#Briarwood Home

[southern-gothic-comic]

Page 69

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(Author Notes)

Panel 1: Laudna and Imogen are sleeping, side by side.

Panel 2: We see their shared dream. Matilda, now around 20, is lying with her cheek resting against someone's buttoned waistcoat. There's a wound on her head and streams of blood running down either side of her neck.

Matilda: . . . Mama . . .

Panel 3: Farther angle. She struggles to consciousness to find herself on a cart half-buried in a pile of other bodies, lifeless and bloodied. 

Panel 4. Underneath a giant dead tree. From below she can see the limp form of a red-haired girl in green being hoisted up by a noose around her neck. A headdress of antlers has been cruelly affixed to her head by nails.

Panel 5: Then it's her turn. The gloved hand of a woman we don't see clearly takes her tearstained face gently and turns it up towards her. Matilda looks up at her pleadingly.

Lady Briarwood: Wait.

Matilda: please Lady Briarwood please help me please tell them please

Panel 6: But she only adjusts the blue feather in her hair so it's tucked more firmly behind her ear, which has been roughly shorn into a pointed shape like an elf's.

Panel 7: The end of a rope is cast up over a black bare branch of the tree, silhouetted against the red moon.

Matilda: Wait . . . stop . . .  no no stop . . . no . . . I'm alive . . . 

Panel 8: Her head falls back, casting her gaze up into the canopy of branches, and she can do nothing more but weep soundlessly as the rope is looped around her neck. 

Matilda: I'm alive I'm alive I'm ali--

[otterlyart]

One body. Two souls.

[annemarieyeretzian]

fearne saying “I think what laudna doesn’t understand is that she’s powerful without [delilah]. I think she thinks she needs her.” and chetney saying “that was almost somebody entirely different. I wouldn’t know if she has a choice.” and asking “does she?”

[antlereed]

hm. that jazz lounge singer au is looking more and more appealing

[shorthaltsjester]

thinking about the scene between vex and percy at the end of campaign one where after over a hundred episodes of the two of them as snarky assholes (affectionate but factual) helping to fight dragons and gods, they both buckle under the weight of just. missing their families in a way that’s fresh to both of them in different ways, where percy finally has the room to admit what’s been taken from him and what he let himself lose in his commitment to vengeance (the ability to actually Grieve) and where vex just watched her brother walk into death off towards their mother. and it’s been a horrible day, and percy confesses that he was going to be a clockmaker, once.

and then, three decades later, we see the two of them elevated to a less accessible status through the eyes of bell’s hells, where they’re to be the judges whether laudna gets to come back, where The De Rolos™ are leaders and percy is a hardass and vex is a lady, except there’s an intricate clock tower in this Whitestone’s cityscape, except ashton goes to punch a statue bust and several brown bears occupy his surrounding environment. and vex sees a face not unlike her own that was killed precisely for that fact and commits to helping her and percy sees a face too much like his own and gives them a hard time until he’s standing surrounded by the crushed glass of his home and offering genuine advice about how to move forward.

and to me what was so compelling about vex and percy both as individuals and as two people who fell in love with each other was that they both had walls for different reasons that functioned in very similar ways where they didn’t have to admit the things they knew/felt were missing in themselves. but by the end of their campaign those walls aren’t gone but they have, like, doors and windows now or something. and that’s present when we see them again from the more removed view of campaign 3, percy’s harshness softens for his daughter, vex helps bell’s hells but also ensured that should laudna bring delilah back then whitestone was protected and, god!!!! they’re perfect delicious characters genuinely and the way that matt makes the duality that defines those characters (and their relationship and whitestone itself) where they are stoic and cold and harsh but they’re also warm and kind and silly. that’s narrative that’s character creation and development that’s environmental storytelling that’s to be loved (and to love) is to be changed.

sorry but tonight’s 4sd has been fantastic and the group talking about the inherent shittiness of whitestone’s geographic and historic placement and the resonance of seeing vex and percy and percy’s advice to ashton has me thinking so many thought’s because. what if whitestone was already tending towards uninhabitability and what if it got worse when the briarwoods diminished even the warmth the sun tree could provide but. what if the last son of the ruling family returned and what if he fell in love and that was enough not to cancel out the harshness of whitestone but to amend it and add something to it. something something the mistress of the grey hunt protects whitestone from the harshness of the parchwood, something something percy’s speech to vex about why he gave her the one title she’d have to earn, something something vex was already doing the work of the mistress of the grey hunt simply by caring about and standing by percy — even before it was love — in the face of orthax and the briarwoods and death blast coffins and deals with devils.

[thegoodgayshit]

we are not talking about what Chetney said to Laudna last session enough.

"he's lost more than all of us"

Saying that as a justification on why orym should keep the sword to LAUDNA. The girl who watched as her family and herself were brutally murdered by the Briarwoods, then being risen from the dead and chased as far away from any semblance of home she could still have. The girl who lived alone in the woods for 30 years before getting anywhere close to a family.

Like yes. Laudna has Imogen and the rest of the hells. and yes, Orym lost his husband and father in law. But he still has a home. A purpose to fight for. A doting mother. A mentor who knows what he's gone through. A place to return to. Friends who would die for him both in and out of the hells.

I truly think in that moment, Chetney was more talking about how Orym's loss hit harder than some of their others. But god DAMN he couldn't have worded that in a way to isolate Laudna more.

And marisha ray with the fuckin "thank you. but do not ever speak to me about loss again." THAT VOICE. That crack at the end?? The way she could barely get it out she was so angry and sad??

Way to go for showing dnd players how to do "it's what my character would do" right. Fuckin out of this world delivery this episode.

[quietblueriver]

**Update: now 1k longer, edited, and with two additional nights' worth of obsessive CR thoughts. Much like how to hit post/publish without going back to change a million things, I have yet to figure out the line between rb and "so different it deserves a new post" and maybe never will!

Also now on AO3.

