sweetdevil | 40th ♫ | a coward revels in her emptiness

40th ♫ | a coward revels in her emptiness

OC VOICETEST FOR ELLE BRANWEN

Elle is the resident shady-ass bard and big witch hat owner of the Blackest Night Guild, a once legendary adventuring guild that slowly slid into obscurity and general not-doing-much-of-anything-ness when the original party members disappeared after a titanic battle, leaving tiny fifteen years old Elle all by herself (well, she had a friend, but The Drama) to run Blackest Night in their absence, waiting for their return. Ten years later and Elle is now catty, bitter and mostly unmotivated to do much of anything until the guild receives a shutdown notice and she springs into action, refusing to let Blackest Night shut down without a fight. Cliffnotes/quick overview for meme purposes below:

Elle IS:

Visibly in her early/mid 20's, with the kind of lean, toned build of someone who does a lot of physical outdoors activity. She has blue eyes and long blonde hair, some strands of which she has braided and pinned back out of her face. She dresses mostly in black and white with occasional gold accents and of course, she has an Enormous Fucking Witch Hat. Her aesthetic overall is kind of witchy, even though she's a bard? Don't worry about it. Also she's a total babe but she's a Claire OC so that's a given.
She Is A Bard, so that's her magic and combat deal. Instead of just music or dancing or w/e being her Bardly Domain, her niche is the idea of performance in general. She's particularly good at singing and dancing, though, and plays a lute. She's also uhhhh really good at lying.
Grouchy, crabby, sassy 100% of the time. i Will keep saying "she's just Fantasy Gina Linetti" until i come up with a better way of getting across her general vibes
Actually Super Depressed and just generally dealing very badly with losing the people who were the only family she's ever known and spending ten years waiting around for their return. A lot of her acting out and general nastiness is a combo of "negative attention still means people are paying attention to me" and "if i don't get attached to people they can't leave and crush my heart to pieces again"
Hailing from a setting blatantly ripped off from D&D, so her experiences of tech and culture are influenced by that general fantasy time period.
Book smart, educated and has the potential to be well-spoken, she's just a horrible contrary crabbypants

Elle IS NOT:

Familiar with modern day culture or technology
Particularly nice or friendly to the average person. She comes off as pretty rude and standoffish, though it's worth noting that she's never mean to kids
Particularly nice to uhhhh anyone who isn't Ollie, really

Like my usual CMOs, I'm totally happy to roll with assumed CR, AUs, setting transplants, BASICALLY ANYTHING YA LITTLE HEART MAY DESIRE, I'M HERE TO GET ON WITH IT

PROMPTS:

Random Scenario Meme Prompts
Jamjar CR Meme Prompts
Murdergame Scenario Meme Prompts

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A few minutes ago, a portal to hell belched out fire and smoke on the front lawn of Blackest Night's guild hall. That was followed shortly by an enormous, heavily armored figure dragging a struggling demon out by the horns. The struggling continued until the portal closed again, leaving a severed demon head lying on the ground, surrounded by gently burning grass. The blood splattered knight had stood in a daze, as his armor made ticking sounds from the metal shrinking slightly as it cooled off. He had looked looked around for about a minute, then fell to his knees, and then face first into the grass, and passed out.

He hasn't moved since, save for faint breathing.

[The fight isn't going well.

It's strange- the beasts in this area are never this populous, even during their breeding season. They never fight this wildly, as if they're rabid. Never fight to the last body.

Oleander curses and joins the fray for the first time- there's no choice, as some of the creatures are breaking past the front line fighters... so he lunges, sinking his lance into one of the boar-like monsters' spine in one sharp movement]

Damn it- we have to run, there's too many!

[ oh, look, Cale has fallen asleep somewhere improbable, inappropriate, and uncomfortable. again. ]

[ And here comes Elle, looking for all the world like... maybe she's doing paperwork? Ssh, don't tell. She's not actually WRITING anything, of course, but she's reading it and that's almost as good. Without even looking up from what she's doing, when she comes across the blanket pile that is Cale, she sticks out a foot and gives the pile a few nudges to test for structural integrity and then promptly clambers up and sits herself down on it.

