Confused | 22 | Any pronouns | I love HxH and the concept of yandere | Mostly just writing what I wanna see written | Requests: CLOSED | pfp credit: @ultrainfinitepit
Before home computers were very common, people typically only typed for business-related things, so the only people that actually knew how to use typewriters and word processors were authors, secretaries, accountants, etc. These people would take classes for typing bc it was seen as a skill. This gradually fell out of fashion, much like teaching kids cursive
Typing is only intuitive to gen y & z bc most of us learned through computer games or had someone tell us where to rest our fingers. People who never learned to type use just their index fingers, hit one key, take a long time to find the next letter, hit it with an index finger, and repeat until finished
I downloaded a news app and literally deleted it because haha I would like to keep my sanity thank you very much. Since the world is so bleak, let us mention three good things that have already happened to us or are looking forward too.
1. I wrote and posted a fanfic in honor of my first pride month.
2. EP 9 of TADC is coming on Friday! Perfect timing!
3. I've been inspired to make my own show. Obviously, I don't have the funds to actually produce it but I can come up with and develop a concept and write scripts!
I’m a dumbass and reblogged it right away instead of typing anything—
Uhhh yeah
Three Good Things
1. I ran a DnD session for the first time in at least a year and a half yesterday and it went *beautifully,* I’d like to thank Windy, EJ, and Sam for being such delightful players for our first session <3
2. I set a clear boundary a few days ago regarding a table where I’m a player. I won’t get into details but it felt really nice to be able to stand up and get something off my chest, which is usually quite difficult for me
3. I bought the 2nd volume of the First Partners Illustration Set for Pokemon cards and got the Johto starters, which are all very special to me because of a dear friend who’s since passed on. The bonus packs even had cards for some of my favorites so it felt very sweet :3
Tagging mutuals who might also want to do this but totes don’t have to lol
Tagged by @crownprincessoftherusalkas (on @gastonxwindy)
Last song: Feeling Sorry by Paramore
Currently Watching: True Crime videos on YouTube
Current obsession: dnd, Sea of thieves, wildflowers, ducks, horror
Currently reading: The Clan of the Cave Bear, for like the billionth time lol
Currently working on: I have several fanfiction wips, as well as some ideas for batb week 2026. I'm also trying to make sure I correctly set up Minecraft to play with my friends
Last Google search: smart 911, my mom wants me to download a local alerts map because there is a really bad wildfire decently close to where I work
@possummush @bestlittlesnek @enbykelpie @sams-dumping-ground @sushibeth @gamerbot-22 (Idk who else to tag ahh)
Last song: Red Flags - Tom Cardy ft. Montaigne (a banger, truly)
Currently Watching: Horror video game retrospective on YouTube
Current Obsession: Pokemon, Dark Sun Gwyndolin, TTRPGs, literary criticism and analysis
Currently Reading: Just finished The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Currently Working On: Work so I have funds for a convention and then a trip to see my long distance partner, various cross-stitch projects, a couple stories both fanfic and original
Last google search: single serving sugar cookie recipe. Here’s my go to :3
@asexual-abomination and uhhh idk who else to tag other than you, hon lol my other moots don’t do tag games
Currently watching: New York roommate TikTok drama lol
Current obsessions: Fire Emblem Three Houses, Persona 3 Reload, Metaphor ReFantazio (specifically the Magnus brothers), Touchstarved (specifically Vere)
Currently reading: Tentatively and slowly starting the Earthsea series after not reading for ages lol
Currently working on: Getting through my 9-5 and heavily considering what I want to do when my contract ends
Last Google search: “Can you get a second student loan when you haven’t paid off your first one?”
(Yandere!Basilio Magnus, Fidelio Magnus, & Louis Guiabern X Reader)
Hello everyone. Guess who has a big girl full time job now! It’s meeee 🙂↕️. I also obviously got very very into Metaphor ReFantazio recently, and some extremely kind and lovely comments on my older work gave me the motivation to give the old fanfic muscles a workout, and I’m pretty happy with what I made! It seems like yandere is very niche within the Metaphor fandom, so I don’t expect this to reach/appeal to very many people, but I’m still happy I created it for myself at the end of the day :).
Hope you enjoy reading!
~~~
Basilio’s purring rolled through you like thunder, his head resting in the crook of your shoulder sending the vibrations straight into your skull. He was wrapped around you like vines on a tree, one leg swept over yours with his tail swishing softly across your lap.
