the-faechild-writes

[the-faechild-writes]

I remembered Picrew exists...

my work here is done...

(the creator of the picrew is actually here on tumblr! credit to @potato-lord-but-not!)

[the-faechild-writes]

removing distractions isn't enough anymore, I need to be sent to the seaside like a sickly victorian woman in order to get some writing done

[the-faechild-writes]

⚜ FAERIE'S DAWN OUT-OF-CONTEXT ⚜

Sky: [leaning down so his forehead is inches away from Nova's, jabs a finger into their chest]

Sky: [at the same time, accusingly) "—but know this, fae. I'm keeping an eye on you."

Cloud:

Nova: [jaw clenched, glares right back into his eyes]

Cloud: [steps forward, moving to grab Sky's shoulder—]

Nova: [at the same time, squares their shoulders and stands up straight!!!]

Nova: [and sticks out their tongue]

Sky:

Cloud:

Cloud: [can't help it. Snorts, quickly turning away to cover her mouth with her hand]

Sky: [at the same time, stands up straight himself, visibly stunned]

Nova:

Nova: [brow furrowing and fae-ears lowering in confusion, hesitantly looks between them]

Nova: (uncertainly) "… why are you laughing?"

Cloud: [oops, starts snickering—]

Sky: [struggles to repress a smile, turning away to cover his own mouth—]

Nova: [face slowly flushing, desperately) "what's so funny!?"

Cloud: [finally bursts out laughing—]

Sky: [snort—]

Nova: [stomping their foot repeatedly, childishly) "STOP FUCKING LAUGHING AT ME!!!"

Siblings: [wHEEZE—]

Faerie's Dawn fanclub:

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @oliolioxenfreewrites

@corinneglass @thebookishkiwi @storyteller-kara @themongosianhorse @theburningeyeofdawn

@notyourlocalworm @write-with-will @mildlybizarrecorvid @forgottenvalor @huewrite

@vesanal @differentnighttale @plip-plap-plop @olliedoesthings @pupculture

@princessuncertain @mythicalmagical-monkeyman @i-do-anything-but-write @a-zendrial

@real-fragments @lunauphternal @sullymarlowe @aalinaaaaaa (ask and ye shall be added)

divider by @mypixeldiary

[the-faechild-writes]

✨OVER-ARCHING PLOT✨ ✨✨BONUS SCENE✨✨

mild context: Stella and Mistral are both faeries with a connection to the Existential of Magic. At Mistral's request, Magic arranged a meeting between him and Stella...

[disclaimer: there may be one or more lies or misleading truths within the given 'context']

Magic: [after a moment, swells subtly, snapping to attention from their name being spoken]

Stella: [smiling weakly, her eyebrows furrowed, finishes painfully) "I'm ready to speak with your friend."

Magic:

Magic: [fades slightly]

Stella: [swallows, taking another shuddering deep breath as she looks away and stares out into the horizon. Face slowly empties again, going stony]

Sun: [setting!]

Magic: [shudders, then swells, and—]

Stella:

Stella: [tenses, breath catching in her throat and her eyes going wide as she quickly turns to face—]

Magic: [spits out a singular faerie]

Mistral: [a tall, dark, and angular faerie. Has short, messy black hair, two dark antennae emerging from the top of his forehead, pale near-white skin, six eyes (with large, orange irises that mostly hid the black sclera), and large birdlike wings tucked in behind his back]

Wings: [were feathered; started black toward the top and turned into vivid blues and pale purples as they neared the tips]

Mistral: [held himself elegantly, shoulders squared back professionally and his hands clasped together in front of him. Fae-ears both angled backwards, visibly awkward]

Mistral: [gives a deep bow, folding one hand over his torso and holding the other far outward]

Mistral: (respectfully) "Stella. It's nice to meet you {in person}."

Stella: [oops, eyes watery again—]

Mistral: [didn't really have much in common visually to {Redacted}… all he really had was the paleness and messy, dark hair. Mistral was clearly a faerie, while {Redacted} had always been human]

Mistral: [but his voice… even if it, itself was different, he spoke the same way. The same somewhat distant, always-careful, always-thoughtful way, where he clearly considered his words and then still spoke clumsily]

Stella: (voice breathless) "who are you?"

Mistral: [stiffens, but… hesitantly looks up at her]

Mistral: [has a weak, awkward smile on his lips… and his ears folded back in anticipation]

Mistral: (cautiously) "… I'm {Magic's} friend from {redacted x2}. You may call me {Mistral}."

Stella:

Stella: [heart and face twists, but—]

Stella: [takes a slow, deep breath. Squeezing her eyes shut, folds her hands together and places them in front of her nose…. and then lets out a slow, heavy sigh]

Sigh: [except, comes out mixed with a weak, incredulous chuckle]

Stella:

Stella: [struggling for words, but processing a lot]

Stella: '{Mistral}'… he literally just {redacted x3} his name. And nobody else has noticed? He's been here for centuries???

Mistral: [slowly, stiffly straightens from his bow, re-clasping his hands in front of him]

Mistral: (voice thick, hesitantly) "… are you okay, {Stella}?"

Stella: [sucks in a sharp breath, snapping her eyes open and pulling her head from her hands to look up at him]

Mistral: [fae-ears and wings twitch subtly, but otherwise makes no other movement—]

Mistral: [or… not physically. His essence tensed around him for a moment… but just a moment]

Stella: [eyes subtly narrowed on him, suspiciously) "{Mistral}. Where did you get your name?"

Mistral:

Mistral: [lips, ears, and wings all twitch awkwardly as he looks away—]

Mistral: [but takes a quick, deep breath as he returns his eyes to hers, forces a weak smile, and starts forward]

Mistral: [summoning a bushel of {flowers}, generously) "after a flower."

Stella: [isn't sure if she's glaring or crying as she stares down at him suspiciously—]

Mistral: [gracefully stops in front of her, elegantly tipping the flowers in her direction as he finishes gently) "I heard, in a bygone culture, they represented 'remembrance'. Like, 'I will remember you'."

Mistral: [glances away, taking a subtle breath]

Mistral: [looking back at her, smiles weakly before he hesitantly adds) "or, I like to think: 'I will be remembered'."

Stella: [just looked between him and the {flowers} as he spoke—]

Stella: [face twisting subtly, hesitantly takes the flowers and twists them between her fingers for a moment]

Stella: [just breathing—] :'D

Stella: [finally, snaps her eyes up to his]

Stella: (a bit too sharply) "'remembered' in what way. 'At any cost?'"

Mistral: [face pinches, growing visibly pained—]

Stella: [heart flutters, guilty and worried—]

Mistral: [easing the pain, instead offers a weak smile]

Mistral: (imploringly) "no. Like I will be remembered for who I am, and what I do for the people in my life. Not for my mistakes."

Stella: [face crumples as tears fall from her eyes and a weak laugh escapes her]

Stella: [at the same time, drops the hand holding the {flowers} to the side, raises the other to place her fingertips over her brow, and stares at the ceiling of the gazebo incredulously]

Stella: [half-laughing, disbelievingly) "'your mistakes'???"

Mistral: [below her, swallows and drops his eyes to the ground beside him]

Mistral: (voice quiet, timid) "… yes."

Mistral and Stella, my beloveds 😙👌🥰

ALSO, I'M CURIOUS, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK IS GOING ON HERE!?

also also, what do you guys think of Mistral? His design? Etc? 😂

(i beg of thee to tell me)

(tagging superfans)

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @mythicalmagical-monkeyman

@corinneglass @angelfevr

divider by @saradika

[the-faechild-writes]

✨OVER-ARCHING PLOT✨ ✨✨BONUS SCENE✨✨

(and out-of-context spoilers)

Ailwyn: [in the middle of a conversation sighs heavily as she leans against her knees, watching Luz play in the distance]

Ailwyn: (tiredly) "just call me Ailwyn, Darilek."

Darilek: [freezes, tensing, before hesitantly looking to them]

Darilek: (awkwardly, shock clear in his voice) "Your—er… what?"

Ailwyn: [pauses herself to turn to him and flash him a sharp-toothed, attempted-reassuring smile]

Ailwyn: [… but quickly returns their eyes to Luz]

Ailwyn: (seemingly absentmindedly) "… you can call me 'Ailwyn'. Don't worry about the… 'Your Eminence' thing."

Ailwyn: [half sighs and half scoffs, dismissively waving a hand outward as they roll their eyes]

Ailwyn: (annoyedly) "{God} knows I hear enough of it."

Ailwyn:

Ailwyn: [cringes]

Ailwyn: [has to struggle not to use terms they hear everyone else use that refer to them… and yet had allowed themself to relax. Always makes that mistake when they do] 😓

Darilek: [smirks slightly behind their back, eyeing the mane of hair blocking their ears from his sight and half suspecting that aspect of their 'design' had been intentional]

Darilek: [but corrals his expression and turns back to face Luz with a sigh, awkwardly cupping his coffee]

Darilek: (tiredly, a hint of insecurity leaking into his voice) "… but you're—you're our god, Your Emin—Ailwyn."

Ailwyn: [eyeing him behind her through her aura]

Darilek: [grips his cup tighter, watching his fingers turn ashen]

Darilek: (awkwardly tries to finish) "—and I'm just… your guar—"

Ailwyn: (tonelessly) "Darilek."

