machiot

[machiot]

may activity check

status: passed

skill points gained: 1 (23)

may activity check: any +1 | reason e+ > d

claims (forgor once again):

tomahawk hurricane axe fire

[machiot]

“ Oh, Marni! ”  Leif calls out after doing a double-take.  “ That IS you, isn't it? ”

He jogs ahead to catch up to her on the beach, more certain of it the closer he gets.

“ I almost didn't recognize you without your armor. It was very distinctive. But... up close, it really is definitely you. ”  He nods.  “ You even have the same hearts and ribbons and colors... Do you make your armor yourself then?? ”

Or, man, it must be an expensive commission job. He can't imagine it *not* being custom-made when he remembers its details and silhouette.

“ I don't know your plans for tonight, but how about we trade bracelet charms? Consider it thanks for helping me back then with the guards in the mine. ”

Leif is greeted by Marni waving excitedly at him as he jogs over to her, ribbons on her sleeves flapping wildly with the motion.

"Emblem Leif! Or I guess you're wearing different clothes, so that makes you regular ol' Leif." She leans forward and squints. "And you've got a new piercing, too. Huh. Neat!"

It's such a simple yet strange thing to remember that he's a real person who can also change his appearance. He's not just a silent phantom, but a real boy who can wear his hair differently than usual and run around on a beach.

"Haha, I was one of Lord Sombron's favorites, y'know? Anything I wanted, I could have—armor, axes, shields, all custom made in my favorite style! Cool, right?"

Tying a ribbon on an axe could hardly be considered truly custom compared to the metal details on her armor or shield, but eh. Details.

Was, though. There's that pesky past tense again. She was one of his favorites. She was a lot of things that she isn't anymore.

Shaking off the clouds threatening to cloud her heart, Marni accepts the offer, "I'll trade with you! Just imagine how people will be jealous when they hear I got to trade charms with Emblem Leif as thanks! Oh, but if you want to thank me more by telling everyone that the charm you got from me is the best one, that's fine, too."

[machiot]

Even an attention seeker like Marni has times she wants to be on her own. She can bark and yap as much as she wants about how she'll be fine and nothing will happen to her, but the reality is that she's been on high alert all night long. This isn't like back at the monastery, where she can slip back down to Abyss if things start looking too dicey. She's right there out in the open without her armor or shield, so if someone finally decides to take it out on her for everything, well...

Anyway, the point is that everyone has times when they need to hide away for a bit to recharge. She'll go back out in a bit and go right back to soaking up everyone's praise after having a little time to herself to not need to look over her shoulder.

It's not too bad, really. The walk down the beach is fine. She might have thought it was lovely, even, if she were paying any mind to the scenery. The further she walks away from the party, the soft sand of the beach is replaced by jagged rocks that spread and spread until they open up to reveal the mouth of a cave.

The others at the party had said something about a grotto, but she hadn't really been paying too much attention to the details. But hey, if Marni finds the place everyone had been looking for, doesn't that give her bragging rights? Everyone would surely pile heaps of praise on her for finding the secret cave that they're all looking for.

And she hadn't even walked that far to find it! Man, is everyone else just super unobservant or what?

When Marni actually ventures into the grotto, what she finds there isn't quite right. For starters, there's another vaguely human shaped blob, implying this place isn't even as secret as she thought. The second point, however, is even stranger. There's a huge pool of whatever in the cavern, but no matter what angle Marni tries to peer into the water, her own reflection isn't there. An entirely different person is where her face should be, movements more reserved than her own dramatic ones.

The longer the face in the water's violet gaze looks back at her, the heavier her heart feels. She's not going to see that face ever again, so why show it to her?

Marni picks up a rock to throw at the water to disrupt the image, but she's beaten to the punch by a piece of stalactite crumbling to the ground, startling both her and the other person here.

Rather than person, though, shouldn't she say dragon?

"...Lady Veyle?" Marni calls back, voice half caught in her throat. "H-hey, which one are you right now?"

how high the moon

꒰ა [ #TOABall2025 — veyle & marni ] ໒꒱

[machiot]

[ LANTERNS ]

She was so cute.

The flared out skirts, the complementary pinks and maroons, the ruffles and ribbons... the girl's ensemble brought to mind one of the dolls Elincia used to play with as a child, though that was a thought best kept to herself. Just from a glance alone, she could tell that the young woman had vibrancy and personality—and enough independence to claim no one as her keeper.

Still, the queen's thoughts linger on her own childhood, on those simpler days in the royal villa. As Elincia turns to the lanterns dancing along the water, a hidden wish rises in her mind.

One that was also better kept to herself, she thinks.

"Do you have a wish?" Elincia asks the ribboned girl, turning to where she stood next to her. "It's humbling to see so many of them gathered in one place, isn't it? All these desires, risen from so many hearts..."

