@dysloyalty liked for a starter!

𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙴𝙽 𝙰𝙻𝙻 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙱𝙸𝙲𝙺𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 and snide remarks, she had come to find the company of their new companion a peaceful reprieve. Mostly because they didn't seem to talk – though that was not for a lack of things to say. It was Ysayle who explained she didn't speak Eorzean, and over the weeks traveling, they all slowly worked out their own ways to communicate. Eydis struggled sometimes to string the hand signs together, but she could at least hold what passed for a basic conversation now. She turned to Maxime ( a name courtesy of Alphinaud ) and dragged her hand, slightly cupped, down her abdomen, then pointed. 

'Are you hungry…?'

@stellarismegistus​ 

Where in the hell did he turn up this time? For a moment there he thought himself in Mondstadt considering the manner in which the castles before him are built, but even then he can tell this isn’t that annoying city of wind. There’s something almost... fake about it. Like it should not be here in the first place. And not just this island but the other islands he’s been able to garner a glance or two in the horizons as well. These islands seemingly out of nowhere and he without a proper answer of how he ended up here in the first place. His memory does not fail him often and he could have sworn the last thing he did was slumber and then he awoke in the sands of this place with all of these... stray stone ravens that he’s been able to surmise have a life of their own. As much as he attempts to card through his memory of wanderings these islands do not even vaguely come to mind. He’s wandered many a land, before the Fatui and as one of their harbingers as well. He was their man on the field after all, there was no piece of land he’s not traversed in their stead, in their name, so he’s genuinely surprised to find that he can’t even vaguely recognize this location. He is cursed to a long life, it is a stale curse, so not many things surprise him... he’s pleasantly entertained. However there is a small prickle of worry on the back of his neck, the little hairs there raising at the silent spike of disgusting anxiety. He is a fugitive at the moment, on the run and he is on the run of individuals who allegedly have eyes everywhere. 

The thought makes the ex-harbinger react subconsciously. He looks from one side, then the other, and then out to sea. No visible traces of the Fatui... at least not yet so even if these islands seduce him into relaxing he does not. He knows the Fatui have eyes everywhere, he’s one of the biggest reasons of why they do. As curious and intrigued as he may be to get familiar with these mysterious islands it isn’t something he can afford, at least not now, not until he figures out how to become one with his heart.

“Um, excuse me, sir?”

A voice by his side beckons his attention, to which he complies with a mere glance. It’s one of those scarfed raven statues. If he hadn’t already seen just about everything in his lifetime he would have thought he was going insane. “Speak raven.” The ex-harbinger regards. 

“Aha, w-well I have a name good sir and it isn’t raven I can assure you that.” The ex-harbinger’s face spells that he does not care but the raven seems to be ever oblivious as he continues. “My name is Ask-me-for-directions-Arnold and I couldn’t help but to notice that you seem a bit lost. So, I am here to do what I do best and help you with directions!” Arnold informs the ex-harbinger and for a while there is nothing but silence between them, quiet the exchange and all the wanderer does is stare at the stone raven who seems to be growing concerned by the minute. “Pft-!” That’s until that silence between them is shattered by the ex-harbinger bringing his hand to his lips and fighting back some laughter. 

“D-Did I say something that you found comical?” Arnold asks, slightly taken aback by the direction he’s garnered from the other. 

“Your name,” the ex-harbinger doesn’t skip a beat, letting him know regardless of the feelings of the other. “That’s the most ridiculous name I’ve ever heard in my life.” And he’s lived quite a long life, let him tell you that. Arnold gasps. “I-I beg your pardon, there is no need for you to be rude to me, I’ve done no ill towards you to be a recipient of such harshness!” Arnold would glare if he could and this short man’s pushing it already. He will not tolerate such behavior when his intentions are good ones! The ex-harbinger sighs, mostly out of impatience, and crosses his arms over his chest. There’s no point in starting some sort of feud with a damn stone raven, dumb name or not.

“Alright, I’ll bite.” He’s not going to apologize because he meant what he said. “Where am I Arnold-?”

“Tch, tch, it’s Ask-me-for-directions-Arnold.” Arnold interjects immediately. 

“...” He is half tempted to break this stone raven. “Where am I Ask-me-for-directions-Arnold?” The ex-harbinger concedes. 

“Splendid question!” The wanderer fights the urge to roll his eyes. “You are graced before the mighty Immernachtreich!”

“... In your what right?” He frowns. 

“Immernachtreich!” Arnold corrects firmly. “How do you not know where you are? Her royal highness must’ve invited you here the same way she has with her retainers.” 

