Year 2. Marnie, Marlon, Adventure Guild's members (and M. Lewis)
Attention: a lot of text!
"Miss Marnie is a nice woman. Willy was the one who introduced us. Running a ranch almost alone is backbreaking work, but this lady copes with incredible ease. She loves animals very much and always takes care of them. And also, as I found out later, she helps mayor Lewis in organizing festivals. I would even say that it is noticeable that it is her hand that lies at all the celebrations that I have managed to attend. I don't know why, but there is an unpleasant feeling from this knowledge..."
"The Adventure Guild has been around for centuries. Towns like Pelican T. suffer quite a lot from monster attacks. And even though Mr. Rasmodius is trying to keep the monsters out with a barrier, however, these creatures find a way out. When I first arrived in Pelican Town, I am surprised that there are many young people among Adventure Guild..."
I didn't get along very well with Marlon. I think he knows something about me and my family, that's why he keeps his distance. And the Guild's members, seeing their commander's reaction, were also wary of me. I can't imagine what would have happened if Miss Marnie and Mr. Rasmodius hadn't intervened, because it's thanks to them that Marlon is also defending me from the members of Castle Village."
I've had this work hanging since the end of the year. Honestly, I was even embarrassed to post it because it's a bit unfinished, and originally it was supposed to be in color, but my account engagement is completely dead, so oh well. I'll probably finish it later
Actually, I really love these bunnies. I feel like I could draw them forever until my hyperfixation fades
P.s. Those who understood the reference to Tarkovsky’s «Ivan’s Childhood» have my respect, and those who didn’t — go and get acquainted with the classics, on the double
Heyyyy Mousey, how do we feel about the SDE Adventurers (plus the non dateable ones) accidentally injuring the farmer/their spouse when in battle? How react/feel about it?
Ooh, I have a few thoughts on that, thank you so much for the ask, dear anon 💕
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Isaac:
Sparring with Farmer is a fairly common pastime, as Isaac wants to make sure his spouse doesn't lose their skills. Accidental injuries are inevitable in such cases.
If it's something minor, such as a scratch on the cheek, bruises, or even a shallow puncture wound, he won't stop the fight.
"Monsters won't spare you in battle and won't wait for you to lick your wounds! Focus!" It may seem insensitive on Isaac's part, but it's tough love. After all, even a second of hesitation can end tragically, and Isaac certainly doesn't want the death of someone dear to him.
At the end of the fight, he will treat Farmer's minor abrasions and scratches, praising or scolding his spouse depending on the outcome of the fight.
But in the case of a more serious injury...
"Fuck!" Isaac will immediately drop everything and pick up the wounded Farmer. He will either quickly give them the life elixir or carry them to the nearest hospital/pharmacy in a bridal style.
"Dumbass, I told you to focus..." Despite the not-so-polite words, there was not so much anger and irritation in them as there was concern. Isaac also felt a pang of conscience for giving Farmer another scar. They already have enough of those...
The sparring continues, but the fight will now be with wooden swords. Until Farmer proves that they have learned their lesson (and to avoid further unnecessary injuries).
Lance:
Well, if his dearest spouse wants a friendly duel, Lance won't refuse them. It's a good way to stretch the muscles and hone one's skills.
The gallant adventurer himself conducts duels quite carefully, not giving in to Farmer, but also not fighting them to the death. If he sees a weak spot in their technique, he pauses to explain the mistake and help them work on their skill.
Usually, such duels always go smoothly... But sometimes Lance gets too carried away with the fight, and his hands act faster than his mind can comprehend what has happened.
Lance will stop the fight, focus entirely on his partner who let out a short cry, and quickly assess their condition, paying no attention to anything else.
If Farmer has simply fallen/has a small scratch/is just scared, Lance will breathe a sigh of relief and help them up. "That was too close... Let's not do that again."
But noticing the bright red blood on their body or clothes, Lance instantly appeared beside them, casting a healing spell. Whenever Farmer tried to get up, the pink-haired man sternly told them not to move. He refused to listen to his spouse's protests: no movement until he was sure they were all right.
"I'm sorry, my love," Lance looked terribly guilty all day, even though Farmer told him not to worry anymore. Extra kisses at night after a little scare.
Before going to bed, Lance made a mental note to be more careful in his fighting spirit.
Alesia:
Alesia had long wanted to teach her beloved spouse archery, even if it wasn't the type of weapon Farmer preferred.
"In Castle Village, all young adventurers are taught how to use swords, bows, spears, and other weapons. Because you may find yourself in a dangerous situation, and the only weapon you have is a bow."
After lengthy training, the sniper suggested that Farmer hone their skills in real combat in the Crimson Badlands, giving them strict instructions and a magical artifact that would help them both distinguish friend from foe. "In this sandstorm, you can't see past your own nose."
The terrible weather separated them, and Alesia decided to finish the training. Shooting skeletons with her arrows, she was slightly concerned that she couldn't see Farmer's signal.
A dark figure approached her from behind unnoticed, and Alesia shot an arrow with lightning speed... only to realize a second later that it was her spouse.
She never misses, but not this time... She was very relieved when Farmer got away with a slight scare. Once they were in a safe place, she scolded Farmer sternly, like a disappointed teacher, for forgetting to activate their artifact. She would be in a bad mood for the rest of the day, but more because of a thought that kept running through her head: what if she had hurt them?
But if the sniper's perfectly trained hands will hit the target...
"No, no, no— Farmer!" Alesia rarely loses her confidence, but at the sight of an arrow sticking out of her spouse's stomach, she felt a wild panic. Fortunately, she had a teleport that could quickly take her and Farmer to the nearest clinic/healer. She would not leave Farmer's side, either holding their hand or standing somewhere nearby. Alesia would feel guilty for a long time after the incident.
