#fyrebranded

[fyrebrandd]

closed starter ft. emir hightower (@crowndgods) location: aboard a greyjoy ship docking at a small sea port

after hours of listening to the princess’ ceaseless mouthing off at all those who came near her, the greyjoy crewmen had decided on an apt solution to their loud, annoying (and occasionally spitting) problem: gagging. and since they could not risk her attempt at escaping, some of them came up with the brilliant idea to blindfold her and tie her up against a pole, effectively immobilizing the bratty princess in her own cell bellow deck.

by then, helaena had refused to shed a tear—her pride too great to show even an ounce of vulnerability before these traitors of her family’s crown. but in the darkness of the blindfold and the faint singing of the crew celebrating some crewman’s upcoming fatherhood (to a son, they cheered), even the dragon felt hopeless in the prospect of her fate.

but before despair could claim her, she heard noises. disturbances. at first, she thought the faint rustling outside was merely the crew adjusting the sails. but then came the muffled cry, quickly stifled—a low, choking sound that made her freeze. the shuffle of boots on wood followed, accompanied by the muted clink of metal, as though someone was silencing a blade mid-draw.

her breath hitched as she strained to hear over the pounding of her heart. more footsteps, quicker now, a scuffle, and then silence—heavy and foreboding. someone was here.

[fyrebrandd]

the lord varyn of house lannister was bold (or stupid) to touch her. most dared not. most could not bring themselves to from fear of losing their hands and manhood should their majesty, the queen, found out of their transgression. it made helaena smirk happily; so far the lion of westerland had proven to be of a surprise himself. she wondered if he was thinking of his place at her mother's council when he caressed her with his eyes.

"i am the forbidden fruit, my lord. thus it is rather impossible to turn a blind eye to those lusting to taste it... yearning to defy rules and customaries." helaena watched as he took his turn with the lit roll of herbs. the effects of their substance was almost instant, smoothly easing both of their nerves. they slipped into a compromising position almost seamlessly, his head resting on her lap and her hand on the broadness of his clothed chest. "Oh Varyn," she responded to his discard of titles and formality after a few puffs of smoke. "i shall hope we are not to be punished for our expectation tonight."

"the court may not know this yet, but we are to be families soon. your sister, the lady cersha... what a beautiful and intelligent lionness of a consort for vaelora..." her sigh was long, but not at all of disappointment. she glanced down at her male companion and took the joint from his lips to take a drag of her own. this one put her in a humorous mood, and she spoke with giggles in her tone. "an alliance forged in fire and gold, my mother would announce. it seems like our dragon den is to be filled with lions soon, what makes you of it, varyn? is your stay with us ever-so comfortable your father is sending your sisters here too?"

ooc: only open this for giggles. you have been warned.

Varyn was, for better or worse, a simple man. He simply did what he wanted, when he wanted it, and gave little care to consequences which might follow. Or how said consequences may reflect on him, or his family. He was indulgent, he was selfish and today, he was also on edge. For today he realised that, for the first time in a long time, he was being cornered -- on more fronts than one, and he did not like the feeling.

So while he made his sister a promise, to stay away from royal girls and their many charms, there was no harm in testing certain limits. For what was life in a cage, without a little bit of fun?

Her words were witty enough for the man to understand this had not been her first time playing with her food. For the confidence which soaked her lips as they strung together ideas, was not something that came without occasional indulgence in a flirtatious exchange. Varyn did not find it surprising at the least. She was a beautiful woman, with no shortage of prospects to wrap around her fingers like a beautiful puppeteer.

"You are full of surprises, princess. What should you know of indulging in forbidden fruits?" he moves a strand of silver white hair out of her face, his eyes moving away from her lips, across her jawline, to the long softness of her neck. The scent of herbs fills the air and he is reminded yet again that this might be more trouble than he was initially prepares for. But he cannot look away.

Her words snap him out of lustful thoughts, and he'll take a hold of the smoke, inhaling so deep his nerves calmed instantly and he will proceed to rest his head upon her lap shamelessly and confidently. As if it had belonged there, all along. "I should think disappointment would not find us tonight, Helaena." her name was like butter on his tongue, and a puff of smoke will leave his lips yet again. "Disappointment is but a punishment for expectation."

