Princess Corrin of the Royal House of Nohr (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bladeofconquest) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
rosavelle2026-01-01 10:29 pm
bladeofconquest) wrote in rosavelle2026-01-01 10:29 pm
Corrin January Catchall
Who: Corrin and others
When: January
Where: All around
What: Corrin tests some swords in a wholesome experiment with some friends (wink-wonk) and does other things during the first half of the Season of Fallow
Content Warnings: I'm doing a couple different threads for the Sexy Duelling quest so there's gonna be a lot of nudity in this one, but anything actually raunchy will get moved off-site when it starts getting really hot and heavy.
When: January
Where: All around
What: Corrin tests some swords in a wholesome experiment with some friends (wink-wonk) and does other things during the first half of the Season of Fallow
Content Warnings: I'm doing a couple different threads for the Sexy Duelling quest so there's gonna be a lot of nudity in this one, but anything actually raunchy will get moved off-site when it starts getting really hot and heavy.
no subject
"Eh...?" Her ears twitch at the sound of the blade going through the air, her eyes widen as she sees and feels the fabric fall away. Corrin attacked her back and these weapons really do shred clothing like it's nothing. Her BACK.
Nononononononononono she can't let her see, she can't let anyone see her bare back. Her reaction is violent, quick, but likely not the retaliation Corrin is searching for. Golshi turns on her heal, steps to the side, and slams herself against the wall, pressing her back firmly against the solid surface, dropping her sword in the process.
"Y-you gonna call me a coward after makin' a move like that?!" She tries to sound angry righteously so, it's undercut by the wild look in her eyes and the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She doesn't even breathe that hard after her runs on the castle grounds. She's fighting off a panic.
"I'm not a fighter, damn it! I never was!" She should've been, she craves it, it's in her blood to spill blood, win glory, stand atop the pi-
No, NO! She's Gold Ship, it's her body that makes up the pile. Thinking otherwise is dangerous.
"I don't use swords-" she'd rather a knife, more personal, intimate. Looking someone in the eyes while her hand is stained re-"And I ain't about to start! Cut the theatrics an' let's get outta here, would ya?!"
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"But you want to be, don't you?" Corrin advances, her blade pointed perilously at Gold Ship's chest. "You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me. I've seen the eyes of a berserker before, Gold Ship. I've seen the eyes of people who crave violence and spilling blood because their minds have become so damaged that hurting others is the only way they can feel whole. The thing is, it didn't make them whole. It killed them."
Her sword stops just an inch or two from the umasume's shirt. It would take just a few easy flicks to shred the entire thing.
"Your eyes aren't there yet. But they're close, and I think on some level you want them to be. And I care about you too much to let that happen."
With another flick, Corrin strikes...but this time, mercifully, it's only a single pant leg that falls away, exposing one powerful leg to the air.
"Are you going to be honest? Or are you still going to try and pretend this is all about your feelings for Nabiki?" She gestures down the sword Gold Ship dropped.
"Pick it up."
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"I WON'T!" The flames of her aura die before they can be more than ambers, stomped down as she fights for control. "I don't want it, I..."
She needs it! Goddesses, she needs it! It felt do good when she though she broke that useless blacksmith, it tasted so sweet. It'll be so much sweeter when it's Teio's body that crumbles under her foot, or Gentildonna's, or Nabiki's!
Her stomach feels sick, her chest so tight that breathing becomes the hardest thing she's ever done, and ice settles into her veins as she looks Corrin in the eyes.
Fuck. She's beautiful like this too. Kind but brutal, as natural at bringing warmth as she is sinking ice into your heart. How's that even fair?
A flinch as her the legs of her pants are shredded. She has to keep fighting to not go for the sword, to not kick, punch, bite, struggle. Her knuckles turn white as she clenches her fists, fingernails biting into her palms. The pain and warm wet feeling as she starts to bleed is welcome, it further grounds her.
"Don't do this." Her voice is quiet. There's a sound, as if somewhere a distant tune is struck up. Real yet illusionary, discordant, involuntary usage of her growing meramancy as she steadily loses more control. "If I'm gonna burn out just let me. Don't get in the way of it, I don't want ya to get hurt..."
no subject
Another flick takes the rest of Gold Ship's pants off entirely. "You don't want to hurt me? You have no idea how I've been hurt. My mother threw herself in front of a blast I caused, saving me at the cost of her own life. The man I called father did everything he could to make me suffer, because watching me in pain gave him joy. I watched my brother Ryoma die, running a sword through his chest, killing himself so I wouldn't have to be his executioner. I was shot through the heart by an arrow of light and I didn't survive. I turned my back on my name, my country, the people of my birth. You think you can hurt me worse than that? Try me."