----

Three cheers for the surprisingly lengthy, emotionally complex conversation in Ep. 96. Still thinking about that devastating rooftop moment, and never not thinking about Imogen Temult, so here's this, in which Imogen visits her favorite place without her favorite person, gets a surprise visitor, and has some thoughts about Laudna and their future. Some light spoilers for Ep. 96.

-

There was a cool breeze ruffling the fabric of her skirt against the skin of her leg, and Imogen took a moment to bask, eyes closed, face turned up to the warmth of the sun. When she blinked open her eyes, she found exactly what she expected: the old oak that took up a corner of the sprawling yard, a faded-white bench swing hanging from one sturdy branch; the little shelter for firewood, empty at the moment, a green wheelbarrow parked just beside it; the raised garden beds bursting with color that framed a pathway to the porch steps where she sat. The most familiar place she had never been. 

Home. 

“Of course,” she breathed out. Her mind’s decision to bring her here was at once almost unbearably cruel and a kindness she was surprised she could grant herself, and tears burned at the back of her eyes as she ran her palms over the smooth, dark-stained wood of the step next to her hip.

The sound of her own voice made her realize exactly how quiet the world around her was–no birds chirping, empty hitching posts, bees gone from the thriving patch of wildflowers. The house behind her waited still and free of the whistle of the kettle and shuffle of stockinged feet, missing the absent-minded humming and chorus of mundane thoughts that made Imogen feel most at home.  

 “Of course,” she said again, a little louder and a lot more resigned. 

It didn’t seem right, that the chasm in Imogen’s stomach, already bottomless, could somehow grow deeper, but that was what was happening, her mind returning to Laudna’s skin under her lips on that rooftop, Laudna’s body wrapped in blankets and shifting quietly away from Imogen. 

She felt like a coward, letting her go again, flying back through that window, turning her own body into itself in bed. She could’ve stayed, should’ve stayed, should’ve pushed. But then, it was Laudna’s choice. That was the whole point, wasn’t it? Giving Laudna the choice, the control, the autonomy she’d had taken from her for so long? 

This wasn’t the first time she’d prepared herself to lose Laudna. She had watched FCG, well-intentioned, try to force her back to them at Whitestone. She had understood, even as she’d wanted to kill them a little. But when it was her turn, Imogen made sure Laudna knew it was her choice and that Imogen would never try to take that from her. It was still true. Imogen loved Laudna far too much to try to force her hand. 

Now, though. Now there was the green ghost of Delilah Briarwood, sharp voice chasing Laudna’s like a wolf after its prey. Closer and closer and closer. 

It felt less and less like giving Laudna a choice and more and more like leaving her to be eaten. Imogen worried, always, about what that bitch was saying to Laudna, what she was doing to Laudna. She worried about how much influence she had and about whether Laudna could see it. 

But then Laudna had been the one to say that she didn’t know if there was much point in distinguishing between them anymore. 

That was it for Imogen. It was one thing if Laudna couldn’t see Delilah, couldn’t understand that her choices might not be fully her own. But Laudna knew. Laudna knew she wasn’t alone, knew Delilah was more than just a passenger, and Imogen had done all she could to be clear about Delilah’s lies and Laudna’s own power, to offer Laudna perspective on who she was to Imogen without Delilah. 

And with all of that, she had made her choice. Imogen didn’t understand. She didn’t understand how Laudna could see Delilah for what she was, for what she wanted, and still believe she could control her, still choose to try. Then again, of course she didn’t. It was so fucking messy and it had been for longer than Imogen had been alive, and anyway, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t her choice to understand; it was her choice to respect.

She could do that. It had broken her, was still breaking her, but she would always, always respect what Laudna chose for herself. She had nodded, cracked open on that rooftop. She had accepted what she heard and what it meant, for Laudna and for her and for the future she had thought they both wanted. 

I’m going to miss our little cottage, though.

She hadn’t meant it as a shot. It was grief over something she thought, hoped, Laudna might be grieving, too. It’s not like Imogen thought Laudna’s decision had been easy. 

Still, she hadn’t expected the look she received in return, the surprised, broken stare, the shaking sob and flood of ichor that Laudna tried to stem. It was like Laudna hadn’t realized that their future was there to lose. Maybe she hadn’t. Laudna never did seem to understand how much Imogen loved her, no matter how clear Imogen tried to make it. Maybe she’d heard Imogen’s very real dreams as passing thoughts. Maybe Imogen’s concession of their future had been the first time Laudna had seen it clearly. 

Or maybe things were right fucked up, and Laudna needed to cry about it. 

Either way, Imogen wasn’t fool enough to expect that Laudna’s possible moment of comprehension would change anything. Sure, she’d sounded different with the Hells, less like she was expecting death, a dead end, and more like she wanted to take back control, but Laudna also knew the rest of the Hells were less likely to respect her choices than Imogen, that any hint of her willingness to let Delilah take control, even on a suicide mission, might lead them to push Laudna away. Imogen had no doubt that Laudna loved her, had no doubt, really, that if she was right about Laudna’s realization that it meant something, but Imogen wasn’t hanging her hope on that. 

Laudna had made her choice.

“So,” she said aloud, voice soft as she took in the green grass stretched before her, the fence line separating their cottage from the forest, Laudna’s thriving tomatoes and okra, supported in their little cages. “Just me then.” 

And wasn’t that a dangerous realization. 

Because Imogen’s whole life was about control. Her mind, her body, her emotions, she knew all of them needed to be held tightly, that letting go meant danger for anyone around her. But here, now, all alone? The small, steady voice of reason inside of her lost to the reality of her isolation. “Just me,” she whispered, and in a snap, her scars burned, light flashing under and around her skin, tears falling hot down her cheeks. A storm of fear and anger and desperation and hurt let loose. The bursts of lightning that crackled around her did not set the house on fire. She might be alone, but she could never, would never, hurt what was theirs.

Instead, she stood, still burning, and walked to the top of the stairs, staring at the post that ran from the tin roof through the floor of the porch. She considered, watched little bolts strike out harmlessly at the porch and the railing. 

