dcggersedge

[dcggersedge]

It’s nothing she hasn’t done before. Familiarity should make this task as easy as breathing, even with the extra person she has to account for. In reality, that familiarity is the very thing that leaves her feeling unsettled the entire time.

The stars have been left behind. Too identifiable, they sit in a bowl in her room instead of her hair, which has been braided and pinned out of the way where it can’t be grabbed. The one on her face has been wiped away as well, leaving her bare faced and starless and avoiding direct eye contact with every mirror they walk past as they march through the noble’s house.

…the other person also doesn’t help.

Yunaka’s been avoiding direct eye contact with her from the moment they left the monastery. It’s stupid. It also doesn’t matter, when she could handle this on her own, but it’s not even her assignment so she’s not going to start making that argument and causing problems this far away from her temporary home. There’s a shadow of a party hanging over them but she actively ignores it in favor of silently following behind with her eyes downwards and posture drawn inwards as they follow the head of the house to a parlor room.

“Here, you two will be cleaning this room. I assume two high quality servants know what they’re meant to be doing here.”

“Turn out the cushions, dust the shelves, broom and then air out the room.” Yunaka recites, recalling days spent doing similar tasks in other houses even farther from here. The head of the house watches them silently for a moment before nodding and leaving them to the work.

A silence that settles over them, just for a moment, before Yunaka abruptly turns into the room and starts working. “You can go off and investigate if you want.” She tells Shamir, not looking up again as she grabs some cushions off the couch. “One of us working while the other sniffs around is the smartest way to tackle this.”

@heavy-draw

will you, when I'm gone, remember me?

Pearlescent | Any Skill +1

[dcggersedge]

Wanted Plots - June

You can tell I'm tired because I forgot the preamble. Pings in the server preferred but dms also fine

Mitama:

Faith prompt (requires unaffiliated) She's nosy and wants to go snooping. Mtiama won't be the one to go out dealing justice herself, but if someone with more spirit wants to take the lead, she's happy to help.

Lance prompt Book club book club book club!! Please let her get snooty about books with you.

[dcggersedge]

May Activity

Skill Points: 2 (31->33) Skill Rank: Bow C Claims: Deadeye, Archer, Assassin, Dancer, Broadleaf Fan (to be sent later)

Housekeeping: Ball threads that last after the ball we be added to my thread tracker as they're continued, I'm not assuming any threads will continue until confirmed.

Waiting on Partner:

write me a prologue - Sylvain

ne'er-do-wells unite - Randal

do you see what I see - Diamant

night and day - alear

the world set against us - Lapis

coming out of my cage and i’ve been doing just bad - Lapis

the world will take the rest - Katarina

it’s getting hot in here - Goldmary

prince and the pauper - Diamant

Emblem…arena? - Kagetsu

pelleas boel interaction - Pelleas

gift of the talons - Zelkov

a day in the life of someone else - Marni

i’ll cover you - Alear

do you need ice on that? - Byleth

forge a different path - Nel

fodlan ninja warrior - Raven

going to medieval times and sharing a set of turkeese drumsticks - Lyn

best quality: his wiggles - Dimitri

it is itself no longer - Rafal

hey can we be normal for five minutes - Zelkov

lentils into the ashes - Micaiah

alfred intro - Alfred

can we be fwiends again - Alcryst

Waiting on Me:

None!

Completed:

Various ball interactions I'm not listing all that

they gave me the inexhaustible after 5 years and i'm using it as a paintball gun - Bernie (3 month drop) Bow +1

[dcggersedge]

When she'd first gotten the invitation...she hesitated. The last time she'd gotten an invitation from Alcryst, it hadn't exactly been the easiest time for her. Her own mistakes had been the things to lead her there, but she'd been left sitting across from Alcryst with her past spilled between them and a heavy promise dangling like an executioner's blade above her head.

She has only herself and her past to blame for the ruined start of a friendship she'd had with him. A past that she doesn't regret, but promises not to let happen again, like he'd asked of her. So, she'd thrown on a bright smile and agreed to tag along, unsure of what he wanted but hoping that it would make him happy.

Thankfully, it had so far been a whole lot of fighting and not a lot of talking. This was far more comfortable for Yunaka, even if having to be at the front to allow Alcryst the space from the enemies for his shots made her uneasy. She took it without complaint, just focusing on dodging the enemies' attacks until he sniped them or a weak spot was open enough for her to finish them off.

