failnaughted

[failnaughted]

@rafent ; Mission: Distress - Axe +1

Ah, yes. It has been 0 days since the Church's last nonsense.

Well, Claude doesn't comment on it while in a place where there's a chance he can be overheard by someone who would not be happy to hear something like this. Which, at the monastery, is the vast majority of places, really. So, for simplicity's sake, he just keeps it to himself.

Just smile through it! Smiles through the Knights' discussions of the chaos, smile through the news that the Academy needs to send reinforcements, smile through the reveal that he is the reinforcement apparently. Yeah, go to the Adrestian territory to sort out the Empire's mess for them in the name of cooperation and solidarity. Suuure.

(Well, okay, okay. He knows that the students from both the Empire and the Kingdom would also be sent if the Alliance were to get into some hot water. So, well, he'll stop with his snarky remarks and of course he'll assist. Make love, not war.)

Anyway, one thing leads to another, and Claude soon finds himself just south of the Empire's end of the Great Bridge of Myrrdin, where one of those newly rising and incessantly stubborn groups of bandits has been reported. His mission: rendezvous with a Black Eagles Professor who had already arrived in the area earlier and figure out what's going on.

White-ish hair, clothes in the mixture of white, gold, pink and black, usually wields an axe. A detailed description indeed, not possible to mistake for anyone else. And well well well, if it isn't his lucky day, that should be the person in question right there. Fighting, oh boy, twelve or so bandits on his own?! With several already dead at his feet?! Claude is immediately impressed, but his mind jumps into full focus mode as he notices one of those brigands sneaking behind the Professor's back and giving himself a bit too good a chance at it for his comfort.

Fun is over. His reaction is immediate - he spurs his horse forward and his right hand reaches to the quiver on his back for an arrow. As soon as he's close enough, he halts his mount.

"Hey!" He calls just in case he doesn't make it in time, while at the same time letting the arrow fly. It finds target, striking the bandit right between his shoulder blades and felling him on the spot.

"Are you okay? I'll assist," he says, pulling out another arrow.

You Have My Axe 🙄 I Guess 🙄 || Claude & Rafal

[failnaughted]

Activity Check: October 2024

Status: passed

Skill points gained: - Activity (Bow: D+ → C)

Total: 1; 5 → 6

Obtained: - Failnaught, Close Counter (Bow C)

Apothecary class unlocked! Archer class unlocked!

[failnaughted]

@freliasarrow ; Bow +1

This is uh. Certainly one way to let students practice their artistic freedom, Claude supposes. Coming to classes and seeing red, blue and yellow paint all over the walls around classroom entrances filled him with a series of emotions he never expected the Academy to bestow upon him.

Isn't the monastery an old, important and dearly cherished monument that cannot afford to suffer such reckless damage? Granted, it ain't like he calls the shots around here, but even he, looking at this mess, kinda cannot help but hope that this is at least some type of paint that easily washes off. If not, well... at least the House classroom entrances will be very easy to find going forward.

Well.

Anyway,

if they're going to let him just splatter Deer pride all over the place AND do target practice at the same time, they're not going to expect him to not take them up on the offer, right?

So it is that upon exiting his classroom, Claude looks at his training bow, looks at the prepared paint and soft arrows, looks at the Black Eagles door already smeared in all three colors, grins, and loads up. Splat! the paint collides with the wall, covering a layer of red placed there earlier in self-defense with the mark of the Golden Deer.

Just in the exact moment a student walked out of the Eagles room. Also equipped with a bow. Ah.

Claude pauses for a moment, before smiling - less smirky and more friendly, though not without a mischievous hint in his eyes still - before he raises his hand in greeting.

"Good afternoon!" He calls, innocently, as though nothing at all happened and there isn't yellow paint slowly sliding down the wall right next to the guy.

I Don't Think This Is About House Pride Anymore || Claude & Innes

[failnaughted]

@solmtinel ; Riding +1

You're telling him that Fódlan actually opened itself up for diplomatic relationships with other countries and continents? And made itself some friends across the seas? And those friends can come to the Academy and study here and not be treated with sneering and suspicion every step they take?

