm folded across his chest to support his other arm in the perfect appearance of a man stroking his chin over some philosophical conundrum. It's a subtle gesture to assure Illuga that he is not alone in his trouble; something Flins has come to learn delights humans more than the eagerness to provide an answer.

But Illuga, perhaps for his youth or out of spite for Flins' efforts, contradicts his observations whenever it pleases him, and does so now with the pivot of his heel - by all appearances, giving up far too easily. Flins raises his eyes to the glass that sits before them undisturbed by Illuga's meager probing, and his eyebrows lift in subtle amusement.

"If by 'trick' you mean a more thorough investigation of this room, then I'm certain you'll be quite impressed by what I'm capable of," he says evenly, deliberate with each word as he stalls for an answer. Because up until this moment, he hadn't given the room itself much thought. If there is any secret Illuga may bring to light, it's his colleague's capacity to appear busy and engaged when he's not in the slightest - a secret Flins has no desire to give up so readily, not when it's by Illuga's emulation of his tricks that they have landed here.

There are a few things that Flins can glean with a cursory glance of the place though: it's not very big, the ceiling notwithstanding. Maybe wide enough for two full-grown men to lie down head to toe. And in truth, the real ceiling was once much lower, too. It's now little more than a mosaic of steel and rock at the bottom of the sinkhole they had accidentally stumbled into. This tells Flins that this had not been a room intended to keep anyone safe for the longterm, and, with that in mind, that there must be some way to venture deeper from here.

Of course, this all would have been confirmed by the little robot that greeted their arrival, had its voice and logic board not been so deteriorated. It was effort enough simply to understand its garbled command to relinquish their weapons, so anything else was buzz and static, including how to follow it when it slipped through the vent.

Second - and this compels Flins to finally approach the wall to the left of the glass Illuga had been testing - the architecture reminds Flins of something he had seen long ago, consigned now to the abstract haze of his ancient memories. There is rust scratched vertically across the iron paneling, suggesting it had scraped across something else, so he presses it with his hand. Sure enough, the mechanism in the wall groans and pulls the panel partly to the side before misalignment brings it to a screeching halt. There's just enough space to reach in and enter a code into a keypad... if there was one. What Flins stands in front of now is a mess of knotted, broken wires.

He has no idea what he's doing, in truth, or even if what he's doing is safe, but he takes two wires and pinches their copper ends together. By some miracle, the glass wall reveals its seams and slides open. It's a small triumph not even an old fae is immune to, and Flins celebrates this blind victory with a wry laugh.

"A worthy graduation exam, if I do say so myself. It seems I no longer need Miss Aino's classes. Wouldn't you agree, Master Illuga?"

You're on your own now, in other words.

#gggno #thread : absence note: trapped in bunker #// we're already trapping each other in the cycle of never writing anything short hahaha #// the room they're in is completely fabricated tbh #// but considering how big this bunker is I think we have some creative freedom for where they go hahah

ooc. would love to write with a Nikita one day...

#// might have to cook my own food #// I simply don't have the means to maintain a multimuse blog right now #// some of my favorite dynamics are those borne from years of shared hardships and common grief #// the unique experience of understanding another person without words and the domesticity of knowing how to live with their habits #// anyway npc appreciators rise up #out of character

aarnivalkie

When Duty Calls

A City of Trees action prompts | Lumine offers Flins a safe place to hide / crash

asimplemulti

"Of course you may."

Lumine smiled softly and opened the door wide enough. It's not much, just the standard flagship inn room, but it's enough for the moment for the traveler. gentle hands accept the basket, and she inhales the subtle scents of the food wafting up from inside it before placing it on the table with a soft hum. Half of her is impressed by how quickly the other has managed to gather up such a delightful amount of food, and the other half decides not to question it.

Now that the door is locked and they're tucked away into a little slice of safety, she turns to flinns and smiles.

"Would you like to join me for a drink i picked up from Natlan? it's quite a good one, not sure how strong it is compared to the fire water you're used to."

aarnivalkie

Easy enough, Flins thinks, his mask of composure closer to the truth now that the door has been shut and he doesn't have to worry about being found. The warm hospitality Lumine offers him even inspires a smile of his own, as he'd not come here expecting anything other than a safe haven for an hour or two.

"Who would I be to turn down such a one-of-a-kind invitation? As you know, we Ratniki rarely have the opportunity to venture beyond Nod-Krai's borders to sample foreign delights," Flins says in his measured way, stepping over to the table to help Lumine unpack the spread of food he's brought for her. It's on this rare occasion though that the Traveler is not afforded the whole of his attention, his ear trained instead on what lay on the other side of the wall, primed to the rhythmic approach of military boots or the syllables of his name. One by one, he pulls hocks of cured meat, lidded bowls of stews, savory pastries bundled in cloth, and dried fish from the basket and arranges them upon the room's table, but does so with a mechanical efficiency - a subtle tell that his mind is fixed elsewhere even while his mouth recites its praise. "That is to say, I have the utmost faith in your judgement for fine food and drink. I can't say I have any other acquaintance half as well-traveled as you." Now, though, his attention comes back to the room, and he straightens his back to glance from corner to corner before he turns to Lumine with a curious tilt of the head.

