#○ a quick conference with my inner demons — ask response ic

[timeshrouded]

smooches her cheek / - jellal

today’s crossword puzzle in the edelweiss gazette was an animal themed one which made ultear quite happy. sadly, none of the answers were cow but she liked other animals enough. sirius was laying at her feet on the couch where she was sitting up, her tea definitely cold now as her focus was away from it. vaguely, she could feel jellal shifting around but he wasn’t doing much to get her attention.

at least, she thought so until she felt the soft, warm lips of jellal pressed on her cheek. the gentle action itself caused her stomach to flip as her face formed a soft, truly happy smile.

“you are being very sweet this morning, i see.” ultear informed him. as he moved away, she reached to peck him on the lips quickly and leaned back once more. “i like it.”

[timeshrouded]

A hand raised the cup of tea to his lips. Lyon slightly tilted his head to peer at the door, an eyebrow arching as he looked at Ultear. “So, mistletoe huh? What might that be for.” // >:33

ultear shrugged very casually. that was the thing with lyon, sometimes, he was too damned observant. and the misletoe was still up there. it was a token of a VERY good memory and jellal and herself were reluctant to let go of it.

"honestly? i keep forgetting about it. i should probably take it down soon — don't want to fall under it with you."

[timeshrouded]

" Why was the little snowman sad? Cause he had a meltdown. "

laughed easily bubbled out of her and ultear shook her head. "that was so terrible, jellal!" but! it was in the season and it was quintessential jellal. so, she adored it.

[timeshrouded]

To some, waiting around was fine; peaceful or relaxing even. To Mags, it was boring. She sighed and sat down beside Ultear, looking around for something to talk about or entertain herself with. Her eyes landed on Ultear's hair and the way it seemed to shine in the light. She found herself reaching out to gently touch it. "I wish my hair was like yours, it's so pretty."

waiting was something ultear had gotten used to. she's always had to be patient. patient & ready for anything that might occur. she breathed out slowly to calm her nerves — for she loathed when the group had to split. but it had to be done at times. at the very least, she wasn't alone.

mags was there, of course. she did not seem the type to know how to wait and be patient and yes, ultear was correct. the time mage normally was. she watched on the edge of her vision as a manicured hand reached out for her hair; a gentle touch. if ultear did not want it to happen, it wouldn't have. but mags was harmless. to her, at least.

a smile grew on her face as a singular eyebrow raised. "you sure about that?" ultear was not a particularly vain woman anymore, but she did not have access to the products she used to us. "i used to feel it was a mess daily — back in the beginning. i don't use as much... things as i used to." a pause. "thank you, mags, that's very nice."

[timeshrouded]

" I believe a message from a certain little birdy The little birdy was himself has reached my ears. It's about to be your birthday soon. " A slight mischievous smirk formed on his lips followed by a light tap on his chin. " Something about bubbles too I think? Hm. I forget. "

at the sound of his approach, ultear had quickly finished the sentence of her book and by the time the sound of his voice reaches her, her bookmark was placed and the book was closing as the word 'birthday' was said. a smile came to her, unbidden, splitting her face into two before she let out a soft laugh. the truth was, she had forgotten her birthday was approaching. well. sorta.

"is your little birdie aware that my birthday is technically the 29th and i've another year before it comes to that?" ultear cheekily asked. she wasn't normally one to get excited for her own birthday. in fact, she didn't celebrate it often at all, despite how rare it was to occur. but. well. jellal's excitement was mischievous and it both excited and intrigued her. "and what a mysterious birdy, indeed. i guess we'll have to wait the two days, hm?"

[timeshrouded]

“please don’t go” // cackles : D

it took me so long to do this im so sorry

ultear was already feeling cold by the time she heard footsteps. she groaned and closed her eyes—if it was another fucking hades or something, she didn’t want to deal with it. the emotional battle alone. she’s quite frankly had enough of chain magic, bullet magic and having her attacks thrown back at her thank you very much. the final straw was him stabbing her with her sword before he disappeared, as if he was never there. and wasn’t that the kicker of that man in her life? hurts her and then leaves, though he seemed happy to see her when he appeared. which again was Very Typical. and now, well, here she is.

