#he's a manderville man ya know

[ladyswillmart]

Arlen's ears perked slightly at the question—as they did at the sound of any verbal excursion lobbed in his general direction—while a characteristically gormless grin stretched across his face.

"Oh Zero!" he said, laughing kindly. "We just ran a Trust! Eh?"

Nobody said anything to this, of course. By now, they knew better than to acknowledge Arlen Askew's frequent forays through the fourth wall.

[argentrenard]

Prompt 09: Lush

“Walk away..." The well-dressed thug said through clenched teeth, "Or in your case, stumble. The lad and I are having a conversation that doesn't concern you." 

The 'lad' for his part looked almost hopeful at an interruption. Argent plopped himself right down next him, jostling them both and seemingly by accident pushing the looming man a bit away from his threatening position over the younger one. "Nah nah we All friendsh shere!  Hey! Cutie!" he called to the girl behind the bar who was bending over to get something. 

"I shaid, a round fer my new friendsh here! I won big and wanna celebrate! Get ovah here, promish ya the tip will be worf it!"

The young woman popped up from behind the bar and glanced at him with sparkling, mismatched eyes. A pair of bunny ears sat crookedly on a band atop her shoulder length hair of grey and brown. The tight corset was a Golden Saucer special, and she straightened, spun, and brushed herself off, sending them all a bright smile. "A round? Of course, sir! What can I get you?"

Argent made a point of staring at her, which seemed to give 'permission' to the other two men to also look as well. It was almost like some kind of unwritten male code: If this guy next to me drunkenly leers at this woman, at least I’m only glancing and not outright ogling like this asshole, right?  It was the perfect opportunity that Argent needed. He kept his grin pointed at the waitress while his hand deftly moved behind the thug and plucked the enforcer’s purse with a flick of what might be a razor blade between his fingers.  Argent quickly stuffed it into the back of his tight belt, letting his billowing shirt cover the prize, and then adjusted his bowler hat, continuing, "Yer finesht, mosht HEX-penshive shtuff of courshe, gorgeoush."

There was a hint of amusement in the girl's eyes as she nodded and said, "Of course, sir!" and she rolled three glasses onto the bar skillfully.  Then she spun as if dancing with only one high-heeled foot on the ground, and getting on her tip-toes, she reached for a top shelf bottle. The three men were treated to a show, as the uniform designed by Manderville wasn’t exactly one that invoked modesty.

Argent slapped his target on the back and dropped a handful of tokens on the table which made the thug's eyes light up as he regarded the lush before him in a new light. "Thatsh for thish round and the next! And don you friendsh worry, tonight is shpecial! Not only have I got all theshe winningsh, but I'm shellaborating my new land purchashesh in Thanalen today! Got 40 whole acresh of fine shoil ready ta be developed! Thingsh are lookin’ up fer me, friendsh!" 

Argent’s drunken dialect sprayed both of the men.  The girl’s hand and arm carefully but surprisingly quickly protected the glasses from his spittle, then pulled out the plug and poured the liquid carefully into three glasses. She sent Argent a smile, and said in a bright and clearly rehearsed tone, "Thank you, sir. Please enjoy your drink!" and she slid the three glasses towards the men. She also scooped up every last mark, counting them all in her hand rather shrewdly behind the counter before going back to hunting about for what she had been looking for earlier. He was impressed with her, but he couldn’t get distracted.  He had a contract mission, and little choice in getting this task done.

The lad blushed and looked at the waitress over the rim of his glass. The thug now seemed in good spirits and eyed her as well, decidedly less embarrassed about it. He tossed back the fine drink as if it was cheap whisky. Argent’s eye twitched.

The slab of muscle and sinew leaned in, "Listen... friend... I was just finishing up a business transaction with my associate here," he placed an almost threatening hand on the man's back which made the lad stiffen and almost spill his drink, "How about we retire to a private booth and maybe there's more for us to talk about that would interest you?"

It had worked. The mark had bit. 

