without-school-or-style

[without-school-or-style]

It's February 14, which means that it's not only Valentine's Day, it's Joey's birthday!

Joey is my WoL. Out of all my characters, he is one of the oldest, having been around for 25 years, possibly even greater. Words can’t express how much he means to me. His determination, kindness, and passion have been—and continue to be—a source of comfort and inspiration. No matter how many times he stumbles and falters, he keeps trying his best, which gives me the courage to keep trying my best, too.

Thank you to all the wonderful people who have had the patience to be his friend, whether here in Eorzea, on Ragnarok Online, or anywhere else. I hope the adventures we’ve shared together were as enjoyable to you as they were to him.

Here’s to many more years of adventuring in Eorzea!

[without-school-or-style]

Joey: That's par the course of my usual luck. I'm not surprised by the results.

Happy New Year, everyone!

[without-school-or-style]

FFXIV Write 2024 Masterpost

1 - Steer 2 - Horizon 3 - Tempest 4 - Reticent 5 - Stamp 7 - Morsel 9 - Lend an Ear 10 - Stable 11 - Surrogate 12 - Quarry 13 - Butte 16 - Third-rate 18 - Hackneyed 19 - Taken 23 - On Cloud Nine 24 - Bar 25 - Perpetuity 26 - Zip

[without-school-or-style]

26 - Zip

Word Count: 1,817

((Spoilers for the last quest of Ameliance’s collectables thingees story.)

Under the shade of a quaint pagoda, Joey stared at the clockwork contraption lying on the ground. “Just project your aether into the mammet and it’ll come to life on its own?”

Naturally, the mammet neither said nor moved in response. Joey had to bring life to it after all.

“Or you have to manipulate it on your own.”

Still no answer. Naturally. since Joey had yet to do anything with the mammet besides staring and talking to himself.

Just like he had seen Miladeen do so before, Joey held out his hand and infused a small amount of his aether into the mammet. Almost immediately, the mammet sprang to its feet. Hopping excitedly, it raised his arms as though stretching after just waking up.

“All right. That was… easy enough.” Joey leaned forward. “Let’s see what else you can do.”

***

Joey never noticed the passage of time, nor the world around him, until a gentle voice startled him out of his train of thought.

“M-my, that’s quite an impressive feat of acrobatics and… is that martial arts? No doubt skills you’ve acquired on your journeys?”

The Viera jumped, startled, his eyes widened. “Ameliance! Um, sorry. I was just…” He looked to the side, “… curious about… about…”

“… what Miladeen and other students of the academy get up to?” Ameliance said with a smile.

Joey nodded, still looking to the side.

Ameliance took a seat beside Joey. Despite the Viera being startled out of his thoughts, the mammet continued performing combinations that Joey had devised over the years. Stamping the ground and springing up spikes of earth. Snapping its elbow. Punches that shot fire, roundhouse kicks that billowed wind. Small explosions and lightning bolts, followed up by a reverse back kick, followed up by a kick that launched the mammet into a somersault.

 “The fact that this mammet continues to move on its own is a testament to your concentration,” said Ameliance. “Normally when once breaks their concentration, the poor mammet falls to the ground.”

“Is that so…” said Joey.

Secretly he hoped that Ameliance would stand up, say goodbye, and go about her business; however, the Elezen woman continued to sit beside Joey.

“I’ve experienced your craftsmanship abilities firsthand, yet somehow I shouldn’t be surprised that manipulating aether isn’t beyond your capabilities, either,” said Ameliance. “While I sense your power and intent, your energies also have a sense of rawness to how you form your aether.”

“I’ve… Truthfully, I’ve always… taught myself when it comes to magic,” said Joey, his speech slowing as words became more difficult to form. He wrung his hands as he found himself dragging his foot.

“Well, I must say, this is perhaps the first time I’ve seen anyone manipulate the mammet in such a manner,” said Ameliance with a gentle giggle.

Joey couldn’t return the amusement. In fact, he felt his mind swirling faster and faster to the point he began to feel giddy. Deep in the back of his mind, he heard voices in his head—voices of those from another world yet carried in his mind rent-free. Voices that sneered at him. Shook their heads at him. Pointed their fingers and told him that he didn’t belong. Were those voices of those from the past whose words he couldn’t remember? Or were they voices of his worries manifesting into form? The mammet, however, found no end to his energetic practice of magic and martial arts and continued to move despite his aether owner’s brooding.

“Ah yes! The reason I came to see you—your earlier request of if attending the Studium would benefit you at all,” said Ameliance. “At first I was inclined to say yes, as there are no downsides to learning something new regardless of our history. However, watching you manipulate the aetheroconductive mammet with such ease, I would wonder as to what benefit the academy would have to someone of such genius. In fact, perhaps you should be the one giving lectures on all your findings. Sharlayan Academy welcomes knowledge from all walks of life. Surely someone would take interest in what you do.”

Joey’s eyes widened. He would’ve fainted if he didn’t force himself to answer. “N-no, that’s all right! I’m not… very good at explaining things. I just…” His hands clenched his knees, “I just know I can do it, and I do it. I don’t really understand how.”

“Ah, a natural. I see. They do say that prodigies are rare, a genius is even rarer, and a natural is once in a lifetime.”

Joey tried his best to shift the conversation away from him. “… Listening to you instruct Miladeen, your explanations are so concise. You made everything look and sound easy,” said Joey.

Ameliance smiled gently. “In your case, then, I say that if you were ever curious about anything, you are free to ask me. You’ve already done so much in assisting my endeavours. It’s the least I can do to give back in return.”

“Thank you. I greatly appreciate the offer.”

“Please think nothing of it.” Ameliance rose to her feet. “Ah, there is one more thing.”

Joey flinched. “There is…?”

“My children have often written back, and they’ve mentioned you quite a bit.”

‘By the twelve, they did?!’ Joey would’ve clutched the sides of his head if doing so wouldn’t have given away his thoughts. ‘I didn’t think I showed up on their radar all that much! I didn’t do anything special!’

“According to them, you seem to hide your true colours. It’s as though no one has ever seen his true face! Alisaie lamented.” Ameliance giggled.

‘That’s not really something to lament.’

Ameliance petted Joey. The Viera flinched again for a second, then relaxed as he sensed warmth and kindness from Ameliance’s touch. “There are others like you who hide themselves. Perhaps they believe they bring nothing to the table. Or perhaps, like you, they’ve been hurt and don’t wish to stand out. When I see those like that, do you know what that makes me wish to do?”

Joey wanted to guess, but his nervousness made him brace for the worst.

He closed his eyes.

And his eyes flew open again wide when Ameliance embraced him in a warm hug.

He tried not to cry, but a lone tear betrayed his wishes. His body froze. His words sealed themselves behind a wall. He couldn’t understand what was going on. He didn’t understand why she was hugging him. And most of all, he couldn’t comprehend why seeing people hide made her want to hug anyone.

“Showing one’s talents can bring to the benefit of others, just like the odds and ends you’ve made for me,” said Ameliance. “I’m certain what I’ve seen today is only a drop in the ocean compared to what you are capable of doing. But moreso than being able to help others, perhaps showing yourself will be good for your soul.”

Giving him one last squeeze, Ameliance rose to her full height once more.

“Unfortunately, there are more errands I must undertake. Thus, with this, I shall be seeing you. Please take care of yourself, Joey.”

Joey found himself watching Ameliance walk away until she vanished into the distance. Only the sounds of the mammet diligently fighting away broke Joey’s train of thought.