She doesn't need the order, but she follows anyway. The rider has barely hit the ground when Yunaka leaps over, dagger rising and falling into the exposed throat before they have the chance to struggle. Like all the enemies before them, it starts to fade away the moment it "dies". By the time she's stood up, it's already gone. She takes a moment to catch her breath before turning to Alcryst with a bright smile.

"Woohoo! Nice shooting there, tex!" A quick thumbs up is thrown his way before she turns to look at the big, strange, non Somniel arena around them. "Alrighty now, what do we have up next to fight, hmm?"

can we be fwiends again 🥺

grants any skill +1

[dcggersedge]

The dagger bounces against the plush carpet, leaving faint drops of blood following in its wake. Her eyes linger on it. It's not worth taking anymore. The blade is broken enough that the work and time that would go into repairing it is better spent on just getting a new one. It's nondescript enough that her instincts don't scream at the idea of leaving it behind.

Her eyes stay next on the wound he's ripped open, watching blood bloom through the fabric of the shirt before he slaps a hand on it and hides it away. A frown pulls at her lips, but she says nothing. Doesn't matter. He wouldn't listen anyway.

The offer she throws out isn't a perfect solution, though she doubts there is one for an arrangement like this. She'd really rather nobody died around her anymore, least of all at her hands, but he seems pleased with the idea, at least, assuming the smile on his face is real. Yunaka scoffs at the threat, but nods along anyway. Her eyes shut as she rolls her head along the wall to look down in the opposite direction he leaves in. "Yeah, yeah. Don't disappoint me by being uncreative if you ever get your chance."

He's not fully wrong. Even with Rafal's reassurances, she's not really sure what she's doing. If the others knew, would they be upset with her? And if they did, what would she do about it?

Yunaka stays quiet as Griss walks away. In her head she counts one minute, then another, then another. When she's sure he's far enough that they won't awkwardly bump into each other, she pushes herself off the wall and follows his trail back the way they'd come from, leaving a broken closet and bloodstained knife behind them. She needed a drink.

end

the magic of your wonderland

[dcggersedge]

Yunaka pauses for a moment in the middle of attaching the charm to her bracelet. It takes her a moment to piece together what Leif's sudden question is about, realization only hitting when he apologizes. "Oh! No, sorry! That wasn't about you I meant in a more, like. General and broad sweeping statement. Not all nobles or whatever."

Had Emblem Leif been princely? She tilts her head as she tries to remember. "Not really? Or, not with me at least. We always talked just like two normal guys, as far as I remember. Talking to him didn't really feel that different from talking to you."

I mean, she couldn't punch Emblem Leif but that was just because he didn't really have a physical form to punch. She far prefers being on equal footing like this, where she can actually spar against Leif anyway.

"Anyway, congrats on the first lesson! Next time, we can see about getting you a bit more of a challenge to work with. Don't think just cause you slipped one by me one time means you're ready to tango with the teacher."

tutorial mode

         ⤷   ethereal ball 2025:  first half.

[dcggersedge]

He could speak for himself on that one. Getting dry from her swim in the ocean just to immediately get rained on was not fun. Her ass was freezing.

"Well, if you happened to go sniffing around and find something, I wouldn't exactly say no." She snickers as she takes off one of her own turtle charms in turn and hands it to him. "No need to pay. I'm much happier meeting under circumstances like this than the last time, but I won't say no to showing off to some stuffy nobles."

Seriously, her wrist was getting a little crazy with all the different charms. She hooked his shell on and gave it a little shake.

"Try not to get into too much fun without me, okay! If the students don't beat us to snooping around the place first, somebody's gotta go looking."

[ CHAMPAGNE ]

A quiet little whistle is the warning he gets before Yunaka appears at his side. The good one, obviously, knowing better than to pop up on the side with the obvious scarring for someone who can probably react just as fast as she can. She offers him a glass of champagne that she definitely asked for politely and totally didn't just snag off the tray of a passing waiter. "Figured we should get to try some of the fancy pants stuff before some noble decides to put it on lockdown from people like us." She jokes with a playful grin.

Not that that would stop either of them if they really wanted it.

"You clean up well." She announces, giving him a once over. "Heck, we almost look like we belong here. Hope the night's been treatin' ya well." She waves over to one of the nearby windows dismissively. "Obvious negatives aside."

Legault accepts the glass, eyes drifting toward the gloom outside. "Oh, the rain's not so bad. Not many other chances to be welcomed into a manor this nice." His attention doesn't keep to the window long, though. If he's cleaned up, then Yunaka has been brought up to a bright shine—stars and all. "You want the night to treat you even nicer, I could try finding some of the stuff they have locked away. I take my payment in silly little bracelet charms." He smiles, presenting a seashell between his fingers. "…Kidding, of course. I'd pay for a drink with one though, if you'd like."