"Speaking of companions, where might yours be this evening?"

#asimplemulti #thread : when duty calls #// sorry flins is really giving lumine the whole flins treatment today haha #// also sorry for the wait!

bold any which apply to your muse ! italicise what sometimes applies to your muse ! remember to repost; feel free to add to the list !

[ COLORS ] red, brown, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black, white, teal, silver, gold, grey, lilac, metallic, matte, royal blue, strawberry red, charcoal grey, forest green, apple red, navy blue, crimson, mint green, pale blue.

[ ELEMENTS ] fire, ice, water, air, earth, rain, snow, wind, moon, stars, sun, heat, cold, steam, frost, lightning, sunlight, moonlight, dawn, dusk, twilight, midnight, sunrise, sunset, dewdrops.

[ BODY ] claws, long fingers, fangs, teeth, wings, tails, lips, bare - feet, freckles, bruises, canines, scars, scratches, wounds, burns, spikes, feathers, webs, eyes, hands, sweat, tears, feline, chubby, curvy, short, tall, normal height, muscular, piercings, tattoos.

[ WEAPONS ] fists, fire - ball, fangs, sword, dagger, spear, arrows, hammer, shield, poison, guns, axes, throwing axes, whips, knives, throwing knives, pepper spray, taser, machine gun, slingshot, katana, mace, staff, wand, powers, magical items, magic, rocks, mud balls.

[ MATERIALS ] gold, silver, platinum, titanium, diamonds, pearls, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, amethyst, metal, iron, rust, steel, glass, wood, porcelain, paper, wool, fur, lace, leather, silk, velvet, denim, cotton, linen, charcoal, clay, stone, asphalt, brick, marble, dust, glitter, blood, dirt, mud, smoke, ash, shadow, carbonate, rubber, synthetics, alexandrite.

[ NATURE ] grass, leaves, bark, tress, daises, tulips, lavender, petals, thorns, seeds, hay, sand, rocks, roots, flowers, ocean, river, meadow, forest, desert, tundra, savanna, rainforest, caves, underwater, coral reef, beach, waves, space, clouds, mountains.

[ ANIMALS ] lions, wolves, eagles, owls, falcons, hawks, swans, snakes, turtles, bats, ducks, bugs, spiders, birds, whales, dolphins, fish, sharks, horses, cats, dogs, bunnies, praying mantis, crows, ravens, mice, lizards, werewolves, unicorns, pegasus, dragons, rats, mice, foxes.

[ FOODS \ DRINKS ] sugar, salt, candy, bubblegum, wine, champagne, hard liquor, beer, coffee, tea, spices, herbs, apples, oranges, lemon, bananas, cherry, strawberry, watermelon, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, pies, desserts, chocolate, cream, caramel, berries, nuts, cinnamon, burgers, burritos, pizza, ambrosia, vanilla, peppermint.

[ HOBBIES ] music, art, watercolours, gardening, smithing, sculpting, painting, sketching, fighting, writing, composing, cooking, sewing, training, dancing, acting, singing, martial arts, self - defence, electronics, technology, cameras, video cameras, video game, computer, phone, movies, theatre, libraries, books, magazines, cd's, records, vinyl's, cassettes, piano, violin, guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, harp, woodwinds, brass, bells, playing cards, poker chips, chess, dice, motorcycle riding, climbing, running.

[ STYLE ] lingerie, armour, chatelaine, cape, dress, tunic, vest, shirt, tank tops, boots, heels, leggings, trousers, jeans, skirts, jewellry, earrings, necklace, bracelets, rings, pendants, hats, crowns, circlets, helmets, scarf, brocade, cloaks, corsets, doublet, chest plate, gorget, bracers, belt, sash, coat, jacket, hood, gloves, socks, masks, cowls, braces, watches, glasses, sunglasses, visor, eye contacts, make - up.

[ MISC ] balloons, bubbles, antiques, cityscapes, light, dark, candles, war, peace, money, power, percussion, clocks, photos, mirrors, pets, diary, fairy lights, madness, sanity, sadness, happiness, optimism, pessimism, loneliness, family, friends, assistant, co - workers, associates, enemies, loyalty, smoking, drugs, kindness, love, hugs, life, death.