For all his musculature, he was surprisingly soft and comfortable to cuddle with when relaxed, and under any other circumstances you would have enjoyed it immensely.
He just had to get all cuddly on the one night you could escape.
The setting couldn’t have been more perfect - the Charadrius was moored in Port Brilehaven, and a dark storm had rolled in deep, leaving the night completely starless. You listened helplessly to the sound of pattering rain and thought about how it could have obscured the sound of your footsteps, how it might have been the perfect excuse to stoop into a random shop and hide until the inevitable search party blew over.
Even if you had the strength or agility to squirm out of Basilio’s grip, preferably without waking him, you couldn’t even begin to try until the other problem in the room made his move.
Fidelio was sitting at a small writing desk in the corner of the brother’s personal barracks, though you could only hear the sound of him shuffling papers around without any scratching of his pen. He hadn’t even changed out of his day clothes, which was odd even for someone as businesslike as him.
In fact, the more you thought about it, the more details about today seemed odd.
First thing in the morning, Louis had given his troops the Idlesday off, then invited you to accompany him around the city.
When you at first gently declined the offer, he made an odd comment about how “it was such a lovely city to escape into”. His smile looked the same as it ever did, but the way he looked you dead in the eye made a shiver run up your spine.
Then, when you stepped out to do a bit of personal shopping yourself, Fidelio had followed you through the streets far more openly than usual. You were normally loosely aware of him lurking in alleys nearby, but today he’d practically been attached to your hip.
Once you’d gotten back, Basilio all but leapt onto you, complaining of a stomachache. It was unlike him to reveal his pain at all, even when he came to you asking for alento herbs to deal with the lingering effects of the igniter experiments, there was always a brave face between you.
You gave him a painkilling elixir, but it didn’t seem to help, and as the evening rolled on he practically begged you to let him cuddle you so he could sleep.
It was all quite weird.
“Can’t sleep?”
Fidelio’s lilting voice cut through the darkness, and the suddenness of it made you gasp sharply.
“Got too many thoughts running through your ‘ead, eh?”
There was the sound of the chair squeaking slightly as he shifted, presumably turning to face you although you kept your eyes tightly shut. It was childish, but maybe if you kept us the facade of sleeping for long enough he’d just give up and go the hell to bed.
“‘S understandable, with the storm and all. Hard to sleep when it would be so easy for someone to be sneakin’ around, causin’ problems.” You stubbornly refuse to respond as he waited a few moments before continuing, “I’m probably not gonna get any sleep tonight. With Bas all knocked out someone’s gotta keep an eye on you. There’d be a lotta blood on our ‘ands if someone dangerous found you defenceless, y’know.”
He was speaking in that low, patient drawl he used when he needed to make an impression. His physique meant a more mindful reputation served him better against enemies.
Beside you, Basilio groaned and buried his face even deeper into the crook of your neck, shifting his grip around your shoulders and waist to pull you closer. The new position was a risky one for your escape, his grasp was looser but there was now more chance of waking him if moved too much.
Before Fidelio had a chance to keep badgering you, there was a single sharp knock at the door, and the distinct elegant sound of Louis’ voice from the other side. Being far from the door you couldn’t make out what was said, but it seemed to catch Fidelio’s attention, as he stood and walked to open the door quite quickly.
Weird. Normally he’d respond from within first, just to be sure.
The two whispered quietly to each other in the doorway, weird, before Fidelio stepped out, shutting the door behind him and seemingly following Louis to wherever he was needed.
This might be your only chance to escape, so you began to carefully squirm out of Basilio’s grip. As he lost the weight of you in his arms, and the warmth of you beneath him, he whined softly and his ears twitched back in frustration, but importantly he didn’t wake up.
Padding over to the door, you threw your coat and shoes on, looking a little odd as you were still in sleep clothes, but there was no time to change properly. You’d been subtly collecting things in this coat’s pockets for a few months now, in lieu of any kind of bag you would need to hide and grab on the day of your escape.
You tapped the pockets as you mentally planned out what you had, a decent amount of reeve as well as a small folding knife, some herbs you intended to plant to try and throw them off your scent in case they went that far to track you, and finally a small, secretive flame igniter that had been silently weighing down your pocket for months.
Slowly opening the door revealed a softly lit hallway. The vast majority of the troops were still out, enjoying their random Idlesday off and likely wouldn’t be back until morning. Perfect. Weird, but perfect.
