#with cameos by tataru and krile

[theshotsheardacrossworlds]

Reunion

Set post-5.1 Agi and Estinien reunite. And reunite again. And once more. NSFW.

“Oh. You’re back. And none the worse for wear, I see.”

 Agnes nearly spontaneously combusted when she heard Estinien say that as he entered the Rising Stones. It took everything she had not to leap into his arms and kiss him. Oh gods, the last we actually, in real life, saw each other was the morning I left Ishgard after…that emotional night. And after we only met in dreams thanks to Feo Ul. But he’s here! In front of me! And I can’t…he wants his privacy.

 After hearing about his foray into Garlemald with Gaius Baelsar (fuck off, bitch) and then the Echo vision (ouch), Krile asked Estinien if he would consider staying.

 “Sorry, but I'm not inclined to extend my contract. Gaius isn't the only one with business to attend to.”

 Not surprising, but still!!!!! He’s just going to walk out of here…fuck, remember, he likes his privacy. Doesn’t want everyone in our business. Deep breaths. Don’t chase after him just yet…

 “Farewell, my friend. See that you don't make a habit of dozing off in battle.” It should be “MY LOVE” not “my friend!!!!” Okay, he’s exited. Krile is speaking. Yes good, awesome. See you ladies later. I’m going to give chase in one second…

 “Well, I think I may head out. See you two!” Agnes said with the sweetest smile she could conjure and tried to not be too obvious that she was going after Estinien as she left. He couldn’t have teleported right away, could he? She wandered through Revenant’s Toll for a few minutes when a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alleyway. The man whose hand took her kissed her soundly and moaned into her mouth, his arms wrapping around her. Oh love, I never should doubt you. Never. Of course you waited for me. Of course you did. Agnes broke the kiss and gasped for air. “Hello to you too.”

 He chuckled, brushing a strand of her dark red hair out of her face. “Agi, I’ve missed you so much. Are you well?” Estinien peered into his lady’s bespectacled eyes. “I only got a dream from that little shit faerie that you had saved the First but naught since.”

 Oops. Agnes blushed as tears filled her eyes. “Well, um, it’s been a crazy few…several…days? Time is a bit different on the First, so I’m not sure just how long it’s been here.” Upon seeing the worry in his eyes, Agnes hugged him. “I’m well. We all are. There’s so much I need to tell you.” And so much I…I need you. I need you right now. And I think I can feel that you need me too, love! “‘Stinien, love…want you…”

 The worry in his pale blue eyes quickly filled with lust. “My sweet, we must leave this place if we are to—"

 NOPE! Agnes shoved him against the stone wall. His eyes widened in a mixture of shock and more lust “Here. Now.” NOW!!!!! She reached for his trousers and palmed the hardness within. He hissed at the contact.

 “If this is the way of it, Agi, then you shall get what you want. Turn around! Spread your legs!” Estinien growled, gripping her hips and spinning her to face the stone wall. He pulled her leggings and smalls down. Agnes could hear him undoing his trousers and groaning when he pulled out his length. With a knee, he spread her legs. “You want this? You want to be fucked in an alley?” Estinien harshly whispered in her ear.

 “Y-yes! Yes! Please, love!” She gasped; hands flat against the wall to give her some stability. His fingers…fucking hells! Right in!

 “You are so fucking wet. How needy have you been? How much have you missed me?” He whispered, the fingers inside now rubbing her clit. His other hand reached under her top and squeezed a breast through her bra. “How the fuck do you feel so damn good?”

 I don’t know but so do you!!!! Agnes’s fingers flexed against the rough stone, little gasps escaping her mouth. “Ah, love…please…please…” I can feel him. He’s so close, but so far. Get in me already! She pushed her ass as much as she could into his front. “Please…”

 Estinien sucked a mark into her neck, still squeezing the breast. “You beg so prettily, my love,” he groaned. “I’ll give you what you want.” He grunted and entered her with one thrust. “Fucking hells, woman…I’ll give you a fuck you’ll never forget!” He whispered, his fingers pinching her clit. Gods, he’s too much. Too much. Not enough. More. I want more! Estinien, I want…

 Agnes was quickly reduced to a softly babbling mess, begging for more from her lover. She could feel sweat trickling down her brow. His hips are going harder than they ever have. How I’ve missed this and him…

 “I can’t wait to get you into a bed so I can fuck you into the mattress. Leave you a quivering mess. Wanting more. Wanting me and me alone…” His calloused fingers continued to pinch and rub her clit. Each little moan that came from her mouth he drank greedily. “Come for me, my love. Come for me!”

 Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods, oh gods… Agnes restrained herself from yelling as she came. As always, Estinien soon followed, moaning into her shoulder. Agnes herself moaned a little as Estinien removed his fingers from her and heard him licking and sucking them. He quite literally can’t get enough of me. Oh love, you’re too much. Although still leaning against the wall, Agnes wobbled a bit as she moved a little.

 “Easy, easy.” Estinien chuckled, gripping her waist. “Be careful, my sweet girl.”

 “Oh dear, sorry. I’ll get my bearings in a moment. You weren’t kidding when you said a fuck I’ll never forget.” Agnes said breathily. “Though, if you do want me in a bed, love, then perhaps we should head somewhere private?” And not in an alley!

 “No need for a bed just yet, but mayhap a swim or shower to clean.”

 “Costa del Sol? I know a secluded spot for a…naked swim.” And not at the nude beaches! Secluded spot away from everyone!

 “Good idea.” He finally pulled himself out and wiped his cock on his shirt!!!!?!? NO! “Teleport soon?”

 Agnes hummed in assent as she yanked her leggings and smalls.

 Within a moment, they disappeared from the alley.

 ***

Perfect. Agnes grinned as she lay in the water at her secluded spot further north along the Bloodshore. When they arrived at the Costa del Sol aetheryte, she penned a quick note to her Mum saying that she and Estinien were in the area and would come by later. And knowing her, she’s already stocking the pantry and making my bed, so we can be alone. She’s the best!

 Then she remembered something important.

 …oh dear.

 “Erm, love?”

 Estinien swam back towards her. “Hmm?”

 “I haven’t been taking my contraceptive potion.”

 His eyes widened. “Oh?”

 She felt her cheeks grow hot. “Well, I was on the First, so there was no need. Only just remembered.” But… “Though, I’m happy with not taking it and seeing how things go, if you’re…”

 Estinien thought for a moment and then smiled softly. “If that’s what you want to do, then sure. If something happens, wonderful. If not, fine.”

 Agnes wrinkled her nose, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. Perfect. We’ll play it by ear, though…I wish…I hope…something will happen. A baby. Our baby.

 Estinien’s arms lifted Agnes’s legs, which she enclosed around his narrow waist. He ended the kiss and rubbed his nose against hers. “So we are in agreement.”

 “I’d say so, love.”

 “While we both dream of the times to come, I have a particular need.” A wicked grin appeared suddenly on his face. “A need that you can only satisfy, Agi.”

 “Oh really? Is it a need emanating from your big fat cock?” She winked and laughed. “Because I have a funny feeling it’s that.”

 Estinien chuckled, his grip on her thick thighs getting tighter. “My lady is so smart. However did you guess?”

 Her hands moved to his shoulders with her fingers dancing on one of the gnarled scars from the Eyes. “Just luck, I think.” She said sweetly, kissing him again. Luck somehow led us to each other, and I’ll forever be grateful.

 “Heh, a bit of luck and a lot of…” Estinien squeezed her thighs. “You being so irresistible, my pretty. Here or back at the cottage. Lady’s choice.”

 The lady in question raised an eyebrow. “Normally I’d say bed, but I’m feeling…adventurous today.”

 Estinien then raised his eyebrow.

 Don’t laugh. Don’t laugh. Don’t…

 Agnes let out a decidedly unladylike snort.

 “Agi, you’re something else.” Estinien groaned with an eye roll.

 “Something else that’s all yours, love.” Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.

 “Aye, that you are. Now, where were we?” Estinien adjusted Agnes and entered her with a loud groan. “I missed you…I missed you so much…fantasized about you. Twas so cold in Garlemald, my love, and I longed for your warm soft body with mine.”

 “Did you now?” She smirked and licked one of his ears. That always gets him. Always. “Pray tell me the specifics, love. I would hear it all.”

 “We were in a cabin with a hearty fire going…I arrived to find you on a pile of expensive furs wearing naught but gems. Such an alluring sight…” His grip on her tightened, and Agnes moaned as she felt his cock twitch inside her. “You beckoned me with only a smile…before I knew it mine clothes were off, and I was on top of you…”

 Furs and gems? Okay. Sure. Maybe that’s an Ishgardian thing? “Maybe we can make that a reality, love, erm minus all the gems. One or two-ooooooooooooo…” She squealed as Estinien sucked a mark into her neck. “Fake jewelry maybe…oh gods, love…”

 “We don’t have to, my angel. Twas only a fantasy.” Estinien groaned. “One that kept me warm so many nights…”

 “W-willing to try, love. I’m sure we could procure a cozy cabin for a night…ahhhh, love please…” Her arms hugged him tighter. Need more friction. Need more of him. Want him all the time…I hate leaving him…don’t think about that. Don’t think about leaving. Enjoy the time...don’t think about the last time we were together. I’m here. I’m here. I don’t want to leave you like that ever again. I want us together all the time. Always. “Don’t ever leave me.” Agnes whispered. “Don’t leave me. Please.”

