#lcfthaunted

[ru5t]

@lcfthaunted //> requested.

  He's left their guest no further than just inside the door: the office directly off of the entryway at the front of the building. Di hovers near the office door, the image of her standing guard puts a strange chill in his stomach. It lingers as he puts himself to his task, going through whatever's left in the catchall - they'll need to go trading again, soon. That task sorts itself into the ever-growing list of things he has to do in the next week while his searching goes on autopilot and Jack wonders if this woman from the center of the city sees an ally or a threat in the young ex-drac standing at attention in the mouth of the warehouse. Honestly, he's not sure what he sees, there. Only that he knows the office is the best place for her for now. Too much that is precious resides in the units to play loose with strangers, and too many of his crew are too nosy for their own good to let them go stampeding in to peer and poke and probably insult. ... He allows himself a deep sigh, a soft curse aimed at the empty air over his head, then he gathers what he came for and returns to the entry. Jack dismisses Di with a casual nod over his shoulder, get outta here, and she scowls at him, but sets off for the garden anyway. She'll be back.

  He gives a light knock before pushing through the office door, announcing himself.

  The office was a nightmare when they first began settling into the haven, full of dust and who knew what else. Since then, they'd pulled up the carpet entirely, and someone -best guess said Dawn and Lith, though jack didn't know for sure- had painted a mural in its place. Bright orange and purple wildflowers in a sea of scrub grass, like what bloomed in the ridges to the north. The shelves had been pushed into a neat configuration, some covering the widows like blinds to cut the heat, and that old couch Weasel had rolled up with weeks ago finally had a place that wasn't the middle of the entryway. Even the old business counter was painted, and a few battery operated lights sat waiting there for nightfall like end table lamps. The result was a strange, colorful thing, but nice as far as ruins this far out into the desert went.

  Jack lays the bundle of clothes he'd gone digging for on the old counter. It's mostly out layers, any jackets he could find, and shirts that could go overtop of something thin and almost sheer that is decidedly not designed for the desert-- though a few genuine articles are in the mix as well. Anything he thought might fit, though he expects she's not likely to go trading anything out. Not right away. Thus, the jackets. It's always easier to borrow a jacket than lose whatever you've got, at first.

  “You'll burn if you don't cover,” he advises, and that's all he says of the state of her. But he keeps looking. Brow lightly furrowed, something reluctant stuck in the back of his teeth. He crosses his arms and leans against the counter. “I can't get you back through the wall.” Blunt, in terms of opening, but it's important there are no illusions. He can't, and his sister doesn't deal in smuggling people, and he won't suggest she start (or even bring her smuggling up at all. Not until she gets back and decides on that for herself - if this was still the situation when she did get back.) So as far as he's concerned, it's impossible. “You can stay here,” a nod at the couch, “or if you'd rather take your chances, I'm riding back to three tomorrow. There are neutral settlements, there, and maybe someone who can do what I can't. But I expect y- .. the crew from the market will be watching for that. Watching for you. I'd give it time.”

[cosmicangsts]

it's raining, and the wind has not only brought wet footprints and stray leaves into the cafe, but also an odd traveler. the blonde walks up to the counter, completely unsure of what it is that he even wants, given that it's his first time here. asking for a recommendation is harmless enough, right ? if left up to him, he'll get the same boring order from every place he visits ; unsweetened black tea ( he enjoys the bitterness ) or just plain coffee. simply groundbreaking. things one could make at home, or in his unique case, on board his time machine.

" this cafe is lovely. is there anything in particular that you might recommend, miss ? " yes, it's probably due time he left the choosing up to someone else and tried something new.

✦ ( @lcfthaunted liked for a starter ! )

[cruelprincae]

@lcfthaunted liked the sc for older! Cardan

Although he has never had the patience to dedicate time to study all the progress that humanity has made over the passage of the years, merely content with the fundamental information that is the existence of tremendous skyscrapers, internet, pizza and cars ― all of which being Vivi's input on the few occasions that he has come to visit the apartment herself and Heather inhabit ―, Cardan is quite familiar with the concept of coffee shops, for they have been there on the occasion that he visited the mortal land when he was significantly younger, and he would return the ensorceled mortals to their families and homes, away from his brother's influence.

