ffxiv-f13ndish

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

A Late Evening Interlude

Kaiyo and Tio have a quiet moment of reflection. Both have been doing their best to keep their spirits high in the face of the others, but you can't keep running from your thoughts forever.

“Ah, here you are, Bubbles. Blomma said I might find you up here, dinner’s-” 

Tio stopped as he drew up beside Kaiyo, who had taken to sitting on the roof and staring at the night sky, provided that Miyu and Tofu were elsewhere. She smiled up at him, but not before he had noticed the far away look in her eyes. And even her smile felt distant. Letting out a sigh through his nose, Tio crouched beside her. 

“What’s on your mind?” he asked softly. Mahi met his gaze evenly.

“You’ve called me that since Tofu came to pick me up the last time, but do you remember why…?” she murmured. The expression on his face told her all she needed to know, and she gave a bittersweet giggle. “Don’t worry about it, love.” 

Mahiru looked back out into the distance, her eyes darting from star to star. There weren’t as many out yet, as the sun had just set, but the desert sky was perfect in the dead of night when the inky abyss was full of them. She held out one hand, fingers splayed, her eyes once more far away as she hummed to herself.

“Do you…ever wish you could surround yourself with them? The stars, I mean,” she said, a longing smile on her face. Tio looked over at her before turning his gaze out towards the stars himself. 

“I…don’t know if that’s something I’ve ever wished for. I don’t know what I want,” he answered after a moment of deliberation. 

“Does it bother you?” she asked, looking over at him. He was quiet for a moment, a blank look on his face that held a quiet edge of sadness about it; it wasn’t an expression she was used to seeing on his face. 

“I…I don’t know. Part of me wants to remember, but part of me wonders if it’s better that I’ve forgotten,” he finally replied. He didn’t see the hurt that crossed her features as he kept his eyes trained on the stars.

“Why might it be better that you’ve forgotten?” Her voice was soft, as if to hide the hurt. 

“I wonder…what kind of person I was. What if I was a bad person before? I know that…not remembering wouldn’t absolve me of my wrong-doings, but at least, if I can’t remember any sins, perhaps I can still be a good role model for Hana,” he said. Kai drew her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them and wrapping her arms around her legs. 

“Love, I don’t think you could have been much different now than you were before. If you ask me, I’d say you’re almost the exact same as you were back then,” she mumbled, reaching over and taking his hand in hers. He looked down at her in surprise, but she kept her face tilted just enough that her bangs obscured her face from his view. He tightened his hand around hers; it seemed they were both in need of comfort, and this was all he could think to do. 

“You think so?” he asked. 

“Of course I do.”

A long silence elapsed.

“One day, I’d like to sail the skies with you and Momma. At least once,” Kaiyo finally whispered.

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Pixies and Pranks: A Super Serious Conversation

A super cute drabble colab between me and @ro-valerius !

Context: Doremi is actually a pixie, and has a new found love of messing with Tofu.

Tofu belongs to Ro-Valerius

---

Doremi skipped as she strolled the neighborhood. She found she quite liked skipping, it was almost like flying but on the ground. She wasn’t sure where she was going, maybe to visit Punk, or perhaps it would be fun to go fight a creature outside the Goblet. The possibilities only grew as she hummed to herself.

She paused when she noticed Tofu sitting out front of Melodia. He seemed to be absorbed in his own thoughts and hadn’t quite noticed her yet. An impish grin appeared on her face as she thought, that might be a good chance to catch him off guard. 

Tofu had a lot on his mind, and a lot to sort through. He had noticed the lalafell skipping, but had forgotten that Doremi is the form Daen Lad takes to walk among mortals and thought nothing of them; it would be no new thing for someone to come to Melodia on a day the venue opened, and that day was one such day. 

Doremi skipped down to the wall where the path dipped down. Her small stature ment she was out of sight. She snapped herself out of existence and reappeared in Tofu’s lap with a lighthearted, mischievous, “Boo!”

He had half a mind to pretend to be surprised for her sake, but instead, he patted her gently on the head. He didn’t really look at her, instead struggling to reel in his thoughts. Should he have questioned the sudden lap occupant? Probably, but he was surprisingly used to it by that point. And, now that she was closer, he noted who she was, and though it surprised him that she wasn’t being outright hostile to him like she used to, it didn’t show in his demeanor. 

“I’ll get you one day…” She squinted at the viera. 

“Good luck,” he said dryly.

“Sooooo~ You sure seem more… Spacey than normal, which is saying a lot!” she teased. She looked up and poked his face, fishing for a reaction. He pushed her hand away from his face absently.

“I’m not spacey. I am well aware of what is going on around me, just…have a lot to think about,” he grumbled. 

“You always look like you’re not here. It’s what makes you look spacey! Buuuut~ what’s so pressing in that oh so busy brain of yours hm?” She apparates a little bag of popcorn - This snack was much more delightful being able to eat it by the handful.

“Pressing? Pirates. But that I can deal with. Fighting is easy, knowing how to act in social situations, however, is hard. And there’s a lot of…emotional clutter going on in there, too.” He groaned and buried his face in his hand. “I should just…not think about it until later.”

“Mmmmh I think you should think about it! Clearly you want to, deep, deep, deeeeeeep down. but you’re running away. Why is that?” She bounced a popcorn off his nose.

“No thanks, not going into this, not with you of all people,” he very firmly said, finally looking down at her with a mildly horrified expression. He did not want to go into relationship talk with Daen Lad of all people. He didn’t even understand what was going on, what would he even begin to tell them?

“Oh ho~ what’s ‘this’ then?” they asked with delight. “Come oooonnn you can tell me. Did something happen? You mentioned emotions… Oh! Did something happen with the Dear One~?”

A blush lit up Tofu’s face and he looked away. “I-I already don’t understand anything that is happening, I especially do not need you making it worse.” 

“I won’t make it worse!” Doremi feigned offense, putting a hand to her chest. 

She deadpanned and ate some popcorn. “You do that yourself by forcing yourself to ignore it.”

He returned the deadpan look with one of his own. “You are a pixie, your whole thing is muddling the mind. And I’m not…ignoring it, just putting it aside for now.” 

“Why bother muddling your mind? You’re doing a fine job yourself,” she scoffed, flicking  another popcorn at his forehead. “‘Putting it aside.’ is just the same as ignoring it. Letting it fester will rot the mind faster than anything I could do to you.”

“The way I see it, I am an impartial third party, who caaaan keep a secret until it’s no longer a secret.” Doremi inspected a piece of popcorn nonchalantly.

“Fourth,” he said flatly. Upon their confused expression, he elaborated. “There are three parties involved, you would be a fourth- Nevermind. Why are you suddenly so interested in what I am thinking or feeling?” 

“Why indeed~?” She grinned slyly and popped the popcorn in her mouth. “So~ Fourth… I see things are developing quickly. Two rabbits and a cat~”

“You’re not getting anything out of me until you answer why. I don’t know your intentions, why would I trust you?” he asked, his voice flat.

Doremi sighed dramatically. 

“... You just got them,” she said, not elaborating. She looked up at Tofu; he had a painfully confused look on his face which made her sigh again. “Emotions. You just got them! I’m interested ‘cause you have something to be interested in! You were so… boring before. But now you care and that switch, that change! It’s terribly interesting.”

His eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t that I didn’t care before…” he grumbled. 

“But you were shut off! You might as well have had nothing behind those eyes. But now… I can see behind them. I see that spark and I want it to grow! Don’t shut down again, I would hate to see that.” She looked him in the eye. She was serious, for just a moment - a fleeting moment as she flicked another popcorn, aiming at his ear.

“It would be less complicated to shut down again, but…I don’t want to hurt them by doing so, and I promised I would figure things out. Just. Eventually, you know?” he murmured. He buried his face again, this time in both hands. “It’s just…a lot right now.”

“I know. I know. You’re still used to the floodgates being closed. It’s a lot to take in.” She patted Tofu’s cheek.

“Listen. I need to be clear headed when we go to deal with the pirate situation. I can’t be getting into this right now-”

“Oh and going into the pirate situation with it all on your mind is suuuuch a good idea! It won’t be distracting at aaaaaalllll~”

“Have you forgotten how I get in the face of battle? There won’t be anything else. That’s why…fighting is easier.”

“Ahh but your Dear Ones will be going into this battle with you. Are you sure that you can keep the gates closed with them in the thick of it, with you?” Doremi asked and then ate another handful of popcorn.

“Whether I acknowledge these emotions or not won’t change how I will be. They were already important before, love has not changed my willingness to put myself between them and danger. Because it’s better if it’s me, regardless,” he said, a hard to read expression on his face. 

A wild grin spread across their face. They stood in his lap and took his face in their hands.

“Oh my dear rabbit. Love makes all the difference. Love will influence what they do as well, keep this in mind. They don’t want you getting hurt anymore than you want them getting hurt!”

“I- Talking about it won’t change anything. I-I’ll just have to be extra vigilant.”

“Talking about it would untangle it! Which would, in fact, change things! It will be a weight off your chest and it will clear your damn head.” She squished his cheeks.

Tofu’s face went flat and he lifted Doremi up, setting her on the deck next to him and standing up. “Not getting into this with you.,” he said stubbornly, making his way to the door; Melodia would be opening soon.

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Slumber Party Talk

Collab. drabble with @ro-valerius and @sorrel-haven ! [credit to @sorrel-haven for gpose shot]

Characters:

Tofu (ro-valerius)

Kore (sorrel-haven)

Miyu

Kore and Miyu decide to share about their previous conversation... and then some.

 The walk back home was quiet. And while Miyu often found the silence to be comforting, the lack of conversation between them and Tofu felt somewhat… unnerving. The distance was especially troubling after Tofu’s very clear uncertainty following their prior conversation at the cafe. 

Miyu had considered keeping quiet, and not pressing to make matters worse. And they had been so good at keeping their nose out of it until they stopped Tofu from opening the front door, hand clasping over his just a second before he had grabbed the handle. 

“Tofu, talk to me. Did I say something wrong?” Miyu abruptly blurted. 

Tofu started, looking over at Miyu with surprise. “O-oh, uh. No, you didn’t do anything wrong. S-sorry. We can head in…?”

Miyu lifted his hand, walking under the arch of their arms as they moved to stand in between Tofu and the door. 

“But I did something. You mumbled something after I spoke to you… and then you got all far away again.” They stared up at him with a pleading expression. “Please… talk to me.”

Tofu sighed lightly. “It’s…nothing. I let myself get talked into believing in a situation that it doesn’t seem is actually likely, that’s all. Like I said before, I should have known better. It’s fine,” he said, though he didn’t quite want to admit what he meant; he wasn’t even sure why it made him act the way he was. 

Miyu gave a long stare. Alright. They were going to have to do this the hard way. They took in a deep breath, then pursed their lips tight as they held their breath. 

“What…what are you doing?” he asked with a tilt of the head.

Miyu pointed at their mouth, giving a little shake of their head. They then pointed at Tofu’s mouth, as if to attempt to wordlessly indicate they won't be breathing until he talks. Unfortunately, they probably should’ve said that before they began to stubbornly hold their breath. Either way, they were being ridiculous. 

“What do you want me to say? You are going to have to elaborate a little, here.” His tone was level, probably more neutral than most people would be in the situation.

This wasn’t going to work. Also, Miyu was getting lightheaded. They relented with a loud huff. 

“You see–” they began, pausing to take in another deep breath. “The idea was to hold my breath until you talked about what it is you tricked yourself into believing. But… I… uh… should have been more specific, I guess.”

Miyu crossed their arms over their chest, their expression soft, but a lingering concern in their gaze. 

“What is it you don’t believe, dear?”

Tofu looked away from their gaze, feeling a bit sheepish in the face of what he was about to say. “I-it’s stupid… that I let myself get talked into… believing that I was worth…” The last of the statement came as barely a whisper. “-being loved.”

Miyu gave an incredulous raise of their brow. 

“Tofu. What do you think you mean to me?” 

“I-I…don’t know.” He still refused to meet their eyes. 

