incredibly open....

[politrick]

Who: Merlin & yall
What: general catchall for January with some open prompts
When: allllll month
Where: around, possible Wyver bias
Warning(s): he'll probably make a bad decision somewhere

A. (WYVER) hangin out

[Merlin lives in Wyver in a tiny single room and works at the dragon stables! He spends most of his time out and about with his... pet....... which is a Duldrum he took home from the jungle, but don't judge him and his beautiful child. It's a little taller than knee high at its full height now and follows him everywhere, trilling pleasantly. Feel free to find him...]

I. [In and around town, with the Duldrum, which he has to occasionally lift entirely over his head to not lose it in crowds where it gets super distracted. This is probably when he'll bump right into someone else, with, you know, a bird-thing raised up in the air. Uhh.]

—Hi, excuse me, I'm just- just trying to get through, before— no no no, what did I tell you about that? [This last part as he looks up at the Duldrum, which is clawing gently at his sleeves with its clawed feet. Now, for you,] Can you do me a favor and roll up my sleeves? Or down, technically, from this angle if you want to be picky— please?

II. [At work! Where he tends to the dragons with affection and gentleness, and deals with many visitors with the complete opposite. He's probably yelled at someone for trying to pet a dragon when they aren't supposed to and it's probably startling. While he works, anyone he hasn't seen here before miiight be getting a suspicious look...]

Don't put your hands in their mouths, please. [Like, obviously? But still.]

B. (AROUND) aggressive helping

[When word starts to spread about deserters, Merlin is compelled not to desert with them, but to go out and see what's going on. Plus, he gets to borrow a wyvern mount, so the correct choice is obvious. He and his borrowed steed, a glittering blue wyvern that seems responsive to his occasional murmuring to her even if she doesn't understand (he's working on that), can be found exploring the land between Olympia and Wyver. What could he be doing?! Well:]

I. [Just generally exploring, he can be found doing anything from having a picnic with his beautiful wyvern friend to loitering outside the Edrathe Ruins, trying to listen to that spooky noise while also keeping his wyvern calm. If you approach him while he's havig a cool picnic he'll offer some food, and if you come up while he's by the ruins, he'll turn and ask,]

Do you hear that or am I finally losing my mind?

II. [Quite literally running around a camp of deserters he's wandered into, helping as many people as he can at once. He has healing magic, sure, and a ring affixed with a stone that calms people down, but it's still his habit to put most of his efforts into actual medicine: bringing water, bandages, helping make and apply simple potions and pastes for wounds... He will exhaust himself with taking on every task and occasionally slapping down some magic before long, but calming down and taking a break? What a concept. That's not happening. In fact,]

Hand me that canteen, will you? There's about six more thirsty people here who can't fetch water by themselves, so let's get a move on.

[So, you're coming? Yeah???]

C. (OLYMPIA) it's stupid

[It's hard but not impossible to get into Olympia after settling in Wyver these days, but thankfully Merlin has a solution! A passport? An excuse? No, a really good disguise of an old man who has definitely lived in Olympia for years, thanks a lot. Catch him:]

I. [Arguing with a member of the Guard about this very thing, something that involves Merlin getting louder and louder and starting to draw a few more Guards' attention, concerned that this old man is going to start making trouble...

He may actually use magic to smack two Guards' heads together, and at that point he's going to need a hand getting out of there. What he does do instead of looking around to help is shout, louder, and climb up onto an awning overhanging the gatehouse checkpoint at this entrance to the city. Oh. Oh there he goes.]

Can't catch an old man, can you?! What are they feeding you rascals that makes you so slow and lazy?!

[Merlin....]

II. [When he's not questionably being arrested, he's doing something even worse: standing between two debating civilian parties and making his own commentary, loudly and to no one. It seems each time one of the sides says something about how to best attack Wyver, this old man is compelled to pipe up loudly with something like "You think that will work?" or "Oh, yes, that's brilliant."

People are starting to get annoyed.]

D. WILD CARD

Hit me up on plurk at jojoveller if you want to plot something! Or you can just hit me with whatever!! Merlin lives and works in Wyver, so he's around... chillin... if u wanna adventure with him, let's DO IT!!

Comments

B-2

[originallutece]

[Okay, so--

Okay, so, first of all, someday soon Rosalind is going to have to teach this boy manners, because what a rude little thing he is, accosting someone strange and shanghaiing them into working for him. She didn't even want to help; she's out here (on her own, thank you, no need for mounts when you can just teleport) to study the ruins and remains, and she'd caught sight of him, and suddenly he'd barked at her and now she's got a water canteen in her hand and this is not how she wanted to spend the day.