She steps back , the sword still up, but giving Gold Ship a little bit of breathing room.
"I'm not going to let you burn out, Gold Ship. You deserve better that." She's almost pleading at this point.
"You deserve to be happy. The way you want to be. Not the way you think everyone else thinks you should be. Throw your mask away. You don't need it. You never did. You're so much more without it than you can possibly know."
cw: light sucidide idealation, domestic violence mention THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SEXY...(1/2)
"You're right." She doesn't even care that she's been left in her underwear, garments that are perhaps not surprisingly Basic. Gold Ship doesn't spoil herself after all, she looks good for her races but she keeps things Functional and simple. Well, no actually she does sort of care, she feels weird left in this state. So she bends down and starts to unlace her boots.
"The worst I can do is break somethin, maybe kill you... but that's a relief for some people, innit? Goddesses know I've thought 'bout it myself often enough." Deep down though she knows, she could hurt Corrin. The discordant music faintly coming from her space changes, hits to a tune, a melody, one that Corrin's been working on at the pian- Gold Ship closes her eyes, breathes in, focuses, the melody is gone, the noise discordant again. Good. She will NOT sink that low, not against someone like Corrin. She'd sooner and far more gladly die if she ever got close to being that disgusting.
"The kinda things you've been through, what a lotta y'all have been through? I can't imagine it, Corrin. Or I guess I can, but it's the stuff of hacky melodramatic writin', ya know? My home's not that troubled anymore, the past sure, maybe, can't say, I wasn't there, and heck I guess plenty of gals have had it pretty rough. Not me though... m'kinda a princess too."
She steps out of her boots finally, she's not wearing socks, once her feet touch the ground she bounces and flexes her toes experimentally. Feels good. The boots of that knight outfit aren't uncomfortable by any stretch but they're not made with an uma in mind, no cleats, they'd just slow her down. She approaches the sword she dropped, finally, keeping Corrin locked firmly in her vision as she does.
"Means somethin' different for my time an' place. Means I was spoiled, sheltered. Sure, Ma had expectations of me holdin' up the family legacy, maybe get in good with the main branch, but I wasn't gonna inheriet responsibility. I wasn't gonna fight, or kill, or watch people die. Worst violence I had ta suffer through was the shit she said 'bout my sisters, or watchin' her kick the shit outta the deadbeat that sired me. It sucked but... it's nothin' compared to a lotta people."
2/2
"Feels like m'here as some kinda joke." She sights down the length of the blade,one eye closed. Her ears swivel towards Corrin to pick up the slack on her awareness. "Like it did back home but worse. As if my petty shit's plopped down in the middle of survivors, refugees, an' the tormented to show em how carefree other people get ta be. Flavor enhancer for the misery, ya know?"
A few experimental swings with the blade to find its balance, "So I always figured, my existence is such a parasitic thing, why not try ta make the best of it? Instead of bein' the joke, make the jokes. The world needs a clown, right? The people sufferin' need ta smile."
Her feet come together straight, her off hand goes and rests behind her above the base of her tail, she holds the sword straight in front of her face. Not a defense or offensive posture, but a salute. The discordant radio finds its station, surges, something triumphant, clear, bri- cut off. Dead silence. Though one of her eyes is blocked from Corrin's view by the sword, the other starts to glow.
"I don't need to be happy. I'm the world's goddesses damned clown."
Her aura doesn't flare, her voice doesn't raise, the only warning Corrin has is her eyes narrowing before she springs forward and takes her first swing at her, aiming for her opponent's swordarm.
She doesn't want to duel, she wants to disarm her opponent and turn this into something that's her terms.
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"The suffering of others doesn't negate or diminish your own." She cuts back, when the Umamusume once again tries to downplay her struggles. "If those things hadn't affected you, we wouldn't be doing this right now." YOU MATTER, she wants to yell, to put it in the plainest of terms. YOU ARE ALLOWED TO WANT GOOD THINGS FOR YOURSELF. Why can she not see that?!
