Shoutout to characters that are both genuinely deeply kind and also genuinely terrifying and willing to spill buckets worth of blood to get something done. And neither of these are an act, they're just both very true.
Hi FFXIV ♡ Show me your OCs, I want to see your OC!
I will tell you something I like about them. I'm not on other platforms and I feel I miss out on seeing so many cool characters and discoverability isn't always easy. I want to end 2025 sharing some nice interactions so please help me out?
⊹ SFW please
⊹ Be excellent to each other
⊹ Bonus points if you wanna tell me a lil unique fact about them
Here is Aeluan Hoshinata, Lawful Good boyscout extraordinaire. He's a paladin, but he sometimes prefers a greatsword over a shield. When he goes to bars with friends, he orders milk. His tail is beeeg. A close friend left him a modest fortune when they went off to become an adventurer, and he's got a head for the marketboards now and has turned "modest" into "massive." He's always looking for ways to give gil away.
I heard there was a birthday, and a request for plate armor and flowers. Happy birthday, @displaykitkats! Please enjoy this well-contained field of flowers.
Shev and Aeluan sat across from each other at a small table in the Drowning Wench. Both of them held tankards that had just been delivered, and they were chatting away about recent happenings in their lives. Shev had just been teasing Aeluan about his conundrum with his two (two!) love interests when the tankards had come to the table.
“Didn’t catch what flavor ‘a milk ya got this time,” he said, motioning to Aeluan’s own tankard, which looked way too dark to be milk at all. It was a known fact that Aeluan never ordered alcohol at a bar, though if you asked Shev, it’d certainly lighten the big boy up some to have a drink once in a while. He’d never seen Aeluan truly drunk, though, so he didn’t know if it really was that he didn’t like having a looser control of his faculties, or if he was trying not to turn into a mean or embarrassing sort of drunk.
So it wasn’t completely out of character for Shev to nearly choke on his drink when Aeluan proclaimed with a wide grin, “I didn’t order milk this time; I got beer!”
After coughing a generous amount, Shev croaked an astonished, “Wha’ d’ya mean, ya got beer!?”
Aeluan’s grin only widened, and he tipped his tankard upward to knock back a goodly amount, swiping his tongue across his top lip to catch any of the head that had clung to it. “Yeah, beer. It’s pretty good too; you want to try it? It’s spiced.”
“Wha’ th’ hell kind ‘a spiced beer… Yeah, I wanna try it!” Shev exclaimed, and then reached for the tankard that Aeluan offered. He sniffed at it, the spices tickling his nose in a familiar sort of way, but he couldn’t quite place their origin until he tried a sip. His face went from curious to considering to deadpan in the span of about five seconds, and by the time he slid the tankard back in front of his best friend, Aeluan was practically vibrating in his seat in an effort not to cackle.
With a disappointed look on his face, Shev wrapped his hands around his own tankard again. “Tha’s root beer, Blue” he said, as if that made it obvious that it was not, in fact, beer.
“Still beer,” Aeluan pointed out, and then tried his level best to keep his voice from trembling with mirth. “It’s right there in the name.”
“Well, yeah, but…” Anything else Shev said in protest was drowned out as Aeluan finally broke into loud laughter.
“I can’t believe you fell for it!” Aeluan crowed, snickering into his drink. Then he waved down the server, and she came over with a small bowl of ice cream and scooped two scoops of it right into his drink for him, like the prank had been planned between the two of them. “The look on your face was priceless!”
But Shev had stopped trying to appear offended, and now looked jealous. “Well fuck me, now I want a root beer float!”
Aeluan itched. Aeluan itched with the power of a hundred bug bites, though he'd not been bitten by anything. Worse, he no longer had anyone around to scratch his back like Seiya had done when it got bad. He wriggled on his futon mattress, trying to scratch the itch on his upper shoulders.
The first two days were always the worst. The places where skin and scale met, the transition spots peeled first - and they itched like mad. He groaned loudly and ground his back against the linens.
Naturally, that's when a knock sounded at his bedroom door.
"Are you okay in there?" came a light voice.
Aetheryte blue eyes shot wide as he realized he'd made too much noise. "F-fine!" he called out. "I'm fine!"