You all but ran out into the hall, hustling towards the nearest exit as quickly as possible. You hadn’t been able to tell which way Fidelio and Louis had gone, but getting caught out of their room at all, let alone in your current state, would have been far more suspicious than you could ever explain away.
Better to just rush to the exit and worry about subtlety once you had the space.
With the rain plummeting down and your blood rushing through your ears, it would be beat impossible to hear them coming if you tried to listen for their footsteps approaching.
Rushing through the empty halls towards the exit, things were eerily quiet without the usual security. You shuddered and pulled the coat tighter around your body, protecting yourself from invisible prying eyes.
As soon as the door entered your sight you sprinted up to it and slammed your hand into the release button that was supposed to open the door without a key. From the inside, there weren’t supposed to be any security measures since the only threats worth worrying about were from the outside.
But the door didn’t open. Didn’t budge an inch, in fact.
You began pressing the button over and over again, quietly begging that the first press was a fluke.
“Oh, come on…”
The quiet whisper of anxiety echoed out in the entrance hall, hidden under a roll of thunder.
“Y’a’right there, pup?”
Scarce few meters away, Fidelio leaned against a wall that had previously obscured him from your line of sight. His arms were crossed and one eyebrow arched, looking thoroughly unimpressed if not for the mischievous smirk on his face.
Thorny vines of anxiety sprouted from the ground and rooted you down. You could do little more than stare at him with wide eyes as he pushed off the wall and slowly approached.
“What’re you doin’, tryin’ t’ get outside in this weather?” He asked with faux innocence, closing in on you with every step, “Almost looks like you were tryin’ somethin’ dumb.”
His smirk fell away on his final word, replaced with a scowl as he began reaching out to grab your arm. The surge of fear in the moment finally shook the ice from your veins and you span hard on your heel, running as fast as you could down the nearest hallway.
There was no other exit from this ship, but that didn’t matter when you knew that this was likely the best shot you’d ever get, and getting caught now might be the death of freedom for the rest of your life.
For now, your best option was to make as much distance as possible and find a room to hide in. You made a few wild turns around random corners, getting completely lost in the labyrinthine warship in the hopes of also losing your pursuers.
An ajar door caught your eye, the complete darkness beyond it convincing you it was the safest option you’d get. Throwing yourself inside, you slam the door shut behind yourself and immediately fumble in the darkness for a lock.
Strangely there wasn’t one, so you instead turned and pressed your back against the door. You reach into your pocket for the flame igniter and flick it on to get your bearings in the dark room.
It seemed to be a small… guest room? You had never seen such a thing in the time you’d been living on the ship, and it seemed unusually nice for a simple spare room.
Taking in your surroundings as footsteps seemed to hurry around outside, a chill like death slowly but surely crept down your spine.
An especially soft, large bed in one corner, with bedsheets already made in your favourite colour. Weird. The way Louis had all but gone out of his way to empty the Charadrius before a worrisome storm. Weird.
A writing desk in another corner, lined with books you recognised and fine ink and paper already laid out. Weird. Fidelio’s insistence on not letting you out of his sights for a second today. Weird.
A strange metal ring welded upright into the centre of the floor, the kind you’d previously seen in the cargo bay for securing ropes within. Weird. Basilio’s stomachache and especially cuddly behaviour. Weird.
The strange feeling of shapes in the door against your back, one at the back of your head and one with a small shelf pressing against your hips. Weird.
“Did you have fun running around like a beast out there, my dear?” Louis’ voice rang through the metal door, a smug smile audible in his voice, “Get it all out of your system? I certainly hope you have.”
This one was rough on my soul but We Are Almost There, tomorrow is the last one who I have reserved for my favourite character, Agnea!
Also. You may notice that I forgot to post this. Ever. But I am in the process of writing something new for a completely different fandom so I hope people enjoy!
Hope you enjoy reading!
~~~
Partitio had heard tales of the New Delsta Game Parlour, but standing in it now he was shocked at all the debauchery happening around him. There were tables covered in cards and stacked high with chips, and the many attendants behind the counters had evil gleams in their eyes, even as they watched poor men lose every penny to their names.
Papp had taught him about a few of the tricks these places used, over long nights spent playing with incomplete card decks when they couldn't afford to replace them. He knew that these places didn't have a lick of morals and someone needed to set them straight, but just how was he going to do it?