“Never seen my true face, huh…” Joey said out loud.

Just then, in the mother of all convenient timing, a group of students from the academy came upon the mammet and subsequently Joey. Seeing the mammet, their mouths formed perfect O’s as though they’ve witnessed something they’ve never seen before. One even pointed. “Did you do that?!”

Now the mammet unceremoniously flopped to the ground. Joey, who withdrew his aether in a knee-jerk reaction, scooped up the mammet. “Sorry you had to see that!” he said and fled in the other direction.

***

Later that night, outside by his lonesome in a field surrounded by nothing but creatures that had no interest in what he was doing, Joey went through the motions of basic combinations known to him as a gunbreaker. Satisfied, he brushed his fingers along his chest. Ritual circles appeared, then vanished.

I’m certain what I’ve seen today is only a drop in the ocean compared to what you are capable of doing. But moreso than being able to help others, perhaps showing yourself will be good for your soul. said Ameliance’s voice in his head.

‘I’d rather not.’ Joey thought.

Accompanying his mental affirmation, voices of others chimed in his head—voices that nodded in agreement, telling him that his actions were for the best. That he should never cause trouble for others again. Never stand out again.

Never be shunned for being ‘too good.’

More ritual seals appeared in front of Joey, then disappeared, absorbed into his body. He grew up weak. He knew he was weak. Yet he couldn’t help but indulge in his curiosities, indulge in creating more spells, more combat techniques, seeing how far he could go. And when he was first told that, when he saw those who had called themselves his friends not even look at him in the way, saying with bold-face coldness that he was too good for them, he didn’t know what to think.

Except that he had caused trouble somehow. And this was the only way to be accepted by others.

Anything was better than being truly alone.

Joey took a deep breath. Now to try out his new theory. He placed a hand on his chest and spoke softly, “Paradigm shift change: Ravager Mode.”

He felt a wave of energy scan his person. He felt the limitations within his body. But how about in practice? He pointed his gunblade at nothing in particular and attempted to fire. A jolt of static surged through him. Clenching his teeth, he keeled over, nearly dropping his gunblade.

‘All right. Not that stringent. Should have at least a little leeway for free movement. It’s the obvious techniques I should avoid.’

He traced his fingers over his chest to rewrite and move about the seals inside of him. Satisfied, Joey then placed his fingers to his chest as before. “Paradigm shift change: Medic Mode.”

The waves of energy scanned his body again. He felt his aether change within him, just like he had planned. Allowing his nouliths to hover behind him, he attempted to fire some ver-y basic ver-spells at a random tree.

Nothing happened. And this time, no static shock.

“That’s more like it.” Joey smiled a little in satisfaction.

He shifted between three various roles he had designated for himself: gunbreaker, red mage and sage. When locked in one role, special techniques from another remained sealed within him. Only the abilities he designated for the roles actually came out.

‘If never showing my true face means I’ll never stand out, then I’ll never show that face to anyone. This is for the best.’

((To explain a little better—instead of soul stones, I imagine Joey goes through roles like Paradigm Shift in Final Fantasy XIII. This prompt was to set up how it works. How does this relate to ‘zip’? I guess like how one is zipping something up or hiding something away.))

[without-school-or-style]

25 - Perpetuity

Word Count: 1,209

While strolling down the tenth ward of Shirogane—“It’s always good to gather information for decorating inspirational purposes!” Reonora had cited before Joey began his venture—he jerked his leg back before a group of racing mammets nearly ran him over. Curious, his line of sight followed the mammets to their destination where they joined several others already on-site. A couple of mammets ran some bright yellow tape around the lot of what appeared to be a ryokan.

‘Don’t tell me this place is slated for demolition?’ Joey thought.

A few feet away from the entrance, a female Au Ra with long black hair shed a tear as she smiled wistfully at the plot. Unable to help himself, Joey approached the xaela woman. “Is this your plot?”

The Au Ra woman nodded. Upon closer inspection, Joey noticed an abundance of dark scales on her face—she had certainly seen many summers.

“You can stop the mammets from their demolition duties as long as they see you’re making use of the property,” said Joey.

Closing her eyes, the Au Ra woman shook her head. “Please pay them no heed, adventurer. There is little left for me to do here—The Jade Phoenix Inn has run its course and alongside its closing, I shall be retiring.”

Joey looked up at the estate. No doubt that the name derived from the jade green shingles. Or did the shingles match the name? Peering inside the archway, the outdoor decorations included only a few trees, large stones and a couple of benches—simple arrangements that Joey could easily find himself resting in quiet solitude for long periods of time.

Another tear rolled down the Au Ra woman’s cheek. “Still, it’s hard to see this place go. Many memories have been shared under this roof. I can only hope that thoughts of this place will live on with those who have stayed under this roof. I, for one, shall be the keeper of many.” She turned to Joey and forced a smile. “My apologies; where are my manners? My name is Xiaoning Shou. I am—was the owner of this inn. And you are…?”

“Joey. Joey Madison.” The Viera man shook Xiaoning’s outstretched hand.

“A pleasure to meet you, Joey.” Xiaoning smiled before she returned her attention to the inn. “What kind of place do you think will take place in lieu of the inn? Do you think anyone will remember this place the way it is?”

”That’s up for you to decide, isn’t it?” Joey asked. “I’ve only just arrived here. I can only guess what this place was like in its heyday, but I can imagine it was well-loved.”

Xiaoning nodded. “It was. It truly was. Travellers came from all over the world to share stories of their destinations. Some came to drown their sorrows under a comforting ear. My inn may not have been the prettiest but I did my best to ensure the comfort of each and every guest.” She wiped away another tear. “These next three days will be the most difficult.”

“Three days?” Joey repeated.

“The time remaining until demolition,” said Xiaoning. “Even though this is my decision, I still—no, I’ve already said what I had to. I’m sorry I sound so wishy-washy and to burden you with this, adventurer.”

“Not at all. Thank you for sharing your story,” said Joey. “What do you plan to do after you retire?”

Xiaoning smiled sadly. “I’m planning to take whatever money I have and live the rest of my days peacefully in my hometown of Yanxia. Some of my family still live in the Steppe, but Yanxia will always be my home.”

The two stood side by side in silence, watching some mammets direct others in marking various areas of the building’s exterior. Joey felt as though he stumbled upon the end of a long legacy. Yet, he couldn’t just leave Xiaoning’s feelings to linger by herself forever. There had to be something he could do.

Then, an idea suddenly crossed his mind.

“Will you be here for those next three days?” Joey asked.

“I plan to finalize arrangements in Yanxia for the next two days, but I shall be here for the final closing day. Why do you ask?” Xiaoning tilted her head.

“Ah, um, I just thought of something, is all.” Joey scratched the back of his head. “I’ll see you on the final day, then.”

And just as awkwardly, Joey turned around and headed up the stairs towards an aetheryte, leaving Xiaoning more confused than anything.

***

For the next two days, Joey returned to the site. A bench parked across the road became a temporary permanent fixture for Joey. The neighbours ceased their imminent complaints, however, once they saw Joey’s brushes gliding along a large canvas. No words needed to be said—the neighbours understood his intentions and let him be.

“You don’t have to get every single detail right, nor do you have to paint every single thing you see,” said the voice of an art colleague. “No one has to know that mammets were crawling around the building at this exact point in time.”

Although said colleague only said the former in reality, his advice churned in Joey’s head as he narrow focused on painting over his underdrawing. The world around him vanished as nothing existed between Joey and his painting. He imagined visitors coming in and out of the building, smiling and laughing. Some part of him wished he had heard of this place during its day, but perhaps the time he spent here and now were his own unique experiences he could one day share.

