FIRESTARTER.

affiliated // dwarf // apartment 313.

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀You know, generally, the best-laid schemes are the ones you don't ask questions about beforehand. Loudly.⠀ ❜⠀

[gunnhildre-deactivated20250309]

" Is that how you feel? Well then, I should keep this in mind for the future. I wouldn't want you to have to consume any fish less you desire to."

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀JEAN ? ⠀Her brows shoot upward in surprise, and she finds herself clearing her throat ( although it does nothing to ease the prickly feeling on the nape of her neck ). Not her proudest moment... but certainly not her worst.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Never mind the fish — although if you ask me, a single fish on my plate is one too many... I wasn't aware you'd been dragged back to this island.⠀ ❜⠀

[khaenriahn]

❝ Why, you seem to have put quite a bit of thought in this, haven't you. It is true, they are highly valuable with their contribution. But then what of the other creatures who contribute in similar ways? Surely you wouldn't stop at just shrimp... ❞

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀AH, ⠀this could be a slippery slope indeed. Of course, at least sweets would always be safe...

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Well, these are the sorts of changes one should make only gradually. Starting with, say, anything served with its eyes still in its sockets. It may be using those eyes to flavor your food just the right amount, after all.⠀ ❜⠀

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀If the shrimp really are such valuable contributing members to society, should we really be eating them ? In fact, we should make sure all fish are protected. Just to be safe.⠀❜⠀⠀⠀

[sanpatron]

It would be dishonest of Django to not admit to having a small twinge of fear deep within his very soul. Of the idea he had returned to this island without any warm, familiar face to welcome him with open arms. To make him feel less alone than he had previously felt. To make things just that little bit easier. Of course if that were the case he would do his very best to try and manage it. After all, he is a survivor. But even a man who was, in his own words, emotionally constipated to a ridiculous degree, could not live a life of solitude and expect himself to function on any kind of level, both physically and mentally.

So it's with no surprise that the voice which calls out to him leaves him feeling rather happy.

" The sturdier, the better. Makes things a lot more fun. After all, who knows more about breaking and entering than yours truly? " He replies back with that usual smile of his. Though something seems to have changed with him. Did he get older? Maybe do something with his hair? Or maybe it's how calm he looks. Peaceful. As if all previous woes have up and vanished.

" Aelin... I missed you. "

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Who knows more ? That would be me. Why do you think I beat you on the way back here ?⠀ ❜⠀⠀⠀AELIN ⠀studies him as she speaks, tone breezy and gaze shrewd. It seems that every time she finds a familiar face, the creases and shadows have changed. It's a relief, then, to see it's a change for the better for once; there's fewer creases of worry on his forehead than before, his five o'clock shadow looks more like a fashion choice than a glaring sign of neglect, and his smile is far less forced than it's been in quite some time. However long he's been away, and whether it's happened here or elsewhere, something's clearly put him at ease. Good.

⠀⠀⠀All her powers of observation still don't prepare her for what he says next. It's a simple statement, really, but it leaves her blinking all the same. The Boss has always been a blunt man, but that was generally about any other emotion. Hearing such a frank sign of affection from someone other than Ritsuka is... surprising. Not to be confused with unwelcome.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀It's good to see you're safe.⠀ ❜⠀⠀Her shoulders relax; she'll meet his candor in kind.  ⠀❛ Content, too. More content than I think I've ever seen you. I have to wonder what I missed.⠀ ❜⠀

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Are we experiencing some sort of food shortage ? Whatever happened to eating candy to stave off boredom ?⠀ ❜⠀

[balemoonash]

despite the displacement and how strange this place appeared to be, one perk is that the area was filled with an abundance of nature, so perhaps settling in would be much easier than anticipated. for a start, getting to know who he'd be sharing living quarters with would help as a first step. and the one in question just so happened to be present now.