Every time someone comes up from behind Marni, a little bit of tension leaves her shoulders when it isn't someone she recognizes. Just because she couldn't sneak in a great hulking axe doesn't mean that some of the familiar faces she was trying to dodge couldn't manage a knife or something.

"A bunch of lanterns? Humbling?" She shrugs her shoulders dismissively. "Your wish just has to be the best one if you want it to stand out!"

That's how life works, too. If you don't stand out, you just get left behind. If you're not one of those few, you sink before your wish ever comes true.

Is there anything Marni wishes for? Sure, there's a bunch of stuff. She'd wish she was her mom's favorite or that everyone would praise her endlessly even for minor things. It would be nice to be even stronger, too. Or maybe she'd wish for Emblem Roy back? The Divine C... Dragon was kinda stingy with the rings, so he probably wouldn't give him back even if she asked really nicely.

The wish that actually leaves her mouth is none of those things.

"There's someone I want to see again. I kinda... owe her an apology. And other stuff."

Marni falls silent for a moment, as if she only processes the words once they are out of her mouth, then stands up to brush the sand off of her skirt. She thrusts out her pearl charm like it's a threat.

"Don't tell anyone I said that, by the way. This is a bribe for you to keep your mouth shut! It's a bribe, you hear?" Marni emphasizes the word. "A bribe!"

[machiot]

[ RESCUE ]

And then second. Rescue staff still in hand, Sephiran repeats the incantation, warping the other safely to shore. She was entirely unfamiliar to him, looking to be on the younger side for beorc. Or so he assumed- he had never been quite the best at guessing. 

Though, his voice inadvertently softens as he asks, “Are you alright?”

It could have been dangerous, if either of the two had decided to attempt to swim back to shore. He supposes he should keep an eye on the waters as well.

Not knowing what else to do, he takes out a small wrapped treat and places it in her hand. In case she had been frightened. “Here, have a candy- be careful, now.”

In the blink of an eye, Yunaka is gone, leaving Marni stranded by herself on the boat. Still oar-less, mind you.

Blink. Blink.

"YOU ACTUALLY LEFT ME, YOU—"

Marni's ear piercing wail is cut off by the familiar sense of vertigo of her body no longer being in the same place it was only moments before. Her feet do not meet the wood of the row boat, but the still damp sand of the shore. When she looks up at the man standing there, it's not even someone she knows.

He even gives her a candy? ...For some reason? Vertigo relief, maybe?

"What? Yeah, I've been warped tons of times. I'm used to it by now!" It was a big part of their strategy, even, with how slow her armor made her. You get warped enough times and it stops feeling like such a big deal. "Wait, no! That's not the point here! I've gotta go kill that jerk for leaving me out there and bailing on me! Here, take this!"

A pearl charm is hastily thrust into the stranger's hand as if in trade for the candy and Marni takes off running, kicking up sand as she goes.

[machiot]

[ ROW BOAT ]

Did you know that oars could sink? Yunaka hadn't. Not until misfortune had turned its eyes on them, and the two oars that had pushed them out here had been knocked out of place to slowly sink to the miserable bottom of the sea.

So, they were stuck out here. In a boat. In the ocean. While they could hear everyone else partying out in the distance. It was kind of funny, if you thought about it.

Yunaka's legs dangled over the edge of the boat as she stared up at the stars. At least it was pretty. At least the weather was nice. At least she was pretty dang sure Marni wasn't going to be the hound to try and kill her.

"...so. You come here often?"

Those Elusian warships really had been nice. The Elusian warships didn't need oars. The Elusian warships didn't get stuck in the middle of the ocean, so far away from the shore that you have to really squint to make out the shapes of people. The Elusian warships also had Mauvier on them, for all she begrudged his company, who could warp her right over to the shore if she pestered him enough about it.

This is not an Elusian warship, though. This is not Mauvier and his Warp staff, but Yunaka. And those were the oars slipping into the water before either of them could grab the handles.

Yep. Just the two of them. Out on the open sea. No oars. A history of violence between them.

If two people throttle each other in open water, does the sound of them falling in the water after their lost oars make a sound?

"Oh, no, I haven't been sent on a mission to Adrestia in a few months," Marni winds up to kick the side of the row boat, seems to think better of it, and leaves her foot hovering by the side of the boat. She does not particularly desire to be stranded and also sopping wet two years in a row. "No, you moron, of course I don't come here often! What are we gonna do? We're stuck!"

[machiot]

[ STINK EYE ]

" ...i like your dress. s'cute. "

...What the heck is she supposed to say here? 'Sorry for threatening your mom's life, even though I still don't really get why I'm supposed to feel bad? And also all of the other stuff, too.' ?

"...Yeah, it is pretty cute, isn't it? Yours is............."

...

....

........

"...Well, I won't stop you if you want to tell me more about how good I look, I guess."

