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π–˜π–†π–‘π–™π–‡π–šπ–—π–“π–™ π–’π–”π–‰π–˜. ([personal profile] saltburnmods) wrote in [community profile] draino2024-09-07 10:00 am
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𝐈 πƒπŽπ'𝐓 ππŽπ‘πŒπ€π‹π‹π˜ π‹πˆπŠπ„ π‚π‡πŽπ‚πŽπ‹π€π“π„ π‚π€πŠπ„ β–£ SEPT TDM





SEPTEMBER 2024 TDM: LUGHNASADH


Welcome to SALTBURNT, a panfandom smut/thriller game based off the film Saltburn, where characters are encouraged to indulge their deepest desires. The money never runs out and the liquor never stops pouring, so you may as well indulge from the bounty. Of course, things are rarely what they seem, and the manor itself seems to have a consciousness of its own. Throw parties, trash the house, engage in youthful merriment, but remember β€” dangers come out at night, and no one, no matter how rich you are, is safe from demons lurking in the shadows.

Threads can be considered game canon, provided the players agree. Players can also start fresh upon acceptance into the game. In game characters can post to the TDM directly, using Β« NEW CHARACTER/IN GAMEΒ» in the header. There will be a spot below for new characters to link their toplevels for easy access. Alternatively, prompts on the Test Drive can be used for in game logs.







WELCOME TO SALTBURNT


It's the hangover more than the light streaming in through half drawn curtains that wakes you up, your brain rattling in your skull, your mouth dry and cottony, your stomach churning with whatever it is you drank last night. If self preservation is your strong suit, you might turn over in bed and see a few painkillers laid out for you on a silver dish, accompanied by a glass of water. If it isn’t, stay in bed and wallow β€” eventually a maid will be in to tear your curtains open, saying, "Breakfast is served," and scurrying out quietly, invisibly. Breakfast? Maybe it’s normal for you. Maybe it isn’t.

You're drawn from the room, either by the mystery, or an undefinable urge that could be supernatural in origin, or could be your hunger catching up to you. It's almost nostalgic, the walk to the dining room β€” have you been here before? Were you drawn up to this estate in a car? Haven’t you done all this already? Maybe you mosey around a library, maybe you run into your suite mate in your adjoining bathroom. Regardless, seemingly all hallways, covered in priceless artworks and ancient relics from times long past, lead to the dining room, where a comically long table houses the Balfours and their many guests, some who seem just as disgruntled and confused as you. No matter. "Breakfast will be out in a minute," they say. What's that?

EDIT SEPTEMBER 2024: For those who have attended breakfast with the Balfours before, a change in routine might come as a shock, given how rarely they stray from form. However, as of September, CARMY BERZATTO has taken over Head Chef position, alongside his cousin RICHIE JERIMOVICH and always the bridesmaid never the bride, SANJI. In place of the self-serve style breakfast, there is an elevated menu, including: a self-serve juice bar, with pitchers of various juiced fruit and vegetables, shaved ice, coconut water, green and black tea syrups, potted microherbs, sliced whole berries, and finger limes. There is also, naturally, liquor and champagne available. Guests can make their own drinks, or ask the allocated staff member to serve them one of the "specials" if they're feeling adventurous.

That said, these are world class chefs, so the gold is really in the menu:
THE EGGS

𝐓𝐇𝐄 π‰πŽππ“π˜: one runny boiled egg shelled and recoated in edible gold leaf, seated on a throne of fried bread soldiers, plated with whipped butter and italian parsley.
𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐒 ππ„ππ„πƒπˆπ‚π“: vinegar poached eggs with hollandaise foam on a bed of toasted freekah and baby spinach.
𝐄𝐆𝐆𝐒 π’π‡π€πŠπ€π’π‡πŽπ”πŠπ€: two eggs poached in a ramekin of pureed tomato, served with a crispy grilled cheese cut to dip.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 π’π˜πƒππ„π˜: french omelette with a light cheese filling, topped with crushed potato chips and chives.
πŽπ„π”π…π’ ππ‘πŽπ”πˆπ‹π‹π„π’: fluffy scrambled eggs in brown butter, served on sourdough.
π’ππ€ππˆπ’π‡ 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓: mini-quiche made with caramelized red onions and jamon pata negra ham.
𝐄𝐆𝐆 πŒπ‚π’π€ππƒπ–πˆπ‚π‡: bacon, egg, cheese and sausage breakfast muffin that tastes weirdly like it was made at a popular chain with golden arches.

