#♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ merlin... do you mean to tell me that all this is because you’re sleeping with arthur? ❞   she almost can’t believe he’s been so worked up about it. it isn’t as if she wasn’t aware that something was going on between the two of them - she pays attention, particularly to her friends, of which merlin is her closest. he’s been acting jumpier about this so-called secret than she had acted before she confided in him about her magic. his laughter is contagious, though, and her own bubbles to the surface as she finally processes the exact words he’d used. ponging the prince. honestly, merlin.   ❝ he won’t, unless you tell him you said it. he won’t hear it from me. ❞   keeping secrets is a skill she’s honed since going on the run, and since taking refuge in borders that were not friendly to people like her.

continued        ♡        @ultimusdracodominus​.

#ultimusdracodominus #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #tbt merlin au. #she's definitely told merlin she has magic - whether he's told her about his is entirely up to you! #ponging the prince.........................

[m-bardbattled]

❝ camelot is beautiful. ❞   it’s lush, far greener than her northern home. traveling here, she’s left behind rugged highland for pastureland and forested hills. the city is stunning as well - especially decorated as it is for the summertime festivities. the sun is high and bright, the days are long, and there is a sense of plenty. looking down on the streets from here, she almost thinks she might enjoy being here. it almost doesn’t matter that her reasons are tragic, that her kingdom needs a strong ally or it will be destroyed.   ❝ you are very fortunate. ❞

starter call        ♡        @theelectusrex​.

#theelectusrex #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #tbt merlin au.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ it’s a ship burial. ❞   elsie traces the outline of the underground anomaly on the display screen. the shape is incredibly well defined on the scan and they’re too far inland, even considering historic coastlines, for it to be a shipwreck. she leans against the table, hands taking most of her weight, and tucks one foot behind the other. it’s summer, and it’s more humid than she thought it would be. she reaches for the cloth tucked into the back pocket of her pants to wipe the sweat from her forehead. fieldwork can be miserable sometimes.   ❝ well, we know where to break ground. ❞

archaeology v starters        ♡        @runaljod​.

#runaljod #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ archaeology ›› IT’S PROBABLY RITUAL.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ what are you wearing? ❞   elsie pulls the shades to the top of her head and squints against the sun, which doesn’t improve her eyesight even remotely... but it does make his attire easier to look at.   ❝ it’s a beach. you’re meant to swim, in a swim suit. ❞

water themed starters        ♡        @undecimusor​.

#undecimusor #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ sarah jane who ›› YOU ARE A CHILD OF THE COSMOS.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ sorry i’m late. traffic sucks, boss sucks, couldn’t find the right shoes... take your pick. ❞   elsie shrugs her jacket off as she joins torvi at the table, finally being able to decompress from the harried state she’s spent the day in. she withdraws a manuscript, marked up in a rainbow assortment of gel pens, and pushes it across.   ❝ finished it. whole thing. it’s brilliant, actually, but i did have a few notes about the particulars. ❞

archaeology v starters        ♡        @lokadottr​.

#lokadottr #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ archaeology ›› IT’S PROBABLY RITUAL.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ well, the guitars are pretty expensive, so i’m hoping to save myself the trouble... but if it comes down it, i might still get a good whack in. personally, aiming for stealth on this one. get in, grab the amulet, get back out. make it back to the studio in time to finish recording. you — why do you have knives? ❞

continued from here with @dvarapala​ !

#dvarapala #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ band au ›› LONG LIVE THE BABAROCK THREE. #( i am LIVING for that idea ffhgdk )

[m-bardbattled]

❝ i find that it’s easy to want to believe a fantastic thing, and there’s little barrier between wanting and doing. ❞

one liners        ♡        @stagsworn​.

#stagsworn #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ main ›› WHERE ALL IS LOST AND ALL IS FOUND.

[m-bardbattled]

❛ people like us don’t get to decide when we’re done. ❜        ♡        @lokadottr​.

❝ there’s always a call, isn’t there? there’s always going to be a call. ❞   elsie thinks if she has to go through it all again, it’s going to break her. she can’t be a hero anymore. she’s walked far, she’s saved many, she’s seen much - her friends should have been able to stand here and say the same.   ❝ but i don’t want to lose anyone else. i need to answer this one alone. ❞

#lokadottr #♫ answered ›› STONE OF FARSPEECH. #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ main ›› WHERE ALL IS LOST AND ALL IS FOUND.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ don’t be scared. i believe you dropped this. ❞   elsie surfaces with a beautiful ring in hand, offering it to the girl. it had sparkled so prettily on the shallow portion of the lake’s sloping bottom, but it did not belong there. she is only too happy to return it to the place it does belong.

starter call        ♡        @talesspin​.

