zilmdat

[zilmdat]

* @vexatoire ! ❛ nobody gets away with anything. not really. ❜

if anyone had the heavy conscious to weigh in on past consequences, bucky found himself thinking he was overqualified. his name was cleared in the basic sense sure, but the memories of his past haunted still. horrors he'd committed he'd continue to live with until he met an inevitable end. fingers tap against tumbler rim, half melted ice clinking amidst watered down liquor. " confessing to some sins? " he poses, eyes sweeping the small and intimate bar, aglow with neon and a thin smokey haze.

" can't say i disagree with you. "

[zilmdat]

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER SENTENCE STARTERS

❛ I'm sorry for your loss, your...your losses, rather. ❜

❛ Nobody gets away with anything. Not really. ❜

❛ Don't lecture me about family values. You're just as shit in that department as I am. ❜

❛ That day was the last day we were all in the same place. Alive. ❜

❛ They will love you because I love you, and the only thing stronger than love is how scared they are of getting cut out of the will. ❜

❛ And most people go their whole, wasted, stupid lives without one minute of true resolution. Not me though. ❜

❛ You know what a resolution is? It's a deal you make with the future. ❜

❛ The people in charge of making us healthy make us sick. We cheat the dying. We fleece the poor. Promote the racist. Let the demons run amok. This world needs changing. ❜

❛ You're supposed to be shadowing me. Shadows don't fucking talk. ❜

❛ This is beneath you. And you're going to kill it. But you're better than all of this. And the minute you figure that out, you're going to be unstoppable. ❜

❛ There's no such thing as a step back. You go forward. If you h*t a brick wall, you don't go back, you go through. ❜

❛ Nearly realized is the sweetest. It's better, I promise, in the moment just before than in the moment after. ❜

❛ You are consequence. And tonight, you are consequential. ❜

❛ You are a pretty, pretty little thing. ❜

❛ You wonder why people hate us. This is why. ❜

❛ Everybody knows that edible arrangements are what you send to people you hate. ❜

❛ If you start thinking this is reality, you'll just slip into the abyss. ❜

❛ We can talk about it after because I've had a shit day and I really just wanna starfish and forget the world. ❜

❛ Don't talk to me until I've come at least twice. ❜

❛ I love how deliciously, pointlessly mean you lot can be. ❜

❛ You still didn't need to come here though. It could have happened quiet. Peaceful. In bed. But I guess it's got to happen like this. ❜

❛ It's amazing how far you can get on denial. You know why so many people use denial to get by? Because it really fucking works. ❜

❛ You can't enhance this image? You see it all the time on TV. They hit a button, it enhances it. ❜

❛ I don't even own anything funeral black. ❜

❛ Satin is silk for poor people, no one should wear it to a funeral, unless they died in it. ❜

❛ Nobody knows they're the fall guy until they're falling.❜

❛ Women are the natural leaders of the species. Ancient Egypt had it right. ❜

❛ Okay, just because the door's open doesn't necessarily guarantee you a seat at the table. ❜

❛ You're not who I thought you were. ❜

❛ I really didn't want to think it, but...you're all fucking monsters. ❜

❛ Watching you shit on your principles would have been worth every fucking penny. ❜

❛ The mind of guilt is full of scorpions. And I wouldn't wish their sting on anyone. ❜

❛ Don't have to be smart to be dangerous. I'm not scared of rattlesnakes 'cause they're so smart. ❜

❛ You're so out of touch with your human side...you can't even listen to anything outside your own head. ❜

❛ I haven't seen you sleep in like...I mean, it's been a fucking long time. Like, horror movie long. ❜

❛ Life is insane. It is madness. The sooner you understand that, the better off you'll be. ❜

❛ The world might not be safe but listen to me, and listen carefully. I won't let anything happen to you. ❜

❛ All these terrible things and I thought, that's when people come together. But we've never been further apart. ❜

❛ Tell me it's worth it. Tell me you know the risk and I'll be there with you. I'll back you up. Just tell me. ❜

❛ Shut your mouth, get your shit together. The fuck is wrong with you? ❜

❛ Men, when they think they're immortal, all they want to do is fuck. When they figure out they're going to die, all they want to do is fuck. ❜