[dcggersedge]

Yunaka cackles at his joke. She's fully aware of exactly how he's holding himself to try and touch her as little as possible, and how intently he's keeping his hands away from her, and just how everything is poised to try and avoid causing her discomfort as much as possible in their situation. It leaves him open to a stab, if she were able to angle her arm right and fast enough. She's not able to like this without alerting him to her plan in advance, but these are all things she's sure they're both aware of.

"Oh, so you plan on dragging me into more normal closets in the future? Zelkov I'm not quite sure you're beating the allegations like you think you are here."

She continues giggling. She doesn't really have much choice but to lean her weight on him a little. She wonders if there's some kind of trigger the closet is waiting for, or a timer. It's not like they can ask and find out...

She tilts her head back to look at him as much as she can like this. "Well. Wanna try making out and see if that does anything to get us outta here?" She teases.

miles and miles from your nice warm bed

cont

[dcggersedge]

It's still so strange to her that people want to trust her. Maybe even more so now, considering the number of people who know just how deep her lies go. But Lapis is still so quick to say it, so quick to throw her hat into the ring with Yunaka. She keeps the coconut raised to her face in the hopes that it manages to hide just how soft her smile gets as she laughs. "You really are the sweetest."

The healer eventually finds them. Yunaka stays quiet and out of the way during the process, watching as her friend is carefully tended to and mended and made right as rain once more. It's really impressive how fast those actually meant to help people can work, and she silently approves of the extra bandages added onto Lapis's leg, just in case.

The silence continues again once they leave, but not for as long this time. Her second smile is bigger and brighter and for the world to see as she turns back to Lapis. "Aw, don't even worry about it! I'd be just the worst if I left you on your lonesome after you got hurt for me."

She hops to her feet and offers Lapis her hands. She's steady as the other rises, doing her best to keep herself as sturdy for her as she needs, just in case. She seems fine when she gets to her feet, but Yunaka still keeps a hold on her as she waits for the final approval. "All better now, or do you need me to go and chase them back down?"

simpler things in life

         ⤷   ethereal ball 2025:  first half.

[dcggersedge]

As if in competition with those very same stars in the sky, Yunaka brightens as he agrees with an excited laugh of her own. She still hates parties, and she's sure that eventually she'll need to go running off on her own. That just made her all the more excited for the fleeting moments like this with the people who mattered to her. She wanted each and every memory to be special, especially for Alear.

She follows along, taking the paper and pens from him as she spreads her little slip out on the table and tries to think of something to write down. This was the actually tricky part of this little moment now...she glances over at him when he speaks. "Mmm...I think it's supposed to be a secret, but I don't think I'll get in trouble for telling you either." I mean. If you can't tell the Divine Dragon your wish, who can you tell?

She shifts a little closer to him. It's hard with his fancy outfit, and she has to go up on her toes, but she manages to rest her chest against his back enough to hook her chin on his shoulder to peek down at his own paper. He hasn't written anything yet either. Already there, she decides to stay in place as she hums thoughtfully.

"See...okay, this might sound cheesy, but it's hard to think of anything I wanna wish for when everything is already so much better than it was when I was kid." She's not hungry anymore. She doesn't have to kill anymore. She's not alone anymore. Genuinely, with all her heart and soul and brain, she cannot think of anything that she might wish for that could make things better than they already were.

"Mmm...what about you? Do you have any ideas?"

blinking in the starlight

[dcggersedge]

In the water, the rubber duck that they share continues to bob up and down as it slowly drifts around in circles, fighting its way through the clouds of bubbles that block it from sight. Every few seconds, a flash of purple can be seen as it appears before disappearing out of sight again. Like a small child ducking into rooms to avoid attention. Like a small child running through alleys with stolen food in hand.

"Because you're you." Yunaka insists gently. Bernadetta and all the other students deserve every happiness in the world. That's what they were supposed to be doing, that's what any parent should be providing for their child and yet time and time again, they failed. They failed and left ruins in their wake and didn't even care. There's no magic to undo wounds left so long ago, but if there was... Yunaka laughs softly and shakes her head. "I'm sure there's plenty others who would say the same about you. You just need to find them."

Bernadetta ducks, and Yunaka doesn't stop her. She moves her arms back around her again, pulling her to rest her head against her shoulder for as long as she needs. Her chin rests on top of her as she stares at the distant tiled wall silently, watching condensation run down in fat drops of water. Others would know how to soothe the hurt and make it feel like nothing. Others had done the very same for her. She wishes she knew the right thing to say to make this all go away for her student now, especially as she starts to repeat things Yunaka has said in her own voice before. "I wouldn't be mad." She promises.