The ‘businessman’ turned to the girl and barked, "You! Fer yer trouble," and he placed down his own token as a tip.  It was a one use slot chip.  The cheapest tip anyone could leave. The girl stood back up and looked at the chip with an expression of resigned disappointment, but little surprise, on her face. Then she looked at Argent and tilted her head to one side, almost in a challenging way as if silently inquiring if he was willing to do one better.

Argent stood, stumbled slightly, and ushered the men along with his clumsy hand. Once their backs were turned, he flipped a full prize mark towards her with a thumb and a drunken wink. He actually think he rather liked her.  And she had helped, even unwittingly. He had a job though, and couldn’t spend any more time.

As he was turning to leave the girl called out, “Hey, handsome,” which only caused him to pause.  However, in what was quite an impressive display, she leapt and slid over the bar to grab his shirt and tug him back around.

He spun, actually surprised but knowing he had to keep acting drunk, and she kissed him hard on the mouth.  After a moment, Argent was able to get his wits together and blinked at her.  She was now kneeling on the bar so she looked down at him and grinned.

She patted his cheek and said, “Thanks for the tip,” And then she hopped down, and went about her work again, swaying back and forth as if pleased.

Argent turned around slowly, grinning like a fool.  He then ‘stumbled’ away to his target.  He had the ring, and had landed the bait, but the reel in was the hardest part.  Maybe if he was done early, he could head back to the bar and ask this girl to play a round or two with him.

He didn’t check his belt behind his shirt in the back, sadly.  Had he done so, he would have found the lush bunny tail shoved in there where the coin purse had been.

@kestrelvylbrand​

[hikarinokusari]

Dating Meme

Pros :

- Lively : Hildibrand is a very lively man. Always dancing, always positive, always moving. It's entertaining to be at his sides, following him in his many adventures against Gilgamesh or in the Sekiseigumi's prison. Really.

- Unashamed : I mean, Hildi got NO shame. At all. You will have a lot of fun times together playing whatever romantic roleplay scenarii you wish, he'll follow you. This is your thing ? Then it will be his too. Little plus of he can wear feminine-gender clothes like a blue dress and wear a braided-wig. You know that braid one is his favourite.

- Chosen by the Holy Sword : If you remember you first quests with Hildi, you may remember the time when he got chosen by this Light Sword. This exact time when the people following you in your journey called him : Warrior of Light. Bet ya didn't know you were dating a famous guy ?

- Colgate Smile : Hildi really takes care of his teeth. When he smiles, it's the brightest smile you will ever see. His teeth spark pure light. Litteraly. For people who doesn't believe this, you always carry that photo you took to prove what you are saying. Before you would have asked Hildi to smile but some people got blind because of this.

Pros and Cons :

Lineage : Not only you are dating the detective and the WoL ... you are also dating the Manderville Heir ! Imagine carry your boyfriend's name and legacy ... you will never have to pay anything at the Gold Saucer ever again. That 2mil GSP ? It's all yours for free. That Alma's haircut for more than 50k GSP ? Same. On the other hand, you may fear your family reunion. When his father comes to hold you dearly, half naked, and will do ... what he does like carrying you off the ground ... You will feel your head meeting that ground, I swear that will be the very moment you will ask yourself why you date Hildi.

Mambo n°5 : Yeah. He's the pro. His mambo is so famous through Eorzea. Look at these adventurers against Chaos, all dancing Hildi's mambo in front of the Destruction God. Look at these squishy namazus on stage, copying the dance ... But oh man please, you wish your boyfriend would take you dancing another dance. Something like a waltz or a slow ... wait he's ... Is he showing off his muscles while dancing ? He's so cute though, you forgive him to not taking you in a Ballroom and do some disney prince movies ending scene ... In fact you prefer he does not take you in a ballroom. You secretly fear he would do this mambo with you. You know he would.

Cons :

- Nashu : Though the miqo'te is only Hildi's biggest fan and first helper, you may get jealous to see her around Hildi's all the time. Or get jealous of her endless admiration for your detective. Whatever, this girl will follow Hildibrand until the end of the world so you have to deal with her.