[fyrebrandd]

closed starter ft. jaenara velaryon (@rxdianced) location: the storm witch time: 6 years ago

it was the storm witch, helaena was sure of it. even from a great distance, she could recognize her cousins' treasured vessel. that pretty little thing that jaenara loved so much. with a straight, easy command, she asked grey ghost to take her down to the water. her winged companion was able to stay hidden until they were out of the morning mist as his grey scale blended them right in. and that was when they heard the faint sound of jaenara's crew informing each other of a dragon sighting.

to make sure she communicate well that she meant no harm, helaena stopped grey ghost when they were a good distance away from the ship. there she unbuckled herself from the saddle and stood up on the leather seat. hopefully her cousin could identify her.

"permission to board, captain?" she yelled and let the echoes of the mountains around them to carry her voice to jaenara.

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

On Death's Doorstep (pt 37/?)

[<<First],,,,[<Prev],[Next>] [ODD Masterlist]

Word count: 1344

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Karrot Kings

Warnings: Kidnapping, supervillain activity, Thomas Sanders and the terrible horrible no good really bad day

~~~START~~~

Thomas’s only thought as he lunged for Nico was that he’d already lost his son and grandson, he wasn’t about to lose his husband too.  

Of course, it wasn’t until he’d been seized too that he realized that both of them getting kidnapped by a supervillain wasn’t much better than only one of them getting kidnapped — at least they were together.  

Maybe it was because he’d never been kidnapped before — by a supervillain or otherwise — but it wasn’t quite what he was expecting. This guy — “Backslash” he’d been yelling in the mall, like all he’d cared about was that people took note — seemed to have been expecting them as he brought them to the basement of an abandoned warehouse (did warehouses usually have basements?), where two chairs were already set up, waiting for them. He tied them to the chairs, a strangely blank expression on his face the entire time — not gloating, not menacing, just completely empty, like he wasn’t really aware that they were even there — then left them alone, returning up to the warehouse. A heavy door clanged shut after him.  

“This is weird, right?” Thomas asked quietly after he and Nico had been sitting in silence for a while. They were both bound to the chair by their wrists and torsos, as well as having their legs bound together from ankle to knee, but Backslash hadn’t made any attempt to gag or blindfold them.  

“Definitely the weirdest thing to ever happen to me,” Nico agreed, tugging at the ropes around his wrist. Despite the lack of interest their host had shown in them, the bonds held tight. “But hey, at least we’re not dead.” 

“Yet,” Thomas couldn’t help but add. Nico’s face dropped.  

“Yeah,” he agreed quietly. “Yet.” 

Time passed. It was hard to know how much seeing as how no natural light drifted into the basement, and their host hadn’t even been kind enough to leave their watch faces visible behind the ropes. It was a while.  

Thomas was exhausted, and by the way Nico’s head kept drifting down before snapping up again, he knew his husband was too. Nothing had happened. Their host had yet to reappear, and if he had any associates, they didn’t show themselves. Other than a few randomly spaced reverberating thuds from the warehouse above, the only sounds were those that came from either Thomas or Nico themselves.  

Thomas was just about to suggest that Nico try to get some sleep when a series of thuds started up from upstairs. For good or for ill, something was happening.  

“I love you,” Thomas said, because if this was it, he wanted those to be his last words.  

“I love you too,” Nico promised sadly.  

The basement door was thrown open, clanging even louder than it had when it had been shut, and rapid footsteps descended the stairs. Thomas tensed up in anticipation for whatever was to come but relaxed slightly when he finally saw the figure.  

He and Nico had been doing a lot of research into superheroes on the off chance that Virgil had been given a new code name and transferred without letting them know, so when they saw that Clover was here, they knew they were being rescued.  

“Don’t worry, citizens!” The hero declared boldly. “We’re here to save you!” 

Clover was relatively new on the scene, having started a little before Virgil disappeared, and one could assume, relatively young. They had the powers of divination and probability manipulation, so Thomas felt fairly safe following them up the stairs despite the sounds of battle that were now freely drifting through the open doorway.  

“Fyrebrand is almost done,” Clover told them. “You’re lucky she was available, if this was going to take much longer, I wouldn’t have been able to come.” 

“I’ll make sure to thank her,” Nico commented dryly. Clover didn’t seem to pick up the sarcasm.  

As promised, by the time Clover led Thomas and Nico around all the machinery — which seemed to have been moved since Thomas last saw it, but he couldn’t be entirely certain — towards the doors, Fyrebrand had Backslash subdued and restrained.  

“Subdued” didn’t seem quite accurate as the villain was just as blank and empty as he’d been previously. It was hard to subdue someone who was already, for all intents and purposes, subdued.  

There was something not quite right about the whole thing, but Thomas didn’t have time to dwell on it as Clover was leading him and Nico out of the warehouse into the sunlight. There were reporters and camera crews all over the place, most of them were trying to talk to Fyrebrand and Clover, but a few of them tried to get Thomas or Nico’s attention. Fyrebrand stopped to talk to the reporters, but Clover continued to lead them to a waiting car, not turning their attention to the press until Thomas and Nico were safely inside.  

Thomas had expected the car to take them to the SSP building, or at least a police station — he thought someone would want to talk to them about what happened — but no, the car stopped outside of the hotel they had been staying at.  

“I think there’s been a mistake,” Thomas told the driver. They hadn’t spoken to anyone other than Nico’s comment to Clover, no one had even checked them over for injuries. Surely this wasn’t protocol for a supervillain kidnapping.  

“This is your hotel, isn’t it?” The driver asked, not exactly unkindly, but certainly not helpfully.  

“Yes, but–” 

“Then no mistake.” 

Thomas blinked, then looked to Nico, who only shrugged.  

“Um… thank you?” Thomas said as he and Nico exited the car.  

“Have a nice day,” the driver said, pulling away as soon as the doors were shut.  

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Nico sighed as the two of them watched the car disappear into traffic.  

They were too tired to deal with the seemingly lacking response to their kidnapping, and since Backslash hadn’t stolen anything from them, they still had their hotel keycards. Everything else could wait until they’d had a few hours of sleep.  

