I NEVER SAID I Don't Love You. The Baron Should Know By Now Exactly How Carlisle Feels For Him, & So

      ❝ I NEVER SAID i don't love you. ❞ the baron should know by now exactly how carlisle feels for him, & so his anger does not dissipate with the obvious ploy for pity. if anything, it only runs hotter. ❝ it's like you don't even listen to me when i speak. i may as well discuss moral philosophy with a brick wall. you think you know everything one could possibly ever know already & that no one could possibly have a valid argument if it's from a viewpoint you don't want to consider. it's infuriating. you infuriate me. ❞ & yet, when he considers taking the suggestion & leaving, the idea is repellant to him. something nameless keeps carlisle here, an unseen tether compelling him to continue arguing with this man who he knows will never agree with him. for yet another long night just seems more bearable if they are together — even if they find themselves once again at each other's throats.

100  —  the chain  by  fleetwood mac - from @musecraft​ (carlisle) for baron

“ Go back to hiding in the shadows with your rats. Damn your lies. If you don’t love me now you have never loved me.”

i'm officially using beta on replies from here on out ! for anyone who replies using legacy, i'll likely just trim both previous replies so the post just shows mine until we all make the switch. i'm figuring it out a little at a time, thanks to everyone for being so patient with me ~

HIS EYES COULD BE  chips of jade, shallow  &  glassy yet reflecting little.  but howl's smile is strangely sincere;  he likes this one.  & the wizard inclines his head, an arm sweeping widely out to accent his bow with a flourish of royal blue silk.  ❝ it seems that my reputation precedes me. ❞  he does not deny it. & she does not cower away as most women would upon recognition, drawing a little closer instead.  it’s undeniably intriguing.  ❝ & yet you do not seem too frightened  —  for your heart, or any other lovely part of yourself. ❞  she seemed to embody not only her obvious beauty, but bravery as well.  oh yes, he liked her very much.   ❝ perhaps it is because you have me at a distinct disadvantage already, knowing my name while i do not know yours. ❞

      LONG AGO,  she might have told him he looked dashing — even regal.  &  nadja could certainly admit that he was still handsome, especially now that he was returned to his former self by the djinn's magic.  but the fact remained that staten island was an entirely different world than the one they had met in all those centuries ago, back when the baron had wielded broad power  &  influence  —  &  he had very little of either now.  & nadja almost feels sorry for him.   ❝ that's just it, baron :  no one really wants to look like a noble anymore.  in twenty twenty-three, the hot look is more sporty peasant.  it’s much better to be relatable, you know. ❞  &   she pulls up her layers of skirts to reveal a pair of air jordans underneath.  ❝ like these.  i killed a man in the park for these.  i think they really boost my street cred. ❞

❝ why are you dressed like a sad silk trader? ❞  — for baron from nadja sent by @musecraft​

     IT HAD ONLY BEEN THREE HUNDRED YEARS AGO when Baron had been setting the latest fashion trends. But now, it seemed, time had gotten away from him. The world was becoming an ever stranger place— the New World specifically was a very strange place. One where kings mingled with paupers and vampires assimilated rather than thrived. Baron shook his head incredulously, his fingers tracing tenderly over the finely embroidered silk. He already suspected the answer but felt compelled to ask anyway, “ Is this not what all the nobles are wearing? ”

      HIS EVERY WORD HITS HOME, & for a moment rae can only nod her head in utter shock. ❝ yeah, actually. i know exactly what you mean. ❞ it was almost unbelievable that jackson marchetti ( the swim team icon, head boy, & indisputable hunk ) of all people would struggle with anxiety. he always seemed so confident all the time, so unbelievably handsome & cool. but the symptoms of an impending panic attack are instantly recognizable — especially to someone who has firsthand experience with them. ❝ you're going to be alright. listen, just forget about it all for a second, close your eyes, & count to ten. slowly. it's something ti- something my friend showed me to do when everything seems overwhelming. it sounds strange, but it works. ❞ & rae reaches out to rest a friendly hand on his shoulder, hoping that the point of contact will help steady his breathing. ❝ here, i'll count with you, alright ? one ... two ... ❞

@musecraft​ ( rae ) sent a meme for jackson:

33. west end girls  /  pet shop boys

        “ Too many whispering voices. If, when, why, what… It just doesn’t fucking stop, you know what I mean? ”

🪐 — LUCIUS SPRIGGS  for  izzy !