"excuse me..." he smiles, gentle and welcoming as with any person met. what point is there in judging strangers, after all. it only makes life more difficult. "would you like some tea? I was just about to make some for myself. if so, is there a particular flavour you would like?"

@firehrt

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀AELIN ⠀finds herself caught unawares for the first time in a long time. Having been alone in this apartment for quite some time, she was normally very diligent — especially between the island's favored catastrophes — when it came to security. Doors locked at all times, windows consistently sealed when they weren't open for fresh air, weapons concealed in easy-to-reach places, escape routes planned. The usual. So, although the sudden appearance gives her a start, she puts in a great deal of effort to not bare her teeth; logic dictates the only ones who could get in so easily were those allowed in. In other words, guests or roommates.

⠀⠀⠀I should probably warn him about some of those hiding spots. But first, a far more pressing matter.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀What were you about to make ? I'm not too picky when it comes to tea.⠀ ❜⠀Her expression smooths into one far more congenial, turning on her heel and changing course. If she were to share this space with someone, she'd be studying them intently regardless — the invitation makes it that much easier. ⠀❛ ⠀I take it you just arrived here. You seem to be taking it fairly well.⠀ ❜⠀

[edenmemes]

baldur's gate 3 starters (part 1)

part 1 / ? .

❝ a less trusting person might think this all sounds very suspicious. ❞ ❝ you say all the right words, but i’m not sure you mean the right things. ❞ ❝ i know somewhere quiet. somewhere intimate. somewhere we can…indulge in each other. ❞ ❝ eugh, don’t be nice to me. it makes me want to be nice back. ❞ ❝ we needn’t be enemies. there’s plenty of those to go around already. ❞ ❝ there’s a steeliness to you, an unwavering tenacity in the face of, to be frank, quite dire odds. ❞ ❝ even the waves of fate can break upon the shores of will. ❞ ❝ i appreciate anyone that opens a conversation with threats of bodily harm. ❞ ❝ oh, you know me - ever the optimist. i’m trying to focus on the positives. ❞ ❝ i’m not easily impressed by people, but you’re stronger than i gave you credit for. ❞ ❝ there’s an air about you. something alien. ❞ ❝ loosen the grip on your pride for one blasted moment, won’t you? ❞ ❝ it’s been a long time since someone stuck their neck out for me like that. ❞ ❝ there’s something odd about this village. people skulk around like they’ve something to hide. ❞ ❝ you know, if you want to spend time with me, you only have to say so. ❞ ❝ i want to know what the world sees when it looks at me. what you see. ❞ ❝ what’s better than a devil you don’t know? a devil you do. ❞ ❝ you must know that you’re…that you’re very special to me. ❞ ❝ the gods are nothing if not vindictive in their vengeance. ❞ ❝ stay with me a while, will you? day will come all too soon. ❞ ❝ here’s my little treat with their cheeks all flushed. ❞ ❝ i am terrified. i will not claim otherwise. ❞ ❝ my apologies. i’m not quite myself yet. i had the strangest dream last night. ❞ ❝ we didn’t die today. tomorrow, perhaps. but not today. ❞ ❝ leader’s need to make tough decisions. we do what we must. ❞ ❝ i think that unknowable powers come with unknowable consequences. ❞ ❝ i’ve had a lifetime’s fill of watching little men puff themselves up with grand titles. ❞ ❝ in these times, all we can trust are the blades in our hands. ❞ ❝ it’s not easy to turn away from one you once loved. ❞ ❝ much has been promised to you, hasn’t it? but what has been taken from you? ❞ ❝ damn it all. i can do nothing right - not a damn thing. ❞ ❝ every instinct i have tells me that nothing’s changed. that i’m still just a means to an end. ❞ ❝ do not speak of a story you only know the half of. ❞ ❝ i dreamt every night that you’d come back to me. that somehow it was all a nightmare dawn would undo. ❞ ❝ when the time comes to strike, you must take it. for there may be only one chance. ❞ ❝ your eyes. there is pain, endless and deep. but also devotion - blazing like the sun. ❞ ❝ you’re adorable even when you’re teasing me. ❞ ❝ i don’t need your help, and i don’t need your pity. ❞ ❝ i’m more than what i was. and i’m not afraid of anything any more. ❞ ❝ i said exactly what i meant: i love you. you should never, never doubt that. ❞ ❝ this is all like some sort of terrible dream. but it’s real, isn’t it? ❞ ❝ there is no redemption. can’t you see? it is too late. ❞ ❝ i don’t know that it was brave. i just know that it was right. ❞ ❝ you took those bastards down like it was nothing. it…was amazing. ❞ ❝ they underestimated me. so they paid the price. ❞ ❝ we fight, we die, and we just hope that when our time comes, there is someone else to take our place. ❞ ❝ unfortunately for me, you’re my friend. rescuing you from mortal peril is my right. ❞ ❝ what did you think i was going to say? 'oh, come here, i'll kiss you better'? ❞ ❝ flowers are so overrated. they're bright, gaudy, and almost never make good poisons. ❞ ❝ i’ve been lied to, my whole life. and i was gullible enough to just believe it. ❞ ❝ you know, i never pictured myself as a hero. never thought i'd be the one they toast for saving so many lives. and now that i'm here…i hate it. ❞ ❝ you know, i feel a connection between us. like we're two souls walking the same path. ❞ ❝ the forgiving sort, are you? you should be careful. plenty would take advantage of that. ❞

