#iomadachd; Leila

[suffcring]

where do you get all these rumors? i mean, who tells them to you? - Leila @ Rabbit

Rabbit hums softly, thought more on the lines of thick varnish she is painting down Leila's nails in shades of deep blue. She knows she'll follow it up with glitter; there's something about her friend that still speaks of innocence, and Rabbit finds glitter gives that flippant feeling a child might chase.

"A lady never kisses and tells."

Rabbit doesn't kiss -- but the saying carries the laugh inherent in her voice.

Of course, some of it comes from Val, paid for with other secrets, but some are given freely to Rabbit when she turns the cards for their fellow siblings of sin. Many young women like to treat their readings like a therapy session -- and though Rabbit enjoys the gossip, and enjoys Leila's reactions, she's beginning to think maybe a few loose cigarettes aren't payment enough for these exchanges.

As for the silly little tall tales she tells about Primo? She makes those up.

But Leila doesn't need to know.

[suffcring]

"Oh, ouch." Rabbit delivers it with neither scathing sarcasm nor stirred anger, but a simple dry roll of her tongue, unblinking gaze. "I am offended you think I would put sentimentality over practicality."

It is true she had tried, especially early in the former Papa's deaths, tried unsuccessfully to wake Secondo from his death, but he was either unable or unwilling to break from eternal slumber, and Rabbit's rage only grew with enlightenment.

Terzo, her desire for vengeance whispered to her, would be best, really. Not her favorite, not the one who could be a balm to her pain, but the one best suited to burn down the castle of an usurper.

How the sisters would rally around him.

"By the time I was certain my suspicions were correct, you were already wrapped around Copia's finger. Among other things."

She'd waited too long to make her deal with Adramalech, too worried about the possible price to pay. Now, it seems foolish -- looking back, she cannot imagine hesitating when everything around her demanded decisiveness.

"Should I have whispered rumors and gut feelings into your ear by night? Would that have changed matters, or would you have suspected me paranoid? Poor little necromancer, lost her mind in her grief. But you fell into his bed so quickly."

"Bellezze, must we discuss politics?" Terzo's voice croaks, and Rabbit jerked, as if she had forgotten he was there entirely.

"Certainly, Papa. But then, that leaves the question of what to do with our friend Leila, doesn't it?"

Two sets of expectant eyes turn to the Prime Mover, three green (though one is perhaps more hazy than the other two), one glowing white that seemed to cut through the dim light of Leila's room.

It is not that she doesn't love him. Far from it, really. She loved him perhaps not as romantically as she did Copia, but there had been something far deeper than friendship. It could be argued he was her first love. It was still there, horrified as she was by the body before her now.

Seeing his familiar clothes reminds her of the pink shirt hidden away in her wardrobe where no one (Papa) can see it. The things that were forbidden from seeing the light of day once she became involved with the head of the Church. With it are her novitiate's grucifix, incense, a teacup, and other reminders of more innocent times.

She slips her clean hand into her pocket, pulling out a handkerchief, and wiping the blood from her wrist with more force than necessary. A reminder of blood already spilled, and she knows who spilled it.

There are no clean hands in the Ministry.

Eyes watch Terzo as his hand presses to his lips. All the movements are familiar, but there is a stranger behind those eyes. Death has changed him as surely as Secondo's death changed Rabbit. Leila barely recognizes herself in the mirror some days.

She turns to the witch, unwilling to break under her stare, under her judgment. She has no more right to judge than Leila does, and yet they're both doing it.

"Really, more than I did? You kept silent and chose not to tell me things I should have known. You lost an ally with your Pride. What will you do with Terzo, hm? I know he's not the one you wanted to bring back."

[kxllerblond]

@iomadachd​ ASKED:  "We all need a little warning, sometimes." - Leila

❝ I suppose. Though, some of us like to be prepared so thoroughly that a warning isn’t needed. ❞

[storyofwhoiam]

@iomadachd continued from here

"Dunno," Allie gave a shrug, "was hoping for something more interesting than a john."

[apostolicattilan]

//Alright! In Owen's drafts I currently have:

@agentkristiweimaer -Owen and Kristi organising a chat meet up

@rocklandjbrin -Owen and Rockland arguing

@iomadachd -chat with Leila

@fuascailt -the (finished? it felt at a good end) meeting after the attempted Confession

@agentjjkelly -random meeting/chat

@griim -refuge in the church

I know I was doing other stuff, but either I accidentally lost it, or those aren't my turn?

also working on a prompt from a magazine that helped get me writing again so that'll come once it's finished/typed.