She’d been six years old the first time she wrecked the cleaning station in the barn, tiny, furious body pushing buckets and tack and brushes, flipping the table in a show of strength that followed her for years through drunken stories from the other stable hands. At her daddy’s hard order, she had stomped her way to her room, slamming the door with tears streaming down her face.

Imogen’s daddy hadn’t understood a lot of things about her, but he’d understood her that night. Relvin, who had all of her anger and none of her magic, had come to get her from her room and taken her to the back of the old storage barn, where he’d used a rafter to hang a densely packed sack of hay at her height. He’d taken her hand, still small enough to fit fully in his, and shown her how to make a fist. 

Now, just like he’d taught her, she curled her scarred fingers and folded her thumb across the outside, squared up to a cut of wood that was absolutely going to win this fight, and swung as hard as she could. Sure enough, with a grunt and a flash of pain, Imogen pulled back to find her knuckles bloodied and the wood smeared with dark red but as solid as ever. She contemplated her unblemished right hand, and it was only the sound of rustling grass that stopped her from another round. 

Her head shot up and toward the corner of the house and the source of the noise. She was in her own mind, her own dream, but that didn’t mean shit, really. She wiped at her eyes, hissing at the pain and glad for it and for the blood now surely on her cheeks, and she let the heat crackle the air around her. She was ready and out of patience for any bullshit. No matter the evidence of her weakness now marring the wood next to her, this place was sacred, and she was going to be pissed if somebody had come here to fight. 

Imogen relaxed, air cooling, as she took in the figure that loped toward her. He was horrifying, a mass of patchy dark hair and exposed bone, dripping ichor and torn flesh. His eyes glowed and his deadly teeth showed through his half-torn jaw. As Imogen walked down the steps to wait, she felt deep fondness at the wagging tail and lolling tongue that felt so incongruous to the rest of the hellbeast. Fun scary. 

“Hey, baby boy,” she said affectionately as he got closer, and his tail wagged harder at her voice. She leaned forward when he made it to her, cupping his face to scratch behind his jaw, wincing at the pain in her hand. His fur was mostly intact under her fingers, although the jaw itself was a blend of bone and ichor and random thin patches of hair against Imogen’s palms. “What’re you doin’ here?” 

As if in answer, he pulled back and whined, licked at her cuts and the forming bruise, the familiar sticky, black liquid cooling and covering the split skin. 

“I’m okay,” she reassured, aware that even beyond the evidence of violence, the intermittent purple static around her body probably wasn’t particularly convincing. She was right, it seemed–the tilt of his head was skeptical, and he huffed at her loudly, but his eyes were fond. Imogen saw Laudna in him so clearly in that moment that she lost her breath for a second. 

“Fuck.” 

Another whine, another lick, and Imogen conceded the point. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Maybe I’m not doin’ so good. You come all this way just to check up on me?”

He moved forward and pressed his head into her thighs, and she scratched at the parts of his back and ribs that she could, stopping when she noticed the pain in her hand was gone. Flexing, she pulled it back to look more closely, wiping the blood and ichor off carelessly on her shorts. Sure enough, the skin was healed, and Caviar was staring at her, tongue hanging from the open side of his mouth. 

She could’ve healed it herself. This was her mind, after all, and it wasn’t one of those dreams where she felt like a passenger. She could’ve stopped the pain entirely, stopped it before it ever started. She hadn’t.

Not as herself, anyway.

It wasn’t a surprise, really. It only made sense that the kindest, gentlest parts of herself would manifest this way. It had been Laudna who taught her how to love herself, and it was Laudna she wanted with her now. 

Big eyes blinked up at her, and just like the cottage, just like her knuckles, Caviar’s presence was a welcome wound, and one she’d inflicted on herself. 

Imogen fought a sob, only half successfully, and Caviar whined again. “Kinda fucked up, sweet thing,” she rasped. A drop of ichor fell from his tongue to the packed dirt in front of the stairs. She wiped her eyes again and sighed, reaching down to smooth the hair between his eyes with her thumb. “How about a little walk in the garden, yeah? And then maybe a snack?”

-

It took a minute to pull off her boots, toss them a little carelessly on the uncharacteristically empty shelf inside the door. She had nothing to hang on the shiny, empty brass hooks that waited above it, and she didn’t dwell, following Caviar through the living room to the little kitchen in the back. The kettle rested on the stove, and she filled it and set it to boil before moving to the shelves on the opposite wall. 

“Okay, Cavvy. Let’s see what we’ve got, hmm?”

There was a glass jar filled with cookies that Imogen knew were for Cav; they were fresh, and they smelled like pumpkin and cinnamon. He scarfed down two happily while she found the tea leaves. She turned to the shelves near the window where she knew her favorite mug was waiting for her next to Laudna’s. Her hand fell back to her side as she took them in, her mug and Laudna’s and the small collection of others, all in a neat and tidy line with their rims up. Imogen stared until the water boiled and the kettle whistled, stared until Caviar bumped her leg.

She put a hand absently on his head, felt bone under her ring and pinky fingers. “Your mama did that,” she said evenly, blinking and looking down at him. “This is our house.” He pressed up into her hand, and she scratched obligingly. “This is our house.” 

She ignored her own mug and pulled Laudna’s down, setting it on the table and filling the strainer in the yellow ceramic teapot. She poured the water and waited for the leaves to steep and then sipped her tea in silence as Caviar settled by her feet. A blue tea towel embroidered with a small white oleander in the corner rested over the top of one chair, smudged with orange-tinted batter and smelling of cinnamon. 

Imogen never had been a very good baker. 

-

“I think Orym was lyin’ to her.” 

Caviar’s head rested on Imogen’s thigh, just above her knee, as she lay with her arms spread wide on the worn blue and gray rug in their living room. He lifted it slightly at her words, and she brought a hand down to finger the tip of his good ear, the one without a chunk missing, the way that he liked. 

