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george villiers

(no subject)

George can't honestly remember a time when he'd been this happy. Maybe he'd come close, some days, in France -- once he'd really understood what he was there to do, and given himself over to it? Or there had been days at court when it had been less of a struggle to stay in James' light, and he'd been able to relax, and enjoy the life that he'd bought for himself. In Darrow, though, things are simpler -- he works, sometimes, playing cello or the viola de gamba that he'd found in a dusty corner of a music shop and scrimped coins to buy, and he rides, and he has friends, and someone who shares his bed, and...

Some days it feels like a perfect kind of life.

A few days after his second birthday celebrated in Darrow, he finds himself in a bookstore, browsing the shelves. He finds himself drawn to the history section, idly scanning the spines for titles that suggest events that he might be familiar with. He's just put back a volume about the wives of Henry VIII when he sees them, two books, side by side: The Scapegoat: The Brilliant, Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham and, next to it, The King's Assassin.

He takes the former, leafing through it. It's a lot of information to take in. Duke, not Earl, beloved of Charlies as well as James, married (with children) to Katie Manners, of all people. He remmebers her from childhood, and always thought that she was dull, and weird. Children. Whispers that, along with his mother, through malice or misadventure, that he'd had a hand in the death of the King, of James in 1625, which was only eleven years after he'd left Perth, and found himself in Darrow.

And then he sees it, in black and white: Minutes later, he was dead.

Shit. Shit. He flips back a few pages, increasingly agitated, and finds the date. 23rd August, 1628. He'd been thirty five years old. Less than ten years older than he finds himself, standing there in a different world entirely.

So why does it feel like the world is suddenly caving in? The book still in his hands, he sits down, heavily, on the floor in front of the shelf. It feels like his bones no longer wish to do him service. The world spins and, suddenly, he can't do anything but put his head between his knees.

ooc: George has just found out that a) historians believe that, wittingly or un, he had a part in the death of his lover, James I and b) that he was assasinated, aged 35. He's not taking it well. Witness his breakdown or find him on the street afterwards. If your pup has knowledge of English history OR has read The Three Musketeers, they'll almost certainly have heard of The Duke of Buckingham.

Entry tags:

can't not think of all the cost

Dated March 23, 2025:

In his other hand is the sheet music, and he doesn't know if he wants to hold it to his chest and treasure it or tear it into pieces. Even if he did know, it wouldn't be his decision. Jae had too many of those stolen from him already anyway; he isn't going to be the one to take another one.

Following the arrival of some familiar sheet music, Sihyun and Jae-eun talk about what it means, and Jae has some big feelings.

[ HERE | ongoing | probable mentions of past violence and/or self-harm ]

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like the holding of hands, like the breaking of glass, like the bonfire that burns

Dated August, 2025:

And she wanted this to be fun. They both hadn't had enough room for that in their former lives, and something they were doing in service of their own living space (she couldn't call it her home, almost as if superstitiously not wanting to jinx anything, but it made her feel warm all over every time he did) should be enjoyable, not a chore or a slog.

An errand to pick up supplies for ship renovations leads to an unexpected detour to part of Jyn's past.

[ HERE | ongoing | pg ]

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(no subject)

It wasn't an addiction; he could stop any time he liked. The bright lights. The sterile organization. The shamelessly displayed opulence. He had money to spare, and spare it he did. The guestroom in their penthouse had been converted into a closet, which he'd filled from top to bottom. His treasures spilled over into other rooms, as well. He made regular donations to charity in order to fill the space once again.

Online shopping was a convenience he found disgustingly pleasurable, but it would never overtake the urge he had to endlessly peruse the aisle of store after store, touching things with the awed reverence of a child.

While he often found antique stores woefully depressing, preferring the sleek newness of department stores and boutiques, he'd wandered idly into a secondhand shop that had seemingly sprung up overnight in an empty retail space near the park.

Despite having only been open for a short time, it had the musty, lived-in stench that hovered within the walls of all such establishments. Dust and incense and floral potpourri. And with many such merchants, this shop had an abundance of dolls.