As he was pondering the question near the front door, a strange man in a suit swished up to him and tried to pull him towards a blackjack table. He had an odd look about him, and Partition remembered one of Papp's teachings, "They'll try ta give ya one big win first, ya see? It's an investment for them, one medium loss for huge winnings as you come back over and over again to chase the high."
With that thought in his mind, he followed through to the table and swaggered up to a free side, tipping his hat to the dealer as he introduced himself.
"Partitio the merchant, at yer service, now might I ask how we play this one?"
The dealer, as well as the strangely enthusiastic man to his right, explained the rules to him excitedly, although he already knew the basics. After the first round, he found himself winning a huge amount of leaves, and a plan quickly formed in his mind. He stepped away from the table even though the dealer and greeter were quick to try and pull him back.
"Oh, er, perhaps you'd be interested in seeing one of our other games, sir? We have plenty if that one wasn't to your taste!"
"Oh no I was actually just interested in cashin' out! No point bettin' more when I'm at a winnin'!"
The man looked utterly flabbergasted, and Partitio just flashed him a brilliant smile as he went sauntering to look for the cash out desk. When he found it, he found that his winnings in chips came out to 5 million leaves, and when he asked for it in a lump sum, the tender looked absolutely gobsmacked and had to slip into the back to see if they even had the money.
Partitio put on a show of indignity, demanding to know why the parlour would offer such ludicrous amounts of money if they couldn't provide it, and he hooted and hollered when the tender sheepishly offered him a promisory note in place of his money.
The patrons were shocked and the workers looked distraught, with several of the bouncers looking like they were preparing to dump him in the parlour's moat. Still, in the end the house conceded and, in bag after bag, brought out the 5 million silver leaves he demanded.
Once they were done, looking exhausted and, quite frankly, scared of what this would do to their pay, Partitio felt a slight twinge of guilt about what he was about to do.
He spied a man eyeing the bags with a desperate look, he seemed to be in poor condition. Partitio called the man over and learned his name was Herbert.
"Well Herbert, how're you doin' tonight?"
"N-not great?" The man answered with a shaky, unsure voice.
"Sounds like ya might be a little low on funds there, Herbert. Reckon this pile o' silver here will help ya out?"
"What!? You can't be serious, s-sir..."
"I certainly am, on one condition."
The whole parlour leaned in, ready to hear what he wanted.
"What is it, I'll do anything!"
"Yer gonna pay off your debt, and then never come back here again."
Herbert's eyes shined with excitement, and as Partitio looked around at the angry bouncers, he smirked when he prepared to fight his way out with a new friend.
*baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws* *baps you with my paws*
You know those videos that talk about things in Japan that are "mindblowing" (often they're not that common or just small little touches). Well fuck it, here's a load of things that I think will blow people's minds about the UK that are just common knowledge here.
If you find a road that's oddly straight out in the countryside, chances are it was originally a Roman road. Several Major roads and sections of motorway follow the route of Roman Roads. There's a Roman Road that goes under the end of my street, part of it is still in use.
Every hour, on the hour, BBC radio 4 plays a series of beeps that tell you when it's exactly on the hour so you can set your clocks and watches.
We have a TV show made for Amateur Astronomers that has been going on since 1957. They cover major events and discoveries in Astronomy.
We have a Gameshow called Countdown wherein people take semi random letters and try create the longest word they can from it, and then take semi random numbers and try to use them to get to a random number. It is one of the Longest running and popular daytime gameshows and is a national treasure.
In Scotland, a lot of our chip shops were/are opened by Italians or people of Italian descent, so you can also get pizza there. Haggis pizza is a common menu item and it slaps.
The controllers in charge of the power grid have to watch every major soap opera and sports event because when the event ends or goes to commercial break, so many people get up to go make a cup of tea it risks a blackout, so they have to use Pumped storage stations to generate more power. There's one of these power stations near Wales's Highest Mountain and one at Loch Ness.
Every major channel rehearses for the death of the current monarch so they don't fuck it up. Under the news desk at the BBC, there's a black tie for the men and a black cardigan for the women that they put on if a major royal dies. You can see this happen if you watch the footage.
The government announces tests of the EAS system in advance so people know that A) it's a test, don't panic and B) so people with hidden phones (like abused spouses) can turn them off.
Our lifeboat and lifeguard service, The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, is completely volunteer run and funded through donations. Volunteers have to have pagers on them that ring if they're called up so they can run to the boats and rescue people. They're often in remote areas, and they're a common charity to raise money for because everyone agrees that they're not just heroic, but based as all fuck.
