Laifan
Hoya
Hey everyone, welcome to my search post.
You can call me Laifan/Hoya (none of those being my real name) and I'm in my 30s. I've been roleplaying for about 15 years.
Quick summary:
GMT timezone
I only write OCxOC and CCxCC.
MxM
FxF
No minors! (this means both your age and no shipping underage characters with adults)
Third person, past tense with double quotes for speech.
I can write a lot depending on my inspiration, you can expect anything from 500-2000 words from me depending on the scene. I can also write the occasional NPC on a per scene basis. I don't demand the same from you, and this isn't for every scene. I'm a fast writer, but I don't mind waiting for you.
Given the stated above, please no one-liners.
I am not ghost friendly - it is tiring to take time to plot stuff and even start writing and then people seemingly fade from existence. I get it that life happens and if you're busy and I'll be totally understanding if you just communicate. Just please don't disappear without a word when we have a nice story going. Hiatus are fine, just talk to me please.
Also, on that topic: please be active. I don't mean being able to write every single day, but if after one month we only have, say, four replies going and I have to keep asking if you're still interested...then I don't think we'll be a match. I'm a fast writer and I don't demand the same from you. Still, a couple of replies per week minimum would be nice. Again, I get life gets in the way and this is a hobby and I'll totally understand if you tell me you're going through a rough patch.
About my OCs: it's hard for me to create a character on the spot and their personality not to be all over the place. So I will generally write pre-existing OCs I have been writing for years and that I'm used to. I can adapt their backgrounds to fit pretty much any scenario, but not their personalities or their main appearance (I can adapt species, but not hair/eye color, for instance).
ღ Action scenes
ღ Romance (slow burn♡)
ღ Fix-its (for tragic canons)
ღ Fantasy/Powers
ღ Introspection
ღ Soulmates
Will not write: minor/adult dynamics with any sexual connotations; relationships with major age gaps (say 10+ years); major gore; sexual violence (can be mentioned as part of a character's past); dom/sub dynamics (so no omegaverse from me); toxic relationships; characters with severe anthropomorphic characteristics (i.e.: adding ears and tails or wings is fine, but they have to look human); animal abuse (this is a major nope, I blame Dio).
Feel free to DM me for my Discord handle or fetch it from my About section!
You can call me Laifan/Hoya (none of those being my real name) and I'm in my 30s. I've been roleplaying for about 15 years.
Quick summary:
GMT timezone
I only write OCxOC and CCxCC.
MxM
FxF
No minors! (this means both your age and no shipping underage characters with adults)
Third person, past tense with double quotes for speech.
I can write a lot depending on my inspiration, you can expect anything from 500-2000 words from me depending on the scene. I can also write the occasional NPC on a per scene basis. I don't demand the same from you, and this isn't for every scene. I'm a fast writer, but I don't mind waiting for you.
Given the stated above, please no one-liners.
I am not ghost friendly - it is tiring to take time to plot stuff and even start writing and then people seemingly fade from existence. I get it that life happens and if you're busy and I'll be totally understanding if you just communicate. Just please don't disappear without a word when we have a nice story going. Hiatus are fine, just talk to me please.
Also, on that topic: please be active. I don't mean being able to write every single day, but if after one month we only have, say, four replies going and I have to keep asking if you're still interested...then I don't think we'll be a match. I'm a fast writer and I don't demand the same from you. Still, a couple of replies per week minimum would be nice. Again, I get life gets in the way and this is a hobby and I'll totally understand if you tell me you're going through a rough patch.
About my OCs: it's hard for me to create a character on the spot and their personality not to be all over the place. So I will generally write pre-existing OCs I have been writing for years and that I'm used to. I can adapt their backgrounds to fit pretty much any scenario, but not their personalities or their main appearance (I can adapt species, but not hair/eye color, for instance).
ღ Action scenes
ღ Romance (slow burn♡)
ღ Fix-its (for tragic canons)
ღ Fantasy/Powers
ღ Introspection
ღ Soulmates
Will not write: minor/adult dynamics with any sexual connotations; relationships with major age gaps (say 10+ years); major gore; sexual violence (can be mentioned as part of a character's past); dom/sub dynamics (so no omegaverse from me); toxic relationships; characters with severe anthropomorphic characteristics (i.e.: adding ears and tails or wings is fine, but they have to look human); animal abuse (this is a major nope, I blame Dio).
