#toprotectandscrve

[doyl1st]

Questioning Sentence Starters // Still Accepting@toprotectandscrve asked: "You know who's behind this, don't you?" -Walter

Isaac giggles. It's a small, but shrill sound that almost always suggests misbehavior on the doctor's part. Of course he knows who's behind this, he's Isaac fucking Doyle.

But, outright stating it would be too easy. Why would he do that when he can wring just a little bit more fun out of this? So, he simply shrugs his shoulders.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. Maybe it was easy as pie to figure out. Maybe I'm still stumped. Maybe I'll tell you the truth, if you make it worth my while."

[heroonlybyblood]

@toprotectandscrve asked:

“ I’m breaking in a new maid. I’m simply worn out with it. ” -Jasper

"Oh? Well, if anyone on staff deserves a break, it's certainly you." Sparrow smiled, motioning Jasper to sit while Sparrow continued his paperwork. "Anything I should be worried about?"

[governmentofficial]

@toprotectandscrve continued from [x]

It wasn’t unusual for work to rouse either of them in the middle of the night, particularly Mycroft, being in his own home. While not nightly, Jasper had become accustomed to being the latter one to rise every now and then because of it.

However, he was not accustomed to finding the man awake while still lying next to him in bed.

“Are you all right, dear?” Sleep’s lingering grip restrained his voice to a hushed whisper; his hand went to Mycroft’s chest soothingly. “Would you like some warm tea, or a hot toddy, perhaps?”

Mycroft had been trying not to wait Jasper up, laying as still as possible in the hope that he wouldn’t disturb him. He was waiting for an email, having woken up half an hour ago and suddenly found himself with the solution to a particularly issue he had been facing at work. Having send off the necessary information, all he needed was for somebody to confirm that everything had been put in place. Once he received that message, he could go back to sleep and deal with the rest in the morning.

The communication should have already come through. It was a little concerning, but not so much so that he was about to rush into the office. Not yet, anyway. If no response came by the end of the hour, then he may have to reconsider.

With an audible sigh, Mycroft turned his head on the pillow so that he was facing Jasper. “No, no. I’m just waiting for a colleague to respond to an email,” he explained, assuming that it was already obvious that this was not a normal situation. Yes, he worked exceedingly long hours, but he did not usually do so from bed.

“Did I disturb you?” He then asked. “I can move to my study if you need me to.”

[merchantofwhispers]

2, 10, 14

romance & relationship headcanons! | @toprotectandscrve

2. has your muse been mainly attracted to masculinity, femininity, androgyny, or an even split (between two, many, or all of the options specified)?

- Mina is largely drawn to the binary, unfortunately. Masculine-appearing men or highly feminine women. This does not mean that she hasn't strayed from that formula from time to time, finding herself with partners who blur the line closer to androgyny, but overall she prefers the more defined end of either or.

10. has your muse ever been cheated on? would they ever cheat on their partner(s)?

This is a complicated question. By all technicality, Gemina is a cheater in the very specific sense that she doesn't tell her short flings about the fact she has a husband. It's not a conscious choice, but friends with benefits hardly have to know you're already seeing someone else, right? As far as being cheated on, however, she can hardly remember a point where she was. Relationships for Gemina are often short and she gives free reign to her partners to seek out others if they so desire. It's difficult to cheat on a woman who believes she has no right to bind you. If someone has, she likely didn't even realize it.

14. what traits does your muse want to avoid when it comes to choosing a romantic partner?

Generic as it is -- an explosive temper. Combining childhood trauma, the consistent vile actions of men in her line of work, as well as her own short fuse means that Gemina tries her best to only romantically align herself with people who have more patience than she does. Or at the very least people that can remove themselves from an argument.

[intothewildsea]

@toprotectandscrve

The journey by ship to Niamh's home island didn't take terribly long. Less than a week, thankfully, due to good weather and clear skies. Poor Walter fretted the entire way, nervous about meeting her family. By the time they were nearing the dock of Toka, Niamh thought he was going to jump out of his skin.