Most major supermarkets deliver, and by that I don't mean "you can send a gig-worker to do your shopping", I mean Tesco, Sainsbury's, Iceland and ASDA all have fleets of official trucks where you can do your shopping online, a supermarket worker picks your stuff for you, and at a designated time someone comes and delivers your shopping. They're even a common site in rural areas.
It's a Christmas tradition to go to your local theater to see a Pantomime, which is basically a retelling of a fairy tale done by drag queens aimed at children, but with jokes for the adults and modern cultural references. Famous actors will often take part in these shows. It's a beloved Christmas tradition that's illegal in Tennessee.
BBC radio 4 Broadcasts a Special Weather Forecast for people who work at sea or even on the water. It's very technical and concise and people who do not work at sea or even live near any major body of water listen to it because it is very, very relaxing.
The final story, of my beloved girl Aggie!! I wanted to really be able to take some pride in this one, so I had the whole thing beta read by the awesome @rhythmmortis!! I'm glad I'm decided to do this series and show my love for this game, I'm so excited to lock in on Octopath 0 when it comes out tomorrow :)
Hope you enjoy reading!
~~~
Trees seemed to appear one after the other, with no sign of civilisation in sight. Agnea kept her head held high, but was also eyeing them suspiciously - thinking the Leaflands themselves might be tricking her. The butterflies she was following seemed to be a lot less wise than she had initially thought.
Next to her, Gus panted like a dog, “How’re you not tired?”
“Hm? We’ve only been walkin’ a few hours. And everythin’s just so darn pretty ‘round here.”
His face fell like an autumn leaf, and he let out a truly pitiful sigh.
“Quick! We need to speed up or we’ll lose sight of the butterflies!”
“I really don’t think we oughta trust the butterflies…”
How was a man supposed to survive under these conditions? Before he knew it, he was watching Agnea climb up a six-foot rock cliff just to follow her little guardian angels. To his endless shock, she was up and over with finesse, ease, and grace.
“Come on now!” She called down from the top, kneeling and leaning over to offer him a hand.
With much less dignity than Agnea, Gus hauled himself over the cliff edge, scraping his waistcoat over the undergrowth. At least it wasn’t one o’ my work shirt, he hid his grimace under years of tavern-keeping toughness.
“See, I reckon that butterflies like sweet stuff, right? And what’s sweeter than all the peach-and-raspberry pies we got at home?” Agnea huffed, with a smile that never left her face, “We’ll get there eventually if we keep following ‘em!”
“I don’t think they usually fly right up to the village though…”
“Well maybe if they lead us to a berry bush, we can figure it out from there!”
Gus couldn’t help but feel a little uplifted by her unyielding positivity, as much as logic told him that insects weren’t going to help them get anywhere. Still, the woods expanded beyond them and the sun was slowly falling.
“Fine, fine. But just a lil longer, alright? Then we really gotta take a break or our legs are gonna give out.”
At that, Agnea stumbled back in surprise, “You’re that tired?! Why didn’t’cha say somethin’?!”
“Yer legs must be made’a steel from all that dancin’...” He wheezed, realising just how out of his depth he was.
He began again on his loyal march, figuring that following the butterflies was the best option anyhow, when he suddenly lost his footing. The world turned upside down from a single sweep of agnea's buff arms. his companion status seemed to turn from 'walking buddy' to 'heavy package' in an instant, as he flailed in her grasp.
With a musical hum, she began moving along smoothly, eventually calling over her shoulder; “These legs a’ steel and butterflies’ll getcha home in no time!”
***
When the moon was high in the sky and they got back to the tavern, Agnea finally let him off of her back. As they parted ways, all Gus could think was Guess I learned somethin’ today… how sacks a’ potatoes on ox backs must feel…
Oof this one was rough on me, but I'm glad it's done. We're almost there and I'm so excited!
Hope you enjoy reading!
~~~
Castti is immensely confident in her caretaking abilities, but even she is only human as a blizzard sets in.
The buildings in Healeaks are well-insulated, especially given the efforts of the villagers in the earlier seasons. Eir's Apothecaries were all wrapped up warm in the comfort of the House of Healing, where the fireplace was well-fed and the blankets were plentiful.
Despite this, Castti went out.