“I know he loves her,” she assured, and Caviar pushed himself up on his massive paws and shifted so that his body was pressed into hers, Imogen’s arm resting on his surprisingly dry, largely exposed ribs. “I don’t mean that. I just,” she traced bone with her index finger, staring at the wicker basket full of yarn beside the chair that Laudna favored, a cousin to the one at Zhudanna’s, “I heard them talkin’ about her, about trust, and I think Orym…He knows Delilah won’t let him close if she doesn’t trust him. He knows she’s listnin’ whenever she can. It’s about Delilah. Always fuckin’ Delilah.” 

She rolled onto her side, moving her arm so she could rest her head on her bicep and curling the other across Cav’s body. He huffed out a sigh, breath a harsher reminder of death than his mother’s, decomposition to her sweet decay. Imogen didn’t mind it. 

“He doesn’t wanna hurt Laudna.” Goosebumps formed where his cold body made contact with the exposed skin of her legs. “But he will.”

A low growl started in Caviar’s chest and Imogen made a soothing noise, noticed a stray sock under Laudna’s chair. “I know, baby. You’re a good boy.”

He was a good boy. He’d come as Delilah gained a better foothold, Imogen knew, a manifestation of Laudna’s anger and fear and hurt and power, her desire to protect.

And maybe Laudna saw him as further evidence of Delilah’s power and usefulness but Imogen knew better. Delilah would protect them only as much as it benefitted her, and it was a complicated balance when weighed against the need for Laudna to give her as little trouble as possible, sure, but one that definitely would’ve left at least a few of the Hells dead and buried several times over.

There was no calculation for Laudna. Caviar sprang readily, her body literally tearing itself open to be of use, and he snarled and snapped for the people Laudna loved. He was Laudna’s beast. 

His hackles now were built from Imogen, from love and a desire to protect that Laudna did not often extend to herself. She liked the look of it on him. The growl continued, a comforting rumble, as Imogen spelled Laudna’s name against his fur. “We’ll keep an eye on it.” 

-

She hadn’t wanted to go upstairs, but Caviar made the decision for her, interrupting her carpet brooding and disappearing around the corner to the staircase after a pointed look back at her. She followed, resigned, but stopped halfway there, eyes stuck on the pair of boots next to her own and the one now-occupied brass hook. She knew them, boots black and worn and scarf maroon and soft, big enough to use as a shawl if she wanted, Laudna’s frame so small it wrapped around her easily. She took a half-step toward them but at the impatient bark from upstairs, she tore herself away and started to climb.

He was waiting for her by Laudna’s bedside table, which was exactly as it should be–a paperback novel, spine bent so many times the title was hardly legible between the yellowed cracks, sat waiting next to another wicker basket, this one containing an embroidery hoop and some fabric. A small pin cushion peeked out of the top, clearly custom-made, the glinting metal protruding from the stuffed rat skull making Pate look even more disturbing than usual.

A white quilt with an intricate pattern of overlapping rings covered the bed, the green and gold and blue and purple striking but not garish. She sat on her side, smoothed a hand over the fabric, felt the dips and ridges of the stitches in the pattern. Caviar’s deadly claws clicked against the wood as he made his way to her, and she bit her lip for a minute before scooting over onto Laudna’s side, breathing in the smell of her on the pillow and patting the bed next to her. With menacing grace, Caviar joined her and spun once before settling, nose tucked under his tail, the curve of his spine just touching Imogen’s torso. 

She watched the rise and fall of his body, eyes moving across the ragged realities of him. A hound of ill omen, and he looked like one. He was fierce and violent, a weapon, but Laudna, who knew what it was to be used and feared, who didn’t seem to be able to see him fully as herself, had given him a name, opened her chest for him and fussed over him and, at one point, asked Imogen whether putting him in a sweater would be “undignified.” 

“Your mama’s ridiculous,” she said quietly, gratified when he remained still and unbothered. “I’m very in love with her.” A beat, her palm scrunching the quilt at her side. “I thought she knew, y’know? I thought she heard me when I…” 

She flattened the fabric again, traced one of the rings with two fingers and thought again of Laudna’s face on that rooftop. What had she thought Imogen meant all those times? What had she meant when she said Imogen could have this? That they could have this? 

She turned her head, ear against Laudna’s pillow, and stared at her own bedside table. It didn’t have anything on it aside from a small lantern, but it wouldn’t, would it? Laudna would hand her the book, and Imogen would read aloud as she worked on whatever project or rested her head on Imogen’s stomach. 

The chasm widened this time, maybe finally out of depth to reach, and its growth brought along the urge to reach over and shatter the lantern. Instead she turned her head to the other side, took in Laudna’s dresser pushed under the window, the pitcher and glasses, the glazed speckled bowl full of feathers and small bones, and a lonely sock waiting for its pair forgotten under Laudna’s wingback. 

“Real subtle,” she said to herself, less quiet than she had been with the annoyance seeping in, because what the fuck was she supposed to do about it anyway? Caviar remained undisturbed. 

Rolling her eyes, Imogen took a few deep breaths and took stock. She very well might wreck herself again, thinking about how she couldn’t have this, trying to understand why. On the other hand, she was laying in an imaginary bed in an imaginary cottage next to an imaginary version of the monster that sometimes jumped out of her girlfriend’s chest, and if she was honest with herself, she didn’t want to leave this place or the little pieces of Laudna in it, so it seemed more likely than not that the wreck had never actually stopped. 

She did not fight the turn from that thought back to Laudna on the roof. 

I’m a dead end. Laudna had said that phrase several times in the last few weeks, and Imogen hated it, scoffed at it every time, but she should’ve understood sooner that nobody calling herself a dead end really believed she had choices. Not real ones, anyway.

The only thing that was certain for Laudna was Delilah, and at the root of it all, she believed her choice was Delilah or nothing. 

And Imogen had been clear about how she felt about Delilah.

You told me once that you hate the idea of her watching you, watching us. I’m guessing that hasn’t changed?

She hadn’t heard that question for what it was: Can you really love me this way?  