[asoulofstars]

Also, I do plan to collect things across all blogs and reply to them. I know most of my owed interactions are for @infamouscabal, and I know I owe @iomadachd Riona & Leila, but I'm not sure on others right now.

[kylo-wrecked]

@iomadachd :// { cont'd from here! }

— ☾ —

When you were a mountain, everything below you looked fake, like a city from an airplane window or a little plastic model. At least, that's what Ben was beginning to see now that the band was on top of the world. He didn't yet lavish in the potent exclusivity and prestige that came with flying business class and being given this and that; praise, acclaim, hugs from people whose lives you had apparently changed, but he'd realized the distance it initiated between him and the rest of the world. The little world in which Ben himself was once a tiny person from a tiny backwater town he missed like a shirt that no longer fit. He got too big. They'd do Bonnaroo next year if the fest in Cantonica worked out. 

Vicrul told columnists, media correspondents, YouTubers, and anyone else who'd listen that the Knights of Ren were 'genuinely, really excited to be here,' and then they'd all 'mug' for the camera, posing like Power Rangers, racking up six million views on TikTok before the festival had even begun. And the band was wild with excitement. They tornadoed from tent to tent, trailer to trailer, smoking anything they could find, provided it was green, swapping clothes, wearing each other's road equipment like hats, wearing Barrza’s cymbals like hats, checking behind each other's knees for ticks, arguing about who got to shower and when, and that's when Ben was Ben. He was Kylo when he walked onto the peninsula of the south stage and looked out at the sea of tiny people undulating and ululating like cats in heat, when the band was fifteen seconds from counting off their first set of the night, and he had to adjust the mic (again), which was always too short, but only needed to reach as far as the Fernandes anyway, and gravely regarded the culture junkies determined to suffocate in home-made replicas of the Knight's masks. 

The Knights of Ren weren't allowed to perform without the masks. They couldn't show up at a red-carpet event, on a talk show, or in a Starbucks without them. So, any time Ben got to spend unencumbered in Canto Fest's milieu of artists and performers, some of whom he'd rip his heart out for, couldn't be squandered. If fucking Baby Ariel asked him if he was having 'the best time,' he could say, 'yup,' and it'd be true. He was wearing shirts with holes in them the size of tumors. He was taking showers at 2 AM every night and waking up at 6 AM with an eight-string guitar in his arms every morning. He got to meet Richard Fucking David James. Moses Sumney. He was buzzing, and it wasn't all molly. 

When he couldn't take the volume of all the tiny people dancing under toothpick and cupcake paper tents in the distance stretching farther by the day, the sight of too many feet in flashy socks and Crocs, the hiss of kombucha on tap, Ben sailed away on the last of his high and deflated in the green room, sliding into a fat orange cat of an armchair, sinking until his back rubbed against the bottom cushion, and his mud-spattered heels dug into about two centimeters of road rug. Leila joined him a minute later. 

He glanced at her from the side of his squished profile dubiously. Even from his gelastic slouching posture, his eyes were penetrating.  

"Are you quoting 'Sword' at me?" he mused, propping his shaggy black head on the tufted chair arm to look at her properly. "Sickening."

But he couldn't maintain a straight face for long. A crooked smile unfurled across it, which, due to the nature of the outdoor festival, had finally seen some sun. The grin was unsuited to the gravity of his features, but given he'd never been told to fix his ears, nose, or teeth, maybe that was the appeal.

"How's you?" Ben asked, shifting in reverse at least until his neck reached the flossy cushioned back. His shirt rolled up in the process, giving Leila a brief peek of what was either a bad tattoo or a scar on his hip.

"You did good out there,” he said, referring to Alecto’s afternoon adrenaline rush. “Sorry they pelted you, though.”

He grinned graciously or apologetically. 

"Those 8oz bottles hit like bullets, don’t they? Our drummer says crowds like that only throw that many at women and queers. You ever throw 'em back? She bats them back at the audience sometimes."

Ben lowered his voice and looked at his hands. Maybe the molly was still in him after all.

"Anyway, you're good. If your music isn't pissing someone off, you haven't accomplished anything." Ben shrugged and nodded toward one performer greatly preoccupied with the inch-wide strip of fabric between her ass cheeks. "I mean, you could be doing that all day."

