knight

for mondstadt, as always

[dandelionne]

happy birthday jean, i love you jean, you’re the sun moon and stars jean

[dandelionne]

albrich​:

        kaeya knows that look on her face ——— furrowed brows and a set mouth and unyielding shoulders. granted, it’s how jean often looks these days / a contrast to their youth when she had laughed easily and smiled broadly, though perhaps not as much of a contrast as some may believe. that tension in her shoulders is practically the same, the surefire sign of stress, the first that he had ever noticed on her all those years ago, family secrets and skeletons in the closet. so he throws her a wide, utterly at ease smile and seats himself on the couch, arms stretching across the back and legs crossing as he makes himself perfectly at home.

        it’s not as though he’s this couch’s most frequent occupant or anything. ( they are. )

        ❝ now, what’s gotten your brows so furrowed? they may end up stuck that way, you know, ❞ it’s a familiar tease, offered because it’s practically part of the script, at this point. the give and take they have and the roles that they bear and the things that remain unsaid between them, ear piercing silence ringing in the spaces between their words. ❝ is it the squires causing a ruckus again? an unexpected visitor coming to knock on our doors? ❞

@dandelionne​

     THEY ENTERED WITH hardly a knock ( or, if there had been one, she had been too engrossed in her work to hear it ), & the carefree smile sent her way was matched with a look of exasperation–––– though a bit too dramatic to be taken seriously, as it had been her own words that caused this. you are welcome anytime, kaeya.  he seemed to be calling her bluff more & more often. he was a distraction, & she was not afraid to tell him so. more of a secret was that they were a welcome one.

     SHE ATTEMPTED TO keep her eyes on her work, even as she repeated their words. ❝ stuck this way? ❞ jean couldn’t stop the quirk of her lips that attempted to reveal her smile. there was a phrase on the tip of her tongue–––– what would mother think?–––– but she knew asking it wouldn’t be quite as playful as she intended, & so she went a different route. ❝ we wouldn’t want that, now would we? lisa would never let me hear the end of it. ❞ that, at least, earned a laugh & a shake of her head.

     HER THUMB MOVED gently through the papers as she prepared to answer his inquiry. ❝ simply far too many requests & not enough of us. ❞ a common problem, one without a simple solution. ❝ i’m going to take on a few myself. ❞

[dandelionne]

sigh

[elegaia]

     SHE MUST HAVE looked silly– standing there, in front of the door of mondstadt’s beloved idol with a covered dish in hand, leaning from side to side as she contemplated knocking ( or just leaving the meal by the door, but she had a strong fear that the cats of mondstadt might find it before barbara was able, & she couldn’t have that ). even once the decision was made, it was an embarrassingly long time before she was able to rap her fist against the door. every time she tried, she was reminded of the last time she attempted to celebrate barbara’s birthday.       THE FIRST YEAR they were separated–––– barbara’s ninth birthday, she would never forget it. she had worked diligently on a card in between her lessons & training, had done well to hide it from her mother, in case she accused her of distraction. but, she had been young & naïve & excited, & the truth had been much worse when she had inevitably been discovered. frederica had torn the card from her hands, & announced with pride far too strong for the cruelty of her words that barbara didn’t want anything from jean for her birthday, that she didn’t want to hear from her at all, & had sent her to bed without dinner when she had seen her tears. she had been too afraid to try again the next year, & the next, & the next, until they were in the same city & she could hardly pass her by & say happy birthday.   BUT, THIS YEAR her resolve was strong, her strength gathered. she could do it, & with that thought her knuckles met barbara’s door, & she found herself staring at her little sister, face to face, suddenly more nervous than she had been before the door had opened.       ❝ happy birthday! ❞      IT WAS A relief to say, & had she not spent so much time turning the words over in her head, jean may have cried. but, instead, she found herself smiling as she held out the dish, ready for her to take.      ❝ i made you spicy dried fish–––– i hope it’s still your favorite. ❞      SHE HAD THOUGHT to ask, but she had been afraid of spoiling the surprise if she questioned her face to face, & admitting she knew almost nothing about her little sister if she asked anyone else. in the end, she hadn’t asked, but  had decided to make the meal anyways. if nothing else, she knew she didn’t hate it. her hand reached up to adjust her bow, her gaze turning to the side for just a moment before meeting barbara’s eyes again.       ❝ i–––– i took the day off. ❞      SOMEHOW, ADMITTING THAT was harder than her initial greeting. it had been presumptuous of her ( & difficult, leaving all of her work for the day behind for lisa & kaeya ), & she had almost decided against it, but she had decided that the act was worth it, even if barbara was busy, & they only got to spend a few moments together. it was a few moments worth the day.      ❝ i thought, unless you had plans this morning, we could go into town together. i could get you a proper gift. &, perhaps, we could stop for brezeln? if you wanted. ❞      I’M TRYING, SHE wanted to yell. i want to be your big sister again.      ❝ my treat, of course. ❞