Miyu gave a bittersweet smile. They felt some degree of guilt for not being as clear about their feelings, as well as heartbroken by Tofu’s perception of himself. They reached out, taking both of his hands. 

“I don’t just give people my rings, or a bouquet of flowers. And I don’t often wait for people to return my affections,” Miyu began, a faint sigh sounding from their nose. “You are worthy of being loved. I know this because I’m in love with you.”

Tofu’s brow furrowed in confusion. He wasn’t sure what to think, even if they said it outright like that. Not because he doubted their words, but he didn’t understand why, nor could he make sense of their actions that night. 

“But…you seemed…and Kore…” He could not articulate himself at all.

This was going to be settled tonight. Forget the initial plan to wait until they kick some pirate ass. Miyu said nothing, promptly dragging Tofu inside and marching straight to Kore’s room. 

Miyu gave a few knocks to the door. The moment they heard Kore coming to answer, they let themselves inside with Tofu.

“Kore. Let's tell him.”

“Wait what? I thought we-” She looked between the two trying to get a read on the situation.

“I told him I’m in love with him. And he seemed confused about our behavior together. I just… I want to clear it up now. Everything.” 

Kore looked at Tofu as he looked between the two. She could read the confusion written on his face. Miyu was right, it wasn’t fair to leave him in the dark any longer. She gently took Tofu and Miyu’s hands and led them over to the window seat. She sat down and guided Tofu to sit between her and Miyu.

“Tofu… we have… made a few discoveries recently. Miyu and I are aware of how we both feel about you. And…” She looked at Miyu.

“This is us trying to court you. Both of us,” Miyu blurted, quite frankly. “So… believe it. Can’t say you’re not worth being loved when you’ve got two people in love with you.” 

Tofu stared in surprised silence at both of them. Panic bubbled in his chest. He leaned forward on the window seat and buried his face in both hands as it came to a head. His breathing quickened as everything swirled in his head. Kore took Tofu’s hands, and guided him to face her. 

She squeezed his hands to ground him as she looked him in the eye. She took in a deep breath, held it and then let it out slowly. She settled into a rhythmic pattern, hoping he took the cue to copy her. He met her eyes and allowed her to guide his breathing. After a moment, he felt himself calm, giving her a sheepish smile in thanks.

“S-sorry…I am not…good at processing these things, thank you for helping me calm down...” he murmured gently.

Kore smiled, “It helps me too… I get… lost in my own head a lot of the time.”

Miyu kept quiet, waiting as Kore helped calm Tofu down. Once his breathing steadied, they gently rubbed his shoulder in reassurance. 

“I know it's a lot. And if it's too much… I understand. You don’t have to give an answer now, but we just… had to clarify all of this now.”

Miyu lowered their gaze, leaning in to hide their face away behind Tofu’s shoulder. 

“Sorry.” 

“It’s…fine. I…” He couldn’t put his thoughts into words, but he was somehow relieved. He reached over his shoulder to pat Miyu’s head gently, then moved to brush a knuckle against Kore’s cheek. He felt drained, but tried not to show it. “I’ll…have to think on this, I think. I don’t think anything constructive is going on inside of my own head right this moment.” 

“We don’t want to rush you. In fact, there is no rush. No pressure…” Kore trailed off.

Miyu gave a sigh of relief. 

“You’re worth waiting for,” they mumbled, lips brushing against his shoulder. 

Miyu cleared their throat. “Hey… how’s bedtime sound? I think my head is going to explode after holding my breath for so long.” 

“That was your own fault-”

“Wait what?”

#ffxiv ocs #ffxiv viera #ffxiv miqo #ffxiv rp

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: Just the Two Three of Us

Collab. drabble with @sorrel-haven ^^ g-pose credit to them as well

Characters:

Kore (sorrel-haven)

Kaiyo [mentioned] (@ro-valerius)

Tofu [mentioned] (ro-valerius)

Punk [mentioned] (cosplay addict on FFXIV)

Miyu

A proposition is made. A new arc is set sail.

Miyu continued to hover by Kore after they had arrived back home, a suggestion from tonight’s conversation still lingering on their mind. They both had gone up to Kore’s room to chat, since it was once again not a hallway conversation.

“Hey… Kore, darling. Do you… remember what Kaiyo said tonight?” Miyu vaguely inquired, crossing their arms across their chest as they leaned back against a wall and faced her. “Would you only stick by traditional means?”

Kore tilted her head. “I don’t think any of how I’m living right now is ‘traditional’ but…” she sighed, “I never had to put much thought into it.”

Miyu gave a tiny smile of understanding. “My father would be rolling in his grave right now if he knew the life I was living – and I don’t regret it one bit. You have every right to live however you wish, Kore.” 

She climbed up the steps to her window seat and sat with one leg tucked under the other. She idly fiddled with the pages of the book next to her that she must have left opened as she thought. She was raised with the idea that she would choose one man to be with for the rest of her life, but never get to see him day to day. The idea of getting to see the one she loves everyday was foreign to her in itself. 

“I don’t think I would be opposed to the idea…”

Their eyes followed Kore, lingering on her as they tried to read her expression. They pushed themself off the wall, then crouched on the steps beside her. Miyu crossed their arms at the edge of the cushion, resting their chin on their arms as they gazed up at her with a thoughtful expression. 

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it either, if the circumstances do allow it. I know you’d like to have him.” Miyu’s smile flickered, their lips pressed together as they thought. 

“Would you be willing to have me?”

Kore’s heart fluttered at the question. A breath was caught in her lungs. She sat up straighter and blinked a few times, a look of shock on her face. A blush formed on her cheeks as she stared at the miqo’te.

“Miyu… what are you asking me?” she asked with a soft voice, unsure of the full weight of their question.

Miyu gave a concerned furrow of their brow as Kore sat up, which they mirrored with a straightened posture. 

“Ah… If I offended, I’m sorry. I just-”

“Y- you didn’t offend! I swear!” she put a hand on their shoulder in reassurance, “I just… are you asking for me to be with you… as well?” 

Miyu blinked. 

“Um. If it were three of us… that would… not be it?” Miyu responded, with great uncertainty. “And not okay?”

“I- I guess I just didn’t get that far into thinking about it.” She paused as she considered it.

Miyu’s expression was hard to read as they processed everything as well. Were they entirely sure what they were asking? They did make sure they didn’t drink too much of that monstrous beverage Punk had given them. The question they had asked did feel unusual to them – but by no means wrong. 

“Well, there’s plenty of time to think, yes?” They said after a long silence, a little smile budding at their features. 

Kore took her hand from Miyu’s shoulder to grab their hand. “I love you. And… I think I would be willing, if you are.”

They placed their other hand on top of Kore’s and moved to sit beside her. 

“I love you too. I do hope you know by now that I’m willing to do most things, huh? The absurdities I’ve gotten myself into…” they trail off in a chuckle. 

“I’m vaguely aware, yes.” she chuckled back.

She looked down at her hand in theirs and then she looked back up at their face. She leaned in and kissed them on the cheek, near the corner of their mouth.

“I’m glad it’s you.”

“Of course! I’m one of a kind,” Miyu said, bringing her hands to their lips. “As are you. So I think we’re pretty great.”

They gave her hand a gentle squeeze, then lowered their clasped hands back down to the cushion. 

“Now, we can figure everything else out once we are done with the boat trip, hm?”

Kore nodded. She scooched closer to Miyu and leaned her head on their shoulder. She closed her eyes and let out a light hearted sigh. Things were working out.

#ffxiv ocs #ffxiv viera #ffxiv miqo'te #ffxiv rp #ffxiv gpose #arc: calm before the storm #closing arc

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: Rooftop pt. 2 emotional boogaloo

Collab. write w/ @ro-valerius ! [credit for gpose and the title]

Characters:

Tofu (ro-valerius)

Daen Lad [mention] (ro-valerius)

Kore [mention] (@sorrel-haven)

Miyu [pebble brain]

Virgil, Magnus [mention]

Another moment on the roof.

Perhaps going up on the roof when it appeared dangerously close to raining wasn’t the wisest idea, but Miyu climbed their way up for a breath of air. They couldn’t see many stars through the thick array of clouds, but the glorious gleam of a full moon was unmistakable. Carefully, Miyu laid back on the roof, and they turned their eyes to the celestial body. Maybe the longer they stared into the white light, the more it could drown out everything else in their mind. 

Tofu briefly considered going to his other usual spot to think, but Miyu had mentioned the roof before, and that was starting to sound really appealing. He climbed the stairs beside the house and swung over the railing down to the edge of the roof easily, a motion he’d done many times before. He looked down from the top of the domed area on the sides and caught sight of a familiar Miqo, as promised. Softly, he made his way over, settling beside them and propping himself up with his elbows. 

The moon simply couldn’t hold Miyu’s stare. The moment they heard movement, they propped themself up on the balls of their hands and looked to the Viera that came to join them. The gloom that had stuck to their features the whole day vanished in that moment, a gleam of delight in their eyes and a little smile budding at rosy lips. 

“I’m glad you’re here,” they greeted Tofu in what they presumed was a casual manner, as they didn’t want to express just how surprised they really were that he had come to show up tonight. 

“You did say to come, did you not?” he said, and though he tried to have some warmth to his tone, there was a lot on his mind that kept his tone and expression neutral. He glanced over at them, reaching over and brushing a strand of hair out of their face.

“I did. But you also have a lot of responsibilities, and I’m sure… a lot on your mind.” Miyu averted their gaze, but found themself leaning into the hand that brushed their hair by a fraction. “You’ve been… far. And you can take your time, and I can wait from a distance. But I guess I’ve missed you.”

Miyu furrowed a brow as they stared out to the horizon. A chill went across their skin as they recalled recent events, and what was fast approaching. They brought their knees up close, curling up within themself. 

“So much on the mind,” they mumble, distantly. 

“Indeed, a lot on the mind… Sorry if I made you worry. I’m right here,” Tofu murmured softly. 

“You don’t need to apologize to me for that,” Miyu responded with a faint sigh, head giving a little shake. “I am… really happy to see you, though.” 

Tofu sat up straighter, leaning forward to rest an arm on his knee. “I got…somewhat of a gist of things from Kore and Virgil. Soon, yeah? I’m sure that’s…a lot to get ready for and not enough time. But… Well, we’re right here. No matter what happens, I’ll be right there, and you’ll be alright, I promise.” 

He reached out and put his hand on their far shoulder, pulling them to lean against him. Even if he couldn’t get his expression and tone to listen, his body could still be comforting, he hoped. He leaned his head against theirs. 

“I’ll be right there…” 

Miyu’s features tensed when Tofu brought up the looming matters at hand. They didn’t say anything about it for a long while, instead just leaning into the hold as they reflected. They turned their face towards the hand on their shoulder, lips pressed to his knuckles in a lingering peck of thanks. 

“I know. I trust you. Everything will be taken care of,” they say, turning their head back towards him. 

“And that… is something I fear I will be afraid of. Last night, I had… dreams. With him. And I regretted everything. I have every right to… to… turn the guy into ground beef, you know? But what if I regret this? Change my mind at the last moment?” Miyu lamented quietly. “A lot to get ready for. And I fear I’ve hardly processed anything. I’ve heard I’m not reliable, but this is…” they scoff. 

Tofu grew quiet as he listened to them. Admittedly, he had far fewer reservations about killing the man than Miyu seemed to, so he couldn’t relate, but he could attempt to assure them, at least. 

“...If you hesitate, I’ll be right there to remind you why we’re there.” He met their eyes evenly. 

“I know…you’re set on taking his head yourself, so I’ll do whatever it takes to remind you what this is all for. And only if that fails, will I step in for you. But…I promise I’ll give you the opportunity if you still want it,” he said, realizing once more that his choice of words might be less comforting and more concerning. 

Miyu went still when Tofu’s eyes met their own, and they held both their gaze and their breath as they listened to every word. A shaky sigh of relief escaped them, and they leaned their forehead against Tofu’s. 