[muutosarchive]

❛ out of all of the places i could be, why would i want to be here with you? ❜ - Leila to Father Duke

&. 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. / / @iomadachd

"i don't know." he makes a short sound that transitions into a chuckle. there's a crease to his eye & a glitter of genuineness. standing from his bent position to scratch at the back of his neck. not a pillar of confidence, nor even faith -- some could argue. his jovial nature does not save him from the looks of confusion when he begins to walk past his decorated sermons woven into conversation.

there's a tiny little bounce of his shoulders that indicates a shrug, with the soft shifting of his upper body. the answer is ripped away from him by some unseen force, unable to still his tongue from the unflattering truth of the matter. he looks at his feet -- thirty two teeth still bashfully twinkling at the floor. shame in itself. as the sight is exclusively reserved for such inanimate company, as of late.

weathered hands begin to re-organize the altar, once again. head tilted in thoughtfulness. "i suppose being cooped up in a church all day isn't everyone's idea of fun -- especially with me, i'm sure." he looks up, knowingly. "i apologize."

[symbiiotic]

Leila peers up at Venom, flashing pure black eyes at him as she stamps her foot. "Stop being a butthead or I'll set an eldritch on you and eat all the candy." / @iomadachd

VENOM IS ONLY PARTLY MANIFESTED — and yes, they have been hogging all the chocolate, thanks. And at that — they blink, broadly, and rear back, offended. " BUTTHEAD? WE ARE NOT— "

" Okay, okay, jesus, nope, nope — " Eddie, stressed, grasps on to the symbiote's — neck-face-tendril — and hauls back, which of course is fruitless, as they just sort've liquid around him to get right back in her face.

" WE WILL SHOW YOU BUTTHEA— " And so Eddie grabs their fuckin' tongue, and they garble in a little snarling fit as he wrangles them back into a manageable ball of angry alien. " Yeah, uh, jesus, wow. So sorry. Uh. Here, you can — have the res— stop fucking biting me! "

[suffcring]

Trick or Treat! - Leila @ Rabbit

“Here,”

Rabbit pressed three small bronze bells tied together with black ribbon into Leila’s hands.

“Tie them on your door. They’re witches bells.”

Whether or not this has anything to do with Halloween or it is simply the way Rabbit shows she cares is the real question.

[suffcring]

"Forgive me, sorry, sorry-- But I think you are overestimating their..." His head bounces from side to side, as if the word might simply shake loose in his mind. Copia had thought to tame his more eccentric habits, the way his thoughts churn in on themselves and become erratic movements -- how many times had Sister Imperator told him to stop fidgeting when speaking to others? But with Leila, they simply... Fall out.

And besides, he is Papa, now. It was different when he was simply Cardi, playing to the clergy and it's congregation, scraping by his nails to get the respect he was owed from years of dedicated loyalty and work. Perhaps then, he should have striven to be more in the eyes of the finnicky Sisters, with their tastes tending towards finer Emeritus blood. But those days were over, and he was the Ministry.

Let them laugh in the shadows about his eccentricities. He doesn't care.

(He does, Satan forgive him, he does.)

"Er, their together strength? You are thinking, they are like wolves. They are more like your... yotes? Living in a group, but working on their own. Fighting and feeding in solitary, or... pairs."

Copia is not so worried about the things that plague Leila's thoughts; so there are unhappy Sisters and Brothers. They leave, more come.

More are coming every day; more than they've ever had amongst the flock. So a witch is unhappy. So a demon works with small amusements in the background. So there is a ghoul hidden in secret spaces.

So what?

Slowly, he turns towards Leila, moving his body language to accommodate only her in his duo-toned vision, as have his thoughts all these years only been moved towards her. Gloved fingers collect her thin, shapely ones, hold them in warmth.

"I don't want you to worry, bella. It is all as it... should be, si?"

She would dearly love to go back to believing all is well, and that there is nothing to be wary of. She never expected to have to be wary of Rabbit. Their paths are split, and while she is angry and grieving in some ways, the full impact has lessened with time.

With the death of Secondo, something died in Rabbit and what took its place was nothing less than bad intentions and bad vibes. Others felt the same way, and she could see their expressions through rose-tinted glasses.

She was naive, not blind.