She had gotten anxious about the condition of the carpenter, as he was getting on in age and the cold might have been wearing on his joints. Malaya had, of course, already checked on the man, but her report had reflected that he'd had some minor difficulties moving, which had worried Castti immensely.
He had been fine, but upon returning to the House of Healing, it appeared that she wasn't. It started with a sniffle and a slight wheezing of breath, before quickly spiraling into a sneeze and a cough. Castti was about to try and hide her discomfort by making some soothing hot drinks for the group, when Andy suddenly attempted to sweep her up into his arms.
She squirmed out of his grip with some struggle, but it was obvious that something was wrong when she didn't fight back with her usual strength. Andy stepped back, still a little frightened of Castti's retribution, though he was not frightened enough to stop himself from pointing a finger at her and saying "Ah-ha! You're sick!"
"I... I am no such thing." Castti's response was betrayed by her scratchy voice, and bookended by a mild cough.
Every eye in the room turned on her, full of friendly judgement and pity. Castti bit her lip in embarrasment, turning to look at the wall with a rare blush as she mentally prepared for what was coming.
Within seconds, it was as if the entire house had descended upon their leader, beginning with a downright evil plot between Malaya and Andy, as Malaya suddenly appeared at her side to wrap her tightly in a blanket, as Andy swooped in to sweep her off her feet, successfully this time.
She made a noise that was most certainly not a squeal as she was hauled in her new swaddle towards one of the beds in the main living space. The noise irritated her throat and quickly began working its way up into a sneeze. Trousseau gasped at the sound and hurried towards the kitchen area to begin making her some soothing tea, exactly as she had trained him.
Elma had a mild smirk on her face, unusual for her milder disposition. "Oh, Chief, it's about time that you learned what it's like to be taken care of." Her tone was still light and loving, and Randy stood beside her as he sighed and took in the entire scene before him.
Firmly wrapped up in bed, Castti finally took the hot cup of tea from Trousseau's, looking up into his kind eyes to speak her gratitude, only to find that her voice was entirely gone. It seemed her intention was still understood anyway, and slowly the house returned to normal as everyone went about their chores, filling in for Castti without question.
Despite the blizzard outside, Castti found her heart filled with warmth.
We're officially over the hill!! Soon enough I will be Gaming like never before.
Btw my great friend @rhythmmortis helped beta read several parts of this, so if anything seems especially better than my usual writing level, assume they helped lol
~~~
"Your Majesty, if I could have a moment of your time..."
"Your Majesty, your mastery of the sword is second to none!"
"Your Majesty, I beg you to teach my son so that he can serve your army!"
The crown made it impossible for Hikari to rub his sore temples, as a particularly troublesome headache built up behind his eyes. Though he loved them, the people of Ku had seen his coronation as an excuse to swarm him with all manner of requests. Wanting to return to traveling with his friends, he compromised by offering a single day of open visitation to his throne room.
It had started well enough, with a small band of commoners arriving in the early morning to discuss the rebuilding of their community after Mugen had the city burned. He was excited to settle their concerns, offering them leaves from the royal coffers, as well as contracts with the crown's retained carpenters and masons.
After they were satisfied and left, a slow trickle of various nobles and merchants began to enter, seeking their own contracts and trade with the newly crowned king. There was some time of bureaucracy, filled with blather to placate the restless upper class in the wake of his revolution.
Unfortunately, his kindness and compatriotism were not the most famous of his traits, and against his will his swordsmanship had become revered across the land. Who wouldn't want to be his student? A mild-mannered nobleman, with a whisper and a favour to ask, opened the floodgates as he wished to know if the famed king was to teach his art.
Now the room was overwhelmed with the thrum of activity, every person all but leaping to prostrate themselves before him. It was almost comical to see these high and mighty nobles reduced to begging for a chance for them or their children to be taught the blade by his majesty, but he couldn't figure out how to calm the sudden ruckus.
Luckily for him, he had invited Rai Mei to accompany him, and unlike him she had no qualms about appearing intimidating in front of the people. She slammed the Spear of Levin's handle into the ground, yelling with a clear voice that everyone was to back away from his majesty and to quiet their voices in his exalted presence.
Although he wasn't particularly enthused by the language of superiority being used for him, a hush finally fell across the room and gave him a moment to think and speak.
After several seconds of silence, he began; "Perhaps..."
A gasp ran through the room, followed by even deeper silence as everyone held their breath.
"I would consider taking some students..."