Darilek: [freezes, ears drooping and eyes going wide as he looks up at him]

Ailwyn: [has his head tilted to the side and ears lowered in focus, but flashes an attempted-reassuring smile for a moment. It quickly disappears for a fully-focused expression]

Ailwyn: (seriously) "do you think I tell everybody to just call me by my name?"

Darilek:

Darilek: [ears drooping even further, hesitantly looks away]

Darilek: (awkwardly) "… of course not, Your—"

Darilek: [and it's his turn to cringe!]

Ailwyn: [head still tilted to the side as they eye him]

Ailwyn: [after a moment of his silence, matter-of-factly) "then you know you're not 'just' my guard, Darilek. You're not just a Sentinel."

Darilek:

Darilek: [heart fluttering and cheeks flushing, hesitantly looks at them—] 😓

Ailwyn: [flashes him another smile!… and this time it stays, albeit as a small one]

Ailwyn: [lifting his eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice) "whatever you may do with it, it means I trust you."

Darilek: !?!?!? 😅🥹😭

Ailwyn: [gives a dismissive, almost annoyed-sounding sigh as he turns away and flutters his hand to the side again]

Ailwyn: (tries to sound dismissive, but the awkwardness shines through) "and… consider you my friend, or whatever."

Darilek: [stares at Ailwyn's mane—once again blocking his face and ears from Darilek's sight—as he struggles to find words] :'D

Darilek: [starts with an awkward laugh, but tone quickly turns insecure again as he looks down at his coffee) "… with your guard? I just—"

Ailwyn: (voice a bit harder this time) "Darilek."

Darilek: [tenses and clenches his jaw, anxiously looking up at them—]

Ailwyn: [brow furrowed and face twisted in frustration]

Ailwyn: (voice slightly hard) "'status' doesn't matter to me. There is a reason I have built a society that anyone, anywhere, can grow into anything. Fall into anything. Your status is little more than the role you currently play. That is all."

Darilek:

Darilek: … 😅😭

Darilek: [after a moment of Ailwyn's silence, awkwardly looks away to try to think—] 😅😭

Ailwyn: [finally, sighs and turns away himself. Looks down at Luz, and then up at the sky]

Ailwyn: (tiredly) "and, besides… I'm sure I don't have to say, ah… there's not many I do consider 'friends'."

Darilek:

Darilek: [ears low, awkwardly leans his elbows into his knees as he silently looks up at them]

Ailwyn: [still staring at the sky; tiredly) "… hard to find people I trust enough to."

Darilek: :'D

Darilek: (awkwardly, uncertainty and hesitance clear in his voice) "… can't you just… make them tell you how trustworthy they are?"

Ailwyn:

Ailwyn: [tenses—]

Darilek: I fucked up, but how!?!? :'DDDD

Ailwyn: [slowly looks back at him, face subtly twisted and ears low… but overall hard to read exactly what they feel]

Ailwyn: (voice subtly uneven) "Darilek. Tell me: do you think it is ethical to brainwash your friends?"

Darilek:

Darilek: [eyes flying wide, quickly raises his hands in surrender—]

Ailwyn: [magically catches his coffee cup in the air, keeping it from falling on him]

Darilek: (voice subtly high) "no! No, that's not what I—"

Ailwyn: [the corner of their lip quirks, then grows into a wide, sad lopsided smile]

Ailwyn: (voice sounding hollow, interrupts) "so you must think I find it ethical, then."

Darilek: ——— 😅

Ailwyn: [sighs heavily, their ears drooping, and finally turns away to stand]

Ailwyn: (voice empty) "no. I do not. That's why I can't make friends outside of who I already have. Because I will not give anybody else the chance to betray me. Forgive me for assuming you'd understand."

Darilek:

Ailwyn: [and starts off—]

Darilek: [wants to stop them, to say anything to try to reassure them, but… doesn't know what—] 😓😭

Ailwyn: [after a moment, distorts and disappears, instead reforming downhill with Luz and Ruvaen—]

Darilek: 🤦🏿‍♂️😭

Darilek: [lets out a heavy, frustrated sigh, squeezing his hands into fists over his knees and looking down at them]

Coffee: [still hovering in the air in front of him—]

Darilek:

Darilek: 😅😓

Darilek: [awkwardly takes it from the air, then whispers, voice thick and uneven) "thank you."

Magic: [dissolves from where it'd held up the cup. Doesn't offer any response]

Sorry about disappearing, but I've had a lot going on, desperately needed to catch up with college schoolwork, and have needed a bit of a mental health break myself. So here's something to tide you guys over! Darilek utterly failing at social interactions, as always. 😭

Which! He's a faerie of the dark and night! He's got a bit of a spider-y appearance, haha.

And, ah... Darilek actually appears later in Faerie's Dawn, btw! Although, he starts on the opposite side of Nova and friends...

[the-faechild-writes]

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

FAERIE'S DAWN

SYNOPSIS:

Following the Shattering of Reality, the world was plunged into what came to be known as the Faewildes: an ever-changing world suffused with magic and danger. Humanity crumbled under the weight of the new reality while fae—and the archfae above them—emerged to rule over the new world. Humans couldn't compete against the fae's sheer magical prowess, and soon built strongholds in territories with weak magical presence to stand against them. Now, so many generations later, humanity has finally learned of faekind's weakness: metal, which weakens fae and blocks their magic. A war is breaking out between humanity and fae, with gods each picking sides in the conflict. Between faeries Nova, Cloud, and Sky, and the human settlement Eve and Asa protect... who will win?

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION MASTERPOST #FAERIE'S DAWN

THE FAERIES:

CHAPTER 1: “A NORMAL FAERIE”

part 1 / part 2 nova, cloud, sky

CHAPTER 2: KILREY

part 1 / part 2 nova, cloud, sky

CHAPTER 3: “NATURAL” OBSTACLES

part 1 / part 2 cloud & sky

CHAPTER 4: ON WHAT GROUNDS?

part 1 / part 2 cloud & sky

CHAPTER 5: CALM AFTER THE STORM

part 1 / part 2 cloud & sky

CHAPTER 6: RUMINATION

whole chapter sky

CHAPTER 7: NICE TO MEET "YOU"

part 1 / part 2 nova, cloud, sky

THE HUMANS:

CHAPTER 1: THE TWINS

part 1 / part 2 asa & eve

CHAPTER 2: HUMAN SOCIETY

part 1 / part 2 eve, aurik, garin, aster, holst, timo

CHAPTER 3: FAEWILDE DEPTHS

part 1 / part 2 eve, aurik, garin, aster, holst, timo

CHAPTER 4: SURPRISE ENCOUNTER

part 1 / part 2 eve, aurik, garin, ralf, stranger

(will expand with every update)

interact with this post to be added to the faerie's dawn taglist!

divider by @thyming

[the-faechild-writes]

✨OVER-ARCHING PLOT✨ ✨✨BONUS SCENE✨✨

Magic: [half hanging out with their sentinels, but mostly checking out Reality, and gauging just how much and where they can get involved]

Zhrizn: [exists]

Magic: [crossing her arms, annoyedly) "imagine being so badly misunderstood that Axiom creates a whole new being to accommodate for it."

Order's voice: (suddenly speaks up, tauntingly) "first time?" >;D

Magic:

Sentinels: [tense, but—]

Magic: [before any of them can react, warps to place themself between the source of Order's voice and the sentinels... with their fae-ears shrunken into human form and mask affixed to their face]

Order: [suddenly concentrates where she'd spoken from, forming a portal that the woman herself steps through with a smirk]

Magic: [snarls, but has to struggle to breathe evenly as they focus on their sentinels]

Tarian and Gwydion: [quickly move to step forward, but—]

Magic: [freezes them in place behind him]

Sentinels:

Order: [at the same time, barely sparing a glance over Magic's shoulder, closes the distance between herself and Magic—]

Magic: [before she can speak, voice hard) "I thought you weren't 'supposed' to appear in front of others. Isn't that part of the new 'rules' you all love so much?"

Order: [stopped in front of Magic, smirking to herself, and finally goes to place her hand on his shoulder—]

Order: (at the same time, voice sickly sweet) "didn't you—"

Magic: [warps a whole new arm over the same shoulder to grab her wrist, gripping it tightly and keeping her from touching him]

Order: [face twitches, twisting for a moment before quickly turning empty]

Order: [but yanks her wrist from his grip]

Magic: [lets her; at the same time, his voice low and cold) "I didn't give you 'permission' to touch me, {Order}. Mind your manners."

Order: [slowly quirks her eyebrow in a 'really, now?', glancing past his shoulder at his sentinels—]

Magic: [eyes widen and breath catches, but quickly steps between her and their friends again]

Order: [lip twitches in the faintest of smirks as her eyes return to their mask... at the exact place theirs are]

Magic: (voice low, but can't keep it from wavering) "this is between you and me. What do you want, Order?"

Order: [smirking all the more, crosses her arms as she meets their eyes through their mask... even as Magic moves where they are]

Order: (slyly) "what did you ask me again? 'Why am I here when I'm not supposed to interact with people outside of regions I control'?"