"Kindness doesn't make you a parasite. The woman who held me when I cried and promised to help me share my sister's song with the world, shr didn't do those things because she only exists to make others happy." Even if Gold Ship doesn't believe that, Corrin knows it's true. "She did it because she's kind. And that is never a bad quality, no matter how you try to spin it to yourself. You're a good person. And your pain matters too."
Things go dead quiet, and Corrin takes a cautious step back. The hairs on the back of her next are standing up, and every instinct is screaming at her that the hammer is about to fall.
Gold Ship charges, and her opening strike is aimed directly at Corrin's swordsman. She twisted out of the way; a parry would be useless against the force of that blow, but fabric still tears as Corrin ducks into a roll to buy some space. When she comes up, the tatters of her shirt remain on the ground.
"You're a person Gold Ship, and you are allowed to have your own wants just as much as anybody else! You can still have them! You don't need to be the person you think everyone needs you to be!"
Damn it...she's on the backfoot, now. She has to try and regain it, so she charges into close range for another assault.
"You just have to stop being afraid of yourself!"
no subject
She doesn't avoid Corrin's counter attack, she steps into it, lifting her arm up and bringing it down as the sabre comes at her, locking the blade against her body when the blow lands. She winces from the impact but feels disappointed. Just her clothes are cut, she wishes she could feel the bite of metal into her flesh.
"I don't have a dream of my own. Kind of a loser like that, ya know? I don't chase, I run away. Always have. Only time I stop runnin' is to make myself useful."
There it is. The confession of what she sees her life's purpose as, followed swiftly by another show of her repulsive nature. Her off hand comes from behind her back, something flashes between her fingers as she spins it forward. A knife. One she thrusts directly towards Corrin's stomach.
It's not real, of course, an illusion she's weaved together with the bloomcraft. It's imperfect, there's no weight or substance, just the glint of light off steel, but like the wielder it doesn't need to be perfect. Her intent is to play upon Corrin's reflexes as a fighter, force her to dodge, and attempt to keep the woman's sword trapped under her arm as she does so.
"I live off other people's dreams, Princess. I'll break myself in half to make em happen. Being useful is all I got."
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"You're contradicting yourself. If umamusume are born to run and chase, then so are you! You might not remember it now, or maybe you just chose to bury it, but that means you had a dream once too!" And if she had it once, she can have it again.
There's a sudden glint of metal and Corrin's gaze snaps towards the knife in Gold Ship's hand, and they go wide. For a moment she feels the urge to dodge, to let go of the saber that Gold Ship is trapping and avoid getting hurt, but...no. Something's not adding up. Where did she get it?
She doesn't have the eyes of a berserker. She doesn't look into Gold Ship's eyes and see her father's enforcer Hans. It's a bluff. It has to be. So she hardens her gaze and meets Gold Ship's, and doesn't flinch.
"I know you've lived so long thinking that's true, but it isn't. You are allowed to have your own dreams, Gold Ship. You had one once, I know you did. It's not too late to find a new dream for yourself. Because no dream of mine is worth ruining you to achieve. And I know everyone else here who knows you would say the same."
no subject
"I CAN'T, Corrin! I already failed! My career, my life, all of it!" Whether her blow hit or not she breaks away from Corrin, gives herself distance, resetting into her guard position with her blade pointed at her opponent.
"I threw away my shot at the Crowns and then I Peaked! And ya know the worst part? Everyone else, they got ta go out on a high note, because they're protagonists. But good ol' Gold Ship? Seventh! SEVENTH! I'm a FUCKING JOKE!"
She can't contain it anymore, her aura FLARES. Purple black flames engulf her body, not real but far different from the bloomcraft she's been using, pressure radiates off her alongside those flames, tangible pressure that has her hair bellowing out behind her as she flicks a length of it over her shoulder and out of her eye.
Both her eyes are glowing now, crackling with the force of her internalized anger.
"Slowest damn umamusume you've ever seen. Can't place in a race, can't hold down a rival without someone takin' her from me, can't tell someone how I feel until it's too fucking late. Clown shit, doncha think?"
She charges, stepping forward hard enough that even her bare foot leaves a mark on the floor as she kicks off towards Corrin, she brings the blade up and slashes diagonally, then follows through with an upwards swing, finishing with a forward slash as she pushes her weight forward to drive Corrin back onto the defense again.
"So why aintcha laughin' yet?! You've heard the set-up, just cause Akane spoiled the punchline doesn't mean ya shouldn't laugh! LAUGH DAMN IT!"
no subject
She shakes her head as Gold Ship backs up and talks about what a failure she is.
