#inexorcble

[someotherdog]

his name came easily to tom, but it seemed that his own name didn’t come to rafael at all. it might’ve offended him if tom hadn’t forgotten all about rafael until about two minutes ago. “it’s tom.” his voice was still light, but became strained as he spoke his full name, “tom abendroth.” he hated that his last name was so tainted now. his older brother lawrence was a convicted serial killer as of six years ago, and no one heard the name abendroth anymore without immediately thinking of murder and true crime podcasts and netflix documentaries. now that the memories of that summer hit him like a wall, tom was beginning to wonder if maybe, or perhaps hopefully, that the clown had something to do with his brother’s killings. “me too.” he was referring to all statements: being scared, feeling insane, and needing a drink. none of it made any sense but somehow, in a very small way, it did. all the memories that were missing from his mind, he didn’t even know he was missing them, but having them return made them fit like puzzle pieces; the clown, that summer, rafael and their losers club. it plugged itself back into that missing chunk of his childhood and it was like he finally had the answer to a question he didn’t remember asking. “so you… remember it?” it was too hard to say clown. too ridiculous and too frightening. “...maybe we should go get that drink.”

Was he about to have a heart attack? Not incredibly unheard of for chefs of his age although he didn't consume as much butter as some of his counterparts so he hoped that would be in his favor. But why was his heart speeding up to an almost painful rate at such an innocuous occasion? He was meeting an hold friend, right? His first friend and best friend by virtue of them living on the same street. The street. Rafael's gaze drifted down the street to the sewer just next to his house– Oh god the fucking sewer and the fucking clown! His mouth was so dry. "I think... I think I'd forgotten your name until just now." Rafael forced the words out, trying to banish the virulent fear that kept rolling over him as soon as he drop past the town welcome sign. "Scared." He took a step forward after blurting the word out. Rafael rubbed the back of his neck as he took a look around. "I, well I feel completely insane to be honest with you. I could use a drink." Or several. Because not only was he terrified of something he could only vaguely relate to the clown (!) but he was slowly becoming aware of how much blank space there was in his memory. Why could he not remember living in the house that was just to his left? Why did he recall a little sister that must have meant something more than a cliff-note he put at the end of his life story?

[bleubcrries]

It had been three months since the attempt on Willow's life, and Oscar had been inching towards this decision like a knife's edge toward his own throat. It was time for him to go back to Rusalka. In the days, weeks, months that followed the incident, Oscar had scurried back to his faith like a beaten dog. Slowly, at first, and then all at once. Before the first drop of blood hit the throne room floor, Oscar's faith was job security, at best, but it has since turned into the hand around his throat, keeping him from falling over the cliff; saving and suffocating him all at once. Being raised in a monastery, Oscar was sure that he and fear were well acquainted foes-- but fear had taken a new form on that wretched day. It had grown fangs, claws, and a million watchful eyes. It had become the kind of nightmare that followed you into your waking hours; exactly the kind of thing that sends you back to your knees before the Saints. And that's exactly what Oscar had done. One night, after a long, long court meeting about security measures to protect the Queen, he all but burst out of the room. He rounded corners, descended stairs, ran across corridors on autopilot, until he was back at the long-neglected alter of his rectory, falling to his knees. His face was slick with sweat and tears as he squeezed his hands together, the sword of his rosary cutting harsh lines into his palm as his free, shaking hand struggled to light the matches for his alter candles. And it was there that he begged and pleaded for the Saint to take mercy on Willow, to refrain from punishing her for his indiscretions. He had allowed himself to become blinded by lust, love, and greed, allowed himself to remove himself from holiness just to excuse his behavior of falling asleep in the chair beside her bed when he read her to sleep, or sneaking a kiss on the back of her hand, falling in love with her. And the Saint responded by almost taking her from him. He needed her, more than he needed to breathe, but he knew that it wasn't just him that would pay for his sins, were she to be taken from them. She had a kingdom, a husband, a son. They could not become casualties of his sins. It was then that he decided he was doing more harm than good, staying there. The court had long become suspicious of their closeness, every move he made to protect her caused another knife to dimple the skin of his back. He was becoming a shadow of himself beneath their scrutinizing gaze. And shadows couldn't protect Willow from another brush with death. And so, there Oscar stood, before the court, his eyes down and his hands behind his back, as he introduced the man who would soon replace him. "Your highness, gentleman," Oscar bowed reverently, schooling his expression into a neutral one. "This is Bishop Phillip Beasant. He has served as the advisor to Lord Chathman for over nine years, and was my apprentice at the monastery since he was a boy of only eleven. He has experience in political advisement, and worked closely with Lord Chathman in the security measures that protected the Lord's family from attempted assassinations. I trust entirely in his abilities to serve the royal court with the holiness of the Saint." He paused, as he and the young Bishop made the sign of the sword on their chest, as a proper Bishop is meant to do when mentioning the Saint in formal settings such as this. Oscar has yet to make eye contact with Willow, knowing that one look at her sharp, piercing gaze would turn his resolve to jelly and bring an untimely warmth to his eyes. However, he finally lifts his head to look around at the other members of the court, who are all frozen in suspicious confusion, their spines stiff as they look between Oscar and the unacquainted young Bishop beside him. "Bishop Beasant... well, he will be taking my place, as the Noble Minister of this great kingdom. I will be returning to my post in Rusalka, where I can help them prepare their kingdom for the impending famine of this new era of war."