Bleach
I can write: Grimmjow
Looking for: Ichigo
D.Gray Man
I can write: Kanda Yu
Looking for: Alma Karma
My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia
I can write: Eraserhead, Hawks, Shinsou
Looking for: Dabi (for Hawks), character of your choice (canon).
Important: I won't write minor/adult pairings or pairings with a big difference in age
Kingdom Hearts
I can write: Axel/Lea, Terra
Looking for: Saix (for Axel), Roxas (for Axel - as friends!), Aqua (for Terra), Ventus (for Terra - as friends!), character of your choice (canon)
QuentinArnoldClaymore
Age: 24
Default species: Human
Species I can write him as: Human/Demon/Shapeshifter (fox)
Appearance: his hair is of a deep crimson color, his eyes an unsettling golden. Tanned skin. He sports several scars on his face, from when he tried to defend his best friend against a group of gangsters (a deep one on the side of his face, one that goes from his chin, over his lower lip, across his nose and ends over an eyebrow. He actually lost a couple of his bottom front teeth with that strike, but has since gotten implants. The faintest one is just to the side of his mouth). He tends to wear all black or dark clothes in general. Ripped jeans and band t-shirts and vests are his usual getup.
Growing up in a rough neighborhood as a scrawny kid, life was tough. The eldest of 5 siblings, his father worked long and odd hours at the dock and his mother was ever busy with his younger siblings, he had to fend off for himself early on. He was also a victim of domestic violence, to his constantly drunk father, who beat up his mother. Since he’s the only sibling with golden eyes and with a late quirk, his father often questioned whether he was his kid. Eventually, it all ended one night when his quirk manifested and the house was burned down. His father (wind-based quirk) fled, leaving his mother and his siblings to die. However, they all managed to make it out, as most of his siblings are fire-resistant and his mother has a fire-based quirk.
He might have ended up as most kids in that neighborhood - surrendered to a life of crime to survive. However, the death of his best friend, Taylor, in his teens to a group of thugs made him see that the neighborhood didn't need more criminals. They needed discipline. So he worked odd jobs until he made enough money to enroll in hero school, later than his peers.
His rough ways, manner of speech, and scars give him the aspect of a villain rather than a hero but eventually he graduated from hero school. Starting as a prohero definitely later than your typical graduate it will be tough for him to be popular. However he doesn't seek popularity. He only seeks justice.
Trivia: he's unexpectedly gentle with kids (unexpected, until you know he's the eldest of 5). He's scared of needles so he never got into hard drugs (Also because 'Losing yourself to a substance is stupid'). He swears like a sailor.
His girlfriend and childhood friend, Lori, is one of the people that grounds him and makes his world a better one. He’s also a caring older brother, having helped raise his siblings when his mother had moments of debilitating depression. His father is either AWOL or dead, and as far as he is concerned, everyone is better off without him. Besides himself, the sibling most affected by those years is his sister Eileen, only one year younger than him. The rest of the siblings were too young to remember those days, and so they could grow up free of that trauma.
Powers/abilities:
Depending on the type of world (fantasy/powers), Quentin has an affinity to fire mana. In a mutant/quirk type of world, his ability would be Flametongue. His lungs are actually what allows him to exhale fire. His whole respiratory system is like a combust engine and he can expel flames until he runs out of breath. He's pretty resistant to fire too. Overuse of his quirk can give him what looks like an asthma attack. However, no doctor can argue with him to quit smoking.
In other settings he can conjure and manipulate fire at will. However, overusing his abilities puts him at a risk of overheating and dehydration, so he can wield a huge sword (Flametongue) and apply his flames to it to avoid damage to himself and the surrounding area.