To Claude, this feels like the wildest dream he has ever had. But also he won't lie, if this is a dream, then he wouldn't mind never waking up.

Of course, this process of opening the doors and borders has taken some time now, as he knows, and will take some time still, but that's cool by him. He expected that. He expected it to take longer than however long he has to walk this earth, really. The progress made so far is already more than he ever thought he would get to see.

Well, anyway. With new visitors come new customs, and supposedly, one of them has introduced a most peculiar tradition: wolf riding. The mere idea sounds strange to Claude when he first hears it. He's seen wolves in his life, they are gorgeous and majestic creatures, and by no means small - but he doesn't recall seeing a wolf big enough to ride. How does that even work? Do they actually mean that literally?

This curiosity, and the resulting eagerness to open his own eyes to the new and unknown the same way he had hoped Fódlan itself to do, brings him to the monastery's kennel (big and beautiful, fairly recently built by the looks of it) to check it out.

It is as he enters and his eyes land upon the wolves resting in the kennel that he understands the answer. Yeah, he's seen wolves alright. Never as big as those though, what the heck? He's fairly sure he has seen horses smaller than these.

In front of the next kennel, he spots a person - another student, and from his very House at that, as he now recalls. He smiles bright and waves in greeting as he's noticed.

"Hello there. Here to check out the wolves, too? Is it true they've had some pups recently?" He laughs, a hint nervously. Those are some wolves alright. "Are the pups... also as big?"

The Weirdest Doggy Daycare in Fódlan || Claude & Timerra

[failnaughted]

Artist: Rika Suzuki

Source: Twitter

[failnaughted]

@verseandrhyme ; Authority +1

Being who he is, Claude has developed a tendency that can be both useful and troublesome - namely, the tendency to see puzzles in almost everything he’s involved in and every place he visits. Scheming, paranoia, duplicity - what name is used for this behavior depends on who one asks and how much the person in question knows about Claude.

But that’s how he was built by the world around him, and such he has remained. Wherever he goes, he has eyes and ears around his head. In every conversation, he thinks more than he says. Behind every action and every word, he looks for additional context.

It’s probably not exactly healthy, he knows that. It ain’t like everyone is out to get him, and he knows that too. Old habits die hard, is all.

Aaanyway, it’s something of an entertaining conclusion he draws with regards to his own person that he makes a realization on as he makes the decision to partake in an exercise where he consciously steps into a situation that is meant to be a puzzle. It’s here that it dawns on him he’s never done much stuff like this before, because there hasn’t been a need - because he looks for puzzles in everything.

Well. This should be interesting. Let’s see how epically he succeeds or fails at a real one.

Of course, he didn’t step into this challenge alone. After having a first brief glance around the place where they have now been locked up, he turns to face his partner in crime, and the cheeky grin turns into an expression of (still somewhat entertained) confusion. He could have sworn he was told she also signed up for this, but now, she does not really seem quite as enthusiastic.

Oh. Well? Let’s. Go?

“Alright, Mitama,” he initiates anyway. Someone’s gotta. “In places like this, they always set up little hints and whatnot that you gotta find to make progress to get out, right? Why don’t you take that side of the room, while I look around here?”

Unstoppable Force vs Immovable Object vs Literal Wall || Claude & Mitama

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@blaiddllodi ; Flying +1

Though for the time being his good pal Nadia is resting at the wyvern stables and adjusting to the Academy, and as such he has resolved her not to bother her with missions and tiring exercises, Claude is, in reality, as much as a man of the wing as he is of the bow. And while he certainly has more affinity with the drakes than the pegasi, he can fly a winged horse when the situation calls for it. When necessity calls, skill and experience are there.

All that is to say that, when the Academy announced a new flying experiment, he was in.