Oh. Right. Someone strange, because of course Rosalind finds traveling as herself to be a tiresome affair. People get such ideas when you're a woman . . . no, it's far easier to flit around as Robert instead, masculine and broad-shouldered and far, far better suited for wandering around and socializing.

She's a ring of her own, which is a boon, because her patience is far less tried when people aren't being hysterical in her general direction. And luckily enough for them, she's a fair bit of experience when it comes to stitching up wounds and caring for people. Soon enough her (his, and how odd it is, to look down and see those familiar hands covered in blood; she half expects to get a nosebleed, reeling from clashing memories) hands are bloody, reddened from stitching wounds and fetching water.

But eventually, things slow. Eventually, there's simply no one left to help. And the moment that becomes apparent, Rosalind (Robert) heads over to Merlin, grabbing him firm by the shoulder.]

Up you get. He can fetch some food himself, it's not ten feet away and he's nothing broken-- come along, my lad.

[politrick]

[Merlin bosses royalty around and gets away with it, so teaching him manners is going to be a long and arduous process. He doesn't so much as glance at Rosalind-as-Robert as he hands over the canteen and immediately starts away to help someone else. The man's upright and clean unlike a great number of these tired and haggard deserters, which is enough for Merlin to enlist help and then dash away busily.

So he doesn't keep an eye on his draft pick except to look around every so often and notice, while he's looking for the next person to help. Eventually he'll have to go and thank him properly, he really intends to, before he's so tired leaning over his latest charge that he almost dozes off mid-explanation of the sore throat the man sitting on the ground has to tell him about.]

What? But— [But a sore throat! He could make a tea with so many good herbs in it! Except that he wobbles a little when he turns to look at who's come to get him, and even the man sitting there with a sore throat motions now for him to go. Nooo...]

Alright. Alright, only for a couple minutes. [Here, he'll wobble to his feet. A beat.] Thank you for helping with the water and things.

[originallutece]

I didn't have much of a choice, did I? You might say please next time.

[JUST SAYING. She leads them over towards a little rucksack on the ground, leather and expensive and set aside a little ways, and so obviously belonging to her. Sitting on the ground isn't ideal, and she wrinkles her nose as she glances around, but it's not as if there's any chairs or tables here, so . . . the ground it is. Ugh.

But hey, at least she's got food and water. Just enough to keep her content for the day, and she grabs an apple with some relish. First aid is hungry work.]

What on earth are you doing out here? And don't be cheeky, please. I'm not asking what you've been doing, I'm asking why you're here instead of in Wyver or Olympia. Don't tell me you've defected.

olympia i.... hate this

[flashystyle]

[Dorian's Merlin Experience™ has always been very fleeting. Either things were very busy, or he simply didn't have the capacity to deal with the fact somehow this dumb boy has much more advanced magic than he could ever imagine. But he still checked up on him, if infrequently, because he thought he had some sense. Surely with great power comes some responsibility.

He was wrong. He was so, so very wrong. Dorian hears the shouting from down the street and looks up, and he knows that awful voice and that awful outfit and that awful boy. He's already drawing his staff as he starts making his approach.]

By the Maker-- are you quite serious?! [Now he's shouting! Why is he this way!] M-- Mister Dragoon, I have been waiting for our appointment for ages now, and this is what you do?!

false, you love this

[politrick]

[Merlin's Dorian Experience^TM has always been a lot of judgmental comments and bullying about his outfits, so he doesn't look forward to Dorian coming around to judge him some more as much as maybe he could look forward to those visits. But this time it's different.

This time, he's an old man (again), standing on top of a guardhouse, shouting at half a dozen angry young men who are armed and sick of him. Two of them are sporting fashionable goose eggs on their temples, and those are definitely the two making their way to his vantage point the fastest.

This time he probably deserves the judgment? He looks over at Dorian almost wild-eyed, apparently gearing up for an actual fight which he probably shouldn't be, and—and calling him Mister Dragoon is a very nice touch. Love it. The guards look around as well, confused that someone actually wants to claim this screaming lunatic.]

I can't help myself when today's youth are so rambunctious! They want to give an old man some exercise, who am I to refuse them?!