Important people:
Lori Hassen (24) - girlfriend
Aline Claymore - his mother
Eileen Claymore - his sister (23)
Andy/Franklyn Claymore - brothers, twins (20)
Timothy Claymore - brother (18)
Lita Claymore - youngest sister (17)
ArnoldBale Claymore - his scumbag of a dad, missing
Taylor Holt - his best friend, died at 17
Mayflower Holt - Taylor's younger sister (in the backgrounds she and Taylor grew together)
Rhonda Rivers - friend/coworker
Zoe Hawks - friend/coworker
Lance Gris - friend/coworker (reminds him of Taylor too much)
Lance Yser Gris
Age: 24
Default species: Human
Species I can write him as: Angel/Fae/Shapeshifter (swan)/Hybrid human with silver wings
Appearance: platinum blonde hair, kept cropped short at the back, a bit longer at the front. Its wavy tendencies makes the application of hair gel in the morning essential, if he ever wants to tame it somewhat and he usually wears it slicked back (but it rebels easily). Grey-blue eyes, more grey than blue. In some backgrounds he has silver wings.
Lance is larger than life. He’s usually depicted as a soldier fighting for some greater cause, whatever the background I write him in. He’s selfless to the point of recklessness because he can’t stand seeing his friends getting hurt. This makes him try to protect them with everything he’s got. In many verses he tries to protect Jesse during a mission, but fails, which ends up with Jesse dying and Lance with a scar on his shoulder.
When he’s not in the field, Lance is quite the troublemaker and mischievous. He’s very talkative and makes friends (and lovers) quite easily. He definitely got his mischievous streak from his grandfather, who was up for trouble himself in his younger days (and still is).
Powers/abilities:
In all backgrounds Lance’s abilities are related to light. He can absorb energy from the sun (which makes his hair glow golden) and convert it to power. He can either store energy or use it right away. He can even use it to boost his healing a bit. He’s always strongest during daylight, but overusing his powers comes at a risk of overheating and dehydration. In some backgrounds he has silver wings, which glow golden with the use of the solar energy.
Important people:
Jacques Gran - father
Claire Gris - mother
Jean Gris - grandfather (major influence in his life)
Emillie Gris - grandmother
Mari Gris - sister (11)
Alice Gris - sister (11)
Rose - friend
Marcus - friend
Quentin Claymore - friend/coworker
Zoe Hawks - friend/coworker
Jesse Harkness - friend (16)
Ben Harkness - friend/coworker (Jesse’s father)
Mayflower Holt
Age: 17-24 (it really depends on the background I’ve got going for her)
Default species: Human
Species I can write her as: Fae
Appearance: May has beautiful long green hair usually braided or tied back with a pink dragonfly hairpin. She has golden eyes and a few freckles on her cheeks. She’s of medium height and slim build. She tends to wear long skirts and dresses or generally comfortable clothes, which often include colorful shawls.
Mayflower is an outgoing adventurous young woman. She tends to live life with a positive view and a smile. She’s a very warm person who loves being surrounded by people she cares about. She even tends to mother her important people a bit, and this might mean she will cook for them or gift them always vibrant potted plants. She’s bubbly and energetic and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. She might not always plan ahead or think too hard about things before jumping into action.
May has a brother, Taylor. However, in most verses they do not grow up together. They’re both orphans and ended up in different orphanages. In the orphanage she grew up in, she became more attached to this younger boy, Esper, and sees him as her sibling. However, she ended up being adopted and they ended up separated. She doesn’t know about her actual brother, Taylor.
Powers/abilities:
Whatever her background, May’s abilities are linked to nature. She can make plants thrive or wilt - actually she can speed up the lifespan of a tree/plant, so the wilting is it just reaching the end of its life. However, she mostly uses her abilities to make plants thrive in general.
Important people:
Esper Kissim
Taylor Holt (unknown to her in most backgrounds)
Adoptive parents (unnamed)
Quentin Claymore (in the backgrounds she and Taylor grew together)
Lori Hassen (in the backgrounds she and Taylor grew together)
Esper Kissim
Age: 22
Default species: Fae
Species I can write him as: Human
Appearance: Esper has bubblegum pink, long, wavy hair. Usually worn either in a bun or half bun with the rest loose. Pinned with an old green dragonfly hairpin. He has golden eyes, accentuated with thick gold eyeliner. His complexion is pale. He’s not very tall for a male, and is often confused for a woman, until he speaks, as his voice is deeper than a woman’s.