 “Never. I’m forever yours as you are mine.” His forehead touched hers, and his eyes poured into hers. “Look at me, sweetheart. Look at me. I’m never leaving you. Never, my sweet.” He adjusted his grip once more and thrust harder. “Come for me, Agi. Need you to come.”

 A few moments later, Agnes felt the bowstring inside her snap. Her nails dug into his back as she gasped. Another few moments, and he came. Not as loud as he normally is, but he’s so beautiful when he comes. So beautiful my handsome, grumpy man is… Agnes was not entirely sure when or how they made it back to their blanket on the beach, only that they did and he wrapped her in a towel. “I meant it, you know.” She said quietly. “About finding a cozy little cabin in the snow for you…for us.”

 Estinien wrapped a towel around his narrow waist and sat next to Agnes, pulling her into an embrace. “There’s one person I know with a cabin such as that…and I’d chew off my arm than speak to Aymeric at the moment.” He muttered, causing Agnes to giggle.

 “Oh dear, how should I begin this letter? ‘Dear Aymeric, how are you? Estinien and I want to fuck in your cabin, is that alright? I swear we’ll clean—' YOU NAUGHTY MAN!” Agnes squeaked as Estinien tickled her. I’ve felt lighter in the past few bells than I have in at least two moons. I’m happiest when I’m with him. Happiest when I’m kissing him. Happiest when I’m watching him train. Happiest when we’re together. “Hey! Hey, you!” She lightly smacked his arm and kissed him. “I love you.” She whispered and giving him yet another peck.

 With that crooked grin that never failed to make her heart soar, Estinien squeezed her shoulder. “And I love you, sweetheart.”

 Reunions are lovely but how I wish I could stay with you always.

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

if you click the unrebloggable red catboy haterade readmore it's your own damn fault

i am so tired of people trying to defend g'raha's writing in ew

"they're capable of subtlety" switching between being a manipulative asshole and the writer's most perfect prince who can never do wrong and is the wol's bestest friend 5ever (don't look at shb) and never allowing the player/other characters to say "dude wtf" at the former is not "subtle writing", it's complete lack of awareness that the character is being an asshole

like it was bad enough that the writers forced you to be buddy-buddy with him in shb with only a token option of expressing mild distaste , doing that and also making it very clear that he's still a manipulative shithead (because if he was meant to trying to put on a brave face they would have had a "dude wtf" line where he would have apologized in the post-credits, not acted like the promise made under duress was still valid) is just bad fucking writing given that on the other side of the corridor is zenos, who they constantly deny even acknowledgement of his humanity

you can try to compare it to urianger's writing but uri's writing never flinches away from the fact that he's being a fucker when he's being a fucker even when played for comedy, and they still have this gaping gap of not touching the fact that urianger functionally killed thancred's foster daughter/little sister onscreen (while they probably would have realistically hashed it out over like 3 years, you really don't get to see any of that at all so it's very strained; even having thancred still kind of mad before he gets snatched and having the more cordial relationship we normally see during shb would have communicated that better).

idk. so much of ew is just written really damn poorly (even parts that, in isolation, i find acceptable to actively enjoyable (ie the 6.0 zenos cutscenes) end up falling flat in context) because of external factors forcing the sardine treatment for plot points and i'm tired of seeing people pretend that it's not. i can't exactly compare the gameplay side well given i started in 6.0, but i can break down the writing just fine and ew's fucking dire even if you consider how heavily i weigh 4.2-4.3 against stb.

i really hope they sideline the scions besides krile (or tataru, but i think she's probably going to live in side content for a while and krile has been badly neglected for so long). i don't want to interact with g'raha again anytime soon but especially not if his writing remains this bad. either acknowledge that he can be an asshole and let me be colder to him or stop bringing him up, i'm fine hating major recurring characters if they're actually well written (asahi, varis, thordan) and the catboy isn't at this point, and even when he was better-written there was still the major problem of "let me call him a dick or at least untrustworthy you pricks".

