BONUS ROUND 1: THROWBACK PROMPTS

[a1c0bb]

In this round, we'll be using prompts from last year's bonus rounds! You can either come up with a prompt based on the previous themes, fill a prompt from previous bonus rounds, or fill a prompt that's been posted this year!

Here is the tag with all the previous bonus rounds!

Fills can be in any format, and you can fill your teammates prompts, but you cannot fill your own prompt.

You can post as many fills and as many prompts as you want!

for your prompt post title, please use the following format:

PROMPT: TEAM [TEAM NAME]

for your fill post title, please use the following format:

FILL: TEAM [TEAM NAME]

If you're filling from a 2023/2024 prompt, please link to their prompt in your post!

To participate, reply to this post!

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FILL: TEAM FIRE EMBLEM

[miyukitty]

Fandom: Genshin Impact
Ship: Clorinde x Escoffier
WC: 658

Clorinde regards Escoffier coolly as she takes a sip of her latte. The damp, gloomy, cramped atmosphere of Fleuve Cendre is worlds away from the sunlit Court of Fontaine above, and yet, despite her high class reputation, Escoffier appears surprisingly comfortable. It could be her familiarity with the influence of Spina di Rosula here, or it could just remind her of Meropide. The undercity may have poor air quality, but it still beats the fortress under the sea.

“So,” Clorinde says, swirling the contents of her mug. “The Maison Gardiennage accepted your official testimony about the lumiline poisoning incident, but off the record, I'm curious. Why would you pursue a dangerous suspect to an unknown, remote location by yourself, instead of notifying the authorities?”

Escoffier huffs and crosses her arms. “For the same reason I accepted a prison sentence for unknowingly using poisoned ingredients. My kitchen, my responsibility.”

Clorinde raises an eyebrow. “That's it?”

“Did you expect my answer to change depending on who's asking? It won't.” Escoffier's lip curls in scorn at the very suggestion. She's very prideful and headstrong, Clorinde notes, but refreshingly blunt in her honesty. “That's it. I wanted to resolve the situation myself.”

“Attempting vigilante justice could land you another sentence in Meropide,” Clorinde states mildly. She takes another sip, savoring the bitter espresso on her tongue, before adding, “Assaulting a criminal is still assault.”

“Unless you're a Champion Duelist,” Escoffier retorts.

A faint smile plays on Clorinde's lips. “Well, if you're brought up on charges after all, you're always welcome to duel me instead of facing the court. I wouldn't recommend it, though. I don't lose.”

The tense silence stretches between them. Escoffier's tail-like meka twitches behind her chair, betraying her annoyance. Finally her infamous temper gets the better of her, and she lets out a frustrated groan, ruffling her hair with both hands.

“I wasn't thinking, all right? I was sleep deprived, and I got swept up in my emotions,” Escoffier grumbles. With her hair drooping and her posture deflating, she looks smaller and more petulant, like a child sulking after being scolded. “I just wanted to talk things through. It didn't even occur to me that it could be dangerous. Or that I'd get a gun pulled on me.”

Clorinde's calm demeanor doesn't change. Desperate people do desperate things. She merely nods, then arranges her empty coffee mug on its saucer.

“I don't regret chasing her, though! Any later, and she would have gotten away,” Escoffier adds defensively. She straightens in her seat and meets Clorinde's gaze without flinching. “What did you want me to do?”

“Not that,” Clorinde replies. She rises from her seat, leaves a tip for the server underneath her cloth napkin, and dons her iconic hat. “I'm not going to stop you, though. Not my business.”

“Then why are you here, if not for business?” Escoffier asks pointblank. “Just to bother me? I have to get back to the restaurant to prep for dinner service, you know. My time is valuable.”

Clorinde regards Escoffier for a pensive moment, hand resting on the hilt of her sword. The corners of her eyes crease in amusement, though the ghost of a smile barely curves her mouth.

“I told you. I'm curious. I wanted to learn more about you,” Clorinde admits without an ounce of shame. “The best way to find the truth of a situation is to go directly to the people involved in it. I have a good measure of your character now, and I like what I found.”

“I... I see,” Escoffier blusters, a blush creeping up the back of her neck to dust her cheeks and ear tips a soft pink. Her meka-tail waves about, obviously pleased by flattery. “Does that mean... you intend to see me more often? Because of this curiosity of yours?”

Clorinde tips her hat politely. “Perhaps. Hopefully not in a duel, though. That may put a damper on our relationship.”