He doesn’t have the slightest idea yet what a “parachute” is, but he’s about to find out, right? And what he’s heard of the endeavor sounds both exciting - he’s always wanted to know what being a bird, or what being Nadia, feels like - and useful for the future. The argument of learning how to handle getting knocked off his mount in battle without breaking his neck is, without a doubt, a compelling one. He doesn’t really need to be convinced about it any more than that.

Now, all that remained was finding a partner for the adventure - after all, fun is best had in company. At first, of course, he had thought to invite a fellow Deer, but then, another idea crossed his mind:

What could foster positive Kingdom-Alliance relations better than him and the heir to the throne of Faerghus jumping together or pushing each other off of flying pegasi?

Well, one thing leads to another, and on the arranged day, Claude is waiting at the field with two pegasi, two sets of prepared equipment, and an assistant waiting to teach them about it.

At the sight of the approaching blond, Claude grins and offers a friendly salute. “Good afternoon to you, Prince Dimitri! Glad to see you didn’t chicken o— Ahem. Change your mind. Are you ready?”

Have a Safe Flight! || Claude & Dimitri

[failnaughted]

@aubins ; Axe +1

He suspects most people wouldn’t really see it as a big deal. Trees and flowers are just that - trees and flowers, right? And, well, yeah. To be completely honest, it’s not really like Claude has super strong feelings about the whole ordeal on the literal level. He can’t exactly claim to be an environmental pro or anything of the sort, so in this regard, he supposes he’ll just believe those who learned about the stuff and know what they are saying. He knows little of animals other than horses, wyverns and kinda pegasi, but he does know that invasive animal species can put the entire natural balance of an area in jeopardy by threatening the native ones. He can sort of imagine plants may be able to do something similar.

So, well… He gets it. On the basic level, he gets it. The trees and flowers that don’t belong have to go. So they’re gonna go. A group of professionals hired by the Church is to soon arrive at the scene, and he, too, was advised to bring with him a light axe in case they need him to assist, so sure, he will.

He supposes there’s just a metaphorical level, a symbolic level if you will, on which this kind of situation doesn’t sit entirely right with him. And it bothers him.

It bothers hm because it symbolizes his dreams and hopes being squashed, perhaps in part by his own hands. It bothers him because he sometimes wonders if he really is the only person on the face of Fódlan who thinks about these things. It bothers him because he has to be so careful, so selective, of the people to whom he whispers even a word of his thoughts.

Oh well. He’s lived like this for years, and who knows how much longer he will continue. If his resolve wavers, that’s on him.

The train of thought dissipates for the time being when he approaches the hill. Once he gets to the top, he’ll be able to see the scene said to be just as beautiful as it is troublesome.

But first, another scene entirely meets him at the foot of the hill. Claude blinks in surprise, before smiling as he speaks out at the sight of a lilac head. A hand is raised in greeting as he approaches.

“Oh? Well I’ll be, if it isn’t a certain Mr. Yuri. Had no idea you decided to tag along for this little expedition. How have you been?”

You Ever Look at Flowers and Think || Claude & Yuri

[failnaughted]

ooc; Claude (re)introduction

This is going to be very funny especially for the people who saw me say mere days ago that I hesitate to try a 3H muse again. Although I suppose all of you saw me say this during the anniversary munday, so everyone is welcome to point and laugh.

Well, I've done some test writing with him since then, updated his blog, refreshed myself on his stuff, and felt a strong urge to give him another shot. Truth be told, while I did once get overwhelmed by him, he never REALLY died - even though I thought and said he did, but pulling out surprises to save his skin is just in character for him, isn't it - and I've always regretted a little just how short he lasted. So, let's see how it goes this time.

Aaanyway, just so we know where he currently stands:

Regarding the couple threads he had, I've decided to essentially hit a reset button on all of Claude's budding relationships. Half of his thread partners have dropped, and the other half never got very far. I'm sorry for the interrupted interactions, and I look forward to a new start.