"You sure? Hinan said you were probably having a bad day and that I should offer to come scratch your back. Why would he say that?"
Aeluan sat up. His little brother had sent his boyfriend over to scratch his shedding back? That was...really sweet. He rolled off his futon and stood up. Barefoot and bare-chested, he padded to the door and opened it gently. "Rhuk," he said, "what has Hinan told you about Au Ra shedding?"
Rhuk stared wide-eyed at Aeluan's bare chest, rippling with muscle - and flaking scales in places. "Not much," the Miqo'te answered, "but I know it's a thing. You're shedding?"
Aeluan nodded and tried not to contort himself in an attempt to reach his itchy back. Instead, he appeared almost composed as he smiled at Rhuk. "Yeah. Normally, we have someone in our family or friend circle who is willing to help relieve the itching with scratches or cream or both."
"Then why are you in here alone?"
"I...don't have..."
"Yes, you do," Rhuk said firmly before pushing his way past Aeluan and into the latter's room. "Where's your anti-itch cream?"
Bemused, Aeluan left the door open and crossed the room to his futon mattress and the very low bedside table next to it. He picked up the cream and held it out to Rhuk shyly. "Really?"
"Really. Sit down and tell me how this all works so I can be ready when Hinan sheds too."
Obediently, Aeluan sat down on the floor, leaving the cushion of his futon clear for Rhuk to sit on if he wished. As the Miqo'te rubbed cream around his scales, Aeluan launched into a lengthy discussion of Au Ra biology and seasonal processes. Eventually, Hinan poked his head in, just to see Rhuk and Aelu talking animatedly. "Hey," Hinan said. "Feeling better?"
"Kami, yes," Aeluan responded with a nod. "Thank you for sharing your boyfriend with me."
There was a beat, then Rhuk and Hinan both gave him a horrified look.
"EW! NOT LIKE THAT!!"
(Rhuk belongs to @ryeh-freefoot and Hinan belongs to @chocoblep. As always, mischaracterizations are purely the writer's fault.)
Ryeh flicked his dark ears lazily, rumbling a purr. He leaned back on an elbow, letting the music of the sea fill his ears. The sound of the water washing up on the shore and sliding away, the slight shifts of the sand with the motion, and the wind whispering through the stiff leaves of palms and shore-grasses. Even the soft crash of the tide hitting the rocks underneath him. The late summer sun was warm on his skin, coaxing bronze tones from its already naturally tanned hues. His hair tangled around his ears and face in fluffy blond curls as the Miqo'te leaned his head back, taking a long drink from the large glass jar he held.
He gave a sharp little hiss of pleasure at the spicy-sweet burn of the amber alcohol before turning his eyes toward Hinan. He shook the jar, offering it to the big Xaela. Hinan gave his own lazy grin, dark scales gleaming in the sun as he accepted the drink. He took several long swallows with pleasure before reaching down to give it to Aeluan, who was sitting in the sand near their feet, letting the tide wash over his legs.
Ryeh pressed his lips on a little chuckle at Aeluan's grin, eyes a little unfocused, and his cheeks flushed. The Raen took the jar and took a few swallows, shaking his head a bit with a little shudder. "I like this stuff," he declared, looking up at Ryeh. "What is it?"
"Apple Pie Moonshine, darlin'," Ryeh laughed. "Given ya…tastes, I thought it might appeal."
"It does. I like it," Aeluan declared, taking another long swallow before offering it back up to Hinan. "But I have…I have a confession."
Hinan smothered a laugh, taking another sip as he sat up to look down at his brother. "Oh? What's that?"
Aeluan gave them both about as serious a look as a rather drunk Au Ra could manage. "I don't…I don't know if you know this, Ryeh," he said with a solemn nod. "But…I don't drink a lot."
Ryeh half-choked on a sip of the moonshine. "I…kinda guessed, Aelu."
"You did?"
"I did."
"Oh," Aeluan said, digesting the knowledge that perhaps his big secret was not, in fact, very big at all. "But I like this."
"Ya do," Ryeh laughed, reaching to gently ruffle Aeluan's hair. "I noticed."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," the Miqo'te snickered. "I thought it might tempt ya by bein' sweet enough to enjoy it."