~~~

That afternoon, rested but no less exhausted, Thomas and Nico were unceremoniously kicked out of the SSP building. According to Agent Sophia, they were “knowingly, and maliciously” wasting the Agency’s time and resources with their “absurd exaggerations of reality”. Apparently, the vicious rope burns on Nico’s wrists didn’t count as proof of mistreatment by a supervillain, and even if they did, the Agency wouldn’t care anyway.   

Without any more leads to pull, and weary from their supervillain encounter, Thomas and Nico decided to cut their trip short.  

Nico handled the checkout while Thomas ordered an Uber on his phone. The hotel was understanding and didn’t charge them for the extra days they had booked. By the time the Uber pulled up — black Honda Accord, driven by Franklin, four stars — Nico had joined Thomas in waiting outside.  

“Uber for Thomas?” Franklin said.  

“That’s me,” Thomas confirmed. The driver nodded and popped the trunk for their luggage.  

Once they were settled in the backseat and the car was pulling away from the hotel, Nico sank into Thomas’s side.  

“I don’t know what else we can do,” he groaned, taking Thomas’s hand. “Maybe he really doesn’t want to be found.” 

Thomas laced their fingers together and squeezed gently. “That’s not our V. If he didn’t want us looking for him, he would have told us that himself. I’m not sure what our next move is, but I know we can’t give up.” 

“I know what your next move is.” 

Thomas and Nico both jolted as the driver spoke. Through the rear-view mirror, Thomas could see that their face had changed; no longer the face of Franklin, their Uber driver, but someone entirely new.  

And most ominously, they were wearing a gas mask.  

