#finnuf

[ufasher]

terror.

@finnuf

it’s the third night since asher has properly shut his eyes. every time he drifts off, he finds himself in the same hellish dream. his mother, once beautiful, nothing more than a miserable corpse. his companion, perhaps his only friend in the world, with his sword in asher’s own gut, or across his throat, or maybe an arrow in his skull. he feels the pain in each dream so vividly as if he’s already died a hundred deaths over but come sunlight, there’s not so much as a mark on his body. 

he’s tried not to let it affect him, to not let whatever unconscious thing that is causing these night terrors to win. he feels himself losing that battle. he can’t help but eye finn warily whenever they’re too close together, to make sure that his sword stays sheathed and his hand away from the hilt. he’s stopped practicing with him, too afraid of being impaled on a wooden practice sword the same way that he’s been in too many dreams. and at night, he stays awake until he hears the even, measured breathing of his companion soundly asleep. and if asher truly can’t stay awake, he only lets himself rest when he’s sure he has the best chances of defending himself should the dreams invade the waking world.

in truth, asher has begun to lose track of what’s real.

his eyes burn and he feels physically ill from his own tiredness and yet as soon as he thinks finn is asleep, he sits upright on his own bedroll, bringing his knees up to his chest and taking a deep breath as he prepares for another long night’s vigil. every small sound makes him flinch, the snap of a twig or the chirp of some frog or toad making him look over his shoulder. this is no way to live, he can’t help but think. but how else can he survive?

[ufleila]

plotting and scheming ;

@finnuf

it's strange, being back here after so long. really it's only been about a year since leila left, but everything feels so different now. when she left last, she thought she was alone in the world, the last defender of her homeland on the run from tyranny and war. she was completely unsure of what to do, where to go, or how to move forward, and she had a vague idea of getting revenge on gleerium and freeing etlia, but no means of even coming up with a feasible plan to follow through on that.

now, she's reunited with finn, ganggyn has declared war on gleerium, and with the new war started, leila may finally have her opportunity to reclaim her homeland.

when finn walks in the door, leila waves at him from her table in the corner, and as he approaches she makes eye contact with cirenne behind the bar. the matron nods once -- she'll make sure their conversation isn't overheard. it's a relief, leila thinks, to be back around someone like cirenne, who leila knows has no other motivations than to keep her inn running and, in her words, to do the most right thing.

allowing a couple of mercenaries the privacy to plan an uprising may not seem like a good thing to do, but leila knows that cirenne hates gleerium as much as she does, and she's eager to see andreas's empire topple.

"we won't be overheard here," leila tells finn when he reaches her, though currently the taproom is abandoned aside from the two of them and cirenne. "there's nothing to worry about. do you want anything?"

she indicates her own mug of ale when she asks, lifting it slightly off the table. "the ale's not bad. how's the war effort? have you signed on with ganggyn's army yet?"

[ufvivian]

— nostalgia ,

enjoying the lotus festival with @finnuf !

     vivian fidgets a little nervously as she waits under the tree they’d designated as their meeting point. her brother has been doing a lot better when it comes to communicating, and since they’d met again, he’d kept his word of at least telling her if he was going to disappear or if they could meet somewhere. there haven’t really been times where he’s given her an uncertain answer or left her hanging, but that was how finn had been before he’d run off after the war, too, so vivian is still worried. 

     after all, that abandonment had been for the first time, too.

     time ticks by as she glances up at the sky, and the ball of worry that’s been growing in her stomach gets bigger as the appointed time passes by. she wants to believe that finn isn’t going to leave her hanging, that he’s planning to show up, but the fact of the matter is that he’s late now... and she’s not sure what’s going on. 

     she doesn’t think her brother would forget about her, but there’s a small, hurt part of her that’s worrying more and more loudly about the potential. 

[ufvincent]

—> thunder in our hearts.

5 years ago with @finnuf

somberness is the theme for his last year at the lotus academy, despite his family’s initial enthusiasm for him to officially step into his new responsibilities as an ‘educated’ gleerium noble. the past summer came and went, leaving behind a lesson long since learnt, more akin to salt to a wound you forgot existed — death has its own timeline, and it will often come without announcement. 

the lotus tower is akin to a refuge from the stifling reality that awaits him down below — responsibility, duty, acceptance. it’s almost funny, the knowledge most of the children here have faced loss of some kind, parental near the top of the list itself, and yet the piteous looks haunt his backside, stick to him like an unwanted leech. 

his self-imposed solitude is interrupted by a shadow in his peripheral, but he doesn’t need to turn much to detect who it is. years of watching his back have trained him to sense those most familiar to him with even less of indicators — those that despise his guts need less. 