He's a member of the Fae folk - hybrid winged beings that can connect with the world's mana and wield it. He has dragonfly wings that he can fold into his back until they appear to be the outline of a tattoo when he doesn't need them. Fae people are generally pretty and have unusual colored hair and eyes, with what looks like makeup accentuating their features - like human eyeliner, lipgloss or nail polish -- but these are natural characteristics to a Fae. Fae are also usually lighter than your average human, given their need to fly.
Having grown up in an orphanage with no memories of his deceased parents, Esper always felt lonely. That is until he met an older girl whom he started referring to as his sister, May. The two children quickly grew close, as she would try to cheer him up and even keepany bullies away from him. However, she was eventually adopted and they lost all contact. This was a big blow to Esper, and so he never allowed himself to grow emotionally close to other people again. He might even still have friends from the orphanage, but none ever felt as important as May did to him. He’s definitely got a tough shell around him to crack, and he’s not quick to befriend or trust others. He relies on himself first and foremost.
His most faithful companion is a turquoise frilled lizard fiend called Ivy, that he’s raised since she was a baby. Since she was raised by a Fae she’s somewhat tamed. She’s very protective of her master and usually lounges around his neck for warmth. When angered she can use her tongue like a chameleon or spit out purple flames. She can use her frilled collar to flutter a bit in the air.
Powers/abilities:
Esper has the ability to store energy in colorful orbs. They’re usually pink or deep purple in color and can be fashioned into necklaces or bracelets. They can be several sizes, the largest fitting on one’s palm. When thrown they explode upon contact with their target. He can also make teal colored orbs that act as a defensive spell. He can use his wings to fly for a few miles. He can also cast a few mana spells, besides storing his mana into orbs.
Important people:
Mayflower Holt
Flynn Finnegan - friend
Orba - friend (orphanage)
Evelyn - friend (orphanage)
Friedrich - friend (orphanage)
Flynn Finnegan
Age: 25
Default species: Human
Species I can write him as: Demon (Incubus)/Shapeshifter (fennec fox)
Appearance: Flynn has a slim build and dirty blonde hair that is always kept a bit overgrown, covering the nape of his neck. His eyes are blue. He’s queer and that reflects in how he presents himself to the world - he wears eyeliner, nail polish, lipstick and feminine clothes, including sandals and purses. He can also dress as a man, depending on how the mood strikes. He tends to call people by pet names.
Flynn hasn’t had the easiest life and that reflected in some poor choices. He was born in a poor neighborhood, and he never met his father, not really knowing who he is. Unfortunately he was roped into drug usage from a young age, and that led to him starting selling his “services” in the streets. Eventually, that evolved a bit to working at a brothel, but one would hardly consider that an ideal path in life. Over the years he tried to quit his drug usage and was successful, but his work at the brothel remained, because it’s not very easy to climb that social ladder.
Flynn is actually a very empathetic person, and perhaps that was part of the reason that led him to his consumption. Oftentimes, his clients are actually looking for a connection, and not just physical. He’s good at giving sound advice and at reading the room, so to speak. It’s not that he enjoys his job, but he kinda got used to it. If given a choice, he’d obviously choose to do something else, but it’s not like that choice is a realistic thing in his world.
He certainly chooses his own battles, and has the wisdom when to know when to fight back. However, he will advocate for anyone in need, and is respected by his coworkers because of that - he doesn’t allow any mishandling of his coworkers, or of himself. He still has pride, even if the rest of the society might judge him. He’s sort of an older brother type, and many of his acquaintances know they can count on him if they need help.
Powers/abilities: depending on the type of world (fantasy/powers) Flynn has an affinity to water mana. In a mutant/quirk type of world, his ability would be Mood Swing: he can manipulate people's emotions and minds a little bit. His quirk takes different forms depending on the mood (for example, a small overhead cloud that cools off someone’s ire with localized rain). The stronger a person's emotions the more control he has over them. There are limits, though - for example, he can’t tell someone to harm themselves because that goes against the person’s survival instinct. But he can definitely suggest they tie their shoelaces together, if they’re being truly insufferable. He's not much of a physical fighter.
Important note: despite Flynn’s history, I am not looking to writing NSFW scenes with him. He was originally created just as an NPC and grew as a character over the years, I intend to explore that in a fleshed out story.