After all, I'm the one men like your father hire to hurt people.

She doesn't want to tell Bernie. There's so much she could say, and she doesn't want to say any of it. She looks at her and speaks about her like she's some wonderful, amazing person and, selfishly, Yunaka doesn't want to tarnish the image of herself that Bernadetta has painted in her mind. She doesn't want to chip away at the paint and reveal the real image underneath.

She hesitates, quietly, trying to find ways to piece the words together that won't cause everything to shatter. Her voice stays quiet when she speaks up, almost as loud as the squeak of a rubber duck. "When I was little, the man who raised me gave me lots of...tests to try and prove myself." She swallows nervously. "I succeeded, because I had to, and they did make me strong. They made me a fighter. But they never made me happy."

"The happiest I ever felt...was when I finally got to leave that place I grew up in, and meet people who were kind and trusting and didn't care about who I was." She reaches up and flattens some of Bernie's hair that was sticking up. "I can't promise your dad won't do anything, but I'm pretty sure I can handle it. And I know, for a fact, that I would never be mad at you because of what your dad chooses to do to people."

*⚘ jack who's he...?

⠀ continued. ⚘ ethereal ball 2025 ⠀

[dcggersedge]

What the hell even are you?

She doesn't like hearing a question she's asked herself over and over echoed back at her in his voice. She knows she isn't good. She knows she's trying not to be bad. She knows she can't be Larimar anymore. She isn't sure if Yunaka really is a person, or just a comfortable mask that fits well enough.

Praying to the Divine's never helped her. The Divine changed her by pure chance. The Fell was scary and Elusian and other. Veyle was kind and Nel was gentle and Rafal and was just like her.

She was a thief. She was a killer. She wasn't good enough to be a knight, but Rafal had said that he didn't need her to be. He didn't need the killer, he didn't care about the thief, and it didn't matter to him if she kept her mask or not. He took her anyway, and told her all she had to be-

The door finally swings open. Yunaka kneels for a moment, catching her breath as she glares at Griss standing casually in the hallway, like a student disappointed his prank didn't work instead of whatever that was. He grins, and another wave of irritation pushes her up to her feet.

She flips her broken dagger in her hand to adjust the grip before moving towards him, stabbing what little of the sharp blade was left into his shoulder. "You owe me a new knife!" She spits, leaving the blade embedded for him to deal with, backing out of his reach again. She was tired, and not in the mood for any more of his idea of fun. Her eyes flit back and forth between his face and his hands, watching for any sign of a spell.

She doesn't care about his approval. And she doesn't need to justify herself to him either. But she's really, really not in the mood to keep going through this just because Griss can't ask a question normally. "...I don't give a shit if he's a fell dragon or not." She grumbles. "He said there's a place and I took it. You can think it's a stupid answer all you want, but it's still true."

She didn't fit with the bright and shining faces that made up Alear's army. She tried, and she tried, and those she'd confessed to could only offer up conditional acceptance in return. That she could stay, but only if...

Yunaka's back rests against the wall next to the closet door. She'd doesn't trust Griss. She doesn't like Griss. If Griss died again, she doesn't think the world would see it as any great tragedy. But she can't say much different for herself either, can she?

She lets out a slow sigh through her nose. Deflated, tired. "I don't want Rafal to die. I don't plan on letting him die. And if it comes to it..." yeah, might as well. "Sure. You can let me die first, if that makes you any less annoying."

the magic of your wonderland

[dcggersedge]

If her master had a grave, he'd be rolling in it. He doesn't, and she doesn't particularly care where his corpse has ended up, but wherever it is, she hopes it's rolling.

If she'd been paying attention, she would've seen the signs of a fake out sooner. She's done them plenty of times herself; being small and weaker than the usual muscle heads around her back then meant finding other ways to stay alive whenever the tavern got particularly rowdy. She'd gotten in a good few hits that way to leave grown men sulking into their cups, if they ever bothered to come back.

Her back hits the ground, and she knows when she's lost. She goes limp in surrender under him, catching her own breath as she holds still against the fake blade against her throat.

"Yeah." She concedes. "Good one."

She stays on the ground while he rises, only moving once he offers her his hand. She takes it and hops back up to her feet before moving in to inspect his face again. "Still, sorry about that one. Ya caught me by surprise. Not many of these fancy noble types go in for the bite when they have the option."

