POINT OF VIEW: Third
RATING: General
GENRE(S): Fluff
This is an excerpt. You can find the full piece here.
Ever since Alice was first summoned to Askr, she had very little time for herself. Most of her focus had gone towards the war and the duties she was assigned as Summoner and tactician. She never really had a chance to take a breather, her mind plagued with too many thoughts and worries all at once in regards to Askr's battle with Embla. But things have started to quiet down, and the Summoner finally takes this moment to go out into the gardens and appreciate the night sky.
Alfonse is doing his last round of patrol when he spots Alice from the corner of his eyes. Her back is faced towards him, and her head is tilted back to look up at the stars. Curious, the young prince approaches the quiet Summoner, his armour clinking with his movements in the silent night. Alfonse stops just by Alice's side, and he takes a second to look at her.
"Summoner Alice," he speaks up to get her attention. She makes a humming sound to acknowledge his presence, but her gaze remains glued to the sky. "Is something wrong?"
"No," the young woman answers simply. "I'm just admiring the stars."
The conversation lulls soon afterwards as Alfonse can't think of a response. His eyes linger on Alice's profile before he directs his attention towards the sparkling lights in the sky. He doesn't really see anything special about them; it's a sight he has always seen, living in the royal castle. They're just stars.
POINT OF VIEW: Third
RATING: Teen
GENRE(S): Slice of Life, Friendship
This is an excerpt. You can find the full piece here.
Euria stares across the room at Diluc’s figure expertly working at the bar. It isn’t often that he’s at the tavern, but she still likes to visit Angel’s Share whenever she can for the possibility of seeing him. She finds it ridiculous that she’s behaving like this, criticizing herself for her actions that almost border on obsessive. It was a simple crush at first which only grew the more that Euria saw the young tavern owner, and by now, her feelings for Diluc had grown far beyond her control.
She inwardly groans to herself, burying her face down onto the table out of shame and embarrassment. She shouldn’t be acting like this. She’s an adult. She needs to act appropriately, but she can’t stop herself from acting impulsively based on her desire to see Diluc. Of course, she knows what limits and boundaries she can’t cross and makes sure to never step out of line, respecting Diluc and his privacy. That’s why this tavern is a bit special. It’s the only shared connection she has with Diluc who managed to steal her heart the same way he stole countless others before her.
“Damn it…” Euria murmurs to herself, wondering if she should just give up on her feelings on Diluc entirely. He’s never shown any romantic interest towards anyone ever, and she highly doubts he would show any towards her at any point in time. Sure enough, they were well acquainted with each other with her being a regular patron at his tavern, but that was all there was to their relationship.
“This sucks,” Euria continues, scrunching her brows together.
“What does?” A familiar voice asks with cheerful curiosity, prompting Euria to look up. Kaeya grins at her, offering her a small wave in greeting. “You’re here again, huh?”
Without even asking, Kaeya pulls out the chair across from where Euria is sitting and seats himself, joining her uninvited. The knight props his elbows up onto the table. “You know, I can’t help but be curious. You don’t drink at all, yet you still end up coming here anyways. Why is that?”
“They offer non-alcoholic drinks here,” Euria responds.
“And that’s precisely my point. You can get most of those drinks just about anywhere else,” Kaeya shoots back. “So why choose to come here to Angel’s Share in particular?”
“…Do I need to have a reason?” Euria opts not to answer his question and instead warily asks one of her own.
Kaeya hums. “Mm, I guess not, but I have a feeling you do have a reason, and I suspect… that it has to do with a guy.”
“It doesn’t,” Euria lies a bit far too hastily.
“Is that so?” The knight questions with his ever present smile, amused to see his friend acting like this. “Then, you wouldn’t mind if I were to head on over to the bar and strike up a conversation with Diluc?”
Euria barely manages to stop herself from outwardly reacting. “You’re free to do whatever you want and talk with whomever you want. Why would I mind it?”
Kaeya casually shrugs his shoulders. “You’re right, of course. Then, it should be fine if I happened to bring up to him that a certain woman has been staring at him this whole time.”
Euria’s eyes widen. “You wouldn't—”
POINT OF VIEW: Second
RATING: Teen
GENRE(S): Hurt/ Comfort, Fluff
This is an excerpt. You can find the full piece here.
"You look exhausted," he notes, stroking your cheek with the back of his fingers. "I thought I was supposed to be the one getting scolded to rest."
You laugh at his teasing words. "I didn't want to rest unless you were with me." You pause for a second then continue. "I spent most of my day with the healers. Since my body isn't exactly in the best shape, they wanted to go over some stuff with me to make sure I can get through my pregnancy safely. You'll probably get a report or something later with all the specifics. They don't exactly trust me to take care of myself."