"Darling, it'll be fine." She rubbed small circles on his back. "They're going to love you as much as I do." She was sure of that. Any time she visited, she gushed about Walter, so much so that her cousins tended to groan and call her lovesick. Maybe she was. Just a little.

She pushed up onto her tiptoes and kiss his cheek. "It'll be fine," she said again, hoping to reassure him. "Just be yourself."

[mettleborn-a]

@toprotectandscrve​ said: 

“I wish, as well as everybody else, to be perfectly happy; but, like everybody else, it must be in my own way. Luckily, I'm rather easy to please.” (Walter for Adelia)

“Funnily enough, I have heard the exact opposite said of me.” Adelia laughs lightly before giving her horse a nudge, encouraging it to keep pace with Walter.

“I would not wish however to be perfectly happy, for what of the happiness to be found in life’s imperfections, Walter?”

Glancing over at him, she offers him a playful smile. “For example, the slight nick below your ear where you clearly cut yourself shaving this morning; a bright display of your humanity and your mortality…I must admit I find it quite endearing; that little imperfection, the one that tells me your razor would be better placed in my hands.”

[strawberryswalker]

@toprotectandscrve​ continued from here

Manic’s eyes were still coming into focus, he just practically wormholed though time itself! And now finds himself face to face with...Himself? The GREAT Manic Monday would figure this out!

He tries to focus on the man, but his stomach still churns from all the strange mode of travel he just discovered. However, he can not deny that his own face was perhaps the most comforting to see. If anyone had this face he’d trust it implicitly, to be a little. Manic.

“ New York. But that is not the question my charming fellow. The question Is, When am I? And Where am I?”

Manic feels unable to just remain on this couch, but can’t move just yet.

[reverxnce]

|| Continued ||

@toprotectandscrve​

-

         Though his pacing gait was rife with irritation, and his tone with anger, there was none that reached his eyes that looked upon the reverend. He didn’t hear an insult. “—Tact can be overrated. Some things need to be said, and straight, or they’ll never come out at all." 

“Yes, I suppose there is some truth to that.”

Ezekiel wrung his hands nervously. Perhaps he himself had been a little tactless with that remark. But he couldn’t help but be shocked by the other man’s frankness - frankness that had sent the third party abruptly leaving the room. Then again, he could understand why Walter had been so irritated by him…

Fiddling awkwardly with the folds of his cassock, he looked cautiously over at the remaining man in the room, before carefully speaking up once again.

“Is there something I can get you, sir? To help settle your nerves - tea perhaps? Or something stronger?”

[bluesunsdusk]

@toprotectandscrve

I cannot wait for the Fable resurgence. The seven of us in the fandom are going to fucking LOSE it.

[helvenandgrey]

🫀 & 🧭

[ 🫀 ] does your muse make decisions with their head or their heart? perhaps a bit of both?

Shade: Primarily with her head, she's much more strategical in her thinking and likes to do things she knows have a chance to work. On rare occasions she might operate based on emotions, but she tries to stay away from it.

Careil: As smart as she is, I don't think Careil has heard of forward planning. Most of her "strategies" in life have gone "Learn from x person -> Do some questing -> Get rich from questing -> become most powerful fire mage ever -> gains." The vast majority of her decisions are made from a mix of emotions/heart and pure hubris.

Mili: Her decision making is a bit of both. She was raised by a demon war general and a professional "fighter for hire" aka neutral aligned mercenary/guard. She knows how to survive nd how to plan out attacks, but she also tends to live life and think about one goal at a time, so her heart and emotions can very quickly make her shift gears into a completely different and separate plan and goal.

Rowan: Pure heart baby, with an occasional use of her head, but that's often to make her decisions alight with her personal idea of right and wrong. While she is very smart, she is also very prone to doing things based on her feelings at the moment with only a few moments of foreplaning or debating if it will help her in the future.

Cerda: She likes to claim she makes decisions with her mind, but very often she is acting from her heart. If she is actively working then she is in pure logic mode, but otherwise she is indeed a creature of the heart.