Before either of them could even begin to demand answers, the driver pressed a button on the dash, and the car began to fill with a noxious gas. Thomas’s last thought before losing consciousness was yeah, this might as well happen. 

~~~END~~~

Once again, one chapter got too long and is now two chapters

This week’s fandom which is trying to take over my life is Now You See Me, Jack has such t-boy swag

ODD taglist

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @arsonic-knight @misunderstood-shadowling @lost-in-thought-20 @remy-the-lemon-berry @jinxcrafter @apinkline2715 @gothfoxx @donutsarepartybagels @xoaningout @meganmoneky14 @lunatatic

[soletlunasims]

On the Eighth Day: Elf on the Shelf

Featured sims: Kyle Fyrebrand, Erin Bennett

[fyrebrandd]

lady eira baratheon was a stark before she was a bride of the stormlands, helaena remembered. and a stark had always remembered their oaths, their honorable ways were always a rare sight in filthy king's landing.

"i thank you, lady baratheon. but there is not much one can do. my cousin is dead on my mother's fortieth anniversary as sovereign." she said as a matter of fact, but swallowed thickly at the severity of it nonetheless. "i am not one to jest with the gods, but that is rather cruel is it not?"

she asked, turning to face the northern lady. perhaps the older woman had a wisdom that at her younger age, had escaped her. "not long ago, i lost my eldest brother. does grief become more familiar and less daunting of an emotion with time, lady baratheon? or everything is anew every time it happens?"

eira chuckled and turned so she faced the princess more directly. it wasn't lost on her the way helaena fidgeted, nor was it beyond her what the princess' reputation was. she'd heard from plenty of whispered sources that of the targaryens she had the sharpest tongue.

a dragon in a cage.

it made the princess' uncomfortable companionship all the more important to eira. especially in the shadow of what had happened.

"home pulls me both north and south and would tear me apart if i let it," she said. "my daughter is still at storm's end, she was too young to make the journey here and appreciate the gravity of the invitation, but she is the only ache i have. one must learn to be their own home in time."

she tilted her head to the side a fraction and gazed at the targaryen, the one meant to be of the gods. all she saw was a girl beneath fire and metal.

"tell me, princess. you yourself must be at the end of a rope, to lose a cousin and be surrounded by even more eyes than i imagine you normally are. is there anything i can do to calm your mind?"

[fyrebrandd]

closed starter ft. daemon greyjoy (@bloodycrxwnn) location: one of the guest chambers at pyke's sea tower.

after three increasingly narrow bridges and some moldy wooden doors, princess helaena of house targaryen arrived at her 'guest chambers' at the hospitality of none other than the fearsome daemon of house greyjoy. the blood of her men still soaked the rims of her boots and splattered across her leather attire, but helaena refused to drop her head. the two guards dared not touch her while they escorted her to her designated iron cells.

a gown was laid out on the bed for her to change into, in black--the color of her house no less. "how hospitable of you, lord daemon! to be frank, i find your welcoming customs rather strange: great horror and slaughter before a change of clothes. how queer!"

[tckingflight]

for: @fyrebranded - because yes we do deserve middleaged!dorallie

“Allegra Degray Hart, if you don’t go to that mixer, I swear that I’ll drag you there kicking and screaming! I know it’s been hard for you to move on, but it’s been a decade. All I’m asking for you is to try. Daniel would’ve wanted you to be happy.” 

Her best friend’s words echoed in her ears as she stepped into the community center. She scribbled her first name on one of those blue name tags and plastered it to her shirt before walking directly towards the snack table. There was no way she was going to get through this without food. 

Despite what everyone around her thought, Allegra’s life wasn’t lacking. She had a fulfilling job, two wonderful kids, a great support system and an even greater therapist. And at one point, she got to experience what true and pure love felt like. And she didn’t know if she would ever get the chance to be lucky twice in a row. 

But she told Katya that she would at least try. 

Armed with punch in one hand that she silently hoped was spiked and a chocolate chip cookie in the other, Allegra made her way through the crowd to see if anyone interesting caught her eye. Unfortunately, being her clumsy self, she ended up crashing into someone and spilling her punch all over her shirt. 

