February open log

[emet_sulk]

🧙 WHO: Emet-Selch and anyone
⚔️️ WHAT: Coming out of a sleep (canon update) and throwing himself into quests to distract himself from new memories
🕒 WHEN: Throughout February
🗺️ WHERE: See prompts
⚠️ WARNINGS:
- Possible sexual content in the arrow threads.
- Potential spoilers for Endwalker, let me know if you are fine with them or not.


1. G(lacial)-Warriors 🗡️ (Knight quest)

A quest is just what he needs to take his mind off the plethora of revelations to come from his day of forced slumber - and what better way than to go out and hit something until it falls to pieces? He takes his gunblade, his horse, and the provisions provided by Camelot to all knights embarking on this particular journey. In typical fashion, he does not bother to ask around and see if anyone would like to join him. No, he wants the time to himself to sort out his thoughts.

Yet nothing is ever that easy, is it? He's ambushed by one of the I.C.E. constructs as he nears the spot. His horse rears up in alarm, throwing him from the saddle before bolting into the trees. Emet-Selch lands with a painful thud into a bank of snow. Fortunately, the gunblade strapped to his back seems in order. Unfortunately, the ICE is advancing on him and he's having trouble getting out of the snow.

Help?

(ooc: Existing CR are free to assume they accompanied him from the start if they want.)

2. Serve, Save, Slave, Slay...Some Sushi 🗡️

The sushi monster is no easier to slay than the I.C.E. as Emet-Selch discovers much to his chagrin. What does a man have to do to get some relatively simple knight quests??

The...creature(?) fires a round of pellets at him which has him diving into a rolls to avoid. He comes up into a crouch just in time to parry one of the sharp green swords it wields, quickly getting his feet beneath him before the second can slice him in half. He's been at it for a few minutes by now, focus utterly consumed by the opponent before him. He's growing tired though and the thing still doesn't look like it plans to give up.

"Ridiculous thing," he seethes. "And me, reduced to using these inferior magicks... I should have asked Irhya for a greatsword instead of a gunblade."

He fires off a round and its ricochet echoes throughout the forest. Even if the sound doesn't draw attention, the eerie blue after-image of the shot is worth attention.

(ooc: Existing CR are free to assume they accompanied him from the start if they want.)

3. I See You, Opening! 🛡️

Well of course, Emet-Selch doesn't want anything to do with these tricksy arrows and their dubious effects. But other people may have no such qualms. Perhaps you want to see this sour-looking man pour his heart out to one of his associates. Or perhaps you want to make him suffer by tasting nothing but chocolate for two weeks. Anything goes. Really. Anything.

If shooting: Please nominate which arrow you're shooting him with. I'm happy to write custom starters if you want.

If encountering him after he's been shot: Please nominate which effect you want for him. Again, I can write a custom starter if that's preferred.

4. Wildcard

If you have some ideas, feel free to send me a PM or leave a comment on the CR meme.

Comments

AUs upon AUs

[omnicrafter]

Irhya is intrigued when she gets the message, suspecting right away perhaps this is a trap of some sort. Not by Hades, no, but definitely by someone... though how they got his phone remains to be seen. Regardless, she decides to take the bait, shuffling through the snow to get to the riverbank.

...Huh. Zidane and... Hades? Well, one glance explains everything, at least as much as she needs to know to form an opinion.

A snort. "Is this guy blackmailing you? I can beat him up," she says innocently, clapping her hands together. Because, yeah, embarrassing is right.

You gotta have an AU on that AU upon AU

[tantailizing]

Looking up when their new arrival... well, arrives, Zidane grins and shakes his head. "Nah, nothing like that. You just happened to be part of his top contacts."

Also, he feels like maybe he would be fine one-v-one-ing, but who knows. Emet's a weird old man... unless the offer wasn't made to him. And blackmailing? Him??

... Okay, maybe once or twice... a few times he'd done that, but it wasn't anything too serious.

[omnicrafter]

"So you summoned me to see him bathing in the river in the middle of winter? Sooooounds like blackmail..." Irhya raises a brow, leaning in a little closer to Zidane. "You know that's not going to work, right? And surely you can hazard a guess why it won't work."

[tantailizing]

"Again, it's still not that. And yeah, there's better things to get blackmail over. He's going to need help getting home is all."

Unless she's tired of doing escort quests and that's totally understandable.

[omnicrafter]

"Probably," she replies, dragging out the syllables. "I guess if you need me to haul his arse back home, I can. But why didn't you just say that when you had his phone?"

[tantailizing]

"Oh that? I didn't want to get caught with his phone. Yeah, he can check his messages later, buuut before that, I didn't do anything. It's just by chance a few people he knows might come by."

Sooo... can't pin anything on him yet. "Besides that, he's being so stubborn. I figured someone who knows him better might be able to make him realize he can accept some help."

[omnicrafter]

"Well... it's true he can be stubborn. But him being in there at all just doesn't seem like an innocent act, somehow."

She tilts her head from one side to the other, perplexed. "What brought this on, anyway?"

[tantailizing]

"Haha, yeah, that..."

He can totally explain why. "Y'know how people are testing arrows this month? He got hit by one. He thought a cold shower might help, but... I dunno, he seems fine."

[omnicrafter]

"That's it?" She blinks. "It's not like he'd be the first nor the last to have to deal with that in front of other people, man or woman. Hells..."

