* GOLDEN // APPLE

[me using my emma icons here]

   “Your Highness!” The way she speaks could almost be interpreted as a serious form of address, with how loud and pronounced it comes, but it sounds a little too giggly to count. “I finally found you!” 

   It’s not the first time Athena has seen her in a dress, but this is the first she’s seeing of this particular one; gold with rosy accents on the skirt and just as gorgeous as the wearer herself. If Spirale was a monarchy, she’s certain Flora would have plenty of claim to the throne.

   ( Not that Athena is big on kingdoms. They look good in a fantasy or one of those sparkly Sidney movies, but as for real life… )

   “And as an evil stealing witch, it’s my duty to seize you all to myself!” To demonstrate, she strides forward, and… lifts her up, supporting her gently in both arms. What a sight. She beams. “Caught you~!”

@applesmiled​ drama saved for later

“ Hm? “

Eyes had raised from the book in her hand to look up at the other, offering a small smile. The lady was very familiar with what was commonly expected during the Halloween season as her village wanted her to not be left out of such fun occurrences, so to see someone else she loved partaking in it was joyful to her. But perhaps her own costume was a bit... off. The only people that really seemed to dress up as princesses were young children. But she didn’t want to dress up in a scary way either! Flora was just more inclined to go for the lovely dresses on offer...

However, she wasn’t aware that she was going to be partaking in more than simply wearing costumes for a while. Her head slightly tilted to the side when she saw Athena begin to walk up to her, but in all honesty? She had some ideas of what could happen next... and one of them happened to be correct! Surprised sound made its way out of her mouth upon the sudden change in balance, letting the book fall out of her hands and onto her lap as she wrapped her arms around the other’s shoulders as surprise was beginning to change into giggling.

“ Oh no! There’s a cute witch holding me hostage! If only there was someone to rescue me... “ Birthmark was prominent and on display as she looked up to the witch in question with a bright smile. “ But you do know that you don’t need to seize me, right? Why would I not want to willingly come with you? I must know... what do you plan on doing now that you have me in your arms? “

flora’s a pretty princess for this event...

princess from a tower! except she doesn’t have exceptionally long hair like rapunzel. she does keep her hair down, however.

don’t worry, her mother’s bow has moved to simply be on the side of her hair! she’d never leave it!

is a bit more fragile in more ways than one. so be careful when doing anything around her that she might find distasteful.

turnip’s still here! you’ll find them being babied by flora again, which they aren’t exactly appreciating all the time...

to be loved

@hjoenk​ inquired ; [ lullaby ] hooooonk honk h

Platonic / Familial Actions ( accepting! )

Sleep didn’t come so naturally to the lady. There was always something she was determined to finish, and whenever she completed that task, she normally insisted that she still wasn’t tired and went on to do something else. A vicious cycle that meant Flora’s only consistent form of sleep was whenever she passed out or if she decided to nap at some point during the day. But of course, whenever there were visitors over, she always tried to fall asleep at a normal time. Especially when the visitor wasn’t human.

She couldn’t be so rude in her own house around the goose!

Her previous attempts at sleep were not working so well, eyes having taken to simply staring up at the ceiling and hoping they’d eventually close and let her sleep peacefully. But it was just so hard to do when there were other things she could be completing right now! Turnip had already fallen asleep in their little mushroom house, so she didn’t have to worry about them, but there were other projects she could work on! It just didn’t feel right to leave them incomplete when she knows that she could easily finish them all - or at least get further ahead - before passing out...

But then the sound of a certain feathered friend drew her out of her thoughts, body rolling onto its side to look at the goose in question. At first, she merely thought that it had a honk to get her attention. Then another one. And another one. Confusion was evident in her sleep-deprived state, but then she quickly came to the conclusion that it was... singing to her. Well, it was singing in the way geese sang, but singing nonetheless!