Tagged by: @raekher

Tagging: feel free to steal it if you feel so inclined

#out of character #headcanons #dash games #// highlights all of the gemstones hahaha

"Thank you...I owe you one." It was a close call, as if the darkness was closing in, as if alive. Then a gentle light, almost ethereal and divine, guided her before the cliff took her too.

Unprompted asks | always accepting

@fatenull

"It would do no good for a traveler to come to harm just outside my doorstep," Flins says, and fills the young woman's tin cup with an herbal tea just finished steeping. The guiding light that had stopped her right before she could go tumbling off the side of the cliff into the dark sea flickered languidly in its glass case suspended from his belt. He'd told her that it had been a certain trick afforded to him by this special lamp, not that he himself had been that ball of fire that had cut her off from the edge without a second to spare, and for now was content to leave it at that. Rare were the situations in which those he rescued from the dark pried further into the nature of his abilities.

It was late now though, and the strange mist that had gathered around his guest and obscured the path to her demise dispelled not long before Flins had offered to give her a place to rest for a time. After all, dark clouds still pulsed with lightning across the sea, and the cold wind howled like a portent of the storm's coming.

His hospitality is not luxurious by any means though. The wooden table and the mismatched set of chairs around it look to have been cobbled together with pieces from shipwrecks, and a damp draft pervades every corner of the lighthouse. Still, he stands at attention beside Lightning as if he were a butler in a fine dining room - one hand tucked behind his back, the other holding the emptied tea kettle close.

"Shall I get you anything else? Something to eat, perhaps? These walls are not unused to hosting the occasional traveler, but I fear they do not make for the most welcoming accommodations."

#fatenull #// this was unexpected but thanks for sending!#// I'm always open to random asks/interactions

ooc. I got several replies back in a short amount of time this past week, so I'll be filling my queue to spread posts out next week. Thanks for the patience!

#to be deleted #out of character #// goodies for me goodies for me

procrastination-archive

#artwork #// love the sketchy lines and the face shape

ooc. the class divide is one liner vs novella

#observations #out of character #// joking... maybe #// where are the novella writers though I feel like a goose among ducks

geniuswhizkid

FRIGHTENING IS THE NOTION OF HER DEAR ROBOT COMING INTO HARM . . . the little inventor pouts, then frowns. rounded features pull into what could only be described with a grimace as she lets go of flins in order to examine the damage done. hardly can the average person figure out how to disable her traps- so it's only understandable that they became brutes in order to break it. her expectations were low, but now they're even lower.

as her companion uses pale lantern light in order to illuminate the insignia, the grimace pulls deeper. it's silly on such a childish face, but what can one expect of someone who despises when her machines are in peril? much more when the cause of their peril is folk who she dislikes further? “ that's no good. not at all. ” she tries to sound put together, serious and not brimming with the instinct to instead stomp off and assemble an army. “ the fatui stick their noses everywhere. if they got their hands on 'em, i'll-! ”

deep breaths. ineffa taught her that. ineffa already wouldn't like her running about at this late of an hour, when the moon is red with some sort of malicious telling. ineffa would feel better if aino wasn't going around and causing a ruckus. both of them will come back safe and sound. for ineffa!

“ . . . i'll give those no-good thieves a piece of my mind. ” she settles on, eventually. chubby fists are balled up as she looks around, before deciding to check on the trap itself. nothing is caught in it. “ they fought back. ” she notes, looking around at the surroundings. “ we can follow this. if something happened with my robot, then there'll be parts everywhere in the dirt. or at least, there'd be marks everywhere. ” because the aforementioned robot had taken off with much too many bits and bobs hanging loose. “ this fire, though. . . ” a bit of pondering there and the girl seems to have come to a revelation. one that she, unfortunately, also seems to only get more peeved by. kerplunk-a-tron taps along the ground, poking at the trap, then at the little inventor. “ that's right, kerplunk-a-tron. ”

( how did they talk? who knows. )

“ i got some ideas. one, they ran into the fatui and had a fight here, which is why the trap 's busted. two, the fatui tried to rig the trap but broke it. three, my robot tried to rig the trap and the fatui tried to stop it thinkin' the trap was for them. four-- ” the ramblings stop when kerplunk-a-tron, bless whatever soul the metal assistant has, whirs loudly and stretches in the direction leading further down the direction they were already heading. “ do you hear somethin' over there? ” her voice is somehow comically quieter, if not just a tad more raspy.

rarely does the genius of the craftshop ask for permission. this is not some special circumstance in which she does, because the girl gets up with one final glance around at the area. determination is etched into her expression, replacing the former anger that had been so deeply ingrained. “ that's it. come on. ”

she pauses. there's a too-gentle thrum of energy. somehow, it moves her to look at the moon. it's ever red. the trap that she tried to leave behind snaps shut loudly- because of course it's kuuvakhi activated of some sort. the determination wavers. “ ahh. . . flins, c'mon. . . ” she tries to order, it comes out as more a plea.