❛ It just makes you think, you know, life is so fucking short. ❜

❛ You don't have to be a tyrant, but if you don't want to be consistently cruel, then you have to be sufficiently brutal at least once to establish authority. ❜

❛ I thought it was an act. I figured you just played the housewife so you could keep a roof over your head. Spread your legs or suck his dick twice a week and you're set. You never have to work a day in your life. And I thought, "Good for her, she found her angle," but...this is really you. Isn't it? ❜

❛ Words got us into this, words can get us out. ❜

❛ You're a collection of impeccable, elaborate masks in orbit of a stunted heart. ❜

❛ There are certain things one shouldn't have to face in life. Time enough for self-reflection after. ❜

❛ I don't normally like to get my hands this dirty, but honey, you earned it. ❜

❛ I see you now. I look at you and I see... You. The poverty of you. ❜

❛ The real world is Darwinian. Survival, chaos, power. Leverage. ❜

❛ You feel it. In the air. We're sitting outside of time and space. ❜

❛ This is the moment luck meets opportunity. ❜

❛ In the ancient world, we'd seal this with blood, or spit. And then later, papyrus. But, a deal's a deal all over the world. ❜

❛ We're a... virus, I think. People, I mean. ❜

❛ But everyone loves something. And in that love there's collateral. ❜

❛ I say this with love. Let it go. Let it all go. ❜

❛ So I say, we stand tall and proud. Bill's come due. Let's not hide here in the basement like we've got something to be ashamed of. No. Not us. You and me against the world. ❜

❛ It may not have been perfect, but you can't say we didn't change the world. How many people can say that at the end? ❜

❛ I knew I would climb to the top of the tower on a pile of corpses. ❜

❛ It don't matter in the end why you did any of it. I don't fucking care why you did it. We don't want your confession, or your rationale, or your explanation. ❜

[zilmdat]

hey friends im gonna revitalize bucky and make him normal versed based again.

[zilmdat]

𝔜𝔬𝔲 ℭ𝔞𝔫'𝔱 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔬𝔫𝔢 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤

“One of the things you may have noticed during the season of #thefalconandthewintersoldier was Bucky’s reluctance to use guns and knives. This was a conscious choice to illustrate Bucky’s journey away from being the Winter Soldier. So when @davemacomber came to me and told me about this idea for a knife fight, I loved it instantly. We referred to this fight as ‘you can’t dethrone the king’. If you take note Bucky uses the back unsharp side of the tanto as he traps and parries the attacks, even throwing the knife next to Diego’s head as a statement ‘don’t make me cross that line’. This is one of my favorite fights, not only because of the context but also because what you’re seeing there is almost 100% @imsebastianstan and he nailed it! Super proud of the work he put into it and for the record he did nail the knife flip on the first take.”

John Nania (@johnninja), Sebastian Stan’s Stunt Double

[zilmdat]

buckys eternal vibe throughout any verse i have for him but particularly his fantasy centric one since that’s where he remains rn, is just: idk but also fuck you

[zilmdat]

the paladin looks down at the embroidered symbol on his chest as it's mentioned, no falter in his steps despite the fact. jason has a point, but james doesn't seem to care all too much returning it with a shrugging of his shoulders. " just because i don't want to deal with a one doesn't mean i won't. like to see some dumb bastard try. " he grumbles as mud begins to cake itself to the bottom of his footwear once gravel fades into dirt. " sides' the only way i'm getting out of this thing is if it's to close my eyes for the night. " the sun has set over faerun, the woods surrounding them eerily quiet save for the chirping of insects and rustling of fauna. " lots of reasons mercs get killed in the wilds. thieves, creature attacks, their own mouths, opposition to whatever guild they come from. never known anyone to outright hate the fists, but it's not unheard of i guess. "

" i trust that you won't be sorely disappointed if we have to put some bodies in the dirt anyways. " surprisingly the pair had not encountered too many scuffles since heading out that morning, and most of the day had been spent on foot traveling to their current destination with little interruptions save for the occasional gnoll or redcap. " i imagine the closer we get to the city, the worse it'll get. "

the smell of aged rot and black gut ooze perverts any amicable conversation traveling companions might share.   though jason was notably   confident   that the corpse could not be of any harm,   james would tell him otherwise.   if not by word,   then it is the absence of indifference which so often he would address strange things such as this.   that,   or jason simply does not pay enough attention to the smallest indications of james’ often   vague   change of mood.   he does,   however,   kneel before the slain body to eye the insignia tattered and torn by battle and scavenging animals.   he is familiar with the customs of mercenary bands,   and has himself taken to remembering them and their insignias.   it is common practice to bear a sort of standard,   but this one,   he is not familiar,   and has not asked too why james wears the same.   gloved hands maraud pockets to find them,   expectedly,   empty.