[He raises his hands and several guards raise their weapons, expecting the worst— but he just laughs, obnoxious, and claps.]

no i'm dropping goodbye

[flashystyle]

[Oh, great, he can act like he's having the time of his life while Dorian is sure he can feel the process of going grey rapidly accelerating just by being in close proximity to him. He hates this. Thankfully, he doesn't hate it enough not to bullshit his way through this.]

If I'm to be your caretaker, you should allow me to take care of you! [He stops just under the awning he's climbed up, stamping his staff in exaggerated frustration.] You know what the doctor said about your emotions getting too high- you can't control that magic when you're off your medication! Now please allow these nice young men bring you down to me at once.

B1

[razzledazzles]

Ah, it's you!

[That's his form of hello as he drops right out of the sky, landing gracefully a few feet behind Merlin and his wyvern. Having recovered fully now, he wasted no time in taking to the skies, jumping wherever he could to stretch his legs. It felt much better like this, but the sight of someone below on his own was too much to pass up.

It turned out to be Merlin, though! What luck.] Hm?

[But wait, he was asking something, wasn't he... Jae-Ha takes a few steps closer, on the other side of the nervous wyvern to listen closely.] It's a faint sort of... rumble, isn't it? I hear it, too.

[politrick]

[Ah, hey legs. The wyvern is more startled than Merlin is by the sudden landing, making a few concerned dragon-y noises that Merlin quiets with some pets like she's really a big horse. Now, leggy...]

Right, that's the one. What kind of creature makes a sound like that?

[He'll get to the how-are-yous later... mystery sound first.]

[razzledazzles]

Nothing that I've ever heard.

[Jae-Ha moves past Merlin and further forward, more into the ruins as he tries to find the source. But no matter how close he gets, it doesn't seem the noise gets close with him.]

It's moving, isn't it? Should we go in and take a look?

a-ii

[cutefaced]

I'm not going to!

[Miraculously.

...but, no, their teeth are pretty obviously sharp. Yona is aware of that much, at least, and so she's keeping her hands well away from where they might get bitten off... even if she really wants to pet them.]

Do people really do that?

[politrick]

[Hello, Selfie Girl. Merlin looks exasperated at the very thought of people doing this stupid thing, but-]

Yes! Four times in one morning, sometimes. You'd think they think dragons are cuddly pets, the way some of them act.

[cutefaced]

The small ones can be really friendly!

[Or at least the ones in the cafe she works at back in Olympia are...]

But why would anyone try to hug a big one if they didn't know it well? That's just asking to get hurt.

A1

[idealisme]

[The first step in any successful revolution is getting know the social and political landscape, so that's what Enjolras is doing. He's out in the town, trying to get a feel for how the people feel about the King and the Empress.

Then a creature appears in his face. A creature attached to a man.] You're addressing me, monsieur?

[politrick]

[The creature is having a great time up in the air, thanks. Merlin is having less of a good time, but he's still managing.]

Merlin, actually. [monsieur isn't a name but he doesn't know that—] And yes, if you could do me a favor? He's really going for it up there.

[idealisme]

[There's a pause while Enjolras replays what the young man just said. His slightly concerned stare travels again between the man and the-]

He's your... pet? [It's not like he even wants to know the answer, really. He's just suddenly shifting out of ask-everyone-what-they-think-of-monarchs mode, where his next question won't be "Do you feel the king really hears your concerns?"]

b-i

[catfident]

[ As she's learned from a hundred years wandering the earth in this form, humans are generally more receptive to small furry creatures than they are to strange humans. Easier to mooch free food and shelter that way. Speaking of free food--that man over there seems to be having a good time. Maybe she can nab something off him.

She saunters over to the picnic, keeping a wide berth between her and the wyvern, and sniffs at his food before sitting her butt down in front of him and giving him her very best pleading look.

Feed plz. ]

[politrick]

[Oh- hello. Merlin's surprised, almost, that a cat is his first visitor... but sure. He looks at his picnic and then just gestures to all of it; please, go on, take whatever cats eat.]

Go on, help yourself.

[catfident]

[ How do you not know what cats eat, Merlin. But take whatever she wants she will, once she sniffs through the contents of his picnic. Small sandwiches, fruit, some green stuff she can't identify but has no interest in.....all perfectly palatable goods in their own right.

But. ]

Do you have any milk?