"...Wyvernshit." She manages back. "I'm sorry Gold Ship, but that is the biggest load of wyvernshit I've ever heard. I'm sorry your last race wasn't the big send-off you wanted it to be, but I'll be damned if I let you talk about your life like it's already over!" She manages to stand up straight, and feels the power coming off the Umamusume. Her side is screaming in pain where she was punched, but she keeps going.
"The first night we met, you told me umamusume live for a long, long time. Is that it, then? Race for a few years in your youth, followed by decades of emptiness? Your life over before you're even twenty-five? I refuse to believe it!"
But then Gold Ship pushes off. In a few powerful blows, her shirt and sash are obliterated and she's sent backwards, just barely stopping herself from slamming into the wall.
"How dare you...call my friend a joke."
Corrin lunges forward, propelling herself to meet Gold Ship's sword with her own, getting them in another blade lock.
"Answer me this; even if you had won your last race, even if your career went out on that high note, five years down the road, ten years, would that still make any difference? Do you think the Umamusume who do get that final win rest on that for the rest of their lives? Or do they find something else to chase? Some other dream to make a reality? So why... can't...YOU?"
It's a bit of a low blow, but Gold Ship opened the door for it with that punch. Corrin's leg morphs, her foot turning into a wide, spade-like blade, and she kicks forward to try and knock Gold Ship's feet out from under her.
"I'm not laughing because you're not a joke. You're my friend. Not because you're the Gold Ship, but because you're just...you. And you are amazing. You're the protagonist of your own story too, and I promise you it has a long way to go before the end. It's barely even started."
She lowers her sword and offers Gold Ship her hand.
"Let us help you write it."
no subject
Excitement gives away to frustration as Corrin interrogates her. She snarls, ready to answer, but the words are cut off before they can start by a shout of surprised pain. She falls back hard, but manages to take the brunt or impact on her shoulders and back rather than her head.
For a moment all she can do is lay there and catch her breath while Corrin extends her offer of help. The aura dies down steadily with each exhale, she finds her voice again.
"Woulda traveled... Japanese umamusume got a reputation for not bein' able to win outside thr country, probably could've changed that... maybe I'd have told McQueen how I felt 'bout her... but probably not."
She sits up straight and arches her back, causing something in her shoulders to pop, it makes her wince, then sigh. There's a spark in her eyes still as she looks at Corrin's hand. Not the spark of power, it's far softer, it's hope. Hope that it's not too late, that she can at least keep a dear friend in her life.
Eyes close, they open. The light isn't gone, but she can still feel every part of her rebeling against this. Gold Ship braces herself to stand up on her own, brushing Corrin's hand away as she gets to her feet.
"Not yet. You wanted a fight, right, wanted ta communicate? Well, I can still fight."
She manages a smile as she takes a defensive stance. Small, tired, genuine.
"I'm gonna be selfish for once. Offer that again after ya beat me, okay?"
no subject
She does take note of that name, "McQueen" though. Someone else Gold Ship has fallen for, and considers unreachable. Something to ask her about later, though.
"Good! You deserve some selfishness. And I will, promise." She raises her own sword and grins.
"But don't expect me to make it easy. You want to unwrap your prize, you'll need to work for it."
She lunges forward, taking careful aim at one of the umamusume's bra straps. Gold Ship is already pretty undressed as it is, so Corrin will at least give her some time to catch up.
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Is she allowed to flirt so openly after everything? Probably not, but if she's going to stop holding back she's going to go all in. The good comes with plenty of bad, why keep hiding it?
It's the bad that has her leaning into Corrin's blow rather than attempt a defense, it's already too late to parry, so she catches as much of the sabre on her shoulder as she can. It feels good, the impact is a reminder she's still alive. Sure her bra is now hanging on barely from one shoulder, but she's stopped caring.
"Course, m'not complainin'. But..." she steps to the side and thrusts her free hand out, willing forth a harmless spark of light from her palm to dazzle and distract from the swing she follows through with towards Corrin's pants. "Don't expect me to fight fair!"
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...Not fast enough. The blade catches her just at the knee and slices upward, through the garment completely, leaving what's left unable to stay up. As Corrin steps backwards, the ruins of her trousers slide down her legs until she is stepping out of the garment, kicking it away with a bare foot. Corrin puts a hand on her hip and looks down.