“we ought to move, then.   for all we know,   that insignia you wear might’ve made YOU a target.   or…   this guy was just some lowlife.”   well-worn leather croaks as he stands,   smears his palms across his thighs and moves to follow quietly behind along the traveled path.   his eyes follow the thrown crate of fly-infested fruit.   “think it’s a good idea to wear that in?”   pipes the rogue,   who comes toward james’ shoulder and gestures with a pointed thumb.   “i mean,   if you’re really trying to avoid a fight.   ‘least until we figure out why that guy’s taking ten.” the tavern is but a few minutes' walk farther, and jason has every intention to hurry toward its hearth. though weary, he is not one to oppose a fight, thus his suggestion is rather... noncommittally offered.

[zilmdat]

* @deadhooded ! ❝ he’s dead. he won’t bite. ❞

yes, dead as a doornail, in fact. the man's skin is greying, a mess of broken bones and putrefaction but it doesn't hide the mark he once wore, and it's one that matches his very own - a flaming fist. it causes james to scrunch his nose, the only sign that this has any effect on him at all. " they could've at least moved his body off the road. " the man spits out, booted feet crunching against gravel as he begins to trail past the corpse.

" there's an inn nearby, we should start there and see where this guy takes us. " he adds with an aggravated sigh. " and hope we're not walking into an ambush. i'm not in the mood to fight off cultists or creatures looking for a brawl. " truth be told, he just wants a tall glass of ale and a bed to sleep in for the night. perhaps even the warm exhale of a fire so he can dry his currently soaked underclothing. gods, or a bath - the thought makes him groan aloud, kicking at a long forgotten crate of rotten fruit that sits aside the trail they were hiking up.

[zilmdat]

