Lessa

Lessa stood behind her party, her gaze flitting between the five health bars that hovered above their heads. All green. All full. All safe. There was satisfaction in that - a job well-done. She had succeeded in keeping her team alive, as was the task given to her when she accepted the role of support. But more than that, there was a comfort in those green bars. A knowing that her friends, the people she loved most, were okay. That they'd all walk out of there together. That the future still held too many unknowns, but this day, this fight, they would see the end of. No one would die today. Tom

"What." She said nothing more as Lessa watched Freyd return from the dead, though her lips moved soundlessly on words she couldn't find. Shock had melded into such a powerful grief that this sudden pivot made her a bit nauseous. Apparently unable to settle on an appropriate emotion, her body chose to shut down completely, her arms limp, her blue eyes wide and glazed over. If everyone quieted down, they could likely hear the dialup tone drifting from somewhere between Lessa's ears. It was Jomei's shout that she latched onto first, borrowing his courage just as readily as she might hav

Lessa turned to follow Bahr’s finger, and the color seeped from her face once more. “Oh my god,” she breathed, but the sound was lost to the chorus of raised voices surrounding her. Grief, rage, and a pain she could feel in her head and in her heart filled the space. When Lessa went to draw a breath, she couldn’t seem to fill her lungs. Cord’s advice found her first, but Lessa couldn’t blame Jomei when he turned to address the party. Though his words were rigid, the emotion in his eyes burned hot and wild. She couldn’t blame him for that, either. She hadn’t known Freyd well. In fact,

Approved.

In a tangle of limbs and fabric, Lessa flung herself at Bahr and Jomei as the pair moved away from Callisto. Her cheeks, normally flushed a pretty pink, were sheet white. “You’re okay,” she managed, trembling fingers digging into the sleeves of both men as if to tether herself to them. “You’re both okay. Okay. Good.” She laughed out a hard breath, as if to shrug off the fear that squeezed her heart, but it came out borderline manic. Drawing back a step, her eyes swept over both men. Jomei’s healthbar had dipped lower than she’d liked, but otherwise, they seemed to have made it out unscath

A curse fell from chapped lips as Lessa watched Callisto rake at Jomei’s midsection once more. A quick glance at his health bar revealed he didn’t take too much damage - certainly not as much as he might have without his new tank build. But that didn’t stop the wince as she watched her friend stumble backward. "Be careful!" she called out for what felt like the millionth time since the fight began. She had to trust that he’d be fine - he was their tank, afterall. But that didn’t keep her from worrying. Her attention was quickly drawn away as vines thrust upward from the ground. As visions

Lessa let her head roll back, eyes closing as the music once more washed over her. It crashed like wave, sound and emotion drenching her as it pressed against and through. Despite everything - the injuries, the stakes, the smell of death hanging heavy in the air - the woman paused to appreciate the magic of the bow skipping along the strings. “Goddamn,” she finally moaned, her soul returning to her body through a force of will. “You are really good at that, Jom.” The notes hummed through her, buzzing like electricity along a hot wire. She felt a sudden need to just go. To act, to deal dam

Lessa gasped as Jomei stumbled, and her heart leapt into her throat. The sight made her sick, but apparently not as sick as he was. She winced as her tank lost his lunch, and her desire to help him warred with her need to give him space. She knew from experience that having someone invade your space while you were hurling wasn’t exactly pleasant. What was she going to do, hold his hair? Instead, she called up her HUD, and drew out another antidote. Those around her were topping off their protection against the vile creature’s influence, so she might as well do the same. She consumed it in

"Shit," was all Lessa could manage as Callisto raked his claws across the party. Then her vision suddenly blurred, her head ringing so violently that she nearly fell to her knees. As it was, her empty hand slapped over her ear, her shoulders scrunching in an attempt to shield the other. Fortunately, as soon as the madness had come, it disappeared. The antidote, it seemed, was doing its job. She staggered for a moment, struggling to get her (hah) bearings. Once she had, her first priority was checking on the status of her people. Each had health bars skirting the fine line between green and yel

The Guardian breathed a sigh of relief as her party escaped the first attack unscathed. The creature clearly possessed enormous strength and power, and the Frontliners would do well to respect it. So to avoid taking damage in the first rotation was a true miracle. Lessa flashed Jomei a grin, then winked, and said, "Guess you're not half bad at this tanking gig, huh?" Her gaze flicked across the other parties, curious how well they fared, and her blood froze in her veins. She watched Callisto give Alkor's body a shake, her oldest friend clamped tightly between the beast's rotting jaws. Les

The mass streamed through the door like water through a spillway, and as Lessa watched, the crowd grew smaller. She watched NIGHT, her guildmate and good friend, as she led the way into the room. Baldur followed, his long hair swinging as he turned away from her. Then there was Alkor, walking alongside Oscar, and the woman felt her palms growing damp within her gauntlets. Once upon a time, Alkor had walked into a boss fight much like this one, and hadn’t walked out again. Lessa pursed her lips, drawing a long, deep breath, before slowly exhaling again. She turned to her party. Jomei, his