"Well! For someone who's not a swordswoman you've done pretty well. You've got me down to my last defense." She reaches up and tugs at the leotard where it sits on her chest...is she trying to distract Gold Ship?
"It's not conventional underamour I admit, but you know...can you blame me for being proud?" And with that, Corrin turns around, and sways her hip to one side so Gold Ship can get a good look at the "asset" Corrin is so proud of.
[If Gold Ship had a quarter, she could bounce it off those cheeks.]
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Gold Ship's face is heating up into a blush, she's well aware of it, liberatingly enough she doesn't care though. She readily falls for Corrin's distraction with only a small amount of shame as opposed to the much deeper shame she would've had just mere minutes ago.
"W-well, Tracen kinda has us do kendo an' fencin' now an' again. M'decent, but I'm not gonna go compete any time soon." She tugs at her tattered bra in a losing battle to keep it covering herself, a few more blows from Corrin and Gold Ship's going to be fully bare. Including her back...
Eh, fuck it, she doesn't care. Gold Ship's already had things dragged out of her she'd typically keep buried, what's it matter if her scars get seen? She starts to approach again, sword at the ready, but her guard isn't as secure as it can be given those "assets" are demanding her attention.
"Goddesses..." She sighs, shakes her head, and manages a small smile. "You're beautiful, Corrin. Almost enough that ya make a gal wanna let ya win."
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"And while that is a tempting offer..." Suddenly Corrin whirls around, sword at the ready, knocking Gold Ship's own sword aside with force before bringing it down in a killer stroke...
...Cutting right through what's left of the umamusume's bra.
"I've got you right where I want you."
if it wasn't clear cw we in peak nudity hours now
Poor Gold Ship, all she can do is stand there blinking as she's left bare chested. She's not the biggest uma around in the bust department but she's up there, healthy and perky too! A good contrast to the solid muscle corded around the rest of her body.
She laughs, just, honestly joyfully laughs! She doubles over from it, somehow still maintaining just barely a grip on her sword, her entire body shaking from mirth.
"Ya know, ya coulda made this easier if ya just got Beaks to convince me ta do nudes." She still doesn't know Corrin is a, uh, fan of Nabiki and Gold Ship's side hustle. If she did? She'd probably lock up in embarrassment right now instead be amused. Annoyed, but amused. She wants to get Corrin back but she knows she can't just with bloomcraft trickery and her lackluster sword skills. "Woulda been a lot safer for ya too... I'm an End Closer, Princess."
With that ominous pronouncement Gold Ship looks up. A normal person would see nothing here, an umamusume, and most of the exceptional people running around Rosavelle will get the privileged of observing her Zone. Tapping into it like this is exciting for her, she's never done it outside of a race, using it for a different sort of competition would've seemed impossible if she was still expanding so much effort on maintaining her mask.
Gold Ship's eyes glow red and her aura builds, unlike the directionless violence of before it's heavy with intent. Pure purple flame erupts on her body, the room around them turns red, and in Gold Ships hands a length of golden chains materialize, ending in a large golden anchor at the end. The end is held closer to her off hand, she raises it, spins it around, the golden metal turning into a blur, the red glow in her eyes vanishes to show them shining with pure joy as she laughs and steps forward.
Anchors Aweigh! Lvl 5
The anchor flies from her hand and over Corrin's head, embedding into the ground with a solid impact, the chain making a racket as it follows after it. As an End Closer Gold Ship's Zone has developed to serve two purposes, to pull her forward on umamazing velocity, and to weigh down the Front Runner she needs to catch up with. Which would be Corrin in this instance.
None of it is real of course, there's no damage to the ground, no actual chain slumps across Corrin's body, the only thing weighing her down is pure force of will on Gold Ship's part, and she's certainly in no danger of being hurt by the Zone's manifestations. But the sword Gold Ship is recklessly swinging towards the shoulder of Corrin's leotard? That is very real.
"Let's see who's actually got who!"
boingy bits galore
And the few moments she stands there dumbfounded in the aftermath of the attack, Corrin cannot help but ogle her friend's chest. Yes, she's been naked around other women before, public bathing is a favoured pasttime in Nohr, but to say this duel has been more...charged than the average bath would be an understatement. And Gold Ship's breasts are...very nice to look at.
Corrin's throat is suddenly very dry. She feels a sudden shudder within her as her body reacts to the sight of horsegirl booba in a most peculiar way.