That immediately raises red flags for the fugitive. So he isn’t alone after all. “Right,” he decides to play along, “I must have missed the memo and fallen behind.” He delivers his words with a fake plastic smile. “I’ve been given... a special mission from her, uh, highness. I need to get off this island to complete said top secret mission.” He claims, to which Arnold clearly does not know any better. “Ask-me-for-directions-Arnold, you wouldn’t happen to know of a way out of here would you?”

Arnold is almost surprised. “Did you not come by boat just as her highness’ royal retainers did?”

The wanderer stares at the raven with newfound interest. So, there’s a boat around here that’s up for the taking huh? Excellent. “I had other means of getting here, but thank you for the information, that’s all I needed to know.” The ex-harbinger waves and is on his merry way to go claim said boat for himself. 

“S-Sir wait, do you not wish to know where the rest of the retainers are?!” Arnold calls out to him.

“No,” he shakes his head. As long as they don’t know he’s here and is about to leave them on these islands by taking their boat that works out even better for him. “Act like you didn’t see me.”

starter for @irrwicht!

❝ you wouldn’t believe half of the shit they tell me, ❞ kei laughs, and flicks the ash off of his cigarette before he continues. ❝ guess i’m cheaper than a damn therapist but still. i must be good at it though since they keep coming back. think i should start charging by the hour next time? might even make a decent living then. ❞

Lark was no fool when it came to her operations. She knew the risk and reward of smuggling Grisha out of Ketterdam. It was only a matter of time before her actions would be deemed suspicious. Though, she hadn’t accounted for the wild rumors of a panther prowling the streets and snatching Grisha from their indentured servitude. 

Moving along the dank cobblestone streets of the harbor, she had the eerie feeling that she was being watched. Though, Lark chose to ignore it as the last of the Grisha boarded her ship for Novyi Zem, she knew they had been spotted. 

Why didn’t they make a move? She found herself pondering as the ship broke away from the harbor and meandered through the calm waters away from Ketterdam. 

She watched for as long as she could as the ship disappeared over the rim of the horizon. The moment it disappeared from view, Lark pivoted on her heel and threw a small dagger, she watched the projectile cut through the air and into the darkness. 

“ You know spying is quite rude. Come on out, whoever you are and state your business.” She spoke in a taciturn tone-- authoritative and full of command. She had no time for spies and would be assassins. 

She flexed her fingers as sparks ignited from them, flickering their readiness for battle. Just another night in Ketterdam, she supposed. 

@wraithstill​ S.C. 

❛ my, my~ it's not every day PENACONY receives such an interesting guest~ ❜ sunday gives the man a kittenish smile and nods his head graciously. ❛ tell me, what is your vice? do you care for drinks or gambling? we have all manner of pleasures and delights here. ❜

for @vancreux . starter call!

⚜@lostusagis liked for a starter!

Nara's hand instinctively goes to her sword, fingers carefully wrapping around the scabbard, thumb poised to flick the blade from it's sheath in a moment's notice.

"You would be wise not to pick a fight with me." She couldn't get a proper reading on this man, but that only makes her more wary.

Frederick hasn't been at this manor for nearly as long as the others. Though it feels like it's been an eternity to him, it means that he's still getting to know the other survivors who've found themselves trapped in this place.

And Emma Woods... is one of those people. It's such a bizarre feeling, seeing her now. While he'd never known her in life, he had heard of her - as a girl who went missing in mysterious circumstances several years ago, her life sensationalized and her disappearance treated as an unsolvable mystery by those who knew of her.

Never would he have dreamed he'd ever end up joining her among the ranks of the missing. ...He wonders if they're looking for him, too. They must be - while not for the reasons he wants, Frederick Kreiburg is a well-known name among the higher classes, and yet... that fact brings him no comfort at all.

Regardless. It's cruel of him, but the one thing that strikes him as he looks at her now is what he knows of her past. Knowing she's been a patient at an asylum for so much of her life... to be quite honest, it chills him to the bone. The reason for that discomfort is difficult to identify - or maybe, deep down, it's something that he simply doesn't want to acknowledge.

Today, though... there's only one question on his mind. Though he doesn't know if it's curiosity or paranoia that drives him to ask.

"Tell me. Why did you approach me, of all people, for this?"

@mlssamericana ( starter for emma! )

taken from this post ♡ @ohnlyfans, felix and muse of your choice

"where are you taking me?"

@spirits-of-nature16 liked (x) for guest muse Margo!

"...And I think. That's. Everything!"

The girl grunted as she tried to force the last few items into her already-bulging backpack. Maybe she was over-prepared, the brunette was aware; but all the same. For her very first official AVL mission? Even if she was just tagging along with Gru and Lucy, even if her role was just to find a safe corner and provide support for them by hacking into the security system of the lair they were infiltrating?

Margo wanted to make sure that she had all she needed.