❝ it’s as if god made you just to ruin me. ❞ ❝ perish the thought. every word i said was nothing less than true. ❞ ❝ you have a manner of irresistible desperation about you. i like it. ❞ ❝ i got my eye on you. you got the look of a troublemaker. ❞ ❝ i’m starting to think you’re my guardian angel. ❞ ❝ it seems you know me better than i know myself. ❞ ❝ you…you have no idea what you’ve done. ❞ ❝ they say madness and genius are separated by but a hair’s breadth. perhaps the same is true of madness and stupidity. ❞ ❝ oh, it’s you. don’t you get tired of telling people how to live their lives? ❞ ❝ good morning! thank you for not killing me the other night. ❞ ❝ when the time comes to strike, you must take it. for there may be only one chance. ❞ ❝ it is good to savour the moment of victory - but pace bg3 syourself. our fight is just beginning. ❞ ❝ i was too hasty to judge you. i thought you were witless, gutless, unimpressivably bland… ❞ ❝ yours is the first happy face i’ve seen in a good while. ❞ ❝ when hope has been whittled down to the very marrow of despair – that’s when you’ll come knocking on my door. ❞ ❝ thank you, my friend. maybe we’ll meet again, in another life. ❞ ❝ you’ll regret sticking your nose in my business. ❞

[spiritsummon]

APPRECIATION IS ALWAYS A LINGERING EFFECT, a thing that is dependent on the person in question, let alone what they look at. in this case, it was a set of tattoos that sprawl across the woman's back, partially covered by the attire she wears. not like she can't tell the detail that has gone into it despite the missing pieces of the puzzle. ❝ Nice ink back there. ❞ her approach is casual, detached enough that had nobody seen who she was looking at, it could be aimed at just about anyone.

❝ What's the story to it? Nobody gets that much color on a whim. ❞ correction: akali does, but maybe that was the humor in her words.

@firehrt

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀THROUGH ⠀all the time she's spent on this island, this is the first time anyone's brought up the markings on her back. Perhaps that's because, subconsciously, she often keeps her back covered; her time as an assassin is more to blame than any sort of self-consciousness. But every now and then, the language of the Fae pokes through — so thick and so delicate all at once, it's easy to miss the scarring beneath for the beautiful scrawl. She's grateful for that.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀It is a story,⠀ ❜⠀she replies with a lightness she doesn't feel. A hint of a smile quirks the corners of Aelin's lips upward, angling to get a better look at the stranger. ⠀❛ ⠀The stories of almost everyone I love are written down there.⠀❜

[rosaictus]

"seeing as this causes everyone some sort of pain, wouldn't it beneficial to just forget about these 'gods'? it seems to me that nothing good comes from any of them."