[machiot]

Preparations for the annual ball were always a noticeable affair, and the bustle for this year's event is, perhaps, even more frantic than ever before, with the sudden change in location. Andrei enters the other dormitory, eyeing the familiar occupant within.

"You'll join the outing to Adrestia, I see," he notes, "It will be a long journey."

He had made little secret of the fact that he would not be among those attending. There had already been too many revelations, too many unpleasant encounters in the past moons since the monastery's fall. To have a few weeks clear of that, with most aboveground being absent as well, would be nothing short of a relief at this point.

(Besides, if what he had heard of Viscount Menja's offered venue held true... he would not wish to be there, regardless.)

As though to shake his mind from darker thoughts, he fixes Marni with a pointed look. "Do not repeat the same act we did the previous year when you are attending the ball this time," he says, a stern facade attempting to quash the embarrassment quickly arising at the mere memory of their antics, "That was highly irresponsible of me to ever agree to such a thing."

There is enough possible danger as is, with so many heading far from the monastery so shortly after a war, without the attendees inviting more onto their own heads.

"You will be too far away from the Abyss for a safe retreat, should trouble arise," Andrei says, brow creased, "Professor Lambert will be there as well, so turn to him if anything urgent happens."

Marni might not be a regular attendee of Lambert's lessons, but he knows that the professor would hardly leave her to her own devices. His tone softens.

"...You won't be alone."

The yearly ball might take place above ground, but excitement is just as palpable down in Abyss. If there is one day worth sneaking out and putting off any missions, it has to be this one.

That's what Marni thinks, at least. Andrei seems to disagree.

"Huh? Yeah, I guess it's a little far," Hound agrees, digging ribbon after ribbon out of a box. It's especially far for those who have to first leave Abyss and hitch a ride in secret. "But I've been on long trips a bunch of times and I'm not missing out on everyone lavishing praise on me for dressing up! This day only comes once a year, got it? I've been waiting all year for this!"

Things really were easier when she could just borrow one of Elusia's warships, though. There are certain downsides that come along with no longer being able to do whatever she wants and one of those is the loss of easy transportation.

A person with more shame in their life might have immediately guessed what mischief Andrei was referring to, but Marni unfortunately has to really think on it for a moment. To be fair, she had done a lot that night that would generally be considered disagreeable by most everyone. Old habits die hard and all that.

She waves a hand dismissively, "What, the champagne? I totally could pull it off by myself if I really wanted to! But my head really hurt the day after, so I'm not going to this time."

She'd suffered a lot more than a mere headache after it had finally hit her, but she didn't want to look like some wuss who couldn't handle drinking what amounted to one measly bottle of champagne.

Marni considers blowing off Andrei's concern (she'd always managed just fine on her own, thank you very much!), but the expression on his face when she glances over her shoulder gives her pause. She'd really gotten off easy with ice down the back of her dress and a scruffing or two. Considering the people she'd run into, she was exceedingly lucky that much worse hadn't happened.

If weapons had been allowed, then...

"...Yeah, okay. Got it. But you'd better tell me how amazing I am when I come back completely unscathed!"

[machiot]

ball engagements

Marni's charm: Pearl

Received charms:

Seashell: Sephiran, Elincia

Starfish:

Anchor: Mauvier

Turtle: Yunaka

Pearl: Leif

[machiot]

april activity check

status: passed

skill points gained: 1 (22)

april activity check: any +1 | reason e > e+

claims (forgor once again):

tomahawk hurricane axe

[machiot]

Toys hastily tucked away, plush heads peeking out of cabinets that can't quite close, tidied for the sake of opening the room up to guests. It's a valiant effort, but it's impossible to completely erase the memory of the previous owner. A favorite blanket, too beloved to fold up and put away. A scuff mark low on the wall from where tiny hands had gotten overzealous. The partially erased remnants of a child's doodle. A bookshelf in which all of the lower sections have children's books, spines worn from the amount of times they've been cracked open.

To Marni, these are all reminders that she's nothing but an intruder in this little home.

It's that discomfort that had her unusually quiet, gaze fixed on the door even long after the home's real occupants had left her to get settled in, easygoing smiles on their faces. Their young daughter, clinging to her mother's side, had looked at Marni with wide eyes before shyly turning away. She'd tugged on her mother's hand until they were out of sight—a sight that had kept Marni rooted to the spot.

The trance is broken by the door opening again to reveal not the happy family, but Yunaka of all people.

"Ugh!" Marni throws herself back on the bed, kicking her feet off the side. "If you just died, I'd have this room all to myself! I'll even kill you myself if you want! Give me back my single room already!"

Never mind that there are two beds and no shortage of people in need of accommodations, so that other bed will probably be full no matter what she does. The dorms in Abyss are shared, too, so it's not even that much of a change from what she'd grown accustomed to. It's just the principle of the matter.