***

On the day of demolition, Joey arrived to find Xiaoning in front of the building just as the first day they met. This time, Xiaoning turned her head to meet Joey’s gaze.

“It’s you again, adventurer. Joey, was it?” Xiaoning asked with Joey nodding. “Have you come to keep this old woman company during the inn’s final moments?”

“Yes, that and something else.” From out of nowhere, Joey pulled out a giant framed canvas. “Here. This is for you.”

Xiaoning gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. Her eyes widened as she gazed upon a painting of the Jade Phoenix Inn in loving detail. Tears welled up in her eyes again. “A-are you sure?”

“I know it’s not much, and I couldn’t even begin to depict what a storied history this place has been for you, but—”

“Oh no, no… this is wonderful! Thank you so much, adventurer—Joey. D-do I owe you anything?”

“I just hope that I can help keep the legacy alive a little.” Joey shrugged.

Xiaoning bowed so deeply, her ling black hair flung in front of her and over the painting. “Thank you! Thank you so much! I don’t even know where to begin. I shall treasure this painting forever. Thank you…”

Joey had may or may not seen Xiaoning ever again. The Jade Phoenix Inn was demolished as promised and in its place, a house resembling a paissa. But for the rest of Xiaoning’s life, she hung Joey’s painting in the eating area for all to see. Whenever anyone asked about the painting, she spoke of her life with a smile.

((Reonora Aesthete (even though just a brief mention) and Xiaoning Shou belong to me. So does this house, though it’s not for sale.))

[without-school-or-style]

24 - Bar

Word Count: 664

Today’s Card: The Sentinel (determination, certainty)

“A’ight,” said Teremy, “let’s take ten.”

Immediately, Joey’s legs gave out and he slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. His gunblade slumped to the side with him. Teremy, on the other hand, exhaled and smiled after a casual swig of water. ‘How do these people last forever and never get tired?! Do they have super cardio or what?!’ Joey wondered. At the very least, even though exhaustion had seized his body into stillness except for bare minimum movement such as breathing, his working mind alerted him to that he still had a little life left in him. As minuscule amount as that was. How long had they been at it for? Joey had lost track of the hours and instead deemed the passage of time to be ‘eternity’.

On the other hand, Joey had no right to complain. He was the one who asked to be here. He knew what a day in the super-ultra-intense training life of Teremy Itsubishi was like. And Joey definitely had no right to raise a voice in protest when Teremy had graciously agreed to this arrangement in the first place.

“You’re starting to get the hang of the technique,” said Teremy. “You’re getting better at deriving power from your lower body—your experience in martial arts is probably what’s helpin’.” Another swig of water. “All that’s left is to drill in the basics and memorize basic combinations. Nothing daily effort can’t help. Here, take a drink.”

Joey took a weary glance to the side to see that the Miqo’te had perched beside him. He tried to raise his eyebrows to say does it look like I can move anytime soon, but he knew that Teremy meant well. Surrounding himself with healing magic, he felt himself bathed in a gentle light akin to an aurora. The muscles that Joey often hated admitting he had slowly relaxed—enough for him to take his own water. He held the bottle with both hands and took a delicate sip much in a similar manner to a small child.

“I just hope that one day, I’ll be able to protect others like you,” said Joey.

“That’s the whole reason you asked me to help you, right?” Teremy asked.

“Yeah. I’m sorry for my selfishness.”

“Not at all. There’s nothing wrong in asking for help. Why apologise?”

Joey pulled his legs to his chest and leaned his chin on his knees in a fetal position. “I guess, I just… teachers breathing down my neck telling me what to do every step of the way, I worry I’m not doing something right. But at the same time, I didn’t know who else to ask. I want to make sure I’m doing this properly.”

Teremy stared at Joey silently for a few moments as though his mind reached into the back of his thoughts to figure out what to say. Taking another swig of water, he wiped the back of his mouth with his forearm. “If you have any doubts, then at least have faith in training. Hard work never lies.”

“But what if I never get better? What if I’m just wasting your time?”

“In that case…”

Teremy rose to his feet. With a clang and a heavy thud, Joey looked up in wide-eyed horror as Teremy slung not a gunblade over his shoulder, but an axe. An overwhelming sensation of dread nearly made Joey throw up.

“… there’s only one way to find out where the bar is, and that’s trial by fire.”

“What happened to taking ten! It’s not ten yet!” Joey cried.

“Show me everything you got! You hold back, you die!” A fiery red aura surrounded Teremy, billowing his hair and clothes and causing various rocks and stones to levitate around him, as he released his inner warrior.

“What is this? Zenos the Second?!”

Joey barely had time to grab his gunblade and jump back before Teremy’s downswing cleaved the Viera in half like Teremy’s axe did to the ground.

((I originally had this idea for Duel, but real life got in the way and I never got a chance to write it. I think this idea fit Bar better though. Teremy Itsubishi belongs to me. He has an oft-neglected blog at @sworn-unbeliever in case you want to see what he looks like, since I forgot to take a picture today.))

[without-school-or-style]

video game abstractions are something else. i'm leveling Culinarian in FFXIV and i hit level 56. "hold on," i say to nobody in particular, and put my frying pan (hot, wet with freshly cooked sauce) back on my hip. "before I make any more hollandaise sauce, i need a better knife." there in my pocket, it awaits: a knife whose titanium edge is so keen that only a level 56 Culinarian can so much as grasp it. so i do that. and now i have no need for my old knife; it has served me well, but it physically cannot be used by any other. it is inextricably bound to my soul. i cooked with it before, you see. one cook per knife only. so i take it into my hands one last time and disintegrate it into various magical crystals. the concentrated fire essence extracted from within can be used to make more hollandaise sauce

[without-school-or-style]

23 - On Cloud Nine

Word Count: 423

((Once again, Cecille the Brave belongs to the incredible @abeat. Also, it has really been ten years since they first got married! I do have their wedding pictures somewhere on another computer but for now, here they are as they are now.))

When the bright orb gently brushed against Cecille’s outstretched hand and transformed into a beautiful ring, she looked at Joey with a smile more precious and radiant than any gemstone in Eorzea. Joey felt his then Lalafellan heart flutter. Waves of euphoria joined the butterflies in his stomach which made him feel even more dizzy, yet he couldn’t help but feel himself smile. Cecille looked even more radiant than usual that day, her veil brushed up against her pale violet dress. At that moment, Joey couldn’t find words to describe or even rationalize how he felt. All he knew was that at that moment, everything felt so right, so wonderful. If all of his misfortunes had accumulated into a karma that blessed him with this wonderful girl about to become his wife, then he hoped that whatever good fortune he had remaining kept them together forever.

Much later, Joey and Cecille stood outside the Sanctuary of the Twelve, awaiting their turn to enter the sanctuary proper. As they were Lalafell no longer but a Viera and Miqo’te respectively, changed once again by Hydaelyn’s magic, the couple thought to renew their vows as their newfound selves. Joey turned his head to see Cecille beaming at him. Seeing her radiant smile on her equally radiant face made Joey’s heart flutter all over again.

Just like the time they stood together at the altar.

And just like before, Joey felt butterflies churn in his stomach. That said euphoric high shone a proverbial light upon Cecille. Combined with the moonlight softly highlighting Cecille’s delicately beautiful features, it was as though Menphina herself gestured a hand to show Joey the sum of all his good fortune. And although Joey did find himself smiling, he felt that same unexplained sensation from before well in his chest. A lone tear trickled down the side of his face and wiped away quickly. More tears fell and Cecille’s smile quickly melted into wide-eyed concern.