@heartanalytics​ inquired ; "oh, i almost forgot!" there is a soft crinkling of cellophane as athena reaches a hand into her purse-- a silver bracelet, still in its wrapping, with flower && moon motifs clipped into the openings of the chain. gently, she picks up flora's hand -- turns it palm-up -- and presses the item in it. "i don't know if you do jewelry at all, but -- i thought you might like it!"

Unprompted ( always accepting! )

There had always been an unspoken rule between the both of them that they exchanged gifts often. Most of these were through the form of flowers, since that’s how this all started in the first place, but sometimes they decided to try something different. Flora was still working on her gift ( which wasn’t flowers for once, but something just as detail-oriented ), so she didn’t have one this time... but she was definitely intrigued the moment she heard something crinkling. Almost by instinct, she curiously looked over at the other’s purse to try and get a glimpse of what it was... alas, whatever it could be was wrapped up, so she had no way of telling.

That was, until she felt her hand being grasped and turned over to receive the gift in question. The lady waited until the other had stopped speaking before opening the wrapping - now aware that it was jewellery within - and taking a look at what had been brought for her. The minute her eyes gazed upon the silver bracelet, she couldn’t help the amazed gasp that got out of her. Sure, she didn’t wear jewellery too often, but that was because she didn’t have any! It hadn’t been a thought in her mind to get some during her time here...

But now that she had something, both her hands came up to grasp it close to her as a bright smile formed on her face, birthmark on neck making her happiness even more obvious as it darkened against her skin.

“ Aww, Athena! “ A hand now went to pick up the bracelet to examine it more closely, particularly the motifs attached to the chain. It suited the both of them! Eyes now looked up at her, smile brightening even more. “ This is lovely... thank you! “ Pushing herself onto her tiptoes slightly, she gave the other a kiss on the cheek before going to put the bracelet on. No way was she going to wait! This was something that needed to be worn now. Her wrist couldn’t help but move slightly just to hear the satisfying noise that the chain and motifs made against her, a small giggle getting out of her.

@nurotoxin​ inquired ; what are your character’s major flaws? / how does the image your character tries to project differ from the image they actually project?

Crucial Muse Development Questions ( accepting! )

One of Flora’s biggest flaws is her disconnection from society as a whole. Despite her being a member of nobility, I very much doubt she got to experience many social gatherings when she was young, and the ones she did experience consisted of other members of nobility as well. In many ways, there are things that Flora agrees and disagrees with that the average person might have a different opinion on. As well as this, she is definitely an outcast. The games themselves even make it known how much Flora is isolated from London - even after months of being there, she exclaims to the Professor that she “doesn’t know anyone else here” in Unwound Future. Flora can also tend to get emotional about specific things, especially getting left behind by the Professor every time they go on another adventure. In Diabolical Box, it’s noticeably more of a sadness and fear of being left alone that made her get on the train as well, but in Unwound Future, this has become more of an annoyance for her the first time it happens and descends into anger the second time they leave her. Because Flora didn’t grow up in a place where people wouldn’t necessarily judge her for her reactions or let them slip by like the robots in St. Mystere do ( I mean, they let the girl wander around in a “disguise” thinking that it’s actually effective! Apparently it actually is though since the Professor can’t recognise her in a simply spotted headscarf so... ), she has more “exaggerated” reactions than people are used to. But this just comes out of genuine honesty for what she thinks and feels about these things.