“Thank you, my dear Tofu. I am fortunate to choose you.” Gently, they rested a hand on his cheek, thumb brushing against the slope of his cheekbone. “I do adore you.” 

He leaned gently into them as they leaned against him, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He had to focus on the business with the pirates, or he’d fall apart. But… For the time being, he wanted to savour the moment. Even if he didn’t have an answer yet, even if he didn’t understand anything yet…

Miyu’s eyes flickered over Tofu’s face, admiring the long lashes that twitched at the crescent of his closed eyes, just above the dashes of freckles along his cheeks. They were quiet for a long moment as they admired him. Their eyes lowered to his lips, and a thought came to mind. 

“I believe… we all need a little extra luck. No matter how certain something is… there’s no harm in some extra luck.” Miyu inched closer, but made no contact. “When the time comes, when you are ready, when you need... I have a good luck kiss ready just for you.” 

He could feel their breath ghost across his face as they inched closer, the scent of mint lingering. He remembered what happened with Kore and panic set in as he sat up straight again, looking away as a blush crept across his face. He really didn’t understand those two… Yet he didn’t stand up. He tried to will his panic to subside, but his breaths came out shallow. With effort, he drew in a few deep, shaky breaths, and though his breathing returned to normal, his heart still pounded in his chest.

“S-sorry,” he murmured. 

Miyu kept their body language relaxed to hide their concern. They drew their head back an inch, but didn’t move away entirely just yet. Rather, they kept a gentle smile on their face to try and reassure that everything will be okay. 

“You’re fine, dear — there’s nothing to apologize for. No rush, and no pressure. I’ll be here for you as long as you need,” they softly remarked, before they finally leaned their body back again. They brushed some hair from his face, then dropped their hand. 

“Oh! And I have something for you!” Miyu remarked, casually moving on as they turned to the basket they had brought up with them. 

They hadn’t been certain if Tofu would come up to join them tonight, but they had brought it just in case. Miyu presented to him a bouquet of dandelions and forget-me-nots, the bundle of flowers tied together by a pale lavender ribbon. 

He stared at the flowers for a while in surprise, then up at their smile. For a moment, he was quiet, but slowly, a smile crossed his features as a gentle laugh escaped his lips. There was something like relief in his eyes, though he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone why. He looked down, burying his face in both hands as he felt…was that the sting of tears? He hadn’t cried in years, but he was just…so relieved that he hadn’t hurt them by pulling away so abruptly.

“Thank you,” he murmured. 

Miyu’s lips parted in a quiet awe as they listened to the faint melody of his laugh, hanging onto each note like they did when they listened to him up on the stage. They watched him again for a long moment. With his face buried away in his hands, they couldn’t see any signs of tears to come.

“My pleasure,” they say, gently placing it on his lap. “I do apologize, however, for making it that you have to give Daen Lad another trip for some flora. If you’d like, I can bring it to them… though I think they are also starting to like you now, hm?” 

He lowered his hands to lift the flowers, revealing a gentle smile as the fingertips of one hand brushed softly over the blooms. He would have to have these preserved, for sure. His shoulders relaxed and he turned his smile towards Miyu. 

“I’ll treasure these.”

Perhaps something shifted, or the clouds had cleared. The stars regained their brilliance again that night.

#ffxiv oc #ffxiv miyu #ffxiv viera #ffxiv rp #arc: calm before the storm

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm before the storm: Also not a hallway conversation

Collab. drabble w/ @ro-valerius [also credit for gpose to ro-valerius!]

Characters:

Blomma (ro-valerius)

Kore [mention] (@sorrel-haven)

Lament [mention] (sorrel-haven)

Tofu [mention](ro-valerius)

Miyu

Miyu comes to confide in Blomma after Kore told them of her recent confession to Tofu.

And here Miyu thought their only source of agony was going to be Magnus. They were incredibly, undoubtedly wrong. Miyu had the first impulse to turn to Kore when they were feeling distressed, but after the way a prior exchange had gone – if they could even call it that, as Miyu had been dead silent the entire time when Kore had delivered the news of her confession – they were at a loss of what to do. 

Keep it all to themself, perhaps?

No, they felt like their head was going to blow open. They were going to talk to the first poor soul that walked past them. With a thousand yard stare, they reached out to the first person that walked by them in the hall, and their poor, unsuspecting victim happened to be Blomma. 

“Blomma. I think I’m going to lose my mind. Or maybe I just need to yell. Or cry. Can I talk to you?” 

Blomma gave them a gentle smile, taking their hand and leading them to their room with a soft "Don't suppose this is a hallway conversion, yeah?" as she did so. Once they arrived, she glanced around at the small additions to the room; she hadn't been in since they had started staying at the Flower House. She noted the painting -- Tofu's idea -- and the flower on the nightstand with a pleased grin. Her visual tour of the room took no more than a couple of seconds before she walked over to their bed, settling down and patting the mattress next to her for them to join her. 

"Alright, sweetheart, come talk to me," she said, her voice taking on a patient and gentle tone that she wasn't sure they'd heard out of her yet; she's usually teasing Tofu or Tio when they're around. 

Miyu trailed behind Blomma like a ghost, eyes distant and expression hard to read. They floated beside her a moment as she sat down, as if they were uncertain of what to do with themself. Reluctantly, they sat. 

“I… don’t know if you know this… about my… um… feelings for Tofu,” hesitantly, they began. There was another pause, Miyu holding their breath as they once more gathered their thoughts.

“There is someone else, someone who I care about greatly, and someone I know he cares about greatly. We had a talk about it the other night. It was fine. And then last night, they told me they confessed to him. I… prepared myself for this. I had said it would be fine, that I’ll be okay with any outcome. I mean – someone like me should be used to this kind of thing by now, you know? But I don’t feel okay with this. At least, not right now.” 

Miyu lowered their gaze, expression distressed – though with a reluctant acceptance. 

“It’s ridiculous to feel like you’re about to lose someone when you never had them in the first place. I know that. But I want to at least have a moment where I can be a little ridiculous, so I guess that’s why I’m rambling about this now.” 

Blomma drew up one knee and rested her elbow on it, letting her head cradle in her hand as she listened to them ramble; nothing she didn’t already know, honestly, though the outright confessions were newer. When they finished, she lowered her knee and leaned towards them, taking their face in her hands and bringing them to see the reassuring smile she was giving them. 

“Darling, what makes you think you’re going to lose him?” She figured it would be better not to admit that she had known all along, it would only embarrass them. She planted a soft kiss on their forehead and leaned back to await their answer.

Miyu released a sigh to try and ease the tension as Blomma leaned in to kiss their furrowed brow. 

“I know I’m special, at least I am to myself. This other person, though… she is also really special. When K… they… told me they kissed him, all I could think about was what if this… what if it changed his mind about me?” 

Miyu’s lowered gaze settled on the gifted ring on their finger, their thumb anxiously spinning it around the digit. Their thoughts roamed back to Lament, and how he had warned that they would miss something in all their waiting.

“He was right. I am going to stick Lament in a coffee grinder and have him served at the cafe,” they vaguely grumbled under their breath, not realizing how bizarre the statement was without context.

Blomma had to physically cover her mouth to hide a laugh, though it could clearly be heard, regardless. Her first thought was oh my, someone took initiative? before she remembered the morning conversation she had with Kore. Ah, they hadn’t wanted to out her, but Blomma already knew. She decided to have some mercy and play it off like she was laughing about the statement on Lament and not on the kissing.

“What did Lament do to earn your ire, darling?” she giggled. She cleared her throat, not actually expecting a response, and continued. 

“In any case, as far as Tofu, and whomever else might have feelings…” She paused. “I know him pretty well, I’d like to think. He…didn’t used to act so human, you know? He viewed himself as a weapon and nothing more. He doesn’t understand most human emotions, he’s never had to feel them before.”

“But…he started smiling more, laughing more, since meeting you. He’s never felt the need to be as honest, always hiding everything from us so as not to ‘burden’ us. You unlocked the humanity in him, the humanity he locked away for so long. If you have to question if that makes you ‘special’, I’ll have to bonk you upside the head myself!” she said with a smile.

“Blomma. What if I just fell over and died, like, right now?” Miyu quipped with a little pout when she began to laugh. Ever so faintly, a miniscule smile tugged at their lips.

Miyu went quiet. Their shoulders began to relax, though a lingering sadness persisted in their eyes. 

“I want to help him in any way I can… it’s good to see him blossom, however it happens,” they responded with a soft sigh. They sat up straighter, rolling their shoulders. “Point for Miyu.” 

Blomma gave them a patient smile before sighing dramatically and planting her fists against her hips with a shake of her head. She reached over and, true to her word, bonked Miyu lightly on the head. 

“I can’t presume what you must have been through to make you so keen to give up so quickly. What I can say, though, is that…it’s a bit soon, yeah? You’ve only known Tofu for, what, a handful of months? To give up so quickly, and just because of a little competition…” She held a closed hand to her mouth in thought. “Well, it just seems silly to me, I guess.” She once more gave them a gentle smile.

“Well, I can’t tell you how to live your life, but I would suggest a bit more rational thinking over emotional ‘I don’t matter as much as x person does’ kind of thinking, yeah?” She leaned over, placing another kiss on their forehead. “Because you do matter, darling.”

Miyu gave a sheepish smile, face warming in embarrassment. 

“Now, now, darling Blomma – I never said I was giving up! I just needed to be mad for a little bit,” Miyu insisted with a giggle, seeming up in spirits again. “Rational thinking seems kinda boring to me, but I get it.” 

They took a deep breath, a relaxed smile settling across their features.

“Thanks, Blomma.”

#arc: calm before the storm #ffxiv ocs #ffxiv miqo #ffxiv rp #ffxiv gpose

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: Treasure (?) Chest Under the Sea

Collab. write with @sorrel-haven [ also credit to sorrel-haven for gpose shot ^^]

Characters:

Kore Grimvik (sorrel-haven)

Lament Sorrel [mention] (sorrel-haven)

Daen Lad (@ro-valerius)

Miyu, Virgil, M'ezzo, Magnus

Kore and Miyu have to make an unfortunate rescue after Virgil finds himself in some sea snake trouble.

“I should have worn better shoes for this,” Miyu huffed after a second of catching their balance following an awkward landing with heeled boots in the sand. 

Their expression turned more serious as they lifted their gaze towards the open waters and crashing waves. 

“So it wasn’t just a dream, then,” Miyu said in a tense voice. They had a grave feeling that the only thing they would be rescuing today was a body. 

Kore looked at Daen Lad who brought them here and nodded. The pixie flitted out over the ocean a ways and looked around as if they were searching with their eyes. Kore watched the tiny figure anxiously, her fingers drummed  against her arm. 

“Ah-ha! Found you!” Daen Lad said as they pointed in the direction of Virgil casting a spell.

The moment a strange chest was brought to the shore, Miyu darted over to open it up. It took a bit of struggle to unwrap the chains from around the makeshift water coffin, but they managed to crack open the chest within the time they anxiously held their breath. 

Ocean water poured out from the chest, the inside filled with a less than appealing treasure. Virgil was bound up inside, on top of a few sandbags. Upon looking at him, Miyu wasn’t even sure if the Elezen was alive. His eyes were glassy and bloodshot, expression pallid and hollow. Unnervingly, there was a faint scent of decay under the salt of the ocean water — not that Miyu could pick up on that. But there was no mistaking in the way Virgil’s chest slowly rose and fell as he took deep breaths.

Daen Lad flitted back to the group. “I’m sure you two can take care of this from here. Buh-bye!” with that they disappeared in a flash.

Kore unhooked the astrolobe from her back and gently pulled Miyu from the edge of the chest. Wordlessly she began casting a series of healing spells. After which she handed the astrolobe to Miyu. Life returned to Virgil’s visage, but Miyu couldn’t examine his state long enough as they turned their gaze away while the man leaned over the edge of the chest and coughed up ocean water. At least, from the unsettling glimpse they got, the dark appearance indicated that it wasn’t just water. Kore took out a knife strapped to her thigh and sat Virgil up, working on his bonds gently.

