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[icarianed]

@tragcdyfallen: ❝ well, the gods favor the bold. ❞ (Padmé & anyone)

“do they,” halbrand says curtly. “a strange way to show favor, watching the bold turn to fodder for crows and doing nothing.” it's the valar he thinks of now. the valar, who had never cared for anything that didn't involve their own- certainly not middle-earth. they had only cared once, perhaps, and only after one brave soul had sailed west to beg for their help, and after that was done, they returned to their thrones of self-righteousness and continued to care for nothing. even as the root of melkor's evil continued to grow, they still did not care. there is no favor to be sought from them. be one bold or not. “if the gods pay any mind to anything past their own shores, then i doubt they care for it, let alone hold any favor. bold men die. cowards die. their favor makes no difference. perhaps because there's none to spare for the likes of us.”

[icarianed]

@allthatglxtters: ❛ don't do anything stupid until i get down there. ❜ (Jinu to Rumi)

rumi huffs at that, all prior relief instantly melting away. anything stupid? “oh, excuse you,” she mumbles sourly. of course, it would be easier to get out of this predicament of hers with a helping hand, having made the short (and only slightly dangerous) climb down to a rock beneath the ocean's overlook. and maybe she is being needlessly stubborn. maybe she'd be better to suck up her pride and accept the help being offered, but this stranger... so presumptuous. she doesn't like it one bit. “i can get out of this myself, thank you very much.” and with that, she does the stupid thing anyway and moves to make her way back up.

[icarianed]

a small laugh leaves rumi's lips, something halfway between surprise and relief. a tiny crab. not the answer she'd expected, but enough to settle her concern after she'd caught a glimpse of the stranger writhing with something unseen in the corner of her eye. “seems burrowed pretty comfortably in there. maybe he feels safe with you,” she offers with a smile. “you don't look very troubled either. does this happen to you a lot?”

It seemed to be another beautiful day. One which should create lots of inspiration, and yet once again it felt like he had nothing. Perhaps it really was because he spent too much time alone in his cabin, he was wondering if he was becoming a hermit. Not that it really mattered if the resulting book was good, the issue was that he hadn't written said book yet. Or even had any idea.

He'd walked nearly into town when he felt something moving in his shirt, causing him to writhe. Checking what it was, he then realised someone was staring at him oddly "“Oh dear! A tiny crab appears to have made his home in my shirt pocket. That's the trouble with living on the beach" he said with a smile, hoping it made his actions look less strange.

@ivycovestarters

[icarianed]

hans's voice startles him back to the present. he hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud. hadn't even realized he'd been gone at all. “no one important,” halbrand dismisses quickly. he would not think of melkor now. melkor, who is bound in chains in a void worlds away, whose taint is unfelt here, could not reach him anymore. “sorry. seems my mind was somewhere else.” he lets a smile find his lips again, false in pretense of ease. “were you saying something?”

“i can still feel him inside my head.” - from halbrand to hans!

At that, Hans raised an eyebrow. It was hardly what he had expected him to say. "Feel who inside your head?" he supposed that was at least one thing he'd never had to put up with. Elsa's powers had been horrendous, but it had never been mind control... least not that he knew about.

@icarianed

[icarianed]

the ground beneath feels too unsteady for his liking, every part of this too baffling to believe to be true, but jack's voice is grounding, reminding him that yes, this is real, and john lets it reel him back to reality. “yeah. yeah, 'course, it is,” he manages to say, still in a half-daze of disbelief. it feels so surreal, to see his boy here, to see him so much older since he'd seen him last. wearier, with eyes that had seen too much, things a boy never should. but he's not a boy anymore, and on the heel of that thought, john feels a wave of bitter regret bearing down on him, at the years lost between them, the years he'll never have again, and he knows he only has himself to blame for it. keep riding and don't look back.

“jack... i-” he cuts off again, shaking his head at the tangled mouthful of words he's sure he's about to say and instead steps forward and finally pulls him in and holds him tight. “jack, i'm so sorry. i'm sorry i made such a goddamn mess of things,” he mutters with the heavy weight of tears in his throat. he knows he's done wrong by him, again and again, and maybe it's too late to make things right again, but he won't let this opportunity to reconcile go now that he has it. “i spent so long wishin' things was different... wishin' there had been some other way.”