ON HER NINTH BIRTHDAY, Seamus Pegg threw a party fit for a seneschal’s daughter. when barbara tries to remember it, all she can recall is the beautiful blue and white streamers that danced over her head, and how pretty her dress was. this, like most things, is a pretty lie. she remembers how terribly the shoes pinched her right foot, and how she didn’t want to wear her prosthetic but had to, for propriety, and she remembers saying ‘Vater, is jean invited?’, and she remembers the way her cheek stung long after the party ended and learning how to cover such things up to be fit for public consumption.

on her tenth birthday, she didn’t ask. barbara wondered, even when kaeya and diluc each grabbed one of her hands and staged a great escape (carefully vetted with seamus, and under crepus’ supervision) to the sea that she should not feel quite so much at home in, if her sister jean remembered her. does they day hold meaning any longer? perhaps it’s been long enough that she’s been forgotten entirely / what a gift it might be, to disappear.

hope is a childish thing but barbara is a child preserved in amber, forever tucking away a girlhood self. so eleven, twelve — ( thirteen is a bit different, wrapped in delivering treatments and growing up too fast ), fourteen, all the way up until seventeen when father said ‘I’m going away with Varka on one of his expeditions, handle yourself appropriately’ and she faced the day truly alone for the first time. there was no jean then, so there will be no jean this year either, but barbara’s hope refuses to collapse.

so foolish little barbara dreams anyways. Sister Victoria gifted her the day off, bidding her a happy eighteenth as she made her way home last night — oblivious to the way she’d sealed her fate to her fan club’s whims — and that means she can stay in her flat until 7 am sharp, feeding mischa special treats until the tortoise tired of all the attention on her.

suffice to say, she leaps in the air at the knocking. and after looking through the peephole, there’s a scraping against the floor of her apartment jean can hear through the door as barbara shifts the chair in front of it to the side, and she quickly prays to Barbatos that she won’t comment on it.

“ jean ?? ” forgive her disbelief; this is a girlhood dream come true. her sister, here on her birthday, a family halfway whole. barbara shakes her head to clear it, as if jean really is a figment of her imagination. “ oh — thank you !! ”

“ you took the day off ?? is everything alright ?? ” that’s unlike her, there must something wrong, jean doesn’t even take breaks for holidays or her own birthday — oh. their promise; after watching the traveler search so tirelessly for their own sibling, they each swore to do better. “ i’m free today as well. Sister Grace offered to cover my shift. here, come in, i still need to put on my shoes. ” indeed: she hopped to the door, yet another childish holdover her father would scold her for.

“ i would … it would be nice to spend the day with you. no present necessary. ”

[luxdea]

                          her heart CASCADES with FAITH that you will RETURN 

                                                ind. sel. botw ZELDA                                                               chosen by PRINCE

[elegaia]

                                 GO, BARBARA, GO !! ©

[dandelionne]

     HOLIDAYS ARE THE days where jean typically does the least. there aren’t as much requests or paperwork, the knights on patrol are usually enough to quell any mischievous antics, and so she resigns herself to what she will tell most is a break, but  in actuality may as well be a second job.

     ATTENDING TO THE gunnhildr estate.

     SHE’S ONLY BEEN the acting lady gunnhildr, as she jokingly calls herself,  for the same amount of time she’s been the acting grand master. most of the estate’s affairs are handled by a caretaker established by her mother, but she promised to check in when she could before frederica left on the expedition, and as such stops by typically during single day holidays.