Finally forcing the zip to close over the last few supplies she'd just purchased, the bespectacled girl let out a breath of satisfaction, slung the heavy bag over her shoulder--

And almost clobbered the girl who was exiting the shop behind her with it. Margo's hand flew to her mouth with a gasp.

"Oh, I'm so sorry--! Are you alright?"

As much as she was sure that Gru, in this position, would have just laughed and moved on... Margo didn't have it in herself not to care about the fellow kid who she'd almost knocked down.

@innerbeast

"The sea creatures in my world weren't entirely different from the ones here." He says in thought. He raises a finger to his chin and raises his eyes upward to the sky. "Though, I guess when I look back on some of them, I do remember spotting a fish with a halo and some wings. I believe there are such things as fish called angel fish, but I think ours were literal? If I'm not mistaken, they are a rare sight."

Ugh. This sucks.

When she'd first heard about the trip, Neptune had thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad. A visit to a city full of museums... well, it's not really her thing, but she can think of places that'd be a lot worse, so. Take what you can get, right?

But through some stroke of bad luck, both Venus and Jupiter ended up sick. So now here she is, stuck on her own with a bunch of shitty teachers, boring classmates, and Jesus somehow shoehorned into every conversation. Great.

At the very least, having a moment to herself like this is a blessing. ...She hopes Venus and Jupiter are doing okay. It's their own fault for working so hard lately, but. Still.

Neptune had decided to sit down for a drink, but the cafe she's found herself in is surprisingly busy. Suppressing the urge to sigh, and holding back a cough tickling her throat, she eventually chooses a random table with only one other occupant in the back.

"Hey. Mind if I sit here?"

@dnangelic

“You haven't been to Fontaine?!”

Astonishment-laden features spelled her surprise. In truth, only recently had she been made aware of its vast beauties, only recently had the smell of seafoam in her hair and salt in her 'brows.

“You'd love it! There's a ton of areas to search for treasure, and plenty of peaks to stand at the top of! Speaking of that: they have these jellyfish things you can bounce on, kind of like in Sumeru! -- except those were mushrooms, not jellyfish things. And! Oh my gosh, I can't believe I forgot to mention, you can breathe underwater! I was a little skeptical at first, since I'm from Inazuma, and I figured that maybe that was just a Fontainian thing... but once I took a big gulp, instead of a mouthful of seawater, it was like a fresh breath of oxygen.”

The actual descriptor slipped her mind, but it wasn't everyday you had to explain such a process... even someone with the proper credentials would lose some of the wording in-translation. There's a breath of realization before Yoimiya grasped Bao'er's hands in her own!

“We should visit together!”

@mysticallities // starter!

@asterites​

It’s unclear to him why he was ordered to come see the Tsaritsa herself, but according to the first it was something that directly came from her. About wanting to see him before he sets off to Inazuma with Signora. The chilliness and coldness of her palace does nothing to someone as divine as he is, but from what he’s heard before it’s to die from shivering in here. He feels none of it however.

Once before her throne, the sixth harbinger tips his hat and respectfully takes a knee before her excellency. Once he’s rested the knee he removes his hat, resting it by the chill of ice on his side, bowing his head before her. “You summoned me your majesty?” He inquires like he’s fiercely devoted to her. “I came as soon as I was told you wished to speak to me.”

starter for @simplybombshellwrites​!

❝ i was in town and i didn’t know where else to go really, ❞ he starts, desperately trying to come up with something better, something other than the pitiful truth. there’s a pause and unease seeps into his bones the longer the moment stretches but he keeps coming up empty, finding no real excuse as to why he’s here. ❝ ... look, i wasn’t plannin’ on coming here but i — i just had to come and see you. ❞

@halfxspider ♡’d for a starter

{✗} "Will you just...HOLD still?" She smiles, shaking her head with mild annoyance glimmering in her eyes. Her hand reaches over and adjusts his chin once more, tilting her head as she examines his face in this new LIGHT. "You promised you would sit still for ONE picture," Cindy reminded him, her gaze returning to the sketchbook in her lap. She picked up her pencil and resumed her sketching, light STROKES of lead against the off-white paper.

"Mayday was EASIER to sketch and she's a TODDLER," she grinned a little, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

❛      miss  memokeeper.    ❜       sunday  greets  the  soothsayer.      ❛      i  did  not  expect  to  find  you  at  the  dream's  edge.  i  hope  you've  found  your  room  amenable  and  haven't  lost  your  way  through  the  corridors.  i  know  many  patrons  lose  their  way  easily  despite  our  attempts  to  maintain  order  within  the  hotel.  if  you  would  like,  there's  a  lovely  view  of  the  GOLDEN  HOUR  just  up  ahead.    ❜

for @swahnn . starter  call!