Imogen shifted on the bed, hot and anxious, and Caviar whined lowly, displeased at the movement. She ran a hand through the fur at his shoulder and then stood, pacing the space between the bed and dresser.

Laudna, shaking and unable to believe that Delilah had chosen her for a reason. Laudna, crying slow, black tears as Imogen told her she hated that Delilah was there, watching them, when just a few minutes before Laudna had admitted she wasn’t sure how to separate herself from Delilah any longer.

Imogen had let this go because she thought Laudna had made her choice, had all the information and chose her own path, and Imogen didn’t want to try to take that, but she also should’ve known that for Laudna it hadn’t felt like a real choice.

“It’s not takin’ her choice to help her understand that she has one.” Her voice was an agitated murmur, and she heard the shift of Caviar’s body on the bed, saw that he had uncurled and was watching her, still mostly relaxed but attentive. 

Fuck. Fuck. Of course Laudna couldn’t imagine their future, because she couldn’t imagine herself without Delilah, and Imogen hated her, openly and vocally and with all her heart. Delilah, who was there all the time, who had been there for thirty years, and for most of that had been Laudna’s only constant, her only company, her only protector. Delilah, who’d had all the time in the world to convince Laudna that she should be grateful to have her, that she was alive only because Delilah let her be, that she was walking around purely on the luck of the draw. 

Of course she thought her value was Delilah, thought the best she could do would be to try to take as much of Delilah’s power in service to her friends, to Imogen, as she could, even if it meant she herself would disappear. Imogen knew Delilah must love that, must love Laudna’s thoughts about self-sacrifice. The bitch.

A growl issued from the bed, and Imogen turned again to the hound, whose eyes were on her, his body now in a rigid, ready line and his lip raised in a snarl. Sighing, Imogen sat, offering her hand for him to sniff.

“I know. I know. I hate it, too.” The growling slowed although he remained tense, ready, teeth glinting. “I don’t think this is somethin’ we can fix on our own, baby. We can’t scare her away from your mama.”

But she had to go. Or, they had to give Laudna the option, a real option, to live without her, so that she felt like the choices in front of her were more than just smoke and mirrors to Delilah’s stone.

“But we’ve got help, don’t we?” She kept her voice gentle and flipped her hand slowly until his cold nose was moving along her palm. “Lots of people who love your mama. And lots of people who hate that woman.”

No matter Orym’s fears, Imogen knew Fearne had spoken for all of them when she said they’d kill Delilah as many times as it took. They just had to figure out how.

Imogen could work on that.

Well.

There were some things they had to do first, but if they survived Predathos, surely the Tempest, surely all of those people at Whitestone who hated Delilah so much, would jump at the chance to help get rid of her for good. Lord Percival was kind of a dick, but Lady Vex’ahlia seemed to have him under control, and if they couldn't help, they had to know people. Someone could help, and Imogen would absolutely fucking leverage Ruidus and Predathos and everything the Bells had done and sacrificed to get what they needed. 

They could make a plan, and Laudna could decide how she wanted to live her life. Yeah, it would hurt badly for Laudna to choose Delilah again, but at least then she and Laudna could both be sure it was a real choice. Laudna was worth the risk. Always. 

In the meantime, Imogen could hold onto this for the both of them. She wanted this, and she was ready to fight for it if Laudna wanted it, too. The spark of hope she'd tried to snuff out earlier flared back to life, and she let herself start to believe that Laudna did want it, would want it, would fight right beside her if she believed it could be real. Maybe she just needed a little hope too. Imogen could share.

Caviar licked at her, and she let him, moving to lie back down as he moved away from the edge of the bed and relaxed a little.

She put a hand on one of his front paws, and he raised it up, laying it over her arm, the rough pads scraping her skin. “We’re gonna try this again, okay? I’m gonna try this again.” Hard bone and wet sinew pressed against the inside of her elbow as he lay his head and neck over her, a comforting weight. “For Laudna.”

A bird chirped happily outside their window, and Imogen closed her eyes. 

She woke in their bed, still facing away, still curled into herself, and she turned immediately, reached out to Laudna as she stared at the sharp point of her shoulder and the plane of her back. 

Laudna? 

The response was immediate, concerned. Imogen? Are you alright? 

I love you.  

Laudna turned, and Imogen watched her eyes take her in, her teeth worrying at her bottom lip in a way that made Imogen itch to reach out and soothe her.

When their eyes met, Imogen put a hand between them. 

I love you so much. No matter what. Even if she’s with you forever, with us forever, I don’t care. I want you, okay? If you want that, want me, I’m yours. 

She was crying, dark stains moving down pale cheeks, and she was still bundled into herself, small and in her own blankets. Imogen eyed her hand between them and thought about choice. 

I…I’d like to hold your hand, if that’s something you want.

Nearly immediately, Laudna’s hand was out of her blankets and on Imogen's, cold and perfect. 

It is. It is. I…I thought you would want space. After…

Imogen shifted so that their fingers laced, traced her thumb over the skin at Laudna's wrist. 

I don’t want space from you, darlin’. I want…

She stopped because it wasn’t the time for a full conversation, but she shifted closer, lifted their hands to press a kiss to the back of Laudna’s, did it again when she heard Laudna’s small sound of relief. She laced their fingers again, thumb over knuckles this time, and moved closer still, until their feet were nearly touching, sighed happily when a cold ankle moved to rest on hers. 

Caviar came to visit in my dream. 

Oh? Laudna lifted her eyes from where they’d been fixed on their joined hands. Tell me about it?  

We went explorin’, she offered, and started with Laudna’s garden.

[fjorests-of-wildemount]

Percy De Rolo is a certified asshole, selfish to a fault, petty, arrogant, and always thinks he is the smartest person in the room. He has PTSD from when the Briarwoods destroyed his family the first time and then ripped it apart the second. He is deeply flawed, deeply complicated, and just so human.

And here he is, safe in Whitestone for 30 years, safe enough that he's managed to grow the city and his family bigger and more prosperous than he ever could have imagined when he returned home the first time at 22 to find the city in ruins.