[CASTLE VILLAGE ADVENTURER'S GUILD MEMO: THE CALL OF THE VOID] [CLASSIFIED]
Adventurers, be advised.
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It has been confirmed that when adventurers are wounded by especially dangerous or ‘corrupted’ void creatures, wounds can be infected with void pebbles. Furthermore, void pebbles have been proven to be a strong enough source of void energy to corrupt its victims. Void corruption is and has continued to prove fatal.
For future clarity, this condition has now been formally coined Abyssal Decay and Reanimation Disease, abbreviated as ADRD.
Symptoms of early ADRD begin with fatigue and a high-grade fever, and wounds with void pebbles present will not close. Said wounds are hot to the touch. A high fever, confusion and altered mental status is also common, similar to sepsis in earlier stages. More advanced symptoms include an overwhelming feeling of doom, a feeling like one’s blood is boiling or burning, as well as auditory hallucinations. This is what adventurers have begun to colloquially refer to as ‘hearing the Call of the Void’, or simply, ‘the Call’. Aggression, fainting, and falling comatose are common at this stage.
If you notice you or others are experiencing the symptoms described above, seek medical attention immediately. Void corruption is and has continued to prove fatal. If the void pebbles - or any other source of corruption - cannot be extracted or purified, death is guaranteed. Those who hear the Call and resist long enough to be given medical attention can be saved, but oftentimes it will be too late. The few who've lived to tell the tale report experiencing visions of being in pure darkness, and hearing voices singing and coaxing them to give into their bodies' wishes to die. ADRD works especially quickly on those already very close to death - usually from injuries on the battlefield - promising them painless, eternal rest. But, we warn you, the Void lies. It will break you until either your mind cannot resist the Call, or your body shuts down. It is an excruciating death. But it is only a death of the soul.
The final stage of corruption is reanimation, the dark magic taking the corpse of the adventurer to use as its own. The body rises again - sometimes minutes or even hours later - to kill as it had been killed, corrupt more hosts, and continue the cycle of spreading void energy. Colloquially referred to as "fallen", this husk does not recognize who they once were, or any of their allies, and will simply follow the corruption's urge to kill. Interestingly enough, the body appears to retain muscle memories from its past life, making fallen adventures formidable foes that take much more effort to put to rest. Extreme caution is still advised around the fallen, and slaying a former Castle Village resident or adventurer cannot be done without the explicit, documented permission of this Guild.
It has also been recently discovered that this disease is a danger to other species besides humans and human-like monsters. A report from Jadu followed corrupted serpents around the Crimson Badlands for several days to track their behavior. He witnessed a corrupt serpent biting a Badlands serpent several times. An hour later, that same Badlands serpent began flying in odd directions, acting sickly. When he approached to investigate, it had fallen to the ground and was declared dead. While taking measurements for documentation, the dead serpent reportedly began to twitch, its scales turning pitch black, and its tendrils warped into pseudo-horns. Given time to fully transform, it soon looked identical to a typical corrupted serpent.
Vivisection reports described fresh-looking bite marks the serpent had on its body, and two void pebbles present in those wounds. The report also commented on how the serpent thrummed with void energy. Upon slaying the serpent, an additional void pebble was collected. Its body also disintegrated like that of a void creature. It was claimed that, if what Jadu had witnessed was previously a Badlands serpent, it could not have left the extra pebble behind unless it had grown in the serpent’s body during the corruption process. More studies regarding Badlands serpents and their behaviors after being directly exposed to void energy for prolonged periods of time hold similar findings. The astonishing and rapid transformations these monsters undergo when they are corrupted by void energy are unprecedented, and may suggest an innate weakness in serpents that this branch of dark magic takes advantage of to proliferate.
Further field studies are needed and are currently underway to further investigate this condition in other monster species, to research the life cycle of void energy, and to find any potential links relating to the daily reappearances of [REDACTED].
sometimes i wonder if we have forgotten that sharing creative work is, fundamentally, a bid for human connection. like I'm not posting art or fic for 'engagement' i'm posting it looking for other sickos to play with! i'd be making it anyway for my own gratification because there's something wrong with me, i'm sharing it hoping we can have something wrong with us together <3
i’m so serious when i say excessive fear of being annoying/creepy/taking up people’s energy etc holds us back. it seems like it’s just little things but they add up. over the past month i’ve ordered food and drinks almost exclusively by asking “do you have a favorite?” and i know if i said that on twitter or wherever ppl would dogpile me for demanding emotional labor of servers or w/e but every single person i’ve asked has seemed genuinely psyched to answer! i don’t ask if it’s busy obvi, and use a phrasing that gives them the easy out of “i don’t have one”— but no one has taken it! the girl at the cafe confessed to me with something like conspiracy in her voice how everybody raves about the gluten free chocolate chip cookies and sure, they’re great, but the delicious, fluffy homemade waffles are RIGHT THERE. the barbera the bartender recommended was actually kind of awful but it broke the ice and we ended up talking for like 45 minutes. the bodega guy declared that he usually makes himself a burger but tonight was “a breakfast sandwich night” and tbh he was totally right. it WAS a breakfast sandwich night
How old do you imagine Lance is? I’m still undecided if he’s mid twenties or older? I don’t think he’s any younger than 25 but maybe because that’s my bias talking lol
sketched something of lance & nio based on a scene of this fic by @sun-swallow !! specifically thinking of when lance was thinking of how the farmer fit right in to the crowd and him getting a little possesive arghhhhh, hands down best characterization of lance i'd read so far!!
i would render this but my head started spinning so this is all im getting out... neeeeedd more lance fics where it shows his flaws . and of course i looooooooveeeee the tension in will-they-wont-they moments...