Her dragon tail suddenly emerges, rising behind Corrin and curling up. Oh gods. She knows what this means, and her face suddenly reddens in embarrassment. "Um, s-sorry, it just, uh...it does that sometimes."
But the wave that emanates off Gold Ship banishes all horny (for the moment) from Corrin's mind (the tail remains as well). She can indeed see the swell of power as Gold Ship taps into the Zone, and all that it entails. She steps back instinctively as the anchor goes flying over her head and even though the chains aren't real, she still feels the pressure of them on her body, dragging her down, making her unable to mount a defense. Gold Ship strikes true.
Corrin can feel the leotard loosening against her body as the cut begins to form just above her chest and she suddenly wonders if maybe some straps might not have been a bad idea after all.
In one movement the entire garment falls completely away and leaves Corrin completely naked.
Well, except her headband.
The headband. Stays. On.
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And speaking of pleasant things... "Nothin' under there, huh?" Gold Ship is looking Respectfully, sorta. Corrin's entire body on full display means there's not a place her eyes can drift that isn't very, very nice to look at. Which in turn sets Gold Ship's own tail wagging happily.
Gold Ship chuckles, a much deeper sound than Corrin's earlier giggles but no less playful. She lifts the sword up and rests it across her shoulders, gripping the blade with her other hand, using the grip as leverage to stretch out her back. It does Interesting Things, pushing her chest forward, flexes her muscles. As if that wasn't bad enough she proceeds to not so much walk towards Corrin as she does, well, saunter, putting a little sway into her hips as she goes.
"Guess that means I win!" She smirks, she is still in her panties after all. That's a bit more covering than a headband. "Bummer, I was just startin' ta have fun."
Fun or `Fun`? Probably both. Now that she's letting her guard down (possibly a mistake) Gold Ship's body is pretty well flushed from excitement. She's not as winded as she'd be after a race but the rise and fall of her chest is still visible, and she even started to get a slight sweat going! With that sword across her shoulders like that, if she was wearing slightly fancier underwear this would be prime material for a photoset.
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That stretch, though...Gold Ship's revenge for Corrin using her posterior as a distraction earlier no doubt. It's...working. She gulps again despite herself. She goes to meet Gold Ship, and where the umamusume saunters, Corrin puts a little more spring in her step, knowing full-well the effect it'll have on her chest. "You fought very hard, so it's a well-earned victory." As they approach, and seeing Gold Ship's more relaxed demeanour, Corrin idly flicks once with her blade. About those panties you were wearing, Gold Ship...
"I mean, we were supposed to be testing the blades. We should be as thorough as we can, right?" She adds lightly with a look of complete innocence on her red face.
She plants the blade tip-first into the ground, resting her hands on the pommel of the blade, letting her tail swish innocently from side to side. Hmm...Gold Ship mentioned scale mail bikinis earlier, with that pose...Nabiki would make a fortune.
"I'm glad we were able to clear the air."
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"Y-yeah... important ta be thorough." She laughs lightly, hoping that the sound covers the absolutely deafening beating of her heart. Not for the first time and most certainly not for the last she's got to wrestle with the fact that this is playfulness, there's nothing more behind it and there can't be anything more behind it. Both her and Corrin know that. And that's fine, it hurts a little still, but it's fine.
Really, surprisingly to Gold Ship, it's more fine than it is painful now. She can be honest around Corrin, literally nakedly honest. It's nice. It's nice that Corrin obviously finds Gold Ship attractive too, she can play innocent all she wants but her blush gives her away.
Still, there's that little... issue. The air's been cleared maybe but some things have been left unsaid. Actually saying them is far more embarrassing than Corrin openly checking her out. Well, more terrifying really, this friendship is strong bu-
"Corrin, I love you."
Well shit. Just straight out said it. Standing there still in her heroin lazily carrying sword pose, suddenly feeling like she might pass out from all the blood rushing to her head, wagging her tail despite herself because it's such a relief to actually get those words out.
"An' ya don't gotta say anythin'. I know, I get it, m'not gonna pull anything either. I just... if we're clearin' the air I needed to say it. I'm in love with you."
no subject
There is a comfortable ease that settles over them, enough to drown out any embarrassment Corrin is feeling or that would send her running for the bathrobes that were provided. She's relieved they conquered that hill, and hopefully, finally allowing herself to be honest has been good for Gold Ship, knowing that she doesn't have to bottle everything up and pretend what she wants doesn't matter.