“Joey, you okay? What’s wrong?” chimed Cecille’s melodious voice.

“N-nothing.” Joey wiped away more tears with the back of his arm. “I’m just… so happy.”

He had no idea what else to say. Eloquence had never been Joey’s forte.

Cecille held Joey’s hand, looked into his eyes and smiled. “Me too. I love you, Joey.”

With those words, Joey now understood the label on his feelings—the reason why he cried so suddenly.

Happiness. Nothing ever made him feel the way that Cecille made him feel back then and now.

He returned the smile. “I love you too, Cecille.”

[without-school-or-style]

19 - Taken

Word Count: 998

Today’s Card: The Thief, reversed (seizing the moment, selfishness—hinder)

((Cecille the Brave belongs to the super special @abeat. Thank you for RPing Cecille here! I don’t know if anyone here knows Joey from other places, but Cecille and Sana (Cecille’s name in other places) are the same person. And also, Joey and Cecille are indeed happily married in Eorzea. Anyway, here is today’s prompt.))

The Moonfire Faire brought even more manner of population to the beaches of Costa del Sol. On one particularly hot day, travellers from all over Eorzea gathered to participate in various beach activities like sand castle building, participate in the Eorzean Ninja obstacle course, or swimming and splashing water on friends and loved ones alike.

Cecille the Brave, on the other hand, preferred the comfort of the shade under her giant blue and white parasol. She had dressed appropriately that day in a matching blue and white striped bikini which showed off her toned, curvaceous figure. A smile graced her beautiful face as she gently brushed some locks of wavy blonde hair away from her face, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the breeze until the voices of some guys forced her to look.

One Hyur and two Miqo’tes—none of which Cecille had met before.

“Hey, girl, is the weather supposed to be this hot today, or is it just 'cause you're here?” asked the red-haired miqo’te.

Cecille stretched her arms above her head and yawned. “I think it's just hot out.”

“A lovely lady like yourself shouldn't be by her lonesome.” The blue-haired Miqo’te’s eyes roamed up and down Cecille’s well-toned body. “We're more than happy to keep you company.”

“I don't need more company though.” Cecille pouted.

The Hyur frowned. “‘More’ company?”

“Mm-hmm! Besides, hanging out with you three would be a serious downgrade.” Cecille beamed.

The blue-haired Miqo’te stepped back in shock. “D-downgrade?! B-b-but people call me good-looking all the time!”

“I’m sure they do!” Cecille agreed. “But I still mean what I said!”

The red-haired Miqo’te folded his arms. “I'd certainly love to see the mug of whoever you're—”

“Hey, Cecille. Sorry about that. The vendor sold out of dango.” chimed in the voice of a fourth male—one familiar to Cecille this time.

Cecille turned around and her smile grew even wider as a blond Viera man approached from the other direction. He was clad in a white, short-sleeved hoot zipped in the front, and knee-length blue shorts that matched the blue of Cecille’s bikini. One look at his face and the three guys immediately felt like the downgrade Cecille claimed them to be. Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Cecille’s would-be suitors stared in stupor as the blond Viera sat close enough to Cecille to have their shoulders touching.

“Ee, Joey!” Cecille cheered and nudged up to the Viera man—Joey—even closer.

“Still, I know something even sweeter than dango,” said Joey.

Cecille rubbed her shoulder on Joey’s. “What's even sweeter?”

Without giving Cecille a chance to say anything else, Joey gently touched her cheek and kissed her passionately. Cecille’s eyes widened by Joey’s sudden action, but soon closed them as she returned the kiss, wrapping an arm around his broad shoulders. Her cheeks flushed a delicate shade of pink, and not just from the outdoor heat. Joey moved his hand around Cecille’s knee, searching for something, until his fingers brushed up against Cecille’s own other free hand. The two locked fingers naturally and as the two continued to kiss, Joey raised their locked hands to pointedly show their wedding rings to the trio. Cecille’s tail curled up into a half a heart shape in her happiness. For whatever reason, the three guys continued to stare at the two as though frozen from this guy’s audacity.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Joey acted first. Taking his sweet time to break away from Cecille, he gave her a lingering smile. Then he looked at the three guys still standing in place. “Who are these guys, wifey? Friends of yours?”

Cecille returned the smile back happily at Joey. “Hee—Oh, these three? They were just hitting on me before you got here, hubby.” She turned to the trio and gave them a big shit-eating grin.

“Hubby?!” the trio repeated in unison, letting the reality of the situation sink in.

“Is that so.” Joey rose to his full height and gave the trio a friendly smile. “A pleasure to meet you three. I'm sure we'll all get along just fine.”

In one smooth motion, Joey unzipped his hood and dropped it in the spot where he once sat. If the trio weren’t lamenting their choices in life before, they were now after taking one look at Joey’s muscular physique.

Very, very muscular.

“Oh shit—!” the blue-haired Miqo’te squeaked. “An adventurer…?!”

“Calm down!” the Hyur whispered to his friend. “Those muscles are probably just for show. You know, insecure dudes trying to get laid and all.

“Now,” said Joey, “you wouldn't happen to want to join us at home for a barbecue, would you? I have plenty of experience behind a bar and grill.”

The Viera man held out his right arm slightly and extended his fingers. In a brief instant, a trail of magical fire flashed from his fingers, rising over Joey’s head before vanishing as quickly as it had appeared.

The blue-haired Miqo’te took five steps back. “I don't know about you, dude, but that's real enough to me!!” And with that, he fled far in the opposite direction as fast as his legs could take him.

“I'm right behind you, man!”

The red-haired Miqo’te chased after his friend, shortly followed by the hyur. In mere sections, the three amigos became tiny specks in the distance, never to be seen by the blond couple ever again. So much for Operation: Babe Hunt.

Joey sat back down on his hood and petted Cecille’s silken hair. “You all right? They didn't try anything funny, did they?”

Cecille purred. “Hee, no. I just blew them off since I knew you were coming back, so I wasn't scared. Thank you for coming to my rescue."

Closing her eyes, Cecille snuggled up to her husband happily. Joey wrapped an arm around her and pulled his adorable wife close, kissing the top of her sweet head.

“All right. I won't let you out of my sight today. Promise.”

[without-school-or-style]

18 - Hackneyed

Word Count: 912

Today’s Card: The Guide (inheritance, correction)

Joey couldn’t believe what he was hearing when the party’s dark knight proposed to send the scholar back the way she came. Sure one well-timed swipe from a manchild scientist’s giant robot rendered the scholar unconscious, but nothing a Verraise couldn’t handle. The scholar had even apologised for her actions, showing remorse and a significant improvement over her earlier performance. But no. The dark knight insisted that the scholar be sent packing. While the party’s dragoon left, citing that he didn’t want to be part of this drama, Joey refused to leave the scholar. Kneeling by her, who had once again fallen to her knees when her legs gave out, Joey glowered at the dark knight.

“I don’t understand,” said Joey as he held the scholar by the shoulders. “She did nothing wrong. We had no casualties. Then why—”

The dark knight shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is that she’s weak.”

Joey’s eyes widened. Something inside of him snapped. His voice became oddly calm. “And what's wrong with being weak?”

“C'mon, don't ask stupid questions. It's what it is.” the dark knight said with a shrug.

“If my question is so stupid, you should be able to answer it.” Joey rose to his full height.