asoiaf: a dance with dragons starters

❝ i fear i make you uneasy. ❞ ❝ knowledge is a weapon. arm yourself well before you ride forth to battle. ❞ ❝ go on. show your steel. give me cause to do the same. ❞ ❝ fear is what keeps a man alive in this world of treachery and deceit. ❞ ❝ these woods are not as empty as you think. ❞ ❝ promise me that you will never turn against me. i could not bear that. promise me. ❞ ❝ the only time a man can be brave is when he is afraid. ❞ ❝ if i must die, i will die with an axe in my hand and a curse upon my lips. ❞ ❝ tales are told of you. i hear them everywhere. people fear you. ❞ ❝ go too far down that road,  and  mistrust  can  poison  you,  make you sour and fearful. ❞ ❝ you mistake me. that was a command, not an offer. ❞ ❝ sorcery is a sword without a hilt. there is no safe way to grasp it. ❞ ❝ prophecy is like a half-trained mule. it looks like it might be useful, but the moment you trust in it, it kicks you in the head. ❞ ❝ it is not the foes who curse you to your face that you must fear, but those who smile when you are looking and sharpen their knives when you turn your back. ❞ ❝ i rose too high, loved too hard, dared too much. i tried to grasp a star, overreached, and fell. ❞ ❝ they think that this will break my pride, that it will make an end to me, but they are wrong. ❞ ❝ tell me of the things that make you happy, the things that make you giggle, all your sweetest memories. remind me that there is still good in the world. ❞ ❝ one war ends, another begins. there is always someone fighting someone somewhere. ❞ ❝ this is what i was made for. the dance, the sweet steel song, a sword in my hand and a foe before me. ❞ ❝ my enemies have told you i am dead. those tales are false, as you can see. ❞ ❝ not all that a man does is done for gain. ❞ ❝ i know that you believe me weak, frightened, feeble. ❞ ❝ it takes a man to rule. kill the boy, and let the man be born. ❞ ❝ do you mean to spend your whole life running away? ❞ ❝ kingdoms are at hazard here. our lives, our names, our honour. this is no game we’re playing for your amusement. ❞ ❝ however gentle the words, there are always darker motives underneath. i do not trust you. ❞ ❝ a good honest face, but you should smile more. ❞ ❝ my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. ❞ ❝ you are so radiant today i fear to look on you. ❞ ❝ prove yourself more trouble than you are worth, and you can go your own way. ❞ ❝ you need not look so pale, i was only playing with you. ❞ ❝ this is not the day i die, i promise you. ❞ ❝ i wanted you from the first time i saw you. ❞ ❝ was i so blind, or  did  i  close  my  eyes  willingly, so i would not see the price of power? ❞ ❝ men should not go wandering in this place. ❞ ❝ hold your tongue and do as you are told, or you will soon wish you had. ❞ ❝ you won’t try. you will obey. ❞ ❝ kneel and live. or go and die. it’s your choice to make. ❞ ❝ are you so blind, or is it that you do not wish to see? ❞ ❝ that is not a place you want to go to. ❞ ❝ i will not go back without doing what i came for, no matter how hopeless it may seem. ❞ ❝ the fairest woman in this world…i am drunk with the sight of you. ❞ ❝ secrets are worth more than silver and sapphires. ❞ ❝ we have come too far to turn back now. ❞ ❝ what have i done to make you hate me so? ❞ ❝ you meet so few men who value friendship over gold these days. ❞ ❝ it is true, i am a bolder man than most. ❞ ❝ i cannot go home. but i dare not stay here much longer. ❞ ❝ foes and false friends are all around me. ❞ ❝ the fewer folk who will know of this, the better. ❞ ❝ all you have i gave you. remember that. ❞ ❝ will you make me say it twice? go and do as i commanded you. ❞ ❝ love is madness, and lust is poison. ❞ ❝ i feel safe when i’m with you. ❞ ❝ have you no smile for me? am i as fearful as all that? ❞ ❝ why did i ever allow myself to be talked into this farce? ❞ ❝ don’t think i don’t see what you’re doing. ❞ ❝ i will tell you nothing. do me the same favor. ❞ ❝ if i look back i am lost. ❞ ❝ a crown should not sit easy on the head. ❞ ❝ we must show a little trust, you and i. ❞ ❝ trust only your companions, and do your best to avoid attracting notice. ❞ ❝ you’re not going to try to kill me again, i hope. ❞ ❝ if you will forgive me for saying so, you look…weary. are you sleeping? ❞ ❝ your clothes are stained with blood. take them off. ❞ ❝ every fool loves to hear that he’s important. ❞ ❝ my father used to tell me that a man must know his enemies. ❞ ❝ you are a harmless creature, to be sure. as innocent as a lamb. ❞ ❝ till then, let us drink and dream. ❞ ❝ you will be tempted to betray me. to run or fight or join our foes. i’ll not hear you deny it. ❞ ❝ soon enough you may have grave need of me. do not refuse my friendship. ❞ ❝ it is best that no man knows that you are here. ❞ ❝ i kill kings, haven’t you heard? ❞ ❝ should any ill befall you, this world would lose its savor. ❞ ❝ some will look at you and see only another doomed pretender. ❞ ❝ i think life is a jape. yours, mine, everyone’s. ❞ ❝ i will forgive those words…once. but never presume to threaten me again. ❞ ❝ your father would be so proud if he could see you. ❞ ❝ just once you might try to give me an answer that would please me. ❞ ❝ they love me well. none would betray me. ❞ ❝ i have sins enough to answer for; i’ll have no part of this one. ❞ ❝ i mean you no harm, you know. ❞ ❝ i do not trust you, but i need you. ❞ ❝ we’ll both sleep, and dream of sweeter days. close your eyes. ❞ ❝ since you ask so nicely, how can i deny you? ❞ ❝ no wine is half so intoxicating as your beauty. ❞ ❝ why should i beg for what is owed me? ❞ ❝ a lord may love the men he commands, but he cannot