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Language:
English
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Published:
2025-01-08
Completed:
2025-06-11
Words:
1,800
Chapters:
18/18
Comments:
33
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22
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378

100 Stars

Summary:

Moments woven in the stars against the backdrop of the night sky.

Chapter 1: Chance of Rain (Judith)

Notes:

Drabble collection using prompts from various dreamwidth communities. Pairings and characters are random, but if you know me, you'll have an idea of what will be in the fic.

This is primarily for practice and has no update schedule. Characters and pairings will be added if they'll have more than one chapter, but I don't expect this fic to have more than five relationships tags.

prompt: chance of rain (tales_100)

Chapter Text

Their first target sleeps beneath a weather-worn tarp at one of the harbor cities. From the sky, it looks like a harmless pile of cargo; from the ground, it’s something much more.

Fitted into the metallic body is a red crystal that glows. How many did he make that were just like this one?

Thunder rumbles in the distance and Ba’ul presses a warning into her skull. She throws back the tarp and brandishes her spear.

She doesn’t witness the uproar over the broken blastia.

Ba’ul dives beneath thick, gray clouds. She feels a soft drop of rain.

How fitting.

Chapter 2: Shield (Flynn & Estelle)

Notes:

prompt: shield (fiction_drabbles)
not really flystelle, but totally cool if you interpret it that way.

Chapter Text

When you are a knight, you are the Empire’s sword and shield.

That was one of the first things they taught new recruits. If you weren’t ready to throw down your life, you could not be a knight.

He’s had his fair share of scolding for stepping between a friend and a monster.

It isn’t until he’s lying with a wound torn into him by a brigand’s axe where he truly realizes why sacrifice was one of the first lessons.

When Lady Estellise asks if he’s alright, healing arte weaving through him, all he can do is close his eyes.

Chapter 3: Fear (Patty)

Notes:

prompt: fear (1sentenceorder)

Chapter Text

The sea is quite fussy today.

She gazes out upon endless blue, sprays of froth buoying on the surface in patches. A particularly nasty wave rolls up under Fiertia’s body, and her grip tightens on the helm. She’s tasted enough of the sea that it can’t scare her. If it threatens to drag her in its salty clutches, she’ll just swim back up.

A shard of dread chills her heart upon seeing the black mass. His name sits in her throat like stone before plopping back in her stomach.

Seaweed doesn’t scare her, but the corpse of a friend will.

Chapter 4: Attraction (Flynn+Judith)

Notes:

prompt: attraction (1fandom)

Chapter Text

She’s one of the most perceptive people he’s ever met.

That alone should frighten him.

He tries to keep things close to chest, a rule hammered into him by years of knightly training. If the people saw his temper flare or heard doubt in his voice, it would take no more than a second for everything he’s worked for to fall apart.

Even when Brave Vesperia lets him in, he stays guarded. It’s years later after he’s told Judith does he realize he can’t hide anything from her.

It should frighten him. It really should.

Now? It draws him closer.

Chapter 5: Pulse (Duke & Yuri)

Notes:

prompt: pulse (1fandom)

Chapter Text

He only needs Dein Nomos.

His breathing is shallow, his clothes are still damp from where he’d been plucked out of the sea. More curiously is the puncture just below his ribs. When it’s prodded, he flinches despite his unconscious state. Such a wound could only be inflicted if Yuri Lowell had let someone get close. If Yuri Lowell had been careless.

It’d be easier to take the sword and return the body to the waves.

Duke’s fingers trail from Yuri’s face to his neck. When his pulse presses back - somehow stronger - Duke can’t give the sea what it wants.

Chapter 6: One Hour (Flynn)

Notes:

prompt: one hour (tales_100)

Chapter Text

Hooves trample rhythmically against the ground as the quietta blazes out the gates of Capua Torim. He hears its ragged breathing and can only pat its flank in apology. Minutes was not nearly enough time to recover from a long journey.

The letter, stamped with the official seal, and the reins are clenched tightly in his fist.

Flynn sees Heliord against the backdrop of a fiery, evening sky.

It’s not too late. There’s still time.

...But a lot could happen in one hour. What if—

He glimpses the envelope and his resolve steels. After all, he wouldn’t give up either.