(it’s not like she hasn’t tried to live, but she doesn’t use healing magic, she used her first aid supplies on dreyar when she first found him passed out before her battle, all around her were dead soldiers with nothing on them and what little time magic she has never worked to heal. the best she’s been able to do is just...not be out in the open with others. and dragging dreyar’s sorry ass while bleeding out. she’s quite accomplished in that regard.)

unwillingly, she flinched a bit when her sigh made the sword in her stomach move. it was painful the first time she was dying and this time. this was a lot slower though. but ultear had a pretty good idea that this time was more final than before. how befitting it was from hades. or some version of him. ultear coughed and she felt the blood come splatter from her mouth. how disgusting. 

at least….at the very least, she saw ur and solomon. her mother and father. whoever was coming to finish her off does not know the icy hell that could be coming at them if they manage to find out. that was very petty and very presumptuous, but she was dying so ultear figured it’d be fine. she’ll be forgiven for that. it was nice to know this time around her life was worth a lot more than one minute. that she was loved from the moment she was born. 

“please don’t go”

ultear’s head snapped up in surprise and she felt bad for the blood around her mouth instantly. she must look like an insane person, which was only added by the fact that she couldn’t help but smile at jellal. this man.

“you—really don’t let me get away with anything, do you?” she said. her voice was far away in her own mind but it felt right for them somehow. despite the fact she was dying, here and laxus dreyar was somewhere near passed out but alive, and it was hades who finally ended her (as it should be, really, wasn’t that poetic?) jellal was here. she could remember a time he was so angry at her, but slowly, the angry melted into understanding (ha!) and then over time...over time he became her best friend.

and she was so lucky to have that, wasn’t she? despite everything, this man saw something in her ultear failed to see half the time. she was dying, but she felt herself smile anyway. she planned to personally introduce ur and solomon to jellal and meredy, but it seemed that tragedy kept that from them too. she hoped jellal and meredy stayed near them. they all should have that. with or without ultear there.

jellal, really, should have that. he should have a lot more than he would ever give himself. at the thought, her smile faded somewhat, the amusement dying down with her body’s functions. she was colder now. but. jellal. who would be there to force him to accept good if not ultear? someone better because ultear could feel her eyes water at the thought. who would be there to help her family if she wasn’t?

another cough wracked through her and ultear’s head stayed somewhat limp and it left her peering at the handle of her own sword. still inside her body. nice. maybe she should have taken it out, died faster so jellal didn’t have to be here. or...so she didn’t have to see jellal see her dying. that was selfish, but she was too cold to care.

her eyes were getting heavy but she still had words to say. she had a lot, but she knew keenly she didn’t have nearly enough time. she never did have enough time, did she? just like bolodenka milkovich, the famed father of time magic. 

“i—i do love that about you...not letting me...get away.” ultear managed to get out. she suddenly wanted to tell him everything about bolodenka. did you know he went nearly insane in his research writings before they suddenly stopped? the last spell he ever crafted was last ages and i think he went back to try and reverse what happened to his son but he ended up dying because his protégé, arron ended up writing the warning about last ages. did you know that, jellal?

“he wanted to go reverse...just like me.” ultear whispered. she was getting cold. “not anymore, though. the future...it’s so bright, jellal.” and it was, wasn’t it? it always was. something to fight for. how funny. a girl obsessed with the past...well, she wasn’t a girl playing god anymore. hasn’t been.

the future was so bright. like the stars. jellal would find his way. with or without her and that—that is why she could smile.