He found himself staring at one for an untold number of minutes. A porcelain manikin in cream silk with blush pink trim around an oversized bonnet. Golden hair, and nearly translucent skin. While it was not an exact duplicate, it was eerily like the one he'd gifted Claudia on her fifteenth birthday.

A gift which she had already outgrown; pale and regal and womanly as she would never be. It was a cruel gift, he saw now. He could not recall what possessed him to purchase such a thing, and Claudia, still exuberant and clinging to youth, had kissed his cheek in thanks. It would be years before she would begin rightfully to hate him.

Stepping forward, Lestat gripped the doll's fragile head within his hand and squeezed. It crumbled to powder and toppled to the linoleum floor.

"Hey!" Shouted a young woman manning the counter across the room. She came at him, fury in her eyes, but stopped dead when he turned on her and spoke a wordless warning:

See nothing, if you want to keep your life.

Placidly, she turned away, and gathering himself, Lestat swept out of the store and into the night.

Claudia...

Claudia, who was now dead. Even if he had not learned the truth from Daniel's book, he would've known it to be true. He'd known from the start that the madness that claimed so many of their kind would take her, sooner rather than later. The madness which consumed Nicki and nearly took his Louis. The madness which threatened him, when he was at his loneliest.

And now, he'd doomed another to that fate. Eddie, who seemed to have taken his transformation in such stride, but who clung to humanity in a way that could only end in disaster. He saw it, again and again, and yet he had not been able to stop himself.

Selfish. Evil.

Lurching down the sidewalk, he came upon a young man, ruddy and full of life, and was on him in an instant, dragging the boy into the darkness of an alley and draining the life from him. For a moment, he was satisfied. Bolstered. The natural order, righted.

But as he pulled back to look down upon the boy's face, now pale and his eyes glassy in death, Lestat felt a cold terror grip him. Terror of the act. Terror of himself. Revolted, he nearly abandoned the corpse where he stood, at risk of exposing himself and his kind to the ire of those who might want revenge for such a crime.

And that would be just, would it not?

[[Lestat having a little crisis. Find him in the antique shop, or witness his murder of an NPC, or really any time before, after, or in-between. Open to all. Oh, and this is obviously timed to after dark.]]

Entry tags:

welcome to the strange world

She has to admit, Zoey and Mira were right. It's not that Rumi doubted them, of course, about the bathhouse being relaxing in theory. It's just that practice was always going to be a different matter with all her patterns on unavoidable display. How could she ever have relaxed through the fear of being recognized for what she is, what she never wanted to be? Though she knows now that she should have trusted her friends, she's slowly, carefully learning to be gentle with herself about it all. She spent her whole life being told otherwise, after all. Trusting her own gut instinct that her friends loved her enough to embrace her was nearly impossible when Celine had so clearly told her so many times that it could never happen, that they would never understand.

( cut for length and mild spoilers )

"Think, Rumi, come on," she hisses under her breath, gaze darting around. At least with her hair wrapped in the towel, her distinctive hair color is mostly obscured. There's nothing here to tip her off to where she might be, though it seems like it might be more of a tourist area with the signs mostly in English and the prevalence of white people. She needs to get to her phone and call Bobby ASAP, but she can't get into her purse until she can get somewhere hidden, somewhere she can get dressed. "Oh, this is bad."

[ Semi-traditional debut! Rumi has arrived in Darrow straight from the spa. First tag can explain to her; everyone after can either do the same or find her later with damp hair and a welcome packet, hunting for answers. Open to all until this says otherwise! ]

Entry tags:

a world like a game where there's only victory or lose

Job hunting is easy. Shion hardly understands why people complain about it so much. For that matter, he doesn't know why he put it off so long. He's known for a few months now that he really should have, but he's been too busy enjoying Sophie's presence to do it. It's for her sake, though, that he needs one. Her monthly stipend from the city goes directly into savings to ensure she's taken care of if something happens and he vanishes from this place, or for when she's older and wants to fend for herself (some. As long as he's around, she's always going to have him behind her). With that being the case, they're operating off his own stipend, which wouldn't be too much of a problem if he had any impulse control whatsoever.

