Febhyurary 2023 Prompt 7 - Weapon
Notes: Tessellation’verse
Characters (OCs): Yuzuka Ryunosuke (BSM), Murakumo Suzune & Odorine
I actually wrote this for FFXIV Write like 5 moons ago but I never posted it~
We’re doing prompts out of order, I guess. Ironically easier to write (or find old writing) than gpose (and then I made a banner for this lol)
The first half is actually Ryunosuke reflecting but I promise the prompt is in there.
Ryunosuke loved his children.
He was not Seruk - he was Kuravet, he was Yanxian and traditional Seruk didn't really have fathers. Most cultures favored the mother; Yanxia favored mother and fathers equally, mostly, maybe. But due to circumstances - assisting them in escaping an Imperial attack and then fleeing their homeland as refugees - he came to live with his lovers' family, be his daughter's father.
But they let Ryuuga share a name character and name sound with him, Odorine gleefully took up his craft in the forge, Utami was an attentive student and Suzumine - or Suzune as she preferred - was his eldest and fiercest child who thought he hung the moon and stars.
He still remembers her look of admiration when he turned from the newly-made corpse of the soldier that had been poised to kill her. The then-five year old Jian had not an ounce of concern in her near death. Her dad had saved her and as far as she was concerned that made him the coolest person on the planet. It didn't matter that a few seconds later she would have been dead.
"You're really stupid." she had said to the soldier, tripping him with a stick and delaying his pursuit. The soldier had seen Ryunosuke sprinting towards them and raised his weapon and his daughter hadn't flinched.
She kept getting into her father's weapon chest - despite the lock - and trying to flail the swords about. It was then when he started to teach her kenjutsu so she wouldn't hurt herself.
His eldest child always conspired to give him gray hairs. He didn't know why his daughter was so unimpressed and unmoved by anything from a young age but he was not unflapped by her antics.
Like stealing a valuable jewel from a Hannish merchant of questionable integrity and sending Ostwaent and two islands into an uproar with the subsequent goose chase. In fairness, the scholar was not on the level but. still.
Or the time she befriend the son of the Hannish Satrap and they had not realized he was onboard until they had sailed away. He wasn’t even a hyur! He was Au Ra, and yet not one Seruk adult had thought this was odd. The Seruk taught their children to be excellent tricksters both to keep the rambunctious little monsters out of direct fighting and because children were beneath suspicious despite everyone knowing better. Sometimes, this backfired on them. In his opinion.
Today, Ryunosuke pressed his hands together in a prayer posed and looked between his first and fiercest and most ridiculous and his third and sensible and productive daughter and let out a hard breath.
“Run that by me again." he said as if repeating the ridiculous request will encourage her to not pursue this line of thinking. It's not that aether-conductive katanas weren't possible. It was that his eldest daughter was already a terror, surely she did not need to add to that.
"I want to infuse my katana with levin." Suzumine said.
Yeah. That’s what he thought.
"I thought you wanted to use water and wind too." Odorine said. She was strikingly similar to her sister though she had a narrower face, lacked her sister's ghost blue eyes and wore her blue-tinged violet hair longer.
"One thing at a time." his eldest said, to his relief.
"I am a blacksmith." he reminded his mage daughter who exploded the house with paper and ink alone at least - on too many occasions. "Not an enchanter."
"I know, Baba."
No. He would not be swayed by affectionate names.
"And I am not a blacksmith." Suzune added.
"You could be." Odorine said and giggled at her father's slight squeak of panic. He dreaded having Suzumine in the forge. Her carbuncle would eat something. Her carbuncles had swallowed things previously and been banned for it.
"Come on, baba - doesn't like aether conductive metal exist? You use it for kenki all the time!”
"I am not giving you a katana that could explode in your hands."
Suzune's eyes went wide in an attempt at innocence. It didn't quite work; the blue face paint she put around her eyes and curved on her cheeks brought out her pale eyes, making her look more unsettling than adorable. Of course he would always find her adorable but he wouldn’t say that.Often. And he was wise to her tricks. "Why would you make me a shoddy katana, Baba? Is this kinslaying?"
The Seruk were far too flippant about things but they had also never been conquered nor had they been overrun despite being water nomads with no borders so clearly he couldn't judge overmuch.
"You are a horrible child." It was said without heat and Suzune grinned at him.
Odorine held up her hands. "I have nothing to do with this."
Ryunosuke shot a look at her. She could at least take his side against her ridiculous elder sister.
"Okay I have something to do with this." Odorine conceded. "Anesan wants to be able to use her arcanima and her kenjutsu at the same time!"
"And carrying a grimoire lacks... drama."
"Arcanima is hard mid-combat if she lost her book." Odorine translated.
"I am not going to lose my grimoire - "
"What if they rip it out of your hand and it melts in the ocean?" Odorine countered.
"Grimoires don't work that way. "
"It’s a book.”