On the rare occasion when his moth would twinkle its antennas in a silent demand of wanting for something other than the six-pack bottle of beer it was accustomed to, to make the journey back to Elfhame, he would visit one of these shops and he would glamour himself a handful of caffeinated beverages; one for himself, and several for the gigantic moth he would often park behind the establishment, hidden away from prying eyes, which he would then pour inside of a bucket for it to drink from. Even if the taste was foul and did little more other than insult his taste buds, it would appear that the moth quite fancied it, as it took its sweet time devouring all the liquid it could find as well as licking all traces of it from the bucket's walls. The Prince knew little of its use, but what he did know ― most of it being from observing the moth's behaviour, which stood on high alert for days on an end after consuming the caffeinated beverage ― is that, upon its consumption, it offers clarity, focus and liberation from the heavy feelings of tiredness that would occasionally wash over him.

Mab, he can use some clarity right about now, particularly since the heir to his throne thought it would be rather fitting to make himself a prisoner of the now-dispatched Court of Teeth, all to impress its teenage Queen. Cardan is no stranger to rough declarations of affection ― in fact, majority of the romances in his life were of such nature ― and, were the circumstances any different, he would have sat back and allowed the youth to work on their problems; alas, Oak's ill judgement made for a fairly ancient enemy of the Crown to threaten the integrity of both the himself and the Court that he has tried to built for the better part of the decade. Interference is, at this point, inevitable.

Alas, he knows not how to move. Both Jude and his General, Grima Mog, opt for a direct attack against the Court of Teeth in sight of such deliberate disrespect, which would most likely result in the uproar of war ― in fact, it would appear that the majority of his court thirsts for the taste of battle after nearly a decade of tranquillity. And, though Cardan is a pacifist, with battle almost always as a last resort, he knows not how to talk his way out of this predicament. Clarity and ideas are what he beseeches, and hence, the reason why he is seated in a particularly crowded coffee shop, with the chatter of mortals like the irksome buzzing of sprites flying above his head.

❛ I wish for a coffee, ❜ He merely says at the girl that comes forth upon his table and pushes forth a green leaf, glamoured to resemble that of mortal money, with two ring-adorned fingers. Then, there is a moment of a silence as his black hues glance upon the catalogue of delicacies in a considerate frown, and he adds; ❛ I also wish for dumplings. ❜

[aercnaut]

" I DON' MIND helpin' folks that need it. lets be clear on that, ma'am. however, i would like to know what i'm gettin' into by doin' so, " it wouldn't change his mind, but he does have his own skin to worry about here, not to mention his finaces.

" who's after you? "

@lcfthaunted

[thesamecoiin]

⌨️ :: internet dating at the holidays? super cliche. except maybe not so much when you realize who's waiting 'in the red sweater' at the mall food court. (reversed!) written for @lcfthaunted

This was a terrible idea.

There were no two ways about it. Was she out of her mind?

Sorcha checked the time on her phone again. Exactly two minutes later than it had been two minutes before, the last time she’d checked, imagine that. She let the screen go black even as she stared at the digital numbers, and did her best not to fidget with the device.

“Excuse me,” a voice over her shoulder said.

Her head snapped up and she turned towards the sound, but it was only a father trying to get past her with an oversized stroller. She stepped aside. “Of course, sorry,” she said with a small smile.

She looked at her phone again (a whole 60 seconds had gone by), mostly checking for a notification this time. Despite how well the last few weeks had been going, she still half expected him to cancel.

That train of thought only brought her back around to the fact that this might be the worst idea she’d ever had. Tapping on the ad for the app had been bad enough, but this? She sighed and unlocked her phone, opening the conversation tab of the app and scrolling back to the very beginning. Maybe rereading some of their conversation would remind her why exactly she’d thought this was a good idea in the first place.

She smiled to herself. Neither of them had been comfortable when they’d first started talking, and looking back at it now, it practically radiated off the text. She could remember how it had felt. Online dating had never really been something she thought she’d ever do. After all, most apps of the sort seemed geared only towards hooking up and, well.

She could find someone for that just fine on her own, thank you very much.

Something about the ad for this app, however, had grabbed her attention. It advertised real connections over hookup culture. Given that she’d had maybe one connection she’d actually thought was real in her entire life, it appealed to her. Something deeper than a one night stand or a short-lived friends with benefits sounded really good, actually. So she’d tapped through, installed the app, built herself a profile. The fact that they discouraged sharing photos was a new one, but she found it almost refreshing, somehow.