“Seems you got yourself in some trouble hm?” she asked Virgil as she freed him.

“An unnecessary question,” he managed to rasp out between pained coughs. 

“Says the man of unnecessary words.” Kore quipped.

Fortunately for Kore, Virgil didn’t have many words to say. The man was still working on catching his breath again.

Miyu hesitantly stepped forward, tenderly placing a hand on Kore’s shoulder as they leaned down to speak to her in a hushed voice, “Should we keep questioning him here?”

“Let’s bring him to the Sorrels. They have a lot of healers and no one would look for him there. Bringing him to the Flower house would be too obvious, and well…” she cuts the last rope. “None of the Sorrels have an opinion on him yet.”

She put a guiding hand on Virgil’s chest and wrapped her arm around his waist, as she helped him out of the chest. 

“Yet. Let’s see how long that lasts. Maybe one of those ropes could stay around his mouth for the duration of his stay,” Miyu remarked, though they nevertheless went around to Virgil’s other side to help him get up. Once they got him standing, they almost stepped away, only to realize that the man continued to need the support. Miyu glanced down.

“Your… foot? It’s… um… gone?” 

Virgil only gave Miyu a dry look. Seemed it wasn’t a product of whatever happened to send him to the bottom of the sea. Miyu said nothing more about it, and Virgil remained silent for the duration of travel to the Sorrel house. 

----

Kore pushed open the front door of the Sorrel House without bothering to knock. Lament looked up from the book they were reading and began to smile at their sister but it immediately turned to a frown as they noticed the other two with her. Kore helped Virgil ease into a chair by the door.

“Hello dearest, I brought company.” Kore said, exhaustion creeping into her voice.

“I can see that. What happened?” Lament looked to each person, they didn’t care who offered up an explanation first.

“Lament,” Miyu greeted the Viera with a nod.

 “He’s a — um…” rather than explaining, Miyu trailed off and gave a shrug. While Kore helped get Virgil seated, they made their way to the kitchen to grab some water and a hand towel. 

Virgil stared across the room to Lament. 

“This will only be a moment,” Virgil said, with a clearing of his throat. He took the rag which Miyu brought to him to wipe the dried blood from his hands, then paused to take a sip of water before he could elaborate on what had occurred. 

“You must excuse my untimely delivery in our exchange. As you have surely gathered by now, I had been delayed by unforeseen circumstances. The Basilisks discovered our correspondence,” Virgil explained, eyes focused on Kore as he spoke. “There are 41 crew members in total. Initially 46, but five have since been disposed of. Two ships. Magnus and 22 members are aboard the ship with the coordinates I had given previously – what they call the Serpent. M’ezzo and 19 others are aboard the Python. It should be noted that they have gained an allyship with a handful of Sahagin men.”

Kore placed a hand on Virgil’s head, a silent thank you as she processed this new information. She turned to Lament.

“I need you to call your family. Tell Mina we need to get moving sooner than we anticipated. Perhaps Bea can take care of Virgil’s injuries I didn’t get to.” She turned to Miyu. “We need to gather ours, tell Ro she needs to watch the house while we’re taking care of this.”

Lament started calling people on his linkpearl without hesitation. 

Virgil lowered his gaze. Reluctantly, he then murmured, “Thank you.”

Miyu stared ahead with a bleak expression. This was all coming up much sooner than they had readied themself for. They gave a robotic nod of their head, stepping closer to Kore.

“If I may… I can assist. I just need my book,” Virgil spoke up suddenly.  

“You will do no such thing. We’re not going to throw you back into the fire we just rescued you from. We’ll talk about the book later, for now you will stay here and let the Sorrels tend to your wounds and keep you hidden.” Her tone was even, but firm. Kore was not going to relent.

Virgil narrowed his eyes. “I’ve grown accustomed to persevering through fires. This need to be a hero will do no favors for you – I know the methods of the crew quite well, and the layout of the ships.” He set a hand down on the chair, lifting himself up to stand. 

Kore pushed Virgil back into the chair. Virgil gritted his teeth at the shove, though his outright expression didn’t seem to change.

 “I don’t think you understand. There’s no ‘need to be a hero’ like you say. We don’t need that information. You are not in any condition to come with us. I am being very, very patient.” She paused and took in a grounding breath. “I thank you for wanting to help. The sentiment is not lost on me. But we need to bring people who everyone can trust, and I can’t say the others trust you.”

She put a hand on Virgil’s cheek. “Rest. Leave this to us.”

Virgil didn’t say anything for some time, cold gaze affixed to Kore with a hawk-like focus. Finally, after a near minute of a statuesque stillness, Virgil sat back in his seat and crossed one leg over the other. 

“And I suppose you trust me here?” His eyes slowly roamed over to Lament. “Residing in the same home as the one you insisted you wanted me to have no contact with, Miss Grimvik?”

“Why must you push your luck? Just take the help!” She crossed her arms.

Lament snickered. “Oh, darling. You will find Kore needlessly worries about me. I am more than capable of putting you in your place if it comes to that.”

Kore shot Lament a look, which just caused them to laugh harder.

Virgil’s brow twitched. “Just Virgil. No sense in the frivolity of… pet names when I am hardly even an acquaintance.” He went on to ignore Lament’s insistence that they could put him in his place. 

“I’ll be outside,” Miyu abruptly stated in a vacant tone, already heading to the door. 

Kore watched Miyu head outside with a small look of concern. She looked to Lament who gave a slight nod. Kore followed after Miyu, closing the door behind her. She caught up to them and put a hand on their shoulder.

Miyu was seated on the lawn, staring up at the stars above with a forlorn expression. Hearing Kore approach, they moved to stand. 

“What’s wrong?” She asked as she brushed Miyu’s cheek with her other hand.

They couldn’t meet her gaze. 

“What if I’m not ready? To face him? I don’t… I don’t know what I’m going to do with myself,” Miyu sighed, closing their eyes a moment. They leaned their head in towards Kore, resting it on her shoulder. “At least this will be over and done with soon enough.” 

Kore kissed the top of Miyu’s head and gently pulled them into a hug.

“Unfortunately we don’t have time to be ready. But we can’t wait any longer.”

#ffxiv ocs #ffxiv rp #ffxiv miyu #ffxiv viera #ffxiv miqo'te #ffxiv virgil #ffxiv gpose

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: Confessions

Kore took it upon herself to go and search for a solution to Tofu's condition. He did not like that decision. Kore belongs to @sorrel-haven, Miyu [mentioned] belongs to @ffxiv-f13ndish

The dinner with Miyu wasn’t nearly enough to distract him from his thoughts, but he couldn’t bring himself to voice them to Miyu. Not while they were supposed to be having a good time. But all too soon, the dinner came to a close, and Miyu went off to bed. Tofu stood in front of his door quietly for a moment.

A lingering concern from before weighed on his shoulders that he couldn’t shake. With a sigh, he made his way to the door to Kore’s room, knocking gently, hoping she was home. 

Kore walked up the hallway to her room, her hand on her shoulder as she rotated it. Popping it back in place herself may not have been the best idea. Bibliotaph was no joke of a defense system. It took Dolly a smidge longer than she would have liked to deactivate it. No lasting harm done, she can heal the damage she took herself, she just needed her astrolobe in her room. She noticed Tofu standing outside her door finally, she slowed her approach hoping he didn’t notice her injuries.

Tofu heard her coming up the stairs and turned to face her. His eyes narrowed at the way she rotated her shoulder, and the leftover blood on her eyebrow that she didn’t quite wipe away. But she was otherwise unharmed. And that was a relief. Mostly. He walked over, reaching out and brushing his fingers against her eyebrow, raising an eyebrow at her.

“...Have Blomma look at your shoulder if your magic doesn’t do the trick,” he murmured. He looked away, furrowing his brow. “I…am glad you are home safe.”

“I- Okay, I will.” She flushed a little, grateful he looked away. 

She didn’t have the energy to argue; she read just about as much as she fought. She opened the door to her room and grabbed the astrolobe, letting out a small groan as she bent over to get it. The bruising was worse on the back of her shoulder. She gripped the astrolobe tightly as she stood back upright. Even with healing she would be sore in the morning. 

“We might have run into one of the bigger defense systems while we were reading.” she chuckled, trying to dampen the statement.

Tofu leaned against her door frame as she went in, noting her every movement and the groan she had let out. And at her words, his eyes narrowed. He pulled the door closed behind him as he stepped forward into the room more, not wanting to wake the rest of the household. 

“Kore…don’t bother with trying to find a solution to my problem. You already have a lot going on, I can handle this until things calm down more. There is no need to rush when you already don’t have the time or energy for it,” he murmured, looking away. 

Her shoulders tensed, not facing Tofu as she spoke. “It’s my time and energy to spend. I want to spend it helping you…”

“But why? It doesn’t have anything to do with you. I would rather you didn’t spread yourself thin over something that I can handle. I would rather you be safe, and rested. I don’t-” 

He clenches his hands at his sides, before willing himself to relax.

“I don’t want you to worry. I don’t want you to get hurt on my account.” 

“And I don’t want you suffering if I can do something about it!”

“Why does it matter?!” he snapped, cutting her off. “Why does…it matter…”

Kore whipped around and dropped her astrolobe as she shouted “Because I love you!”

Tofu stared at her a moment, at first with the thought that she meant it familially, but something about the coy nature of how Lament questioned him the other night made him pause. 

“...What…?” he murmured. He couldn’t process anything, let alone articulate anything. He shook his head slowly. “Wh-what do you mean?”

“I-” she couldn’t believe she said that, she looked almost as stunned as Tofu. “I love you. I want to protect you, stand by you, and be there for you. I want to spend my time with you, spend it for you. I want to talk to you about nothing, everything! I want to see you smile on the few occasions you do, I want to be the one you’re smiling at! I want… to…”

The words had just poured out of her. She couldn’t stop, even though everything inside was screaming to. What did she just do?

“I want to be one that you love too.”

He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do. All of this, every bit of it, he had never known any of it before. And suddenly, all at once… He buried his face in one hand, a humorless, low laugh erupting out of his chest. 

“Why…? I’m a mess of a man. I’m not worth any of that…” He leaned against the wall and sank down to the floor. “I’m not…” His words were barely audible.

Kore approached and crouched in front of him. “You are. To me… and others, I’m sure.” 

She took his face in her hands as he had done for her before. Her eyes were wet with tears forming, but she smiled. She leaned in and kissed him. Not long, but softly, and she leaned back, searching his face for a reaction.

Tofu stared at her in shock as she pulled away. He looked away, his brow furrowed.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know how to react. N-never had… I’ve spent so long not being cared about, everything is new…” he stammered, feeling like his head was a swirling mess of confusion. He really didn’t know how to process anything, and it all suddenly felt like a lot. He felt almost anxious. 

“I-I think I need to go. I’m sorry.” He got up quickly, careful not to run into her along the way, and placed his hand on the door. He paused as he noted that his hand was shaking.

She didn’t know how he would react, and this was not a reaction she hoped for. What had she hoped for?

“I shouldn’t ha-” she began but the words caught in her throat.

He could guess what she was going to say. He let his hand fall to his side and turned to face her slightly. He was quiet for a moment as he tried to organize the words in his head.

“It’s not your fault that I don’t know how to be human. I-I just…need time.” His voice shook and his breathing had quickened. None of this was anything he had experience with, and his own mind was failing him. 

But with those words, he pushed the door open and left to head back to his room. He didn’t want her to see him when the panic fully set in. He’d have to apologize to her again later, probably. And they’d have to talk about it properly, just. Later. When he’s had time to figure literally anything out. 

Kore sank all the way to the ground as he left. All the adrenaline from her confession left her. She flopped backwards onto the floor, wincing as she did. She was going to feel that in the morning.