"what about estinien don't you like him" if they just have him being a weird hungry vagrant that only shows up sometimes to be deeply strange and get mobbed by baby mamool ja that is ideal, actually, i love when he's a bit of a freak. or they could have him get adopted by another fancy prince, having him repeatedly reel in powerful fancy prince types with the power of

dragon autism

would be the funniest shit on the planet.

but like. i want a break from even the scions i like, barring maybe the twins, and the twins are best when i don't have to refer to them as a unit, yknow? i want new people to take center stage. i'm not going to get that given the trailer, but god. please. make this the erenville-and-wuk lamat show with cameos by the scions and not the other way around. they can come back in 8.0.

(plus, doing that might mean we don't have the fifth expansion straight of y'shtola death fakeouts (i counted: arr/hw (given timing it's hard for me to define where catgirl blunt best belongs), stb (vs Zenos), shb (sailor moon catgirl), ew (ultima thule)). i am so fucking tired of her fakeouts. do literally anything else with her as a character i BEG OF YOU. we all know you aren't killing Miss Final Fantasy 14. her fans would flay you. the merch sales would plummet.)

[aotopmha]

Some more FFXIV thoughts:

I think this might become a series, actually.

With this post I actually want to talk about how women are written and handled in the story. I'll probably write separate posts for most of them at one point or another, but with this post I'll go over the more general thoughts I have.

The biggest criticism I probably have for how the story writes women is that so many female characters are killed off.

I think they are killed off in satisfying ways, completing their character arcs and stories in satisfying ways, but so many are just written with the end point in mind to be killed off.

Y'sayle, Yotsuyu, Minfilia and Venat are fantastic characters with if not massive plot significance, then at least powerful stories.

Much effort is put into depth when they are there (well, with Minifilia, we have to wait for that a little bit), but with that kind of story writing, their focus is limited to designated sections of story.

Alisae, Y'shtola, Ryne, Lyse, Krile and Tataru are the only ones that show up for fairly large swathes of story.

But at the same time, there are many male characters that are written out of swathes of story, too.

For example, Estinien was basically gone for all of Stormblood and Shadowbringers.

Thancred was barely there in Heavensward and Stormblood.

I'd argue all of the ancients had their arcs and now we're done with them. (At least I very much hope they are, I feel like giving them more screentime beyond tying up the remaining loose ends would feel unnatural and take away from the weight of their characters. Also please let Zenos finally stay dead.)

In fact, most of the individual crew from previous expansions at most get little cameos and are written out in much the same way any of the female characters are, which is to say focused on in sections of story, the difference is that there are much fewer female characters and female characters well, as said are killed, so it sticks out.

If we look at deaths in general, we have Haurchefant, Nidhogg and Thordan to balance out Y'sayle in Heavensward for example, but Lucia and Y'sayle are the only truly prominent female characters in that story and this exapnds to all the other expansions.

Stormblood had a balance in letting Lyse, Krile and Fordola live in comparison to Yotsuyu and Asahi is the companion death to Yotsuyu.

Endwalker is especially obvious with Emet, Hermes and Hytlodeus balancing out Venat's death.

It's probably the biggest issue with the female character writing I have, but there is also so much good in here.

This story makes me happy because it defies so many female character tropes/stereotypes.

I love that the Oracle of Light is dual-wielding daggers (Ryne and Gaia are both really cool, also Gunbreaker Ryne incoming?), I love that Urianger's archtypal childhood friend is an axe-wielding scholar. I love that Lucia and Lyna get to be cool fighters AND have feelings. Zero goes under there, too. Fordola's redemption arc and inner conflict are fantastic. Alisae's journey to become her own person with separate principles and someone with a strong will to do good is great.

Venat has a motherly aspect to her character and is the goddess of light, but is also an incredibly powerful fighter.

Yotsuyu's archtype is often so poorly done because female characters of her archtype turn out to either be just a crazy woman or turn good after a scene or two of someone being nice to her, but the empathy surrounding her situation and the struggle surround her identity is so powerful and most of all, substantial.

I think her dying actually respects her as a villain because despite of all of her suffering, she was still a horrible person and I'm happy the narrative didn't downplay that.

I love that Lyse is allowed to not be as intelligent as others because it's so unique among the main cast in general. Her arc is about learning tact and restraint and becoming more confident in herself. She's allowed to be frustrating and say dumb stuff. She's such a breath of fresh air as a character. I take issue with some of the execution of those aspects at the start of Stormblood, but I'll leave a more detailed analysis of her character to another post.

Final Fantasy 14 lets women have feelings and weaknesses without removing their strengths and generally avoids putting them in specific boxes and I appreciate that a lot.

There are so many great, fun side characters, too!