“Well, we don’t want trash to drag us down, do we?” the dark knight asked. “After all, only the strong survive, and if that alleged scholar couldn’t even keep herself up during battle, how can we be sure that she’s not on borrowed time now? Let that weakling rot in her own filth and let’s carry on with a real healer, shall we?”

The dark knight turned to leave, only to have a flash of fire surge by his face. Stopping for a brief few moments, the dark knight slowly turned around and patted the side of his head where his hair had caught on fire. His cheek flushed red from something other than first-degree burns. Pursing his lips together, he narrowed his eyes into the deepest glare he could muster. That miss was not a fluke or a lack of accuracy, but a warning.

Joey lowered his staff-sword. “Don’t you dare associate me with you. All of you…”

The red mage’s mind told him to stop. He did enough. He said enough. He should just be nice. Be courteous. He had even promised Cecille that he would never speak this way again. That Joey would learn to accept people like this dark knight.

And yet…

“… all of you…”

… he couldn’t stop himself. His burning hatred deep within him reached its boiling point.

“… all of you strong people are the same!” Joey snapped.

The dark knight raised an eyebrow. “Say what…?”

The scholar looked up at Joey. Selene looked up as well.

“Not only the strong survive. Us weak people have a right to live as well! You people are all the same, looking down on us!”

The brief moment Joey closed his eyes, he saw the mental image of those who had called him and his comrades weak. Those who deemed them unworthy to live if they couldn’t be corrected.

“And let’s say it’s true and all the weak people die out. Then who will you go after? The weakest of the strong, obviously,” said Joey. “Weak people will always exist whether you like it or not.”

The dark knight scoffed. “So what’re you gonna do about it? Yell at me some more? You’re not getting through this dungeon without me. You need me whether you… like it or not. Or what? You gonna kill me? Because I’m sure me and my dark mind could take you.”

Joey raised his staff-sword in front of his face. The two faced off in a stand-still. Either one of their blades could cut through the visible tension.

The Viera felt a gentle tug from the back of his coat. “If you don’t mind, sir, I’d just like to do my duty and continue investigating this place. I hate to ask, but can you help me?” asked the gentle voice of the scholar.

Joey lowered his weapon. The rapier slotted itself into its holster while the gem hovered by his head. Not once did he lower his eyes from the real threat in front of him. At once, his ire fizzled into more manageable reason. Had he fought the dark knight here and there, Joey would be no different than the people he hated.

“You heard her,” he said to the dark knight. “I’ll take the scholar through here by myself. We don’t need you.”

Just as the dark knight was about to ask how Joey, a red mage, intended to do so, Joey held a hand to his chest and whispered, “Paradigm shift change: Sentinel Mode.”

A rush of magical energy swirled around Joey. His sword and gemstone vanished into thin air. In its place were twin gunblades strapped to his back. His attire changed as well—instead of the bright red coat, he now wore a black attire fitting for a tank.

The dark knight shook his head and snorted. “Do what you want. I’m not going to be the one to clean up your corpses.”

Joey paused to say something, but ended up saying nothing. He said what he needed to say. He didn’t feel like listening to the dark knight regurgitate the same hackneyed phrases. Taking the scholar by the hand, Selene hovering cautiously in between them, Joey stood protectively in between the healer and the dark knight, and marched past him.

[without-school-or-style]

16 - Third-rate

Word Count: 484

Khloe frowned. “These stories… they don’t seem to flow as well as last week. What’s that word again? Disjointed?”

‘As disjointed as your sticker placement.’ Joey thought. No matter how many journals he filled out for Khloe, he never understood her exact method of determining where she placed those stickers. On the other hand, perhaps the small child had no real scientific method and she just placed stickers wherever she felt like putting them.

Closing the book, Khloe leaned forward and leaned her head on her hands, peering her large eyes upwards at the Viera man. “Handsome nii-chan normally tells Khloe good stories. Why aren't you telling Khloe good stories this week?”

‘She’s still calling me that.’ Joey thought. She started calling him ‘handsome nii-chan’ out of the blue one day, and the nickname stuck ever since. He didn’t bother to try correcting her, as the thought of her disappointed face made him not want to say anything.

The same disappointed face she gave him now.

Joey gave her a pained expression. “I’m sorry, Khloe. This week hasn’t been good for me. I’ve just been… feeling sad.”

He didn’t feel right to say that he had another spell of depression come over him, but he also didn’t feel like explaining what depression was to a small child. Unless she knew already. To which Joey’s partial telepathy alerted him to the fact that she didn’t. Despite himself, he sighed and raked a finger through his hair. Was he just making excuses? Sure he was just making excuses. Maybe he was just terrible at writing stories and had to stop dancing around admitting weakness. After all, he was a weak person at heart. No shame in confessing as such, right?

Khloe’s voice snapped Joey out of his mental fog. “Aw, don’t be sad! Here, try this: How about smile for Khloe? Khloe knows that a smile makes everything better! Here, see?”

Leaning slightly to the side, Khloe beamed from ear to ear, pointing at the edges of her mouth.

Joey chuckled softly. Even though he knew that depression didn’t clear itself in an instant, at the very least, he couldn’t help but feel a little happy at the Miqo’te girl’s efforts. He did his best to put on a smile for Khloe. He had no idea how he looked—he bet that he looked as genuine as a politician, but Khloe seemed to like his efforts as she applauded long and loud.

“Handsome nii-chan has a smile that lights up the room!” Khloe jumped with her hands high in the air. “Hopefully next week, he’ll have even more stories for Khloe!”

Joey’s smile softened into a gentle one. “I’ll try my best.”

Whether it was the smile, his putting more effort towards his stories, or Khloe dumping stickers into less random spaces, next week’s Khloe Bingo yielded a single line, as Khloe often did.

((This prompt was inspired by that while Joey has never gotten 3 lines, he gets 1-2 lines frequently. And just him, too, compared to all of the other alts. The nickname ‘handsome nii-chan’ came from another RP group where Joey was called this. Combined with Khloe frequently giving him lines, and @abeat and I often joke that Khloe has a crush on Joey and calls him that.

Speaking of Abeat, thank you for giving one of Khloe’s lines. I don’t know what I’d do without you.))

[without-school-or-style]

13 - Butte

Word Count: 330

((No card today since I had an idea for this prompt. This screenie is from the FC room of the lovely Lavender, both the room and Lavender belonging to the wonderful @abeat.))

The nicknames Lavender Helltear and Joey Madison gave each other—Chef and Sous-Chef respectively—didn’t come out of nowhere. Both specialized in Culinarian  endeavours; however, while Joey specialized in prepping ingredients and only deviated from a recipe once he understood the assignment, Lavender only ever took the briefest of glances at recipes before putting her own spin on them. Lavender’s culinary creativity knew no bounds—she was to recipes as what Joey was to magic combat.

What both Culinarian experts specialized in also differed. Whereas Joey specialized in savoury dishes, Lavender specialized in baking. As such, when Fortunes & Fancies became tasked with making a three tier wedding cake, Lavender was called in to aid the I-burn-chocolate-chip-cookies-by-following-the-recipe Joey. Joey followed each and every one of Lavender’s instructions to the letter, focusing on preparing ingredients for Lavender to expertly blend.

Once the three cakes came out of the oven and sufficiently cooled, Lavender went into her cupboard. “The next step is to stack the cakes. For that we—”

The sight lovely Lavender saw nearly made her drop her utensils.