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: Simple Delivery

Collab. write with @sorrel-haven [ also credit to sorrel-haven for gpose shot ^^]

Characters:

Kore Grimvik [featured] (sorrel-haven)

Lament Sorrel [mentioned] (sorrel-haven)

Mina [mentioned] (sorrel-haven)

Tofu Curry [mentioned] (@ro-valerius)

Miyu Murasame

Miyu gets bamboozled into going to talk to Kore by Lament's request to deliver a letter. They come to an understanding after the events of their last conversation and reconcile.

Just a simple delivery, that's all. No talking about their embarrassing decisions the night they drank a little too much at the festival – none of that. Lament had given Miyu a letter to pass on to Kore from Mina, and all Miyu intended to do was pass it on… under the door. The moment they got home, they went right to Kore’s door and started to slide the letter through the gap under the door. 

It was that moment Kore opened the door to her room. They both stared at each other in stunned silence, unprepared to face one another so soon. The awkward air lasted a moment too long.

“I’m sorry!” They both shouted at the same time. “Wait you’re sorry? No no, I’m sorry.”

Kore pressed a finger to Miyu’s lips. 

“Would you stop saying the same thing as me?” Kore huffed.

The anxious tension in Miyu’s face melted away, an amused snort sounding from the Miqo’te as giggles bubbled out of them. Kore couldn’t help herself and joined in with the infectious giggles.

“S-” they cut themself off, flashing a cheeky little grin. “You aren’t supposed to see me until after you touch the poisoned letter. Ruined my dramatic reveal.” 

Miyu gave a wink to convey that they were only joking as they handed her the letter, which had never quite left their fingertips. She accepted it and started to open it.

“Mina has a letter for you. It was supposed to be Lament delivering it, but… he seemed a bit caught up in something,” Miyu explained, their delivery coming up dry near the end.  

Kore looked up from the letter and gave Miyu a questioning look. “What do you mean by “caught up?”” 

“Shenanigans, is my bet,” Miyu said as they casually entered the room, casting a look over their shoulder at Kore to indicate it was indeed not a hallway conversation. “I can’t blame him, really. I’d do the same thing, for a bite of messy entertainment.”

Really, Lament likely had other things to do, they believed. However, Miyu was a petty little bastard. But it was all in good fun, for the most part. 

Miyu pulled up a chair and sat themself in it, putting their feet up as they squatted on it. They crossed their arms across their knees and propped their chin on their arms as they kept their gaze pointed towards Kore. 

“He knows that I know, you know?” Stone cold sober, yet Miyu still couldn’t give a clear explanation on things. 

“And that little shit didn’t warn me…” she muttered as she closed the door. She leaned against the door and looked at Miyu. “So they gave you a hard time then?”

“Nope! And she seemed quite keen on tossing Tofu biscuits of the manner of your affections to him,” Miyu continued, with a simultaneous mix of a pained and amused grin. “Coming from one person with siblings to another, I’d be smacking him across the head right about now. But, he isn’t my own sibling so… up to you on what to do with that one.” 

“I’ll tie his ears in a knot…” Kore grumbled.

Miyu chuckled and leaned back where they sat, but stopped doing so as the chair began to tilt back. They sucked in a breath and steadied themself again before they could fall back and knock their head on something. 

“Though, not just your own affections floating about, it seems. Apparently…” they trailed off, pausing to count on one hand. “...four of us, total? My! This is as endearing as it is painful.” Miyu snorted again. Uncomfortable as the conversation topic may be, they were glad to be able to speak about it openly with Kore. 

“Wait… four??” She counts her own fingers, “who’s the fourth?” 

“Doesn’t matter! They are irrelevant to me,” Miyu gave a shrug, along with a sheepish grin. “Only person I cared about hurting was you.”

Kore burst out laughing, this was getting more comedic the more she thought about it. She was almost able to forget the other night. It was just so easy to talk to Miyu. She smiled at them after she recovered from her laughing fit. They really were…

“You really are my best friend.” She gave voice to her inside thought.

Their expression softened at Kore’s last remark. They stood from the chair, approaching Kore to take her hand again. 

“You’re my best friend, too.” They gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “What… happened that night — I… really wish it didn’t turn out like that. I want you to know that nothing has changed, at least for me.”

“I shouldn’t have gotten jealous like that…” She looked down at her hand in theirs.

Miyu gave a shake of their head. “No, you had a right to be. I… do it too.” Miyu gave an embarrassed smile. “I guess it's why I started giving Lament a hard time, too.” 

Kore raised an eyebrow with a smile. “How did you give Lament a hard time?”

“Juuust a little bit of the silent treatment. And I guess I got a tiny bit snappy.” They laughed, with much more ease as their anxiety melted away. Miyu lightly swung their clasped hands back and forward as they talked. “I almost wanted to slap them when they warned me about missing something while I wait for what’s to come of this… situation.” 

A moment of deep reflection crossed Miyu’s features, a distance in their eyes, though their gentle smile never flickered. 

“But… maybe it was something I needed to hear from Lament. I will come to accept whatever happens from all this, however long it takes. If it takes more than three years to chase my heart, I’ll risk missing something. I wasted my heart for more than three years keeping it locked up in some awful place it shouldn’t have been. I won't regret what I do from here.”

Miyu pulled Kore in for an embrace, face buried into their neck. 

“Whatever the outcome is, I just hope you’ll still be in my life.” 

Kore wrapped her arms around Miyu in turn and rested her cheek on their head. She squeezed them lightly in reassurance. 

“Oh Miyu, my little Rainbow. If I were not in your life it would be because I am dead. And even then, I might just haunt you,” she said. It was really hard to tell if that was a joke, or not.

A puff of air escaped Miyu’s nose before they erupted into giggles. 

“Yeah? You better. If you didn’t haunt me, I’d summon your spirit just to chew you out,” they laughed, voice muffled somewhat by the hug. 

#ffxiv ocs #ffxiv viera #ffxiv miqo'te #ffxiv gpose #ffxiv rp #ffxiv miyu #drabble #arc: calm before the storm

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: Not a Hallway Conversation

Collab. write with @sorrel-haven [ also credit to sorrel-haven for gpose shot ^^]

Characters:

Kore Grimvik [featured] (sorrel-haven)

Lament Sorrel [mentioned] (sorrel-haven)

Tofu Curry [mentioned] (@ro-valerius)

Miyu Murasame

Miyu has had a little too much to drink, and their guilty conscience has brought them to talk to Kore of a conversation they overheard. A talk of shared feelings for another takes a turn after Kore notices a spot of blood on their dress.

Despite having been dragged back to the Flower House from the festival, Miyu wasn’t keen on going straight to bed, as was suggested. At least, they faked it a little before they snuck out again. And when they had returned from their brief escapade, they had begun to wind down — to regain some of their senses from their inebriated, embarrassing state. 

At the very least, they were no longer nonsensical and mischievous. Instead, the thrilling buzz died down to something more reflective… forlorn. It seemed the lack of inhibition not only broke down behavioral walls, but walls within their mind that locked away a certain guilt which they have been trying very hard to avoid.

Miyu planted themself in the hall, seated on the floor right across from Kore’s door. They remained seated there in silence, up until they recognized the footsteps of their friend. Miyu didn’t look up just yet, staring at her shoes while their face remained tucked behind the knees they had folded up against their body. 

“Kore… I really need to talk to you. Theres… there's something I need to tell you,” they murmur, voice slightly muffled from their mouth pressed to their knees. 

Kore almost missed Miyu sitting there, if it wasn’t for them speaking. She had just come in from her late night practice. She crouched next to them and gently moved some hair out of their face.

“What’s wrong my little Rainbow? You sound troubled.” Her voice was soft, so as not to disturb anyone else in the flower house. 

Miyu shrank at the softness in Kore’s voice. They took the hand which brushed away the hair from their face into a gentle hold. Slowly, they looked to meet her gaze with great trepidation. Their mouth held open, lower lip wavering a moment as they gathered themself in the storm of their thoughts to collect what they needed to say.

“I’m… so sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t know. If I did – I don’t – I think…” they stumbled as the words tumbled out, and then it all surged out of them. “You deserve so much. So much better. I’m sorry you had to sit in silence with this for so long, and just watch someone take…”

Miyu took in a breath, and swallowed the lead that built up in their throat. It dropped into their chest like an anvil. 

“Miyu- what are you tal-”

“I heard what you talked about with Lament. In the garden.” 

Kore’s eyes widened. “Oh…” she said, barely audible.

She stood up, still letting Miyu hold her hand. She opened her door and gestured for them to come inside with her free hand. This was not a hallway conversation. Miyu followed Kore into the room, still holding her hand when the door closed behind them. Almost like an apology, they brought the back of her hand to their lips, and followed it up with pressing their forehead to the surface. 

Kore brought them further in the room, sitting on the bed, she pulled them down to sit next to her. She was quiet for a while, not knowing how to start. She did not let Miyu’s hand go, she didn't want them to think she’s angry. She was. But not at them. She sighed in an attempt to let out the tension building in her shoulders.

“So…” she began, “How much did you hear?”

“I got… enough to get an idea of who you were talking about. Who you were…” Miyu trailed off a moment, lowering their gaze and staring down at the interlocked hands as they idly brushed their thumb along the back of Kore’s hand. “... who you were trying to get close to.”

“Ha..” she laughed dryly. “Of course you did.”

Kore was hard to read, for she herself was conflicted. She didn’t want to be having this conversation. She had been resolved to let her feelings die, leave the words unspoken. But clearly that wasn’t going to happen. 

“Look, I am fine. I- I fall in love easily, it’s nothing to worry about really.” She tried to sound nonchalant about it and hoped this would make Miyu drop it. 

The longer they sat together in the room, the more Miyu thought of how they should’ve spent more time thinking before acting without a clear head. They began to think of how this was a knowledge they should’ve just kept hidden away. This impulse to always try and fix things only appeared to do more harm. 

“I wasn’t trying to listen in. I was just… by a window and…” they began to explain, but found that excuses didn’t help here. “I’m sorry.”

Miyu chewed on their lower lip as they thought. 

“You mean so much to me — to everybody, that I’m certain. You have so much courage and compassion and value… the last thing I want to do is hurt a friend like you.” They look up to her now, though their vision was partially obscured from their heavy eyelids as the post-drinking crash began to hit them.

 “If you would be more comfortable with me leaving, I can do that. Or if ya need someone to yell at… can do… you’ve… a right to express your feelings… no shadows,” they continued, words slurring together slightly as their speech slowed. 

Kore sighed and pressed her forehead onto Miyu’s shoulder. She didn’t want Miyu to give up their feelings for her sake… She supposed that Miyu might be feeling the same way. The problem with being friends with a, for lack of a better word, rival. It hurts to lose and it hurts to win.

“Miyu… I don’t want to yell. I want… I want Tofu to be happy. I want to protect him, and be by his side. But it’s okay if you fill that space… He likes you.” She looked back up at Miyu and smiled, though it was a bit of a sad smile.

Miyu clenched their eyes shut to try and quench the burning sensation. Come on, they couldn’t cry every time they had a serious conversation. They managed to keep their eyes dry, though a less than appealing hiccup escaped them. What followed from that was an awful onslaught of occasional hiccups, their shoulders jumping with each one as they leaned into Kore. 

“I… I want the same,” they admitted, their voice barely above a whisper. Maybe the agreement came without saying, but the words left their mouth before they could properly think over what was coming out of them. 

Miyu rubbed their eyes, an exhausted sigh escaping them. When they opened their eyes again, they looked down at the gifted ring on their finger. Their heart gave a little twist.

“I should probably go to bed before I pass out here. Sorry about tonight,” they say, averting their gaze to look at the door. They gave Kore’s hand a squeeze in apology.

“Why are you apologizing?” she held on to Miyu’s hand so they couldn’t easily leave just yet. “You don’t have anything to apologize for. I have been… I…” She looks away.

Was she really getting into this with Miyu? Slightly inebriated Miyu at that? 

She sighed. “I… fell in love with him… Before I even met him. Officially.” 

Miyu — who had just been preparing to stand — went still. Their head gave a little tilt in confusion, only for it to shift into one more downcast. Their gaze lowered once more.