#talesspin #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #tbt mermaid au. #( I'M !! #I LOV )

[m-bardbattled]

❝ i don’t think anyone has ever seen the same traveling star twice... or if they did, they didn’t recognize it. ❞

one liners        ♡        @beaubalt​.

#beaubalt #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ main ›› WHERE ALL IS LOST AND ALL IS FOUND.

[m-bardbattled]

bard kisses        ♡        @inbrunstig​.

❝ for luck, ❞   elsie says when she stands on her toes to kiss sascha. why is it that every hero she meets is so incredibly tall? please come back. no, focus on something else. she can’t stand to think about the fact that she might lose her. the gesture might seem unprompted - but honestly, elsie was always doomed to fall for a woman like this.

#inbrunstig #♫ answered ›› STONE OF FARSPEECH. #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #TBT DRAGON AGE V.

[m-bardbattled]

❛  sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.  ❜ / sobs ...        ♡        @conniidel​.

❝ and you’ve got a lot of room in that heart, kaydel. ❞   from the moment she first met the woman, arriving to a strange place full of strange people, elsie knew she was different. while poe had done his best to make her feel at ease, she was still incredibly far from everything familiar, save him and patch. kaydel has been an enormous comfort; she’s been a friend. they’re sitting on the floor in elsie’s room, their backs against her bed, and elsie shifts to knock shoulders with her.   ❝ can’t believe you took this moment to call me short though. ❞

#conniidel #♫ answered ›› STONE OF FARSPEECH. #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ star wars ›› HOPE IS LIKE THE SUN. #STOP i'm going to cry

[m-bardbattled]

your hair is a little messy... sit still! / jester?        ♡        @aercana​. 

❝ it can’t be that messy, can it? ❞   elsie dutifully freezes in place and allows her hair to be... well, she’s not completely sure what jester is planning to do with it. she normally leaves it loose, occasionally tucks it up in braids, and largely ignores it until it happens to swing into her face. it’s always a little messy, she just never thinks about it. gods know what’s happened to it now. she’s had to pull twigs and leaves free before, but she’s not been for a jaunt in the woods or a roll down a hill, so that can’t the problem. wind-blown strands could be the culprit...   ❝ i should brush it again, shouldn’t i? ❞

#aercana #♫ answered ›› STONE OF FARSPEECH. #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ main ›› WHERE ALL IS LOST AND ALL IS FOUND.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ they hurt you. your own crew. ❞   elsie is reluctant to speak to him, all things considered, but she’s fighting her own instincts. she remembers how he’d defended her up on deck, days ago.   ❝ why? ❞

mermaid au starter call        ♡        @inabsentiia​.

#inabsentiia #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ mermaid ›› THE SEA KNOWS ME EVERY TIME. #( HEY REMEMBER WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT- )

[m-bardbattled]

bard kisses        ♡        @fortunefavcred​.

❝ i am so sorry about this in advance, please don’t be - i need to - ❞   no use trying to explain. elsie is going to run out of time and she’s going to be seen, so she cups mischief’s face in her hands and kisses her. the mercenary passes them by, uninterested in inspecting that, and she breaks the kiss with a soft gasp.   ❝ sorry. that was - you just saved my life, really. ❞

#fortunefavcred #♫ answered ›› STONE OF FARSPEECH. #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #♫ main ›› WHERE ALL IS LOST AND ALL IS FOUND.

[m-bardbattled]

❝ is it really all so... glittering? the way you describe it, the season sounds much like a fairytale. ❞   it’s not the same in the country. her skirts were always so muddied and she rarely found herself invited to other estates, not that she had enough dresses for such outings. things are going to be very different now. she has a sponsor, a very prominent family, and she’s in london - she’s to stand in front of the queen. amelia’s stories have been a good study and her lessons in etiquette have been excellent practice... though it’s elsie that’s meant to be the tutor, the musical tutor. 

semi plotted starter for @talesspin​.

#talesspin #♫ ic ›› I GRANT BARDIC INSPIRATION. #TBT REGENCY AU.