‘  yes.  yes,  izzy you—  wait.  ’   half exasperated tone grinds to a halt.  his brain fights for control,  pushing back the bewilderment of it all and the dizzy   (   no pun this time   )   feeling spreading through his body.  it’s a bit comical,  this whole situation  —  they haven’t been on a first name basis until,  well,  now,  not without a bite of thorny sarcasm on lucius’ part anyway,  but this is not why he calls for a stop.  a break,  rather.  thing is,  he’s noticed it:  the limp. the..  whatever the hell happened to izzy’s foot.  and it’s late in the evening,  which means the man must have spent most of his day on his feet.  despite the infuriating sentiment izzy stirs in him almost without fail,  and the way past week’s words still kind of prick at the skin,  lucius spriggs is not,  at his core,  cruel.  and if he’s done the math right,  not even izzy deserves that.  did izzy notice it,  by the way?  how lucius breathes a little easier now that edward has left,  how his eyes don’t look for a way out and away from the man at any given time. 

'  we could sit,  you know.  it’s not much,  but i do happen to have something slightly better than the cold hard floor in here.  ’   the hand that was slowly moving through izzy’s hair   (   pretty soft,  actually   )   gets dislodged only so he can wrap it around the man’s wrist.  he doesn’t ask.  it’s a bit early in their tentative truce to go for the metaphorical throat like that.  maybe they’ll get there,  maybe they won't  —  for now,  lucius simply leads him towards the small cot stored against the opposite wall.  he mostly sleeps by himself now,  though pete visits sometimes,  because he ended up waking half the people on deck once,  screaming for help and tasting saltwater on his tongue after a freakishly vivid nightmare.   '  hello,  ’   he greets with a small grin curling around his mouth.   '  it’s still yes,  if you’re wondering.  ' 

     GENTLENESS IS ALMOST UNBEARABLE  to izzy hands  —  not because he doesn’t like it;  it’s far too early for him to try to work out how he feels about any of this  —  but because he has no idea how to respond to it.  he’d expected rushed hands  &  whispered instructions.  but lucius surprises him at every turn, seemingly content to take things at a more leisurely speed. he stops izzy before he can kiss him again, the younger man takes him by the wrist just above his glove  &  leading him deeper into the little room.  only when they're seated facing each other, his injured foot hanging off the edge of the meager sleeping cot, is izzy brave enough to meet his eyes.  &  to his surprise, he finds lucius looking back at him with a kind smile. still offering. 

                        something about being on a bed makes everything feel a little more serious,  &  izzy feels his breath hitch as heat floods his face.  the fear is still there, familiar as ever, a deep-seated instinct that urges him to fight or flee from some vaguely perceived threat,  but he knows that lucius won't harm him,  &  edward isn't here to be angry with him for forgetting his place.  &  izzy may be many things, but he is not a coward.

            so he pushes defiantly through the unpleasant sensation to press their lips together once again, more gently this time.  his skin flushes at the point of contact, but izzy forces himself to match lucius's unhurried pace, lips slow  &  explorative as they move against each other.  meanwhile, his left hand reaches out  &  finds the lapel of a cotton jacket, fingers curling into the fabric  &  tugging himself a little closer.  &  izzy has never smoked the opium that ed favors for the pain, never particularly cared for tobacco or felt the need to indulge in rum.  but as he leans further still into the kiss, he finds himself thinking that if he isn’t careful, he could quickly become addicted to this.