The tantrum is short-lived; it's clear that her heart isn't really in the whining this time. She lets herself flop onto the pillow, the suffocating smell of a stranger smothering the flames of her anger and replacing it with something even more irritating.

"...Whatever. Never mind," she groans, muffled by the pillow. "Why'd it have to be you? You're not actually glad to see me, right? Don't lie."

a day in the life of someone else

restoration

[machiot]

The marketplace in town is always busy, even on a good day. There are also merchants to be found down in Abyss, of course, because there will always be merchants where money flows and sometimes money begs the need to change hands out of sight. However, none of this has anything to do with the reason Marni has come up to the world above ground.

Put simply, Marni is bored. Really bored.

So sick of the same walls and ceiling after being stuck in Abyss with no escape for a full month, she'd come up to the surface in broad daylight. It's crowded, she figures, and if she happens to runs into someone from Elyos while she's out the ensuing fight will at least be a welcome change of pace from the boredom that had begun to wear away at her.

And, y'know, maybe the lack of sunlight had her going a little stir-crazy. Just a bit.

That's probably why she feels like she keeps catching glimpses of someone who shouldn't be here. Rather, there's no reason why he can't be here, it's more that it feels like he shouldn't be here. If he's here, then it feels like something really has gone wrong. So it can't be him.

Had anyone told her what had become of him after everything? If there had been anyone willing to tell her, would she have had the guts to ask? Then isn't it better to not know at all than have to accept he might have failed, too?

But even through the throngs of people gathered here to do their shopping, it's hard to deny that voice belongs to the person she thinks it does. That edge of... something to his voice doesn't suit him at all. He's supposed to be the boring one, cool and detached, the perfect picture of a knight.

But when he sounds all distressed like that, it just brings to mind the memory of deep red leaking through the cracks in her armor.

"Hey, Mauvier," is the lame greeting she manages, trying to push down the conflicting emotions clashing in her heart with a little wave. "Long time no see!"

Once Upon a Dream

[machiot]

♡ marni if u made a tier list of emblems where do i rank

send a ♡ for what my muse thinks of yours

He asked once if you missed him and you thought you might have missed him like a child might miss a toy they never got the chance to play with. A reminder of a home that never felt like home, although you figure it's better he doesn't know why exactly you hadn't been together.

A ghost who isn't a ghost is more fun when he talks back.

○○○○○ | ATTRACTION  ●○○○○ | AFFECTION  ●●●●○ | INTEREST  ●○○○○ | LOYALTY  ○○○○○ | TRUST

[machiot]

♡!

send a ♡ for what my muse thinks of yours

Sometimes it hurts worse to not be hit; to know your guilt will not be absolved even if you try provoking others into giving you what you think you deserve. The rot that festers in your heart also festers in hers. She just hides it better.

A condemnation to live, even if it hurts.

○○○○○ | ATTRACTION  ○○○○○ | AFFECTION  ●●○○○ | INTEREST  ○○○○○ | LOYALTY  ○○○○○ | TRUST

[machiot]

Send ♡ to see what my muse thinks of yours

○○○○○ | ATTRACTION ○○○○○ | AFFECTION ○○○○○ | INTEREST ○○○○○ | LOYALTY ○○○○○ | TRUST

LOW | ●●●●● | HIGH

[machiot]

march activity check

status: passed

skill points gained: 1 (21)

march activity check: any +1 | axe b+ 1/2 > a

claims:

tomahawk hurricane axe

[machiot]

Marni is good at a variety of things and that includes lifting heavy building materials. She knows she's strong already, but it's so unbelievably boring to carry things around for no discernible reason. So what if everyone's aboveground rooms had gotten smashed to pieces? Her bed had also gotten flattened, if anyone cared! Is she supposed to help out just out of the kindness of her heart with no reward at all, just because she's stronger than other people?

This won't do at all. She's just doing free labor for nothing! No one would even notice or care if she rebuilt a whole line of rooms on her own.

Setting down the planks she had been carrying in front of a random door, Marni plunks herself down, decidedly in the way of any foot traffic. She has no intention of moving from this spot or lifting a finger or someone gives her a reason to help out. Those heavy bed frames or wooden desks? Forget it! She's not moving a muscle until someone sweetens the deal and praises her for all of the heavy lifting she's doing.

Yeah, like the poor sucker walking by, looking way too delicate for the daunting task of rebuilding a room from scratch.

"Hey, blondie!" Marni does not see the irony in her being the one to call this out. "I'll carry the heavy stuff for you, so long as you tell me what a great job I'm doing the whole time! Oh, but the second you stop, I'm gonna drop everything and leave."

Nothing's ever stopped her from bullying a girl younger than her before and she's certainly not starting now.

@adheidth

pleased to please ya

restoration: rebuilding rooms (heavy armor +1) (clingy lover rules)