Oh, for his own sake, it's not that bad. He did perfectly fine on his own, particularly since he didn't buy nearly as much in the way of groceries back then. But he has his heart set on ensuring Sophie gets every little thing she ever wants, as well as a lot of things she's never asked for. It's not that he can't say no to her. If and when the situation calls for it, he can and will. Most of the time, though, he just wants to indulge her every whim, as much for his own sake as for hers. And sometimes that requires money.

He'll have that in spades now. His interview with the advertising firm ended in an instant job offer settled entirely on his own terms, including a very generous salary and flexible work hours, mostly remote. Sure, he used his abilities to get him there, but, well, the job is all about being persuasive, and he certainly is that. Besides, he knows he's good at the work. Vesselsoft wasn't such a massive success only because Jakah's a genius, after all. When it comes to marketing, it's not much of a stretch to say that Shion's one, too. This agency may not have offered anyone else such a high starting salary, but they'll get the quality they've paid for. He doesn't need his powers for that.

This calls for a celebration, of course. He's on his way home to the Bramford to get Sophie, the best girl in the world who can be trusted to mind herself for an hour, though he tries not to let that happen unless it's necessary. They'll go out for ice cream and to play somewhere and have a nice dinner. On the way there, though, he catches sight of a window full of toys and comes to a stop. His smile turns wistful as he looks inside the store, looking over the variety of plush toys visible. So much changes over the years, but the things kids like tend to come back to the same types of things over and over again; looking at these now reminds him of his time in Bashkmosha and Noa's toy store there. Granted, this one probably doesn't have rows of guns hidden on the wall behind secret panels, but he can't rule it out, really.

That smile widens into a grin when he lowers his gaze and spies a medium-sized stuffed wolf, just the right size for cuddling. None of his favorite wolves have been grey, of course, but it is recognizably a wolf and that's what matters. He has to have it. Or, more accurately, he needs to be able to give it to Sophie.

"How much is that doggy in the window?" he singsongs to himself. "The one with the waggly tail..."

[ Come find Shion walking around downtown Darrow looking at toys, inside or outside the shop! Or find him on his way to/at the Bramford with plushies in tow. He's in a good mood, great time to meet him. :D Open until this says otherwise. ]

Entry tags:

Silent Darrow linkdump

March 2025:

Not too many decades ago, he would have let her fend for herself. He might not even have done this much, unwilling to interfere and stick his neck out for strangers. He can't do that anymore. She's so young and so scared, and she needs help, so he'll help. Hopefully she's good at keeping secrets. He's cultivated a reputation for frivolity, and killing monsters doesn't really go well with that.

Shion and Mouse have a less than pleasant first encounter.

[ HERE | in progress | mild Silent Darrow violence ]

"At least there's someone here who makes for good company," she huffs, half-teasing. Maybe she should be more worried about these things, but she's faced worse, and Willow trained her well. She interrupts herself to utter a spell, green light shooting out of the tip of her wand and very satisfyingly into one of the creatures' faces, before she spares a glance at Shion and continues. "This might be a good time to get inside."

Down in Silent Darrow, Shion finds Elora, and Elora finds out what he is.

[ HERE | in progress | mild Silent Darrow violence ]

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Dated July, 2025:

A doctor and a Mouse walk into a coffee shop. Pastry logistics are discussed.

[ HERE | ongoing | PG ]

Entry tags:

(no subject)

( spoilers for the very end of kpdh ) As she steps out of the alley, the world does a strange little spin around her. Lines blur, colors desaturate and then brighten again. The alley she’s standing in front of isn’t the alley she’d left in Seoul.

“What?” she breathes. She frowns, looking around, turning in a tense circle.

“Rumi?” she calls, looking back down the alley. Rumi’s standout purple hair and Zoey’s bright yellow hoodie are nowhere to be seen. “Zoey?” she calls, louder. She steps into the alley, but instead of taking her back to the bathhouse, it leads to the backside of a—

“...Pizzeria?” she reads slowly, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. It takes a heartbeat longer to realize that she’s reading the word in English, not hangul, and Mira blinks in alarm. “What the f— what the fuck?”