He watched as some particularly excited folk lurched forward, not wanting to miss a single part of what he was saying.
"After I feel that my journey is complete."
A few quiet mutters ran through the crowd, before swelling into chorus of yells; "YOUR MAJESTY!?"
Wo-oah, we're halfway there!! I enjoyed this one a little more than usual, even though I'm pretty sure it's the shortest lol
Hope you enjoy!
~~~
Despite many warnings from her friends, Ochette has never been one to deny her animal instincts. So, when a beautiful voice reaches her ears through the trees, she makes no attempt to stop her legs from heading straight towards it.
The voice has this strange, delightful wobble to it, which Ochette likened to the surface of calm river waters. She couldn't recognise the words, but the voice seemed to be a woman's, and close by.
Her silent steps were one of her many prides as a hunter, and they came in handy here as she approached the source of the noise through the dense undergrowth of the Leaflands. As she got closer, her canine ears twitched and noticed that a small river brook was running nearby, babbling a kind of natural accompaniment to the song.
A gleeful smile spread across her face as the scene slowly came into view, seeing a woman crouched by the river with her back turned as she sang. She had long, black hair that curled and bobbed like a cloud as her head moved with the song. She seemed to just be sitting by the brook and singing alone, joined only by nature.
Ochette sat and listened for a few minutes, before the lovely song was interrupted by the sudden flight of a flock of birds. They were twittering and chirping about nothing in particular, but their sudden leap interrupted the singer, who looked upwards to follow them before they flew out of sight.
Ochette pouted childishly, as the woman did not seem eager to return to singing, instead standing up and stretching. As she began to gather up her bag and go to leave, Ochette realised that she ought to say something, and burst out of the brush with a yell of, "Hi! Your singing was really good!!"
"AGH!"
The singer responded with a frightened scream, stumbling backwards on the slippery river stones. The entire world seemed to move slower as she completely lost her footing, one of her legs being sent forward with such momentum that she kicked upwards near her chest, destroying her balance. She dropped like a stone, back-first into the cold river water, soaking her soft clothes instantly.
Ochette ran up as fast as she could to assist, and panicked when the woman didn't seem to be moving, before she heard a quiet sniffle.
"That really hurt..."
"I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you up! Don't stay in that cold water!"
With a frustrated whine, the woman accepted Ochette's hand and rose to her feet, this time with the little beastling girl helping her stay standing.
"I just, really wanted to say, your singing was wonderful!"
The woman's face seemed despondent, or at the very least, unimpressed.
"Yeah, um, you're welcome." Then, after a moment of thought, "Are you a traveler?"
"Yeah! I'm a hunter, I'm looking for legendary beasts to save Toto'haha!"
"Uhh, well I don't know anything about legendary beasts, but if you wanna stop by in Timberain at any point, you could maybe, uh, pay me for my singing?" She seemed sheepish about the request, and looked like she was going to run from embarrasment as soon as she made it.
"Absolutely! I can totally bring you some great food over there! And I'll bring you new clothes too!"
Phew, no one's ever actually offered to pay me for singing before... wait, food?
Day 3 is upon us, tomorrow we'll be halfway there! Couldn't figure out how to end this one but I'm just glad I'm writing something everyday, and fulfilling my promise for this game :).
Hope you enjoy reading!
~~~
Stepping through the door of the strange "aesthetician's" office in Merry Hills, Temenos glances around and raises an eyebrow at the variety of colours on display.
"Ohh, helloo there, dahling!" A vibrantly dressed woman, wrapped in silk and perfume shuffles out from behind the corner. "What can Mamma May do for you?"
"Oh! Nothing, just... looking around." He tried to blow her off with a laugh and one of his handsome winning smiles. The woman continued to saunter up to him, practically standing on his toes as she stared up at him through pink tea-glasses.
"Oh you're so pale, deary! I know just what would brighten up that face of yours!"
This certainly seemed to be the 'Mamma May' that he was after, who was supposedly selling disguises to fugitive members of the Sacred Guard.
"Oh n-no, no, miss, I really just want to look around!"
Seemingly without hearing him at all, she grabs him by the edge of his cape and starts leading him over to a strange shelf full of red and pink tubes.
"You, my dahling, need lipstick!"
"Pardon?" He stumbled slightly as he tried to process the woman's words.
"Lipstick, sweetheart!" She took a similar tube out of a pocket, twisting it to draw out a deep scarlet wax, before rubbing the wax over her lips, which quickly took on the colour and shined. "I think a deep shade like this one would be just the pop of colour you need to compliment all those pale tones you have going on!"