- Slow to understand : Hildibrand doesn't notice things easily. He would not see a tree in a forest. Your quest for making your love known to the Manderville heir will be harder than WoL's one to save Eorzea.

- Pokemon's Team Rocket Landing : During his investigations, Hildi is always taking risks. You wish he would just stop playing around and let other people like Nashu take those risks. Especially when it ends with Hildi's head sticked on the ground and his butt and legs off the ground. Especially when you are the one who get to heal him before he runs away to find another spot to grow like an upside-down hyur tree.

Tagging : I don't know how to break the ice with Haurchefant's roleplayers so if one of them see the meme, I'd love to see what their pro/cons would be for their muse. ( but I'm a silent creepy stalker of their blogs too shy to tag one of them so if you find an anon asking you to do the date meme maybe it will surely be me ) ; @xyanmajor ; @kanraandchrome ( if both of you feel to do it ofc. Any characters will do )

Tagged by : @xyanmajor though they asked for my RP character who is sadly not Hildi.

If I had to tell why I trollpost this ... it's because while I was browsing through my 30k+ screenshots of lore and cutscenes I found out that Stormblood picture and in the same time got tagged by Nix' to do the meme.

I could not help it but to do it with Hildibrand. Since I got the perfect header picture for it.

[doc-ravenbe]

Ghost Stories at the Adventuer’s Guild

All Saint’s Wake approaches Eorzea and in Ul’Dah there is no exception to the merriment. However in one corner of the Adventurer’s Guild, a group of locales and adventures were arguing over another tradition: finding out what was the scariest thing in all of Thanalan. It started out simple enough, talking about the beast and voidsent roaming the desert. Some mentioned the Amalj’aa, drakes, even the great Brontes that escaped so long ago. Others complained about the Mirror Knights roaming Western Thanalan. Ifrit came up exactly three times, but always tied with the Amalj’aa. The Garleans and their magitek machina, was floated around the group but that was an threat to the entire alliance. As the drinks continued and the night drew on they had narrowed the discussion down to the local myths and legends. The beasts and demons that walked in men’s clothes.

“Aye you’re daffed!” Eric, a Hyur with a scar over through his eye scowled as he downed a ponz of ale. “The Sand Bat of Thanalan is scariest thing out there. He’ll steal your gil and you women. He’s either a bloody voidsent, or one of his parents were. I heard he once stole a one of the damned noble’s wagon with his wife AND mistress and half his savings!” He mug pounded the table as he crowed a drunken laugh. The Sand Bat of Thanalan was a notorious thief whom roamed throughout the region. Many tales are ascribed to him some true some embellished. He was hated and loved by many. Agliene, a small Elezen looked around, timid and holding her drink tightly. “I still think that -” 

She was silenced by her elder brother,Geichaut, “The discussion is about the scariest thing in Ul’Dah, Nidhogg doesn’t count.” The gathering roared with laughter. as the Elezen blushed with embarrassment. Her brother tussled her hair as he did when they were joking as children. He darted his eyes and with sly grin added “I still think the zombies of Sil'dih are frightening and didn’t someone say their ruins were near the capital? I would think an uprising of the undead would be truly be a fright to see.” he quaffed his drink and asked for another.

“Sil’deh eh?” An old lalafellin perked up. That reminds me of the War of the Sisters.”  the table groaned. LyLyshan CuCushan was a clerk at the temple of Nald and history was his forte, much to the chagrin of the table.He lectured the group for what seemed like hours about the twin cities. It was near the end, when most of the patrons of the Adventurer’s Guild had turned in for the night, that his story became interesting. 

“Have you younglings ever heard of the Ven tribe? They aren’t talked about much nowadays but they’re old. Older than Ul’dah or Sil’deh, back when Belha’dia was in its prime.”

“I was wondering when this story would lead into something relevant to our ghost stories old man.” Bes snapped out, her Ala Mhigan temper flared in her eyes. “So why should these Benni Tribe or whatsit be a thing to be scared of?” she slurred out.