Obvious, this is a seat for Elle and nothing more or less. ]

And turn our backs on these freaks?! Are you tapped in the head?

[ FURIOUS AND DISTRESSED LUTE STRUMMING. She's laying down spells and heals where she can, but it's a bit hard to get anything helpful going when she's also having to make sure she doesn't get extremely gored. ]

What the hell has them so worked up, anyways?!

[ So, you see some weird shit when you're an adventurer. Not that Elle's seen any weird shit for a while, with the lull they're going through, but still, weird shit. The point stands. So like, she's not expecting a big hell portal to come popping open on the front yard like an ill-timed zit her feelings on it are pretty close to "yeah, this might as well happen" over anything else.

Because... yeah. This might as well happen.

When she's mostly confident the big knight is out for the count, Elle makes her way down to the big front door and cautiously sticks her head out. She could probably get Barty to go out there and check and see what's going on, but instead she's going to do the smart thing.

And toss a rock at him from the safety of the doorway. Totes smart. ]

[ the pile doesn't so much as twitch at the prodding (he has slept through way more than that before), but the sit gets a faint, muffled whoof followed by puzzled silence as Cale tries to groggily figure out what woke him up. ]

Elle...?

[ and then, abruptly more awake and significantly more delighted sounding— ]

—Elle.

[ which is all the warning she gets before the blanketpile is trying to glom onto her like the world's softest bear trap. ruh roh. ]

[ Though this is far from the first time this has happened and it definitely won't be the last, Elle still has the audacity to be shocked when the blanketpile proceeds to consume her. In fact in gets an incredibly undignified noise out of her that I can only transcribe as: ] Hugyah!

[ There she goes. Rest in peace, Elle. ]

Hey, hey, hey! You're gonna crush the hat and I don't take kindly to that!

[Tapped? Perhaps. But honestly eith his polearm his thought was that he could keep them back long enough to protect the casters' backs as they fled. Laurent and Cale would be able to not hold back without worry that way- and he doubted anything could truly kill Bart.

It would be messy, but... well if he explained it like that he knows she'd refuse. So he doesn't bother]

Tch... I can't say. This is completely unnatural for them...

[ he... actually pauses

then shifts her just enough to keep the hat clear as he sticks his face against the back of her shoulder and sighs. it is disgustingly, unabashedly happy. ]

I wouldn't... Your hat's cute, you know?

[ oh... moe. ok. she'll permit this. Not without a huge dramatic sigh and a show of acquiescing, though, but this is Elle, so the drama is just part of the package. ]

It's important. I'm only most of a human being without it. [ She says, while reaching briefly out of the blanketpile to bat the hat off her own head so she doesn't have to worry about it getting crushed. ] But it'll keep for later, I guess.

[ There we go. Permission granted to increase cuddle. ]

[ yesss. the huffing and puffing has its own charm, anyway, even if her refusal to be straightforward makes him want to sit on her until she stops sometimes.

he rearranges the blankets with one arm and loops the other around her waist to pull her in. become cozy and one with the blanketpile. ]

Hey, even without you're still more of a person than either of "us" are. ...You're good either way.

Edited (accidentally a word) 2020-03-12 20:30 (UTC)

[ She basically turns to liquid. Like a big dumb relaxed cat. Yes. Cuddle her. ]

Good point. I'm gorgeous with or without the hat. The hat just gives me a little extra flair and drama. Not that I need it or anything, but a little extra never hurt.

[ She rolls over a little so she can mush her face into his shoulder. C o n f y. ]

Great! Love it! Feeling really reassured about our long-term future prospects here!

[ Of course, she says that, but the likelihood of them having short-term future prospects let alone long ones is rapidly diminishing. Her fingers pluck out a staccato of off-key notes that don't quite make a song – she's too panicked for that – and she grits her teeth, wracking her brains for anything they can do. ]

Look, if we're getting out of here, we need a distraction! What'll work on these things?

