#aitheros

Hair Prompts / Accepting

[ LAY ]:           the sender lays down in the receiver’s lap to let them play with the sender’s hair.

Seated on the sun-warmed grass with her knees up and her palms bracing her weight behind her, she tilted her head back to stare up at the clouds. They drifted lazily across the blue expanse, unbothered by the way it was slowly fading in brilliance as the sun began its descent. The afternoon was soon to be over, but still, warmth continued across Lisanna's skin like a lingering embrace, one she would always be grateful for.

A peaceful sigh slipped from her lips as the faint breeze gently tousled her hair in a soft caress. There was nothing quite like being outdoors on such a fine day, especially with friends and those she cared about. Tilting her head down again, her eyes sought her companions and the reassurance of their presence.

To her right, Lector lay on his stomach with a book open before him. She’d come to find the exceed was quite the voracious reader, and he’d been rather excited to come across that particular book when they’d passed through the town earlier (it was something about Stellean history, or maybe recipes? She wasn’t entirely sure, but Lector would no doubt give a full review or recount once he finished it anyway).

To her left, Sting sat in a similar position to her own. His legs were slightly bent to bring his knees up, only instead of leaning back against his hands, his arms rested loosely draped over his legs. His fingers idly twirled a long blade of grass he’d plucked.

She watched as a yawn slowly overtook his features, and she was reminded rather strongly of a cat with the way the motion started off rather cutely and ended with reminder of danger, the flash of sharp canines. She briefly touched the tip of her tongue to her own teeth, tracing the noticeable points that had developed from overuse of her magic. There had been times when she had been too self-conscious to smile fully around people, but that was certainly no problem around Sting.

He yawned a second time, pulling her from wandering thoughts to focus on the current moment. Perhaps he’d had a rough night? She stretched out her legs before herself and shifted one hand to lightly pat her lap.

“You’re tired,” she said, a soft smile forming, “Why don’t you lie down for a bit?”

As he moved to reposition himself and rest his head upon her lap as indicated, Lisanna fought to keep her smile from growing too wide. But oh, she loved having him close. Her stomach fluttered as he settled, and her hand instantly moved to comb lightly through his hair. The physical connection tethered her to the moment, loosening the tendrils of anxiety that always hovered in the back of her mind, ready to grab her.

She focused on the softness of his hair, the way it slid between her fingers and gleamed in the sunlight. Warmth unfurled in her chest like a blooming flower, serenity soaking into her soul. Even the animals within her seemed to relax, she imagined them all curling up for a peaceful nap together, tempting her to close her eyes too, yet she resisted.

Her attention stayed on the task at hand, her nails now lightly raking across Sting’s scalp. She eased her weight forward to allow her other hand freedom, wiping it against her side to free it from any grass clinging to it.

“The fireworks display isn’t for another hour or so at least,” she commented, beginning to use her now-spare hand to trail her fingertip down his forehead and along his nose (ending, of course, with a light boop). “So, you can sleep until then if you want.”

She followed the line of his jaw with her finger in a gentle stroke, before fitting her hand to the curve of his cheek, thumb brushing across his skin, luxuriating in the warmth of it. There was something about the sight of him relaxing that both tightened and eased her heart all at once, leaving an ache and a wish. Having gone through so much in life already, he deserved a break, she thought, a sanctuary where he could be himself and be free of worry.

“You’re safe,” she said quietly, “I’ll protect you.”

As the last words fell from her lips, she paused, heart skipping and breath catching. Her hand in his hair tightened for just a moment, as thoughts became scrambled in her mind. She’ll protect him? Why did she say that?

While she might typically say such a phrase in a lighthearted manner (for really, her being able to protect anyone was surely a joke), the way it had come out now was as an unmistakable, solemn promise. It had been all too natural to say, to reassure, the conviction and burning truth was seared into her heart, after all. She would protect Sting. From anything she could.

Including her own, foolish and embarrassing, heart.

There's a particular moment people keep describing when they try video calling on SweetDream for the first time. It isn't the novelty of the technology itself. It's the small pause when their AI companion tilts her head, reacts to something they said, and the screen stops feeling like a screen. SweetDream, found at sweetdream.ai, has rolled out video calls with select characters, and the reaction has been less about gadgetry and more about presence.