Magic: [hesitates, realizing that was a trick question and that she was going somewhere with that, but... doesn't know how else to respond]

Magic: (voice tragically uneven) "something like that."

Order: [still smirking, leans forward slightly... though the effect is lessened by how Magic has three whole feet over her]

Order: (pointedly) "well, that's simple."

Order: [delicately quirks an eyebrow, her smirk turning into a sly smile as she finishes with a sickly-sweet voice) "it's because faeries aren't 'people'."

Magic: [after a good bit of taunting and Order leaves, warps everyone safely into the depths of the Faewildes—]

Faewildes: [vibrating, violently storming all over from Magic's fury—]

Magic: [slams their fist into a tree with a shriek, struggling to control themself or... prevent their magic from going absolutely haywire. Manages to keep a majority of the flood concentrated around their body, in an aura of lightning, fire, and gales of wind]

Magic: [as they punched the tree; at the top of their lungs, their words echoing throughout the Faewildes) "I'M GOING TO KILL HER! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL THAT BITCH!"

Saoirse and Tarian: [quickly step forward—glancing at the other—and each use their magics to protect themselves from Magic's aura as they set hands on their shoulders]

Magic: [tenses—heart skipping a beat and their breath catching in their throat—as she struggles to quell her storm and hesitantly looks back at the two]

Saoirse: [offers a weak smile, though her ears are low and her anxiety is plain across her face]

Saoirse: (voice somewhat gentle, though the effect is lessened by the fact that she has to raise it to speak over Magic's storm) "listen, {Magic}—it's okay. She was bluffing. Trying to get into your head, to mess with you. Don't let her, okay?"

Magic: [grateful for her mask and human ears as she hesitantly looks at Tarian with wide eyes—] :'D

Tarian: (voice even, but deadly serious) "yeah. There's no other reason she would've approached us. Not if they're anything like you've told us. She acted no different from an archfaerie—we mean nothing to her."

Magic: [her storm falling apart around her and voice breaking) "but don't you see!? That's exactly why she'd—"

Gwydion: [steps forward, arms crossed, and interrupts her; calmly) "they're right, {Magic}."

Magic: [hesitates, looking to him instead—]

Tarian: [releases Magic's shoulder to step away, letting Gwydion take his place]

Gwydion: [does so, though he leaves his arms crossed as he eyes Magic's mask]

Gwydion: [voice even and words careful] "to her, we're little different from your avatars. She wouldn't dare—because you could raise issues with the other Existentials, and cause problems for her avatars. And fae like her? All that matters is what effects them. She wouldn't do anything that puts her toys in jeopardy."

Magic:

Magic: [slowly lets his face crumple—]

Magic: [and lets his mask disappear as he turns to quickly hug Saoirse, burying his face in her shoulder]

Saoirse: [hugs him tight in return, speaking softly) "it's okay. We aren't leaving you any time soon."

Tarian: [smirking slightly to himself; pipes up, voice lightly joking) "we'd be some pretty shitty sentinels if we did, ey?"

Magic:

Magic: [bursts out sob-laughing, just clinging to Saoirse even more tightly]

This whole thing started as a shitpost where Tarian told Magic "down, girl", but quickly turned into a canon scene... 😅😭

dividers from @fanguro and @pommecita

[the-faechild-writes]

SHITPOST:

AVATAR NONSENSE

Abdiel: "oh, yeah. My son? Is autistic weird as fuck."

Abdiel: "not that I don't love him or anything, I would sell my soul for his happiness. I've literally fought senselessly against my greatest fears for him, and I would fight God all over again if it meant he had just a little bit more joy in his life." :>

Abdiel: "but, anyway, I'm not weird, lol"

Abdiel: "I'm completely, perfectly normal." ;D

Abdiel: [meanwhile, vibrating in poorly-contained autism "weirdness", unable to have ordinary interactions because he has no understanding of other people without literally magically being in their heads]

Abdiel: "ain't that right, Vic?" ;D

Victor, his brother who knows him better than anyone:

Victor: [facepalms]

divider by @enchanthings

[the-faechild-writes]

SEMICORRECT QUOTES: RISING FROM THE ASHES

CHARACTERS: - Sammy Bardales - Victor Salles

TIMELINE:

approx. 800 AA (global timeline)

(due to the Faewildes' space-time distortions, timelines across countries are neither linear nor consistent)

Sammy: [suddenly has plants reacting to his emotions; they blossom when he's happy, cling to people he doesn't want to leave, and spike up when he gets scared or angry]

Sammy: [meets Victor, the relative his magic is from—]

Sammy: [throws his hands up in anger; the plants growing on and all around him spike and jut outward]

Sammy: (irritably) "PEOPLE KNOW WHEN I'M ANGRY NOW BECAUSE OF YOU!" DDDDD:<

Victor: [gives a pitying grin]

Victor: (voice awkward, yet amused) "oh, you didn't have that problem before?"

Sammy: [huffs, crossing his arms and looking away]

Sammy: (annoyedly) "I don't know; my magic was too weak or something? And Caron said I was 'too depressed' or some shit."

Victor:

Victor: [goes quiet, a subtle tension twisting his face and eyes turning sad. At the same time, the very world around them seems to lose a bit of life]

Victor: [brow furrowed in concern, gently) "... did plants die around you when you weren't growing them?"

Sammy: ...

Sammy: <.<

Victor: [brb, going to try to kill a goddess for a second time... after he'd long-since accepted the first as the greatest mistake of his life]

divider from @saradika

[the-faechild-writes]

BONUS SCENE: SUSPICION (part 4)

WAVES OF MISFORTUNE

CHARACTERS:

🌊 Hugo “Cricket” Tinoco (pov) 🌊 Benji Aikawa 🌊 Zhihao (the Familiar)

TIMELINES:

approx. 809 AA (global timeline)

word count: 1.5k part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4

Benji: [steps forward to awkwardly-yet-gently place his hand on Cricket's shoulder]

Cricket: [tenses, but—]

Benji: (voice surprisingly gentle) "listen. If you really don't have any ulterior motives, you have nothing to worry about. You did good today. And she might not have told Manar, so."

Cricket:

Cricket: [uncertain and still feeling ill, but hesitantly opened his eyes and drew his forehead from his staff to dizzily look at Benji]

Benji: [offers a clearly-forced, awkward smile]

Benji: (awkwardness leaking into his voice, though he keeps it gentle) "come back up with me. Zarina's got something for you."

Cricket: (dizzily) how would he—[and remembers his telepathic connection with Zhihao]—oh. Right. 😅😭

Cricket: [gives an awkward, clumsy nod and takes a deep breath, trying to recollect himself]

Cricket: okay… I can give myself a break. This is an okay time to take some essence…

Cricket: [closes his eyes and gently sets his head against the top—the partially-encased conduit—of his staff. As he lets out his breath in an equally-slow sigh, draws back a bit of the essence he'd stored within the conduit]

Wizards: [would often store extra essence within conduits—or, essence banks—whenever they weren't otherwise going to use magic. Then, they'd be able to save that magic energy in order to cast more, far greater spells another day]

Wizards: [due to the fact that basically all of them kept conduits on themselves 24/7 through their wands and staves, were able to build up massive wells of essence after months to years of storing their energy within it]

Essence: [except… despite being 'energy', it was only magic energy. It wasn't convertible into physical energy, which allowed an individual to exist and act as a physical entity. It only helped them effect and alter the world around them through means outside of their physical forms]

Conduits: [as they contained the essence of individuals, though, it had the same traits—and inclinations toward certain types of magics—as whoever it came from]

Cricket: [personally, was best with earth, nature, protective, and corrective magic. And so, anyone who tried using his conduit to cast magic would have the same strengths in those concepts, and weaknesses in the opposites]

Cricket: [every night, would shove as much essence as feasible into his conduit for later use, then let his essence pool regenerate overnight as he slept. Then, refused to touch the essence within his conduit except for absolute emergencies or combat, where the threat of overextension was much too dangerous to use his natural pool]

Cricket: [except, now he's drained, rattled, and nauseous enough from his accidental overextension to allow himself to borrow a bit from his conduit…]

Cricket: [just in case]

Cricket: [the pain in his chest, weight on his shoulders dragging him down, and nausea slowly fade as he taps into his conduit]

Cricket: (tiredly, to himself) okay… that's enough.

Cricket: [and, finally, cancels the magic. Breathing more easily, hesitantly opens his eyes and lifts his head from his staff to look up at Benji]

Benji: [face mostly unreadable as he eyes Cricket, but has an eyebrow and corner of his lip quirked slightly. Thoughtfully or critically?]

Benji: (dryly) "you need help heading up?"

Cricket:

Cricket: [cheeks flushing, takes another deep breath as he looks away awkwardly]

Cricket: (voice awkward and tired) "… no. I'm fine."

Cricket: what's with this sudden change? How does he—?

Benji: [gives a slight hum, then turns and waves Cricket along]

Benji: (a faint bit of amusement in his voice) "alright, then. Come on. You're not supposed to be down here."