Less naive than before, but she still wanted to believe the best in people. She wanted to believe they would come around and support Papa as they had the Papas before him. She hesitated to ask for the truth of their deaths because she didn't want that last bit of innocence taken from her.

If she could keep believing Papa was innocent of murder, then she might not hate herself.

"I try not to, Papa, but wolves hunt in packs," she answers softly. She does her best to concern herself with her studies, and with her upcoming confirmation, but there is so much unrest that even innocence cannot avoid the environment.

She might be a fool if she tried to ignore it entirely. She might be a fool already.

"I miss out on much as a novitiate, but I am trying to pay attention to the things that matter to me," she adds after a moment, looking at him and catching his eye. She doesn't let her gaze stray from his.

He matters to her, and so does the church. Rabbit matters to her as well, even if they are no longer close.

"I look forward to my confirmation... and what comes after. The Ministry has given me purpose and companionship. I won't give up on it so easily."

Or you is unspoken.

[kxllerblond]

🔥? - Leila (because it's funny)

SEND “🔥?” AND MY MUSE WILL ADMIT WHETHER THEY FIND YOUR MUSE ATTRACTIVE OR NOT.

His arms are crossed, hand lifting so he can tap at his chin. ❝ It's hard to say. I hardly know you as of yet. Objectively? I think so. ❞ a glance to confirm, a nod. ❝ Though, I will say...the whole being a fellow cambion thing might just deduct some points. Through no fault of your own, of course. ❞

[tmetrvels]

@iomadachd​ for leila!

“Your hand at the level of your eyes!” Raphael whipped around, a brief and stern warning as he raised his dagger. Keeping it at the level of his eyes, towards the side of his face.

[asoulofstars]

Okay, if I'm correct on drafts, I currently owe @iomadachd for Riona & Leila and @infamouscabal for Riona & Johannes.

[tenderviolence]

@iomadachd​ sent a meme | TELL MY MUSE...

[Accepting | Not Accepting]

"You're not a monster." - Leila

Hannibal was turned away from the woman on the other side of the glass, his hands folded into the small of his back. When she spoke, he raised his eyebrows at the books that he was looking at.

He had not been expecting Leila Sullivan to visit him, as much as he had enjoyed her friendship and companionship before his life had been reduced to that overwhelmingly white cell. He knew that she was not one to be easily deterred by the strange and unusual... but it was still against his expectation to have her calling on him.

The former psychiatrist pulled a book from the shelf and walked slowly over to the table in the center of his cell. He set the book down and thumbed through it idly before he gave her a response. 

“Are you familiar with Balaam, Leila?”

[suffcring]

🖤 - Copia & Leila

attractiveness:

repulsive / hideous / ugly / not attractive / unappealing / not unattractive / meh / no preference / ok / mildly attractive / nice looking / cute / adorable / attractive / pleasant on the eyes / good looking / hot / sexy / beautiful / gorgeous / hot damn / would tap that / perfect / godlike / holy fuck there are no words.

personality:

grating / irritating / frustrating / boring / confusing at best / awkward / unreasonable / psychotic / disturbing / interesting / engaging / affectionate / aggressive / ambitious / anxious / artistic / bad tempered / bossy / charismatic / appealing / unappealing / creative / courageous / dependable / unreliable / unpredictable / predictable / devious / dim / extroverted / introverted / egotistical / gregarious / fabulous / impulsive / intelligent / sympathetic / talkative / up beat / peaceful / calming / badass / flexible.

how likely they would have sex with them:

not if they were the last person on earth and the world was ending / fuck no! / never / no way / not likely / not sure / indifferent / I’m asexual / maybe / probably / it depends / fairly likely / likely / yeah sure / yes / would tap that / hell yes / fuck yes! / wishing that could happen right now / as many times as possible / we are already having sex.

level of friendship:

never in a million years / worst of enemies / enemies / rivals / indifferent / neutral / acquaintance / friendly toward each other / casual friends / friends / good friends / best friends / fuck buddies / bosom buddies / practically the same person / would die for them / true friends / my only friend.

first impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.

current impression of them:

i hate them so much / i don’t like them / i don’t trust them / they annoy me / they’re weird / I’m indifferent / meh / they seem alright / they’re growing on me / truce / I think I like them / I like them / I’m not sure if I trust them / I trust them / they’re cool / they’re genuine / I think we’re going to get along / I really like them / I think I’m in love / oh fuck they’re hot / I love them.