[timeshrouded]

once upon a time @killrate sent: gives ultear A Really Nice Braid™️

there was something...just so very relaxing about having your hair done. normally, ultear preferred to do it herself (it was a nice routine to have) but when mary offered...well....who was she to say no?

ultear wondered if mary knew she had really quick and nimble fingers. it was very relaxing to the touch. the funny imagery of mary opening up a hair salon at some point came to her head and ultear had to stifle the laughter at it. what would mary even call it? poisoned tips? would mary do frosted tips? that was quite the look for a while in era. how ironic would it be if that was where mary set it up? right under the council’s eyes.

her reverie was stopped when mary declared her “all done!” and patted her shoulders. really, it was over to soon. ultear looked over to her braid and pulled it over her shoulder to get a good look at it. it was nicely done and a soft, rare smile came across the older woman’s lips. her fingers brushed the tail end of her hair all tied up. 

“well, it looks really good, mary.” ultear flicked it back to settle and added, “thank you.”

[timeshrouded]

@daniwrit​ said: "It's a problem, I get it." ~ gray @ ultear /  from this post

her immediate response was a scoff and then a shrug before ultear looked away. what wasn’t a problem these days? the world was never going to be the same and there was no reason to pretend otherwise and yet, why did she feel so stressed about everything and everyone? a part of her said—this is all a debt. a debt that can never truly be paid back, but that was her life, no a lifetime of blood and debt.

she closed her eyes and breathed out once more. she owed it to so many people, to continue on despite the changes. despite the hurt, despite everything. if she stopped then there was nothing left other than the yells of the ghosts she led to the grave. countless people. it wasn’t about herself at that point, it was about so many other people. more important than her.

“yeah.” she breathed out and looked back at gray. she owed some people who were living still. not just the ghosts and yet just as important. and this reckless ice mage who used his own blood to prove a point was one of them. unfortunately for her. “luckily, for everyone i do like to fix problems rather than keeping them around. even the harder emotional ones.” at that, she grimaced. but it was the truth.

[timeshrouded]

once upon a time @resolvebound​ / macbeth said: "Are you still thinking about them?" / sibs! 👀

she supposed it was an honest question—it would make sense, no? for so long ur’s abandonment had been her reason for everything. it was what pushed her to merely accept her fate, to become stronger and maybe then somehow, she could show ur what she had missed. a brag in the form of power. but...what was the point? she had arc of time and only for a brief moment did ultear consider finding a way to go back in time, back to her mother, to find out the way to gather the magical power (and even then, how rare was it for ultear to not already have enough power within her?) in order to do so. but then, on the same day master brain handed her a new magic to study, to perfect and make use of, he also gave her someone else to look at as family. definitely not right away, but it mattered because it grew into that.

with a confidence that she did not normally have in herself, ultear shook her head at macbeth. her hair swayed slightly and she scrunched her nose and put some of it back (she really needed to tie it or cut it) before she spoke, “not really? at least...not anymore.” unlike ultear, macbeth hated being touched, so ultear did not reach out to him. instead she gestured to the little library they had and where they spent a lot of their time tucked together and quietly planning.

“i have bigger and better things on my mind now. plans that not even those who gave birth to me will ever know and...when we succeed, it’ll be nice to have that knowledge. they didn’t want me and in the end, i didn’t want them either.” her lips perked up into a smile as she titled her head at him. it was there, between them, a silent thank you.

[timeshrouded]

once upon a time @resolvebound​ / macbeth said: want to see pictures of my cat? I just got her

contact: macbeth😪 [txt]: yes [txt]: always [txt]: feel free to send as many pics and videos as you want, im about to head into my therapy session (: i’ll repay you back....somehow....

[timeshrouded]

once upon a time @fairybond​ / lucy asked:  A friendly smile given. "You're back!" She let her curiosity out, lips curving a little playfully, "How were things at Sabertooth?"

it was so strange to think about the trajectory of her life and how relationships form and blossom. for lucy, it was not so long ago ultear was an adversary, standing against her on an island filled with danger. and yet, here they were now. ultear’s smile came easily to her as she looked at the celestial mage and she ditched her babysitter in favor of a different fairy. 