“the Rag Man of course.” Lylyshan grinned, his eyes looking devious.

“Oh not that old fairy tale!” Eric spat out. “Every child waife & noble brat is always told to mind theirs matters or the Rag Man would come and steal you away in his sack.” Eric waved his hands in mock terror. “It’s just an old tale, now the Sand Bat he could make ya paler than coerthan snow.”

“Enough with the Sand Bat.” Bes snapped.

“Thank you Bes, Eric the Rag Man is not only just a story told to make younglings behave. Before the Sultana’s father took the thrown, we had a series of kidnappings occurring in the capital. They didn’t know how it happened. High born or low, lad or lass. No one could find the children. All they could find were rags torn and dirty. Whispers began about a being covered in rags stealing them away to the catacombs below.” Lylyshan smirked devilishly. Agliene gripped her brother’s hand tight.

“Wh.. why the catacombs?” she whispered out.

“Because long ago Sil’deh was where Ul’dah is now.” Lylyshan replied.

“Zombies I knew it!” Geichaut beamed.

“No, this is something worse.” Lylyshan said.

“You see I was but a young back then, and I was summoned by the Sultansworn themselves regarding these cases. I was asked by Papashan himself to look into the matters, and while sworn to secrecy on history for some parts.” Lylyshan cleared his throat and stroked his whiskers. “I did find out that one of the Ven was involved in the War of the Sisters. Alas it was the death of this Ven that spelled the doom for the future of Sil’deh. You see, they are powerful thaumaturges that roam the Sagoli Desert.Some say keeping secrets from the War of the Magi.” The small group drew in closer, finally a ghost tale from the Historian they liked. “the two rulers wanted an amicable way to solve the problem, and managed to bring one of these Dunesfolk sorcerers out of the desert to weigh in on the war. The records mentioned the ornate robes the lalafell wore. Why you could hardly tell if it was man or woman underneath. Misfortune came as the Ven was heading to Sil’deh. The body was found in the square, blood everywhere. Far more bloody than one of the Sand Bat’s victims I can tell you Eric.” Lylyshan snapped a look at Eric, stopping the Hyur before he could speak. “There was a scrolled clutched tightly to the body. The Ven’s warning it was called.:

“I came to this land to seek justice for what your kin did to mine, to save the warring sisters from the mistakes made long along. However the spirits of long ago have warned me. I will not come back. If I am slain by the hands of Sil’deh, then their own dead will turn on them. If it was the work of another Sil’deh shall live long.”

The room fell silent. Agilene stammered “What does th-this have to do with the Rag Man?” Footsteps could be heard walking up to the group.

“the torn rags found in some of the kidnappings had peculiar designs. I discovered they were Ven in origin.”  Lylyshan slowly raises his hand an pointed at Bes. “Just like the ones hanging behind you.”

Bes turned around with a scream and was about to throw her fist when she saw the design of the armor. It was Captain Phillice.  

“Sorry ma’am thought you were someone else.” Bes slipped out, her face pale as a sheet.

“Good reflexes either way. Sorry to Interrupt but Momodi has wanted to close the guild for the night, Lylyshan have you been boring these adventurers with your old tales again?”

Lylyshan laughed. “It was all fun but you’re right it is far too late to be up. Off to your rooms the lot of you.” The other began walking off. laughing and slightly drunk. Phillice kept Lylyshan back from the others and when she had seen them head to their rooms at the inn sat down and frowned at Lylyshan.

“The Rag Man & the Ven story again?” she sighed.

“Yes its a harmless tale. Don’t worry I didn’t tell them the whole thing. The Arbiters of Truth made that point perfectly clear when I found out what the entire account of the scroll said and when I compared those robe pieces left behind. No one would want to hear what the other half said about Ul’dah. If by Ul’dah hands my death will bring, Ul’dah’s children I will bring to Thal with me. For as the dead are buried below, the city above I will forever roam.” I’m certain even that Manderville boy would be shivering if he heard that. Those rags while dirty and burned looked well preserved for a design over a century old.