He tried to trade his soul to save Vax'ildan from (in his mind) the Raven Queen. He loves deeply and fiercely, and the worst way to provoke him is to threaten his family.

And he's a father now, and just like Trinket growled at Ashton when they got too close, Percy slammed up his walls and snapped the door shut at the very thought of Delilah getting anywhere near his family again.

He's terrified. He's tired. He can't face trying to figure out how to defeat Delilah *again*.

But he didn't throw the Hells out of the castle, or out of Whitestone. Vex and Pike have got this (Vex can kill the bitch again, she's got practice), but Percy . . . They brought the one thing that will rattle Percy to his core to his very doorstep.

I absolutely loved Matt's portrayal and I *love* that Ashton ran to confront him. Percy doesn't get enough people calling him an asshole in his daily life anymore, I think.

*Edited to say bc I don't know if I was clear: all of the above is why I love and adore Percy and it all felt very true to who he is.

[kth1fics]

KTH1 MASTERLIST

© All rights reserved under @kth1fics​​ / @kth1​ - do not copy, repost, modify, edit, or translate any of my work without my direct consent. This TUMBLR and AO3 are the ONLY places my fics are posted.

Unless stated otherwise, all my writings are generally nsfw (18+). All works are marked with a rating for a reason, if you are underage please click away! All works are pure fiction. Stories do not reflect the real life persons. Characterization is my own. 🍓

✶ Apples in February | werewolf au | fluff, smut

↠ Jin was the type to make you feel good, to show you all your worth. Always understanding of another, you accept the fate of being his mate.

✶ Cherry Topper | idiots/friends to lovers au | fluff, smut

↠ Seokjin is a busy man with a full schedule on his plate at all times. He’s getting through it so he can finally have you though.

✶ The Imminent | demon au | royalty au | smut, horror

↠ A princess from a royal family buys assistance from a witch in the woods to seek out a yellow-eyed demon who can save your ill-fated father, the King.

✶ Winter Whiskey | established relationship au | fluff, smut

↠ Taking your annual friendcation with your loving boyfriend, Jin, the two of you share heartwarming memories together while resting and relaxing.

✶ Again | vampire au | smut

↠ History with a vampire, you think I’d be over it by now. Yoongi comes and goes as he pleases. But why does he keep coming back?

✶ Cut Shot | boyfriend au | fluff, smut

↠ Summer vacation has many moments of fun loving gestures, even when Yoongi goes out of his way to pick up the sport you love playing.

✶ Get Jinxed | cyberpunk au | angst, smut

↠ You battle with the decision between the justice of the law and the rogue ex cop who has you wrapped around his finger.

✶ I Won’t Hurt You | scream au | smut, angst

↠ You find out that your boyfriend is Ghost Face, but he doesn't want to hurt you.

✶ The Little Things | boyfriend au | fluff, smut

↠ When the present isn’t exactly enough for you right now, Yoongi is here for you through it all.

✶ Tiger Layer | royalty au | smut

↠ You are here to serve your king. In any way he pleases.

✶ Twisted Fate | vampire au | smut

↠ A slice of vampiric lifestyle here inside the Briarwood Manor walls after you ultimately picked the Lord you wish to serve.

✶ Welcome Home | marriage au | fluff, smut

↠ After picking up your husband at the airport, you greet him with what any lonely wife would in the comfort of your shared bedroom.

Series:

✤ Tale of a Champion m.list : | medieval romance au | s2l, smut ↠   ❝Dive deep into the thicket of Aurozuto and live through a feverish tale of love, romance, adventure, power, vengeance and passion!❞

✶ Crosscurrents | mermaid au, royal au | soft, fluff, fantasy

↠ A bittersweet scaly tale about a lovely mer-prince who falls for a beautiful land princess.

✶ Protecting the Bloodline | vampire au | smut

↠ Understanding the role you were given by the Church you took on your duty of serving the one Prince you choose with ultimate pride.

✶ South Side | gang au, bad boy au | strangers to lovers | smut

↠ You’re too curious about the alluring, dangerous bad boy down in the south side of the city.

✶ Atmosphere | celebrity/boyfriend au | smut, fluff

↠ Namjoon and you have been dating for a few years now, fully aware of the worries a relationship with a celebrity would be like.

✶ Mishap | relationship au | smut, slight angst

↠ You wonder what path you’re heading down when you keep finding yourself in his bed.

✶ Caught Elvesdropping | christmas au | smut, fluff, pining

↠ This Christmas season you find yourself caught in a consistent magnetic attraction to the most handsome North Pole Elf ever.

✶ My Princess | vampire au | smut

↠ An event to celebrate the possible new world of coexisting among the supernatural. you were reluctant at first, not wanting to indulge yourself back into this type of life. But a silver-haired man from a royal family ended up changing your mind.

✶ Safe Haven | werewolf au | fluff, smut

↠ When a wolf protects the royal family for many years, he’s faced with one special princess who he’ll do anything for.

✶ Shake Shack | strangers to lovers au | fluff, smut

↠ Crushing on a man ever since high school, you failed time and time again to actively talk to him. Until one sweaty summer day, you finally developed the courage to ask him out on a date.  

✶Strictly Confidential | slice of life au | smut

↠ How did you find yourself messing around with him when he’s publicly with someone else? I guess what’s what makes a secret relationship... well, a secret.

✶ 00:00 (Zero O’clock) | slice of life au | super fluff, smut

↠ A night full of movies and intimate conversations with the love of your life and his fluffy dog whom you love more than anything leads into something more.

✶ Aberrant | hybrid au | fluff, smut

↠ Meeting a handsome and rare fox hybrid was the last thing you had expected in a world of coexisting hybrids.

✶ Baddie | situationship au | smut

↠ The bad boy in your life, Kim Taehyung, comes visiting once again for his basic needs to be met.

✶ Down Bad | boyfriend au | ft. yoongi | poly, smut

↠ To spice up your sex life even more, your boyfriend, Taehyung, suggests a brand-new offer to you. One that includes another piece of Daegu that is extremely hard to resist.