“finnian,” he greets, stiffly. there is an inherent awkwardness that besets him upon the arrival of the other, one that erects every time he finds himself around the other. unavoidable, inevitable, absolute — vincent is borne from a legacy that pleads allegiance and spills blood in the name of the true ruler, in the name of the king.

vessalius represents itself in history as a state ever present in war and turmoil — and how it borders the small but proud nation of eltia, there is reason for the awkward tension (there is reason for any and all tension, though typically more often than not stained with red, hot fury and flying fists). more than enough reason, decided and absolute since before their births even, this idea of unity and prosperity as one whole nation. the inevitable. 

he turns away completely, eyes moving to fixate upon a point in the distance but nothing specifically. ‘nothing’ encapsulates the energy well; here stands nothing in the shadow of the vessalius marquess, a shell of the man he once thought himself to be. that he, on better days, still festers enough care to pretend to be.

"the tower’s occupied; return later.” there’s little energy to summon the usual tone mixed between fire and something mocking, falling upon ever-present lethargy, much like how the rest of the year has gone by. it’s the lesser than of the two opposing personas he’s adopted; there is something more alive about the one that contrasts the quiet of his profile now, one akin to rage itself, picking petty fights and prone to throwing the first punch to get his blood pumping, to feel something.  “i have little desire to argue or fight tonight.”

for now, he settles for the empty void that festers in the pit of his stomach, of his chest. the grievance the lucinier heir holds against him feels lackluster to the nothingness that devours him whole as the sun sets upon the horizon to welcome the night, for grief awakens alongside the moon. 

[ufazura]

slow it down.

a late night at lotus tavern with @finnuf

it’s some minutes past midnight when azura hangs up her apron in the backroom, signaling the end of another shift at the tavern. the apron is replaced by her light overcoat, and she takes a quick glance over the room while putting it on, to make sure she’s not accidentally leaving anything behind. once satisfied, she goes to leave, and normally that would mean she goes directly home, but... tonight she has other plans. other duties to attend to, so to speak. and so instead of heading outside, she wanders back in to where the guests are seated, eyes quickly locking onto the one person she’d like to speak to. 

“alright.” azura sits down in front of the young man, forcefully grabbing his cup out of his hand and pushes it aside. “that’s enough.” her voice is clear but stern, which isn’t the tone she usually takes with people. but, this is a special case, as this guy — finn — is drunk. beyond that, actually. inebriated, hammered, smashed, whatever. it almost seems like there would have to be a new word invented for just how drunk he is. 

“i’m taking you back to the inn,” she continues, fully embracing herself for the inevitable complaints from the younger. in the many years she’s worked in different inns and taverns, she’s gotten all too used to how unwilling the guests can be to stop drinking once they’re too far gone. normally, she’d let them be, figuring it’s their life to ruin in the end. but unfortunately, she cares for finn a tiny bit more than the average customer. she likes the guy, thinks he’s fun to talk to during her shifts and all that, so she’d hate for anything bad to happen to him because of his bad decisions. 

“come on, let’s go.” azura stands up and places herself next to him, offering an arm to help pick him up. “i don’t have all night.” 

[ufvivian]

— under the cover of night ,

a long awaited reunion with @finnuf !

     it’s been about a year since everything had changed irreversibly. vivian still doesn’t really know what she’s doing, now that she no longer has her people to take care of, her lands to guard, her father and brother to adore. she’s truly alone now — she may still have friends here at lotus academy and scattered throughout deyuis, but she has no home. not truly.

     she had never bought a place after they had been evicted — there had been so much unrest and turmoil, what with finn disappearing the days before she could even be sure he was fully healed. and then once things had settled down, it was time to return to school. in a way, it had been a welcome opportunity to ignore the fact that she no longer even had the coin to purchase a house upfront, let alone any idea of how in the world she was supposed to do it. for all her education, this had never been a consideration. 

     drawing the hood of her cloak over her head more securely, she wanders through the streets of noyillai, her eyes roving over the bustling streets, busy even in the setting sun, and it’s then that she hears a voice she thinks she must be imagining. 

     peering subtly in the direction of the voice, she examines each face carefully, pain shooting through her heart when her eyes land on a figure so familiar there’s no denying it. just as quickly as the pain had come, anger joins her, and she grits her teeth as she slips through the crowd up to the figure of her brother, jabbing him in the side with a finger viciously. 

     “kim finnian von lucinier,” she hisses through clenched teeth, glaring up at him, her face shadowed by the hood but recognizable from his angle. 

[ufpoints]

KIM FINNIAN: LOTUS FESTIVAL 953

[ link to your uf:lotusfest tag ] [ link to your status page ]

APPROVED! + ONE 3 STAT LEVEL UP + ONE 1 STAT LEVEL UP + ONE 6 STAT LEVEL UP FINNIAN IS NOW LEVEL 25

the stats you can add have been randomized, and you must now distribute one point each across 3 different stats for your first level up, 1 for your second, and 6 for your third. you must add stat points to two of the strong skills listed on your application with each level up, with the one stat level up going to one of your strong skills.

please record this post on the “stat tracker” page of your status page, and link this post under the “link” heading as proof of your level up. make sure to record each level separately. thank you for your participation in the event!

[ufpoints]

KIM FINNIAN LEARNING

CURRENT LEVEL: 21 CURRENT WEAPONS AND MAGIC: iron sword, steel sword, levin sword, killing edge STATUS PAGE: here LEARNING: iron bow

APPROVED!