THE SWEETS

❖ momofuku's "cereal milk" ❖
❖ fette biscottate with a sour cherry jam and peanut floss ❖
❖ a warm cinnamon bun served with a shot of espresso coffee for dipping ❖
❖ a macadamia-marzipan croissant with a wattleseed and burnt-honey filling ❖
❖ poffertjes with a liquid nutella injection ❖


If you want to leave, you’ll have to tell Giles, the housekeeper, who will arrange a car for you that mysteriously, or perhaps suspiciously, never arrives. Unfortunately, confronting Giles about it is near impossible, as he’s as good at being invisible as the rest of the house staff. Of course, there’s no reason why you can’t just walk out. The front gates are easy enough to jump over, even if the walk towards them gives you a strange sense of foreboding, or just outright discomfort, as if the ground itself doesn’t want you to leave. Those more sensitive or fragile might find they can’t make the jump, no matter how physically able, or desperately wanting. Still, a strong person could continue on, over the fence and into the lush English countryside. The feeling doesn’t dissipate, though β€” this sense of wrongness, almost sickness, like a weight on your back. Walk into the evergreen, carry on, but the strongest will make it perhaps a mile or so before the weight of dread and paranoia brings you to your knees, and then to your face, flat in the middle of a dirt road. What were you thinking? Is this really better?

Wake up with a hangover, in a bed, the curtains drawn, the maid saying, "Breakfast is served," before scurrying out. The painkillers are there, just like you remember. In fact, it’s all exactly how you remember, as if you never left an imprint the first time, or any mess you made was cleared away while your back was turned. Walk to the dining room, find everyone there eating away at their breakfast.

"We dress for dinner," says Portia, with a kind, if discerning smile. "Black tie."




ITSY BITSY TEENIE WEENIE

CONTENT WARNINGS: drugs, alcohol, nudity, potential for nsfw.
POOLSIDE PLAYLIST courtesy of Robin

It's an innocent enough, offhand suggestion from the mouth of one (1) DIARMUID about wanting to learn how to paint, and honestly, the house couldn't agree more: a party is necessary. As August winds down, it's important to go out with a bang, and what better way than through an explosive end of summer pool party? To say goodbye to the waning summer nights, the manor is throwing a pool party with an artistic neon twist. Per the growing complications of everyone's relationship status in this new age of bisexuality, polygamy, and pegging, glow-in-the-dark bracelets with matching solo cups have been set out with the appropriate labels β€”Β TAKEN, SINGLE, OPEN, and IT'S COMPLICATED, depending on your interest. Lounge by the water in your cutest bikini or trunks or nothing at all and engage in some very relaxing full-body painting using the supplies provided β€” that is, the paint is supplied, though brushes and sponges are few and far between. Better just to use your own body to paint your masterpiece. Put yourself on display as a model by the pool, or engage in a brutally competitive game of chicken fights, wherein the loser loses their clothes and the winner gets to keep them.

Not your style? Sneak off somewhere more private like the twinkling gardens illuminated with multicolored tiki lamps, lakeside decorated with bio-luminescent rocks, or the (perfectly safe, wolfless, we promise) maze to indulge in your inner desires. You might find that certain colors glow beneath the moonlight and unlock desires you’ve kept tightly under lock and key. It's hard not to feel impulsive or unrestrained under the full moon's light, with your body paint as armor. People might appear more attractive to you under this witching light like a magic spell cast β€” but really, you haven’t had any trouble with that, here. Have you?

