#I wanna see them do a piece for Veyle

[childofaura]

Opinion on R!Julia?

STINKIN’ cute, that’s how I feel about Resplendent Julia. I did a whole artist review on kanasebench a while back so I’m happy to break down the actual Resplendent itself:

The incorporation is so good, and while it’s sadly no longer in my spot of Top Nifl Resplendent (because Ninian took that spot recently), she’s still the second best Nifl Resplendent. The belts ACTUALLY look like they serve a purpose, holding up the top part of her gown and replacing the ribbon around her waist, the added jewel to her cloak clasp, the feathers and the snowflake trim… She looks like a Nifl mage. It’s the perfect Nifl Resplendent, I’d almost like to think that, like how Resplendent M!Corrin could pass for Alfonse and Sharena’s older brother, Julia could pass for Fjorm’s other younger sister and Ylgr’s third oldest sister.

And I’ve mentioned it before, but kanasebench’s artwork for Julia is the most darling thing ever. It’s such a unique coloring style and it’s SO pretty. Plus the poses are great. Expressions could be maybe pushed a little more but her neutral portrait face is just so cute, I could pinch those little cheeks.

If Julius gets a Muspell Resplendent, then that will only confirm that Nifl was a great pick for Julia. I think it’s a good pick regardless, because I think we have enough Ljosalfheimr Resplendents anyways. The only one I think could be better is, again, Vanaheimr but we’ll just have to wait for it.

Overall, Resplendent Julia is a 10/10, and kanasebench needs to be hired again!

[thecovenantthatfell]

Chapter Eleven: Is There Any Other Kind of Sharing?

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Rae, Jo, Lock belong to @snakesonawave

Loreley belongs to @thecrystalflame

Koko belongs to @chickypoodoodloos

Rei slammed her drink down onto the table, her face puckering up from the strength. Jo, however, drank with ease and chuckled when Rei placed her hand on her chest, muttering a rainbow of swears. “So… why this bar?” Juno’s voice was raised, over all the noise. There were people talking and laughing, along with a group of musicians playing gleeful music.

“Shitty establishments, such as the Eager Sea, usually have three things; good drink, good jobs, and good people to fight.” Rei’s speech was already growing slurred, and she’d only had a drink or two.

“Although we’ll skip the fighting, since this isn’t the Veyl and we’re guests of the Crown.” Jo added, nudging Rei when she rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Yeah, yeah.” Rei held the drink in her hand out to Juno, waving it under her nose. “You can smell the strength.” Juno’s eyes immediately watered at the first whiff and she pushed it away.

“Are you sure they aren’t serving you straight cleaning alcohol? You could go blind from too much!” but her point was null as two more glasses were set in front of Rei and Jo.

“It’ll be fine. Usually she doesn’t drink the strong stuff for long and switches to something more mellow.” Jo took a sip of her drink, while Rei erupted into a coughing fit. Juno widened her eyes which was followed by an exhausted sigh.

“Well, before any of that happens, I think we’ll be on our way. I’d like to see a few sights around town, as would my Captain.” Juno and Rae stood, as did Mara. “Oh, my dear, if you’d like to stay--”

“With mercs?” she snorted and shook her head. “It’s like sitting in the mud pit with pigs. I’ll pass.” she winked at Rei before waiting for Juno and Rae to move. “Plus, I’d like to follow my Queen’s orders.” Juno seemed frustrated at her answer, but hid it well. Although not from Rei. She gave a sympathetic look before staring at Mara.

“You wanna have a fist fight?” she drunkenly asked and before the other woman could answer, Jo shook her head.

“Guests of the crown.”

“Raincheck then.” Mara answered, Rei nodding.

“How long will you be here?” Rae asked, Jo thankful for her interjection.

“All day.” Rei replied, drinking more of her drink and scrunching up her face. “Maybe… night? Get a room and drink?” she slowly looked at Jo.

“No, we’ll be back tonight.”

“Back tonight!” Rei finished the sentence with Jo, smiling happily at Rae.

“We’ll meet you here so we can get back together.” Juno replied, gently touching Rae’s hand. “Have fun.”

“You the boss! I’ll have a bunch of fun.” at Rei’s comment, Juno smiled right before the trio left.

“Nice to know that Rei is a bit nicer after a few drinks.” Rae mumbled, Juno laughing at her response.