@inexorcble I'M HAVING EMOTIONS

[oppulcnce]

"I know you might not want to hear it, but you did the right thing." He said following the conversation with her sister and Lord....He hadn't even caught his name, which made this even more uncomfortable. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

@inexorcble

[gcldcnhour-a]

@inexorcble​ inspo/continued from: here, here, here 

surprisingly, or maybe not at this point, the award show went well. niki won for lead actress in a drama, which micah was immensely proud of, escorting her up the stage and being the first to congratulate her excitedly. the red carpet went smoothly, the two molding together easily, posing and smiling. that despite the flashing bulbs and yelling names, every time he looked at her, it all seemed to still. nothing else mattered when she smiled, and micah just knew. 

they were now climbing into the back of the car, ditching the after-party’s post interviews. fast food was the move now, something they started together all those years ago (though they never said no to a party), and micah was glad with how easily the fell together again. he slid next to her, taking the time to admire her profile yet again. “congratulations niki, you truly deserved that.” he smiled, hand reaching to entangle his fingers with her. warmth spreading throughout his body, starting in his chest. it happened every time she was near, with every kiss. and it was the future for him. she was his future. 

[bleubcrries]

Clementine Murphy sometimes wonders if she's in the midst of the weirdest, most vivid coma dream ever experienced. Six years ago, she did an off beat film with Ari Aster, it did inexplicably well in theaters, and she hasn't been jobless since. At times, she's shooting multiple movies at once, at other times she's shooting while 6-month press tours, taking airplanes between continents every other day, surviving on a precarious ballad of sleeping pills and adderall. But, her agent promised, this would be the film that gave her time to relax. She would get to spend time on a beach, work 5-day weeks, and take a break from flying for a few months. It was an exciting prospect, and she was ready to relax, until she found out she'd be waking up at 4 am every day to take surfing lessons from someone who had affectionately nicknamed her Clammy. And clammy she was as she wrung her nervous hands together, terrified to admit that she was maybe the only Australian alive who was terrified of the ocean, and barely knew how to swim. "Of course," she lied through her teeth, forcing an easy-going smile onto her blushed lips. Nervously, she wrapped an arm around her surfboard and began to gently lean into it, causing it to shift in the sand and nearly fall over, but she managed. to catch herself and the board in time. She looked nervously to her side at Niki and blushed, knowing that it was impossible to have hid her blunder.