Name: Rhonda Amy Rivers
Age: 19
Default species: Human
Species I can write her as: Fae
Appearance: Rhonda has cerulean blue hair and green eyes. She has a petite build and tends to wear dresses or skirts, her long hair either pulled back with a headband, or in twin braids. She likes cute, girly things, and that ranges from pink purses to cute stuffed toys.
Rhonda can be a very emotional person at times. In dire situations, she can remain calm and do whatever it takes to de-escalate things. However, in settings with people she cares about she can get riled up easily, which her partner Quentin takes full advantage of. At first she thought working with Quentin would be a handful (and it is!), but thanks to him she’s learned not to take life as seriously, and can even put up with his teasing now. She can keep a level head about a situation, where Quentin tends to rush in all hot headed (quite literally at times!) They’ve grown fond of each other like siblings, and definitely bicker as if they were so. She can get easily frustrated sometimes, being hard for her to express her emotions properly. She finds it hard to speak her mind in regards to people she cares about, so this causes her to overthink things and suffer emotionally.
Powers/abilities: she was originally from MHA verse, so in versions where she has powers, she has water affinity, being able to control the water in the environment. This can include being able to slow down someone’s bleeding. On rainy days she’s at her most powerful. On dry Summer days, she can dehydrate very quickly.
Important people:
Quentin Claymore - friend/coworker
Parents (unnamed)
Dennis - younger brother
Name: Zoe Naomi Hawks
Age: 26
Default species: Hybrid (falcon)
Species I can write her as: Human
Appearance: Zoe is a tall woman with short cropped hair - a buzz cut at the back in a sort of styled bob with longer bangs on one side of her face. She has light brown hair and eyes. Depending on the universe she’s written in, she’s usually a falcon hybrid. Her wings grow from her arms though - so she’s capable of flight, but like a wyvern she has to open her arms to fly. This makes her a fast flier, but is also a major disadvantage for defense. Her feet are like a falcon’s talons, while her hands are human. Her nose is big, and while human looking, it looks sort of curved like a beak. In the verses where she’s fully human, her nose is smaller. She has three pierces/earrings in each ear and an eyebrow piercing. She usually wears her uniform while on the job. While off duty, she can either go for a more masculine or feminine look - it really depends on the day. Her small breasts make it possible for her to pass off as a man, even if her voice isn’t very deep.
Either because of her job or her troubled childhood, moving constantly because of her unstable family life, Zoe isn’t a person of many words. She’s not timid, she simply doesn’t tend to say more than necessary, finding idle banter completely unnecessary. This doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to have fun - rather she values her time with the people that are important to her. That isn’t a big group of people - with her lifestyle, job and odd hours and not having roots it was hard making connections that stuck. She’s fiercely loyal to those she deems important. Sometimes she can be considered rude, as she’s a rather direct person and doesn't beat around the bush - she just says what’s on her mind. She can’t hesitate in her line of work, so she applies that logic in her personal life as well, not liking misunderstandings. She’s definitely the no nonsense type.
Powers/abilities:
In the universes where she’s a falcon hybrid, she’s a very fast flier and aggressive fighter, her talons being as sharp and powerful as that of a falcon. However, her main job is usually that of a sniper - and she’s very good at it, with her sharp eyesight.
Important people:
Lance Gris - friend/coworker
Quentin Claymore - friend/coworker
Name: Alma Rei
Age: 24
Default species: Human
Species I can write her as: Fae
Appearance: Alma has long wavy white hair that reaches down her back. Her bangs are also long and parted on the side. Her eyes are dark gray. She’s of medium height, her body fit and with balanced proportions. She tends to wear black clothes that contrast with her hair and skin tone. She generally chooses clothes that are easy to move in, so generally that means loose trousers and boots. Her top is fit, exposing her shoulders, but her sleeves are large and flow nicely with her movements. Her usually serious demeanor makes her look older (the white hair doesn’t help).