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀I've come to find that most 'gods' have been beings old enough, powerful enough, and fashionable enough to impress the storytellers they just happened to bump into.⠀ ❜⠀

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀It's February, you realize.⠀ ❜⠀

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Yours is very good,⠀ ❜⠀⠀⠀AELIN ⠀starts by way of greeting, tilting her head with an appreciative hum. Four ornaments dangle from her open palm, one on each finger, and her gaze is squarely fixed on the tree in front of the young woman.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Mine, on the other hand, looks as though it dressed itself in the dark. I pride myself on being much more fashion-forward than this... but I suppose it doesn't translate well to trees. Have any pointers ?⠀ ❜⠀⠀

@hanabisays : winterfes s.c.

[lightblume]

"A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet..." As she finishes reciting the line, she claps shut the book she'd been reading and sighs. "I can't say I understand the appeal of tragedies, but I guess everyone has their own way of thinking about them. For Valentione's Day, however, it seems in poor taste and a bad omen to recite."

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀The genre itself is one thing, but reciting tragedy on a holiday about love ? Isn't that a bit like hoping for rain on your wedding day ? It's not even a matter of superstition, just common sense. Relationships have enough problems without tempting fate on top of it.⠀ ❜⠀

[hopeled-archive]

" I don't know where to start, exactly.........a lot has happened." understatement of the century if there ever was one. finding the right place to start just to answer Aelin's question was more of a challenge than fighting Zeus. on one hand, Ritsuka didn't want to recount the rather grisly details but she also didn't want to make it appear as if she was hiding anything from the assassin either.

a long sigh fills the comfortable silence, fingertips tapping against her cheek, brows furrowed in deep thought.

" Well, I did go and play soccer with some talking dinosaurs! That was pretty fun."

@firehrt

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀RITSUKA'S ⠀scent has changed. It's not something she actually catches on the wind, and it's more complex than something like a shampoo she uses. It's an association; whether or not it's due to her demi-fae nature, Aelin couldn't say, but it's how she categorizes those close to her. Rowan smelled of pine and snow, but not because he made a point to do so — he simply smelled of her homeland because she felt he should, and so he did. In Ritsuka's case... when they'd first become friends, Aelin could only smell citrus and lavender. Any time either of those smells hit her nose, her mind would inevitably drift to her and she'd wonder what she was doing that very moment. She knew her friend had gotten... closer with the Count when a hint of amber mingled with the rest... but her overall smell had gotten muddy long before that.

⠀⠀⠀It isn't foul, and it's still Ritsuka's, but the change worries her. If she's being honest... it frightens her a little. So she'll humor her for now, seeing as Aelin's quite the queen of deflection herself; if Ritsuka wants to take a detour before getting down to the heart of the matter, they have all the time in the world.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Soccer I know,⠀ ❜⠀she replies with a slow nod, ⠀❛ ⠀but dinosaurs are new to me. Are they anything like wyverns ?⠀ ❜⠀

[lightblume]

"Hm, I see then..." It's much of the same for the au ra. That familiar feeling of nostalgia that one gets when something reminds them of their homeland. Though this forest is certainly lacking in a few aspects, it was enough to make her feel comfortable and right at home as well. The pixies, too, were always a welcome presence. Tsuru watches with great interest at the other's reaction upon tasting the tea. Fortunately, she seems to like it, something that makes Tsuru hum in thoughtful appreciation.