[ he promptly countermashes his own face into her hair, his other hand coming up to wind his fingers in it.

...he's also shamelessly huffing her, but that's just sort of the price to be paid with Cale when he's like this. at least he stays pretty firmly in the realm of "overaffectionate dog" as opposed to getting super creepy about it. ]

Like a garnish. One of those edible flowers, or something.

[ ...Cale maybe do not compare her hat to something edible. maybe don't compare her to something edible? ]

Edited 2020-03-13 00:41 (UTC)

[The rock bounced off the knight's helmet with a clang. He IMMEDIATELY looked up, and just for a second there was not eyes looking out but a brilliant green light. Something more than mere human looked back at her.

It faded after a moment, however, and regular human eyes were looking back at her with confusion and panic.

He tried to stand back up but the weight of his sheer exhaustion pressed him back down. It was all he could do right now to keep his eyes open.]

Hnn...?

Edited 2020-03-14 05:27 (UTC)

[ Honestly, at this point, she's so used to it that it doesn't even register as something she should consider protesting to. She just lets it happen. ]

Just for the record, if you ever eat my hat, I will punch my fist down your throat and pull it back out.

[ The dissonance between her threat and her on-the-way-to-half asleep voice is... incredible. ]

[ speaking of dissonance— ]

That's a good way to get your arm taken off. I would rather eat y—

[ he cuts himself off with a twitch and a muffled noise, not quite loud enough to be an "oof" but definitely in the vicinity. someone just got the mental equivalent of newspaper to the muzzle.

...sinking into the blanket pile with a sulky back-of-the-throat grumble ]

...it was just a comparison. It's not like there's much that works to compare you to.

[ The corners of Elle's mouth tug up into what can only really be called a wicked smile. Is it a little mean to bait Cale when he's like this, so she has Prime Bullying Material for later? Absolutely. Is she going to do it anyway? ABSOLUTELY. ]

Oh man, it's all coming out now, huh? Is that what I was lured in here for? Am I just a big dumb fly in a Venus Flytrap?

[ ... The fuck.

She'd shot behind the door, just barely peeking out after tossing the rock and once the light in his eyes dies dow, Elle squints at him suspiciously. For a long moment, she just hangs back where she is behind the door, not quite willing to step out into the open yet but she eventually seems willing to risk it and starts inching her way out. ]

So you're... less dead than I thought you were. I thought I had a corpse situation laid out on the lawn, so uh. That's what the rock to the noggin was about.

[ She pointedly does not apologize for that. ]

Are you, uh, alright?

[After a moment of considering this question, he manages to get to a sitting position on the ground and just kind of looks around, like he's never seen a pleasant sunny afternoon before. Birds chirp in the distance. The presence of the demon head just kind of lying there, bleeding, is the only sign that anything strange actually HAPPENED here just now.

After sitting like this for ALMOST long enough that Elle felt like maybe she should say something, he slowly reached up and took his helmet off, revealing a pale, heavily scarred, but ultimately human looking face.

He still didn't say anything. He wasn't sure he remembered how.]

[The painful note inspires him- might even be Bardic Insperation]

Elle! Do you know any spells that inspire fear?!

One or two, I guess?! But I've never tossed 'em out against a mob this big!

[ But she's strumming furiously regardless. It's... hard to tell if this is a nervous tic or Elle actually attempting to do her job. ]

... Oh. Huh. So you are just a guy under there.

[ Elle's mostly just talking to fill the transparently uncomfortable silence that's begun to fall – even with all the disgusting cheery summery atmosphere going on out here, she's starting to feel a little claustrophobic under this dude's gaze. It's pretty clear on her face, too, but even with that, she makes herself step outside and start striding towards him. ]

Can you actually talk or do I need to get a mindreader in here?

Hhhhnnn...Yyouu...