“Echo, huh?” they go on to presume, knowing of Kore’s proficiency with her ability. “I… understand.”  

She didn't look at them and squeezed Miyu’s hand as the tear she’d been holding back rolled down her cheek. 

“I must seem pretty pathetic… Falling in love with a memory?”

Miyu was silent for a moment as they battled their own conflicting emotions. Their eyes lingered on the door.

After a minute of holding their breath, they turn their attention to Kore once more. Miyu raised their free hand, holding it to Kore’s cheek as they leaned in to catch the tear that rolled down her other cheek with a gentle peck. 

“I think you are pretty great,” they murmur, bringing her in for an embrace. 

Kore wrapped her arms around Miyu and buried her face in their shoulder. She wasn’t to the point of full sobs, but she sniffled. She stayed in their embrace for a moment. Miyu held on as long as Kore needed. They really were the best. She slowly pulled away, her eyes downcast, it was then she noticed the spot of blood on Miyu’s dress.

“What is that?” She asked, concern taking over her features.

Miyu tensed again. 

“T-” they began, only to cut themself off as they recalled the nature of Tofu’s ordeal. Unaware that Kore had found out about Tofu’s condition, they were hesitant to say anything.

“Tofu… tripped,” Miyu answered, giving some semblance of the truth. Maybe if they were more sober, they’d realize the ridiculous nature of the excuse. They glanced over to the door again. 

“Wow. Would ya look at the time! I am… exhausted,” the Miqo’te yawned and stood to leave.

Kore grabbed Miyu’s arm and sat them back down. Her concern was clearly written on her face.

“Please Miyu, tell me what happened? Did he “trip” or did he… Was it more than just tripping?” She knew, she hoped they picked up on that.

In their unsteady state, Miyu nearly fell back onto the bed, but they managed to stay upright. They clutched onto the skirt of their dress, tapping their feet anxiously. 

“A bit… more than that,” they reluctantly responded. 

“But he is safe – okay right now, for the most part,” Miyu added on, in a quick breath, “I just don’t know how much he… I… it might be best to ask him.” 

“So it’s getting worse…” she gripped Miyu’s arm tighter. “So he told you about it before?”

Miyu sucked in a sharp breath at the tightening around their arm. By no means was it physically painful, but the action alone set off a deep-rooted panic in the Miqo’te. They shrank back, ears pinning to their head while they turned their face away. They didn’t respond.

“I-” she sighed and let go of Miyu. “I’m sorry. I’m keeping you up.” she turned away from them.

Immediately after Kore let go, they stood and took quick steps to the door. They paused, hand on the handle. 

“Have a good night, Kore. I’m sorry,” Miyu said, a faint waver in their voice. They cleared their throat, then made a hasty exit.

#ffxiv ocs #ffxiv viera #ffxiv miqo'te #ffxiv rp #roleplay #ffxiv miyu

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm before the Storm: Siblings Heart to Heart

A moment for the twins to catch up some. ft. little inserts from @ro-valerius and @ffxiv-f13ndish

F13ndish Character: Miyu Ro-Valerius Character: Tofu

---

Kore sat on the lawn in the front yard of the flower house. Her chakrams on the ground beside her indicated she had been hitting the training dummy. She was enjoying a breeze coming up from the canyon when she felt a presence in the yard behind her. In one fluid motion she grabbed a chakram and whipped around holding it to the throat of the intruder. 

Although, she relaxed when she saw a familiar face holding their hands up in surrender. 

“Dearest sister, please don’t decapitate me. I am very attached to my head.” Lament chuckled.

“Dearest sibling, don’t sneak up on me then!” She flopped back on the grass with a huff.

Lament joined her on the ground and they looked her over. A hardened concern washed over their features as they took in the signs of a recent scuffle. What adventures are you getting into? They thought.

“It was nothing. I’m fine.” She responded to the thought verbally. 

Sitting on the floor by an open window, Miyu began to pick up on a conversation outside. Their ears twitched, brow giving a raise. Kore and Lament, perhaps? It sounded tense. For a moment, they considered getting up… but then they would have to get up, as well as put themself in view of the window.

“Right, you can get in my head now if I think too loud.” They smiled, “A handy ability, that would have been a blight upon our village had we had it when we were children.”

Kore laughed dryly. “Oh we would have razed it to the ground with the mischief we would have been capable of.”

She took Lament’s hand and traced the lines of their palm. Something she did a lot while they were children when she had something on her mind but didn’t know how to put it into words. 

“Kovir- I’m sorry Lament…” she looked up from their hand and Lament shook their head with a smile. She squeezed their hand, “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

Lament smiled at her - still quick to lose her way it would seem. She often got lost in her own head when they were children. Lament knew how to guide her. They changed their posture, sitting more upright and took her other hand so they held both. They began breathing, deep and slow, as they closed their eyes. Kore sat up straighter and mimicked their breathing pattern. A meditative practice from their childhood that one would lead the other in whenever one of them needed to clear their mind. 

“I am so stupid.” she finally said.

“I’m sure you’re not. But why do you think so?” Both viera still sat with their eyes closed. 

“I came to Eorzea to find you. I instead found a whole other family.” she started.

“That doesn’t sound like a reason to call yourself stupid.” Lament interjected. 

“That’s not why I am. I am stupid because I joined this family to get close to one member, and I think I’m messing it up.” Her shoulders sink as she lets out the breath she was holding in. 

They hadn’t meant to pry, but they sure weren’t tuning everything out, either. The Miqo’te froze at Kore’s words, the knitting needle nearly sewing the cloth to their hand as they began to slowly pay more attention to what was said.

A conversation to be heard between two pairs of ears was quickly becoming four. Tofu had really hoped that the patrol would have cleared his mind, at least a little, but it didn’t do much at all. At best, he could say that he hadn’t come across anyone, outside of Etgar, but aside from that, it wasn’t a very productive walk. His ear twitched at the murmuring from the yard and he froze at the familiar voices. He wasn’t particularly in a good headspace for social interaction… He ducked between the wall and the fence, hoping they would go inside soon or something. 

The pair hadn’t picked up on the third viera’s presence. They were too focused on each other’s breathing in order to stay in sync. Lament hummed in thought considering their sister’s fear.

“What makes you think you’re messing it up?” Lament asked as they ran their thumb over her knuckles. 

Kore’s eyebrows knitted together as she considered the question.

“I think I’m in love, but…” she trailed off and took in a deep breath. “I think this person… is falling for someone else. And I am letting it happen.”

Lament opened their eyes just enough to look at their sister for a moment to get a read on her emotions. They kept up with the rhythmic breathing and prepared to pose another question.

“You? Letting someone get in the way of what you want? My my, how low has Lady Koren fallen?” They jabbed first, only to be rewarded with a hard squeeze on their hands. “Heh, but seriously now… do you intend on stepping aside?”

She didn’t like this question, as much was plain by the off pattern sharp inhale. She didn’t answer for a while, mulling it over, the words dancing on her tongue before she spoke them aloud. 

“I am… conflicted. The one this person seems to be falling for… is a friend… of mine as well. They both have grown close due to recent circumstances, and I placed myself in the shadows.” She said with a bitter tone.

A certain listener at the window stilled, Miyu’s breath catching in their lungs. A gasp came out, and they quickly clasped a hand over their mouth to muffle it.

“I want both of them to be happy! I do…” she trailed off.

“I sense a but coming.” Lament prompted.

“It means I swallow my feelings.” Kore finally said.

“Wow. You’re right, you are stupid.” Lament said with a hint of amusement.

Kore broke the meditation and smacked Lament on the ear for that one. To which Lament broke out in laughter. They leaned back on the grass and looked at their sister.

“Oh Kore, how I missed teasing you about your love life… or lack there of I should say.” They teased. Kore picked up a chakram, threatening to throw it at them. She sighed and instead tossed it back on the ground.

“I think I pushed this person away… I’m not as in control of my power as I thought I was and I intruded… I didn’t mean to! It’s just…” she looked down at the ground. “I’ve noticed a distance since I did.” 

Kore flopped back on the grass and covered her face with her arm. She was at a loss, how could she pursue her heart without stepping on another’s? She felt the breeze wash over her again, and took in a deep breath. 

“I just want to help him… but he makes it so damn hard!” She sighed. She knows he’s trying his best. She knows. “I just want to protect him.”

Lament hummed, “Well then do it. You don’t have to ask permission to protect someone you love.” They stood up and stepped over to Kore and dropped a letter on her chest. “Mina asked me to deliver this, it’s possible meanings of those numbers you got from the weasel man. She mentioned something in there for Tio as well. I’ve gotta get going, do enjoy your little self reflection.”

Kore flopped her hand on top of the letter so it wouldn’t fly away and lazily waved to her sibling. Lament lightly nudged her with their foot. 

“Don’t forget, you are allowed to be selfish sometimes. Not saying you have to, but it is allowed.” Lament added before leaving. Kore only sighed in response.

As Lament left, he noticed a certain orange haired viera curled up between the wall of the house and the fence. Lament smirked and idly wondered if he heard any of that, not thinking too loud - Kore would just die if she knew.

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: After the Festival

The Squad went to a music festival over a couple of days. Miyu belongs to @ffxiv-f13ndish

Tofu felt Miyu lean more heavily against him as the festival began to wind down, the helmet they had procured bonking him lightly in the jaw. He murmured their name softly, but received no response. He sighed gently and reached up to pull the helmet off, revealing that they had, indeed, fallen asleep in his lap. He made sure to prop them up better as the final songs were played, thankful that they had fallen asleep as a wave of pain flashed through his chest. He winced and pressed a hand to his chest, but pushed it away quickly before anyone else could notice. 

The final song came to a close and people began dispersing. Tofu looked down at Miyu, going to shake them awake, but their peaceful features gave him pause. He decided instead to, with some difficulty, arrange so that they were settled on his back, picking up their helmet in one hand and making his way to his feet. He was glad for the short walk home…

He had made it down the stairs, just before the tunnel between the poolside and their home, before the sigil in his chest flared up, much more aggressively than when he had been sitting with them. He drew in a pained gasp and dropped to one knee, the helmet rolling away as he gripped his chest tightly. He had somehow managed to keep hold of Miyu so they didn’t fall as well, but he didn’t imagine them sleeping through all of that…

Miyu immediately startled at the sudden drop. They gripped onto Tofu in a panic, only to relax when they realized who’s back they were clinging onto. Seeing Tofu’s pained state, they let go of his back and moved to kneel in front of him, placing both hands on his cheeks to get a good look at him. 

“Hey… hey. What’s going on?” they gently pressed, though their eyes were wide and alert with concern. By no means had the effects of the liquor in their system faded yet, but the adrenaline from seeing Tofu in such an alarming state — and perhaps with some help from their brief snooze — sobered them up enough for the dire situation. 

“I’m…fine,” Tofu managed between pained gasps, but his words were immediately proven false as he began to taste blood in his mouth. He covered his mouth with one hand, as if that would hide it from Miyu. 

Miyu’s face paled when they caught the sight of blood peeking at the corner of the viera’s lips. Being as close as they were, and as focused as they were on him, it would've been difficult to miss. They felt at his face to gauge his temperature as their eyes searched over him for any visible injuries. 

“Yeah, let me know when you find someone where their ‘fine’ is collapsing and coughing up blood,” they curtly remarked under an anxious sigh. “I need… I need to help you,” they whispered, more so to themself than to him.

They looked  up to meet his gaze, then firmly inquired, “Tofu, what’s wrong?”

Tofu dropped his hand to his side, though his other hand remained pressed to his chest. Their curt response was expected, but his head was clouded by the pain, and his response had been mostly out of habit. However, he was reluctant to share what had happened with them. He was quiet for a long moment, as quiet as one can be between gasps. 

“...Just…took a few spells…is all,” he murmured. His face tensed further as the pain in his chest spiked once more. “D-don’t… It… “ He wanted to tell them not to worry, but he knew they were already worried and it would be pointless. 