"It isssss," Aeluan sing-songed happily. "It tastes nicer than most stuff I've tried."
Hinan laughed a little and reached for the jar, putting it out of Aeluan's reach. "I think that might be enough," he chuckled. "Too much and you're going to be so hungover."
"Oh," Aeluan said, looking a little disappointed but not protesting. "I don't want that. That doesn't sound nice."
"It's not," Ryeh agreed, patting his shoulder. "So Hinan is right. I also dun wanna get hungover. Nice to have a drink with some friends, huh?"
"Yes," Aeluan said happily before his eyes got big with a sudden thought. "Ohhh, could you make me some more?"
Ryeh tilted his head and glanced at Hinan, who shrugged. "…Sure, but why?"
"I wanna see if Takashi and Enyo like it," Aeluan explained with a somewhat drunk grin. "I think it might be nice. For a picnic!"
Ryeh laughed. "Oh, for ya boyfriends? Yeah, I can do that, Aelu. Maybe a little less strong, though." He chuckled as he slid off the rock to land lightly on his paws. "Ya such a big man, I didn't think it would hit ya this hard."
Hinan snickered as he also rose, gently heaving Aeluan to his feet and steadying him so they could head back for the night. "I could have told you that."
Ryeh blushed and laughed, moving to Aeluan's other side to help steady him as they walked toward the Raen's cottage. "Yeah, fair! He's just so big I didn't figure a few good swallows would get him all tipsy."
"Well," Hinan chuckled, shaking his head. "He wasn't kidding when he said he orders milk at bars."
Ryeh blushed and gave a sheepish noise. "Well, I know that now."
Thank you to @chocoblep for lending me Hinan and to @valdiis for lending me Aeluan! I apologise for getting your very good boy just a little tipsy, but the idea in my head was fantastic. <3
It had been Aeluan who had given him the initial task, but as he had begun to realize that this wasn’t an errand that Blue had needed help with at all, but a treasure hunt that he had sent Shev on instead. It had been confusing when he’d gotten his first clue at the market that Aeluan had sent him to. As soon as he’d gone to pick up the order, he’d been given a note instead. He’d thought it was a mistake, but it wasn’t uncommon for shipments to go undelivered if there were bandits on the road or it got waylaid, so he agreed to go and figure out what had kept the delivery from its destination.
When he arrived to the place the merchant’s note told him to check first–a sleepy little tavern he remembered taking Kismet to on their first official date–he asked the tavern keep if he’d seen the traveler with his friend’s shipment, only to be smiled at and given a second note. This one read like a letter, and he furrowed his brow as he began to read it.
Shev,
You may have figured out by now that this is not a normal errand, and you may be thinking that this errand is more trouble than it’s worth.
“Yeah, I’m gettin’ that feelin’,” Shev murmured.
Well, don’t give up! The end is well worth the travel and the headache, I assure you! In the meantime, you will get several clues that are personalized to you. You may see a pattern in them, and that is intentional! There is one thing that links all of the places you are about to visit (don’t worry, there are only three other places you will go).
Only when you have visited all three places and collected the items there, will you be given your final clue. You can visit them in any order, but you must show any previously acquired items and speak the code words to the person waiting there to get your prizes.
You have until sunset to arrive at your final destination. I’ll see you at the end!
XOXO,
Starlight
P.S. Don’t be too mad at Aeluan, I asked him to send you on this!
Shev looked over to the tavernkeep, who was grinning widely at him like he knew something Shev didn’t. “Yer a menace, Trey, y’know tha’?” he said, and then added, “Next time I do a favor for ya, I’m chargin’ double!”
“We shall see,” the man said.
Shev gave him a deadpan stare before going back to reading.
Your three clues are as such:
1. So many days and nights we spent, going toe to toe, but watching you so happy was my favorite ringside show.
Code: “I’ll have six orders of pretzel knots.”
2. Not as often as the first, though similar in purpose, sometimes you came to watch the fights, enjoying the bar service.
Code: “Who’s the Handsome Himbo?”
3. Whether we were running there or lounging on the sand, I never felt so much at home as when you held my hand.
Code: “I’m new in town, can I have directions to your house?”