Jack had found himself walking in the forests around Ivy Cove often, it feeling like some form of exploration and it seemed there were always interesting things to see. He may be going a little stir-crazy trapped on this island, but he could at the very least learn every inch of it in the process.

He heard the sound of whittling before he saw the man on the ground, smiling softly at the reminder of Arthur from when he was young. What he didn't expect to realize was that the man sitting there looked just like his father. Jack didn't even realize that he'd walked closer, staring at the other and trying to decide if he was going insane. Surely this wasn't actually John Marston. Yet when the man spoke it was undeniable, still staring when he looked up at him. What Jack really didn't expect was for his father to know him so immediately, swallowing thickly at the tears that threatened after hearing his father say his name a loud after so long. "Yeah, it's me. I...is it really you?"

[icarianed]

“you remember her?” jace asks in surprise. he knows memories have returned in parts for some. though it could be that they met here as well. “the magic here is strong. i don't fault you for your memory,” jace says with a shake of his head. “but yes, i am. rhaenyra is my mother. and you...” he pauses, unsure how he would describe their relationship. grandmother never sounded or even felt right. “we were family, i suppose, in a way. estranged, if that's even the right word,” he says, trailing off, unsure how much of their past alicent would be willing to hear, if at all.

"that is what i've heard from many people." many was a strong word, it really was only 2. this young boy, jacaerys, has he had called himself. and rhaenyra. and maybe it was peace, but knowing she was missing such an important part of her life, a life that had nearly destroyed the relationship her and rhaenyra had shared here. "i assume you are from rhaenyras world, our world... i apologize i feel as if i may be one of the few whoo do not remember."

[icarianed]

“maybe it's a blessin' you don't have them anymore. somethin' like that would've drawn a lot of attention here.” though maybe she would've liked to see horns and a tail, if only for her own curiosity. if you say so... claudia doesn't like the way she says that, like she doesn't believe her. she'll have to tread carefully from here. “so... what can you do?” she decides to ask, trying to shift the subject away from herself. “i'm guessin' bein' a demon has its perks, doesn't it?” lestat could fly, as she recalls, though he's not a demon, even if she'd be tempted to argue against that. it makes her wonder what other remarkable power exists beyond the limits of vampirism.

.｡.:*☆ "No. And I am missing my tail and horns on some days, gotta admit that." When Claudia continued to talk, she frowned slightly. Charlie had always been able to tell if someone was human or not. But that was before IVy Cove, so, she could not be one-hundred percent sure, really. However, her spider-sense was telling Charlie that the other was lying.

"Well, if you say so..." She could not press the topic, after all. That was usually not her style.

[icarianed]

“hello louis,” claudia greets in turn, returning his smile with an upward twitch of her lips. last they spoke, he'd said he wanted to do better for her, and she’s still determined to hold him to that promise, much as she knows she needs to be just as willing to try on her own end. “as well as i can be given what we are.” she shrugs, fiddling with the cuff of her long-sleeve. “started goin' to college again. made some friends. still tryin' to make sense of this whole double life in my head.” so mundane. so unlike the life she's used to. “i saw lestat too,” claudia adds slowly, looking over at louis pointedly, as if trying to gauge his reaction. “he seemed a lot more civil than i last remember him bein'. and more alive, to my disappointment.” maybe she wasn't entirely disappointed, but bitterness is still easier to cling to.

@icarianed [Claudia + Louis]

"Hey, Claudia." Louis greeted the other, giving a soft smile. He had run into her already in Ivy Cove so that initial shock had kind of gone from him, and he wanted to fix their relationship, and he felt that in this place it would be easier without outside influences ruining it yet again, or louis letting a man ruin his life yet again. "How are you doing? I know it's been a moment since we spoke last, so I wanted to check on you.'