[He got that far, with a deep, raspy voice of a man who sounds like his lungs are full of dust, before breaking out into a coughing fit. Still, he'd said a word! It was a sound other than the mindless screams of fear and rage that were all he could remember.

After he finished coughing, he tried again.]

W....waaaater?

That's it? Uh, fine, I guess.

[ Elle wrinkles her nose with transparent suspicion before taking a step back. ]

I'll get your water, but you're gonna stay put right the hell here while I'm gone and then you're gonna explain yourself. You got that?

[Oh god he has to talk. He nodded, cautiously, then sat perfectly still while she went to get the water and tried to remember words.]

[ A few minutes later, Elle returns and despite all her grumping, she's carrying with her a pretty sizable waterskin and it's apparently full enough that she's having to support it with both hands.

When she's a few paces away, though, she gives it a hefty swing and lets it sail through the air to land with a pretty sizable thud on the ground in front of him. ]

There. And until you start talking, that's all you're getting.

[ she might regret that, just because he huffs and turns his head to lightly nip at the shell of her ear with teeth that feel just a bit too sharp. ]

You know I don't plan that far ahead.

[ "at all," he means. coming from anyone else that tone might be hilariously, misplacedly prideful; from him it's less pride in the specifics and more a statement of fact. he is the way he is, and he enjoys it. ]

[ Elle lifts her hand and – she doesn't quite bap his face, but she does give his cheek a little pap pap of warning. ]

Right, you got me there. But maybe let's not eat me when we've got a big job coming up and money to make.

[ did you mean: try to nip her fingers too

it's not actually a serious attempt, though, and after the first half-assed snap he just shoves his face into her hand with a pleased hum. aware of dog, pls pet dog ]

But then you wouldn't have to worry about the money—

[ it's absent-minded, not actually serious sounding— but nevertheless his nose wrinkles under her hand again and is followed by his hold on her getting less loose-limbed and more self-conscious. ]

...can we not joke about that, please.

[ if the change in how he holds himself weren't enough, his voice is a pretty obvious tip-off— it's lower, rough, his words measured in the way of someone who knows they'll come out half-slurred if care isn't taken with them. kind of like he'd gotten woken up suddenly in the middle of a nap, really. ]

[ A nice girlfriend might take this as her cue to be a little gentler with him – unfortunately, Elle is Elle and therefore not particularly nice, so instead she snickers to herself before leaning in and pecking a quick, playful kiss right against his lips. ]

Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty. So glad you could join the party.

[ Cale... is so cute... thank god he puts up with her bullying ]

[ he doesn't quite kiss her back so much as hold still to let her, eyes flickering faintly blue again and sliding half-shut as she does. ]

I woke up when he did. ...I just didn't think I could greet you as well.

[ translation: one half of him got the ability to go for the unrestrained snuggles and affection that ~~he wanted to give her~~ she deserved, and it sure wasn't him. ]

I dunno. I really could've gone without almost losing my arm. I've been told being perfectly symmetrical is one of my best features.

[ She ruffles his sleep-mussed hair lightly. C u t e. ]

I'm not letting him eat you.

[ the quiet, unbending determination in that statement is perhaps somewhat ruined by the way he shuts his eyes entirely under her attention, tilting his head forward a bit.

(the words are followed by a quietly plaintive internal whine of "but if we did nobody else could take her," which he doesn't dignify with any sort of response. it's one of many arguments he's had so many times that at this point the conclusion is foregone; but as long as he ~~they~~ want—

as long as the emotion, the desire, the greed is there, it's going to be voiced. he's not allowed to bury such things.) ]

I know that, dumbass.

[ And that should definitely sound mean, especially coming from Elle, but somehow she manages to say it in a way that sounds affectionate. She leans in again, and presses another kiss to his forehead, this time. ]

You think I'd be in here if I didn't trust you at least that much?

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40th ♫ | a coward revels in her emptiness

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during the journey post closure

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that was one of the more spectacular account fails I've done

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I promise the whole thread won't just be awkwardly drawing out single words

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