be a friend to them. ❞ ❝ let them try and trouble us, we’ll show them what we’re made of. ❞ ❝ a leader should be feared, by friend and foe alike. if men think me cruel, so much the better. ❞ ❝ the enemy of my friend is my enemy. ❞ ❝ a book can be as dangerous as a sword in the right hands. ❞ ❝ i am an old man, grown weary of this world and its treacheries. ❞ ❝ these are desperate days, and like to grow more desperate. ❞ ❝ we need to find shelter before nightfall. ❞ ❝ there are footsteps behind us. we are being followed. ❞ ❝ this is no common fog. it stinks of sorcery. ❞ ❝ i am glad you came to me. it is good to see you again, my friend. ❞ ❝ the man who does nothing also takes a risk. ❞ ❝ the women are the strong ones. ❞ ❝ afraid, are you? i would be if i were you. ❞ ❝ tell me a tale. some tale of valor with a happy ending. ❞ ❝ i’ll have a cup of wine as well. to clear my head. ❞ ❝ we may lose our heads, it’s true…but what if we prevail? ❞ ❝ keep your swords sharp. we’ll have us a real fight soon. ❞ ❝ this is going to end badly. ❞ ❝ what are you doing here? how did you get past my guards? ❞ ❝ it is so hard. to be strong. i don’t always know what i should do. ❞ ❝ let us instead speak of love, of dreams and desire. ❞ ❝ you wound me, wandering off like this. have you grown tired of my hospitality so soon? ❞ ❝ with this sword i defend my subjects and destroy those who menace them. ❞ ❝ it is too late for such misgivings. you made your choice. ❞ ❝ in times as confused as these, even men of honor must wonder where their duty lies. ❞ ❝ why? what did i ever do to you? ❞ ❝ we must be certain that we do not choose the losing side. ❞ ❝ dream sweet dreams. there are no monsters here. ❞ ❝ i know who you are. i know what you are. ❞ ❝ a little honest loathing might be refreshing, like a tart wine after too much sweet. ❞ ❝ a bloody sword is a beautiful thing. ❞ ❝ a ruler belongs to their people, not to themself. ❞ ❝ if the ones i killed come haunt me, i will kill them all again. ❞ ❝ you shine so brightly, you will blind every man who dares look upon you. ❞ ❝ a fair bargain leaves both sides unhappy, i’ve heard it said. ❞ ❝ there’s blood on your hands, aye, same as mine. ❞ ❝ i have done wicked things, i know, but i could not bear for you to hate me. ❞ ❝ it is good to see you smiling again. ❞ ❝ i have doubts enough without you throwing oil on the fire of my fear. ❞ ❝ blood pays for blood, a life for a life. ❞ ❝ go home, if that is what you want. i am staying. ❞ ❝ a man’d think there’s no trust between us. ❞ ❝ i would choose freedom over comfort every time. ❞ ❝ you are even lovelier than i was told. ❞ ❝ stay. i do not wish to be alone. ❞ ❝ treachery on treachery. is there no end to it? ❞ ❝ dreams and prophecies. why must they always be in riddles? ❞ ❝ one wrong word, and this could turn to blood in half a heartbeat. ❞ ❝ you lie. i can see the truth in your eyes. ❞ ❝ throw down your steel and stand aside, and no harm need come to you. ❞ ❝ you are supposed to be my friend. why must you mock my hopes? ❞ ❝ it is better to die with honor than to live without it. ❞ ❝ it does no good to brood on lost battles and roads not taken. ❞ ❝ i see you are deaf to sense. ❞ ❝ you are no better than me. we’re just the same. ❞ ❝ a man should never draw his sword unless he means to use it. ❞ ❝ you kill men for the wrongs they have done, not the wrongs that they may do someday. ❞ ❝ close your eyes. close your ears. turn away. you do not need to see this. ❞ ❝ the sooner we are gone from this place, the better. ❞ ❝ i am sorry my actions have displeased you. i did as i thought best. ❞ ❝ you do not need to trust a man to use him. ❞ ❝ if you cannot do this thing, you need only say so. there is no shame in that. ❞ ❝ never wound a foe when you can kill him. dead men don’t claim vengeance. ❞ ❝ this is what i wanted, what i worked for. so why does it taste so much like defeat? ❞ ❝ honest men should never need to hide their faces. ❞ ❝ i am not the trusting fool you take me for. ❞ ❝ men’s lives have meaning, not their deaths. ❞ ❝ he’s dead. he won’t bite. ❞ ❝ if this is the price for peace, i pay it willingly. ❞ ❝ it makes me wonder whose side you are on. ❞ ❝ dreams and prophecies. why must they always be in riddles? ❞ ❝ i will not say that you are welcome. nor will i deny that i have hoped that you might come. ❞ ❝ you have the eyes of a wolf and a taste for blood. ❞ ❝ men are mad and gods are madder. ❞ ❝ one war ends, another begins. there is always someone fighting someone somewhere. ❞ ❝ not all risks lead to ruin. ❞ ❝ is there some place with fewer eyes and ears? ❞ ❝ i need you now as i have never needed you before. ❞ ❝ tell me, is there any fight left in you? ❞ ❝ it was the wind that you heard screaming. ❞ ❝ crying? i was not crying. why would i cry? ❞ ❝ are you some butcher of the battlefield, hacking down every man who stands in your way? ❞ ❝ rain. a storm is coming. ❞ ❝ that was simple. simpler than i dared hope. simpler than it should have been. ❞ ❝ see that you do not speak of this. i’ll not have this tale spread. ❞ ❝ how could i be so blind for so long? ❞ ❝ you had a bad dream, that was all. ❞ ❝ are you prepared to defend that boast with sword or lance? ❞ ❝ i will do it. i said i would. i will. ❞ ❝ think that. believe that. tell yourself it’s true. ❞ ❝ you have more enemies than you know. ❞ ❝ i have no heart. i only have a hole. ❞ ❝ it has been too long since i’ve killed a man. ❞ ❝ words are wind. words cannot harm me. ❞ ❝ have you forgotten who i am? ❞ ❝ too many good men died that day. ❞ ❝ it is so good to see your face, your sweet face. ❞ ❝ it is still not too late to abandon this folly. ❞ ❝ i will not stay here to be insulted. ❞