Cricket:

Cricket: 😅

Cricket: [—and lets out his deep breath in a heavy sigh, nodding and turning to follow Benji's directions]

Cricket: [and leaning against his staff as a sort of walking stick to help him stay steady] :'D

Benji: [as he leads Cricket, absentmindedly and dismissively) "of course, it's fine since Zhihao and I lead you down here, but you know. For future reference, it's off-limits down here. Important cargo stuff and all."

Cricket: [only half listening to him; busy remembering—]

Benji: (voice harsh) "Zarina may like you, but Zhihao and I are keeping an eye on you. If you slip up at all, we will report it to the Captain." Benji: [gives a dark smile that quickly grows into another smirk; voice amused and ominous) "and, after today, I'm sure you know… you do not want to cross our Captain." >;'D

Zarina: [had fought absolutely brutally against the pirates, proving and showcasing just why she managed to graduate from Lotus Academy of Knightage and Magic]

Benji: (strictly and authoritatively) "here at sea, we follow a strict line of authority. You do not question those above you, and can consider this to be somewhat similar to a military environment. Especially with matters relating to pirates. Understood?"

Cricket: I don't know if I actually want to work here… :'DDD

Cricket: Manar… you said this place was chill… just loading and unloading cargo, and dealing with the occasional pirate raid… you never said anything about this…

Manar: [well… had mentioned that it could be stricter at times and to always listen to orders, but…]

Cricket: [had forgotten about it because the environment was genuinely chill 99% of the time. So chill that he was almost uncomfortable with the 'unprofessionalism']

Benji: (voice curious, but a slight edge to it) "Cricket?"

Cricket: [tenses, immediately glancing up at him]

Benji: [has an eyebrow quirked again, but this time there's no smirk to accompany it. Eyeing Cricket analytically as he watches him over his shoulder]

Benji: (with the same tone) "you sure you okay?"

Cricket:

Cricket: how does this man go from threatening me to faking being concerned about me? :'DDDD

Cricket: [lets out a slow, strangled sigh as he awkwardly looks away and raises his free hand to rub at the back of his neck]

Cricket: (voice uneven) "… yeah. Sorry. Did you say something?"

Benji: [hums slightly, then faces forward again and says tonelessly) "yeah. It was pretty much the same question. I noticed you haven't really drawn from that thing before."

Cricket: [looks up at Benji in surprise, caught off-guard. Had no idea Benji was capable of noticing anything like that]

Cricket: [… or, really, how Benji had. Even Cricket struggled to notice stuff like that, and he had a particularly strong arcane eye]

Benji: [doesn't glance back at Cricket as the man looks up at him, though Cricket gets the sense he's keenly aware of his every movement]

Cricket: [hesitates, then swallows and awkwardly looks away as they continue to head through halls and up ladders]

Cricket: (awkwardness leaking into his voice) "… I try not to. Save it for when I really need it, you know?… but, y'know, overextension hits hard."

Benji: [lets out a slow, heavy sigh mixed with a dark chuckle]

Benji: (voice darkly amused) "oh, do I."

Cricket: [hesitates, eyebrows furrowing as he looks up at Benji in surprise]

Cricket: [before he can think better of it, awkwardly) "I thought you couldn't use magic?"

Benji: [feet stall under him, falling still]

Cricket: [swallows, heart fluttering as he comes to a stop behind Benji—]

Benji: [flips on his heel to meet Cricket's eyes with an unreadable look]

Benji: (voice only subtly tense) "I can. I just have a tiny pool. 'Used to be bigger, but… the curse keeps it from regenerating past a certain point. So I can only use conduits for stuff. Pretty limiting."

Cricket: (awkwardly) "ah." 😅

Cricket: [bites his tongue against the so, how'd you get that curse, anyway?]

Cricket: [chuckles awkwardly, quickly looking away again to rub at the back of his neck again]

Benji: [sighs heavily, flipping on his heel and waving Cricket forward]

Cricket: [hesitantly looks back at the sound of movement just in time to catch Benji's wave]

Cricket: [slowly easing again, quickly paces forward to catch up with him… though it doesn't take long considering their height and stride difference]

Cricket: [and looks at the wall as he listens to—]

Benji: (all the while, dismissively) "but, yeah, I used to be pretty good at magic. Still have the skills, but trying anything almost always knocks Ah—Zhihao and I out. So I don't bother. We fare well enough without it, anyway."

Cricket: [looks back to Benji again, swallowing nervously]

Cricket: [notices they're almost to the deck, but—]

Cricket: (hesitantly) "… so were you in a military or something?"

Benji: Zhihao: (telepathically) I mean… you have to admit it's obvious you have at least some experience like that. Benji: [flexes his jaw, heart fluttering as he lets out a slow, heavy sigh] Benji: (painfully) … I just… wish it took longer for people to notice. I hate that. I just want to get away from them… Zhihao: (gently) I know…

Benji: [let out a slow, heavy sigh, head tilting slightly to the side in what Cricket perceives as irritation—]

Cricket: [putting up his hands in surrender though he doesn't release his staff, quickly) "I'm sor—"

Benji: [at the same time, tiredly) "let's just head up. We're almost there."

Men: [fall silent as Benji leads Cricket the rest of the way up to the deck. Once they've come abovedeck, the sunlight washing over them and blinding Cricket, Benji points him toward the Captain's quarters and gestures for him to move along]

TAGLIST:

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter

(and a special callout to @theink-stainedfolk!)

Hiatus party taglist:

@aalinaaaaaa @sm-writes-chaos @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @oliolioxenfreewrites

@nightmaricwriter @lunaeuphternal @inadequatecowboy @princessuncertain @storyteller-kara

@themongosianhorse @nczaversnick

divider by @drinkthesky

[the-faechild-writes]

BONUS SCENE: SUSPICION (part 3)

WAVES OF MISFORTUNE

CHARACTERS:

🌊 Hugo “Cricket” Tinoco (pov) 🌊 Benji Aikawa 🌊 Zhihao (the Familiar)

TIMELINES:

approx. 809 AA (global timeline)

note: this is almost a year prior to “silly fox”

word count: 1.2k part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4

Benji: (an edge to his voice, ominously) "so, since you're so new to all this, and seem to be having a hard time understanding it, let me put it this way."

Benji: [squares his shoulders, crosses his arms, and pierces Cricket with a sharp look as he says with a shocking amount of authority) "here at sea, we follow a strict line of authority. You do not question those above you, and can consider this to be somewhat similar to a military environment. Especially with matters relating to pirates. Understood?"

Cricket: [suffering from the utter whiplash of the joking-Benji he's used to seeing compared to… this]

Benji: [almost has the attitude of a born leader, or someone used to carrying large amounts of authority]

Benji: [almost seems like he has been part of a military—]

Cricket: [shock and uncertainty clear on his face, and breath caught in his throat, but—]

Cricket: [forces himself to take a long, deep breath and look away, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck]

Cricket: (awkwardly) "yes… sir." ;'D

Benji:

Benji: [incredibly amused, but—]

Cricket: [as Benji fails to continue, hesitantly looks back to him]

Benji: [has his eyebrows raised and the corner of his lip quirked in his omnipresent smirk]

Benji: [but quickly clears it as he eases the tension in his shoulders with a sigh]

Benji: [arms still crossed and keeping Cricket's eyes; continues with a curt and slightly authoritative voice) "right. Well."

Benji: [takes a deep breath, then continues sharply) "last but not least: forgive us if we need time to trust someone with a criminal history—"

Cricket: [freezes, eyes widening, breath catching, and feeling like he just got punched to the gut—]

Benji: (not having stopped or otherwise reacting to Cricket's reaction) "—even with Manar's endorsement."

Cricket: [feeling his face flush and warmth swell behind his eyes, breathlessly) "how did you—?"

Benji: [quirks an eyebrow, looking unimpressed again]

Benji: (dryly) "the Captain does thorough background checks on anyone allowed onto this ship. And she's very good at them."

Benji: [sighs slightly, half-rolling his eyes again as he looks away, places an elbow against his hand, and dismissively waving the other hand to the side]

Benji: (offhandedly) "probably something related to her ties to Lotus and the Carons. I wouldn't know."

Benji: [levels his eyes and a serious look onto Cricket again as he finishes half-dismissively) "still."

Cricket: [can't breathe—] :'DDD

Cricket: [clears his throat awkwardly, eyes burning, and looks away to rub at the back of his neck]

Cricket: (voice breaking) "I—it wasn't that simple. I—I didn't want—"

Benji: [gives a sound halfway between a laugh and a scoff, rolling his eyes fully this time]

Cricket: [turns to look back at him again, face twisted in pain and despair—]

Benji: [eyes narrowed slightly; voice starts amused and incredulous but quickly grows harsh) "isn't it always that way? You're not special. But it doesn't matter. That's another reason you should watch yourself, Hugo. Because Zarina may like you—"

Cricket: [despite himself, face twists in uncertainty and confusion]

Cricket: [severely caught off-guard at the news that Zarina apparently 'liked' him???]

Cricket: [though understanding Benji didn't mean it in the romantic sense]

Benji: (not having stopped, voice hard) "—but Zhihao and I are keeping an eye on you. If you slip up at all, we will report it to the Captain."