I still have a couple of those "send me a (o・・o)/ to get my muse's opinion on yours" ask memes in Claude's askbox that I never got to, and I do actually intend to answer them for the muses that are still in TOA, those being Seliph, Kris, Raven, Maria, Katarina, Veyle, Edward, Chad and Denning. If you specifically do not want me to answer this anymore for your muse, please let me know. I remember this meme being both very fun and having a lot of people's interest for Claude (which I really appreciate!) so I might reopen it at some point in the future.

I think that about covers it for now! I'll be following this up with a plotting call shortly.

Looking forward to writing Claude with you all!

[failnaughted]

(o・・o)/ (only if you want)

Sephiran

Status: clergy. Allegiance: Church of Seiros.

Origin: ??? * Appears to be familiar with some people from Tellius.

Proficiency: magic, Faith specialty.

Likes: ? Dislikes: ?

-

Oh, there is something going on here. I don't know what, but something sure is.

He gives the impression of someone who came to the Church to get away from something or someone.

Wonder if he manages it. More often than not it doesn't work.

[failnaughted]

(o・・o)/ (what's up house leader we haven't hung out but I think we should because I love Claude)

Altena Alfiona Daina Claus

Status: student. Allegiance: Golden Deer.

Origin: Thracia, Jugdral.

Proficiency: lance, axe, flying (wyvern).

Likes: flying wyverns. Dislikes: being stuck in place.

-

Dutiful, serious, reliable. Knightly type. One of those who no doubt has more experience than age and appearance would suggest.

Fellow wyvern rider. I think we'll get along. I would like to exchange knowledge and experience with her.

From what I've gathered, she has some family at the Academy and there are some "complications" between them. It doesn't concern the future of the Deer or the Alliance though, and I'm not so insensitive as to stick my nose into that.

[failnaughted]

"Aaaand good afternoon to you too, Felix!" Claude responds with a smile and a salute, not missing a beat. Ah, this guy. Dimitri's taste in friends makes him concerned for the prince sometimes.

"Well, pardon me for possibly expecting a Golden Deer student while we're standing near the Golden Deer classroom," he continues - he's not offended, he would rarely be, but it wouldn't be quite like him not to respond with a little cheeky remark, and Felix probably knows that. Can't have the guy wondering if everything's alright with him or something.

"Everyone else's stress getting to you, or are you always this high-strung and I didn't pay enough attention?" he continues, crossing his arms. "Eh, never mind. They should be back by the end of the month, so things will get back to normal soon. Hopefully, anyway."

"... Well, in that case I am off to check on some stuff of interest." As though positively and entirely unaffected by Felix's attitude or any of the current goings-on, Claude offers a brief wave of his hand before turning to leave. "Don't catch a cold!"

Pizza_Man_Enters_Room_on_Fire.GIF

[failnaughted]

@arcaeda ; Bow +1

It's not that Claude doesn't believe in love. Heavens forbid! Cherished friends, soulmates, lovers, people who will stick by you and by whom you will stick until the bitter end - all very important elements of life that give you strength and the will to keep going no matter what.

... But this whole Angel of Love business is just, well. Firstly it's fishy, secondly it's a safety hazard, and thirdly, at least in Claude's eyes, love requires trust and faith that should be earned over time, rather than injected by force. Suffice to say he doesn't believe in this... weirdness.

Seeing as the Church is now stepping in to get it resolved, neither do they. And while Claude isn't eager to agree with them on a lot of things, this one time he does also believe that this needs to be resolved.

His partner for the investigation happens to be a young lady from the Blue Lions, by the looks of things. "Caeda, was it? Nice to meet you." A polite salute as his usual way of greeting, before he gets to the point. "So, we're supposed to find whoever it is who dubs themselves this Angel of Love and make them stop. I've collected some data already," he continues, pulling out a couple handwritten notes - it would be unbecoming of him to come unprepared. "They last struck in three different places: the eastern courtyard, training grounds and greenhouse... Hm, all three locations have places where you can easily hide. They seem most active in the afternoon hours, after classes are over, which points towards them being a student..."