[zilmdat]

he sighs as though exasperated, but it's just for show. " that i do. i won't prod you for more, but i will say if you're ever looking to flee said duty.. well, i happen to be very good at making escape plans. " james teases, but there's truth to his promise. " for now i can walk you to the market, and we'll pretend that i was told to do so, and if anyone questions me, well, they can meet steel. " he adds with an air of self-assurance that is well deserved. there weren't many in baldur's gate that could best him, years of training and practice that had solidified his stature both in the fists and out. " besides, you're safe with me. " he kicks off the wall, gesturing for her to begin walking forward. " i hear there's a harvest festival coming up soon, will you be attending? " the man questions, eyeing his momentary companion. " i've been put on watch duty. pays a pretty penny to keep an eye on baldur's gate's elite. too bad i can't participate in any of the fun parts. too busy keeping drunken idiots from wandering in and spoiling all the festivities. nevermind the fact that some of the fists get to be the aforementioned drunken idiots. " he draws a hand down his beard, flattening the stray hairs into place. " if you're going to be involved, maybe you can spare me a dance. "

the closer that he gets to her, the more apparent it is that he has no hesitation in approaching the viper's nest. she smiles a wicked little grin up at him, her head tilting in confusion as if she has no idea what it was he could mean. still, she is eclipsed by his figure, hiding in his shadow so that no other, less-inclined-to-play-her-game, guard sees them speaking and reprimands him for not immediately bringing her back to the gilded cell that was the d'angelis estate. no one could really afford to disobey the d'angelis family, else they choked the financial powers of baldur's gate and watched whoever had wronged them gasp for air. the flaming fist, in particular, were a bit hesitant to allow that to happen.

" i want to go to market, " she says honestly, gaze dropping to her own wrists where he would find a coinpurse hanging elegantly off the wrist attached to a manicured hand. " i have the most wretched craving for a sweetroll, but i want to pick out the one that i eat. i want to pick the one with the most frosting from the baker, and i want to eat it by that little fountain next to lorrokan's place. but no, i am not to even so much as lift a finger, not when there is someone who would be willing to do it for me. quite frustrating, isn't it, how i've been told i could have whatever i want, and then be told i can't have something when it doesn't align with the needs of those who are paid to take care of me? " a little head tilt returns their gaze, and she chuckles softly-- until he asks that question, of course, and her face sobers.