Joey had already stacked the cakes. In fact, Lavender caught him gingerly turning the top cake around so the uneven layer underneath didn’t make the top layer too-too uneven. Although each cake looked like a masterclass in what not to do, as the diagonal cake levels balanced out like a tightrope walker with their pole too far out on one side.

“S-Sous-Chef, the cakes are supposed to be trimmed and levelled first,” Lavender said gently.

Joey yelped and jumped. “A-ah, sorry! I’m sorry, I don’t know what got into me. I mean, I was following your instructions to the letter so far.”

Lavender shook her head, though smiled. “It’s all right. I was just as eager when I made my first cake. Here, we’ll use this cake leveller to even out the top.”

Joey gingerly placed the cakes back on their respective plates. “Right. Otherwise, this would be more like a butte cake.”

[without-school-or-style]

12 - Quarry

Word Count: 573

((DT spoilers for a later zone name, but nothing related to MSQ or anything in said zone.))

By the time Joey came across the site of the screams, he saw a site that nearly froze him in place—the sight of fallen bodies, and a giant voidsent creature perched atop an ornate ritual circle. The voidsent creature, an Archaeodemon, swerved its head to look at Joey, a layer of drool seeping from the corner of its mouth. The viera forced himself to move before the demon reacted, pelting the voidsent with a barrage of elemental spells. However, Joey’s efforts went for naught, as his spells fizzled into nothing—no, it was as if the Archaeodemon’s very energies opened its mouth wide and swallowed the energies whole.

“Aether… Tasty… delicious aether…” The Archaeodemon took one step towards Joey. “More… more aether! I must have more!”

Despite that Joey knew he had to stay and fight, despite everything that he had been through, the sight and situation froze his body in place. His mind flashed through images of his past as though he saw the events play out in front of him—images of him and his child comrades running from those who hunted mages, he and his fellow mages taking one last stand, and subsequently Joey awakening to find himself among the fallen remnants of his friends and allies. His child voice cried out in his head.

It’s gonna… it’s gonna kill us… It’s… It’s gonna… I have to… I have to lead it away! Otherwise, it’ll kill… kill them…

The paralysis that seized Joey’s body released its hold. No sooner did the Archaeodemon take one more step forward than Joey bolted away in the opposite direction.

The archaeodemon gave chase.

Large clouds of dirt and dust kicked up from the trail Joey’s panicked speed left behind. The Archaeodemon, unfazed, kept pace with Joey in its pursuit. Local wildlife and creatures alike of Shaaloani looked to see the blurs of the pursuant and the pursued rushed past them. Local fauna leaned far over as though shoved over by a hurricane. The more Joey ran, the faster the Archaeodemon pursued. Joey felt his body starting its descent into exhaustion.

The voidsent’s gaining on me! It’s gonna… it’s gonna…

Although his body continued to run, his mind paused.

Gonna what?

He spent so much time running, he forgot one simple fact: that he was not the child from before—the child who had magic and only magic in his arsenel. He had more options. And more options meant more opportunities to turn things around.

Summoning another sword in his off hand, Joey whirled around to face the Archaeodemon and stabbed his swords into the ground to stop his movement. The swords dug two thin trails into the dirt to accompany the trails left by Joey’s feet. The voidsent, however, barrelled towards Joey at full force.

Only to get slammed by Joey’s shoulder.

The iron mountain lean.

The Archaeodemon sailed back several meters. Once done reeling from the impact of Joey’s attack, the voidsent flapped its wings and hovered in midair to remain upright. “So… the prey does have some bite to match its aether. Very well. I’m not letting such a quarry slip out of my grasp.”

Joey pulled his dual swords from the ground and held one sword over his shoulder, the off-hand sword in front of his torso. He stared down the voidsent face to face. “If I’m gonna go down, then I’ll go down fighting. I’m done being the prey.”

[without-school-or-style]

11 - Surrogate

Word Count: 1,000

((Spoilers for Endwalker MSQ, specifically that one scene in Ultima Thule. Once again, thank you to the wonderful @abeat for RPing her WoL, Lavender Helltear.))

Joey stumbled upon platform after platform as voices of those he knew in the past echoed in his ears. The more steps he took, the more his feet dragged. The more his pace slowed to a crawl. And the more the memories he saw before him reminded him not of a time of yore, but of his past failures.

His fellow mages were killed, all because he couldn’t save them.

He arrived to Eorzea just to see them die again.

The Scions succumbed to the wonders of Ultima Thule while Joey’s words fell on deaf ears and his actions may as well have been trying to catch a ghost in his bare hands.

Now Meteion and her sisters threatened to destroy the very universe itself… and it was all his fault.

What was the point of even trying anymore?

His feet grew too heavy to carry on. He tripped and fell to the ground on his side, but his body felt ho will to move. Tears dripped down his eyes as his mind raced through every single one of his numerous failures. Slowly, he shut his eyes, hoping that he would soon join the phantasms that accompanied him on his brief journey.

‘What's the point... what's the point in even trying anymore. I can't do anything right. It's like they said--I'll always be just a worthless weak person... I hate being weak...’

Dark energy began to form around Joey’s person. Dark clouds of pure miasma surrounding him like a dark blanket, threatening to change his every being. Or, if impossible, trapping him in a void of his own undoing for the rest of eternity—a fate he felt he readily deserved.

And then, just when he felt relief at the resignation that he would finally meet the end he felt so entitled to have, he felt himself being pulled upright with a loud grunt. Before his body sluggish with despair reacted, Joey felt a pair of warm arms wrapped tightly around him.

“That’s not true,” said a familiar voice assertively. Yet, the voice shook ever so slightly as though trying to steady itself.

The black energy surrounded Joey dissipated all at once. It was as though the words from that familiar voice snapped him out of his stupor. Joey’s eyes widened. He recognised that voice and that warmth anywhere.

“Chef... What are you doing here…?” Joey’s voice said in a hushed breath, his voice hoarse. Chef wasn’t her name, of course, but the nickname he had given to his travelling companion—the one known as Lavender Helltear. Finding the energy to move again, he slowly raised his hands to hold her’s.

Lavender hugged Joey as tight as she could. “Chasing down my wayward children.”

Joey knew by ‘wayward children,’ she meant the Leveilleur twins, Alphinaud and Alisaie. Or did she mean him?

“Sous Chef, you’re one of the kindest, bravest people I know,” said Lavender. “You’ve come so far, so it’s not true that you can’t do anything right, or you wouldn’t be here.”

“But I... I can't... I can't save anyone! The Scions... the mages... they all... and I-I couldn't do anything to save them.” Fresh tears streamed down the sides of Joey’s face. “I'm just useless! I mean, it's all my fault that Meteion became what she is now and things went to hell like this. Just let me be. At least one of us should go ahead.”

“No.”

That one simple word lingered in the air for a good few moments—long enough to sink into Joey’s doubts.

“The Scions wanted to make sure we found a way forward, or no one is ever going home ever again.” Lavender continued. “So you’re not useless, or why would they do that? We’ll go together or not at all. I’m not leaving you here.”

Joey shut his eyes. “You're… always like this, aren't you? You're always so caring and kind.”

“I wouldn’t be much of a chef if I left my Sous Chef behind,” said Lavender. “Who’s going to go on my crazy culinary adventures with me?”

“I mean, you’re such a Mom.”

The statement took Lavender by surprise—long enough for her to take a pause. “Eh heh….well, in that case, listen to your mother and get up.” Leading by example, Lavender rose to her own feet. “Come on, Sous Chef. It’ll take a miracle to get through to Meteion now, and if anyone can do that, it’s you.”