“Oh shit,” she exclaimed as she tried to wrangle the napkin out from under the cookie, and sighed as it fell from her hand. Oh well; at least there were others. Getting the stain out of her favorite shirt was more of a priority anyways. 

“I’m so sorry about that,” she said as she tried to salvage her shirt as best she could. “None of my punch got on you, did it?” 

[allegradegray-archive]

for: @fyrebranded

The war seemed never ending. Every day, the people on the radio said that the war would soon be over. But they had been saying it for years now to the point where Allegra wondered if it was fact or if they were just saying it to hang on to a tiny thread of hope. Either way, she did appreciate it. It was easy to give up. 

But in Dorian’s arms, the war was the very last thing on her mind. 

She slowly started to wake up as the sun peaked through the windows, but that wasn’t the only thing that woke her up. She started to hear shouting in the streets and she sat up, wrapping the sheet around her body and pulling it away from the bed. She walked to the window and looked out of it, seeing people running through the alleyway behind the building and...cheering? 

“The Germans surrendered!” “It’s over!” “We won!” 

Allegra couldn’t believe her ears. Suddenly, she dashed over to the bed and climbed onto Dorian’s lap. She shook him awake gently but firmly enough to stir him awake. 

“Dori,” she said with wide eyes filled with hope. “Dori, wake up! People are out in the streets cheering, and you won’t believe what they’re saying!” 

[jonvosh-a]

@fyrebranded liked for a starter. ( Norwood )

     "Hey, he's one of ours!"

     "Wake up, buddy. You'll be alright. Come on." Eurion's badge reflects a bit of light, which is what led him here. Allison is on one knee with two fingers pressed against the other detective's neck to check his pulse. Still alive, despite the countless bullets and bloodstains littering the room. Looks like Eurion is wounded. Most likely shot, since blood is blossoming from one area on his shirt. Allison doesn't actually know his name so he has to fish for the man's ID to get it.      "Norwood!" He speaks a bit louder and pats Eurion's cheek in hopes of rousing him. Then lifts the radio from his own belt and calls for backup.

[fyrebrandd]

closed starter ft. emir hightower (@crowndgods) location: one of the drum towers

helaena did not rise until noon that day. and when she finally did, the princess slipped out through her window and made her way into the drum tower closest to her chambers. and in her hands carried a few vials of soothing liquids and balms, and a cloak just to shield the bruises from passing by pairs of eyes.

she knew the maids would talk if they saw her care for herself. and the maesters would report the horrid state of her to her family if she sought out their help. and thus the tower where she could seek out some solitude was the destination. she was sitting on the ground and dapping the small cut on her arm with a disgusting yellow liquid when she heard footsteps approaching like a guard coming to collect his prisoner.

not having enough time to hide what she was doing, helaena sighed and clambered to her feet. "can i bribe you into pretending you did not see what you just saw?"

[tckingflight]

for: @fyrebranded​ (TALE AS OLD AS TIMEEEE *do do do do dooooo*) 

Every time her father went to the annual science fair, she always worried that he wouldn’t come back. The woods were a dangerous place to venture into, and if you weren’t careful, you could come upon a pack of wolves. 

So when she saw her fathers horse gallop up to her, she stood up with her eyes wide in fear. 

“Take me to him,” she told the horse as she climbed on top of Philippe and rode into the woods for the first time ever. They came upon a large castle. The moonlight cast an eerie glow on the already darkened castle, and it was covered in snow. Which was strange, because she was certain it was spring. 

The horse whinnied in fright when they approached the gate. She calmed him down and got off the horse, opening the gate and walking towards the castle entrance. 

“Hello? Is anybody home,” she called out as she stepped into the grand hallway. And if she thought the outside was eerie, it was nothing compared to what everything looked like on the inside. It was certainly a grand castle, but it was barely lit, and she gasped in fright when she swore she saw an armored statue move. 

“Hello? Please...can anyone help me? I’m looking for my father.” 

[fyrebrandd]

helaena had brothers and sisters who would die for her, no matter what the condition may be. they would lay down their life for her, and helaena knew she would never have to stop and consider what shall be her fate in the hands of her siblings. if she had betrayed them, well, that would be a different matter. but watching lady stelsa contemplate her livelihood only to finally admit that her own sister would take her life was painful to the princess.