✶ Dream | boyfriend au | fluff, smut

↠ Your subconscious was messing with you a little too much, leaving you restless, nervous, and weary. Taehyung is here to reassure you though.

✶ Game Point | volleyball au | smut

↠ TBA!

✶ Let’s Try Again | slice of life au | smut

↠ Taehyung, your husband and father of your child(ren), continues to lead a teasing game which consists of persistence, dedication, dirty talk, and more.

✶ Northdows Forest | faerie au | smut

↠ A lovely interaction with a newfound magical creature who has round peculiar eyes, wispy red hair, and beautiful silk wings.

✶ Playful Dominance | werewolf au | smut

↠ As a werewolf, being separated from your mate is hard, it takes a toll on your emotional, mental, and physical being. You’re sad, you’re lonely, and you’re horny.

✶ Tanzanite Treasures | mermaid au | fluff, smut

↠ You’re met with a handsome man who hands you back your missing necklace given to you by your late grandmother. What you didn’t know is that the necklace holds such a powerful secret about life under the sea.

✶ The Sheets | idol au | smut

↠ On your night out with the gals you get hit up by the one and only, Kim Taehyung, who’s been eyeing all of your Instagram stories. It’s no shocker that he attempts to get you back to his place once you finally decide to leave the club because this isn’t your first rodeo with the determined and insanely hot, fuckboy.

✶ Welcome to Woodsboro | scream au | smut, crack

↠ One generation’s tragedy is the next one’s joke as two horror enthusiasts set out to visit California’s most infamous murder site, Woodsboro.

Series:

✤ Black Ravens m.list : | vampire au | s2l, smut, angst, romance ↠   ❝What the world has to offer is much greater than you could ever imagine. Your life turns upside down when the captivating establishment, Black Ravens, grants you the unthinkable.❞  

✤ 2 Player Games m.list : | established relationship | fluff, smut ↠   ❝Your extremely, effortlessly attractive gamer boyfriend ends up being a bit too playful in a series of videogame ways!❞  

✶ BlueKooBerry | streamer au | fluff, smut

↠ He’s your lovely, most amazing, streamer boyfriend one could ask for.

✶ Long Time No See | werewolf au | angst, smut

↠ Jungkook shows up at the apartment door filled with animosity and unanswered questions. Where did he go? Why did he leave?

✶ Lucky, Lucky Girl | roommates au | pwp, smut

↠ The joy of Jungkook having a grand ol’ time with his own personal karaoke night causes you, his roommate, to grow more and more annoyed.

✶ Office Santa | office christmas party au | smut

↠ On the verge of leaving the office Christmas party, you find a reason to stay just a little bit longer.    

✶ Piquant | vampire au | angst, smut

↠ Jungkook is your awesome roommate who also happens to be a vampire. What could go wrong?

✶ To Find the Sheep | werewolf au | fairytale, angst, smut

↠ TBA!

✶ Christmas with Bangtan: Secret Santa | chrismas au  ⏤    ❝This holiday season we have a surprise in our own ways; seven gifts for seven days! A tasteful present from us to you, these seven lovely senders have tales and stories of seven men you wish you knew.❞  

✶ Be My Bangtanvine | valentine’s au  ⏤     ❝Featuring seven beautiful rose petal authors, we gift to you seven delectable stories in honor of this romantic holiday full of love and affection. From sour war-heads to the overly sweet chocolate hearts, we hope you enjoy our twists of fics!❞  

✶ The Last Splash | mermaid au  ⏤     ❝Surfs up dudes! Or, swim with some of those little fishies! To draw in the last bits of summer, seven authors have gathered together to give you that one last hoorah to end it off!❞    

✶ Briarwood Manor | vampire au  ⏤     ❝For the prince you come in favor for, you are endlessly indebted to them and only them for the rest of your days. You will be their property, for them to take and to use you to their liking as they give back security, safety, and shelter. You are born to provide the prince of your selection, raised on the purities of the world around you, a clean human offered under the blood moon.❞    

✶ Bangtan Cinema: Horror Night | movie au  ⏤     ❝Come watch read some haunted themes being featured at the Bangtan Cinemas! All stories based in a universe of a special horror-related movie! Isn’t that spook-tacular? So come on down, grab a couple of your friendly goons, some buttery popcorn, and enjoy 7 movies fics directed written by amazing and horrific authors!❞

✶ Paw Prints Academy | dog trainer au ⏤     ❝Welcome to the Paw Prints Academy for Dog Training and Behavior Program! Thank you for taking part in our community of puppy adoration and love. Seven authors have come to participate in telling a brand new story for you all; confidently trained by the best dog trainers PPA has to offer! We will continue to support and resource you with the softest, fluffiest, and wholesome interactions as you venture deeper into your program! We strive to give you the best dog training (fics) experience possible!❞

[petalruesimblr]

Hello Simblr community!

I started this simblr blog to share my TS3 builds without really thinking about the numbers of followers I would have but to see it growing slowly fills my heart with joy and motivation.

I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU, to each and every one of you. For the likes, reblogs, downloading my content and especially to my followers! Even though it is a modest group of 26 followers, I truly appreciate it.

As a token of my appreciation, I'm sharing a small gift that will be posted in two parts. This will be my first one and it's a set of small starter homes.

For new visitors, welcome and feel free to browse my Tumblr by checking out the pinned post for easier navigation. To everyone, I would appreciate your continued support through likes, reblogs, downloads and follows which are always welcomed!

Click on 'Keep Reading' below for more information and pictures of the starter homes.

XOXO, petalrue 🌺

The Oakridge

Download Link:

Sim File Share | MTS (for approval)

Description:

Classic charm meets practicality at The Oakridge. With its cozy and quaint layout, this budget-friendly abode is the perfect haven for a small family seeking suburban bliss.