When Joey looked behind him, he saw Lavender extending her hand to him. One Viera to the other, Joey took Lavender’s hand, but rose to his feet on his own power. He wiped his tears with the back of his other arm. “You really are such a Mom, aren’t you? You know... I don't have a mother. But if I did, I'd want her to be just like you.”

A lone tear of Lavender’s own fell down the side of her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, smiling. Aww, Sous Chef, I’d love nothing more than to have a son like you.”

The two embraced for an eternity that didn’t feel like long enough. Joey found himself crying again, not due to his despair, but from the feeling of overwhelming warmth that comforted his weary inner child. A mother who wiped away his inner child’s tears and took said child by the hand to a place where he knew he would truly never be alone anymore.

Once they stood apart, Joey wiped his eyes again. “You're right. There's no use feeling sorry for myself if I haven't even tried anything yet. I'll figure out a way to save Meteion. And possibly the universe. I'm not sure how, but I'll think of something. It may be dangerous. You don't have to come if you don't want to.”

Lavender shoved her fists on her hips. “And let you go alone? Absolutely not!”

Joey found himself chuckling softly despite himself. “What was I thinking. All right. Let's save Meteion together.”

((Some more things to say:

Originally I had planned for this prompt to be longer and detail exactly what Joey saw while he walked up the steps of that one scene in Ultima Thule. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I only had a chance to summarize what happened. Maybe one day I’ll write out exactly what happened.

The things about mages dying happened both in his own world and in Eorzea. The latter is somewhat related to the THM quests.

My headcanon as to what happened between Joey and Meteion are a little different than in canon. One part is that Meteion joined her sisters, hence Joey mentioning so in the end.

Close in the Distance still makes me cry after all this time.))

[without-school-or-style]

10 - Stable

Word Count: 803

Today’s Card: The Catalyst, reversed (radical changes, taking control—hinder)

((A huge thanks to @abeat for RPing her character, Lavender Helltear, here!))

Out of all the things to come out of a magical catalyst, the last thing Joey expected was a black hole. Yet, he had no time to deny reality, as the orb grew larger and larger. Its ‘mouth’ already pulled dirt and grass in its mouth and didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon.

The obvious villain stretched his arms as far as they could extend, raising the palms of his hands to the sky. Leaning back, he cackled maniacally. “First Western Thanalan, then Ul’dah, then all of Eorzea shall be swallowed into the bottomless pit of the void I call… The Atmos’ Maw!”

Lavender took a graceful step forward. “Great! Then let’s start with your maw!”

Sweeping forward as though her hands donned two giant fans, Lavender spun around like a whirling dervish and hurled a barrage of aether-created feathers at the obvious villain. Without even a meagre attempt to dodge, the feathers smacked him in the face and the would-be conqueror of Eorzea collapsed to the ground. Judging by his stillness, his eyes that rolled to the back of his head, and the trail of drool that seeped from the corner of his mouth, he wasn’t going to get up anytime soon.

However, despite his unconscious state, the black hole remained. Steadily growing like a mouth opening wide, all manner of life and debris became sucked into its mouth like a vacuum. Even the catalyst used to create this monstrosity became inhaled and yet the black hole persisted. Soon, the Viera duo found themselves being sucked in. They raised their arms over their heads to shield their eyes from the debris and dug their heels in the ground, but the force of the black hole was too great. Trails dug into the dirt where their feet dragged.

“Sous-Chef, if he ever had any intellect, it was sucked into that black hole, but that thing looks real! What do we do?” Lavender cried.

“I’m thinking!” Joey clenched his teeth. But at that moment, his mind pictured only Lavender’s Hrothgar sister, Camellia, her magical expertise and book-knowledge know how. “If only Camellia were here, she’d—shit, shit, shit!”

“Well, she’s not here! You are, and you can handle this! There’s nothing Camellia can do magically that you can’t!”

Joey ran a hand over his face in an attempt to snap his focus to attention. Lavender was right; Camellia wasn’t here now. He was. And since he was here, he had to try his best or have him and Lavender get sucked into the Atmos’ Maw themselves.

At the very least, magic created this black hole. And as long as anything was created with magic, Joey could do something about it.

Looking directly into the eye of the black hole’s storm, Joey’s magic sense saw that like many other spells, this black hole had a focal point of origin where the magical energy centred, similar to a nucleus. Joey held out his right hand to reach out to said point with his own magic. He felt his very being pulled in.

Warm energy enveloped him like a comforting blanket, invigorating him. Joey kept his visual focus into the void, but he knew that Lavender sent her support through her dances just like usual. With her energy flowing in through him, he definitely could do this. He had to. The nucleus spun like a top in his eyes—he sensed that if he reversed the spell’s trajectory, the spell itself would reverse. He hoped.

Assimilating his own energy into the void, manipulating the spell was like a sculptor moulding clay. Clenching his teeth again, Joey channeled all his energy and the energy he was given to turn the magical tornado into the opposite direction. He felt the energies resist him. He had to keep trying. Slowly but surely, the spinning centre slowed down, and the black hole’s vacuum slowed down as well.

It was working.

Soon, the centre of the spell stopped briefly, then spun in the other direction. Just like he had sensed, the spell reversed itself, spitting out all manner of matter it had inhaled, including the catalyst. As the black hole released its prisoners, slowly it shrank until the void vanished with a pop. All negative lingering energies vanished without a trace. The stone used as a catalyst disintegrated and trickled into the air as harmless sparks of aether.

Battle fervour over, Joey’s legs gave out and he slumped to the ground. He panted heavily, his magic and energy completely spent. “Is it gone?”

Lavender wrapped her arms around Joey and pulled her companion to her heaving bosom. “You did it, Sous-Chef! You did it!”

Joey allowed his head to rest on Lavender. With the last of his energy at the moment, he spoke, “No, Chef… We did it.”

[without-school-or-style]

9 - Lend An Ear

Word Count: 1,088

Today’s Card: The Weaver, reversed

Just as Joey rematerialized by the miniature aetheryte in front of the Weaver’s Guild, his ears caught wind of a conversation.

“T-thank you for o-offering to teach a greenhorn like me, sir,” said the soft voice of a girl. “I-I can never s-seem to get this r-right, no matter how many times I try.”

A long, awkward pause. Joey had expected to hear at least a thank you, but silence. As he continued walking towards the Weaver’s Guild, the voices grew louder.

“I've done this countless times, yet I can still never master the basic technique,” said the girl. “My late mother taught me this since I was young and yet—”

“By the twelve, lass! I'm spending my precious time here helping you, and this is how you treat me? Like your therapist?” growled a deep voice from near the girl.

The area fell into stunned silence—both by the girl, and by Joey, who stopped dead in his tracks from the sheer shock of the gruff man’s callous words.

“Look, lass, I'm not in the mood for your trauma dumping!” the deep voice snapped. “There are countless other endeavours that need my attention. And now, thanks to you, I may have to file a full report on just how much you've been griefing me.”

“I-I'm sorry!” the girl stammered.

When Joey found himself able to move again, he saw a giant blur brush his way. Only thanks to his reflexes honed by countless years of martial arts training did he step aside enough to feel only the wind of the Roegadyn that stormed past him. The tell-tale sound and a brief flash of light later, Joey assumed safely that the Roegadyn had promptly warped away to who-knew-where.

The Viera’s foot brushed against a spindle of hempen yarn. He knelt down to see even more spindles; most likely the Roegadyn “mentor” had been tasked to help this new apprentice. As Joey gathered spindles, he looked up to see the face of the shy girl—a pink-haired Miqo’te.