Alma isn’t someone one would consider warm and friendly from the get-go. She’s a very cool, pondered person and lives her life according to logic rather than being driven by emotions. That doesn’t mean she’s anti-social, it’s just she’s definitely not the life of the party and doesn’t have dozens of friends. The ones she does have, though, she treasures dearly. It’s easier for her to show her emotions through gestures rather than words. The only child to divorced parents, she had somewhat of a lonely childhood. That’s when she met her two best friends, and they’ve stayed friends ever since. Until her world fell into darkness and her life turned upside down.
Powers/abilities:
When her world fell into darkness and heartless jumped her, a keyblade materialized in her hands. It has a beautiful onyx gem to contrast with its silvery gleam. Magic also awoke in her, though she’ll have to learn to wield these abilities. Her magic is Time-based, so she can perform attacks like Ghost Drive - leaving seemingly copies of herself as she moves swiftly through her targets to confuse her enemies. There’s also Time Splicer, where she can erase one second between movements. She can’t use these abilities for very long.
And this was when things started to get bizarre. There was an…arrowhead. A floating arrowhead. He’d totally expected a gun. An arrowhead was an odd choice for an execution, no matter how you looked at it, especially when it floated. However, Leone hardly had any time to ponder about things before it was buried in his chest - in the soft fletch of the jugular notch, just above his sternum. He hardly had the time to register the intense pain before the world turned fuzzy at the edges and everything went dark.
He hadn’t expected to wake up again, but life was disappointing like that. He woke up to an unfamiliar room feeling too hot and sick to register much. He was running a high fever. He’d also been stripped off his jacket and shoes, but the rest of him was still decently clothed. Between the sweat and the blood on his shirt he’d made a mess of the sheets. He was alone for the time being, it seemed. He somehow made it to his feet and stumbled to the adjacent bathroom because it felt like he hadn’t pissed in ages and he was so damn thirsty. After drinking what felt like a liter from the tap, he splashed some water on himself, trying to cool down his burning skin. His reflection told him he looked an outright mess - even worse than in his hangover days. Speaking of, depending on how long he’d been here, he was definitely hungover and his body was shaking, likely not just from the fever, but from the lack of booze too. But little of that mattered now because he was staring at his chest - where he could have sworn he’d been stabbed before. There was a…zipper there. He blinked and looked down at himself, undoing more buttons of his soiled shirt. No, that was definitely a freaking zipper etched in his skin, pulling his wound closed! He tugged on it and winced at the sting of pain and decided to leave it well alone.
He stumbled out of the bathroom, movements uncoordinated. His logical mind told him he likely needed a hospital, the rest of him could only wonder if this was some kind of sick game. He’d expected Bruno to have shot him! Lights out and that was it - easy enough, right?! But instead he’d stabbed him with an arrow laced with some…drug? Poison? That had made him sick as a dog and had absconded him to his…place? He could only assume it was Bruno’s house and in any other circumstance he would have loved to explore more. As it was, he just wanted to get the fuck out of dodge since he was still alive and kicking, somehow.
He stumbled as far as the hallway, no doubt being as subtle as a trainwreck in his current state. Also, since he’d woken up, there had been an annoying noise ringing in his ears, like a dial-up tone forever lodged in there and getting constantly louder. That was probably why he didn’t hear Bruno’s approaching footsteps and voice until he was in front of him, looking oddly…pleased? Leone had always considered himself to be good at reading people as a cop and Bruno truly hadn’t struck him as the sadistic type, but this looked nothing more than a sick game from where he was standing. Or more half crouching, supporting himself on a small table to hold his weight up.
“What the fuck…did you do to me?! I just wanted to die!” He all but spat, glaring at the other man. Again, Bruno was saying something but he couldn’t really hear what. “Can you just…turn that fucking thing off? I can’t hear you!” Seriously, did he have an old phone tone on speakers or something? He’d expected Bruno to have the latest model of iPhone or some crap, he was the one with a predilection for vintage stuff, and even had an old gramophone and LPs back at home. Bruno seemed a bit surprised, but he couldn’t really care, as his strength finally left him and he slid down against the wall to sit on the floor, breathing harshly. Fuck, he really needed a drink.
Movement caught his eye and it seemed the fucked up events of the night…day? (Just how long had he been out?) weren’t over as a…ghostly image of a…monster formed next to Bruno. Leone’s eyes widened in panic, wondering if his forced cold turkey withdrawal or his high fever were making him hallucinate. But, seriously, he never considered himself the creative type, so why would he hallucinate some sort of humanoid…thing with spikes in its head and a fuckton of zippers in the rest of the body?