Benji: [can't help a dark smile that quickly grows into another smirk; voice darkly amused and ominous) "and, after today, I'm sure you know… you do not want to cross our Captain." >;'D

Cricket: [remembers all too well how terrifyingly and efficiently Zarina had fought—especially compared to how gentle she always seemed—but…]

Cricket: (can't help the thought) you know… maybe the normal Benji isn't all that bad… ;'D

Cricket: [face still twisted and voice cracking) "right. Of course, but—you… you didn't tell Manar, did you?"

Benji: [face empties again]

Cricket:

Both:

Benji: [takes a deep breath, looking away exasperatedly—]

Cricket: (quickly, awkwardness and desperation in his cracking voice) "that—about my—I—"

Benji: [eyes snapping back to Cricket, an edge to his voice) "I wouldn't know. You'd have to ask the Captain; she handles those things. And Manar was friendly with her, so she'd have reason to. So, yeah. Don't ask me."

Cricket: :'DDDDD

Cricket: [swallows, looking away and blinking rapidly against the tears in his eyes—]

Cricket: [can't help it. Gives a weak laugh, places an elbow in the opposite hand, and buries his face in the other as he cries quietly]

Benji: [watches awkwardly—] Zhihao: (telepathically) hm. He seems surprisingly genuine. Benji: (exasperatedly) I was thinking the same. <.< Zhihao: heh. >;D Zhihao: [doesn't even have to say the: 'I know.'] Benji: (even more annoyed) oh, shut up. You know what I mean. Zhihao: [wishes he could burst out laughing like a human, but…] Zhihao: [settles himself with a small, foxen giggle-squeak] Zhihao: (amusedly) hmmm… so you don't want to hear my analysis? >;D Benji: [sighs slightly, rolling his eyes] Benji: you know that's not what I meant.

Cricket: [overall, just struggling with the mess of emotions and exhaustion, all of which is made worse as he hears Benji sigh exasperatedly] :'DDDD 😓

Benji: [after a moment, steps forward to place a hand on Cricket's shoulder]

Cricket: [flinches and tenses, swiftly taking a step back. Reflexively shifts his thumb over the simple barrier rune on the handle of his staff, then freezes and hunches over as a wave of nausea washes over him. Squeezes his eyes shut and presses his forehead against the gem of his staff as he struggles not to throw up—]

Benji: [face started off as unreadable, but pinches at Cricket's reaction. Closes his hand and withdraws it awkwardly]

Benji: [and watches guiltily as Cricket overtaxes himself—] :'D Benji: maybe I scared him a little too bad :'D Zhihao: eh. It was ultimately necessary. Will keep him from investigating too much. Zhihao: [recalling—and, naturally, sharing—the memory of Cricket noticing the hidden cargo] Benji: ah. Right. <.< Zhihao: (darkly amused) besides. We couldn't have known. Can't believe he's almost as soft as you, Bu—Benji. >;D Benji: [tenses, but—] Benji: … ;'D Zhihao: [doesn't have to apologize. The sorrow and guilt conveys itself just fine between their connection]

Benji: [all the while during his telepathic conversation, stepped forward to a lot more gently set his hand on Cricket's shoulder]

Benji: [of course, wasn't blocked by a barrier]

Barrier: [had been dropped just as quickly as it was brought up thanks to Cricket's exhaustion]

Cricket: [tenses, but—]

Benji: (voice surprisingly gentle) "listen. If you really don't have any ulterior motives, you have nothing to worry about. You did good today. And she might not have told Manar, so."

Cricket:

Cricket: [uncertain and still feeling ill, but hesitantly opened his eyes and drew his forehead from his staff to dizzily look at Benji]

Benji: [offers a clearly-forced, awkward smile]

Benji: (awkwardness leaking into his voice, though he keeps it gentle) "come back up with me. Zarina's got something for you."

Cricket: (dizzily) how would he—[and remembers his telepathic connection with Zhihao]—oh. Right. 😅😭

TAGLIST:

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter

(and a special callout to @theink-stainedfolk!)

Hiatus party taglist:

@aalinaaaaaa @sm-writes-chaos @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @oliolioxenfreewrites

@nightmaricwriter @lunaeuphternal @inadequatecowboy @princessuncertain @storyteller-kara

@themongosianhorse @nczaversnick

divider by @drinkthesky

[the-faechild-writes]

BONUS SCENE: SUSPICION (part 2)

WAVES OF MISFORTUNE

CHARACTERS:

🌊 Hugo “Cricket” Tinoco (pov) 🌊 Benji Aikawa 🌊 Zhihao (the Familiar)

TIMELINES:

approx. 809 AA (global timeline)

note: this is almost a year prior to “silly fox”

word count: 1.5k part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4

Zhihao: [now turned to face him, jerkily—and pointedly—indicates with his head to the door he was stopped beside]

Cricket:

Cricket: [eyes dart back to the point where—in the distance—he's certain he feels concealment magic, but…]

Cricket: (to himself) it's probably just valuable cargo. Stop overthinking things, Hugo.

Cricket: [forces out a heavy sigh as his hand runs back through his bangs and his eyes return to Zhihao]

Cricket: (awkwardly) "right. Sorry, Zhi."

Zhihao:

Zhihao: (indignantly) who gave you permission to nickname me? >:/

Benji: [sure didn't!]

Cricket: [—with that, turns his eyes from Zhihao's and steps around the fox to open the door]

Room: [just a storage room, full of an endless amount of boxes. Nothing unusual… or to explain why Benji was here]

Cricket: [not familiar enough with boats, especially merchant vessels, to know that the fact that there were so many rooms for storage rather than an open floor was out of the ordinary to begin with]

Benji: [sitting on a crate—one leg curled over it and the other's foot against that ankle—and half-leaning against another crate behind him. Eyes Cricket with a nigh-unreadable, empty expression… though the corner of his lip is quirked in the faintest smirk]

Benji: [as it almost always was]

Benji: [his dark, curly hair is glued to his forehead by sweat and shoulders are ever-so-subtly slumped in exhaustion, but he sits forward as the door opens. Has his jian sword pointed toward the floor and a cloth in his opposite hand, having been in the middle of cleaning the blade]

Cricket:

Cricket: (to himself, guiltily) so he was in the battle… :'D

Cricket: [flexes his jaw awkwardly, struggling not to let the thoughts of 'but he should've still been there after' take over]

Cricket: [instead, steps inside, arms hugging crossed over his staff]

Benji: (as Cricket does, dryly) "Cricket. You—"

Cricket: (interrupts, voice slightly sharp) "Hugo."

Benji: [hesitates, face twitching slightly—but quickly corrals it into an empty expression again]

Cricket: (not having stopped, curtly) "only my friends can call me Cricket. I've said this."

Benji:

Benji: [sighs, looking away and halfway rolling his eyes. At the same time, reaches for his sword's scabbard to sheathe it]

Zhihao: [as he does, trots past Cricket. And, when Benji sets his sword to the side, the fox-familiar hops into his lap]

Zhihao: [then, hunched forward and ears lowered, turns to watch Cricket closely. Cautiously]

Benji: [absentmindedly moving his hand to pet Zhihao's head, turns an annoyed look onto Cricket. Slightly-sarcastically, an edge to his voice) "right. Hugo. You were looking for me? What do you want."

Cricket: [clenches his jaw and swallows slightly—]

Cricket: [bites back: 'what do you mean 'what do I want?'??? You ditched us! Aren't you supposed to be head of security!?!?!']

Cricket: [instead, takes a deep breath as he turns his eyes from Benji to stare at more crates to the side]

Cricket: [immediately turning them back onto Benji; voice sharper than intended and accusing, blurts) "where were you? Aren't you head of security?"

Benji:

Zhihao:

Benji: [eyebrow shoots up for a deeply unimpressed look]

Zhihao: [hops from Benji's lap to dart past Cricket, then slip through the crack of the un-closed door behind him]

Benji: [at the same time, giving a heavy, exasperated sigh, rose to his feet and crossed his own arms]

Cricket: [followed Zhihao with his eyes for a moment—watching him leave—but quickly returns a sharp look onto Benji]

Benji: [and, for once, has a deadly serious look on his face as he meets Cricket's eyes with his arms crossed and an eyebrow quirked]

Benji: (an edge to his voice): "I'm sorry—are you the Captain?"

Cricket: [freezes, taken aback]

Cricket: [eyebrows furrow in confusion and arms slowly dropping to his sides (though he takes his staff in his right hand), uncertainly): "I… what? Of course not?"

Benji: [purses his lips and hums slightly, looking away and nodding his head as though Cricket just said some grand Truth]

Benji: (passive-aggressively): "huh… really?"

Benji: [snaps his eyes and a sharp look back onto Cricket as he tilts his head to the side, striding forward]

Benji: (sharply) "because, as the First Mate, the Captain is the only one who has the authority to question what I'm doing."

Cricket: [clenches his jaw and struggles not to step back or show fear as Benji closes the distance between them]

Benji: [a completely magicless human, literally cursed to be unable to use magic or hold significant amounts of essence, and disarmed, having left his sword behind on the crate]

Cricket: [and a decently practiced wizard, actively holding a staff, which could easily become the most flexible weapon in all of history]

Cricket: [except… terrified as this man five inches shorter than him stalks up to him and stops a foot away???]