If you’re thirsty, the house has tasked RICHIE, CARMY, and SANJI (dressed as cabana boys) with an extensive poolside drinks menu, since they’ve been so helpful with breakfast. Thanks, boys. Ask them for anything. In fact, ask them for everything. They're here to serve.

As the night closes out, turn your eyes heavenward for a spectacular fireworks show. Many apologies to those of you who suffer from PTSD; you can head inside for an early night and cover your ears with a pillow, but do be careful not to suffocate yourself, unless you're into that. The fireworks shimmer and shatter, and those watching closely might start to see hidden messages written in the stars for you, though is that your eyes playing tricks? Better ask that friend you’re snuggled up with. As anxiety weighs a little heavier on your heart, you might feel compelled to confess a few secrets on this last night of summer, big or small, something loving or not. Seek out that destructive habit, or take some steps toward healing. Let the fireworks drown out the noise.






FRUITS OF LABOUR


CONTENT WARNINGS: body horror, gore, cannibalism.

Saying goodbye to summer means welcoming in the new season, and as August nights turn into September mornings, the landscape of the grounds changes from verdant greens to egg yolk yellow and sunburnt orange, a gradient of autumnal colors. To that end, a week long festival erects outside to enjoy the last of the year's good weather β€” a generous harvest bounty fills up tables and tables of ample displays, full of ripened fruits and fresh baked breads, baked potatoes roasted in the coals of a bonfire, sausages, wheels of cheese, marshmallows, cider and apple juice, tomato soup, apple and blackberry compote, rhubarb crumble, all richly decorated in sunset hues. Among the servings, anyone with a birthday in August or September will find themselves a individualized cake, perhaps with some motif to define them, otherwise just with the harvest decorations of gourds, leaves, wheat, and fruit. Alongside that, a new smaller maze has been made from hay bales on the lawn. During the day it's just a silly and fun maze, but at night it takes on a new form and characters can easily become lost and find themselves in a maze that seems to go on forever, with the ominous lowing of a bull somewhere in the distance. Luckily, everyone is released at daybreak, maybe a little traumatized, but all in one piece.

What would a festival be, without some games to indulge in? Around the celebratory grounds, there are four pumpkins painted gold, hidden around the festival. Anyone who finds one is entitled to a boon from your very generous hosts (join the race HERE). Hunting not to your tastes after the last few goose chases? No worries, there's plenty still to do β€” from apple bobbing, jumping over bonfires, throwing discus/shotput, horseshoes, and more, it's a festival jam packed with games and prizes to be won, from little jars of handmade jam from France, to stuffed chicken plushies, to tin cans with the labels ripped off, full of ... well, it's anyone's guess, really. Crack it open and find out!

In honor of the handfasting ceremony, characters are selected at random and tied together at the wrist, much to everyone's amusement. Once knotted, the ribbon will not give way under any physical or magical duress, meaning you'll be stuck together until the tie undoes on its own. It could be day, a night, two nights, or more, but it seems like the ribbon is waiting for something in particular β€”Β a genuine heart to heart, maybe? Consummating the marriage? Hopefully you like the person you're tied to, because you're going to be spending a lot of time with your temporary spouse, in immediately close quarters.

At the end of the week, there's a final end of summer ceremony, wherein the vampire ARMAND is given special homage for being an especially adored guest, donned in floral regalia and ordained with crowns of flowers, much to his growing malcontent. In fact, he and all the vampires present in house seem to be given the regal treatment from the staff with less grand flower crowns of their own, honored at the head of the festival's final gluttonous table, lined with naked, giggling bodies covered in autumnal produce, sprouting mushrooms, blooming flowers, and distinctly meaty dishes β€” steak and kidney pie, blood sausage, pumpkins stuffed with zebra meat. It's only after you drink the wildflower tea and locally (Very, Locally) crafted beer that things start to feel a little off. The happy bodies used as serving platters look sometimes, between one blink and the next, like masticated corpses, the gourds and fruits set more deeply in the cornucopia their opened chest cavities make. Despite that, there's no real sense of death in the air β€” get a better look, and you might find the veins of the dead work more like the vines for the plants, giving them life.