Freddy had slept from the hours of 2 to 4:30 when his assistant woke him up to a gentle banging on his door, letting him know that he was due in the cove at 5 am. For years, he had reduced himself to seedy sets of terrible films where no one would catch him doing coke in his trailer or putting vodka in his water bottle, but this new contract came with the promise of sobriety-- as in, if any executive caught him drunk or high at any point during filming, he would be financially indebted to them for the rest of his life. And as long as he could passably surf this morning, no one would have to know that he drank himself to sleep the night before. "So you're like. A legitimate surfer. Sick." Freddy stood up from his seat on his fallen surfboard, adjusted his strategically placed sunglasses on his nose, and looked the other man up and down. "I'm not bad. And by that I mean I can surf probably as well as the kids you teach."

@bleubcrries

"All right. Niki at least has surf experience but since I'm being paid for this, I'm going to treat you all like the kids whose parents pay me outrageous sums of money to teach. So! You can all swim right? Sometimes that's not a given." With his wetsuit only zipped to his waist, Dominic paced in front of the three actors.

4 AM wakeups for a 5 AM assembly on the beach was unexpected but enjoyable. Normally it was all work and no pleasure. Niki thoroughly enjoyed the excuse to be paid to surf. While she wasn't the best, she had some talent. "I watched him win the World Surf League in 2018 when they held it in Queensland." Niki added, taking a sip of her tea. Her own surfboard was laid out behind her with her wetsuit zipped fully up.

[jawbrkrs]

CLOSED for @inexorcble​

         “  you  keep  hitting  like  that  the  last  thing  you’re  going  to  win  is  a  match..  what’s  got  you  so  distracted?”

​

[gcldcnhour]

@inexorcble who: memphis nash what: this song pretty much (she's contemplating life outside of a party)

the night air was warm around her, the humidity of the day fading just enough to no longer be choking. nights like these always tricked you into thinking summer was warm and comfortable and not suffocating and debilitating. but there memphis was, chest laid over her knees as she picked at the rotting wood and peeling paint of the back porch stairs. she always felt bad when she did this, but she couldn't help it! the small shard and curled paint were just begging to be ripped off. the brief rise in volume of the music, followed by the slamming of a door, jolted memphis back into her moment, hands moving to settle in her lap as she looked up at the person now encroaching on her space. "would it be cliche of me to ask if you had a cigarette or vape i could bum?" she laughed, trying to will away everything that had forced her out into the air in the first place.

[tooswcctx]

@inexorcble​ cont’d: here \ Damon Bennett & Bianca Hernández

“Yeah but I mean you’re friends with my little sister...I think someone might catch on if you start commenting on every single one of them.” Bianca pointed out, knowing this whole thing was better off being kept under wraps. The last thing she needed was Maria asking questions. 

[mcturethemes]

closed starter for @inexorcble (tw g*ns and w*r)

Mason's day had been long and hot. The last of his crop had sold though, so that was nice. He drove his old truck down the half paved path that led to his house that he shared with his basset hound. The canine had his head hanging out the window and was howling for something. Probably a rabbit in the garden again. It had been two years since he had found his way back to what he called home base. It wasn't true to say he'd given up hope that Temperance would ever return, but Mason accepted that it was a far off dream rather than his future. Once their shelter had been raided and they were separated, he wasn't sure if she was even alive and he had no way of letting her know that he was. All he could do was make a life somewhere he thought she might look for him. "What is all that yellin' for my guy??" Mason asked the dog, reaching over to rub the top of his head as he pulled the old truck up to the poorly shaped parking spot just outside the house. The light was on inside and the hair on the back of his neck stood up before he reached for the gun in his glove compartment.