Miyu had to physically swallow a gasp when Tofu revealed the cause of his injury. If mere healing spells were already difficult for him to bear… what could this mean for him now? And they couldn’t possibly use a healing spell to fix this. 

They were stumped on what to do, and not clear headed enough to make any rational decisions. For a second, they could only stare at Tofu in a grave fear of losing him.

Miyu couldn’t fix this. But they could at least try and bring him some kind of comfort. 

They gently placed a hand over the hand on his chest, while the other moved to smooth the hair from his face before settling to rest on his cheek.

“You’re going to be okay. You can do this… you can fight it, because you are worth fighting for,” they soothe in a quiet voice with their lips pressed to his other cheek. “Breathe slowly… you’re going to be okay.” 

A shaky chuckle escaped him. Were they panicked and nonsensical? Perhaps, but he found it endearing that they were trying in the face of uncertainty. The hand that had been at his side reached up to touch the hand they had placed on his cheek. 

“It’s you I’m worried about.” Another chuckle came, more pained. “I know I’ll be alright, it’s what I keep telling you. It’ll pass… I just need a moment.” 

Perhaps Miyu was repeating these things more so to reassure themself than him… to a degree. They never knew the right thing to say, especially when like this. Maybe if they had a little more sense in them, they would have made more of an attempt to hide the offended pout in objection that crossed their features. 

“You worry about me while I worry about you… in that path, you worry about yourself. Focus on that,” they mumble in discontent. Despite their blatant offense at Tofu disagreeing with them — at least, that’s how they saw it in their hazy state — they didn’t budge. “I’ve got all I need right here, right now… you focus on yourself. Take as many moments as you need, I’m not going anywhere.” 

They continued to sit by him as they waited for the spell to pass, thumb gently caressing the slope of his cheekbone as they waited. He gave them a tense smile, touched by their sentiment. His expression changed to one of ‘oh wait’ as he remembered what Ro had done for him before and he reached into his pocket to pull out one of the talismans he carried with him in the event that Fiora’s curse got out of hand. 

Pulling his hand away from his chest, he pulled his shirt up enough to press the talisman to his skin. The pain subsided slightly almost immediately, and all of the muscles he had unconsciously tensed during the ordeal loosened. He leaned forward against Miyu’s shoulder, almost tired from the energy exerted during the pained episode. His breaths came out shaky, but he was infinitely less tense than he had been. 

Miyu’s gaze flickered down, raising a brow as they watched Tofu apply a talisman to his chest. They noted the way he relaxed immediately after. They continued to stare a long while, gears turning in their head as an idea slowly started to churn among the sludge of their brain. Perhaps they’ll have to ask Daen Lad how plausible it is later. They didn’t want to bring it up now, not wanting to give him more things to generate concern over. 

They let Tofu lean into them as much as need be. And much like one would slap a kiss over a bandaid for good measure, they pecked the palm of their hand before placing said hand over the one Tofu held over his chest with the talisman. They sat in silence for a long while, one hand on top of his and another giving gentle pats at his back for a few moments before it settled on the back of his head. 

Miyu’s eyes wandered up to the sky, and they began to recall bits and pieces from their conversation from the previous night. 

“Maybe the stars don’t always look the same. They look a lot more pretty tonight,” they mindlessly remark, both making a passing thought aloud and making an attempt to try and ease the stress of the moment with a different conversation. 

To Tofu’s relief, the pain subsided fully as the talisman disintegrated into ash beneath his hand. He stayed leaned against them for just a moment longer before leaning back. His eyes landed on a blood stain on their dress and he absently brushed a hand across his mouth. 

“S-sorry about your clothes…” he murmured. He cleared his throat. “B-Blomma can help you with the stain later, but we should…get home.”

Miyu rose their brow, taking a glance down at their dress, then back up at his mouth. Fondly, they reached over and brushed their thumb across his lips to get any other blood residue left behind. 

“Clothes can be cleaned. I’ve had worse stains I’ve dealt with,” they snorted, giving a little snicker to themself at their vague remark. They wrapped an arm around Tofu, leaning in to help the viera up. 

They didn’t stray from him once he was up, standing to maintain support. “You are my dear one, after all,” they said in a softer voice.  

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm before the Storm: Pirate Attack

another part of the Calm before the Storm Arc! a triple collab between me @ro-valerius and @ffxiv-f13ndish

f1endish characters: Miyu (featured) Virgil (mentioned) Ro-Valerius characters: Hana (featured) Tio (featured) Tofu (featured)

Kore and friends had some unwanted visitors.

---

Kore was pretty sure she made a deal with a devil, but if it got them where they needed she was prepared to pay that price. Her own searches were not getting them any closer to finding Magnus. Virgil probably wasn’t their best shot, but it was as close as they were going to get. She just needed to explain all of it to Tofu and Ro and hope that they understood.

She walked home with Tio and Hana this time. Tio could watch Hana fine but she felt more comfortable being there to watch Tio’s back. Not knowing exactly how close these grounded pirates were made it that much more imperative to stay in numbers. She just hoped Tio didn’t think she was babying him.

Hana grabbed Tio by the sleeve, a bit of exhaustion showing on her face; while she may have gotten better with the stone, she still wasn’t fully able to use it properly. Tio looked down, noting her tired features, and leaned down for her to clamber onto his back. With a light grumble, she put her arms around his shoulders and let him lift her to carry her home. 

“Don’t waste your efforts on that guy, Hana… Especially since you haven’t properly learned how to use that stone yet,” he murmured. She only nodded and pressed her forehead into the crook of his neck. 

“That guy…his aether was…wrong. Like he’s dying by inches. I hate him…” she murmured.

Kore patted Hana on the back. “We don’t have to like him, sweet girl. We just need to use him.” Her jaw set as she spoke. Tio gave Kore a sidelong glance.

“I should hope we don’t have to like him. Whatever it is you lot are up to, let me come with you. I don’t trust that guy at all. I don’t trust anyone who circles around what they mean to say like a vulture after finding its next meal. And I’d rather you and Tofu don’t have to deal with him alone- er, not alone alone, but you get what I mean,” he said, giving as good a shrug as he could with Hana still latched to his back. 

Kore sighed. “I suppose it might be prudent to have strength in numbers. But it’s not my call. It was hard enough getting Tofu to agree to bring in Mina…” that last part came out more of a murmur.

“Ah yes, stubborn rabbit being stubborn again. I suppose we’ll have to see,” he said with another half-shrug. 

Meanwhile, another felt like they were dying by inches. 

With Tofu’s fever down, Miyu didn’t feel the need to hover around the man anymore – and didn’t exactly want to suffocate the guy with their presence. It helped that there were other folks at home, too.  Miyu was much too tired to go out to the cafe, so they settled on going out for a brisk walk around the neighborhood, just to feel the fresh air on their face. 

Now, they were fighting to get some air into their lungs. An assailant’s hand was clamped over their mouth, the other holding a rope taut as it tightened around their neck. The more Miyu struggled, the more it tightened.

“Don’tcha remember me? I was one of yer visitors,” a voice from behind growled into their ear. There was a harsh tug of the rope. “This is how ya tried to take the big man out, wasn’t it? A shoddy job, too. I’ll show ya a better one.” 

There was an exchange between the assailant and another, a woman’s voice. Only words they could pick out between the whooshing and popping in their ears were “dead” and “alive.” Probably one after another in the form of a question. Two voices, perhaps. Three? They couldn’t tell. And it won’t matter if they try and find out if they run out of air before then.

Blood spilled into their mouth as they bit into the hand clamped over their mouth, a sickening crunch erupting under the sound of a pained yell. Startled, the man let go of their face, and Miyu took the chance to run. The rope slipped from the man’s grasp as he collided into his partner nearby, and it fell away from their throat as they bolted, though not without a stinging burn across their skin. 

With splotches of black and flashing little lights swimming across their vision, Miyu wasn’t entirely sure where they were running, or if they were even anywhere close to the house. All that they knew was that they couldn’t stop.

It was nothing short of a miracle that when they did stop, they had dizzyingly arrived at the house they had been staying at. They fell to their knees in the lawn as they finally tried to catch their breath.  Miyu held a hand to their throat, staying hunched over as they caught their breath. Their brows gave a pained twitch when they heard a very familiar set of footsteps. A familiar trio, even. Fantastic. Kore rushed to Miyu’s side, sensing their distress.

“What happened?! Are you okay?” She caught sight of their neck and began channeling aether to heal the rope burn. 

Hana, now alert after hearing Kore’s panic, and seeing the state of Miyu’s aether, launched herself off of Tio’s back and rushed over to them, lifting their face in her hands gently. She blinked slowly, trying not to let the images flash through her mind, her friend’s current state is more important than the how of it. 

“H-hey…why are you pulling a Tofu and coming out alone?” she asked, softly indignant. 

She leaned forward and kissed them softly on the forehead, letting a small amount of healing go into it as well. They wouldn’t have wanted her to see what happened, so she pretended she didn’t see anything, though she wondered if the slow blink might give her away after the last time...

Miyu readjusted to sit up straight, coughing to clear up their airways before they could respond.

“Three of them… not far from here. I think,” they got to speaking, though their voice was still hoarse. They looked down the road, squinting as their vision focused on shadowy figures delving further back into the distant void of the night. They gave a frustrated huff, fingers hastily working at untying the binds at their wrists. “Lovely night for a run, huh?”

“Agreed,” Tio said, immediately bolting in the direction Miyu had indicated before anyone could stop him. 

“Hana! Get Miyu inside!” Kore shouted before rushing after Tio. She trusted Hana to listen.

She dashed forward chakrams out, catching up to the reckless miqo’te. She was not about to let him go alone after he expressed his own concerns of doing things alone. Not that he had the intent to go alone, but he’d be damned if he let the bastards get away from them so easily. He could hear Kore close behind him and smirked. He knew he could trust her to catch up.

Touched as Miyu was that their friends were so quick to defend them, they couldn’t help but give a little snort in amusement at how fast Tio and Kore ran off into the dark. They reached over to Hana, taking her hand to give it a squeeze in thanks. 

“For the record… I was not intentionally pulling a Tofu. I thought those snakes were off in the middle of the ocean still,” they gently rebutted with a weak chuckle. 

Miyu followed Hana inside, and froze immediately at the door as another thought came to mind. 

“Speaking of such… let’s wait a bit on telling him, yeah?” they said in a low voice, not yet noticing the man in question sitting across the room. Tofu looked up from a stack of papers he had been working through at the dining table, a look of suspicion on his face.

“Tell me what?”

Miyu gave Tofu a long stare when they registered his voice. Subconsciously, they held a hand to their throat. 

“Tell you what?” they absurdly returned his question, not quite prepared for an alibi. 

Kore threw her chakrams over Tio’s head, catching the closest one square in the back. They zoomed back, narrowly missing Tio as Kore recalled them. Tio barely registered the chakrams as he leapt onto the back of the guy that had just been hit, slamming the man’s face into the ground with force, before launching himself back towards the other two assailants. Kore aimed at the one that Tio didn’t take, throwing with an overhand one after the other.

A portal opened up in the sky above them, a familiar orange haired viera falling through and landing on the woman that Kore had just attacked, the second chakram just narrowly avoiding hitting him as she recalled it back to her. Tofu pulled both knives out of the woman’s back as he straightened, a dangerous look on his face.

Kore huffed, “A little warning before you drop in would have been nice!” 

She threw her chakrams at the last man. Tio saw the chakrams coming and ducked out of the way, finally noting his brother in the fray and smirking. He figured it was only a matter of time. 

Tofu’s eyes locked on to the last man standing, the one Kore had just thrown her chakrams at. There was a disturbing lack of expression on his face as he rushed the man, giving no time for reaction before both knives were buried to the hilt in the man’s stomach.  

Kore caught her chakrams, and eased up her stance. She rushed over to the dying man and grabbed his face, trying to look into his mind for any others in the area before he had the chance to take the information with him. Tofu turned his attention to her.

“Are there more?” he asked, with even less inflection in his tone than normal.