The question becomes: which is the hallucination? The smiling faces or the blooming corpses?

Though hysteria rankles through the crowd the more people come to terms with the visions they're seeing, given the population at the head of the table, it's a fairly easy riddle to crack. Can vampires eat the cursed food? In short: yes, they can. Sorry we made you eat people again.



DIRECTORY


unapparent: (127)

[personal profile] unapparent 2024-09-19 01:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I do not.

[ a bitter truth, metallic on her tongue. it's the only answer she can give while they weave through the crowd. she does not know if the scream she hears is imagined or true, only that it is better to never find out. once they make it some distance from the feast, she slows and hushes, ]

Our hosts have a taste for tricks. [ she does not speak ill of them lightly, when they hold power over her and all who inhabit the manor. ] The food may be flesh, or it may not, but they anointed the...powerful among us for a reason. And those at the head of the table do feast on blood to survive.

[ not a wholesale condemnation of them, when she has not had time to assess their complicity (and so many of them stoke fondness in her chest). ]
semicharmed: (elemental)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-09-19 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Follow Matt does. He seems to have a sixth sense for moving in step with other people, matching strides and turns without coming too close for comfort. He grimaces in sympathy at Astarion's answer, both for surprise party and for the allusion to being outed. ]

I made some connections, [ Matt allows. A soft sigh. ] I'm sorry they did that. I'm a little more open these days, but I still wouldn't want the Balfours to throw some, like, "Witching Hour Wednesday" party.

[ By way of demonstration, Matt lifts his hand palm-up. He sucks in a breath, a line of ancient prayer shimmering across his mind. And a bouquet of colored light springs up over his outstretched fingers, petaling sparks dancing in midair. ]

If they'd done it right when I first got here, [ he concludes, slightly breathless--a spell like this doesn't take much, just a bit of the air from his lungs, ] I don't know what I would've done. Barricaded myself in my room, probably.
semicharmed: (talking shop)

[personal profile] semicharmed 2024-09-19 05:31 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Honestly, Matt would find Erik's hands-off approach refreshing. He can only deal with so many people expressing concern for him before he starts to feel hemmed in.

The subject of magic is a much more comfortable one for him. ]


Normal paint, [ Matt confirms. ] I can "write" spells in light, but for some configurations, especially ones that I want to be more muscular or permanent, it's helpful to get them down physically. Paint, chalk, ink, all of that can work nicely. [ He quirks a smile Erik's way, slightly mischievous. ] Before I got pulled here, I was having good luck painting wards onto buildings. Most people thought they were just graffiti.
metalkinetic: (pic#17247523)

[personal profile] metalkinetic 2024-09-19 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I can almost imagine it.

[ Erik has done far worse than a little graffiti in his time, but he can see Matt sneaking around and doing his best to paint the side of buildings to try and protect people. That seems like the kind of person that he is. ]

What would you paint on me?
voyages: (14)

[personal profile] voyages 2024-09-19 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[He moves to follow her almost immediately, his own body long since attuned to hers in a way he knows he should be far more uncomfortable with than he is. So as she ducks, he ducks. As she breaks from cover, he's barely a step behind her. Scaling the window, climbing through it- albeit with a little help for the last part. His brace only helps so much -until they're both tucked behind the relative safety of brick walls and thick glass.

He's seen fireworks before. Or at least he thinks a version of himself has, once. Decades ago, when he was young enough that the world hadn't completely burned down yet. Flashes of light in the sky, colours on display to celebrate some long dead holiday or festival.

There's been flares since, fuel explosions and fires. But none of it like this. And none of it for enjoyment purposes. So when he reclaims his space by Furiosa's side to stare out the window, he knows he has the answers somewhere inside him. He just needs a moment to try and figure them out.