aarnivalkie

Still knelt with his arm at rest across his knee, Flins listens to Aino come to her own conclusions. While he may know the telltale signs of Fatui involvement, the world of machines remains firmly out of his grasp and so he doesn't pretend like he can guess where the runaway robot may have gone off to, or if it was even still stumbling through the countryside on its own legs (or wheels, or whatever appendages it'd been given for it to have gotten away from its creator to begin with). He's found all that he believes he'll be able to make sense of here, so his eyes follow her impassioned march around the area with the muted curiosity of a dispassionate observer. This is not any real issue of his, anyway, and certainly no duty bound to him by his affiliation with the Lightkeepers. While Aino treats each of her creations as her children, Flins holds no such sentimentality for mere steel and wires. It's an idle curiosity more than anything else that keeps him amenable to her commands.

For a moment, Aino seems to forget that Flins is still here, conversing instead with the peculiar tail Flins had not believed to have any mind of its own. He'd heard the sound that it had apparently heard though, and turned his head to peer through the dark beyond the sphere of light from his lantern. That seemed to be as good a lead as any, and Flins starts to stand in order to follow her when it appears that she's thought the same thing. Content to watch the little mechanic work out her own ideas, Fins has said little up until now, but when the half-sprung trap finally claps shut entirely and sends a tremor through her voice, he comes up alongside her with his lamp.

"I am right behind you, Miss Aino," he assures her. While during the day many found his presence rather unsettling, like a ghost trespassing the safety of sunlight, it was during the night when his companionship was its most comforting. Monsters of the dark dared not cross one who wore the night like a tailored suit.

"A trail of scrap should be easy enough to follow. If we move quickly, we may be able to apprehend this fugitive before it gets too far."

As long as it hasn't fallen into the Fatui's hands. Flins raises his lamp to cast its light as far as it can reach, and indeed pieces of bent and broken metal glint from the ground. But the shadows, too, dip into the unmistakable divots of prints left in the dirt. Flins hums thoughtfully.

"Is there a reason that the Fatui might want your robot? Stay on your guard."

#geniuswhizkid #thread : under the blood moon #// I thought you'd dropped aino actually but glad to see she's back!#// sorry for the delay on the reply

aarnivalkie

A Funny Story

A City of Trees action prompts | Linnea begrudgingly patches up Flins' wounds

aarnivalkie

Here was the fine line between fortune and shame.

"It's nothing serious, I hope?" Flins asked in his usual, jocular way, but his voice strained with the effort. Anxiety, weariness, embarrassment - it was hard to tell with what exactly beyond the fact that something seemed off about him. Nevertheless, he played his part as the attentive patient under the scrutiny of a doctor who was just as reluctant to act out this scenario as he was.

For those of a scarce race though, one had to take precautions. Flins knew the cuts on his arms were not healing properly. Being more flame than flesh, he rarely needed medical attention, but there were still certain afflictions that befell the fae that no human medicine could cure. Linnea, with her vast knowledge of plants and stone, animal bones and curious elixirs, was the best he had without taking the arduous journey north in search of something that had likely been long consigned to memory.

Her field notes now lay scattered across the table they sat alongside, barely legible in the candlelight. With a glance at the nearest page, Flins sighed.

“A troublesome burden, that of flesh…”

@frostwoven

#frostwoven #thread : a funny story #// as a disclaimer I have not played linnea's story yet #// I am eager for some fae interactions though #// I imagine they each experience their own profound loneliness in being different from everyone around them #wc 194

aarnivalkie

Luna Plena

A City of Trees action prompts | Sora suddenly pushes Flins out of danger's path

aarnivalkie

The fractured axehead came down with deadly speed, too fast for how big it was, lugged by a hulking beast of what had once been three men, now a horrific amalgamation of limbs and flesh. Flins hit the ground on his shoulder and rolled until he was upright again, skidding backwards with his fingers dragging through the mud. The beast pulled its weapon free from the ground like it hadn't been embedded nearly two feet deep, and beat its chest with one knot of a fist. A wet, gurgling moan sent a tremor strong enough to fissure the ground around them, and from it, a dozen decaying hands thrust out of the abyss and clawed at untainted air.

Even Flins' lamp held aloft was hardly able to penetrate the thick, dark mist that surrounded him, This situation was growing worse by the second, and he knew no backup was on its way; this was supposed to be little more than a routine cleanup.

With a mighty bellow, the lumbering monstrosity swung its axe again—

Flins hit the ground again, this time on his back, and blinked his eyes wide as a figure wreathed in bright moonlight deflected the strike away.

@bishonenprince

#bishonenprince #thread : luna plena #// thanks for sending! hope this works for you #// I read over your pages and tried to make sure I had a believable scenario for your guy to be in

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