Benji: [despite his apparent vulnerability, carries the energy of a predator ready to strike]

Cricket: [heart fluttering, awkwardly lifts his staff to set its ferrule against the ground and reflexively hover his thumb over the barrier rune near its handle]

Cricket: [except… can also feel his low essence levels jerk in his chest, a sense of nausea threatening him at just the thought of using magic]

Benji: [eyes quickly darted to Cricket's staff and hand as Cricket moved it, seemingly well aware of the dynamic]

Cricket: (can't help the desperate thought) I hope he knows that's a barrier rune :'D

Benji: [doesn't, but]

Benji: [figures well enough that Cricket would've already attacked if he planned to, and staying ready to defend himself regardless]

Cricket: (voice uneven and breathless): "right… I just th—"

Benji: [face twitches for a moment—]

Cricket: [feels a spike of fear and quickly steps back as—]

Benji: [un-crosses his arms to lift a hand and pinch the bridge of his nose exasperatedly, sighing heavily—) "you didn't—"

Benji: [though he visibly faltered, eyes darting to Cricket with an alert look, as the man stepped back]

Both:

Benji: [half rolls his eyes again, looking away and running a hand back through his sweaty hair with a sigh]

Benji: (with his sigh, voice exhausted and exasperated) "—you didn't think, Crick—Hugo."

Cricket: [can't help but feel like he's being lectured by his mom] 😅😓

Benji: [hand still in his hair, turns an annoyed look back onto Cricket. His shoulders are slightly tense, still visibly on guard]

Benji: (an edge to his voice, pointedly) "I was doing my job, Cri—Hugh."

Cricket: [can't help the twinge of annoyance or his face twitching, but just swallows and bites his tongue as he keeps Benji's gaze]

Benji: [eyebrows quirked at Cricket's reaction, but, not having stopped, continues) "—The fight was over, and—even if it wasn't—Zarina could've taken care of anything that came up. We have some valuable cargo."

Cricket: ah. 😅

Cricket: (to himself) so that is just what it is. Why did I think it was anything else? 😅

Benji: (with the same pointed, slightly-sharp tone) "—someone could've slipped by us and come down here. Or just had some sort of teleportation to do so—you know better than I about that kinda stuff!—so part of my job is checking up on everything after attacks."

Cricket: 😅😅😅😓

Cricket: [face twisted subtly in guilt, awkwardly flexes his jaw, drops his eyes, and looks away]

Benji: [sighs heavily, lowering his head to massage his brow in exasperation]

Cricket: [still subtly tense and awkwardly rubbing his thumb against the wood of his staff, looks back to Benji—]

Benji: [looks past his fingers—still massaging his brow—to flash Cricket a dark smile]

Benji: (an edge to his voice, ominously) "so, since you're so new to all this, and seem to be having a hard time understanding it, let me put it this way."

Benji: [squares his shoulders, crosses his arms, and pierces Cricket with a sharp look as he says with a shocking amount of authority which Cricket is now realizing is the same voice that'd commanded the security guards before, despite sounding so unlike Benji) "here at sea, we follow a strict line of authority. You do not question those above you, and can consider this to be somewhat similar to a military environment. Especially with matters relating to pirates. Understood?"

Cricket: [suffering from the utter whiplash of the joking-Benji he's used to seeing compared to… this]

Benji: [almost has the attitude of a born leader, or someone used to carrying large amounts of authority]

Benji: [almost seems like he has been part of a military—]

Cricket: [shock and uncertainty clear on his face, and breath caught in his throat, but—]

Cricket: [forces himself to take a long, deep breath and look away, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his neck]

Cricket: (awkwardly) "yes… sir." ;'D

Benji:

Benji: [incredibly amused, but—]

Cricket: [as Benji fails to continue, hesitantly looks back to him]

Benji: [has his eyebrows raised and the corner of his lip quirked in his omnipresent smirk]

Benji: [but quickly clears it as he eases the tension in his shoulders with a sigh]

Benji: [arms still crossed and keeping Cricket's eyes; continues with a curt and slightly authoritative voice) "right. Well."

Benji: [takes a deep breath, then continues sharply) "last but not least—"

What do you guys think of Benji? >;D

part 1/part 3

TAGLIST:

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter

(and a special callout to @theink-stainedfolk!)

Hiatus party taglist:

@aalinaaaaaa @sm-writes-chaos @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @oliolioxenfreewrites

@nightmaricwriter @lunaeuphternal @inadequatecowboy @princessuncertain @storyteller-kara

@themongosianhorse @nczaversnick

divider by @drinkthesky

[the-faechild-writes]

WAVES OF MISFORTUNE

BONUS SCENE: SILLY FOX, RUNES ARE FOR WIZARDS!

CHARACTERS:

🌊 Hugo “Cricket” Tinoco (pov) 🌊 Zhihao (the Familiar)

TIMELINES:

approx. 810 AA (global timeline)

word count: 1.1k

Hugo: [sitting at his desk in the dorm he shared with Benji. Hunched over his spellbook, a bead, and the tool he's been using to carve into the side of it, his brow furrowed in concentration]

Hugo: [but pauses as he feels the faintest flicker—]

Hugo: [tensing subtly, glances over his shoulder—]

Zhihao, Benji's fox-familiar: [standing in the middle of the room, visibly relaxed]

Zhihao: [except… wasn't there just a moment ago]

Hugo: [had sensed a flicker in the veil between Reality and the Faewildes as Zhihao slipped through it, into the room. That's what had drawn his attention]

Zhihao: [barely spares Hugo a glance before turning and trotting off to Benji's side of the room]

Hugo: [huffs a small laugh, tension easing and an eyebrow quirking in amusement as he watches the familiar]

Zhihao: [had the strangest feel of any familiar Hugo had come across]

Hugo: [and, considering he'd attended a literal wizards' academy, has run into a lot of familiars]

Zhihao: [seemed so much less... solid than most familiars. Like the anchoring ritual had gone wrong, failed to tie Benji and Zhihao together properly, and he still existed as a fiend rather than a familiar]

Hugo: [had always been curious about it—and if that was related to how the two's relationship to magic was so strange—but… how were you to approach someone and ask: 'hey, by the way, what's the deal with your familiar? Your guys' connection is wrong, by the way. If you didn't know. But, yeah—give me the deets?']

Hugo: [and even beyond that…]

Zhihao: [either was nigh-invisible to Hugo's magical sight or was overflowing with magic]

Zhihao: [usually the former, but the few times he had openly displayed magic…]

Zhihao: [well. His fae-origins were very clear]

Zhihao: [all the while Hugo thought, had trotted to the ice box, retrieved his own dinner, and then carried it—by the handle in his mouth—to Hugo]

Zhihao: [where he then placed it on the floor, sat down against his hind legs, and stared up at Hugo expectantly]

Hugo:

Hugo: [laughs, but sets his things down to quickly pick up the container, open it, and set it back down for Zhihao to eat]

Zhihao: [once again picks up the container by the handle built into it just for him, carrying it with him to bring to his dog bed—]

Hugo: (at the same time, amusedly) "what would you have done if I wasn't here?"

Zhihao: [freezes, ears going back, before hesitantly looking at Hugo over his shoulder]

Hugo:

Hugo: [offers an awkward smile. Well aware Zhihao can't answer, but… also knows the familiar was sentient enough to communicate with Benji, so…]

Hugo: (a hint of awkwardness in his voice) "you know. Since you—anyway! Sorry."

Hugo: [forces another laugh as he turns away, returning to trying to etch a rune into the side of a bead]

Zhihao: [cautiously stared at Hugo from behind for another few moments, unsure if—] Zhihao: [but, forcing himself to ease up, turns to bring his food to the bed. Gets himself comfortable, then eats silently—as if he had any other choice—as he continues to eye Hugo cautiously]

Hugo: [glances between the runes in his spellbook and (incomplete) on the bead, face pinching subtly as he tries to focus. The lines and shapes wobbled; were too hard to pick out from one another and blurred together. It took far too much time for him to inscribe the runes upon anything else, because it was next to impossible for him to see what he was actually looking at]

Hugo: [still, trying once again to make sure he's understanding what he's looking at before he carries on etching the rune into his bead—]

Aura: [shudders with the use of magic behind him]

Hugo: [tenses, eyes widening, breath catching, and quickly hopping out of his seat to dart out of the way]

Hugo: [snatches up his staff as he darts away, but—]

Magic: [had been gravity-type]

Zhihao: [was now sitting on the corner of Hugo's desk, having lightened himself to hop all the way up there and watch him]

Hugo:

Zhihao: [ears dart back, tail twitches, and head tilts to the side as he watches Hugo carefully]

Hugo:

Hugo: [squeezes his eyes shut and forces himself to take a slow, shuddering deep breath—]

Hugo: [and releases it in a strangled sigh as he awkwardly returns to his seat, eyes trained on the ground]

Hugo: [quickly hunching over his runes again—but not actually looking at them—voice thick) "sorry, I just—… yeah."