“Not here. But… In Horizon. We should go,” she said through the pain of delving into the fading memories.She let go of the man, letting him slide off Tofu’s knives to the ground and turned to Tio and Tofu. Without a word, Tofu started off towards Horizon, using the small window of time with the two of them being behind him to press a hand to his chest and wince before burying the pain. Teleportation still sucked, confirmed. After a brief moment of surprise at not being told to stay behind, Tio followed along behind him.

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Calm Before the Storm: Rooftop chat

collab. drabble w/ @ro-valerius [also credit to Ro for the gpose shot ^^]

Characters:

Tofu Curry [guest appearance] (ro-valerius)

Kore Grimvik [mentioned] (@sorrel-haven)

Miyu Murasame

Miyu has a chat with Tofu following a recent attack... [initial post]

When Miyu saw Tofu on the roof that night, initially they didn’t plan to bother him. They were intending to leave him to his careful watch, and return to sewing the latest clothing article they were working on – a gift. But as they stared at him from a distance, the more they focused on his expression. And their thoughts began to wander to his feverish nights, to both surprise attacks, and what was to come. Despite their uncertainty, they went up to approach Tofu, doing their very best not to rip their favorite dress on their way up the back of the house. 

“Well, I don’t suppose you’re stargazing right now, hm?” they greeted him with a soft chuckle, slightly breathless. 

Tofu had noticed Miyu long before they had decided to join him on the roof. He had gotten used to his swirling thoughts of late, and could remain in high alert as he struggled to organize what was going on in his head. He stared at them a moment after their greeting, hoping that when he spoke, his tone wouldn’t sound too cold.

“I’m not,” he said, and though he didn’t sound cold, he still sounded flat. Like there was nothing there.

Miyu caught on quickly to Tofu’s manner of response. Their expression didn’t change, though their ears twitched low with a slower movement of their tail. They sighed softly through their nose. Slowly, they walked over to join him, taking a seat beside the Viera with ample space between them. “Yeah… hard to see the difference in a couple million stars after seeing it for so long… and doesn’t help when your mind is all… busy.” They leaned back on their hands, peering over at Tofu from the corner of their eyes. There was a moment of silence where they just looked at him, contemplating what to say. 

“A lot has happened. A lot to think about, I’m sure. If you need help easing some thoughts… you know I’m here for you.” They tilted their head to one side, brow furrowing in concern. “What troubles you?”

He was quiet for another moment, eyes scanning the area around them as he thought about how to articulate what he was thinking. Without meeting their eyes, he murmured so softly it was a miracle if Miyu could hear him.

“Has Kore told you about what happened when she took over watching me…?” he asked.

“I have not heard yet – no,” they reluctantly responded, scooting closer to hear him better. Gently, they brushed their fingertips over the back of his hand. A simple, fond motion to show they were there for him. “What happened?”  

He glanced over at them and shook his head slightly. “I’m more worried about her, honestly. I’ve dealt with my past for years, had years for it to dull. She took all of it on at once, in force, unprepared.” He paused, lowering his eyes. His hands clenched into fists. “No…that’s not quite right. I mean, it is, but… I haven’t relived it that vividly in years. Seeing it all, all at once, with everything else going on…”

Miyu’s eyes went wide. Given Kore’s abilities, and the nature of Tofu’s dreams, they could surmise what happened. “Oh my…” they murmur, looking away as a deep sadness overtook their gaze. 

‘Poor dear,’ they thought to themself, tapping their fingers as they considered how to check up on Kore next. 

“Yes, that does sound troubling – for the both of you. And you’ve spoken to her?” 

Tofu put his head in his hand, letting out a deep sigh, before returning to the area scan he’d been keeping up. 

“We spoke when it happened, but not since. I…don’t know how to bring it up with her without her trying to turn it around to comfort me. I don’t need the comfort. Not the kind that comes from talking things out, at least. So I just…haven’t yet,” he murmured, an edge of sheepishness in his tone. A hollow smile crossed his face. “Remember when you said ‘too many new things all at once’? I think I understand how you feel now. Too many new things at once, indeed…”

Miyu gave a little nod in understanding. They wouldn’t know how to approach this situation, either, frankly. Their hand twitched as they watched Tofu’s head dip away into his hand, eyes lingering on his shoulder a moment. They didn’t budge again just yet, though. First, they needed to figure out what to say.

“Well… maybe what I say may not amount to much. But I do believe things will come to work out. You both care greatly for each other. Perhaps… a bit of a nice distraction is needed,” they murmur in thought. “And then, the two of you can talk about it.. Potentially.”

Their heart gave an ache. Indeed, many new things at once. 

Miyu’s gaze remained on Tofu as his own were turned to the surrounding area. “Well, at least not all new things are bad.” 

“Not…bad, no. Confusing, yes.” He thought about elaborating, but decided against it until he could understand things for himself better. He drew in a deep breath. “Unfortunately, I think the distractions are going to have to wait. Unless you want to quantify our sailing trip coming up as a ‘distraction’, but I doubt that is what you meant.”

Confusing, of course. They couldn’t agree more. Miyu gave a little sigh, nervously fiddling with the gifted ring from Tofu as they stared out to the sea of stars above. At the mention of their sailing trip, their expression dulled. 

“I… know I’ve been a lot of trouble for you lately. I’m sorry.” 

“You’re not trouble at all. Don’t apologize, you aren’t to blame. For any of this,” Tofu cut in quickly, finally fully turning to look at them. He did wish his voice would just…have something to it, but he couldn’t get it to express anything. He reached over and took their hand, the one wearing the ring he had given them, hoping he could convey what he wanted through physical contact.

Miyu was appreciative of the contact, their hand wrapping around his, but the guilt in their eyes didn’t relent. 

“I complicated things myself. You… could’ve had more time for yourself, for your situation. You ran out so fast that night, and you had only just gotten over your fever - I was…” They trailed off a moment, giving his hand a squeeze. “I know you can handle yourself. I am terrified to lose you.”

A bittersweet smile tugged at Miyu’s lips. “I suppose the nature of just how much I care for you is one of the new and… confusing… matters. Not a bad one. But being in a bad situation does make this scary,” they remark, somewhat vaguely. 

“...Seeing the state they put you in, I couldn’t just…do nothing. I…I’m afraid to lose you, too…” He lowered his eyes, his brow furrowing as he tried to put his thoughts in order. His conversation with Blomma kept running through his mind. 

Miyu’s eyes softened. They clung to his words, even if their judgment told them that this was just how Tofu was with his friends. Their senses screamed that this wasn’t good for them, that they needed to let go. 

Instead, they held on tighter. Miyu brought their clasped hands up to their face, and they softly left a kiss on his knuckles. 

“Of course — that’s how you are. You’re sweet, and you have a big heart, despite how walled up everything is.” They lowered their chin as they averted their eyes. “It's easy to go all soft on you.”

They blinked. “Not… in the fighting sense. I could probably kick your ass.” No, they couldn’t. But they at least attempted to throw some humor in there, even with their nervous tone.

Tofu tilted his head. Was that just how he was? Sure, he cared about his friends very much, but a lot of his confusion came from it feeling…different when it came to Miyu. And he didn’t know how to quantify it. Then there was what they said about going soft…they’d said they’d gone soft on someone before, and that it was affecting their work. Something about sinkhole feelings. He didn’t fully get it, but… His eyes lingered on his knuckles, where they had left a soft kiss. Once more, Blomma’s words came to mind. And his face burned. He had to look away again.

“I-I… Miyu, remember how you said you would wait for me to figure out what emotions are? And what they mean?” he asked softly. “I-I hope that hasn’t changed.”

Miyu blinked. They were quiet for a long moment after Tofu’s response. After all, they were expecting his usual ‘ah…… right.’ 

“Of course.” They swallowed hard. “But… I don’t want to influence your choices based on what I want — I want it to be what you want. If these… emotions… don’t align with my own. That’s okay.” 

Miyu took in a deep breath, their limbs tense. Their hands seemed to quiver slightly as they held onto Tofu’s, but they didn’t fall away.

“I’m always going to be here for you, in any way, regardless of that.”

He felt their hand shake in his and squeezed lightly. Before he could think too hard and decide against it, he mirrored their action, bringing their hand up and placing his lips against their knuckles softly. As he pulled their hands away slightly, he paused, keeping his eyes affixed to their hand in his. He noted that the action…didn’t feel wrong. His cheeks lit up again as he dropped their hand and turned away as the realization hit him like a rogue chocobo cart. 

Miyu couldn’t be more thankful that it was night out, given the flush that quickly washed across their face. They stared at him in a momentary quiet after the drop of their hand. Not wanting to overwhelm him too much, they decided that they’ve perhaps pushed the limits already a bit too much tonight. Not that they felt any guilt for it, really. 

“I’ll see you again tonight, my dear one,” they murmured, pressing their lips to their fingertips before they held that same hand to his cheek. They lingered there a moment before they started to make their way off the roof.

#gpose #ffxiv ocs #ffxiv miyu #arc: calm before the storm #ffxiv #ffxiv rp #ffxiv miqo'te #ffxiv viera

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

It's been a bit since we did a headcount, kupo! Especially in the wake of social media being weird; this might serve as a good way for people to connect with each other. Please like and reblog this post if you are an active Final Fantasy XIV blog focusing on one (or more) of the following: roleplay, writing & worldbuilding.

It does not matter how active you are at all three, only that you participate in some of it and would like to follow more likeminded people.

The bigger this post gets, the more people can have a look through and follow people they like the look of! You can also use the reblogs to give a little blurb about yourself or even make you're own separate post tagging @mooglemeet that I will reblog for extra traction!

This headcount was posted 8/19/2023, to help gauge overall activity of users on it!

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

quick lil miyu doodle ! and my cat making his own signature lol

#ffxiv miyu #ffxiv oc #ffxiv #original character #from the main #traditional art #they/them #ffxiv miqo

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Pixies and Pranks

Quick drabble Collab! Ro belongs to @ro-valerius lol Daen Lad is also theirs, but their form as Doremi is me ^^

The pixie peeked up the stairs of Starlight waiting for their Sapling to come downstairs. They giggled when she rounded the corner and flitted over to the counter to hide behind it. An obvious display really, but they weren’t playing a true game of hide and seek today. Quickly they spun together their spell. They’ve been absolutely giddy since they thought of the idea! With a small poof, no longer was a pixie behind the counter, but a small tan lalafell with red hair, green eyes, and light colored freckles crouched in its place. 

Absolutely delighted, they tried to suppress a giggle, peeking over the counter to see if their Sapling made it downstairs yet. 

Ro had watched her little pixie hide behind the counter and smiled, sneaking over quietly to sit with her eyes just over the counter top. When lively green eyes peeked back over the counter to look for her, she giggled lightly. 

“What fun new trick you’ve learned!” she cooed. 

“Ah boo! I wanted to jump out and surprise you.” The lalafellin face pouted. “But yes, I am excited! It’s a marvelous disguise if I do say so myself~!”

They hopped up on the counter, their balance wavering a moment, unused to this new form just yet. They tilted their head at Ro, thinking for a moment. 

“This form will need a name! I plan on keeping it a secret for a little bit, so a new name…” They trail off in thought.

Ro tilted her head in turn. She wasn’t the most familiar with lalafellin names, but she remembered that Nanamo is a dunesfolk, so… A-A-B A-B ? A wicked smile crossed her face. 

“Well, we can allude to the fact that you are not quiiiite a lalafell, by making it close enough for only those who are overly familiar with conventions. And since we are a family of musicians… Doremi Remi. If you sing the melody, it’s also quite simple but lovely!” 

“Oh! I like it! It’s perfect,” they nod. “Doremi Remi. Yes, I’ll use that one.”

The newly named Doremi hopped off the counter and headed towards the stairs. 

“And where are you headed, darling?” Ro asked, arms crossed, but an amused smile lit her features. 

She turned to Ro and put a hand to her cheek, giving a coy smile. “I think I want a sword!” 

What the pixie wanted with a sword was anyone’s guess!

#this is so cute