Drusilla from the Reaper questline. Cirina and Sadu. All of the female characters among the twelve gods. Nashu is fantastic comic relief. Barbariccia has a really neat backstory with a surprising amount of depth in just a few cutscenes. Emilliance is a great mom. Nidhana is a great inquisitive scientist character.

How about Giott and her drinking habits and dirty mouth?

Merwyb's arc about taking responsibility for the past and taking steps to fix the racial divide in Vylbrand/Limsa is fantastic.

How about that Tataru's Grand Endevour series or the entire Eureka storyline for Krile?

And I feel like if there is sexualisation, I feel like it's usually in good fun. Though there are a few instances where it's a little less fun and more wierd.

The game has a way of making really entertaining base personalities for characters and that absolutely does translate to its female cast.

Now if you'd write fewer to be killed and either make a few more mainstays or give more consistent relevance to the mainstays you have, that'd just be great.

I think there could be stuff to do with Krile, Y'shtola and Ryne and Gaia in particular.

The thing with the story of this game is that I never even expected to like any of the characters ever because it starts out so simple. Whenever I revisit sections they always end up more substantial than I remember.

Like, how about Dulia-Chai defying the whole overweight, 'ugly' evil person trope?

I appreciate that although Tesleen was another character to be killed, she gets enough depth to her to make her an actual character with feelings and principles.

And then there's stuff where the story just tells gender to fuck off.

Like this year's Valentine's Day event or the Dotharl or Omega. Or the non-binary faes. Not perfect, either, but I just enjoy the accepting and respectful vibes because there is so much unnatural 'checkmark writing' around this stuff currently. You never actually know, but it absolutely at least feels like whoever writes this story actually believes in it.

But that might just be material for even more posts.

[reverienebula]

FFXIV Scions as youtubers:

WoL: pretty much the guy who makes knifes out of anything, only it’s any weapon. Sometimes fray cameo

Y'shtola: Debunking "lifehacks" with a side of sass Urianger: Video essays about the fae, primals, and movies

Thancred: unlisted channel of home videos of Ryne and family. there is one pubic video call "proper gunblade maintenance"

Lyse: exercise and fitness routines, how to make a sweet smoothie

Papalymo: tips and tricks for writing essays and the art of magic.

Alphinaud: 100% completion Lets plays

Alisaie: speed runs, also does Esports

Tataru: Sewing and cooking tutorials

G'raha &Krile: A overly sarcastic productions style channel where Red and Yellow teach you all about history and myths.

Estinien: How to train your dragon AMVs, and Vlogs of him and Orn Khai's travels

Feel free to add more <3

Edit: Ascian Ver.

[fistsoflightning]

23: i wanna know what you’re doing tonight

prompt: shuffle || masterpost || other fills || ao3 mirror

word count: 2796

Does writing music based on things your friend said count as flirting?

It’s AU brainworm time everybody >:3 This “main street” AU is basically balefire/mom squad’s ‘what if we made a bunch of small town romance ideas and mashed them together’ which turns out to be a lot more hilarious than it should be. Featuring (chat) cameos from @windupcatgirl @to-the-voiceless @windupnamazu @verbroil and @winduphaurchefant because why not. Title from this song!

For all intents and purposes, Zaya enjoys autumn; summer heat cooling off into a pleasant chill, the sunlight that lingers enough to keep warm in the early weeks. The trees may die, but in doing so they grow colorful, and though the flowers in A’dewah’s little shop don’t do the same he changes which ones are on display to match better with the tree outside. It does mean Krile—and more recently, one G’raha Tia—have to return to Mor Dhona, their studies resuming, but it’s not like they can’t chat.

It does, however, mean the return of autumn showers—and they don’t even hate rain that much—and fortunately Zaya managed to forget their poncho just as the first big storm pulled in. Mor Dhona wasn’t that far of a drive away, really, just two or three hours on a road Zaya had taken enough times before, but in the middle of a rainstorm? Without a rainproof coat?

Well, at least Miss Eldfalk’s documents are staying dry in the carrier at Zaya’s back, even if the chill of the rain has already soaked through the wool of their jacket and started to dampen their shirt by the time they pull into the parking garage just a block or so away from the museum waiting on Sjanna’s delivery. Thankfully the inn is just an elevator away and not on the other side of the road; they should keep a spare poncho or umbrella in the motorcycle luggage next time.

Zaya pushes the thought aside as they slip off their helmet and the phone in their pocket begins to buzz about, safely tucked within the canvas pocket of their overalls and hopefully not just as soaked as their hands are. Wiping their palms and fingers on the inside of their legs, they unzip the soggy jacket and tug out the borrowed phone to see the numerous Linkcord notifications—of course.