Another explosion. A flash of green, and-]


Fireworks. Coloured gunpowder.

[There's more to add. More memories to try and dig through. But when his gaze cuts towards Furiosa, the flash of yellow light through the room is far too much of a distraction for him to keep that focus.]
godspark: (w o r r y)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Dani shifts a little towards him; barely noticeable, barely even something he's aware of himself. He does smile as Louis talks, though, and that last part gets a sharp laugh out of him.

"He must be hoping they take aim. Although, that sounds painful."

He watches Louis for a moment, Louis who's been so good to him. Louis who's a vampire, so who must have seen scars like his before. Surely it won't put him off. So, with that in mind, Dani leans closer and moves his collar aside, to show him one of the old bite scars. It's long since healed, but it's deep and pink.

"I've got a few of those. And my arms are ruined, from the needles."

It's why his shirt sleeves are always rolled up to the same point. Any higher and they'd show it off.

"Nobody wants to see that. I know I don't."
godspark: (t r o u b l e)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Where would he find comfort? Nowhere, there's nowhere--

No, he's got to try and think. The sun has set, so he can't go and stand in it, but...

"The library."

It's been a safe spot, the place where he usually finds Lexi when he's not in his room, the place where he goes to read with Louis or Chrissy. And it's indoors, and quiet, and absolutely the opposite of what's going on behind him.

He tries to focus on that, to push the panic down. He's got to get control, remember to keep breathing. The further away they get, the easier it is. And the man's face helps, too. He's kind, he's steady. Dani can follow him, it'll be okay.

"I'm sorry. I just can't...those people, did you see? I didn't think they did that here."
godspark: (s m o o t h)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
For once, Dani is not the only one astonished by all the food, and he's delighted. He grins at her, pleased to have found a kindred spirit. She can keep the apple juice, there's plenty more.

"I have no idea! Maybe. I don't know how they make the half of what they do. Oh, come here, though."

He beckons her, then weaves his way through the crowd to get back to where the cakes are. There's more than one, of many different flavours, but the one he points to is the darkest and most decadent; Alabama chocolate fudge at its best.

"It's really rich." Fair warning. "But it's amazing. I like the, um..." He peers between the others, then points at a spiced carrot cake. "That one, too."
godspark: (j a c c u s e)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
"You're allergic to chocolate?" Dani says, as if this is among the most horrific things he's ever heard. How awful!

"Well. There's other good things, too. I haven't had an apple pie...shot, but I've had apple pie, it's good. Someone was on the network talking about pie not long ago, I tried a few of them after that. I need to get more recommendations, we don't have food like this where I'm from."

As if that wasn't obvious. He's quick to follow this woman who appears to know what she's talking about, and there was promise of drunkenness. He's very warm to that.
godspark: (r e l a x)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Like...a haven.

[ dani may be an unreliable narrator in this regard. certainly not everyone is as happy in the house as he is. ]

Plenty of food and drink, all the clothes you might need. And nobody seems to want anything in exchange.

There's a maze, too, but it's not like this, dark and endless. You do get lost in the house sometimes, so that's sort of the same. But it's always felt...welcoming.

[ that it feels like anything at all might be somewhat unsettling, he supposes. but still, saltburn feels like paradise to him. ]
godspark: (c o n v i n c e)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ if she's apprehensive, why shouldn't she be? no ribbon should be tied this tightly, it's impossible to get a grip at all. or to break it. she has every right to be unhappy. ]

There's nothing to be sorry for. I wasn't expecting magical ribbons, either.

[ he drops his hand from it, concentrating on her. he's never even met her before, which hardly helps anything. ]

I'm Dani.

There must be some way to get it off, I don't think any part of this is meant to be serious. [ he'll eat those words once he sees the final feast. and they're all he'll be eating. ] Perhaps there's some task we need to do, some part of the game.
godspark: (t r o u b l e)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
[ her fingers are warm, like the sun itself. it's a warmth he knows, a warmth he's felt.

he can't believe what he's seeing.
]

Alright. Hold on.