Spend time on the platform and you notice the video feature doesn't sit alone. It rests on everything else SweetDream already does well: the deeply customizable character creation, the chat that genuinely remembers what you told it last week, the voice messages and phone calls that sound unnervingly human. By the time a face appears on a call, you've already built a relationship with someone. The video just gives that relationship a window.

send me ship bias and a muse of mine and I will reveal any ship biases I have !

ivan: already answered hehe

laxus: when it comes to laxus, for me its based purely on vibes. laxus is, for me, one of the more difficult muses to ship with and its because i think since fantasia, he's been trying to think more outwardly. mostly in the sense of his friendships and bonds with his team and certainly attempting to fix the ones with his guild. but all this to say i do have some ships i do like with laxus. ive been a laxana since forever, for example. thanks to kaat, i like mystxus whichis mystogan and laxus. i also slightly ship my oc, DJ with laxus but not for a long term, i just think laxus should have fun. id love to plot more laxus stuff tbh and im usually down for anything as long as muns communicate and theres chemistry between muses. :D and i write laxus bi af.

ultear: my darling love,,,,ive done some wild matchups with her. but some are also now never going to happen again LMAO. anyway. it comes as no surprise to hear that ive always been partial to jeltear. i eat it up so bad and kai and i have fun with it together so it makes me extra happy. and of course, sorano and ultear give me the same giddy feeling. an angel and a demon hehe. the thing with ultear is that i feel, and this could be bias, but she'd be great in a lot of ships! i think where she is at post my canon with her being alive, she has a lot of opportunity.

seilah is tempted to litter her cottage with lavender when he annoys her 🥰 jdjsjsjdjd

accepting — @aitheros​

the book in her hand — a cookbook, filled with holiday recipes — fell to the ground as minerva processed the words spoken by the dragon slayer. right, she had been discussing potential decor for the holidays with rufus, before heading to the kitchen to start work on planning what she would cook this year. early, perhaps, but she believed in being prepared for what was coming ahead. sting had to have overheard her conversation, that was the only logical explanation for his words.

it didn’t change the fact that her eyes had widened and face warmed at what he had said. “ it’s.. it’s still rather early for mistletoe anyway. “  she knew better than to decorate this early, after all, despite how excited she was for the coming season. swallowing hard, minerva crouched down to pick up the dropped book, attempting to gather her composure as she did so. 

a difficult task, as memories of kisses both stolen and deliberate flashed through her mind.

winter themed asks // accepting

     The inter-guild winter party was in full swing. Hosted by Blue Pegasus, (of course) the large hall was lavishly decorated to celebrate the holiday season, and it was clear that plenty of effort had gone into the grand affair.

     Lisanna herself had been more than happy to be on the team of decorators setting the scene, even if it had taken a couple of days to arrange everything just so. There were many things to be considered when putting together such an event, after all. Lighting, space, ornaments, chairs and tables, food and drinks, music and so on.

     Most of her time had been spent on adorning the walls and festive trees with strings of light and ribbon, adding pretty baubles and glittering stars in carefully selected places too.

     The way the crowd of guests, and members of her own guild as well, had looked around in awe as they entered the hall, proved that the energy, time, and money spent had been well worth it. Even an hour or so into the party, she could still see the appreciative gazes admiring the atmosphere that had been created.

     She was sure a large part of the wonderful ambiance came from the special enchantment one of her guildmates had set up – it provided a soft snowfall, drifting down from the high ceiling but never resulting in so much as a single flake landing anywhere. Coupled with the lighting (the main sources of which were floating, snowflake shaped lacrima), the indoor snow conjured a sense of surreal magic, one that had Lisanna (and others) sighing wistfully.

     Surveying the vast room with delighted eyes, she didn’t even glance at Sting as he voiced his question.

      “Yes, it is!” she answered, without real thought but with a proud grin, “I added it all over the place, I thought it would be fun.”

     She did enjoy (perhaps a little too much) the chance for a bit of mischief and matchmaking. Just who would end up beneath her cheeky decorations? And who would follow through with the tradition?

     It was only then that she turned her gaze to Sting. His own gaze was fixed upwards, causing a sudden spike in the rhythm of her heart.

     “Oh.” It was hardly more than a breath that escaped her, as she stared up at the cheerful colours and all too familiar shape of mistletoe above them.