"Yes, actually. Though there is noticeably a lack of annoying voices to plague me in these woods. For the better, you understand. Whiny elemental spirits are very much better off left elsewhere." Tsuru also has a habit of giving a little too much detail, though it's only after she's deemed a person to not be threatening. As it stands, neither of them seemed to mean any harm at all, so why not entertain the conversation? "That, and I do enjoy not having so many prying eyes. Privacy is everything and I was unfortunately quite a well-known figure back in my homeland."

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀Elemental spirits ?⠀ ❜⠀⠀⠀AELIN ⠀raises a brow. The claim itself isn't all that surprising — it's just always interesting to hear different terms that poke at the same idea. She could mean nature itself, or something far more elevated... but for the former assassin's part, one repeated encounter immediately springs to mind. ⠀❛ ⠀A distinct lack of chatty ancestors, too, I've noticed. They have a nasty habit of springing from their tombs and asking for far too many favors.⠀ ❜⠀

⠀⠀⠀She likes this woman. Generally speaking, those that can mingle with the fae folk are, by her metric, rare and reliable people. Those that come with their own tea and breezy conversation are even rarer. Still sipping at her cup and nodding along, she finally shuts her book entirely — one finger hooked inside to keep track of her page. 'A well-known figure' — she doesn't find it funny, but her body tries to stifle a chuckle anyway. Nothing to do with the woman herself, of course... only the irony of her own situation. Even now, she has difficulty reminding herself that she, too, is known far and wide back home — for better or for worse. ⠀❛ ⠀Privacy is everything. I used to keep it like a promise; plenty knew of me, yet no one knew my identity. But eventually I chose to step out into the open... and admittedly, I don't mind being no one again here.⠀ ❜

[eirineftis]

AN OPEN FLAME inside a palace carved of ice probably isn't much of a comfort to the other attendees, or so he presumes by their stares. there's no pleasing everyone, so he opts to simply leave it be without a word in his own defense, and take himself off down a different corridor. drifting away from the throng of guests, locke eventually pauses by an open doorway, peering inside...

...only to find his reflection staring back at him from every corner, bending the glow of his light throughout the room. he recoils, snapping back in alarm, just to wrinkle his nose upon the realisation.

he never thought he'd come to hate mirrors so damn much.

@firehrt --- crystal funhouse.

[firehrt]

⠀⠀⠀EACH ⠀year she comes to this particular attraction when she's not busy eating her weight in soup, and she's not entirely sure why. When you think about it, a palace of ice isn't a huge improvement upon a castle of glass. Even so... be it the whimsy of the chimes or the hopelessly sweet shaved ice, it draws her in every time. There's one room she isn't entirely fond of, though... and somehow she always walks right into it. Maybe it's the draw of seeing her own reflection working against her.

⠀⠀⠀This time, someone else fell for it first. Her first time on this island, she may have started at least a little at the sight looming in the doorway ( back home, she'd more than give pause ). Aelin leans forward, peering past the serrated armor to catch the slightest glimpse of herself — translated from mirror to mirror, engulfed by flame that was, for once, not of her own making. Surreal.

⠀⠀⠀❛ ⠀I hate this room, no matter how much it loves me. I take it this was a wrong turn ?⠀ ❜⠀

[firehrt]

MORALITY CHALLENGE. bold all the things your muse has done (will/would do is in italics, bolded italics means they’ve done it before and will probably do it again)

murder / manslaughter / assault / robbery / breaking & entering / theft / embezzlement / money-laundering / kidnapping / torture / blackmail / arson (lol) / trespassing / treason / libel or slander / obstruction of justice / lying to law enforcement / creation of a weapon / espionage / riot / escape from lawful custody / contempt of court / public intoxication / conspiracy / accessory to a crime / harboring a fugitive / bribery / perjury under oath / resisting arrest / identity theft / corporate fraud / tax fraud / document forgery / destruction of evidence / assassination / counterfeiting / sale of a controlled substance / purchase of a controlled substance / failure to pay child support / hacking crimes / threat / pick-pocketing / shoplifting