Hugo: [feels something bump and rub against his shoulder]

Hugo: [hesitates, then looks up—]

Zhihao: [bumped Hugo's arm with the top of his head, then rubbed his forehead into him as though to try to comfort him]

Hugo:

Hugo: [forces a weak smile]

Hugo: (a hint of awkwardness in his otherwise-amused voice) "ha, thanks…"

Hugo: [but just forces a sigh and returns to the runes… while a nagging voice in the back of his mind reminds him Benji can watch him through Zhihao]

Hugo: :'D

Hugo: [slowly sighs and eases up, though Zhihao's presence—the fox-familiar staring at the spellbook over Hugo's shoulder—keeps him from deciphering anything] :'D

Zhihao: [after a while, makes a squeak to draw his attention]

Hugo: [hesitates, but looks at him with a furrowed brow—]

Zhihao: [standing poised as though ready to turn away, with his ears perked back expectantly. Without a word—because, yknow, he obviously can't speak—reaches down and grabs one of Hugo's spellbooks in his maw while watching—]

Hugo: [eyes widening, quickly reaches forward to—a little more forcefully than intended—take the book from between Zhihao's teeth and pull it away]

Hugo: (at the same time, in surprise) "what? No!"

Zhihao: [doesn't resist, but makes a sound somewhere between a growl and a whimper. Hunched down and has his ears low as he glares at Hugo]

Hugo: [frowning—his eyebrows furrowed—pulls the spellbook forward to hug it against his chest protectively]

Hugo: (voice awkward, but slightly sharp) "listen, I don't know what you want this for, but we're really not supposed to be sharing these things with anyone… if Benji wants it, he can ask me himself. And if you want it for something… I don't know what, but have him run it by me for you. I can't just let you have it!"

Zhihao: [ears slowly perked back up as he spoke, but… lets out another growl-whimper before—]

Veil: [wraps itself around Zhihao, disappearing the fox-familiar… and just him. None of Hugo's things]

Hugo: [hesitates, but… slowly sighs, slumping in relief]

Hugo: what use could a familiar have for runes, anyway? :'D

Silly fox, runes are for wizards!

Okay, sorry, I had to lol

But what do you guys think of Zhihao? I know he's "just a familiar", but there's actually a lot more to him... 🤔😉

TAGLIST:

@honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter @an-indecisive-nerd

@seastarblue @rae-butter

(and a special callout to @theink-stainedfolk!)

Hiatus party taglist:

@aalinaaaaaa @sm-writes-chaos @teamarine777 @caffeinated-starsailor @oliolioxenfreewrites

@nightmaricwriter @lunaeuphternal @inadequatecowboy @princessuncertain @storyteller-kara

@themongosianhorse @nczaversnick

divider by @drinkthesky

[the-faechild-writes]

FAERIE'S DAWN (?1-1)

CHAPTER ?: SURPRISE ENCOUNTER (part 1)

CHARACTERS:

✦ Eve Primavera (pov) ✦ Aurik Albrecht ✦ Garin Berg

SETTING:

mid 10 AA (global timeline)

[in the faewildes outside of manhagen] [forest plane]

story intro table of contents chapter one next part >

[the Manhagen Hunting Party is travelling through the Faewilde woods, much like they do in the later years. Except…]

Eve: [is only twelve years old, and sat atop a horse as she focuses on maintaining the reality anchor around them]

Hunting Party: [largely staying within range of Eve's reality anchor, which keeps the terrain stable… even though many of the distortions of the Faewildes Itself on it remain]

[The trees are frozen in unnatural twisted and winding patterns. Sometimes, they trees are even circling around areas now seemingly containing nothing… although they might've trapped anything before.]

[Those places were always surrounded by vast patches of land devoid of animals, indicating that they knew something was wrong with the lands… or that, somehow, those had caused the animals' demise]

Eve: [over the years, has gotten better and better with her reality anchors, letting her expand their radiuses or hold them in place for longer. Plus, now she rarely has to close her eyes to focus enough to hold them!]

Eve: [and so, carefully scans the area as she leans into the horn of her horse's saddle]

Woods: [pretty much typical of a stabilized Faewilde—the trees were frozen in the middle of warpage, all of the plants were heavily distorted or changed from what they probably should've been, and much of the terrain had variable density and heights]

[Despite that, the woods lacked the gaps between land that many planes would otherwise be plagued by thanks to Eve's anchoring]

[And, similarly, they lacked the endless eyes of fae- desperate to prey on whatever hapless people happened into their dominion]

[… whether it be several fae or just a single one, using its magic to make the area seem far more dangerous than it already was]

[Still, even with Eve's anchoring, the woods had many clear active distortions]

[Soft and fleshy eyes peer out of the knots of trees and follow the group's travel. They have different-colored scleras and irises between them, but always seemed harmless enough…]

[Pools of water occasionally reflected the sky, and could have any number of effects. They could truly be mirrors, be holes that dropped into the sky, or reverse gravity and send people flying if Eve's anchor didn't reach far enough]

[Mist crept between and through the trees, obscuring vision and bringing a sticky, humid warmth. Without Eve's anchor, it could've brought so much more with it—a literal stickiness that dragged against their limbs, a stickiness that caused it to collect on their bodies until it weighed them to the ground, or a magically-enhanced heat that boiled them alive.]

[Or so, so much more.]

[The Faewildes were inherently dangerous, as any benign thing could hide some deadly secret that wasn't discovered until it was far, far too late]

[So, as always, the woods overall needed a close eye kept on them, regardless of whether or not Eve had her reality anchor preventing physical magic from taking place]

[Faeries and fiends could always be hiding as seemingly ordinary objects, ready to snap up one of their group or generally attack them]

[The reality anchor blocked shapeshifting, but…]

[Roots could still be wooden arms, their hands buried in the dirt to conceal the truth. Lying in wait.]

[Creatures could have coats of moss, or rock, or plants, and pretend to be terrain. All while secretly hunting them.]

[In the Faewildes, anything, anywhere, always could be dangerous]

[Hence why the hunting party clustered within Eve's reality anchor, always within the sight of at least two others. They were looking out for one another in this terrible plane of deception and universal predation]

[Overall, the hunting party was fanned out in a V, but it had a few more in the center, more yet watching their rear, and several additional people surrounding Eve, the women, and her horse to ensure they were all safe]

[As their walking, talking field of renewable antimagic, Eve was invaluable]

Aurik: [naturally, led the charge, stood between the leads of both arms of the V]

Right arm: [draws attention with a series of hand signals, pointing out a creature out of Eve's view in the distance]

Eve: [takes a deep, unsteady breath as she accepts the nearest person's help down from the horse. Once her feet are solidly on the ground, treads and hops through and around the grassy, knotted forest floor]

[The ground is coated in shrubbery, loose branches, stones, and wreckage from a bygone age. Uneven and easy to trip over, but Eve watches her step and has way too many people to watch over her]

Eve: [as she nears the person who started the signal—who made a separate signal to indicate it was them—peers in the direction of the quarry]

Quarry: [a large, plup birdlike creature with a massive body and long legs. Except… whatever it was, it clearly was not a bird]

'Bird': [had extra legs where its wings should be and a massive beak]

'Bird': [and yet… far from the strangest creature they'd ever come across during their hunts]

Eve: [stops at the side of the hunter who called her over, takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes, focusing on her magic and the field of stability she enforced]

Eve: [holds up her hand in a silent 'halt' as she shrinks her anchor everywhere their hunters didn't occupy]

Bows: [make faint creeeeaks as the surrounding hunters nock their arrows infused with Eve's antimagic]

Eve: [—and expands the anchor toward the 'bird', slows as it nears it, and finally hesitates]

Eve: [opens her eyes to check on the so-called 'bird']

'Bird': [doesn't seem to notice… was it even alive? Was it some sort of lure of a much larger creature? Well, regardless—]

Eve: [simultaneously stretches the anchor over the creature and throws her arm down, indicating—]

Archers: [release their bows, firing at the creature]

'Bird': [immediately pierced by a dozen different arrows from several directions, and promptly collapses to the ground]

TWACK!

Eve: [tenses, quickly flipping on her heel]

Rabbit : [dead, with an arrow through its eye, having just hopped out of some bushes]

Eve: [lets out a slow breath, hesitantly looking to Aurik]

Aurik: [cautiously scans the area around them, but gestures for the left arm of the V to surround the quarry. As he does so, meets Eve's eyes across the distance and indicates with his head to follow as well]

Eve: [swallows awkwardly, hesitantly looking to the bunny, then her horse—]

Horse: [being led by one of the other hunters]

Eve: [takes a slow, shaky breath as she forces herself to look back at the—hopefully—dead birdlike creature, carefully makes her way through the foliage, and shifts her anchor to cover the moving members of their hunting party]

Party: [slowly surrounds the bird's carcass(?)]

Garin: [once it's properly surrounded—and he receives a nod and signal from Aurik—starts forward with his spear at the ready]

Garin: [prods at the carcass(?) from several feet away—]

Garin: [at a lack of response, quickly steps forward and stabs his spear through the creature's neck in one fluid motion]

Garin: [then, immediately hops back—]

Carcass: [nope! Motionless :>]

Group:

Group: [collectively sighs in relief]

Garin: [clearly still on the defensive, but cautiously steps forward to retrieve his spear, wedge it under the creature, and pry it far enough from the ground to ensure it wasn't connected to anything far below]

Carcass: [seemingly wasn't?]