He knew the first two right away, but the third one had him scratching his head. He knew it had to be a beach somewhere, and he knew that the common denominator was things that he and Kismet had done together, but they’d had several running routes along the beaches in Mist, along several stretches. Which one did he visit first?
In the end, he decided to go in order, to see if any other clues came to him. So he went to Nightingale house and beelined down to the basement. As soon as he got to the bottom of the stairs, he was greeted with a familiar face behind the bar.
“So y’got dragged into this, too, eh?” he asked, giving the curly-haired miqo’te woman a sigh. “How ya doin’, Arli? Gearin’ back up fer another semester at th’ Studium?”
“Of course!” She answered. “Made the trip back here to check on all of you, and figured I’d make some food for the House. I know how hungry you boys get.”
Shev grinned. “Oh, well in that case, I’ll have six orders of pretzel knots.”
Arli grinned back, bending to produce a piece of folded cloth that, when Shev took and unfolded, caused him to start laughing. “Really? Do I have t’wear this?”
“Wh–of course you do! Is this the first one you’ve gotten?” she asked in return, putting a hand on her hip and eyeing him behind her glasses.
“It is!” He shook out the shirt she’d given him, eyeing the stylized pretzel knot that had been printed on it and the text that accompanied it that read, ‘I’m a knotty boy.’ Heaving a sigh, he took off the shirt he’d been wearing, which was much more stylish, and slipped this one on instead. It fit him like a second skin, which meant of course Anzhi had a hand in this.
“Better?” he asked, spreading his arms wide for Arli’s consideration.
“Oh, amazing,” she replied, lifting a hand to cover her giggles.
“A’right. I got two more stops to make and another place t’get before sunset, so I need t’get goin’. But, ah, did y’actually have pretzel knots hangin’ around? I could use a snack.”
Arli just grinned and held up a finger, and then went over to the dumbwaiter and called up. “Hey! Send down the package for Shev!”
A couple moments later, a small box appeared. “Okay, it’s only two orders, but I figured you’d be hungry anyway. You always are.” She passed it over the bar toward him, and he took it before leaning in and tousling her hair.
“Yer th’ best, Arli!”
“Yeah, I know!” Then she cackled and shooed him off.
With one down, it wasn’t hard to get to the next destination, which was the Dark Crimson Tavern. He knew this one because it was the only other fight club he’d gone to that also involved Kismet. This time, it was Lydjanah behind the bar, and when he walked up she stopped cataloguing the liquor on the shelves and turned to smile at him.
“Hey, Sheverino, what’s up? We’re not exactly open yet!” she chirped, planting her hands on the counter to lean forward onto them.
“‘Ey, lass! I actually came with a question. Who’s th’ Handsome Himbo?”
Lydjana looked upward, standing straight up and thinking for long enough that Shev wondered if he’d gotten the wrong place after all. “Y’know, I don’t know who the Handsome Himbo actually is, though if I had to guess, it’s probably Mister Vipre. But today…” She leaned down and then produced another folded cloth from beneath the bar, and then presented it to Shev. “It’s you!”
This one, when he unfolded it, had him sighing; where he’d thought he was going to get a shirt to cover up the first awful one, instead he got a sash to wear across his chest that simply said, ‘World’s Handsomest Himbo.’
Lydi giggled as Shev threw the sash on, and then said, “That looks like number two, unless I’m mistaken!”
Shev nodded, and then gave her a smile. “Yeah, gotta do my third clue. Does tha’ mean I can have a Handsome Himbo t’go?”
“Sure, if you want!” she said, and got to work mixing up his drink in a disposable cup. Once that was done, she passed it over to him and grinned.
“Hope tha’ project tha’ y’have goin’ with Kis is goin’ well,” Shev started, chewing on his lip for a moment. “Did ‘e tell ya I thought ‘e was sneakin’ around on us?”
“It’s almost done, actually! I know he’s excited to show it to you, so you’ll definitely see it!” Then Lydi smiled. “He did tell me that, yeah. I’m sorry I’ve been stealing him so much lately!”
“It’s a’right, I just wanted t’make sure ‘e wasn’t unhappy with us.” He ducked his head to take a sip of his new drink, reveling in the spiked coldbrew coffee.
“Are you kidding!? With you two, he’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him!” She shook her head, and then half-turned back toward the liquor shelves. “I need to finish up here, but good luck!”