[ the hedge is really fighting her. he pulls at it, trying to move it. parts of it break off, which is feels incredibly bad about. but he makes enough of a gap to be able to reach her, finally, and then he hooks his arms about her waist to pull her through the rest of the way.

and then she's there, in his arms. he releases her and then stares at her, feeling breathless and excited.
]

You can't imagine what I'd believe. Try me.

[ he reaches for her hand again. ]

Are you doing it?
godspark: (c a l m l y)

[personal profile] godspark 2024-09-19 11:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, that's an easy question. Dani laughs.

"Chocolate. I'd never had it before here. Which isn't strange, I mean I'd not had most things before here."

Food at home is a lot more limited, and far less complex. There probably is at least some version of fine dining, somewhere. But it wouldn't be for Dani, and he's never been in a place that offered it. What Carmy does in that kitchen is wholly new to him.

"Where I'm from, food is in generally short supply. There isn't much that grows, everything's conserved. My first breakfast here, I thought, this is the best thing I'll ever taste. And then you and your cousin took over and I learned different. It's amazing."
hymen: (217)

[personal profile] hymen 2024-09-20 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ the smiles that curves his lips is rueful as he tilts his gaze up, pretending to admire the sky while he sets the plate aside, licking sticky fruit juices from his thumb. he's only thought about marriage every fucking day since ash had the audacity to go down on one knee in a carpathian valley with a gun slung over his shoulder, velvet box in hand. what would have happened if he'd said yes? his hallucination of a blissfully simple life in the countryside with ash flits through his mind. ]

Once or twice.

[ he shrugs. a million times with ash. another million times with her. and yet he'll get neither, at least not in the way that normal people get normal love. he'll chase after scraps for his whole life while ash and greer inevitably find real love, probably with each other.

he turns his smile toward greer, leaning back on one hand while the other sits flush to hers, their fingers brushing comfortably.
]

One of those times was with you, the night we met. [ it's a truth that sounds so outlandish, his tone so frivolous that there's no way anyone would peg those words as real. ] I thought, fuck, I'd spend the rest of my life with this girl. Fuck that guy she's crying over.
kobes: ([:|] will u stfu)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-09-20 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
[That’s it exactly, Koby would reply if Matt were to voice such thoughts, there’s so little he can do here, so few practical actions he can take to protect his friends. There’s a stockpile of supplies in the empty bedroom attached to his suite, there are notes and files and observations and theories, all written out in case – what? In case something happens to him, and someone else has to keep the people he loves safe. In case this place steals his mind, his will, and he has to rebuild it from nothing.

Still – the pages currently curling into sparks and ashes are dangerous. They list vulnerabilities of people Koby cares about, people he’s come to love as well. What will happen if this house alters them instead, if he has to choose which ones to keep safe? He relies on his mind, then, on his recollections of the words now burned, but – when he’s gone? Then what?

The gloomy spirals of thought pause when Matt speaks, when he makes an offer that is – actually quite unexpected. Koby looks up, face smudged with ash from the fires he’s been crouched beside, from reaching up to adjust his glasses, to wipe his face, like he does now. There’s no caution in those big, intent eyes, just a gentle sort of confusion.
]

You’d do that? For me? [The why would you waste your time isn’t spoken, but implied. Yet there’s no doubt in the words, no questioning of whether this is something Matt can do – just whether he should.]
kobes: ([:|] now what)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-09-20 01:31 am (UTC)(link)
[The eyebrow quirk gets a flicker of a smile from Koby, shy and a little unsure, something in the back of his mind always warning him careful, careful, be careful around anyone new. The sun is out and bright and warm, and the air smells like the chlorine from the pool, and for once he lets his guard down, somewhat.] I thought you might not be. You, um – your accent. It sounds different from most of the Americans I’ve met.