Evelyn: Both and she is very aware of it. Unlike Shade she does not hide from her emotions since it fuels her magic, but she also doesn't try to hide decision reasoning as something they are not. It's taken her a long time to work on, and it's not perfect, but a lot of it also comes from a deep sense of low self-worth based on occupation and social rank (being a strega and scout, both of which are viewed as either low or near non existent in Remulan society) and aren't horribly healthy. It's still a work in progress.

[ 🧭 ] does your muse consider themselves a good person? why or why not?

Shade: Yes, she does her best to do good by her home, friends, country, etc. She believes that actions make the person.

Careil: Yes, and she believes in her own inherent virtue rather than her actions. As long as she is comfortable with herself, she cannot see herself as being anything less than good and right (often she is not right, not evil either, but not right).

Mili: Mili would categorize herself as good, as she does try to protect the majority of people when she can, and will often help the weak. She also understand that her decisions are often made selfishly, her help to big towns often comes with a price tag, which isn't the nicest thing. She doesn't believe that niceness makes goodness though, and honestly only cares what her loved ones think of her. nice =/= good, but selfish or self-serving =/= evil and she uses that as her personal moral compass and to explain herself. As long as she doesn't actively wish to hurt innocent people, she sees herself as generally good.

Rowan: She is a firm believer that nice = good, and frames her goodness largely on public perception of her. She relies more on other's ideas of her than she lets on, and a lot of her confidence comes from the idea that she is a good person at her core, and she believes that is evident by her being a nice and likable person.

Cerda: She believes she is good, and would be shocked and distressed if someone counteracted that idea. Despite operating based on emotion, she is a very analytical person and is very likely to examine a new idea should it be presented, but until anything is presented or a challenge comes to her views she is unlikely to examine them on her own.

Evelyn: She believes so and has been told so, but she is also continually examining herself and her role in the empire she lives in and is constantly trying to prove her own goodness. She will not deny having helped do wrong in the name of the empire though, and does worry on the regular if she is effecting things in a bad way, or a good way as a small cog in the clock of time and life.

[doyl1st]

Tired Sentence Starters // No Longer Accepting @toprotectandscrve said: "I think that I've just about lost the ability to sleep, if I'm honest." -Jasper

If you spoke to just about anyone who knew his name, they'd tell you that Isaac Doyle is, above all else, a giant prick. He's loud, rude, and egotistical. Violent, too. He's the type of guy who'll kick your ass, rob you blind, and call you a whole host of terrible words while doing so. But to anyone who knows him, anyone who's really taken the time to peek see beyond that vitriolic shell, they'll tell you that the truth is much more complicated than that.

Yes, Isaac can be an asshole. He can be mean and angry and nasty and all those other things said about him, but he can be good, too. He can be sweet and caring, gentle and sincere. His better side is best exemplified when he's faced with a friend in need, or even just a friend in discomfort.

The corners of Isaac's mouth dip down into a concerned frown at the older man's words. A man needs his rest, and a man of Jasper's age much more-so.

"You aren't getting sick, are you? Restlessness is a common symptom for a number of things. It can be a symptom of itself, too. Have you ever heard someone say they're too tired to sleep? Maybe it's that."

[heroonlybyblood]

@toprotectandscrve asked:

“ Why is it, d'you think, that some people seem to get whatever they want in life? ” -Walter

Sparrow sighed. "Luck probably. Either that or an over abundance of time and planning." He snorted, amusement curling his tone. "Or they're just great at cover-ups."

[governmentofficial]

@toprotectandscrve​ continued from [x]

           "...Which means that you do know the answer and simply will not provide it.             You'll have me wondering why all week. It would be easier if you just told me."

“Jasper, how ever am I supposed to maintain a reputation as some kind of man of mystery if I tell you absolutely everything?”