[pckdrop]

𐐂 a closed starter for @inexorcble, featuring lukas whelan.

a heavy sigh fell from lukas’ lips as he massaged his temples slightly, almost mentally willing the oncoming headache to remain at bay. “you know that i wouldn’t be asking you this if i was desperate, but i am.” it took all of his strength to push his pride aside and stand before them at this point. “it’s just one night of pretending to be my significant other and that we have a perfect life. one night.” he repeated the duration for added emphasis. “you can have anything you want in return, just name your price. nothing is off limits.”

[someotherdog]

“umm…” he should’ve said no. he knew that he should’ve been more vigilant, the world was so dangerous now. he should tell her that she’d have to find some other place to go… but she was just a young woman. and she was alone. he had the divine right to be wary, but what would his mother have thought about him turning away someone that needed help? a defenseless, crying woman, at that. “sure, i don’t have a problem with that.” ashley smiled softly, trying to seem welcoming though he still felt on edge. he didn’t travel with others much, always preferring to be a solitary creature even before the apocalypse, and although he had two younger half-brothers, he considered himself to be an only child. to put it simply, he wasn’t used to sharing. and there was still the possibility that maybe she was lying, that there was someone waiting outside to ambush him and steal all his things—which, granted, wasn’t much.

“it’s not really my home. i’m from iowa, actually. ” ashley clarified sheepishly. the house we was currently staying in was just a random house he saw a week ago, one that looked decently livable. he never really had a destination in mind, just moving from place to place aimlessly. the nature of the world made everyone into vagabonds. “but i’ve been staying here for a little while. i mostly just stick around the living room and the kitchen, though.” he felt safest there. the stairs to the upper floor had been sectioned off with a large armoire blocking them and he hadn’t heard any sort of noise from the living or the dead inside since he chose it. a relatively small house, it reminded him a lot of the one he grew up in. “there’s not much to say about me, honestly. i was a librarian before all of… this.” he gestured vaguely towards outside, “what about you?”

Jasika breathed out shakily, turning around to wipe at her shining eyes. Turning her back on a stranger was ill advised, even before the dead started walking again. But it was necessary to sell the bit. She'd been playing that innocent and helpless role for years and it didn't even occur to her that she didn't need to pretend anymore. But how else was she going to get what she wanted? "I wasn't at the very beginning but... yes." That was the truth and for a moment, the emotion in her voice was genuine. Frenemy was a funny phrase until the other heiress tried to rip her throat out with her teeth. And having a big strong bodyguard becomes incredibly inconvenient.

Once she gave herself enough time to collect herself from her fake tears, Jasika turned around again. "I really am sorry about breaking in, Ashley. But is there any chance I can stay here for a bit? Just until it's light out again." Her plans were adapting the more information she gathered. Right then it was grab as much food as possible and split before wasting too much energy. The house looked sturdy but it was still too close to the main road and she didn't want to be surrounded if a horde rolled in. It wasn't a defensible structure and she wasn't sure if Ashley could hold his own in a fight. "Well," she sniffed and presented a small smile. "How about a tour of your lovely home? And you can tell me a bit about yourself?"

[bleubcrries]

@grapefruitey

Diana had long skirted the line of intimidating and disarming with careful surgical precision. To all outsiders, she was calm, cool, collected; a carefully curated queen who would never let anyone know what she was feeling. But inside the palace walls, she needed loyalty, and that loyalty could only come from kindness and vulnerability-- no one wants to protect a soulless monster. And after what had happened to the Queen of Statgarden, she couldn't take any chances. Her own security team had bulked themselves up, posted an officer in nearly every room of the palace. However, Diana was determined to get a break from the prying eyes. When she exited her chambers this night, she was met by two large men who intended to follow her closely behind, but she didn't even give them the chance. She ordered them to remain posted outside her door, and she tiptoed barefoot down the stone corridor, across the lengthy property until she neared the kitchen. This side of the castle was colder than usual, something she was fairly used to, and so she came prepared; her late husband's oversized embroidered robe wrapped securely around her body. She began to step into the kitchen, light footed as always, but she realized that she didn't want to scare the life out of her chef while he was up late working in the silent castle, so she raised a gentle fist to wrap gentle against the kitchen door, standing meekly in the entryway until he saw her. "Good evening, Raf'," she said in her usual velvety tone, albeit a little softer than usual, "Just so you know, you don't have to work so late into the night. I have no intentions of casting you out. You're simply too good. You could kill me and I'd probably come back from the dead just to eat your roasted duck one more time."