[The mention of the outcome of poor Lincoln – shocking and horrifying to a young man with zero awareness of such a pivotal, major world event – gets a frown, and Koby leaning over to set his book on a small side table, exchanging it for his rapidly melting drink. Something fluorescent, watered down by the ice, the glass slippery with condensation. He holds it in both hands as he sips, looking thoughtful.]

I wouldn’t want that sort of responsibility. There’s so much I don’t know or understand -- about this world, about mine, about the nature of people. I would’ve said β€œa fair one”, even a year ago, but… [Koby shrugs helplessly, nudging his glasses back up his nose with a fingertip.] Now I’m not sure what that means. Unquestioning freedom for everyone is also an unquestioned ability to do harm. But control isn’t the solution either, so…

…what about you?
kobes: ([:)] not rly listening)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-09-20 01:32 am (UTC)(link)
Thank you. I try my best not to be.

[As if little doe-eyed, earnest, soft-Aussie-accented Koby could ever be mistaken for a dictator.]

I just pay attention. You mentioned that people tell you things about the afterlife, which suggests: ghosts. [Have a solemn nod, Iggy. Pay no attention to the fact that Koby is definitely going to Remember This.]

I think you might be underselling yourself, a little bit.
preborns: ([up] caught my attention)

[personal profile] preborns 2024-09-20 01:48 am (UTC)(link)
Mmm, perhaps not. [Alia pauses in her painting to wipe her hands on her bare legs, leaving them streaked with red, like blood, like the sun on the sands. She leaves little smudges in Lauralae’s hair as she reaches out, starts to gather the thick, silky locks into sections, one, two, three.] Nothing in this life is simple, I think. We are too complicated creatures to be straightforward.

[A little sigh, then Alia shifts position so she’s sitting more comfortably, legs on either side of the other young woman, knees bracketing her hips, tugging her hair gently until she leans back a bit. Once settled, she begins carefully braiding the sections of hair together, inky black kissed by crimson.] So whenever I can, I make things simple. I make them easy – yes or no, foul or fair, accept or refuse.

[In her heart of hearts, Alia knows it’s not quite that easy, that the nature of what she is will never allow such purity of emotion or decision. But here, in this warm, sunny place, perhaps she can pretend. She braids for a moment in silence, then:] I think also that you are stronger than you seem. Than you believe in your pretty head. [One finger taps lightly on the top of Lauralae’s head, then smooths her hair down.] I think you have been underestimated, before. And it’s not fair to you.
preborns: ([down] thoughtful)

[personal profile] preborns 2024-09-20 01:49 am (UTC)(link)
[Alia skims through the man’s memories – Dean, his name, his brother Sam, their father a driven, determined, deranged force in the background, the elder boy standing between the two like a wall put out to break the force of crashing waves – like someone might flip through a book, scanning the pages, absorbing parts of words, fragments of lines, illustrations searing into her thoughts like flame. It’ll feel strange, a presence like a creeping, quiet cat, curling around his memories, pricking with her tiny tiny claws.

Finally she pulls back, sighs, quieted somewhat by the resonating agreement in his words, in his mind.
] You understand, then. How it is. How it was never a choice.

[Looking up, hair tousled, Alia manages a soft smile, head tilting to one side.] You must be lonesome, Dean. Here without him. I would be lost without Paul. We’ve never been parted, until – well. Until right before I came here.
queenking: ([up] on the sidelines)

[personal profile] queenking 2024-09-20 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
β€œDon’t mention it.” Saxsice taps out one of her own, leaning forward with it in her mouth to light it off the other woman’s, with a practiced, smooth movement that suggests she’s done this exactly, a hundred times before. The nicotine hits like molasses – she wishes there was something stronger, something quicker – but she just breathes in, holds it in her lungs, then lets it waft out, slowly.