     MOTHER’S DAY IS certainly no different, and she tends to be there earlier than most days just out of a sense of obligation.

     JEAN DOESN’T FEEL...entirely welcome in the halls of the manor that she grew up in. They were the halls where she was expected to be perfect, to effortlessly balance jean the knight and jean the future lady gunnhildr, where she was constantly scolded and pushed and forgotten and she does not know how to navigate it all as just jean, but it doesn’t quite feel right to roam them as acting grand master, either.

     SHE STILL GOES, out of duty, but every day she goes, and mother’s day in particular, it isn’t unusual to find that she’s returned to her home in mondstadt for an early rest.

     AN ACT THAT is abnormal for the diligent and hardworking jean.

[dandelionne]

memeasaurus-promptus​:

Late Night Wanderings Sentence Starters

“What are you doing out this late?”

“This part of town isn’t a good place to be at this time of night.”

“Now what’s a pretty thing like you doing in a place like this?” 

“You do realize what time it is, right?” 

“Where are you going at this hour?” 

“The sun isn’t rising anytime soon, you know.” 

“Do you know where I am?” 

“The city looks different at night.” 

“This street is very dark…” 

“Why don’t you come stand in the light?” 

“Are you lost?” 

“I got turned around in the dark…” 

“This isn’t the time to go wandering around.”

“Only fools and trouble come out to these parts at this hour.” 

“Looking for trouble, are we?” 

“A little late to be shopping.” 

“Just coming back from the bar?” 

“Think any of the pubs are still going to be open?” 

“Trouble lurks around every shadowed corner.” 

“Woah! I didn’t see you there!”

“Where did you come from?” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“A bold move to show your face here in the shadows of night.” 

“Go home.” 

“It isn’t safe here at this time of night.” 

“You’re being watched.” 

“What are you doing still up?” 

“Looking for something?” 

“I like walking when the streets are empty.”

“It’s dangerous to walk at night alone.” 

“I know where I’m going.” 

“The trees are kind of spooky…”

“Did you hear that howl?” 

“Was…was that an owl…?” 

“This path is scary at night…” 

“The woods is no place a __ after dusk.” 

“Oh you poor soul, wandering lost in the forest under the new moon…” 

“You can’t see the stars from here…” 

“This is the witching hour.” 

“Dark beasts lurk here. Be cautious.” 

“Stay on the road!” 

“Talking a midnight stroll along the beach?” 

“The ocean is so mysterious at night…” 

“What brings you to the pier at this hour?” 

“What dangers lurk in these dark waters, I wonder.” 

“You’re going to get yourself lost one of these days.” 

🌙+ your own

[dandelionne]

tell jean she looks cute in her outfit this is not a request

[dandelionne]

ofc now i have jean brainworms why did these come out right as i went into work

[dandelionne]

barbara really said ‘i’m getting you an outfit, we’re going to the beach, and you’re taking a break’

[dandelionne]

the fact that jean’s outfit got leaked and no less than six people messaged me to make sure i saw them  i love you guys

[leneemusing]

misc sentence starters

“  i wish i knew how to talk about it.  ”   “  you don’t have to talk, we can just sit together.  ”   “  i don’t want to be alone anymore.  ”   “  i wish i could hate you.  ”  “  take a seat, we’re gonna be here a while.  ” “  i need you to trust me.  ”   “  i missed/miss you.  ”   “  she/he won’t listen to me.  ” “  let me do this for you. please.  ”   “  is there anything else you want to say to me?  ” “  tell me something happy.  ”   “  promise me.  ” “  i just want/wanted to help.  ”   “  let me explain.  ” “  i didn’t/don’t need you to understand, i just wanted/want you to support me.  ”   “  i’m on your side.  ” “  i’ve got your back, okay? ” “  please, tell me you have a plan.  ” “  stay with me tonight.  ” “  don’t go. please.  ”   “  i’ve been alone for so long i’m afraid i don’t know what it’s like not to be.  ”   “  talk to me.  ”   “  i did what i had to do.  ” “  we can’t keep going on like this.  ” “  i’m just tired.  ” “  i’m scared.  ” “  it’s okay to be afraid. fear can be good. use it.  ” “  it’s better to expect disappointment.  ” “  hope is dangerous.  ” “  i like seeing you smile.  ”   “  you look beautiful.  ”   “  be patient with her/him. they’re trying. ”   “  i’m trying my best and it’s not good enough. it’s never good enough. ” “  i’m starting to think i’m just fucked up.  ”   “  have a drink with me.  ” “  she/he is better off without me. but i guess that’s their choice.  ” “  you can’t dictate what’s best for someone else. ” “  can i help you?  ” “  i thought you’d like this.  ” “  do you wanna get out of here?  ” “  walk with me?  ” “  well, shit.  ”