she can't leave. this is everything she has ever known, and yog'sogoth's grip on her shoulder is still omnipresent. if she were a bit older, here, a more attuned to the needs of her lord, she may even go so far as to hear him chuckle in the back of her mind at an outsider's question. but she's not been laid to waste with the needs of trauma yet. a tadpole does not fight her lord for dominion of the mind, yet. " there are people here who need me, " she says softly, her smile wistful, " there are people who want me to protect them from the things they do not understand. i don't quite believe they've learned yet, that going out of my home to collect a sweetroll will not kill me. so i sneak out. to just.. feel the sun. smell the air. you understand duty, don't you, james? "

[zilmdat]

sometimes i look at bucks fc and im like. the man u are.

[zilmdat]

* @n1ghtwarden !

he's clutching at his side, crimson blossoming beneath chainmail and cotton. brunette ringlets are crusted with dirt and an assortment of other fluids he tries not to think about, lumbering forward down the clearing away from the array of now dead bodies. lurking form comes up behind minthara, shoulder brushing hers as he passes. " wouldn't happen to have a healing potion on you, would you? " he strains through clenched teeth, doing his best to keep himself upright. something had pierced through skin, though he's unsure if it was spear or artillery more long lasting. the wound continues to gush as he moves to rest on a nearby rock, lidded eyes staring into the midday sky and glinting at the beaming sunlight that stares back. james can only hope the weapon wasn't dowsed in poison - that would be just a delight. unfortunately however, he he doubts that would be enough to kill him. life had it's talon buried into his very soul, and he always find found a way back one way or another. " sooner rather than later if you don't mind. "

[zilmdat]

it is his duty to do as he's been assigned - and for the most part james has no issues with following this doctrine. that was, unless it involved nesta d'angelis. she was prone to pushing his buttons, and even more so causing a ruckus within baldur's gate with her lack of compliancy. however, really he couldn't blame her. he can't say he wouldn't find being chained too kind a thought. after all - even a gilded cage was still a cage. so perhaps he skirts around his directives, if not just for a bit of entertainment and time spent with the woman. he's a vision of maroon and gold, arms crossing over his chest once they're eye to eye. " it's not as though you make it hard to find you, nesta. and you know my orders as well as i do by now, so i'll let you deduce the answer to that. " he returns gruffly, but makes no move to usher her one way or another. " though i could be persuaded, if you have something to offer. " his tone tinges on flirtatious, shoulder bumping against city wall where it leans. " care to tell me what has you gunning for freedom today? " the paladin's brows raise, gaze sweeping the alleyway as they speak, trained yet cautious, always on guard. " it escapes me why you don't just.. leave. "

 she is a flirtatious thing, a wretched little creature whose favorite activities seem to be harassing the local guard with her mischief. all too often is it necessary for one, if not many, of the city watch, or the flaming fist, or a combination of the two are always putting her back where she belongs, inside the iron-fenced walls of the d'angelis estate, if only because it is what mother and father have bade them to do. still, this does not stop her mischevious nature, and she wanders out relatively frequently to test the waters, and the limits.

alas. perhaps this would be a fun game of cat and mouse if it weren't for... him.

@zilmdat , " it looks like you've found me again. "

she turns over her shoulder, sensing his presence, eyes rolling briefly as she looks him over. her arms cross over her chest as she adorns baldur's gate's newest fashions - this dress in particular has a high slit, and a snake motif around the midsection. she is never caught in comfortable clothing, it seems, and it's uncertain at the moment as to whether or not the good mr. barnes is being given an expression of amusement or annoyance.

she is dramatic, here, her wrists extended with the most incredulous sigh, as if to imply he needs to put invisibile handcuffs on her, to return her to her mother and father's suffocating grip. when he doesn't immediately do such a thing, her wrists drop, and she approaches, hands on her back. her hair is longer, here, than it would be in the future, dancing across her shoulders, and falling over one as she tilts her head. " hello, james, " she laughs softly. " must you take me back to the estate? can't we bargain for... oh, an escorted walk? " never make a deal with a warlock, bucky; they're always on the verge of turning it in their favor. (or do - you might have fun in the interim.)