Chapter 7: Animals (Estelle & Repede)

Notes:

prompt: animals (fic_promptly)

Chapter Text

The pups are like mini-Repedes whose pelts have yet to be scarred by battle. Some have the same purple coat as their father. The ones with the beige hides are the only thing they learn about this nameless mother.

Repede lets them close - even her. They had a rocky start, but Estelle was sure they’d forged a bond by the end of their journey.

She reached out, smiling and cooing (“Aw, they’re so cute, Repede!”), and her heart fluttered when one sniffed cautiously at her extended hand…

…before padding out of reach.

Repede could only huff at her in pity.

Chapter 8: Sudden (Yuri+Flynn)

Notes:

prompt: sudden (1fandom)

hey, remember when i used to ship these two? lol i still kind of do, but not something i think i'll ever write for again.

this one is somewhat suggestive.

Chapter Text

He closes his eyes as Flynn curls up into his chest. It’s unusual for him to be so clingy, but that’s okay. Yuri realizes he’s too tired and achy in a good way to push him off. But maybe it’d be better if he just left Flynn alone. Or maybe he should’ve stayed in Dahngrest.

The musings and hypotheticals are chased out of him when the sudden words are whispered against his skin.

He doesn’t answer. Not when Flynn’s breathing carries the weight of sleep.

Yuri disagrees - can’t agree - because Flynn is terribly wrong.

There’s nothing “beautiful” about a murderer.

Chapter 9: Armor (Flynn+Judith)

Notes:

prompt: armor (tales_100)

Chapter Text

“So, this is Krityan armor?”

It’s much looser and even looks lighter than the armor he’s familiar with. For the knights, it would be impractical, but he knows for someone like Judith, it’s perfect.

...Why did it look familiar?

“It protects me, but it’s restrictive,” Judith says. “Is it the same for the knights?”

Flynn shakes his head. “We get used to it. You would, too.”

He can almost see the protest in her thin smile. Instead, “I think I’ll change. Care to help?”

“...Sure,” he manages, blushing.

When she guides him, he concludes that, sometimes, less armor is better.

Chapter 10: Family (Rita & Judith)

Notes:

prompt: family

no community-prompt for this one.

Chapter Text

Rita had mulled over the question for nights.

She could discuss things she knew without problem, but diving into unfamiliar territory was intimidating. But how else could she learn if she didn’t speak?

“Hey... What was he like?”

Judith looks at her quizzically.

Rita swallows, peeling her gaze from the book in her lap. “Was Hermes a good dad?”

“Yes. He was serious about research and loved blastia… I think he would’ve liked you.”

“...You think so?” But Rita already knows the answer from the sincerity on Judith’s face. She’s not sure what to say. “I... I guess that’s nice.”

 

Chapter 11: Hero (Judith+Estelle)

Notes:

prompt: hero (tales_100)

Chapter Text

This book is a curious one.

What should be a knight in shining armor is instead a female warrior who’s fluent with a spear. She’s described as having periwinkle hair, and she’s traveling with a girl whose magic can regenerate the world.

Amused, Judith returns the pages to Estelle. The pink dyeing her cheeks confirms her suspicions. “She sounds very familiar.”

“Well, I wanted the hero to be someone that young girls look up to. You were the first person I thought of. You’re very brave,” Estelle blushes harder. “Are you mad?”

She only shakes her head and smiles gently.

Chapter 12: Battle (Flynn+Judith)

Notes:

prompt: battle (tales-100)

Chapter Text

It’s amusing how different their knight-friend is during battle.

There’s something traditional about his style. He uses the same artes as Yuri, but without the punches and kicks. If she didn’t know any better, Judith wouldn’t think twice.

But his eyes light up, a fracture in his perfect mask. Knights shouldn’t take joy in fighting. Flynn does. Maybe he’s just that type of person.

When their gazes lock on the battlefield, she sees the challenge. Who can defeat the monster first?

At least he knows how to keep things interesting.

Judith smirks before charging towards their target.

She won’t lose.

Chapter 13: Hand (Estelle & Yuri)

Notes:

prompt: hand (triace-100)

Chapter Text

Bits of rice cling stubbornly to her fingers. She wipes them down and stares at her hard work.

Why, whenever she cooked rice balls, they always ended up so ugly?

“You’re pressing down too hard.”

Estelle pouts. “But if I don’t, then it just falls apart.”

“Here.”