"Anyway.” her elder sister said, dismissive. “Baba! Don't you want me to use my kenjutsu more?"
"You are a mage." he said in the tons of one who knew he was losing the argument. He taught her the blade so she’d have respect for the weapons instead getting into them and playing them with recklessly like the precocious five year old she had been.
"But Ba~" she whined. "Think about it. Madokenshi! The marriage of magic and blade! Don't you already do that anyway with like... yukikaze?"
Ryunosuke pinched his nose. Well. It would be less chaotic than the time she had experimented with a thaumaturge's scepter. He dreaded a repeat. A katana was a single blade; if anything it could focus her instead of scattering explosions all over the place.
"Alright." he said to twin whoops of glee. "Odorine can help - since I know that's why you're here - "
"Well, of course." she grinned. “I am a blacksmith and I should forge my sister’s blade.”
"And you," he added to Suzune. "Might as well bring out your carbuncles to be apart of the process. But if they eat anything, they go back out."
"Thank you, Baba! I’ll make sure they behave.”
Ryunosuke narrowed his eyes doubtfully and made a mental note to bring carbuncle toys. This could be good for everyone. Maybe.
AU Tessellation’verse - Takes place after the Castra Campaigns (aka the Empire attacks from lvl 20 all the way to lvl 50, Eorzea plays ‘Whacks a Castrum)
"Captain-Arbiter." Merlwyb greets her officer; the tiny hyur woman looks up. Well. lots of hyur are tiny to roegadyn. "I don't think you work here anymore?"
Suzune looks offended. "Did you fire me?" she asks in tones that say: you had better not.
Merlwyb chuckles. "No, but you have been rather busy."
She throws her hands up. "We were fighting a war!"
"Peace, Suzune, Peace. I am not firing you."
"Good because unless I've done something especially horrific it would be super awkward for you to fire the person you invented the post for."
"You have … three posts." Merlwyb said, arriving at the point she was aiming for all along. “I think.”
"Yes. And…?"
Merlwyb rubbed her nose. "Suzune. You're Secretary of Magic - " she didn't come up with the job title even though she invented the post. "And Chief Quartermaster of the Decks, - "
"Enyzahr only gave me that one because I kept butting into everything anyway. Besides, it falls under the purview of … assessment and arbitration. We think."
"a Captian of the Maelstrom, and a Senior Member of the Merlago Jaws, technically of Mealvaan’s Gate - “
“The Gate and the Jaws do different things - “
“ - member of the Ivory Fang Flotilla,” she spoke over the arcanist; why the Gate and the Jaws felt the need to brawl like this was beyond her understanding. Probably the pirate influence. “And now you are also a Blade of the Valiant Dawn - "
"Twelvesblade. Luminary." she corrected, pulling a face. "And we were on loan."
Merlwyb pointed at Suzune's desk, covered in both her work and travel plans. "Your fleet is going out. It's been five years; over five years. You've served your time."
"You are firing me! And after the accolades? Rude."
Merlwyb huffed; at least she did not seem angry. Dratted Seruk; always wanting to play. "I am telling you your commission is up; you're an adventurer now, Tidekeeper - commit to one course. Besides, I highly doubt you'll cease being meddlesome just because you're on indefinite leave. Haven't you been passing duties to your deputies?"
"Well…" Suzune considered it.
"Besides, who wants to be bothered with affairs of the state when the sea and the road clearly beckons?" That was why they had a time limit; seafarers and pirates tended to get twitchy when it one place for too long so there were plenty of exit-points.
Suzune pointed up at her accusingly. It had the effect of a child arguing with their parent.
"I'm the Admiral and I was out of the office for the entirety of the marches."
"Get out of the office more or I'll - I'll tell my kin to menace you."
Merlwyb narrowed at her eyes; Suzune merely grinned.
"Sea fiend." she grumbled; it wasn't a hardship. "When does your flotilla leave?"
"Eh... a couple weeks?” she gathered up her things. "Come on! You should circumnavigate Lominsan waters to check on things - oh! Take Styrmgohta with you - and there's a few posts where you can talk to the Sahagin though I think they're mostly done with land since all those deep sea air pockets opened in the Calamity and we need to check for anymore underwater surprises from the Empire - “
"Styrmgohta." Merlwyb repeated.
"Yes." Suzune looked up at her owlishy. "She likes sailing."
Merlwyb stared. "Isn't it the Twelvesblades’ job to host the - "
"You're the admiral of her city-state." Suzune sounded aghast - or would if she wasn't also laughing at her. "Don't be so blasphemous!"
"We're Lominsan."
Suzune leveled her with an unimpressed stare before a tiny grin started to appear.
“Very well.” Merlwyb said before the Wavewalker woman could start to tease or accuse her of being ‘shy’ or something else ridiculous. “I’m sure she’d love to actually taste the ale we give as offerings.”