And it must have worked, because Gold Ship confesses her love for Corrin, right then and there. She knows nothing can happen, won't try to get between her and Nabiki, but she needed to say it for things to truly be clear between them.
She looks up and smiles, a little sadly, a little ruefully at Gold Ship. In another life, if Nabiki hadn't taken her shot, or hadn't come to Rosavelle at all, Corrin sees a different future written in the face of the umamusume. And honestly, it probably would have been a good future too. But so is the one she has now, in this life, with Nabiki. It hurts to see her friend accept this and know that it hurts her, but that's just how it is. Another what-if to be tossed onto the pile of Corrin's life. Another road not taken.
Very, very lightly, and suddenly hyper aware of the fact they are in fact, both completely naked, Corrin tentatively reaches up and gently, very gently, puts her hand on Gold Ship's shoulder. "Whatever else happens, or becomes of us, you are someone very dear to me, Gold Ship, and you always will be. One of my favourite people, in fact. I'm so glad I got to meet you by coming here, and that I can be part of your life." Even if not the part Gold Ship really wants.
"And you deserve to be happy. I want that so badly for you. So does Nabiki, for that matter. And Akane. A lot of other people too, I daresay. Don't stop looking. Don't stop running, towards that goal. It's what you were meant to do, and you are so, so beautiful when you run. Someone else will see that too someday. I know it." The name "McQueen" hangs in her head, and while Gold Ship seemed pretty sure during the fight that ship had also already sailed, but Corrin isn't entirely sure her that's an objective position.
After another moment, she steps in close—extremely close, in fact—and before Gold Ship can stop her, Corrin wraps her arms around the umamusume and embraces her.
"And I do love you too, my dear, dear friend."
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Precarious enough that she forces herself to not stiffen up or flinch away from Corrin's initial touch. The heat of her friend's hand is blazing in a very fitting manner. For Gold Ship Corrin has very much become like a metaphoric flame, beautiful, warm, comforting, but a little carelessness is going to result in getting burned. Badly.
Granted she feels that burn anyway. It's written in Corrin's smile, the what could've been if Gold Ship hadn't been so caught up in her usual act that she ignored her feelings. If she'd just chased instead of ran away for once, said something sooner, it would've been... well, wonderful. Everything she's ever wanted? Maybe, maybe not, that's a bit much to consider even in the best of circumstances, but it would've been nice.
So it hurts. It hurts to see that smile and hear Corrin say those things. That she wants her to be happy, that she finds her of all people beautiful. She's been called attractive before, sure, hot, of course, beautiful too when she's had to pass for a high class lady, but it was always empty praise. Nothing that comes out of Corrin's mouth is ever empty though. So it hurts. But not in that festering way that she's been hurting these past few weeks, it's the hurt of something being removed rather than stabbed into her.
The hug is a surprise but a welcome one. Gold Ship doesn't stiffen or pull away, nor even dwell too much on the fact of their nudity. Once she processes what's happening she tosses her sword aside and embraces Corrin in return. It isn't important that they're naked, it doesn't matter that Gold Ship can feel Corrin's fingers go across the hors-shoe shaped marks on her back. What matters is there is someone who loves Gold Ship enough to tell her that and hold her like this, without it being anything more than platonic affection. No expectation, no obligation. And in a way, that's every bit as good as if Corrin was able to accept her heart.
"You're such a dork." Despite the attempt at levity it's pretty clear Gold Ship's walls are well and truly gone. Her tail won't stop wagging for one thing, for another she's barely fighting back the sniffles. She can't remember the last time she cried from relief, but damn if it doesn't feel amazing. "Thank you. Sorry for causin' ya trouble."
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But there's also a comfort in the way they can both accept each other as they are, regardless of the circumstances, and support each other no matter what. What a wonderful, and dear friend Gold Ship is.
"I know." She replies and there's absolutely a grateful, happy sob in her voice as she laughs. "You're a good kind of trouble, Golshi. Thank you for accepting my invitation. This was fun." It didn't exactly start out that way, but it became so in the end. She didn't lose a friend today. That makes it a very good day indeed.
She lingers for another few moments, enjoying the private little moment the two of them are sharing, before sighing. "I guess we should probably put those robes on and open up to let them know we're finished our test, huh?"
Corrin's not sure how they plan to collect the data from this fight, but it's magic, so presumably they'll be able to analyze the blades' performance...somehow.
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