Put simply, she was used to being able to draw people in based on her looks. Sure, she had the intellect and the conversation skills to go along with her body and her face, but intellect and conversation skills had rarely been more than icing on the cake. In truth, the idea of trying to build any kind of connection based on nothing more than black and white text? Mildly terrifying. Not that she’d admit that, even if pressed.

She swiped through the conversation on her screen, skimming over the majority of their conversation until she landed at the plans they’d made for that day.

gildedlily21: I’ll be in the northwest end of the food court, red sweater.

mjrnchurch: I’ll keep an eye out.

gildedlily21: ;)

So here she was. Standing there, red sweater and all, waiting for someone she’d never seen before in her life. What could possibly go wrong?

Another voice spoke behind her. “Excuse me… I’m looking for someone who calls herself gildedlily21, I’m supposed to meet her here.”

She took a breath, realizing she'd heard that voice before. She turned, looking up into a face she would never have expected. “...Wait, really?”

[maramcna]

@lcfthaunted sc

"Clean yourself up. you're getting blood all over the place."

[hvndredbattles]

Honestly, Richie's glad for the excuse to get away from the simpering of the others of the peerage. (Even if that excuse had come with exorbitant amounts of concern over a little blood.) Trouble is, he can't find a single fucking bathroom in this place.

“ you’re hurt because of me. the least i can do is fix it. ” @lcfthaunted

“It's really not that big a deal.” She's still following him, though, and you know? Maybe she's more familiar with the grounds than he is. “Just need to find a bloody loo...”

[lighthouseborn]

She Creature Starters || @lcfthaunted

“My past is quite different than what I've told you.”

  Henry's laughter filled the cabin. Neither dry nor sarcastic, just laughter. Such laughter! like he'd been told a joke, or shown some fantastic sort of trick. Such that it took him effort to exert control over, hands held up to pacify until he could find his words. “Forgive me. I don't aim to make light of all that brought you here.”

  And the Lady Mela –he did think that right, whatever else said and done, Lady Mela, though he was not so callous as to say such aloud– certainly must have endured something to fit so neatly beyond the reach of so-called civilization without having been born there. To climb as she had, so swiftly, toward challenging for the title of Lord. It was simply the way of things. That was what he found so funny.

  “If I took all pirates to be honest of their pasts, I would be a far more grave man.” A fathom below the earth at least. “Unless you mean to say you've come here concealed for the sole purpose of putting an end to me or mine, whether you've withheld a truth or lied entirely...” He shook his head, and shrugged. No matter. “Prove yourself to your word as you've given it. I do not demand the secret of what turned you here, Mela, to know you now. A history can die here, if you wish it.”

[steelbvtterfly]

✉️ :: mail delivery is the worst this time of year, though as you do your best in the elements you realize the address mixup may not be the worst thing in the world. a starter for @lcfthaunted

Truthfully, Aeira didn’t get that much mail. Even around the holidays, when her fridge was growing increasingly covered with cards from seemingly every family in a 100 mile radius of Berlin, she rarely got more than two or three every couple of days. Certainly she didn’t get anything more than a card from anyone. She’d known something was up the moment she’d opened the box and found the small package inside.

She tipped her head to the side as she gently pulled the box free, turning it over to inspect the label. It didn’t ring any bells for her, but then her eyes landed on the address. It was addressed to someone decidedly not herself, which did strike her as slightly odd. She was known to just about everyone in the town, especially the people who worked at the post office… But then again, she did have a penchant for having guests who could stay anywhere from a day or two to a month, and sometimes they had to have things delivered to her house, so. Perhaps it wasn’t as odd as she thought.

She squinted at the slightly smudge ink at the end of the address and suddenly it all made sense. The address might have been hers, sure, but it had originally been her house and street number clear on the other side of town. When the letters smudged it was harder to tell for sure what the letters were supposed to be. She tucked the box under her arm and fished the couple of remaining envelopes out of the mailbox. After making sure the slightly tricky latch on her mailbox was closed securely, she turned back into her house, looking over the two cards that were actually meant to be in her hands.

Once safely inside, she set the mail down on the table and shook off the snow on her hair and shoulders. She’d be going back out in it before long, of course. There was no reason to start off wet and cold. She knew the box would need to get to its destination, but it could wait until she’d dealt with her own mail. She opened both cards and read them over fondly before sticking them both on the fridge with the rest of the cards she’d gotten so far. That task aside, she turned her attention to the box instead.