“You all right?” Joey asked.

Like an emotionally wounded coeurl, the miqo’te yelped and jumped a few inches into the air from her crouched position. A pair of giant green eyes locked onto Joey as though gazing upon an imminent threat. “Y-you heard that, huh?”

“Just the tail end.” Joey took one of the spindles before she did and held it up to his face. “Hempen yarn, is it? You've spun the moko grass quite well. What was it you were planning to do?”

The Miqo’te opened her mouth to speak, then closed. She spoke again only after she shook her head. “N-no, don't worry about it, adventurer. I can handle myself just fine. Don't you worry… worry…” She laughed nervously as she scooped up more spindles over her own arm.

“I'm sorry that person was rude to you earlier,” said Joey.

The Miqo’te shook her head, her pigtails whipping from side to side. “No, i-it's my fault for… what did he call it? Trauma dumping… as he said. H-he was just there to teach me the basics. I-I shouldn't have imposed on him.”

“Does he even know what that term means?” Joey asked. The Miqo’te didn’t respond, so Joey continued. “You weren't trauma dumping. You were sharing your experiences. There's nothing wrong with wanting someone else to relate to you.”

Slowly, the Miqo’te raised her head to look at Joey. At least her eyes weren’t as wide as before. That was a good sign.

“If nothing else, I can help you spin some yarn, so to say.” said Joey. “I, too, am a member of the Weaver's Guild.”

Shifting his weight to allow his right hand to reach deep into his pocket, he procured his Soul of the Weaver to her in his outstretched palm. The Miqo’te’s eyes widened again and she held a hand to her mouth.

“Y-you’re a specialist?! Oh n-no, I can't possibly intrude—”

“I'm not doing anything important at the moment. I'm more than happy to help out with whatever you wanted to do.”

“Ah, um… well, I was just learning to spin some thread to make some of these hempen-related tops in the recipe book…”

And with that, the Miqo’te pulled out a spindle some clumps of moko grass. She placed a large amount of clumps in the middle, most likely accepting Joey’s assistance in her own way.

Joey pulled out his own spindle and took a few bunches of moko grass himself. “You said you learned how to make hempen yarn from your mother.”

“Don't worry about it, adventurer. I've said enough already.”

“Not to me—I mean, everyone’s different, right? Maybe that other person doesn’t care to hear anything but the sound of his own voice, but I’m always willing to lend a… long ear.” Joey gestured to his ears.

The Miqo’te giggled softly. Another good sign.

“Besides, I like to hear people’s stories.”

Joey paused. He still sensed some hesitation from the Miqo’te, if the soft voice he heard in his head was any indication.

He seems nice, but I don’t want to trouble him.

He still sensed that lingering sadness. Understandable. Words cut like a knife and wounds lingered for eternity if left untouched. Not wanting to leave her sadness lingering forever, Joey decided to be the one to break the ice.

“For what it's worth, I don't have a mother myself,” said Joey.

“I'm sorry…”

“No, don't be. I can’t miss what I never had. I do have a mother in a sense—a close friend of mine who looks after me.” He picked up one of the spindles most likely made by the Miqo’te, as she kept a select few close to her. “But I can imagine that your mother would be proud of you to have made work this exceptional.”

The Miqo’te smiled a soft, genuine smile that pushed her cheeks up into her eyes ever so gently. “You think so?”

“I know so. I know quality work when I see it.”

That soft smile turned into a wide beam from ear to ear.

“What kind of person was your mother?” Joey asked. “She must have been an amazing person.”

The Miqo’te nodded and returned to her spinning. “She was. She was the most loving and supportive mother a girl could ask for. She knew everything there was to do about needle point. We raised karakul back at our home.”

Her story continued well past the time they completed her tasks. And Joey hung on to every word.

[without-school-or-style]

7 - Morsel

Word Count: 709

((No card today. By the time I remembered to draw one, I already had an idea. Some small Dawntrail spoilers for the first dungeon. Lavender Helltear belongs to my wonderful girlfriend, @abeat.))

Thanks to at least two setbacks, the trek through Ihuykatumu took longer than Joey anticipated—first by Bakool Ja Ja, then Thancred. And as the party continued their trek through the dungeon, the dark knight suddenly vanished into thin air.

“He shall be back in a moment’s time,” said the party’s astrologian.

A few seconds of silence later, Joey heard his stomach grumble. “We could clear some of the pathway while waiting for him to come back—”

The astrologian said nothing in response. Instead, she perched upon a rock with a ray of sunshine now beaming down on her. Placing her small satchel by her feet, she procured a spot of tea and some coffee biscuits to be nibbled by her lonesome. Her gaze stared everywhere but at the rest of the party—only the path ahead and the stars that guided her instincts. At least, so Joey and his rapidly increasing hunger believed.

‘Not a bad idea, though.’ Joey thought and took a seat himself.

The blond viera rummaged in his bag for something to snack on. He usually carried at least a quarter of a satchel full of consumable goods—purple carrot juice, sykon bavarois, some cinnamon-spiced chai, or even loaves of knight’s bread. At this point, who knew how long the dark knight would take to show himself again? Some lentil curry sounded filling right about now.

Except when Joey rummaged through the bag, all he found were some materia, pieces of random ores, and a variety of stock potions to cure ailments… every ailment except hunger.

‘Of course. I was cleaning out my bags before the call to duty happened.’ Joey thought. ‘Stupid me. Leave it to me to go unprepared. I should’ve just thrown everything back in the bag, but no. Oh well. Nothing else I can do except wait things out.’

He hugged his legs in a fetal position. When was the last time he ate? Or did fighting physically with little to no magic take that much toll on one’s physical well being? How did people like Teremy manage? Obviously with food, which he didn’t have. Joey’s curiosity to try fighting with only his dual swords and a handful of his magic became a fool’s endeavour at this rate. The rest of the body had caught up to his mental state and he started feeling light-headed, as he did when hunger struck. His body trembled slightly as though searching for nutrients it didn’t have. He selfishly thought to ask the astrologian to share some of her blessings, but she seemed off in her own little world, and Joey felt too guilty to ask.

“Here, Sous-Chef. It’s not much but take some of this,” said the voice of Lavender Helltear, the party’s dancer and Joey’s long-time travel companion.

Joey looked up to see the gorgeous viera woman holding out a hard-boiled egg and a slice of a knight’s bread loaf all wrapped underneath with a napkin. “Are you sure, Chef…?” he asked, using his nickname for her.

“Yes, I’m sure. I brought plenty of snacks to eat,” said Lavender. Leave it to the Mom of the group to come prepared like this. She was always like that. “I know you—you’ll be all I don’t want to burden anyone, but you’re really hungry. Besides, you look like you’re getting faint. So eat up.”

Joey chuckled as weakly as he felt. “Sorry, you’ve been hanging around me that long.”

“Well, I notice these things too, you know,” said Lavender. “And the point is, you need to eat. Who knows what other dangers lie out there, and hunger will just make you prey instead of the predator.”

Joey was too hungry to argue. “Thank you, Chef,” he said and gratefully took the food in both hands.

He slowly nibbled through the food. In minutes, Joey felt energy returning to his body. He felt like he could stand up and fight again. He smiled again at Lavender, this time a little more brightly.

“I owe you one.”

Lavender put her hands on her hips. “Nonsense. This is what friends are for, aren’t they?”

Joey nodded slightly. With a wonderful Mom friend like Lavender, he felt lucky to be alive.