“Wha-what is- Get that thing away from me!” He all but shouted and then…as if the oddities weren’t over and he was stuck in some sort of B-rated horror movie another…thing showed up. This time it was right next to him. It was also…humanoid in shape, its top half covered in purple, the rest of it seemingly made of metal. It had indentations for eyes and on its hands kinda like old speakers and there was some sort of…timer on its head, currently set to zeros. It seemed to glow with static, like an old TV. Seriously, the thing looked like the lovechild of every vintage player he owned. But the most important detail was the goddamn annoying sound he’d been hearing all along was coming from it - and just like that, the bloody sound was at least out of his own head and he could hear again.
“What the fuck?!” It was all his hungover, feverish brain could come up with, seriously, and he crawled back, foregoing any pride and grace if it got him away from the two beings. But as luck would have it, the second one that had manifested out of nowhere seemed to be following him rather closely, crouching and observing him like an overgrown alien. Then its head turned to the other one next to Bruno and it…crouched in front of the white-haired man, as if protecting him. Leone could only blink and he’d slumped against a wall again since he wasn’t going anywhere fast in his condition and, well. Not like he was scared of dying, just the turn of events had been very unexpected, to say the least.
In the barren first half of the new continent, the monsters were naturally stronger against such an arid environment and could cast stronger magic. Still, that wasn’t the only thing of concern that awaited them. They’d have to cross The Barrens to get to their first goal: Fletz. While the Flower City Donau was closer for them to stock up, they weren’t in such dire need of provisions to divert there. It made sense not to have to cross the wasteland of The Barrens twice, and not just because of the local monsters. No, what was concerning was the proliferation of bandits that had made their home in the caves of the wasteland - or so the last peddlers they’d encountered warned them of.
“Beware of the thieves that roam The Barrens, good sirs!” One of the nervous looking peddlers said. “Put a stop to our business they did, those scoundrels. We dare not cross the wastelands to stock up in the cities. We rather make our way back to Serdio.”
“Is it that dangerous?” Dart asked in genuine surprise. “I traveled around here a few years ago, and while there were a few bandits, they weren’t that unmanageable. Isn’t the king doing anything about it?”
“Dangerous? Son, you don’t know the half of it. In the last year it’s said that a group of dozens have made their hideouts in the caves in The Barrens. No soul can cross safely there anymore. Commerce between The Flower City and The Capital has been severely impacted.” The older peddler moaned about his loss of business. “As for the king…” the two peddlers exchanged a look between them. “I-It’s not our right place to say…” He hesitated, no doubt eyeing Lavitz’s high quality armor and the insignia that identified him as a high ranking knight at the service of Basil. They were naturally hesitant to badmouth a king, even if it wasn’t the one that Lavitz served.
“Zior gone careless, that he did.” It seemed his younger companion had no such qualms. “His eldest daughter, princess Emille, is rumored to have gone ill in the mind, you see. Why, she used to be a lovely lady, outright kind princess. She’s had a change of heart ever since she fell from her horse. Bump her head she did. Gone an’ started favorin’ those scoundrels. It’s said the King cut the patrolling of the land because of her suggestion, only the Creator knows why.”
“A-anyways, if you’re headed to The Barrens, best of luck to you sirs. And thanks for your business. Much obliged!”
They bid their farewells to the disheartened peddlers as they digested the news. Dart crossed his arms, pondering.
“Dozens of bandits, eh?” Then he glanced at his companion and smiled. “Well, we still got an advantage over them. They’ll run the other way when they see humans wielding magic.” He glanced up at the clear skies of the early morning over The Barrens. “We’ll just have to rush - if we push it with no stopping for lunch we can get to Fletz by sundown. Donau would be faster, but…no use crossing The Barrens twice in this case since we have no business there. King Albert wrote a letter for King Zior, right? I hope he can aid our quest.” Although if there was the rumor of any new power in the continent, he gathered the peddlers would have mentioned it. Still, there was no need to assume things this early on. A power that immense would generate rumors sooner rather than later.
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