The smoke doesn’t bother her; she likes the smell too much, breathing in, then swishing her legs in the pool with a smile. β€œIf it helps, you look stressed in a real hot, broodin’, sexy kinda way? Like a film noir or somethin’.” A wider, crooked grin, leaning back on her hands, cigarette dangling from her mouth as she affects a Bogart-esque accent: β€œOf all the pool parties in all the world, she walked inta mine~”

Then, exhaling smoke around the butt in her mouth: β€œRich people are fuckin’ wild, you got that right. The amount’a chintz in that house is unhinged levels of pretentious.”
queenking: ([up] on the sidelines)

[personal profile] queenking 2024-09-20 02:14 am (UTC)(link)
β€œGenius Loki, that one’a those new MCU spin-offs?” She’s kidding. Probably. Maybe? But then the guy clarifies, and Saxsice hums softly, approvingly, tipping her chin up and looking towards the sky. β€œSounds like some bouncers I’ve met – get too high on their own machismo and forget what they’re s’posed to be doin’ is keepin’ people safe. Good on you, bro. Hope you won.”

The offered hand gets a callused, firm handshake, and a grin that shows a mouthful of too-sharp teeth. β€œI’m terrible at sharin’, been kicked outta every preschool on the Pacific coast for it. But I’ll make an exception for magic fuckery, every time.”

A little more seriously, squaring her shoulders: β€œI can’t smell any wards, but they might have some weird British shit instead’a anything I’ve seen before. If it’s something with an ass, I can kick it. If it’s corporeal, I can bite it. Other’n that, I’ll need you to step in, boss, yeah?” Saxsice’s sharp grin turns a touch sheepish. β€œNever paid much attention to fightin’ shit I can’t touch – probably coulda used that here, but if beggers were horses n’ all that.”
imperatour: (04-10825)

[personal profile] imperatour 2024-09-20 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
[ Furiosa fixes a long look at Max. Time often passes like this, spaces filled up with silence that dwarfs the words they exchange. It's comfortable. Despite the frustration it often causes, keeping him an unsolved mystery, she prefers that he doesn't need to fill the space with words. It makes everything he says a little more impactful.

And he knows things, sometimes. Things from the Old World he reveals in bits and pieces. How, she hasn't quite figured out. Would he tell her if she asks?

She still flinches when another booms in the air, her shoulders barely inching higher towards her ears, but at least she has the safety of brick walls now. She sits back on her knees, observing them carefully. ]


Are they for anything? Or just flash?

[ Many things here, she's found, don't have a direct purpose. So much is about posturing and image. At least there's excess here to actually afford it. She wonders what occasion might make Joe or Dementus burn through precious gun powder just to show off. ]
highlyemotional: (☁ done)

[personal profile] highlyemotional 2024-09-20 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ oh honey. oh sweetheart.

caroline's face goes on a journey: confusion because a haven, really?, sympathy because he is listing basic human rights that he seems unused to, and then a familiarity she tries to pack away quickly. her face is far too expressive tragically so it's clear she's also used to transactional relationships.

she rallies quickly, more determined to leave this poor guy alone and hold onto her control if it kills her, clasping her hands in front of her and offering him a close-lipped smile. ]


It seems like it's a really nice place for you.
dead_tongue: (hmmm)

[personal profile] dead_tongue 2024-09-20 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
The world needs more kindness.

[Iggy looks at his hands, fingers tangling together.]

Yeah. Well... don't tell anybody, huh? It creeps people out. And it seems nice here, it seems like people might actually... I dunno.

['Like me.']

Nah. I'm socially awkward.
kobes: ([:(] there there)

[personal profile] kobes 2024-09-20 04:44 am (UTC)(link)
I'm very good at keeping secrets. [It's said a touch wryly; Koby's made it his business over the last three months to keep all kinds of secrets. Then, leaning forward, ducking his head to catch Iggy's eyes:] Might actually what?

[He has a way of not seeming nosy, really, just genuinely curious and interested in hearing whatever anyone has to say. It's a gift.]

So am I. So are most people. I think you might fit in better than you thought.