"Well, I can't blame them," Dimitri quips. "You only did the bare minimum to stay alive. You weren't exactly the best at managing your health."
"That was in the past," you argue. "Back then, I didn't care about my life. I didn't care whether or not I lived or died."
Dimitri's expression falls a bit from your pitiful words. "And what about now?" He asks.
You tilt her head back to properly look at him, and you gently caress his cheek with your palm. "Now? Now I have people who love and care for me. I have people I love and care for in return. People I want to spend more time with. People I want to live for. And besides..." You pause and move to rest your hand atop your stomach, a small smile on your lips. "My body is no longer just mine alone. I have to take care of myself now so that our child can be born healthy."
POINT OF VIEW: Second
RATING: General
GENRE(S): Drama
This is an excerpt. You can find the full piece here.
Berkut heaves an exasperated sigh as he tries to ignore all the unrefined chatter and boisterous laughter around him at his table in the mess hall. No matter how long it’s been since becoming a part of the Order of Heroes, he’s still not used to the idea of eating and engaging with… commoners. He was a lord, and as such he should be treated so, yet all the important people in the Order of Heroes, and essentially the ones that hold the most authority in the group, said that everybody was to be treated on relatively equal standing.
The Rigelian prince huffs, tired and bored. Just then, he notices the people near him go tense before slowly, and not so discreetly, inch away from him. Confused, he looks up to figure out the reason for the sudden shift of mood, and his eyes land upon your cloaked figure. The frown on his face deepends, and he scowls. The Heroes beside him flinch at the pure animosity in the air around the Rigelian prince, but he doesn’t seem to notice.
It’s been like this for a while now. Whenever Berkut would catch sight of you or be near you, he would become exceedingly aggravated. Nobody knew the reason for his hatred towards you, but what they didn’t know was that Berkut’s feelings for you wasn’t mere hatred. It was confusion and annoyance towards himself because he had, to his surprise, fallen in love with you.
He doesn’t know how or why it happened. It shouldn’t have happened. He was already promised to someone else. He had already given his heart to someone else, prior to when he was recruited into the Order. His fiancée was beautiful and graceful, the perfect example of an ideal woman.
But you? You lacked finesse and unabashedly laughed at your own jokes. It still irritates him to this day how you would always wave it off and simply say “it’s a meme” without explaining anything further. You were socially inept in his eyes, stumbling with your words now and then while also speaking in a far too casual manner. You were, without a doubt, a commoner, lesser than he was. Lesser than the people close to him were. And yet…
POINT OF VIEW: First
RATING: General
GENRE(S): Fluff, Drama
Since when did you become a part of my everyday life?
Every morning, I pass by your door, knowing that you’re most probably still fast asleep, and I continue on my way. Then noon comes, and you walk into the mess hall like you just woke up–and I have no doubts that is indeed the case–and my lunch is essentially your breakfast. And the day continues, and you are always there, at some point in time.
It’s gotten to the point that whenever I don’t see you, or whenever you’re not by my side, it somehow feels wrong. It feels uncomfortable, like a very important piece of my normal day is missing. I’m left feeling anxious and restless, wondering where you are and how you’re doing. Thoughts of you fill my mind, and I can’t chase them away.
It was not my intention to get so attached to you, but now my heart lies in the palm of your hands. I once gave a piece of my heart to people I held dear, and they all took it with them when they left, leaving me a bit more empty. A bit less like myself.
Yet now, though I never planned to give them to you, you hold my heart and soul in their entirety. Break them if you will, or return them to me… Or, if I am allowed to hope for it… give me yours in return.
POINT OF VIEW: First
RATING: General
GENRE(S): Family, Angst
This is an excerpt. You can find the full piece here.
Night had already fallen, but I still found myself awake and taken in with my thoughts. I sat on the bed, the mattress dipping underneath my weight. In my hand was one of my most treasured items—a photo of my family. My entire family from when we were all still living together.
I found myself staring at it every now and then, often remembering with a bittersweetness the days of my past. Despite myself, I ended up staring at my brother's youthful face in the photograph, capturing what was now nothing more than a distant memory to me. It was a stark difference from the face as the one I had seen in the newspapers, but even though he looked different now, I still knew that it was him. There was no way I would mistake my brother for someone else.
My brows furrowed, and I found myself no longer able to keep my emotions in check. They came in tides and waves, all at once and unrelenting. They came to me in the form of questions and doubts to the relationship that I thought we had.
Why didn't Amaris say anything when he left? Why didn't he tell me? Did he hate the life we led? It was true that life on the farm was gruelling work, but those peaceful days were so precious to me, and I believed that he felt the same way.
Or... maybe it was us that he hated? Did I delusion myself into thinking that we were close when we were younger? We always played together and laughed together. Sure, we had the occasional arguments, but that was normal between siblings. Maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to see.