Details:

Price Furnished: 16,422 Price Unfurnished: 12,195 Lot Size: 20x20 Version: 1.42 Store Content: None CC Used: None Packs used: The Sims 3, Ambitions File Type: Package

House Features:

Suitable for three Sims, 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Living Room, Kitchen Dining Area, Washer/Laundry Area, Clothes Dryer - Outside, Parking area

The Fairmont

Download Link:

Sim File Share | MTS (for approval)

Description:

This traditional-style abode offers a harmonious blend of comfort and functionality, making it the perfect home for a family of three seeking quintessential suburban living.

Details:

Price Furnished: 16,476 Price Unfurnished: 13,706 Lot Size: 20x20 Version: 1.42 Store Content: None CC Used: None Packs used: The Sims 3, Ambitions, Pets File Type: Package

House Features:

Suitable for three Sims, 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Living Room, Kitchen Dining Area, Garage

The Briarwood

Download Link:

Sim File Share | MTS (for approval)

Description:

An abode where warmth and character intertwine. With its cozy interiors and inviting ambiance, this charming home beckons a family of four to embrace the simple joys of suburban living.

Details:

Price Furnished: 16,487 Price Unfurnished: 13,187 Lot Size: 20x20 Version: 1.42 Store Content: None CC Used: None Packs used: The Sims 3, Ambitions, Pets File Type: Package

House Features:

Suitable for four Sims, 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bathroom, Living Room, Kitchen Dining Room

Unfortunately, they will have sparse furnishings due to the limited budget of §16,500 but there is enough space to redecorate once the money starts to come in for the family. All of them are suitable for a single Sim or a couple who want a fresh start in a new town or want to start a family, complete with basic furniture and appliances.

One of the houses contains a small laundry area with just a washer and clothes dryer outside, as well as parking for one car. The second house does have a garage but it lacks the Car-Spot Parking Space due to budget constraints. The third house doesn't have a garage or a laundry room, but it is suitable for four Sims.

I'll be sharing the second small gift with you shortly, likely just a few minutes after this post. Stay tuned!

📣 All my content lots are in the form of package files (.package). Kindly place the .package file into the following folder: Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 3\Library\ .You should find it in your Library bin in the game when you navigate to Edit Town.

[ratinayellowbandana]

thinking about how laudna grew up with whitestone in shambles and lived dodging the briarwoods and searching for scraps of joy because even in awful circumstances there are bright spots. and how she came back to a whitestone in revolt and lived under the city confined to the shadows. how, maybe, she stayed as long as she could because her home was all she knew. and maybe. when the city began to heal and erase all traces of the briarwoods… she was erased too. the tunnels were flushed and she was found and chased out of her first home because she was a remainder. a holdover. something stuck between the briarwoods and the now.

[nowyoursoulisforfeit]

Okay, but Percy’s gloves are such a good symbolism for his fear of being himself and restraint against doing so. Like, he always has them on in front of people, and he rarely takes them off even when he’s alone. As a child, before the Briarwoods, he didn’t wear gloves, but when he stared his foraging and going down that darker path, they become more common and are seen more often.

All this is basically just my way of leading up to a random perc’ildan thought I had about how monumental it must have been for Vax’ildan to see Percy take his gloves off for the first time in front of him. I imagine that they would just be coming home from a fight, exhausted and sore, and they just lay down and Percy slips off his gloves like it’s nothing. He feels so safe around Vax that he can do this without fear.

He trusts him, truly and fully, and that is the highest honor Percival can give someone.

[scattergoriesofevil]

I just know Percy is at home installing terrifying new security because Delilah Briarwood doesn’t stay dead. Maybe Vex can talk him down now that she knows about the soul anchor.

[2-sarcastic-comments-7]

Ok I’m gonna try cooking and someone can tell me if it’s burnt:-

Laudna wasn’t hung on the sun tree in 810 PD and was instead born around 812 PD as the younger twin to Vesper Elaina de Rolo

Laudnas name can change or not I’m not sure of that yet

But she’s raised as a de rolo with her loving parents vex and Percy and her siblings

I think maybe laudna still has that magic spark but it’s little things that she can do with magic that she kinda brushes off

but she’s still weird like I imagine her bringing home a dead rat as a kid and calling it pate but her parents aren’t letting their kid keep a dead rat so they switch it out for a live one that laudna names pate de rolo II

Then in 832 PD roughly, some briarwood followers try and give Delilah power (I assume she connected onto someone else instead of laudna after she was killed in 810 PD) so she can resurrect but Delilah wants revenge as well as the power so she tells them to kidnap laudna

So that’s what they do they kill laudna and in the same way as before dress her up as vex(I imagine laudna looks a lot like vex except she doesn’t have pointy ears so they cut them) and hang her from the sun tree to show them that Delilah is back and to use the sacrifice to give Delilah power and to get revenge.

This would happen roughly 8 years before laudna meets Imogen to she still wanders around for those eight years alone.

I have more of this idea but I’ll post it later but if anyone wants to talk about this or their own ideas that would be fun.

[nothingwithdignity]

When Percy first tells Vox Machina the story of the Briarwoods he’s so open and vulnerable in a way that I tend to forget he can be. So much of that arc burns with anger and smoke but the very beginning is so different. The beginning is a scared boy confronted by his worst days and turning to confession. It doesn’t last long, but before the anger, what spills out is guilt and fear and an unspoken plea. He has always wanted to be the adult in the room, to put on respectability and nobility like armor, but in this moment he doesn’t try to hide any part of what this is. It’s heartbreaking and beautiful and a poignant reminder of just how young and broken he is. We see the part of Percy that never left that castle. The part that ended up catatonic on a boat. The part that prayed once, before gods became a thing for other people. And we see him, truly and completely, for the first time. The broken desperate boy hidden in the brilliant man. Because he doesn’t hesitate to say the reason he didn’t go home is because he’s scared. That he doesn’t know what he needs to do. He doesn’t hold back on who these people are to him. He isn’t hiding behind the mask, he’s just Percy, just a lost person who opened the floodgates. To the fear and the unknown and the anger but also to the hope that maybe these are the people who can help him finally face the things that haunt him.