[ He has a wyvern next to him, surely a talking cat is nothing in comparison. ]

C1 Makes it stupider tbh

[meinwaifu]

[There's a crazy old man climbing a building?? This is by far the best entertainment Mephisto has had all week. He's been watching from a distance for a little while now, though not quite long enough to know what, if anything, started this little charade. But the guards seem awfully insistent on capturing this odd fellow... perhaps Mephisto should him lend a hand!]

[...or make things worse for him. Which is exactly what he's going to do, waiting until Merlin's said his peace at the soldiers before using his own magic... to knock their heads together again. And maybe sweep them off their feet and onto the ground while he's at it.]

[And now they're really mad! But can he tell where that magic came from? Mephisto's safely out of sight from the guards, but from his higher vantage point, Merlin might notice the odd looking man dressed in white, perched on the corner of a rooftop like a goddamn gargoyle.]

[Watching him. And laughing.]

[politrick]

[...Well, that's not Merlin's magic. He blinks down at the guards as they try to rally up arms against him again, then looks around for the other source of magic—and ah, there's someone who probably isn't sitting on a rooftop laughing at him for any other, unrelated reason...

However, Merlin is surprisingly petty, and so his response is not to do anything to point out Mephisto... but to do something equally petty to the guards in turn. This time he uses magic to knock over a barrel of water (why is there an open barrel of water? because), which muddies the ground under the guards' feet surprisingly quickly and sends several of them slipping and sliding around the area, shouting.

Yes, this is the mature thing to do. Good job, Merlin.]

[meinwaifu]

[And with that, Mephisto decides he needs to meet this crazy old man. But first--]

[It's taking a very strong, concentrated effort not to cackle at the sight of the guards sliding around -- made funnier as the ones who fell previously try and stand too quickly, only to be knocked back down by their flailing comrades like something out of a Three Stooges short. Such competency, such grace...]

[But what would be funnier still? How about if a nearly rope (which was conveniently placed by whoever left that barrel of water behind for similar just-because reasons) suddenly shot out and stretched across the ground at just above ankle-level, finishing the job of knocking down the remaining guards. But before any of them have the chance to recover, the rope swings around here and there, knotting their legs together in some kind of bizarre chain-gang situation.]

[They're gonna start calling in reinforcements at this rate! All over one little old man... how embarrassing.]

A-2....i'm ready

[punshots]

Wh - hey! He's got somethin' stuck in his teeth! Just concerned for his dental health...

[ ...The dragon has nothing stuck in its teeth. Truth be told, Prompto is already starting to feel like giving this job a shot miiiiight've been a bad idea, given his lack of patience and gripes with the outdoors, but he'd kind of been hoping his way with animals would win out over those shortcomings. Also, come on, it's dragons. How could he not?

So Merlin's saddled with showing him the ropes...or something like that. ]

Sooo, you ever get to ride 'em? Because, not gonna lie, that'd be stupendous.

[ I mean. He'd probably pee his pants, but it'd be worth it to ride a dragon. ]

[politrick]

[Being told there was a new employee who needed training- training to not die, essentially, in this place- didn't bother Merlin at all. Seeing it's Prompto didn't bother him either, but he felt a dread in his heart after their last meeting sent him home with too much dessert and somebody's stolen property. That plus all the times he's found Prompto about to hurt himself with other things...

Well, he's maybe a little impatient with his wayward charge, here. Don't put your hand in their mouths?? Prompto!]

No, you don't. [specifically, he means--] I do, because I actually know what I'm doing and haven't tried to pick any teeth.

C-II

[tzaraisen]

[ Normally, Percival wouldn't have cared about what two randos on the street were talking about. Not even when it pertained to the current tensions in both kingdoms, because one brief moment of eavesdropping was all he needed to figure out what these people were full of nonsense. He is off duty from the guard at the moment, but keeping an eye on things in the Market district anyway, because he needs better hobbies.

As Merlin draws attention from other patrons in the outdoor stalls, Percival finds it increasingly hard to ignore him (what an annoying racket). He decides to step in and save those poor bastards who are just trying to have a conversation, and maybe spare everyone else from further annoyance. ]

Are you on the bottle, old man? In what world is "dressing up like Empress Simwe and seducing King Shanrian into signing a peace treaty" a brilliant strategy?

[politrick]

[Hey, this is rude, take it back. Merlin gives this boy a look, irritated at first that his very valuable commentary is being interrupted, then theatrically disdainful because, obviously, if he can get away with it... he'll do it.]

Must be in the same world where they skipped you the day they handed out common sense! Don't you know what sarcasm is, boy? I should have brought my cane to knock some sense into you!