Leaning onto the front of their motorcycle, Zaya hardly takes a second glance up to the storm just out the window behind them as a few taps and a swipe unlocks the screen, opening up to the Linkcord discussion of the day (night? Night.)

[ text channel #mom-panic; 9:47 PM ]

banned for baby crimes zayaaaaaa i miss you Hanami Hagane You are just saying that because you have no one to drag around the fair. Hanami Hagane Besides, they will be back tomorrow afternoon. banned for baby crimes no i’m not!! that’s too long!! i brought ihget but he’s being stupid and wont ride the ferris wheel with me :’) banned for baby crimes i cant find lunya and reese either so now im stuck with himbo here local breadhead we’re just by the cotton candy stand! lunya’s waving at you ;) banned for baby crimes OH THERE YOU ARE HOW DID I MISS YOU        hold on i gotta grab the chad first local breadhead 😊 banned for baby crimes but i really miss zaya even if they’re just over in mor dhona.. so does ochir he- i- banned for baby crimes has anyone seen ochir ihget lost him in the crowd- this says zaya 😱 reese is in pieces :O( YOU WHAT?? local breadhead oh dear lmao reese is in pieces :O( i hope no one tries to take him :( reese is in pieces :O( lunya says if your stupid catboy loses zaya’s bird shes not going to make you two the mini versions of zaya’s courier hat banned for baby crimes IT SNTO MY FAULT ZAYA JR HERE WAS BEIGNB ROODY ADN LOOKED AWAY         NOOOOOOO,,, Hanami Hagane Why bring the bird with you, anyways. Zaya lent you Ochir’s cage. banned for baby crimes he made sad noises when ihget n i were abt to leave,,,,

The chat quickly devolves from there into Sati panicking about Zaya’s violet-backed starling going rogue and everyone else jumping in and hells, they are not in the mood to manage that. Drops of water fall from their chin onto the screen; they hastily wipe it away before shoving the phone back into their pocket and hop off their motorcycle. A few quick movements with the key round their wrist opens up the luggage attachment with the satchel of papers inside—blessedly dry, thank the gods they splurged on a decent one instead—which they swing over their shoulder as they start walking to the elevator.

A dripping trail has probably followed them all the way from the parking garage to the lobby, they think in passing as they stop at the front desk, waiting for the receptionist to turn around. Their hand goes to fiddle with the small keychain on their keyring as they wait, still dripping their own personal puddle around them.

“Hello, hello! Welcome to the Seventh Heaven, how may I—” Tataru turns around, small smile widening into a sunny bright grin when she sees them, even if they’re dripping all over the lobby. “Zaya! Good to see you back again; need a room for the night, then?”

A curt nod (that sends water droplets onto the surface of Tataru’s desk) is all she needs to hop off her stepping stool and onto the ground, waving Zaya along before she cheerily marches down the halls with a keyring jingling in her hand. Not even the gloomy rainstorm thundering outside can put a damper on her mood, it seems.

“Payment for the night’s stay may be given in the form of Gannet Bay gossip, alright?” Tataru unlocks the door to a nicely decorated room with a quick turn of her hand, playfully winking over her shoulder as she does. Her violet eyes glimmer almost the same as Lunya’s, really; filled with teasing joy and secrets. “I’ve heard from the grapevine about a certain catboy quite enjoying the atmosphere out there, now!”

She steps aside as the door swings fully open, giving a little curtsy, and Zaya gives her an energetic thumbs-up as they walk past her into the room, pleasantly warm and bright from the small fireplace in the corner of the room, banked low so its amber glow only flickers across the floor.

First things first: getting out of all the soggy clothing they’re wearing.

They hang their satchel (papers still neatly bound inside, good) on the wall hook by the door and haphazardly strip off their shoes and socks, followed by the once-warm and fluffy jacket as they look about for spare hangers.

Ah; Tataru always has their back. Hanging on the end of the bed are a set of four or so hangers, which Zaya snaps up with ease, carefully slipping the wooden hangers through sleeves and loops as they finally get to their undershirt—blissfully dry, if not a bit cold. Their overalls aren’t all that damp on the top but are more than soaked the further down the legs one looks… hopefully that dries quick enough.

Just as they finish kicking their ankle-high boots to the mat by the door, a quiet yet unfamiliar chime fills the room, and Zaya nearly thinks to check outside the door for the noise when the light vibrations trickle up their arm. The soft ringtone—someone humming along to a muffled orchestra, maybe; not the smartest of choices for a calling ringtone—grows louder as Zaya stares down at their collection of soggy clothing.