Darting back out of the alley, Mira skids to a stop and takes in the rest of the street she’s on. Without realizing it, her body has gotten ready to fight, muscles bunched and hand poised to summon her glaive from the honmoon. Everything is different. There’s no corn dog vendor, no paver stones, no bank or anything else that’s supposed to be on the street at the end of the alley they’d taken.

Because this isn’t that street. Somehow, she’s in a different neighborhood. And judging by all the English signs everywhere, she’s probably in a completely different country.

The how is what scares her more. With the honmoon in place, this can’t be some trick by Gwi-ma, can it? But what else could it be? She’s been transported to an entirely different place, her girls are nowhere to be seen.

Mira fumbles her phone out of her pocket and slides it unlocked. The top right corner shows no signal for long enough that her palms start to sweat, but then it blinks and four bars fill in. She quickly finds her group chat with Rumi and Zoey.

where r u guys

She hits send and watches the message think about it before a red exclamation mark appears beside it. With a growl, Mira shakes her phone and tries again.

hello??
zoey RUMI ZOEY!!!
THIS ISN’T FUNNY

Each message is met with a red exclamation mark signaling that the messages are undeliverable. She growls harder, and clutches her phone tight so she doesn’t just chuck it. She looks around again, but this time she tries to take in the people around her, instead of the surroundings themselves.

They’re just people. Friends hanging out, people walking to or from work, sitting at bus stops and little tables outside little cafes. Mira’s frowning as she takes it in, hand still tightly clamped around her phone.

“Where… am I?” she asks.

[ NEW PUP!! Find Mira anywhere that's convenient for your pup, at any time that's convenient for your pup. This is a semi-traditional debut, so the first person can explain what's going on and then everyone else can find her walking around with her packet, looking frustrated and lost XD please come say hi!!! ]

Entry tags:

summer comes yelling, loud as hope

Dated mid-June, 2025:

All sorts of ingredients for cakes and cupcakes and cookies are in front of her now, a couple recently-acquired recipe books propped up as well. Lately, she's been experimenting with concepts she never heard of before Darrow. There seems to be a big market for baked goods that are vegan, gluten free, sugar free, or some combination of those, and she's practiced enough to feel confident while also still wanting to have the recipes as guidelines. If Pride is about people being able to love who they love, there should be no dietary restrictions on that, either.

And, on one stretch of counter, she has icing ingredients and mixtures in progress, an assortment of organic food coloring, and her phone screen pulled up to a page listing different flags associated with different sexual orientations. In the end, there will be cakes decorated to correspond to them.

Elora borrows Shion's kitchen to do some baking for Pride, and hangs out with him and Sophie.

[ i, ii | ongoing | n/a ]

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the caelestis apis - gathering post

While Petros Park has usually fallen quiet by this time of night, on this night, the night of the Apisids meteor shower, a gentle hum of activity buzzes through the evening air. Throughout the park, but mostly centered on a large hill in the middle of it all, people are stretched out on blankets, peering up at the night sky with binoculars, or maybe taking turns with the surprisingly large number of amateur telescopes present.

Ringed around the hill at a good distance are booths for vendors, food, and Darrow's Astrological Society.

Among those booths, appearing for the first time as an official vendor, is Leviathan. Sabrina would be here tonight anyway, if for nothing else than her curiosity about the constantly shifting night sky. But tonight, she's got books and some celestially themed items, displayed carefully at a booth wrapped in twinkling fairy lights.

It really is a lovely, lovely night-- balmy and warm with a gentle breeze, and the air full of light conversation and murmuring.

Sabrina thinks maybe it could use one more thing.

All it takes is catching the firefly that's been floating lazily around her booth, and carrying it to the edge of things in her cupped hands.

"Hello, little friend," she croons, and utters an incantation that spreads in a gently glimmering cloud as illusionary fireflies begin to flit through the air. By no means is it an invasion, but there's enough to reflect the shooting stars overhead.

"Perfect," says Sabrina, hopping up onto her table to watch the lights.

[Meteor shower gathering post! Tag in, tag each other, enjoy a chill summer night!]