(still a blonde, really, she’s surrounded by them)

“still in one piece and still not arrested so i’d say it went well.” ultear reached out and poke lucy right on the nose. “i hope the same goes for you, lucy. i remember your reputation years ago. mostly because i was on the council, but details, details.”

[timeshrouded]

tag drop i. ic stuff 

[timeshrouded]

once upon a time @novaliie​ said: “thanks for putting up with me. you’re probably one of the few who would.”

sometimes days were bad and that was okay. it was a part of life unfortunately and that was why she always strived to take it one day at a time—even though she ended up failing at that more than half the time. but today for her was not a bad day, in fact, it was pretty good. and perhaps that good mood was why she was experimenting with dinner tonight anyway.

to hear jellal talk like this was not so much of a surprise but it did make her pause in chopping some of the peppers for dinner and put down the knife. this was a serious topic and that was fine, she’ll be here for him whenever he needs. good or bad days. it really was as simple as that.

“you know, jellal,” she wiped down the knife with a towel and put her hands on her hips. “i don’t just put up with you.” ultear offered a smile and made sure to catch his eyes. he never let her get away with this, with talking negatively about herself and she always returned it right back at him. it was a part of how they worked and she wouldn’t change it for the world. it was easy to tell someone you cared, that you appreciated them and it was a hard learned lesson to realize just how easy it was. and for the past few years, she’s been doing just that: reminding people that she cared. even when it was hard.

it’s strangely not hard at all with jellal. despite everything.

“you’re my best friend and i enjoy your presence. i’ll even go as far as to say, on record, it’s one of my favorites. try not to congratulate me for something really easy, save it for the harder stuff like cutting onions without my eyes getting watery or when i experiment with food.” both were just a bit more relevant at the moment but the onions were after the peppers. however it was what was on her mind.

“also…try to give yourself some credit. you’re fun to be around, one of the few people who make me really laugh for example. and you’re a good friend to have.” ultear picked up the knife again and resumed her chopping. “until you can admit that, i’ll be here to remind you.”

[timeshrouded]

Gently, Lucy started to play with her hair. "Your hair is really soft." ❤️❤️❤️

ultear was reading one of the many books laid out in front of her, it was almost familiar, too. she wondered if hades had modeled his own library somewhat after the one fairy tail seemed to have, but ultear wasn’t sure how much of a creature of comfort he was. or, perhaps, it was not comfort just doing something you already knew how to do. and it was entirely possible that the library here was curated originally by him, no? but perhaps it was not best to think these sorts of thoughts. dr. franklin might have something to say about it. she was always needling ultear just a little bit whenever hades was brought up and it made the time mage feel....uncomfortable.

gently, a hand touched her hair and automatically, ultear relaxed as she read. it as if there was a button somewhere in her dna that said ‘okay, time to relax’ once her hair was touched in a soft manner. it was...once a rare softness that graced her life. but since the integration program, since she was forced to settle down somewhat (she still traveled Quite The Bit), ultear was allowed more softness in her life. there was something to be said about that, but much like the subject of hades — she was unsure of the words to use. but unlike with hades, it felt...nice. nice to not know.

the compliment, as well as the action, made ultear smile over at lucy. the blonde was the reason she was here in the first place, with the others nearby, researching away. lucy gave ultear something to do — and ultear was grateful. but not only that, she gave ultear another friend. and lucy was someone ultear would want to help as much as she could. she was kind and she freely played with ultear’s hair. definitely her favorite blonde. sorry sting, sorry laxus. if there was anything the celestial mage needed, ultear knew she would be there as best as she can. and for the moment, it seemed she didn’t need much but company. which was easy to do. 

“thank you, lucy.” ultear relaxed a bit more, happy and content where she was. “you know, i even grew it myself.”