[oppulcnce]

@inexorcble​

Without even knowing if she’d finished off the job, Jo felt herself being carried away when she’d almost fainted. What she did took so much out of her she wasn’t sure if she was even alive, “Did it work?” She asked as she could feel arms wrapped around her as she was fighting to stay conscious.

[gcldcnhour-a]

@inexorcble

both knox and harper invited their siblings over for dinner, which knox appreciated. he was glad to be living with someone who also had a close relationship with her sibling, and didn’t find it weird that he went to see her and invited her over as much as possible. and so it seemed only natural that they would both invite their siblings over, and decide that all of them should hang out together anyway. he was setting the table, while kelsey was taking care of something in the kitchen, and everything seemed normal, it seemed fine. well as fine as it could be - he was still trying to kick his feelings for harper which was getting harder each day. she seemed to have enjoyed the way things were, so he pretended like it was all okay, not like it was only strengthening his feelings for her each time. 

kelsey was grabbing the drinks for everyone, when she looked over to where knox was. and the way he was staring at harper. god, he was such a lovesick puppy. but he hadn’t mentioned anything to her about the two of them... “hey harper, could you come in here and help me?” she called out to the cute blonde with a smile. and then she didn’t wait long to ask. “so, i’ve got a question for you....do you like knox? cause i don’t know if you know this, but he obviously likes you.” 

[gcldcnhour]

this was karma, linden knew that. the stabs they were feeling in their chest, the way sierra was standing there, as if linden was nothing more than some lost acquaintance. which they supposed they were. but it wasn't supposed to be this way, all those nights together laughing over slushies, plans made, making fun of the popular kids in school. they were going to be together until the end of time, and it had been linden's doing to end it all.

"oh nice, what, what are you up to these days?" linden had deleted all her social media when she left, so she truly was in the dark about what sierra was doing, who she was these days. standing there in the middle of the grocery store linden realized that though sierra looked so familiar, and her own heart pounded in the same way it once had, she was looking at a stranger. "i'm alright, just, trying to make it in this crazy world." they tried to joke, but it fell flat, landing between the two of them. "you keep up with anyone else from school?"

She did such good things. She didn't charge kids for skate lessons when they couldn't afford it. She made a safe place for everyone to go and they didn't even have to spend money (although it was very nice when they did spend money). She apologized to everyone who she hit after a derby game. Objectively, Sierra was a very good person. There was no reason why she should be suffering in such a horrific way.

"Ah, cool." She forced out the words. As though she didn't care. "Oh good. Great. Picking up break room snacks." And her sad silly salad that would have to suffice for dinner. "How are you?" Sierra wanted to turn and sprint out of the grocery store. Being a heartbroken fool didn't fit well on her.

[jawbrkrs]

closed for @inexorcble​

                       after  two  missed  calls,  and  three  unread  text,  corrie  knew  something  wasn’t  right.  it  was  unlike  her  best  friend  to  ignore  her  for  a  few  hours  let  alone  days  ..    not  giving  her  much  of  a  choice  she  did  what  any  overly  concerned  friend  would  do.  showed  up  to  his  bakery.  mid-day,  with  anthony  at  work,  it  was  the  perfect  opportunity  for  her  to  drop  in.  “  well,  well,  well  ”  she  spotted  him  easily,  making  her  way  through  the  doors.  “  did  you  suddenly  forget  how  technology  worked,  or?  ”  annoyance  covered  every  expression  on  her  face.