“Aye, I’ll see ya around, lass!” As Shev turned to exit the tavern, he pulled out the letter and read the third clue again. I never felt so much at home… It had to be the stretch of beach just near their house, so he decided to start there.
It took him very little time to get home, and when he trotted down to the beach, he saw a familiar sight: There, under a giant beach umbrella and lounging in a recliner beach chair with a wide-brimmed sunhat, sunglasses, and a book, was his husband, Anzhi. Grinning, he looked down at the code phrase, and then tried his best to sneak up behind him. Anzhi must have been absorbed in what he was reading, because he jumped when Shev said from behind him, “I’m new in town, can I have directions t’yer house?”
Anzhi was a bit tense when he turned, but his lips curled upward into a knowing smile when he spotted the shirt and the sash. “Oh, darling, of course I’ll give you directions, but not to our house. I see you’ve already got the first two items on your checklist, but you really shouldn’t be out in the sun so much without a hat!”
Shev arched a brow as Anzhi dipped his hand into his beach bag, and then presented a black billed hat that had gold lettering stitched onto it that read, ‘Trophy Husband.’
“Here you go, love,” Anzhi purred as he stood to reach up and put the hat on Shev’s head. When they’d gotten his ears through the holes and the hat was secure on his head, Anzhi stepped back to admire his handiwork and brought a hand to his mouth to bite back a bit of laughter. “Looks great on you!”
“Kismet’s in trouble when I find ‘im,” Shev said, but there wasn’t any heat behind that threat. If he was being honest with himself, he liked these little gifts quite a lot. They were exactly his style of humor.
“Oh, I’ll bet. And since you have all three pieces now, it’s time for your final clue!” Anzhi clapped his hands together, and then eyed him with a sparkle of glee in his mismatched gaze. “Ships have come and ships have gone, from large to very small; forever with you I would stay, until we’ve seen them all.”
Shev stilled, thinking for a moment before his ears perked straight up. “Th’ Limsan Harbor is where we’d sit an’ watch th’ ships come an’ go; he probably means there!”
Anzhi rocked between the heels and balls of his feet, before rushing to grab his beach bag. “Well, here, why don’t I go with you? I want to see what happens if you’re right.”
“Well. I can’t think of any other place it’d be. Do I have t’wear all ‘a this stuff?” He grabbed at his shirt, pinching it and tenting it out a bit to indicate what stuff he was talking about.
“Of course you do!” Anzhi replied with a laugh. “Let me get my cover-up on, though; I don’t want to be walking through all of Limsa half naked.”
They made a pit stop at home, where Shev snacked on three of the six pretzel knots in the box and finished off his drink, and then they set off for Limsa Lominsa.
It was mid-afternoon by the time they set foot in the harbor, where quite a few large merchant vessels were anchored and in various states of loading and unloading. Only a few were not bustling with activity, and Shev assumed their crews must be carousing for the rest of the day after having finished their work. Anzhi slipped his hand into Shev’s as they walked together down the pier, and he spotted a familiar head of lavender hair aboard a small Thavnairian sloop. It looked like it was brand new, with freshly-painted designs along its hull and colorful sails that drew the eye almost immediately. There were others on the sloop as well–Aeluan, Arli and her husband, Darian, and Lydjana all sat talking with Kismet, a couple of them with drinks in their hands. Aeluan’s looked suspiciously milky.
“Oi!” he called when they got close enough, and Anzhi grinned when Kismet’s head snapped up. Suddenly all five of them were standing, and the sloop rocked a little, causing Lydi to laugh when Arli spread her feet a little further apart to keep her balance and Darian raised his drink to keep it from spilling.
“Ahoy, sailor! Come on down; this vessel is in dire need of a captain!” Kismet called back, grinning and motioning to the gangplank that had been erected from pier to boat. Shev and Anzhi crossed it, and Shev looked up the mast at the mainsail and the jib, and reached out to touch the intricately painted wood. “Where’d ya find this beauty?” he asked, letting the motion of the sloop settle into his bones and comfort him like a long-lost friend. It felt good to be on the water, even if they were still moored.