[icarianed]

it's only now that jace realizes there's no recognition to be found in alicent's eyes. her memories must have yet to return, then. his lips press into a thin line, knowing he can't exactly begrudge her for what she does not remember. but courtesy is still a difficult thing to gather when it's he who remembers her as an enemy to his mother's claim- the one who'd sparked rumors of his bastardy since before he knew what the word even meant. “memories are odd in this place. you would be luckier than most to still have the peace of ignorance,” jace says bitterly, thinking again of luke and visenya, of rhaenys and... warships in the middle of the sea. “forgive me for being quick to assume then. my name is jacaerys. we were familiar in a different life, as unbelievable as that might sound.”

alicent was shocked that the younger man knew who she was... but she was more shocked that he looked so familiar. that he shared some of the same facial features that she had fallen in love with. it left only one option, another person from this life that she had no idea existed... and someone who had some relation to rhaenyra. "i'm afraid you have me at a disadvantage." she says softly, looking the younger boy over. he seemed harmless enough to be fair. "you seem to know who i am, but i have no idea who you are."

[icarianed]

“oh, i don't want to take up too much of your time. or be any trouble. you could just point me in the direction, or even just the general direction, and i'm sure i could figure it out too.” probably. or more likely not. still, he's a bit hesitant when this is definitely more trouble than it's worth, especially for a stranger who clearly has work on his hands. but there's a flood of gratitude bob feels too, that someone is even this concerned enough to help, and not even out of pity. “yeah, fulton park,” he says, slowly following when the other motions. “that shouldn't be a far walk from here, right?” he asks, still trying to gauge just how far he'd let himself wander off.

"Nice to meet ya Bob, name's Tommy." Tommy assessed the other with a bit of care that came from his time being in Jackson. He could tell when a soul was distressed and there was something about this young man that read as concerning. "Here, let me just." He pulled out his phone and shot his client a quick text stating he'd be an hour or two late. "Okay perfect, let me help you get home." He motioned for the other to follow. "Tell me do you know the name of your apartment building?" He questioned.

[icarianed]

“oh, this is nice,” bob says to himself, both at the interior of the place and the relief from the hot summer air. not that he's entirely sure where or what this is supposed to be- still caught in a daze he can't entirely shake himself out of- but it is nice enough to give him some momentary respite. he swivels around when he hears someone approach. “hi. i'm bob,” he greets, only slightly startled. “sorry. i don't actually know how i got here,” he admits, his memory a bit fuzzy at the edges. just one of those days again. it'll pass, he reminds himself. “could you, uh, point me to the town center? i can probably find my way back to my apartment from there.”

@ivycovestarters

Tommy had been situating his work truck, loading up his tool box and supplies needed to go help build a back deck on a cabin that a person was looking to resell. He was hog tying down the wood when he heard the chime of his bell alerting him someone had come by. "I'll be with you in a second." He called from the back, hoping down and removing his work gloves and jogging to move toward the front. "Name's Tommy, anything I can help you with?"

[icarianed]

“flattered.” john rolls his eyes, half-amused. not like he was much to look at before. scars certainly weren't going to be doing him any favors. “you make it sound so far-fetched, but you ain't wrong. now that i think about it, there was a scuffle involvin' a bear and a nasty one too, but i wouldn't say that had been the worst of it. bear, i could walk off, but man? ain't no worse animal than man.”

“gorgeous.” vander teased with a grin. the other really didn’t look so bad to him. “the scar gives you a sort of rugged, badass look. people love a badass.” it was honest, but really, vander was just having fun with the other. “wolf ain’t even the worst of it? what else did you fight? tussle with a bear while you were at it?”

[icarianed]

“it wasn't to say i agree with the bards or what they agree matters, only that it's their word oft remembered over most, whether it's true or justified or not.” he shrugs, too casual for the weight of his words. “song is powerful in that way.” and he doesn't think it justified, nor does he think harm beyond their intentions either. “an endless battle then. that sounds awful. and cynical. is there no hope for lasting peace?” oh, but there would've been. under his rule, after the war, after he had melted down the ruin of melkor's doing, of his own doing to forge it anew, there would've been goodness and light and peace that would've rivaled even that of aman. he believes it. he has to believe it. “i don't imagine the war can reach us here. seems pointless to continue a fight for a wasted cause. unless, you believe the darkness has followed you here?”