     Awareness of him was never too far from her senses, always teasing her with sensitivity to his very existence. Said awareness now crackled to the forefront of her mind and body, until she could see only him. The soft lighting around them seemed to caress his face, shifting and gently warming blond hair, and highlighting the flecks of colour within hazel eyes.

     Sting. So familiar to her now, so beautiful.

he tries to fight that scowl, the way her words hit so pointedly.  he eyes his drink, spinning his half empty glass before him — as if hypnotized by its poison.  sting even manages a soft chuckle, finding amusement in how many times he’s continued to bite his tongue on her behalf.  he wags his finger, feeling his actions drift like he were now on auto-pilot.  ❛ you have a point, milady .  .  . ❜  

it was like fighting back a growing wildfire, a smothered fury that was bound to erupt.  the last thing sting wanted to do was invoke him, to breathe life into the control he had over the both of them.

❛ but this sure beats what yer doin’. ❜  sting rises from his seat, throwing back the last of his drink before slamming his glass down on the counter.  he passes the lady of sabertooth, at first refusing to turn his body to fully face her.  he looks down at this woman he has grown so irritatingly attached to.  the only true emotional tether he had remaining in sabertooth, since rogue’s departure.  sting scoffs, an tense smirk forcing its way to the surface.  a dangerous darkness swells within him, the light practically dimming from his eyes.  he continues, the volume of his voice escalating with venom dripping off his lips.  ❛ you know he’ll never give you what you really want. ❜  sting leans down, his face close enough to hers that their foreheads nearly touched.  he felt an invasive flashback in that moment, a bitter image of how she once reacted to his tears as she held lector hostage.  he couldn’t help how he felt in that instance, quietly wondering how someone could be so cruel.  but she is an orland after all, as she so loved to always remind him.

sting speaks, intimately — wielding words like a dagger,  ❛ so maybe you should sort out your own baggage, before worrying about mine.  ❜

it takes everything in her not to flinch at the glass slamming on the counter, a sound minerva had heard so many times before things got bad. between her brother, her father, and her own self-hatred... too much alcohol led to problems, led to bloodshed. but no, she had to remain in control of her reactions. if sting knew how bad things actually were, beyond what little he had managed to guess... she wasn’t sure how he would react.

but then he spoke again, words that they both knew but she refused to acknowledge fully. of course she was aware that her father would never love her, not when she was a living memory of the only person he had ever loved. it was why she hid in her bathroom and did whatever she could to rid herself of the darkness he had raised her in. why she was reckless in battle, instead of staying out of the way like her magic was better used. why she did whatever she could to try and earn his attention for her successes, even if it always failed.

she had stopped, standing still, and that gave sting the opportunity to move closer, and speak once more. but that accusation, that weaponized sentence, only made it worse. green eyes flashed with anger, and a gloved hand flew out to slap the dragonslayer across the face.  “ fuck you. “  an unladylike response, but minerva was her brother’s sister after all.  “ i apologize for giving a shit about if you drink yourself into a fucking coma. “

❛ hey lis — didn't think i'd miss your birthday, did ya ? ❜ he jests with a cheeky smile and a salute of two fingers. sting doesn't hesitate to wrap her in a warm hug. ❛ happy birthday, lisanna, ❜ he mumbles against her, arms tightening affectionately before he pulls away.

❛ i didn't want to interrupt but — this is for you. ❜ he gently takes hold of her hand, uncurling her fingers to place a light blue crystal in her palm. it gives a faint glow — a gentle energy twinkling and pulsating along its edges. ❛ it doesn't look like much. but — it's imbued with some of my holy magic. think of it as . . . a lucky charm. something to keep you safe. ❜ sting's voice softens, whilst his hands grasp her face tenderly. eyes firmly focus upon hers, as he continues. ❛ for . . . when you need a li'l light. or you know — in case you wanted to be reminded of me and my 'cute' face. ❜ of course, he's only half joking. yet, half hoping it would be the case.

With her guildmates and siblings around, a few former fairies too, it was quite the party ( they were a Blue Pegasus specialty after all ). However, as wonderful as her birthday had been so far, there was something missing, a certain absence tugging at her heart in such a way that she hadn’t been able to fully invest herself into everything that was going around her.