And her image? In Curious Village, she is very much portrayed as the baron’s daughter, the Golden Apple, his treasure, his flower... it’s safe to say that she has a lot to live up to. However, whether this is because of the poor writing in terms of Flora’s characterisation or genuine disregard for her role, Flora hardly mentions who she is in terms of a societal ranking. In fact, she doesn’t mention being a baron’s daughter in game - only her profiles do. I think more than anything, she wants to portray herself as the perfect daughter to the Professor, which is something she hardly gets to do due to previously-mentioned adventures. And we know that she doesn’t portray this perfect daughter image because of, again, her reactions to things and her determination to not get left behind. If anything, she’s unfortunately portrayed by the games as a damsel in distress that can’t even do something as simple as cooking. But she’s a lot smarter than she looks! She can solve puzzles on her own, she was one of the only people to vocalise inconsistencies with the Future London i.e. where her future self was and even the fact that the bar had no bar stools. In terms of the image that Flora portrays herself, yes, she is considered someone to be kept safe by everyone around her, but it would be a lie for them to claim that she wasn’t helpful at all.

you have two (2) brain cells

   The last time Athena remembers being anywhere near a ship was back at home. It had only been a kids’ set up, of course, decked up in pirate gear, employees with eyepatches and rapiers and a death case as those seem to follow them into even the most innocent of crevices of the Earth. There are no cases, fortunately and to her utmost relief, in Volaat, simply other people scoping out the perimeter and inspecting the sunken and half-sunken ships surrounding the island. As far as Athena is concerned, they are a set of props, too– on account of the Stars having control over everything, and anything, and being perfectly capable of making them just for the sake of emulating the mystery– but it worked last time in Los Angeles and it’s evidently working now. Athena has stopped somewhere along the shoreline to study one sticking out of the waters, eyes gleaming.

   She is not missing out on this while she’s here. The idea of foraging or shelter has taken place at the very back of her priority list– at least until she’s satisfied with what she has seen and learned of the old, creaking decks. Her enthusiasm is palpable, but no so much that she’s forgoing safety; Athena is extra careful as she crosses the deck, her feet moving gingerly over the wood. Not everyone seems to share her caution; someone is climbing towards the crow’s nest, and she knows exactly who it is by the looks of it.

   That does not look very safe. It would be very hypocritical of Athena to preach to her about safety, though, and it looks sturdy enough to hold the weight…

   “Hey!” Even her yell is a little softer as to not startle her too much. Athena doesn’t need a lot of force to carry her voice across the winds, but she still cups her hands over her mouth in her greeting. “Ahoy, matey! Are you okay up there?!”

   “If I knew you were going to be here, I would have raced you up to that!” Who’s to say it’s too late? If she’s thinking it, though, she doesn’t say anything or move to action. ( Yet. ) “How’s the view?”

When it came to danger, either Flora was aware of what she was getting herself into whenever she made these kinds of decisions... or she was blissfully unaware of just how much danger she was putting herself in. While she could be as careful as possible climbing her way up to the crow’s nest, that wasn’t to say that something wouldn’t snap or give up and end up plummeting along with herself. That wouldn’t be as much of an issue if she wasn’t climbing so high and if the ship wasn’t in its current condition... but it would definitely be playing it safe to keep an eye on her.

Such as her almost losing her grip upon hearing someone call out to her. She hadn’t realised someone was here! Again, because she hadn’t checked for that... she just got too excited at the thought of being able to climb up here. She carefully took her time to turn herself around so that she was now facing the deck again, smile spreading onto her face as soon as she got a glance at the other. What could she say? She was always happy to see Athena!

“ I’m quite alright, actually! “ Her own voice needed to raise significantly due to it being on the quiet side, as well as the fact that she was much higher. She could easily just climb back down to the deck... but she was way too curious to go back now! As she was listening to see if anything else was being said, the lady had turned herself yet again and continued climbing a little.

Of course, she didn’t get very far before wanting to answer again.

“ It’s lovely! The skies are clear, sun is shining... it’s just a shame we can’t actually sail this around! Never been on a ship before! “ Well, they could! For a couple of seconds before the ship would most likely get too flooded to continue and sink to the bottom of the sea. “ Are you going to climb up too? I’m not going to be staying up too long, just enough to enjoy the scenery! “ There wasn’t much to be done in the crow’s nest after all... if she recalled correctly, it was used for lookout and navigating back in the years these ships would be most commonly used.