He'll be fine. If it ends up bruising, she's sure they can find a healer around here somewhere to fix him right as rain.

"Had to fight on my own a lot, so you pick up little tricks." She reaches for her bracelet to pull off one of her little turtles. "Having someone on your side is helpful, but it still comes down to whether or not you can pull it off in the end."

She holds the charm out to him proudly, with a big grin on her face. "Here ya go! Your prize."

tutorial mode

         ⤷   ethereal ball 2025:  first half.

[dcggersedge]

The handle starts to dim again as the heat from the door fades. That's good, at least. That's something. She hovers her hand around it, waiting for it to cool just enough that she can resume trying to undo it, all the while ignoring his stupid, ugly laughter leaking in from every nook and cranny that it could.

"That's bull, you can't be pulling the woe is me card when you guys were all trying to kill us all first!" She rolls her eyes. He's not stupid enough to think nobody would've come after them for trying to end the world. "Some shitty cultist you are if you can't even stay dead for him! Thought dying for him was what you wanted, so why are you here and not-"

The name sticks behind her teeth, heavy on her tongue. She could say it. She's got no reason to hold back, not for him. With someone like him, who she doubts anyone would believe or care about, it would be so easy to let the mask of a good person slip in favor of cuts and wounds. Still, the name of the absent hound doesn't come out. Yunaka glares at the door, but stays silent as she turns her attention back to her task.

Or, she would have, if not for the damn floor turning wet and soggy under her boots, sending her slipping down onto it with a painful crash on her ass. She swallows her scream of frustration, fumbling for the handle of her knife again.

"I'm not one of your stupid disciples." She snarls. Forget the screw. Taking the hilt in both hands, she aims for the gap between the knob and the door and slides the blade in there. She wriggles it down, doing her best to pry what was left of the handle free. "You think you guys are the only ones who've ever sacrificed anything?!"

Pain and suffering and death for faith. She did all that, and didn't even get the reward of something to worship for it.

"I killed my father to prove I deserved to live." She says, angry as the day the stupid old man had revealed his request to her. "And I'll be the one to decide who's side I die at, not you."

The knife creaks before snapping, but not without pulling the last screw free. The doorknob falls to the floor on both sides, letting light leak in through the hole left behind. With another growl, Yunaka throws her weight against the door once more. "Now let me out!"

the magic of your wonderland

[dcggersedge]

Yunaka remembers what that was like. She remembers cold and unforgiving days in the village, where food wasn't always so certain. She remembers a few attempts to get creative that left her spitting out everything and regretting the attempt seconds later. That had been a good part about living in the capital. Food was never far, if you were willing to find ways to get it.

"This is a good one." She agrees instead, not wanting to bring the evening down with darker memories. They both had agreed to be happy and normal this evening. Yunaka wasn't going to betray Lapis's promise now.

"Oh, please. I'd trust you with probably almost anything at this point." She's too far away for Yunaka to bump shoulders with, so she settles for smiling as she takes another sip of their drink, just for the two of them.

Anyone might have been able to find it, but it means so much to her that Lapis had found it and shared it with her. A comfortable quiet settles over the pair as they sip, one that she finds herself more and more reluctant to break as it stretches out.

It's so simple compared to all the fanfare and outfits and celebrations going on around them. Just two friends, enjoying a drink as the night crawls on. It's simple, but it's nice.

simpler things in life

         ⤷   ethereal ball 2025:  first half.

[dcggersedge]

where the gulls fly free

[dcggersedge]

Yunaka pauses, head tilting to the side as she runs his words over in her mind again. And again. And one more time just to be sure. Though he can't see it, her expression softens and, gently, she laughs.

"Aw, Zelkov! That's sweet. You're important to me too." There number of people she's confessed her past to is growing, slowly, but it's different with him. Less of a confession of sin and more of a slowly unfolding understanding. Neither of them are squeaky clean, and that makes it so much easier when she doesn't feel like she's lying with every smile.

"...Seriously, thanks a lot again." Her voices lowers, no longer Yunaka's but hers as she speaks. "I always worry that I'm bothering others unfairly when I can't even tell them the why of what's wrong, so...it's nice to have someone who I don't have to feel like I'm hiding from for stuff like this."

Even if this situation is weird and sucks! The walls press closer and she does a little hop to reposition her feet more comfortably.

"Besides, it's not like you led us to the weirdo pervert's death closet knowingly." She pauses. "Unless you did lead us here knowingly, then I'd be a little mad, but I don't think you did so it's fine."

miles and miles from your nice warm bed

cont