Mycroft was teasing, of course. He clearly could say something, as if the matter had been classified in some way he would have simply declined to comment. However, where would be the fun in that? Once of the perks, he felt, of his relationship with Jasper was the ability to just relax within the presence of another man, and with that came the surprising urge to want to enjoy himself a little.

“I could,” Mycroft then began to suggest, play acting a man on the fence about what he should do, “be convinced to share my information. For the right price, of course.”

[the-wittyfool]

|| Continued ||

@toprotectandscrve​

           "Oh, I'm just looking after him for a friend." The smile on Walter's face told that he was happy to do so, and the calmness with which the creature trotted about his vicinity without a leash told that they were quite acquainted. A handsome collie, it went to sniff at Feste's feet and fingers before looking up at him expectantly—because when one was raised into royalty, one expected head pats from every friendly face. "Looks like he likes you. He always has been a good judge of character." Beneath the dog's smiling face (and resulting drip of drool) shone a tag from its collar that read, in Walter's native language, R E X.

“Right...” Feste murmured, looking fairly unenthused. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t like dogs. It wasn’t that he liked dogs either. They were amazing creatures in their own right and Feste had nothing but admiration for their intelligence and remarkable capacity for love. Then again, that love was something that Feste would tend to find...well, a bit intense. And they would always move so quickly and suddenly; that always made him jump.

“U-Uh...” a brief stammer escaped him as the dog began snuffling around at his shoes and Feste found himself resisting the urge to back away. He looked nervously down at the surprisingly large creature, tensing up in preparation for the likely event that the dog would suddenly jump at him. It seemed likely given his experience with them, anyway. 

All things considered, though, there was no denying that the creature was dreadfully sweet...

“Uh...hi, um..Rex, is it...?” He said awkwardly, slowly bending to hover a hand just above the mass of cotton-like fur.

“Can I touch him...?” 

[intothewildsea]

📔 :3c

send 📔 to read an entry from my muse's diary about your muse.

The writing in the diary is a little unsteady, a little slanted, but Niamh has been practicing and her writing is becoming neater. It's hard being left handed, when the ink from her quill smears on her hand as she writes unless she turns it at an uncomfortable angle.

'Being away from Walter is difficult. I've grown so used to waking up beside him each morning, listening to his snores, having to prod him out of bed to get ready for the day. I miss him. I'm glad to be with my family for a visit, but each day I miss him more and more. I know I'll be back home soon and he'll scoop me up in his arms, like he always does, but the day can't arrive fast enough.'

[governmentofficial]

"Oh?"

Mycroft raised an eyebrow. He got the impression that Jasper was joking, but only partly. That made him curious, but he was not concerned. Jasper was many wonderful things, and one of them was steadfastly loyal. There was no need to be jealous of what he assumed to be a former fling - or, at least, Mycroft didn't think there wasn't while Jasper's attention was still fully on him.

Though, even with that thought in mind, Mycroft did step a little closer to the other man and wrap a hand around his waist. He wasn't worried, but was there any harm in ensuring that nobody had any doubts about his claim to Jasper's heart? Mycroft certainly didn't think so.

"Would you like me to aim to increase that loathing, or would you prefer that I play nice?"

Though he knew of the ever-present tension of Mycroft being newly out, Jasper still was relieved to hear that the man was pleased with this particular outing thus far, as he could be. It was of the few times that Mycroft had gotten a taste of his life rather than the other way around, albeit very small; it was the only time during which Jasper had very little control over what Mycroft organically found out.

He smiled smugly at his beloved's question, pleased. Humor meant that he was relaxed: a striking improvement from their first few times in public together. (He did, however, leave the question unanswered—a bad habit of his.)

"Well..." He took a look over the large room, bustling with guests and a few waiters with trays. "...There may be eyes that loathe the sight of you here with me." It was his turn to be humorous; though indeed there had been another member of the staff with whom he'd had a trifling, it had not been nearly so involved as to assume jealousy—let alone years after the fact. But, he was riding the egotistical wave of being complimented and esteemed. In the moment, it felt right that Mycroft should know he was not only an adept employee, but a desirable man worthy of his arm.