He looks back up at her, smiling pitifully as he shakes his head and crosses his arms. "All good fun, but last time they really did almost get a girl in the eye, so... It's gotta stop. I may have an idea or two to lure them out, but first, what do you think?" Can't talk over a lady all the time, after all. "Have you been gathering info as well?"

Lovey-Dovey Mumbo-Jumbo || Claude & Caeda

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@alliberacio ; Flying +1

In the harsh world of politics, intrigue, injustice and concealed knives, one needs something stable and permanent to always be able to return to, something to keep oneself sane and reassured that no matter what happens, that thing will always be there and waiting for them at the end of the day. Claude, too, has a few of these. Rarely would he reveal them to anyone - such a reassuring mechanism is, after all, a weakness in essence - but one of the things that he is known to be rather fond of is wyverns.

And one would best believe he is not going to miss out on a chance to meet some baby wyverns. The fact that some hatched at all after the harsh winter is nothing short of a miracle, and they need round the clock care - and Claude is all for it.

"Heeey, lil' one. How are you today?" He coos, the chin scratch he gives the little hatchling meet with enthusiastic rubbing against his hand. "Breakfast's coming in just a few minutes. Patience." He chuckles - before turning his head at the sound of someone opening the stable door, and standing up as she sees who walks in, smiling with a hand raised in greeting.

"Morning, Alear!" They haven't spoken much yet, but Claude has always been good at remembering names - and this particular hairstyle is characteristic enough for him to recognize anywhere. "Are you here to help out with the babies, too? Come say hi!"

I'm Gonna Name Him Fluffy || Claude & F!Alear

[failnaughted]

@hresvelged ; Any Weapon +1

Let it be known that, for all his schemes and shenanigans, Claude does have his limits and boundaries, and today these have been well and truly crossed. All he wanted to do was attend an interesting-sounding seminar that sounded like it would help him concoct some new strategies to use in the future. Learn about the mysterious Warp Powder, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

They didn't say anything about it accidentally exploding and shoving him into the body of Edelgard von Hresvelg on this fine Wednesday!

Come to think of it, why was she even attending this seminar? She's never struck him as a schemer like this... Eh, whatever. He can find out later. Oh, he'll have plenty of time to find out a lot about her, by the looks of things.

... Too bad it's mutual. Well, this immediately got more awkward.

His - er, her - oh this is confusing - eyes scrutinize his own body standing in front of him under Edelgard's control. Hey, he looks good. "Well, this just complicated my plans," he says, pausing after the first word as he jumpscares himself. That is not his voice. "And probably yours, too. Oh sheesh, this feels so weird-- Whoa!" He stumbles forward, the new body reminding himself in a harsh way that she wears high heels. "You put those on for battle, too? You are immediately stronger than I knew you to be, whew."

(She probably needs to to compensate for her height. But Claude keeps that part to himself, as the cold realization dawns on him that any unpleasant or mocking remark can now be brutally avenged.)

"Aaaanyway," he continues, smiling as he points fingerguns at her. Er, him. Whatever. "So how about this for starters: I don't ruin things for you, and you don't ruin things for me. Deal?"

"Your Vibes Are Atrocious" "That's YOU" || Claude & Edelgard

[failnaughted]

Activity Check: August 2023

Status: passed

Skill points gained: - Activity (Bow: D -> D+)

Total: 1; 4 -> 5

[failnaughted]

(o・・o)/

Alear

Status: student. Allegiance: Blue Lions.

Origin: Lythos, Elyos.

Proficiency: swordplay.

Likes: friendships and connections. Dislikes: excess violence.

-

Most other travelers from Elyos refer to her as the "Divine One", so it's natural to assume that back home, she's someone important. Here, she is simply one of many, but seems to be handling this transition just fine.

Frankly I'm kind of amazed Rhea hasn't had an allergic reaction to this title. Maybe she hasn't overheard it just yet. I'd be a little careful if I were her or them. I find it a little hard to believe she would simply accept it.

Seems pleasant enough, at any rate. I like the hair.

Appears to have a male twin at the Academy. Interesting.