#c. mainverse.

[wisheswagered]

When it comes to the other guests to Oletus Manor, to be honest, Wendy hasn't found herself particularly interested in them. She's sure they each have a story of their own, and aren't to be underestimated - it's just that those things don't concern her, with the exception of only a few individuals who caught her attention before she first arrived.

Jose, as it is, doesn't happen to be one of them. And yet, here they are now - and strangely, despite her disinterest until now, Wendy finds herself compelled to speak with him. Though that might have less to do with him as a person, and more to do with the situation she's found herself in...

"It's plain to see that something's not right here." Her words are blunt, yet somehow it sounds like she doesn't particularly care about what she's asking. Even so, there's a sharpness in her eyes that betrays her true feelings.

"Whatever you're all hiding... can't we move on to the part where you tell me what it is?"

@niightwcves ( starter for jose! )

[utopideal]

When the young paripus appears in Akademeia for the first time, More is sure that something has shifted. It's something subtle, but by no means small - he doesn't know how to describe it, but he feels as if fate itself has changed it's path, like a river flowing in a new direction all at once.

It could, of course, be his own overly active imagination. But he can't deny that this visitor is unusual regardless - in part, due to being one of the only ones he's had for a very long time, but also because More doesn't quite know how he's arrived here. Unlike Will, who More had actively being trying to reach through his novel, this one's appearance is a complete mystery to him - a thought that leaves him strangely excited; eager to see what awaits him on this new path forwards.

"Ah, I must apologize." Clearly, Plateau seems to think so, too, because he immediately leaps over to investigate Fidelio as soon as he spots him. "He's a rather curious one, and he rarely gets the chance to meet new people."

"But with that said... would you mind telling me who you are?"

@stubbornstalwart ( starter! )

[utopideal]

More aches to escape his prison.

It's a pain he's felt for so long that he's lost track of when it started. But regardless, though he's plenty to occupy himself with when it comes to the research of Archetypes, sometimes he thinks it's a miracle that he's managed to stay sane here at all. Memories of long nights spent wistfully imagining the outside world linger in his mind, as he reassured himself that this imprisonment wouldn't be - can't be - forever. The endless repetition of every day, each the same as the last, over and over... it's driven him to the brink of despair and desperation, and every time he thought he'd never crawl out of it.

So why now does he hesitate? Objectively, things for him are now better than they've ever been. With the young boy - the reader of his novel - and his visits, More has found for the first time that he's not alone anymore. Perhaps it's unfair to that boy, how quickly he's grown attached to him, but More thinks anyone would feel the same way in his situation. And the fact that he's able to help him and watch over his journey is something he treasures more than anything, even as indirect as his assistance might be.

Today, though... More has been troubled. He had hoped it wouldn't show, but judging by the look of Anselm's expression, it seems he might've been seen through already.

"I apologize if I've seemed... distracted, today. It looks as if there's something you wanted to ask me...?? I'll hear you out, so please, speak your mind."

@rexinvicta ( starter! )

[utopideal]

"I must say, this is most unexpected."

More's voice reverberates across the room - his prison, Akademeia, where none but the boy Will and his fairy companion should be able to enter. But though he sounds as calm as always; a gentle smile on his face as he pets Plateau who sits next to him - inside him is a simmering excitement he can't quite seem to let go of.

After all, the girl who's appeared before him now... he does know her. He's been watching Will's journey from start to finish, after all, even if he's not been able to be by his side directly. But for her to enter Akademeia like this, without even Will by her side... what could it mean? Is it another manifestation of the power of Archetypes? Or is it perhaps a sign that maybe... More's own long imprisonment here might finally be coming to an end?

Either way, it's awfully impolite to leave his guest waiting for an explanation. But More is so unused to company and conversation that maybe it can't be helped.

"I hadn't expected anyone else to enter this place, even an ally of his... ah, but where are my manners? Do you know where we are right now?

@junahs ( starter! )