...Alright, second: answer the damn phone?

Zaya nearly fumbles all the hangers to grab their phone from the pockets of their overalls and accept the call, only briefly reading the name from the screen before his face pops up in its place. White hair and a charming grin, perhaps—that is, to anyone who hadn’t heard the words that fall from his mouth like gentle rain.

(Okay, well, maybe that just helped. Zaya wasn’t going to say that out loud to anybody regardless; it didn’t matter what they thought of Thancred’s charms. Probably.)

“...I’d say ‘good evening’ but I wager you are having anything but just by the water dripping off your hair,” Thancred says in lieu of greeting, his voice warm and surrounded by the distant sounds of the usual fall fair attractions. “So instead, I’ll say this; is that old phone serving you well enough?”

Zaya nods; given, this one’s a bit clunky, but the lightness of their actual tomephone may have indirectly been the reason that they’d dropped it while helping out around town and eventually cracked the screen. At least Thancred had offered to lend them his old one for the trip to Mor Dhona in case, just on the off chance someone truly needed their attention, like for lost birds and ways to punish a distracted idiot.

They set it on the table, the front camera facing towards the window as Zaya steps into frame, still fiddling with the hangers in their hands. Mor Dhona may be covered in a gloomy storm, but the golden lights from the buildings around Revenant’s Toll Square still glow brightly in the distance, a refuge from the biting torrent of cold rain.

“Survived the water,” they sign slowly, stepping closer to the fireplace in a subtle attempt to dry off a bit quicker, almost fumbling when their fingers stiffen, chilled to the bone. Thancred laughs, the bridge of his nose crinkling just a tad like how it does when he can’t stop cracking himself up. “Still has power, too.”

“Glad to see it has survived, then.” There’s a slight pause where Thancred stops talking (and laughing) to catch his breath, the small silence filled with Zaya leaving frame to go hang their soaked clothes over the fireplace to hopefully dry for tomorrow. When they come back to look at the camera, a kaleidoscope of colorful lights dance across Thancred’s face, some colorfully lit attraction before him leaving his platinum blonde hair awash with a rainbow of color. “The storm there should burn off by early dawn, though; hopefully you will not have to drag yourself home dripping wet from your business in Mor Dhona.”

Ah, good. They yawn as discreetly as someone who’s on a video call can—which is to say, not very, and a rosy flush must spread on their face when Thancred chuckles under his breath, low and steady. 

“Forgive me,” he says next, voice lowered as if he were disturbing someone’s rest. “I must be keeping you from collapsing; I can’t imagine a drive in the freezing rain and getting soaked is the least draining way to spend one’s night.”

In-between stretching out the tense muscles in their back and neck do they grunt some noise of agreement, the strain flaring momentarily before melting into a drowsy warmth that drips down the ridges of their spine. Really, spending time in Mor Dhona at all is a draining waste of time—when you make your home in somewhere as vibrantly quiet as Gannet Bay it’s hard to want the big city over the comforts of familiarity, of knowing each shop and its owners personally, of being able to help them all and see their smiles.

At least they can see one person from home, now.

“ ‘S fine,” they mumble softly, heart stuttering when Thancred’s smile widens at the sound of their voice. Part of them wishes they were there to playfully elbow him for that—it’s not that rare tha they’ll speak—and the other part of them they are desperately trying to ignore. “How’s th’ fair.”

“Wonderful.” He looks up for a moment as Zaya wraps themselves in the bed coverings, presumably to whatever booth or stall is shining down on his face with fluorescent lights. “Ryne’s had a wonderful time, I think. I haven’t seen your friends around, but would you like to hear about the odd variety of attractions around?”

Zaya hums sleepily, waiting for him to continue. They hardly even notices when their eyelids grow heavy and their fingers return to their usual warmth, entranced enough by the fond familiarity of Thancred’s voice as they drift off to sleep.

…

The next morning, Zaya wakes with the dawn that rises across Mor Dhona, the bright golden sunrise sneaking through the cracks of the large curtains to tickle their bedsheets. The cityscape outside the window is covered by low autumn morning fog, glimmering as the sunlight dances over it and the puddles the passing storm had left behind in its wake. Outside, it is nearly silent, only a few passing cars and hardly any pedestrians around when Zaya does their morning stretches by the window.