“An old contact in Thavnair was going to get rid of it, so I bought it off of him and restored it. Lydi and Aeluan and even Anzhi have been helping me get it in ship-shape, if you’ll pardon the pun. And now, it’s yours.” Kismet stood there, drinkless unlike the rest of those on the sloop, and gave Shev the biggest, most brilliant smile. “This is what I’ve been sneaking off to do all these months!”
Shev’s jaw hung open. Never in a million turns would he have thought that Kismet was gifting him a sailboat. He’d only mentioned that particular dream a handful of times since they’d met, and even then only really in passing, when they’d seen a particularly nice looking one. And he’d only mentioned thinking about looking for a Thavnairian boat once. But Kismet had remembered, and now he had given Shev a gift that he could have only imagined ever owning otherwise.
“There… was one other thing,” Kismet continued. “Small, really.” Now Anzhi leaned inward beside him, eyes wide, and it seemed everyone else was staring, too. Whatever it was, it must be pretty important.
“A’right,...” Shev trailed off, unsure of how else to encourage Kismet to continue.
Kismet took a deep breath, flexing and unflexing his hands nervously before steeling himself and looking up into Shev’s eyes. “I was hoping this would be an engagement gift.”
“An engagement–” Shev cut himself off and looked over at Anzhi, who was now looking at him like he was watching the greatest show he’d ever seen. Shev looked back to Kismet, who had gone down to one knee, and held a bottle of bubbly in his hand–the sort that one might use in a boat naming ceremony.
“Shev Mhalikh, Knotty Boy, World’s Handsomest Himbo, and Trophy Husband… Would you do me the honor of marrying me and taking me as your second husband?”
Shev just stood there. His mind had gone blank, like he’d been given some sort of test and he knew none of the answers to the questions. He stood there for long enough that Kismet’s hands began to shake in relative silence, the creaking of the boat and noise of the harbor and the waves the only sounds around them. Just as Anzhi looked like he was about to say something to try and ease the tension, something clicked in Shev’s mind, and he leaned down and put a hand on Kismet’s shoulder. “Stand up. My answer’s no, I will not take ya as m’second husband.”
The silence expanded, and Kismet stared at him with a look on his face that could have shattered the hardest of hearts. He heard only one word during that time, muttered under Lydi’s breath and very nearly carried away by the breeze.
“Rude.”
Kismet started to speak, then, his voice shaking, “Well, you still get to keep the boat, either way–”
“Y’misunderstand me, Starlight. If we do this right, there won’t be a first an’ second. We do it right, an’ there’s jus’ husbands. One came first, aye, but I don’ ever want ya t’feel like yer second t’anyone. Yer tied fer first fer both Anzhi an’ I, an’ if I marry ya, I want a ceremony joinin’ all three ‘a us as equals. Not three separate ones. One big one.” Shev let his hand drop to the bottle, and then gently took it out of Kismet’s shaking hands before he could drop it. He felt Anzhi’s sigh of relief leave him like it could have rocked the sloop all by itself. Kismet was still shaking.
“So… that’s a yes, then?” Kismet asked, curling his fingers into loose fists to keep them still. His purple eyes roamed the entirety of Shev’s face, and Shev just smiled at him.
“I was plannin’ on askin’ soon m’self, honestly,” he said with a little shrug. “So aye, it’s a yes.”
Cheers erupted from behind him, and Anzhi squealed and hopped up and down, first with his hands on Shev’s arm, and then with his hands on Kismet’s bicep. “Oh, this is better than I dreamed it would be! Another wedding! And this time with all of us!” He went for hugs, and Kismet’s mouth slowly turned from a desperate frown to a sunlit smile before he, too, launched himself at Shev, and he found himself embraced by his two favorite people in the entire world.
The three of them stayed like that for a bit, and when they separated, Shev held up the bottle. “A’right, so we gotta give this boat a name, aye!?”
“AYE!” the group called, and then raised their glasses.
“Well, since this is an engagement gift, we know it’s gonna be somethin’ sappy or funny tha’ represents th’ three ‘a us. Need a few suggestions.”
Arli cackled, and then said, “Put Knotty Buoy in there somewhere!”
“Three Buoys Sailing!” Darian suggested.
“Sunlight Chaser? Combining Sunshine and Starlight?” Aeluan chimed in.