She pulled a handful of colours from the shelf, twisting open a vibrant crimson and pushing it towards his lips. Temenos was now mostly certain that this woman was trying to poison him, but on the chance that she wasn't accusing her right now would give the whole game away.
With his best attempt to be gentle, he took the lipstick from her hand, reaching for his leafpurse with his other hand.
"Oh, well, of course I'll accept your recommendation, Madam. What's your price?"
Her smile became tighter as she suddenly began to eye him more closely, reaching towards the lipstick tube with surprising urgency.
"Dahling, I couldn't possibly sell you lipstick you haven't tried already, it looks different on everyone, you know!"
Now absolutely convinced he was being poisoned, Temenos lifted the lipstick above his head, out of reach even as the woman waved her hands to snatch it from him. His hand that was heading for the leafpurse instead reaches beneath his cape to retrieve the Staff of Judgement.
Day 2! Tbh not super happy with this one but I'm trying not to be too picky lol.
Hope you enjoy reading!
~~~
Being back in New Delsta wasn't Throne's ideal scenario - but she had promised to help Agnea pursue her dreams, and so while the younger woman worked away at some back-alley tavern, Throne kept an eye out for opportunities.
Dancing opportunities, for Agnea, of course. That obviously meant keeping an eye on the rich ladies uptown, who might have interest in becoming a patron of the arts. And had a few leaves to spare, of course.
Right now, she was leaning against an old stone railing, casually peering into a plaza where rich folk liked to come and enjoy the outdoors without the rabble. For a while there was nothing of note, shuffling and soft conversation over books and tea, until a sudden gasp shot through the air and was following by a chittering uproar of excitement.
Throne leaned over the railing, trying to maintain her casual air while also desperately searching for whatever was causing all the commotion. Not a moment later, she saw a young man fly into the plaza through an archway, riding upon the strangest contraption. Made of two thin metal wheels connected on a skeletal frame, operated with a bar that seemed to act like a set of mechanical reins on the front wheel. He made movements as if he was walking, even though he seemed to be floating along, and it took Throne a moment to realise his stepping motions were somehow spurring along the movement of the wheels.
What on Solistia was she looking at?
A gaggle of ladies surrounded the boy as he came to a stop near the centre of the plaza, and he proudly began to describe the strange device.
"This, my dear ladies, is a 'bicycle'! Named as such for its dual wheels, and cyclically propelled nature!" The man's voice had a smarmy edge to it, as if he already knew he had captured the attention of every woman in the vicinity. "It allows one to travel at great speeds with little energy, even faster and more efficient than running!"
"Ooh! Did you invent it?"
"Can I ride it?"
"What an idea!"
"What's your price for it, boy? I'll have it off your hands this instant!"
That last one came from a middle-aged woman with her hair piled high on top of her head, wearing a deep, wine coloured dress with an air of posterity. She seemed to catch the inventor's eye, as he tunneled in selling to her specifically.
"Well, my dear lady! I couldn't possibly sell you this item without first teaching you how to ride it effectively! Please, please, come this way!" Then, to the small crowd of jealous women, "Could we please have some room? I hope you will all enjoy the show!"
With a polite grumble, the women shuffled to the outer edges of the plaza, giving the inventor and the rich lady enough room to practice. From her perch, Throne leaned in, wanting to hear every detail of how to use this thing, already formulating plans of how she would have it for herself come nightfall.
They went in large circles around the plaza's central fountain, with the lady struggling at first to balance before finding a rhythm. She glided along with ease for a few moments before the inventor hurried to stop her, seeming flustered.
"S-so, milady, are you certain you wish to buy?"
"Yes, boy! I have been certain since you first paraded this darling in!"
"Well, alright then, my asking price is... one million leaves."
A hush fell over the plaza. Although everyone here was firmly upper class, one million leaves wasn't money to be thrown around lightly, especially for some strange, newfangled machine. Throne scoffed at their hesitation, knowing that soon enough, not one of them would have it.
Still, the rich woman straightened her back and offered him a hand.
"Then let's be off to my house, I will pay you in full there."
Bingo.
Throne stalked the pair through the crowds, and upon watching them enter a large manor, she leaned up against a gaslamp, patient and ready to lie in wait for darkness to fall, so that she could snatch up her very fashionable prize.