as an older sister to two babes, helaena could never imagine shaera and daenya having to fear her or vaelora so immensely that they would speak of such fear to a total stranger.

"all the more reason you shan't be carrying any letter for me, lady stelsa," helaena decided definitively. it was a safe decision, as it kept both her and the greyjoy young lady safe. perhaps it was for the better, even though a letter to her family would be greatly appreciated now. "you will not be any use for me and my family if you end up dead, head on the spike and everything. or whatever they prefer here on the iron islands."

it was only then that helaena loosened up her shoulders and actually took a sip of the hot broth the lady had shared with her. "and i hope you know, that is no way to live: fearing for your life."

she paused to think about it. to truly think about it. she wanted to think at least daemon would understand, but he was the reason helaena was here in the first place. daeryssa would be disappointed at best. stelsa was sure her sister saw her as a lost cause already, the hints of despondency in her gaze weren't well hidden when the youngest greyjoy would catch her eyes. rhea had never threatened her outright, but it was a lingering fear that violence was always around the corner. hatred bred ruthlessness that simmered just below the surface, it was not unreasonable to assume it'd come for her eventually. "i fear my sister rhea would take my life," she spoke quietly, honestly, fearfully. how did it get this bad? when did it get this bad? "perhaps the others would as well, though i believe they'd grant me a quicker and cleaner death. maybe they would sail me to essos before rhea or lord corwyn could find me so that i could live in exile," she considered, getting a bit lost in the thought. the truth was, it was all just guesses from someone bad at guessing. she could be dead already for all she knew.

[allegradegray-archive]

for: @fyrebranded - continued from here

“Oh, come on, Dori,” Allegra exclaimed, clearly not bothered with the fact that she was bare-ass naked in the middle of a nudist beach. 

Allegra was certainly not shy about her body, and growing up most of the time around the world exposed her to nudist beaches at a very early age. So the idea of going naked on a beach never bothered her. Hell, even her own parents did it. 

“We’re on our honeymoon. Live a little! Take those trunks off,” she said with a small laugh before rolling over on her back and looking up at him. 

“Seriously, no one is going to be paying attention to you if you strip down. It's nothing new! I mean, you don’t have to, but you’re missing out on a really interesting experience. And may I point out that you are the only adult on the entire beach who has a bathing suit on?” 

[fyrebrandd]

closed starter ft. alson snow (@trcshcans) location: the wendwater river

your service is needed today, ser alson. were helaena's words when she entered the throne room that morning. and before noon, grey ghost had successfully taken them out of king's landing and to the kingswood. they were then left on their own at wendwater river while grey ghost took off to hunt for the day. helaena knew if she should have to explain her absence to her mother later, it was best to have a queensguard along with her for the journey.

but in truth, the princess had hoped she could have a private moment with ser alson now that her sister's marriage to the lady cersha lannister had been finalized. it was rather difficult, helaena would imagine, to watch the one whose fingers wrapped around your heart wed another.

and she figured if she had any hope of getting ser alson to talk what was in their heart, it would be far, far away from the red keep. "alright, i can trust that you'd jump in and save me if i start drowning right, ser alson?"

[tckingflight]

for: @fyrebranded - continued from this but it’s the 1920s :D

Allegra looked out of her window as the car ran by and she sighed. Another evening, another party, and Allegra was getting beyond tired of it already. But she had to go. Not only was she expected there as the lady of one of the great houses, but these parties were good for business. 

Suddenly, a strange figure caught her eye and she looked a bit closer, her nose pressing up against the cold glass window. It looked like a man, dressed very oddly and understandably cold. 

“Albert, pull over,” she instructed her driver and he reluctantly did as she bade him. She stepped out of the car and trudged through the snow towards the man, noticing her driver stepping out of the car to keep an eye on her in case there was any trouble. 

“Excuse me, sir,” she called out as she kept heading towards him. “Are you alright? You just seem a bit lost! I can give you a ride to wherever it is you need to be.”