She essentially had the layout of the town memorized, and the address the box was intended to go wasn’t really that far away. She’d always liked walking outdoors on a warmer winter day, which it was. Just warm enough to ease the aches that came along with the coldest temperature, while still being cold enough to snow – a rare treat.

She considered the name of the intended recipient. Maisy Stengaard. She wasn’t familiar with the name, which definitely was odd. She knew just about everyone in the town, at least in passing. Most of them had asked for her help with something at one time or another. Perhaps a recent transplant? Aeira had to admit it had been a while since she had gotten into town, so most of the people who needed her help had come to her rather than the other way around. Either way, it hardly mattered. She had a long walk ahead of her and a package to deliver.

A walk of that length in the snow would require much warmer layers than the run to the mailbox had required, but after quickly bundling up a little more and pulling on her boots, Aeira set off. As she walked she had to turn down at least four offers of rides from her neighbors. She found that she actually enjoyed the experience, and it went by faster than she expected. Before long she was standing at the end of the street, the address she was looking for halfway down the block. It looked like a business, though either it was closed for the holidays or it wasn’t open yet. She could only hope someone would be around to take the box.

Feeling a strange sort of trepidation, she walked up the street and peered in through the window in the front door. There didn’t seem to be any sign of anyone. On the off chance there was someone in the back, or otherwise out of sight, Aeira raised her hand and knocked on the door frame firmly.

[firstbcrn]

‘ we all have secrets, don't we? ’ @lcfthaunted — sent from this prompt (x) still accepting!

she couldn't be more right. there are many secrets that he's kept from his family for years, secrets that he'll never tell them for fear of changing their perception of him. he has worked so hard to cultivate a reputation of being someone dependable, of being someone so control of his own emotions and own self that when it came down to it, they could rely on him if need be. he will allow the carefully constructed façade that he's built to come crumbling down around him all for the sake of a few secrets. not only would it ruin him, but it would ruin them, which is what he's tried so very hard to avoid. ‘ that we do. and i think, perhaps, many are better left unsaid. ’

[ru5t]

Also 🐇 for mazie and/or rei

If you drop a 🐇 in my inbox I'll give you some starter ideas for how your muse might fit into the Dustverse!

!!! Mazie center city! Mazie center city!!

either just because of family connections (nepotism and generational wealth are very present) or that and she's some kind of.. spokesperson, the Face for a particular campaign, etc., but either way she's giving ice queen she's giving shiny white halls and polished composure (she's giving Troubled history that has been Scrubbed because her family has the connections are resources for her to have done something and it not matter; she's giving Center City but connected)

from that; she could absolutely technically be killjoy sympathetic if you wanted. there are connections and spy stuff going on- it doesn't tend to go big, because the resources just don't favor the desert and if you destroy the city there's concern that all of the safe zones disappear (it's unclear how much of it is safe to occupy organically and how much of it is because of city operations) but there are threads of stuff like that, smuggling rings and informants

or; doesn't have to be either side sympathetic but simply gaming the system in place for whatever ends she sees fit. there's crime on both sides of the city's walls, and a lot of illicit activity in Neon and lot of Permitted Activity in the upper echelon and in general just. a lot of people playing other people and all of it is such a small world, relatively speaking, such a singular Top for people to be looking at and fighting over. you control the right resources, you control battery and the zones: there are definitely people trying to seize hold of that (((i'm not sure they know how interconnected the three settlements are but. if you can take one why not all three am i right?)))

could also be city sympathetic. either drinking the propaganda kool-aid and believing in the pretty lie, or just of the opinion that whatever darkness and practices it has, some form of organization is better than the lawless, riotous madness of the desert and the folk who crawl it. necessary evils, etc. etc.

Rei's harder to place definitively i'm almost leaning.....

desert-born? though her parents would have been refugees from the city at some point? and part of a more settled community. traders, probably. (traders generally don't do any capital-F Fighting, but do serve as like, supply stations and some go-betweens for smugglers and the general desert. they're still decidedly killjoy they just aren't necessarily the ones starting problems with the patrols or attacked city walls, you know?)

alternatively could be scraping by somewhere mid or lower city? there's plenty of people in the city who aren't into the Control and the Medicine, but they fear the desert for a mixture of very reasonable reasons and city-side false information reasons. the desert is dangerous, and largely lawless, and to leave is to be branded an Enemy. the city is Lawful, though the law is unjust. and if you keep your head down it's possible for you to just live a life. you just have to decide if living is more important to you than freedom.