~

Nami had managed to find the best Smithy in the entire city, smiling as she pushed the door open. “Here it is. The Golden Paradise.” she looked like a child in a toy shop, completely mystified and in love with everything. She seemed, almost, overwhelmed.

“ What’s Golden Paradise?” Lock asked as she ran her hand along an impeccably made blade.

“Oh, uh… the afterlife. Or… so it’s believed. Do Djinn have a concept?” Nami was trying to make small talk, but she seemed to trail off when her eyes landed on a particularly large, two handed hammer.

“We live for a very long time and meet our maker upon death. After that, I’m not quite sure.” Lock was blunt, standing next to Nami now, staring at the hammer. “What’s your concept?”

“It’s basically a place you go when you die. And anyone can go there, it’s pretty cool. Unless, you were a perfect monster. Then it’s not good for you.” Nami shrugged, tilting her head.

“Do Goddesses rule it?”

“No one is too sure. Some say it’s fake. Others that it’s ruled by all the Goddesses and when you enter, you’re embraced as their children.” Nami glanced over at Lock and snorted.

“And you believe…?” the two of them stared up at the hammer, as if it were a piece of art.

“This.” Lock rose her eyebrow at Nami’s answer. “Also, that when I die, I’ll end up where I end up. Maybe reborn as something else. Like a cute, scarred, puppy. Or a rich woman. Then I could buy this hammer.” Nami reached out to touch the grip, but the clearing of someone’s throat stopped her.

“Hands off. Especially if you cannot pay, Orc.” the shop owner stared at Nami, who resisted asking about the assortment of weapons they had stuffed up their ass. But, she decided on another direction.

“Sorry. You have nice--”

“We can pay.” as if out of nowhere Lock had a bag of gold in her hand. She grabbed the hammer off the wall, not bothered by the heaviness of it. She dropped the bag and kicked it over to the shop owner. They scrambled to pick the bag up, straining with the weight before they reached for the hammer.

“Allow me to--”

“Hands off.” Lock smirked, leaving the store with Nami who was laughing loudly at her remark. Once they were out of the shop, the hammer was handed to Nami.

“Oh… thank you.” Nami smiled, admiring the weapon before raising her eyebrow. “Where’d you get all that money from? I’ve never… I haven’t seen you with any gold on you before.”

“Magic.” another bag of gold appeared in Lock’s hands, manifesting out of thin air. “It was absolutely, one hundred percent, fake.” Nami still plunged her hand into the bag, widening her eyes.

“Lock, this all feels real. It’s the most money I’ve ever touched. Real or not.”

“Yeah, I’m really good at magic.” she joked, Nami cracking a smile.

“Well, that person was an asshole. And probably racist. So, they deserved it.” the two laughed as they walked away, Nami in awe of the hammer. “We should share this.”

“Like… “in the middle of a battle, toss it to each other” share?”

“Ummm, is there any other way to share?” they high fived, laughing even louder. They walked past a bakery, Nami stopping Lock and pointing. “Want to go in?” just as Nami was asking, Lock made more money. “Depends on how they act.” the money disappeared, the women entering and finding a seat. Sweet and savoury baked goods were immediately placed before them. Nami began to eat, telling Lock about each one. She didn’t know it by heart, but snuck glances at the menu before telling her. The two sat and ate and talked and joked. It was an all around good time. The best Nami had in a long time. It was weird and nice.

“Are you happy to have found your sister? From what you’ve told me, it sounds like it’s been a long time.” Lock asked after she finished. Nami shifted in her seat, as if it made her uncomfortable, and nodded.

“Yeah. Yes! Of course. And it’s been about… twenty years.”

“Why aren’t you spending the day with her?” Lock nonchalantly asked, leaning her chin into her palm. Nami shoved more food into her mouth, hoping to not answer, but Lock was painfully patient. So, she answered.

“Well… because… because we just met and I don’t want to screw things up. And--” Nami cracked her knuckles and groaned.

“If this makes you uncomfortable…” she trailed off, Nami shaking her head.

“I’m just… I don’t like being in touch with emotions. I can’t tell if that’s the Orc, or the Human in me.” she shrugged and laughed so fake that it was worthy of a cringe. But Lock didn’t seem bothered by it. Nami was comforted, somehow, by that. It was nice to be free of judgement. “With everything that happened with that Slaver and… and how I literally shut down, I don’t know if it’s safe for our relationship to start.”