In a tangle of limbs, hair, and cloth, Lessa burst into the shop. She nearly tripped over a pretty display just inside the doorway, her gauntlet clanging against her heavy breastplate as she attempted to right herself. "Gahhh," she managed, the sound somehow even louder than her armor and her general clumsiness. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for tripping, and for being so loud, and-" Helplessly, Lessa gestured toward the way she'd just come. "And for just everything. I'm normally more put together, I swear. It's just that I have literally one hour left before I'm supposed to fight a floor boss, and

Lessa guardian of aincrad Good luck on the boss fight today. You got this! Lessa stared down at the words, her expression vacant even as pleasure and pain warred just beneath the surface. It had been months since she had heard from her good friend, and much longer since she had seen him. When was the last time that he had taken interest in the Frontlines, let alone enough to send her a message about it? His attention, and his well-wishes, shone like warm sunlight. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to permeate the canopy of

"It's so pretty in here," Lessa breathed, gaze sweeping over the entirety of the shop. Though the clock was ticking, and she really shouldn't be wasting any time sight-seeing, the place was too nice to not appreciate. Natural sunlight spilled through the windows, splashing across the cozy furniture and well-worn rug. The urge to simply curl up in one of those armchairs and take a nap consumed her, and if she were a cat, she absolutely would have. Unfortunately, she was not a cat. She was a Frontliner, and she had very little time left to prepare before the big floor boss fight. If you had

Accepting with love. Thank you for everything, NIGHT. <3

Accepting, thank you! <3

Skill(s) Being Dropped: Straight Sword R5 (30), Battle Healing (2 Ranks - 16), Fighting Spirit (10), Charge (10) Mod(s)/Addon(s)/Shift(s) Being Dropped: Impetus (4), Emergency Recovery (6), Justified Riposte (5), Ferocity (4), Stamina (4) SP Refunded: 89 Cost: Utilizing Paragon Level 25's Free Skill Respec

Diwali, 2024 This event will run until the 30th of November, 2359ET. With Wushen’s defeat, a sense of peace and tranquility has returned to the floor, past the events that culminated to its rise. In this time of leisure, its citizens have sought out tradition: a celebration undone over the years, almost advisory, a rumor spread through word of mouth. It shares a common name — Diwali — and yet each town appears to hold different kinds of rituals and festivities to uphold the norms of their territory. Most have gathered to Ronbaru, acting as the flo

Nevermind, placeholder.

Lessa remained quiet as Bahr spoke, only offering the occasional nod or hum of agreement while they moved through the city. He’d always had a tendency to think aloud, and more often than not, it worked for him. If walking through it with her helped him reach a possible solution, she’d roll out that metaphorical red carpet. Besides, the violent emotions spawned by Oli’s disappearance and Dominic’s smile threw themselves at her mental walls like a beast in a cage. If she let down her defenses, and allowed herself to examine those feelings too closely, they’d cripple her. She couldn’t do that, so

Despite the annoyance churning like a stormy sea behind her blue eyes, Lessa couldn't pass up the opportunity to toss Jomei a glance over her shoulder. She flashed him an angelic smile, batted her eyelashes, and answered, "Who, me?" with all the innocence she could muster. The words had hardly passed her lips when another gleam of white snagged her gaze. "Oh shit," she uttered without thinking. "There's another one." The flower burst into pixels between her cupped hands, and she straightened, then paused to press her balled fists into the small of her back. She stretched, all the while st

"It's just a quest," Lessa muttered under her breath as she tip-toed away from Jomei. Though their break by the campfire had worked to smooth rough edges, she couldn't stop some of the frustration from creeping back in. "It's just a quest, and I just have to find some stupid flowers, and then I can be done." The needs of the suffering NPCs weighed heavy on her heart, but the desire to simply wash her hands of it all couldn't be ignored. She could go home, and climb in bed, and take a nap, and not give another fuck about the creepy Grove Guardian. Even as she thought it, she felt the creature's

Lessa blew out a soft pft sound, then shook her head. “You may not be making a fortune,” she began, “but I sure hope that you don’t stop making songs. I enjoy listening to your stuff. And one day, you’ve got to teach me how to play something. Like anything. I’m not picky. I’ve actually always wanted to play the violin.” She tugged her friend to his feet, barking out a small laugh that didn’t carry much humor. “Yeah, that didn’t go well at all. I agree, let’s try not doing that again. More sneaky.” Lessa winced, then added, “I am not sneaky. I’ve always been more of the ‘go in guns blazing

The transition from the dim jail to the bright, bustling Starting City streets was a jarring one. In a way, it felt a bit like leaving a dark movie theater for the fresh air and sunny skies of the outside world. But this time, the horror that she left behind wasn't simply a movie, and reality had no comforts to offer her. The light and sound slapped at her as she burst through the doors, and the blonde found herself staggering as she squinted against the glare. "Yeah, I did," she managed, a little breathless. "I caught it, I just-" She gulped for a breath and found none, a diver with an empty