Garin: [slings his spear over his back while other hunters approach and even more archers wait with arrows nocked before stooping forward to try to pick up the carcass of the fae-creature]

Garin: [isn't able to pick it up on his own, but is joined by two other hunters who help him lift it]

Creature: [wasn't connected to anything below!!! Probably wasn't any kind of lure!!!]

Creature: [or… was cut off from whatever it was a lure for thanks to Eve's reality anchor. Which could be a variably good thing]

Hunters: [together, transport and heft the creature onto the cart being pulled by Eve's horse]

Rabbit : [gets thrown there as well]

Dressers: [quickly hop onto the cart to clean the kills]

Group: [and back to investigating the area for anything edible while they do!]

Eve: [as they do, tiredly goes back to hop onto her horse and tries to ignore the exhaustion slowly creeping upon her]

Group: [operating as the well-oiled machine they were when—]

Branch: [crack—]

SURPRISE!

Faerie's Dawn isn't told in chronological order, but I've written some of the things earlier in the timeline. This technically wouldn't be revealed until later in the story, but I'm sharing it with you guys while I'm unable to get anything else out!

What do you think of this scene?

story intro table of contents chapter one < last part next part >

divider by @sister-lucifer

[the-faechild-writes]

garbage wip; i wonder who this is

[the-faechild-writes]

✨ OUT-OF-CONTEXT✨ SPOILERS

FAERIE'S DAWN

Nova: [warps themself and ??? to Cloud and Sky]

Nova: [has his eyes and fae-ears low, head shrunken into his shoulders as he waves at them awkwardly]

Nova: (awkwardly) "hiiiiiiiiiii, guys..." ;'D

Cloud and Sky: (shocked, simultaneously) "Dhia???"

Cloud: [runs forward to tackle them in a hug, crying!]

Sky: [just shifts awkwardly as he waves back—] :'D

Nova: [awkwardly, loosely hugs Cloud back for a moment]

Nova: [but then warps out of her grasp, reappearing next to his friend and starting timidly) "how about I introduce you guys to my new friend..."

Nova: [makes an awkward, flourishing gesture at ???]

???: [deadpan; raises his hand in a lazy wave]

Nova: (voice somewhere between awkward and theatrical, finishes) "Archfae Folachán?" >;'D

Sky:

Cloud:

Folachán:

Folachán: [sighs heavily, slowly putting his face in his hand]

Folachán: (exasperatedly) "I told you not to introduce me that way."

Sky and Cloud: "YOU WHAT!?!?!?"

divider by @saradika

[the-faechild-writes]

INCORRECT QUOTES (Waves's second edition!)

Bringing back an old tag game to entertain you guys since I haven't really gotten anything else out recently,,,

Rule: use this generator to create “incorrect quotes” for your wip

the small text are my personal additions where I think they work well for the character(s) lol

Yesval: Hi, I'm Flavie's emergency contact. Counter Woman: You're here to pick her up? Yesval: I'm here to remove myself as her emergency contact.

Yesval: I won a new phone in a race. Flavie: Huh? What kind of race lets you win a phone, Yesval? Yesval: A race between the store owner, the cop, and me.

Yesval: I don’t even have time to tell you how wrong you are. Benji: Okay? Yesval: … Yesval: … Yesval: Actually it’s gonna bug me if I don’t, so—

Yesval: This is a safety pin. *cuts off end* Yesval: It is now a danger pin.

Kidnapper: I have your partner. Cricket: What? I don't have a partner... Kidnapper: Then who just called me a lowlife bitch and spit in my face? Cricket: Oh my god, you have Flavie.

Flavie, on the phone: I better go…kay, call me later… byeeee! Cricket: Friend of Yours? Flavie: Nope, wrong number. Cricket: ???

Flavie: You have any sunscreen? Cricket: You can't get a sunburn from a bonfire— Flavie: It's for my marshmallow, ya dummy.

Benji: Cricket, you're my best friend. Cricket: Best friend? BEST friend?! Bitch, I'm your only friend. Cricket: I'M THE ONLY ONE CAPABLE OF TOLERATING YOUR DUMB ASS!

Benji: You know guys, sometimes I feel like Cricket doesn't take me seriously enough. Tián: "Sometimes"? Zhihao: "Enough"? Benji: Zhihao: Change that to 'at all' and we'll talk.

Benji: I can't take you seriously wearing that. Flavie: Aw, you take me seriously at all? Benji: Fair point.

Flavie: Protip is you do not feel good about yourself after eating tomato sauce on iceberg lettuce. Benji: What's wrong with you?? Flavie: I literally JUST said I ate tomato sauce on iceberg lettuce?? Pay attention. Tián: No, he means other than that. Flavie: Ohhhhhh. Flavie: I haven't slept in 4 days.

Flavie: If I'm extra sarcastic with you it probably means I'm flirting with you or you really annoy me and I can't handle your crap... have fun figuring out which one.

Flavie: As someone who has a long history of not understanding anything, I feel confident in my ability to continue not knowing what is going on.

Flavie: I'm going to get myself some soup. Zarina: Be careful not to burn yourself, it's hot. Flavie: Pfft, I won't burn myself. *30 seconds later* Flavie, entering the room: I burned myself.

Flavie: What does “baka” mean? Tián: Moron. Yesval: Idiot. Cricket: Stupid. Flavie: The fuck did I do?! Tián, who knew exactly what he was doing: [stifles a grin]

Tián: Small creatures are much more vicious because they have a smaller body to bottle up all their emotions. Benji: Ridiculous. Give me some examples. Zarina: Wasps? Flavie: Terriers? Tián: Benji. Benji: [brb, 'boutta fight a bitch]

Benji: You know what’s funny about Tián? He's my best friend, and anyone who’d hurt him is someone I’d murder, probably.

Tián: honk. Benji: WHAT. Tián: HONK. Benji: WHAT DOES HONK MEAN THIS TIME YOU WHIMSICAL PIECE OF SHIT?????

Tián, at Benji's funeral: I need a moment with him. Everyone: Of course. *They leave* Tián, leaning over Benji's coffin: Okay, listen here you little shit. I know you’re not dead. Benji: Yeah, no shit.

Tián: I’m in love with you. Benji: We called off the prank war last night at midnight, dork. Tián: I know. Benji: Ah. Okay. Um. Cool. Neat. Very cool. Cool. Cool. Coolcoolcool-

Hairdresser: How would you like your hair cut? Tián: Preferably with scissors, but a sword could be badass. Aditi: [silently takes notes in the background]

Tián: I have a new hoodie. Benji and Aditi, simultaneously: Wrong. Benji and Aditi: We have a new hoodie. Benji and Aditi: [look at each other, shocked—]

Tián: Not to be nsfw but I want someone to hold me while I sleep. Benji and Aditi: [look at each other, then quickly start playing rock-paper-scissors] Tián: "tHAT WAS AN INVITATION FOR BOTH OF YOU—"

Tián, being robbed: Please! Have mercy! I have a family! A wife and kids… a dog… Benji: Literally none of that is true, Tián. Tián: Okay, but I’m sexy! That’s gotta count for something, right?

Benji, Tián, Flavie, and Zhihao: I came out here to have a good time and I'm honestly feeling so attacked right now.

*during a group project* Cricket: *does 99% of the work* Flavie: *has no idea what’s going on* Benji: *says they’re gonna help but does not* Tián: *disappears at the very beginning and doesn’t show up again until the very end*

Cricket, texting group chat: What flavour of ice cream do you guys want? I’m at the store so be quick! Benji: Moose Tracks is good! Flavie: What the fuck is that!? Benji: *Gasp* How dare you insult moo- Flavie: No. No no not that. What the hell. Why do you spell flavor like flavour. It’s like you have flavor but then this guy shows up and is like “Oui Oui Would you like chocolate flaVOUR or vanilla flaVOUR. Cricket and Benji: what? Flavie: I don’t get it why add the EXTRA u when it’s PERFECTLY FINE AS IT IS!? Cricket: You done now? Flavie: Yeah ok. Cricket and Benji: ... Flavie: ...Can I have the Mint Chocolate chip flavour?

Cricket: Oh my Zarina. Yesval: Don't you mean 'oh my god'? Cricket: You worship your god, I'll worship mine.

Cricket: Okay, I’m going to get the wedding cake. Zarina: Perfect, while you do that I’ll check on the ring bear. Cricket: ... Cricket: You mean ring bearER, right? Zarina: ... Cricket: Look me in the eyes and tell me you are not going to bring a dangerous wild animal to our wedding.

Flavie: Why is Cricket crying on the floor? Benji: He's drunk. Flavie: And? Benji: He saw a picture of Zarina's husband. Flavie: But he's Zarina's husband. Benji: I know.

I love how you can tell that, between them all, Flavie, Benji, and Tián are the "crazy chaos crew" and everyone else is just dealing with their shit LOL

Also uhhh,,, have two Demonic Magic ones I managed to make work—

(those guys aren't anywhere near silly enough to pull these off lol)

Kestrel: Your lab is in the bathroom? Genesis: Father said this is the perfect place for my work. I’m just now realizing that remark may not have been entirely complimentary.

Kestrel & Eidolon: I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally.

open tag!

dividers by @saradika