“How?” “Because if that small, low down fucker knew my face, that means Snake is looking for me, and probably all the other slavers. And if they find me, they’ll find Rei, too.”

“And this Snake, he’s the one who enslaved you?” Nami nodded as an answer. “Then I will never let him near you, or your sister.” Lock affectionately touched Nami’s hand, though the woman recoiled. She wasn’t used to such intimacy.

“Thank you. I’ve never… no one has ever said anything like that to me before. So… I’m just rambling because I have no idea how to react.” Nami now awkwardly pulled and poked at her food, a silence dropping over the two.

“I’m in a similar situation.” Lock was quiet, but Nami still looked up, scooting forward. “That axe you carry is not my home by choice. It’s my cage. A Practitioner bound me to it when I wouldn’t give him what he wanted.”

“Is that why you asked Helene about the documented Practitioners?”

“She promised to show me tonight. I’m just worried he won’t be there. And I’ll be stuck here forever.” Nami was silent in thought, her fingers drumming against the table.

“Do you want me to come with you?” she asked, Lock nodding with a small smile. “And one other thing…” Nami pulled the axe off her hip and placed it on the table. “Where do you want to go? You tell me and we’ll go exactly where you want.” Nami was happy to see Lock smile. It was a welcome sight.

“I’m tempted to go get drunk at the shittiest tavern.”

“Oh, hell yes.”

 ~

 Helene paced in her room, biting her nails, pulling at her hair, going half an inch shy of crazy. When there was a gentle knock on her door, Helene was pulled from her trance. She opened the door, expecting to see Loreley.

“Mon ch--” she stopped, as did her expectation. It was Jacqueline. “My Lady.” Helene dropped her head, though it was waved off.

“Hello Helene. I saw you looking a little anxious. Is everything okay?” she stepped into Helene’’s room, though the Necromancer had no issue with it. Which was surprising since Helene was a very private, and possessive, person.

“Yes. Of course.” Helene bit her nail, basically down to its base. She stopped when she saw Jacqueline staring at her, arms crossed. “No, everything's not okay. James, my Beast, has no come back from his little escapade with that Elf. It has been half a day-- what if he’s dead? Again!” Helene sat on her bed, head in her hands. “As you can see it’s all overwhelming. He is just… he’s one of the few I have resurrected with his humanity intact… ish.” she thought about the consuming of flesh. Maybe, some of his humanity was lost but it was beside the point. “Right now he’s like a child. Impressionable, vulnerable, just rediscovering the world. He must be protected. And I’ve no idea where he is.”

“I’m sure he’s absolutely fine.”

 ~

James was currently running out of the same bakery Nami and Lock were in, muffins stuffed in shirt. Koko was next to him, her shirt overflowing as well. An angry baker chased them, waving his rolling pin in the air.

“You doing okay?” Koko called over, eating a muffin in mid-run. 

“I am absolutely fine!” he shouted, Koko and him giggling like children.

 ~

Jacqueline sat next to Helene, gently patting her back. “If he’s not back by tonight, my personal guard,” she nodded to the two soldiers standing in Helene’s doorway. “Will go searching.”

“Those are Blackguard.” Helene looked at them, then Jacqueline. “Why do you have the Queen’s private guard following you? Not even Juno, who’s been here her whole life, has earned that privilege.”

“Perhaps she never bothered to ask. The Queen is very giving. But I suppose she’d rather have that dog beside her.” Jacqueline scrunched up her nose, disgusted. Helene, however, scooted away. Her aggressive over Rae, she assumed, was off putting and… quite honestly, threatening. But when Jacqueline noticed this, she smiled and placed her hand on Helene’s cheek. “I’m sorry. There’s bad blood between the Captain and I.” Huh. Helene hadn’t heard of anyone, lately, having an issue with the Captain. But when Jacqueline’s thumb stroked her cheek, she forgot about that, free of care.

When there was a knock on her door, Jacqueline dropped her hand and both women turned to greet whoever it was.

“Loreley,” Helene smiled, getting up to go to her, but Loreley’s hand was held out to stop her from coming any further.