....which could also just be ->some people in the city are part of an underground; they aren't Killjoys per se but they are connections, usually for smugglers, and may harbor fugitives sometimes while still keeping to city life the rest of the time

either one could lend to her family history, with her dad, being sudden and random or something that's directly or indirectly BL/ind's fault (for instance, their medical system being very pay to win)

[cruelprincae]

You’re a reasonably handsome man, if one likes that sort of thing.

𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐘 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.

Having been classified as the fairest of the Folk as well as having heads turn to gawk in awe when he walks amongst both mortals and Fae alike, Cardan knows not what to make of the sentiment ― at least, not at first. There is evident perplexion masking his sharp features, with manicured brows drawing in to form the deepest of frowns and black eyes rimmed in gold stare at the girl as though she is something alien, as though he knows not what to make of her.

No one has described him as reasonably handsome before this. He has been breathtakingly beautiful, surely, ethereal to the breaking point of mortal's minds, but never reasonably handsome ― as though he is nought but yet another of the thousand fish in the sea, as though there is nothing that renders him special, better than others. On the contrary, the feelings of unimportance and unworthiness reign and cause a pang of pain to jolt through his chest, similar to the feeling of an iron fist gripping his heart. And iron fist that ever so tightens, never to let go again.

He fancies not the emotions such commentary brings to the surface. He mislikes how it brings forth the unwanted memories of being nought but an inconsequential Prince of Elfhame, with little more his importance than the fact he is one of Eldred's children; a nobody when compared next to the extraordinary abilities and talents his siblings possessed.

Of course, that could not be it; the opinions of many did not pale before the distasteful comment of one. If anything, such comes to show that the girl is tasteless and, other than that, blind, for the ethereal beauty of the Fae caressed the strings of all mortals, whether they wished to, or not. Most certainly blind, then.

❛ Excuse you ? ❜ Comes the affronted inquiry. His voice is healthier sharp, his tongue laced with bitterness and poison, ready to lash out as though he is still a young Fae, reacting to the taunts and pulls of the courtiers and his siblings that dared come a tad too close to his general proximity. At least he is not biting her. ❛ For your information, should you know, one likes that sort of thing. In fact, there is nought on me that one mislikes. Perhaps, you ought to get your eyesight checked, or there is a grave chance the issue runs deeper, and you need a medic's professional point of view. ❜

[strangcmatters]

Ykw fuck it yolo. @lcfthaunted

[thesamecoiin]

written for @lcfthaunted

It's 7am, and normally Sorcha wouldn't deign to lift her head from the pillow for at least another three hours - or more, if she could help it - but waking to the other side of the bed empty and cold had put something of a damper on her enthusiasm for staying there. She sits up, yawns, stretches, and considers her surroundings as she decides what to do about this turn of events.

The first thing to grab her attention is what she can hear. Christmas music is drifting into the bedroom from some other part of the flat. It's the old sort, crooners and woodwinds, and as she realizes that, she couples it with the date and realizes it can mean only one thing.

A few minutes later, bare feet on wood floors take her near silently to the doorway to the living space. She leans in the doorway, watching the woman decorating the tree. A tree that Sorcha's certain wasn't there when she had last left the room, but that's beside the point.

She doesn't move, doesn't speak, making a point of staying unnoticed for a while. When she is noticed, she smiles.

"Decided not to risk my help this time after last year, huh?"

[crowshoots]

♚ Have you ever made any lasting friends through RP?

rp positivity meme.

yup yup yup!!! i mentioned it in my other post but an event i was apart in a few years back resulted in friendships that i still have today and am immensely grateful for! one of these friendships is @crowgreeds if you can tell by our matching urls because we joined together LOL. i’ve had the chance to be able to rp and talk with siri over three different rp communities + discord, and i’ve been thankful for every day. another honorable mention is my friend sparky / @heartslight who i’m SOOO jazzed to start writing with again since it’s been a long time since we’ve done it on tumblr!

[pistolslinger]

✉ Say something nice about someone you follow!

JUST A RLY CUTE MEME :]

reaches my hands out to @kcrclrezni & @builtmyth ..................... not only r they delightful ooc, but the way our muses just CLICKED has me cryign daily. it’s a testament to how in tune w/ their characters they are, but also the fact they are both phenomenal writers, too. also ya i’ll be the first to admit they are also both GRADE A MENACES. i say this with LOVE.