She cups her hands at the offered spoonful, but it remains in Yuri’s grip. Estelle follows his gaze and freezes.

…Digging frantically through sharp stone… Zaude’s ruins rending her flesh… Rita and Judith’s pulling her away…

“They’re from battle…?”

“…Must have been some monster,” he says quietly.

She swallows, voice equally soft. “…Yeah.”

Chapter 14: Heavy Lifting (Ba'ul)

Notes:

prompt: heavy lifting (tales-100)

I can't remember if there's a mention of Ba'ul's family. All I know is that he's alone and hurt when the first volume begins. I think his pod was hunted by monsters and he was the only survivor.

Chapter Text

His kin shied away from human touch.

When he was a calf still hiding in the shadow of his mother’s wings, he asked her what it was like to fly with someone. She answered, You already know.

Ba’ul hadn’t meant the Entelexia.

He thinks nothing of it when he lets the young Krityan climb atop his back. He thinks even less when she’s a young woman hardened by tragedy.

Carrying a party of eight is, quite literally, heavy lifting. But when he feels Judith's love for her friends, her genuine happiness, he finds the answer his mother couldn't have know.

Chapter 15: Taking Shelter (Flynn)

Notes:

prompt: taking shelter (tales-100)

I really wish DnK dove a bit deeper into Flynn’s feelings regarding his mother's death, esp given the way she went out.

and would you look at that: i caught up on comments!

Chapter Text

Wind and rain lash the wooden panels of the house. Distantly, he hears the low rumble of the approaching storm. He wonders if the roof will shed more of its shingles and how easy it’ll be to fix.

Flynn doesn’t mean to come back here. But at the first kiss of rain, he had no choice.

Her room is tightly shut. Once, if he listened, he could hear his mother’s shallow breathing. Now, there is haunting silence.

Home is supposed to be safe. Instead, he’s only reminded of death, how it waited outside to collect her last drop of strength.

Chapter 16: Curse (Seifer)

Notes:

prompt: curse

Chapter Text

His flesh hadn’t melted off his bones so much as it painlessly dissolved into something translucent. He supposes, grimly, it’s a feeble blessing wrapped in the curse.

Seifer wears night like a cloak, befitting of the half-skeletal monster that would terrorize the seas. Siren’s Fang is infamous, but there are allies in Capua Torim, men loyal to Aifread.

Briefly, he thinks about returning to the sea. Leaving a child in the hands of strangers was dangerous…

But when he glimpses her small, unconscious body cradled in his skeletal arms, Seifer knows the right choice he must make for his captain.

Chapter 17: Wall (Norein)

Notes:

prompt: wall (1sentence)

you may already know how i feel about norein, but tl;dr: i think she's made out to be a good person, but she's not a good mother. it's amazing fuel for flynn angst though, so i'm certainly not complaining.

Chapter Text

Sometimes, it’s hard to look at him.

It’s a horrible thing to think, but acknowledging it is the first step to fixing it… is what she tells herself.

Norein sees much of Finath in Flynn. It’s not just looks, no. It’s in how he speaks, how he puts up walls when something’s clearly bothering him. She’s not stupid. She’s seen the dirt on his clothes or the bruise peeking out from his coat sleeve. Children could be as cruel as adults.

“It’s nothing, mother,” he always says, smiling gently.

She tries not to think of Finath when she sees it.

Chapter 18: Once Bitten (Yuri & Rita)

Notes:

prompt: once bitten (tales-100)

one of the many issues i have with rita is how no one calls her out on her bratty antics. 'joy and sorrow on the waves' is one of my least fave skits cause of how she treats repede in it.

i initially wanted to do an actual one shot of this scenario, but tbh, i'd rather save my energy for characters (and duos) i actually like.

Chapter Text

“Your dog bit me.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have grabbed his tail.” Yuri says without missing a beat. He watches their meal grumbling over the campfire. Smoke claws at the night air.

“I didn’t hurt him,” Rita fires defensively. “He was wagging it just fine earlier.”

“It’s not nice to treat animals like that. Don’t push him around; he’s got feelings just like you.”

She goes quiet.

“Repede doesn’t hold grudges. If you apologize, he’ll forgive you.”

Rita rises to her feet, and he’s fully expecting her to stomp off-

“Where is he?”

...He only tells her because she asked nicely.