“I didn’t mean to intrude. I only wanted to see if Helene was okay. Thankfully, Lady Jacqueline had the same thought.” Loreley’s eyes lingered upon the red haired woman. “I shall see you when Lady Juno calls another meeting.” with a quick and sharp turn, Loreley departed.

“What a woman. Where did you purchase her assistance from?”

“She held a blade to my throat.” Helene had an urge to follow and talk, but when Jacqueline grabbed her hand, the urge dissipated.

“And you hired her? I like the way you think. But mercenaries are mostly scum. Don’t you agree.

Helene had met four mercenaries on her way here. One had made sure she arrived intact and alive, two others had tagged along- not that Helene minded-, and the fourth saved her creation. Of course she didn’t agree. “They are quite vile beings.”

~

Rei had trouble sitting still in her seat. From wobbling in place, to grabbing onto Jo for support while sitting, she was practically always moving. It was partially because, yes, she was fucking hammered. But it was also because she was itching for a fight. Jo knew this level of twitching in Rei. It would be hard to keep a brawl from happening. But she was sure she could keep Rei calm, so long as no one racist came along. Then, Jo would be screwed.

Jo managed to keep it up for a while. She reminded Rei that they were guests of Royalty and that the consequences for a miniature brawl weren’t worth it. To which, Rei would respond with a: “Mmmmkay, yeah. Yes! I will be goof--uh, sorry, good.”

Her effort was appreciated.

Jo thought they might just make this through until a group of men walked past. One kicked Jo’s foot with his own.

“Can’t believe they’d serve a sickening ‘alf-breed ‘ere.” a remark about Rei.

“Aww! Thanks, man. Appreciated.” she rose her beer and attempted a wink at Jo. But then he continued to speak.

“And a damn mongrel. Place really must be the shits.” he was about to continue walking until Rei spilled her beer right over their boots. They hurled slurs at her.

“Oh, shit. My bad. I guess I didn’t see you.”

“Maybe--” before he could even utter a second word, Rei slammed her beer glass at his face. It shattered, a few shards visible in his cheek as he crumpled to the ground. His fellows looked shocked and before they thought of attacking, Rei tackled one of them. She only got a few punches in before one grabbed her shoulders. Her elbow swung back so hard it broke his nose, sending him to the ground as well. Rei was thrown off the man beneath her, stumbling as she got to her feet. She went after another man. He was ready and she was drunk, so it was fight with the outcome blaringly obvious. She ran and he threw her to the ground again.

At this point, everyone in the tavern was fighting whoever bothered to make eye contact. Jo stared at the ceiling before she stood. She groaned at the bruises tomorrow, but stepped into the brawl. She knew the hothead would need help soon.

Rei had taken a few hits now, spitting blood at her opponent. She was about to give a solid kick, but the man whose nose she broke grabbed hold of her arms. The other began to pummel.

And then Rei called for help. Jo had finally gotten over to her. She already had a bloody lip within ten steps. She pulled one off Rei and practically tossed him across the room. Rei bit the finger of the man holding her, but was too drunk to actually get away. Jo stepped in.

“Good… teamwork.” Rei had her hands on her knees, panting heavily.

“Dude, you have got to start doing cardio with me.” Jo shook her head in disapproval.

“I’m drunk!” Rei yelled, a man coming from behind Jo, attempting to break a chair over her back. She caught his arm and the chair was dropped. While Jo was busy, Rei crawled over to the man covered in glass… and beer. Rei pulled a dagger from her hip and straddled him, her knees pinning his arms.

“The Under--”

“Open wide, handsome.” Rei forced his mouth open and pulled out his tongue. “Hold super still, okay?” she shut one eye, placing the blade next to his tongue. “I’ve done this before… but never so strunk so I need to focus.” she was about to begin but someone picked her up and tossed her over their shoulder.

“Oh hell no. No tongue shit today. Or ever.” It was Jo, taking Rei out of the tavern despite her childish kicking and, yes, grabbing onto the door frame as they left.

“Racists don’t get tongues! Companty rule!”

“Your rule.” one they were outside, Jo set Rei down and blocked her from entering again.

“Jo! Move y--”  The sound of marching surrounded the tavern, a small militia filling the streets.

“Told you this wasn’t the Veyl.”

“Oh… farts.”