Lydi thought about it for a moment. “Seas the Day?”
“Those’re all pretty good,” Shev said, chuckling at the rest of them. “But not what I’m lookin’ for.”
“Hmm,” Kismet hummed, still practically vibrating with adrenaline. “How about ‘The Wet Dream?’”
“Absolutely not,” Anzhi vetoed, giving Kismet a playful little shove. They both laughed, and then Shev chimed in.
“What about ‘Sunlight Dream?’ Got y’both in there, an’ it’s my dream t’have both a’ ya an’ this boat.”
They all thought about this one for longer, and then Anzhi said, “I like it.”
“I do, too,” Kismet said, and then looked around, “The Sunlight Dream?”
“Sunlight Dream!” Everyone called back, raising their drinks again.
“A’right, then!” Shev announced, moving to grab one of the mooring ropes and swing himself down over the side of the hull. “I dub this vessel th’ Sunlight Dream, in honor of th’ loves ‘a my life!” Everyone cheered and toasted as Shev smashed the bottle against the side of the ship. He dropped the rest of the glass into the harbor, letting the sea take it to mold into pretty sea glass on some distant shore someday. When he scrambled back onto the sloop, he dusted his hands off and then held his hands up. “Looks like it’s time t’drink an’ be merry!”
“Before you get married!” Arli and Darian replied in unison, making Aeluan and Lydi laugh.
As they all settled down in the back of the sloop to drink and catch up, Kismet leaned over and murmured, “You really had me thinking you were saying no.”
Shev smirked over at him. “I had t’make ya sweat fer makin’ me wear all this shite,” he responded, and Kismet punched him lightly in the arm with a laugh.
Anzhi looked over, smiling. “Oh, come on, you know you like all of those.”
He couldn’t deny it, of course, though he did point out that he meant what he said about one ceremony to bind them all. And a hell of a party afterward, if he had any say.
Ryeh straddled the surfboard, paws dangling in the water as his short tail twitched back and forth nervously. His ears perked as he looked toward the swell of the waves, fang catching his lower lip. "Are ya sure?"
Not far from him, Aeluan gave a merry laugh. The tall, muscular Raen was wearing nothing but swim trunks, and Ryeh could admit he was a pleasant fellow to look upon. Broad-shouldered and tan, Aeluan's inky-dark hair was spilling over his aetheryte-blue eyes before the paladin pushed it back. The broad, white-scaled tail swished easily in the water, instinctively keeping Aeluan in position despite the tide. "You'll be fine, Ryeh!"
"Ugh," Ryeh said, feeling a twinge of nerves. He liked to swim, and he had to admit that the rush of adrenaline that came with surfing was a lot of fun, but those waves were bigger than he'd ever tried to handle before. "Ya sure I can handle it?"
"If you're brave enough," Aeluan teased, giving a gentle bap of his tail against Ryeh's leg as he paddled by, heading for the breaks. "So you coming?"
Ryeh gave a noise of mock-offence, even if he knew that the Raen was just prickling his pride a bit to urge him on. He pretended a glare before huffing sharply. "Yeah, yeah, but I die on a rock, I'm gonna be so mad at ya!" Lying down on the board that Aeluan had made for him, he started to paddle after the other.
Aeluan's laugh trailed back toward him. "I promise if you die, I will be very sad."
"Mean!" Ryeh called, one ear turned to keep track of the waves. "Ya owe me lunch if I half-drown at least."
"I'll buy you lunch anyway!" Aeluan laughed, broad tail giving a few easy flicks to curve him into the position before he caught the flow of the wave, standing up with a whoop of delight as he rode the wave toward the shore.
Ryeh blew out another breath to steady his nerves. It was a bit silly to be tense when he'd grown up by the Rhotono Sea and been in its waters since he could walk, but surfing had given him a whole new respect for both the power and fickle nature of the ocean. Still, he was more stubborn than he was scared, so with a shake of his head, he turned his board and paddled to catch the next wave. It wasn't a huge way, but it was still pretty big, and he could feel it tug sharply at the board, even as he gathered himself to stand.