"Ah, but you were the one talking about it mattering for the bards" she pointed out. "Motivation does matter, though I believe wanting some glory, and wanting to harm others is quite different" neither was good, but at least the former was just selfish. "I don't believe it has won forever. I believe in my life, my home would be safer from the dark after that war. Darkness always comes back eventually though. It grows and whispers, until it becomes something terrible. Perhaps next time it will win. However, light is much the same. As long as even the tiniest bit of hope exists, the light will always come back. And hope isn't some tiny fragile things, it's a fighter, and bloodied hands. Both will always exist" that she knew to be true. Even with the battle won, she could still feel the tinge of darkness in the air. Sauron's defeat at least would mean the darkness was hiding away for a long time though. "Finding peace is all anyone wants. But if there is war, it is impossible".

[icarianed]

“oh, no. you misunderstand me. i wish for no trouble, much less for the pleasure of it. i have no love for chaos, nor anything else that begets it.” chaos, disorder, waste, all things that only left the taste of something like poison in his mouth. a reminder of melkor's corruptive hand over the world- over him. “that's quite the assumption. you don't even know me.” pretty things in the wrong hands still wither. he doesn't like the way those words linger in his mind for far longer than they are welcome. still, he lets his mild irritation at that remark subside. it seems too small a thing to be worth his temper. “peace! now we find our common ground. peace, i enjoy just the same, i assure you. disagreement is hardly what i would turn to for excitement, but it is inevitable. no two minds are the same, and opinions so often clash. you would find no fellowship at all if you avoid company simply for fear of disagreement.”

sam watched the man carefully, lips pressed into a firm line, his eyes narrowed just a touch beneath furrowed brows. there was something in his voice .too smooth, too sure of itself, that rubbed him the wrong way. like someone who thought charm was the same thing as kindness. "well," sam said slowly, arms folding across his chest, "i reckon there's a difference between folks who see the world a bit different, and folks who just like to stir the pot for the pleasure of it." he glanced at the flower being twirled between his fingers, then back to his face, the movement of his gaze deliberate. "pretty things in the wrong hands still wither," he said plainly. "you'll forgive me if i don't mistake clever talk for good intentions." sam shifted his weight, standing like he meant to stay rooted where he was, unshaken. "you may find a bit of disagreement makes life exciting, but i enjoy a peaceful life."

[icarianed]

the sun of nuevo paraíso

[icarianed]

john marston & jack marston @allthatglxtters

thin shavings curl from his blade as john whittles into a small piece of wood in his hand, his back pressed lazily against a tree. there's a vague shape of a horse coming along, or what he hopes looks like a horse anyway. he's never had an eye for art, at least not the way arthur had, but it's something to pass the time, even if his hands aren't made for delicate work like this. they're far better suited for farmwork, he thinks, for hammering nails and fixing fences, for shooting. still, he's making steady progress now, something clearer taking shape. or so there was before someone's bothersome shadow fell over him- as if john wasn't having a hard enough time of this already. “plenty of earth and sun for you to be standin' somewhere else, don't you think, frien-” he rasps out but before he can finish, his gaze lifts and his heart just about drops at the sight. he's quick to stand, abandoning both the blade and the sorry wooden horse to the ground. he can barely believe what he sees, and much as he hoped to see this face for so long, he doesn't think anything could've ever prepared him for it. “jack?”

[icarianed]

“bein' dead is lonely, but when you live, you live among the livin'. this place gave you a second chance, didn't it? you don't waste it by bein' lonely. you've got the livin' again to help with that.” claudia realizes too late the slip of her tongue at the first part of that sentiment. for her sake, she hopes he'll dismiss it simply as a turn of phrase and nothing more. “i lost my family too. though i guess i never really knew them, except my aunt whom i didn't much like, but it helps to wallow about it sometimes. better than keepin' it in all the time.” though most of all, she thinks she mourns losing herself and what she might've been if not for the curse that made her into this unrecognizable thing she is now. “a lot'a good in me,” claudia mouths to herself, hanging onto those words for a long moment. she wants to believe it to be true. she wants to believe the dark gift hasn't yet taken the last bit of humanity out of her. “well, of course. this is what friends do for each other. nothin' special about it.”

"Loneliness ain't much fun, but I had weeks to get used to it before I passed back home." The Games had been his hell and all he had done with it, was try to make it easier for the other kids in the same situation as him. "I got taken from my family and my love long before I woke up here, I doubt wallowing will change my luck so much." He smiled a genuine kind smile at the other. "I do appreciate you though, it shows a lot a good in you."