It was with a little guilt that she slipped out of the hall, away from the party, hand clutching her mcl in preparation for contacting the one person who lingered in her thoughts. The device then nearly slid from her fingers at the sound of that very person’s voice, her mind tumbling in the same instant – she hadn’t called him yet, had she?

She looked up, and there he was. And yet still, she couldn’t quite believe it.

“Sting?”

She blinked, heart skipping, her features set with surprise for a few seconds, before delight took over at the sight of him. There was hardly a moment to process his sudden appearance ( aside from her entire soul squealing about that smile of his ), before she found herself wrapped in his hug, and it took less than a moment for her to respond to the embrace. 

She hugged him tight, feeling relief bloom through her, expressed in the sigh that passed through her lips. As she pulled in another breath, catching the familiar scent of him, contentedness flowed through her like a warm wave. There was always something so comforting about him and…

He hadn’t forgotten her, he’d even made the effort to come all this way to see her.

“Thank you…” she said softly. Quite honestly, just his presence and the embrace were enough to make the day a very happy birthday for her indeed, but that wasn’t something she could admit just yet. Could she?

It was with great reluctance that she let her arms fall away from him as he moved back, thinking it would have been nice to hug him a while longer ( forever would be a tad too greedy, wouldn’t it ). She almost grabbed onto him, just in case he started to leave already.

“Oh, you’re not interrupting at all,” she rushed to say, an invitation for him to come inside the hall on the tip of her tongue. But his actions stole the thoughts from her mind, leaving her head blank but buzzing as she watched him put the crystal in her hand.

She raised her palm to get a closer look, and the glow and glittering of the gem was matched only by the light in her eyes as she did so. Fascinated and a little awed, she breathed a soft ‘wow’ and curled her index finger to gently prod the crystal. How pretty…

“I think it’s beautiful…” she said, only able to pull her eyes away from it as he mentioned its properties. Some of his magic?

She sucked in a breath, chest feeling a little constricted, and she closed her fingers around the crystal and held it against her heart. His magic…to keep her safe. Yes, she could feel it now, it was a soft emanation, a sense of warmth and reassurance. She knew she wasn’t about to ever let the crystal out of her possession, unless Sting himself was around.

The holy aspect of his magic had saved her from certain destruction and helped her on the path to healing. She couldn’t deny there were times she still felt as if there was a darkness lurking within her, and it was only around Sting that she felt truly safe, but when he wasn’t around... 

Did he know? Did he know she feared she was still tainted? Did he realise just how much comfort he had just given her in the form of this little rock?

Questions swirled in her mind, and she could only stare up at him, searching for answers within depths of hazel, while willing herself not to cry at the thoughtful gift he’d given. She swallowed hard and looked away, lips pulling up in a shaky smile.

“I…I don’t know what to say, Sting…but, thank you.” Sincerity rang true and steady in her words.

She tightened her grip on the crystal as his hands cupped her face, her eyes meeting his and her heart stuttering into a race. Reminded of his cute face, huh? An involuntary smile came to her lips, and she closed her eyes as if it would shut down the blush beginning to warm her cheeks ( she hoped he couldn’t feel it under his hands ).

Damn him. She gave his chest a light push with her fist and let out a soft sound, somewhere between a growl and groan, followed by his name on a half laugh, a tone that others might use to affectionately say ‘you idiot’, “Sting…”

It wasn’t the first time she wanted to ask him if he knew what he was doing, if he knew how he was breaking off bits of her heart and stealing them away. No, she reminded herself as she reopened her eyes to gaze up at him, he was just…being himself, his sweet and wonderful self. And even if it left her shattered, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She smiled softly and sighed, “I don’t really need any reminders of you, Sting…” It took a moment for her to push herself to admit the truth, but it came in a low rush, “because I think about you all the time anyway.”

In a flush of nervousness ( and ignoring the instincts screaming at her to run away ), she hoped to distract somewhat from that revelation by unlocking her mcl with her thumb and holding the screen up for him to see. “I was about to call you, that’s why I came out here,” she told him with a slight laugh.

Indeed, the screen showed his contact ( as ♡ Honeybee♡ , with the picture being a candid shot of him smiling, adorned by a few little stars and hearts added by a filter ) - oh no. Immediately, she slammed her finger down on the button to blank the screen out, wishing it were so easy to stop her face from burning.