It had taken a lot of encouragement and patience from Aeluan to stop the instinctive urge to dig his toe-claws into the board to hold himself in place. With surfing, he needed to be fluid and go with the flow. 'Ride the wave, don't fight it' is what Aeluan had said. So feet locked into place just threw off his balance and resulted in more than a few wipe-outs. Not this time, though. He kept himself alert but relaxed, letting his feet shift in small ways to adjust for the power of the wave, using his weight to guide it toward shore.
It wasn't a perfect ride, but he didn't fall, and he made it into the shallow waters where Aeluan waited, cheering at him. As the wave finally crested and ebbed, Ryeh gave a whoop himself and threw himself at Aeluan. The Raen caught him with a yelp, and they both went under, although fortunately it was shallow enough that Aeluan at least could stand. Which he did, dragging the laughing Ryeh up with him.
"Woo!" Ryeh said as soon as his head was out of the water. "I did! Ya owe me lunch!"
"I thought you said lunch was for if you died?" Aeluan's grin was cheeky and bright.
"Aelu!" Ryeh huffed with a pout. "Ya said…"
"I know, I know," the Raen laughed, giving Ryeh a gentle toss toward his board. "Grab that before it floats off. Come on! Fish and chips?"
Ryeh climbed on his board to head for shore. "Definitely fish n' chips!"
@valdiis - Aeluan, the handsome surfer paladin Raen belongs to them!
hello I'm turning 30 on friday august 29th and hopping on the birthday gpose bandwagon!
the theme is goth & spooky 🦇
give me your all black glams, your vampires and gothic romance, your edgy alternative babes, your nancy drew and scooby doo mysteries, your rock band AUs, your lovecraftian fever dreams, your classic and campy horror, your hot topic finery, etc.
vanilla or modded, wols/ocs or ships, minions or locations, silly or casual or spicy, anything is fine.
or if you want to make art or write a thing - go for it!
please tag me so I can see it too! thank you & much love 🖤
Combining the alphabet and punctuation for prompt ideas this year for Au Ra August, feel free to use if you feel inspired! Excited to see everyone's creations! 💕
Here's the prompts in text form for anyone who wants them:
You have to be careful with your knight. They’re not used to gentleness, and it might take some time for them to accept it. The first time you remove their helmet, they may not be able to meet your gaze. This is normal. There’s a lot more of you to take in than through a visor, and it can be overwhelming. Don’t expect them to make eye contact immediately. When you undress the rest of them, go slowly. You’ll be forced to because of the very nature of the armor they live in. Make sure you pause after every piece and allow them to get used to freedom once more. It’s especially important for them to breathe deeply once you’ve removed both cuirass and gambeson. Place your hand over their heart to ensure they take a few deep breaths from the chest before you continue. When you are finished playing the part of squire, be sure to give them something else to wear. They’ll feel far too exposed at first. Make sure it’s something light, they don’t need any more weight on their shoulders. Do not be surprised if their hands tremble when you take them. The feel of your hands is a far cry from that of their gauntlets, and it may take some time for them to adjust to the softness. Reassurance is your friend with a vulnerable knight. Encouragement can also aide you, but be cautious to avoid overuse. If your knight feels pressured, they will revert to their training, and you will never know their true self. If it is your wish to have a knightly lover, do not glorify the shell, but rather, cradle the creature within.
objectifying men in armor will literally never get old. like, work it shiny boy. hit ‘em with that old razzle dazzle you fuckin trash can. hottie! (tucks $5 into your cuirass)
Tagged by @paintedscales (Thank you for thinking of me!)
molten lava and charred flesh
Your heart burned so fiercely that it burnt itself out, leaving horrible scars in its wake; scars inside your chest and on the hands of those who touched you, the hearts of anyone who got close enough to connect to yours. The person you are now is no longer recognizable, burnt up by your own anger and passion and love. The injuries can never be fully erased, but they can be soothed with time and trust and forgiveness.
Quiz here.
I'm not sure how I feel about this result. Aeluan is lonely, sure, and his heart hurts - but he's still optimistic and friendly. He still believes in love. It's sort of fitting, but also sort of not. (I will say that every time I've done this quiz in the past, Aelu's gotten this result.)
I'd tag my friends, but I think y'all have already done this one in the past; it's familiar to me, anyway.
andulkaphoto
jbbartram-illu
gummygunk
baratheonpilled