As is always with a trip into the city, they fall into an easy routine; wake with the sun, stretch out whatever they can without breaking something, get dressed and hastily grab everything before rushing out the door, wave Tataru a rushed but genuine goodbye. Trot down to the parking garage, check the bike, throw the satchel back into the luggage on the back as they slip on their stereo cuffs and flick through playlists on their phone before going to get breakfast at the Bismarck—

Zaya pauses their flick-tap scroll through the playlists on their phone when they catch one with their name. Odd; Thancred did always have the habit of making his friends their own personal playlists, but they’d like to think they didn’t give him that much of a read on their tastes just yet.

Shrugging to no one but themselves, they tap on the playlist and let it begin to play as they slide the phone back into their overall pocket, starting up their motorcycle’s engine just as the song begins to play.

They stop. 

[ DM history with @superbolide; 7:36 AM]

zayaya ❓ zayaya 🌅😊❗🎵🎧💿❓❓ superbolide good morning to you too :) you’re up rather early superbolide something the matter? superbolide ah          i haven’t got another song for you yet, if that’s the question   rest assured, i’ll find something yet! zayaya 🙅

It hardly takes them more than a few seconds to grab a small screenshot of the playlist in question, sending it and another screenshot back to Thancred as they quietly listen to the same song Rjoli and Reese had playing near constantly for last Valentione’s Day in the bakery—still manages to be catchy, somehow. Let it not be said that acoustic covers were not their favorite.

The notification ringtone chimes when Thancred responds, cheery and bright.

Zaya goes a bit bug-eyed at what he types next, the song fading off as the next one on shuffle comes up—piano, humming, Thancred’s voice—

Thankfully, for it being so early in the morning, there’s no one around in the parking garage to judge the frankly embarrassing noise they make at their phone, or the bright flush that spreads across their face.

It isn’t like that, they remember saying, sputtering like a fish out of water when Lunya had barely insinuated that Thancred’s small wave as he walked past was a bit more than friendly. There’s no way he’d be interested in the courier that helped him choose out a ribbon at the local boutique, of all people! He doesn’t even know where I work!

Zaya drops their forehead onto the dash of their motorcycle, careful not to hit their horns against anything as they do.

Looks like they were wrong, about it ‘not being like that’. Maybe.

(Oh gods, they really hope they’re wrong.)

…

[ text channel #mom-panic; 8:03 AM]

💬 this says zaya is typing...

this says zaya😑 this says zaya💭🌑💘 🤟 ❓ banned for baby crimes DOES HTAT MEAN WHAT I THINK IT DOES closest to hell zaya qestir i swear on your lover boy’s life clarify for the peanut gallery local breadhead :0 reese is in pieces :O( i think            hm reese is in pieces :O( zaya did thancred just confess or did somethign else happen this says zaya [ superbolide: oh haha i must have forgotten to upload those to my lifestream] this says zaya [ superbolide: there are some songs i did save, but all the clips there were lyrics i thought of after chatting w/ you 😉] this says zaya [ superbolide: i could make an EP dedicated to you w/ the inspo you gave me] this says zaya [ superbolide: that is, if you don’t mind] Hanami Hagane I told you he was obvious. closest to hell SATINA YOU OWE ME GUMMIES FROM SHOOTING STAR I CALLED IT closest to hell IT WAS OBVIOUS THE MUSIC HES MAKING WAS BC OF THEM local breadhead oh bless… that’s v sweet… banned for baby crimes HBHBHHB NOOO MY HARD EARNED GIL,,, banned for baby crimes BUT WE ALL WERE RIGHT ABOUT HIM THO reese is in pieces :O( awwwauaua!! banned for baby crimes so banned for baby crimes zaya banned for baby crimes when’s the wedding this says zaya 😡😡😡 closest to hell me🤝sati “when’s the wedding” this says zaya 👆💀🏡 Hanami Hagane You two better start running. banned for baby crimes WAIT ZAYA NO-

[otherworldseekers]

ok guys I was doing a little brainstorming to prepare for Wondrous Tails and I have a wild idea for one of the prompts. I picked Lingerie and I was going to do something a little spicy but what if instead of that...

What if Tataru made a line of lingerie for adventurers and invited some of her closest friends to a preliminary showing to get feedback. Severia gets involved against her will because Tataru made everything to her measurements and basically gives her no choice but to model everything. The guests are Y’shola, Lyse, Krile, Ameliance and Urianger. They sit around sipping tea, gossiping and commenting while Severia is forced to put on increasingly risque outfits. They find out Severia has never worn lingerie before this and debate which of the lingerie sets Nero would most like to see her in. Possible Thancred cameo. 

So should I give this a try or stick to trying the spicy scene? I am torn.