She knows he's still a bit reserved when it comes to public displays, something no amount of sex city life will train out of him, but this is just ridiculous. "I was really, really hoping I wouldn't have to go in after him, but I guess that's just how it is today. And after he warms up and calms down," she gestures to Zidane with a small smirk, "mayhap it would be prudent to change the settings on his phone so nosy kids can't go through his contacts anymore."

[tantailizing]

"Right? I guess something-something public appearance and possibly feeling humiliated." He shakes his head. This is why he doesn't care too much about public appearance as long as he acts right when the moment needs.

Grinning, Zidane just places his hands behind his head, looking elsewhere while rocking on his feet. "I mean, it's not like that 'nosy kid' went searching his personal files at least. But yeah, he could put a lock on it."

plz assume after her convo with Zidane or something

[emet_sulk]

It's inevitable he will eventually hear their voices from the bank. He swivels and curses under his breath, sinking lower into the water.

"What are you doing here, Irhya?!"

[omnicrafter]

"Whatever he's doing here, I suppose, which is probably spectating," Irhya says with a shrug. "Are you just gonna catch your death in there or what?"

When he said he wanted to die, he probably didn't mean like this. She can't help but be both perplexed and amused at the same time. There must've been a good reason for him going in... she just can't think of it.

[emet_sulk]

"No. Garlean soldiers train their bodies this way to mitigate the cold."

It's certainly not a lie with the way he puts it. His glare dares her to challenge him on it.

[omnicrafter]

True; Ishgardian soldiers have been known to do the same in recent years. However...

"You're... training?" she asks, a little incredulous as she makes a face at him. "What brought this on?"

[emet_sulk]

"...I'd not like to drown should Hythlodaeus decide to shove me into an icy river."

He's quite proud of himself for that half-truth. He hopes the coldness of the water dissuades her from thinking to join him for this 'training'.

[omnicrafter]

"That's really it?" Irhya seems dissatisfied with that answer by the look on her face, moving closer as if to haul him out of the water herself. "You might've staved off drowning, but you can't stave off the chill."

[emet_sulk]

He steps backwards to maintain the distance, even though it puts him in slightly deeper water. Unfortunately, she's right: it is really very cold.

"I assure you, I'll be fine," he says grumpily. "But if you're truly that concerned, then turn around. I'm not coming out while you gawk at me."

[omnicrafter]

"...Why?" Irhya tilts her head, furrowing her brow. "Unless you're injured and just don't want to show me, I can't imagine why you'd care that much."

So that's a no, especially if she's right about that injury part. Fortunately, she's wearing leather thighboots today, so it's easy to step in without getting wet. The hem of her cloak doesn't fare as well, but she can dry that out later.

"Gods be good, Emet-Selch, get out," she says emphatically, still coming at him.

[emet_sulk]

When she uses his title like that, he's inclined to dig his heels in and be even more stubborn. The moment she steps in, he realises she is not going to be dissuaded and he thrusts out a hand to stop her.

"Alright. Alright! I'll come out. But I insist you turn around first," he growls.

[omnicrafter]

"What-- no! Did you hurt yourself? Is that why you don't want to show me?" Irhya huffs, glaring at him. "Do you expect me to stay turned around the entire time I drag your arse home? I'm better off just carrying you in that case."

And she means it, because she makes another sloshing step into the water, drawing ever closer to being in range of grabbing him.

[emet_sulk]

What?! Oh no. He waves his arms at her wildly, trying to ward her off.

"I said I would come out already! For the love of Zodiark, Irhya...!!"

Unfortunately in trying to circle back to the bank as he backs away from her, he ends up getting into shallower water. Which means she can immediately see his problem (which unfortunately hasn't subsided even in the cold water). As soon as he realises, he colours, turns, and tries to flee the rest of the way up the bank to where his clothes are.

[omnicrafter]

It takes Irhya a moment to register what he's so worked up about, but then she remembers the description of one of the arrows.

...That's it? She sighs, turning back around and following him to the riverbank.

"You know," she says dubiously, "you could've just asked for help instead of letting the kid blackmail you." A smirk creeps into her voice. "I guess even sex city didn't drill that lesson into you, huh?"

[emet_sulk]

"You know I hated that place."

It's one thing to walk about bare-faced and quite another to walk around with nothing at all. In any case, he snatches up his clothes and uses them to hide his little problem. The cold has gone some way towards staving off the arrow's effects but he can tell it hasn't gone away.

"Don't you find it uncouth to simply...walk up to another's door and ask for sex?" he demands.

[omnicrafter]

"Under normal circumstances I'd say yes, definitely, but don't we at least count as friends with benefits by now?" She says, that smirk not going away. He must know what's coming, whether he asks for it or not. "It's not that weird for people to come calling for sex as long as you ask first."

Of course, her lifestyle is quite a bit different than his -- booty calls are not uncommon amongst the most pent-up adventurers. Some people are just the type to need it every once in a while. She's sent and answered those types of calls before, herself.

"Come on. Cold skin isn't pleasant. I'd like to warm you up a bit first."

[emet_sulk]

He could think of more miserable ways to wait out the arrow's effects, he supposes, although that doesn't mean he's any happier about being forced to find relief. For Irhya's sake however, he masks his irritation and snorts.

"Oh yes? Tell me: how, exactly, do you plan to warm me up?" He snags her waist with an arm and draws her to his side, eyeing her slyly. He is only partially dressed, chest bare to the elements.