[dandelionne]

     JEAN ADJUSTING HER bow is actually a bit of a nervous fidget. it started when she first started wearing her hair up in such a way. she was still learning to keep her bows tight & secure, & so they would slip during training, & she would reach up to fix it before moving on. eventually, it just became a habit to check on them between training drills to fix it while she had a moment of peace, an innocuous habit.

     BUT, THEN SHE realized those weren’t the only times she did it. she did it when she was criticized on her papers & equations during her lessons, she did it when her mother lectured her, she did it when her form & technique were criticized as she trained, so on & so forth. many moments of minor distress were often accompanied by an adjustment of her hair bow, even if it didn’t need it. though she noticed, she didn’t do anything to curb that habit. it was just under the radar enough that her mother didn’t notice & lecture her for it ( if anything, she was praised for the meticulous attention to her appearance, because while she was training to become a knight, she was also the future lady gunnhildr, & she needed to ensure she looked the part ), & it felt like her own little piece of rebellion, knowing that she wouldn’t approve if she knew the truth.

     THIS HABIT CONTINUES even now. though it’s true that her hairbow can come undone in moments of fighting, it’s usually tight enough that it doesn’t need the adjustment & , if it does, it’s usually a full re-tying of the ribbon instead of just tugging on the ends. if one pays close attention, they’ll see her adjusting her bow during meetings, when reading over difficult cases or particularly confusing paperwork, & even in social situations that she doesn’t want to be in.

     IF YOU’RE CLOSE enough to her, you might recognize it for what it is: a plea for help getting her out of whatever it is she’s doing at the time.

[dandelionne]

     JEAN ADJUSTING HER bow is actually a bit of a nervous fidget. it started when she first started wearing her hair up in such a way. she was still learning to keep her bows tight & secure, & so they would slip during training, & she would reach up to fix it before moving on. eventually, it just became a habit to check on them between training drills to fix it while she had a moment of peace, an innocuous habit.

     BUT, THEN SHE realized those weren’t the only times she did it. she did it when she was criticized on her papers & equations during her lessons, she did it when her mother lectured her, she did it when her form & technique were criticized as she trained, so on & so forth. many moments of minor distress were often accompanied by an adjustment of her hair bow, even if it didn’t need it. though she noticed, she didn’t do anything to curb that habit. it was just under the radar enough that her mother didn’t notice & lecture her for it ( if anything, she was praised for the meticulous attention to her appearance, because while she was training to become a knight, she was also the future lady gunnhildr, & she needed to ensure she looked the part ), & it felt like her own little piece of rebellion, knowing that she wouldn’t approve if she knew the truth.

     THIS HABIT CONTINUES even now. though it’s true that her hairbow can come undone in moments of fighting, it’s usually tight enough that it doesn’t need the adjustment & , if it does, it’s usually a full re-tying of the ribbon instead of just tugging on the ends. if one pays close attention, they’ll see her adjusting her bow during meetings, when reading over difficult cases or particularly confusing paperwork, & even in social situations that she doesn’t want to be in.

     IF YOU’RE CLOSE enough to her, you might recognize it for what it is: a plea for help getting her out of whatever it is she’s doing at the time.

[dandelionne]

I see I’m going to have to start putting “personal blogs do not interact” on my ooc posts again

[outriiding]

        it is COURAGE that has allowed you to become the first FLYING birds of this world.

                                          ind. sel. AMBER of genshin impact                                                            scouted by PRINCE