[zilmdat]

asoiaf: clash of kings starters

❝ people often claim to hunger for truth,   but seldom like the taste when it’s served up. ❞ ❝ the brightest flame casts the darkest shadow. ❞ ❝ lawless men are everywhere in this dark time. men with cold steel and colder hearts. ❞ ❝ there’s no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it. ❞ ❝ he who hurries through life hurries to his grave. ❞ ❝ if half an onion is black with rot, it is a rotten onion. a man is good or he is evil. ❞ ❝ some men are like swords, made for fighting. hang them up and they go to rust. ❞ ❝ sometimes i feel as though you are the best friend i have and sometimes i feel you are my worst enemy. ❞ ❝ i want to weep. i want to be comforted. i’m so tired of being strong. ❞ ❝ crowns do strange things to the heads beneath them. ❞ ❝ i see a deep sadness written upon your face. could it be the sadness of a lost dream? ❞ ❝ this is not you, not your way. you were always just, always hard yet never cruel. ❞ ❝ if you would take a man’s life, you owe it to him to look him in the face and hear his last words. ❞ ❝ how i have yearned for the sound of your sweet voice. ❞ ❝ i do not like being lied to. leave me out of your next deception. ❞ ❝ i will hurt you for this. i don’t know how yet, but give me time. a day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you’ll know the debt is paid. ❞ ❝ there are no men like me. there’s only me. ❞ ❝ i will not claim to bear you any great love, no, but i cannot hate you either. ❞ ❝ the only way to keep your people loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy. ❞ ❝ there is a sweet innocence about you. ❞ ❝ mercy. that’s a bloody trap. too much and they call you weak, too little and you’re monstrous. ❞ ❝ it is better to be seen as cruel than foolish. ❞ ❝ i’ve waited for you, oh, so many times. now you must wait for me. ❞ ❝ no one has ever died of restlessness, but rashness is another matter. ❞ ❝ i’m not a child, to be soothed with empty promises. ❞ ❝ only blood can wash out blood. ❞ ❝ don’t ever touch me, or i’ll kill you. ❞ ❝ we have leagues to go, and dangers to face. you will need your strength. ❞ ❝ i cannot sleep at night for thinking of your beauty. ❞ ❝ so many vows…they make you swear and swear. defend the king. obey the king. keep his secrets. do his bidding. your life for his. but obey your father. love your sister. protect the innocent. defend the weak. obey the laws. it’s too much. no matter what you do, you’re forsaking one vow or the other. ❞ ❝ somehow i have a feeling i am not going to like what you’re about to say. ❞ ❝ kings have no friends. only subjects and enemies. ❞ ❝ you must be still, you are grievously hurt. you will do yourself great injury. ❞ ❝ your heart is noble, but learn a lesson here. we cannot set the world to rights. ❞ ❝ i mean to be a king, and not of a broken kingdom. ❞ ❝ when i make threats, you’ll know it. ❞ ❝ do you want me dead? is that it? the truth now. ❞ ❝ this time i have to find my own way, and it is hard. so hard. ❞ ❝ i am afraid, but i must be brave. ❞ ❝ it grieves me that it must come to this. ❞ ❝ the kingdom bleeds, and no one lifts a sword to defend it. ❞ ❝ we shall see who is laughing when all of this is done. ❞ ❝ the unseen enemy is always the most fearsome. ❞ ❝ would you like one? you’ve never tasted anything so sweet, i promise you.❞ ❝ i knew a man once who told me i smiled at the wrong things. ❞ ❝ i would be glad to leave this city, if truth be told. ❞ ❝ there is an empty place within me where my heart was once. ❞ ❝ men like that…too honest to live, too noble to shit. ❞ ❝ if truth be told, i’ve never liked you. ❞ ❝ song and laughter have become suspicious strangers to me. ❞ ❝ only a fool humbles himself when the world is so full of men eager to do that job for him. ❞ ❝ the storms come and go, the waves crash overhead, the big fish eat the little fish, and i keep on paddling. ❞ ❝ mountains rise and fall, rivers change their courses, stars fall from the sky, and great cities sink beneath the sea. even gods die, we think. everything changes. ❞ ❝ i will not be mocked to my face, do you hear me? i will not! ❞ ❝ most sellswords would betray anyone for enough gold. ❞ ❝ tell me that none of this troubles you…and i’ll name you a liar. ❞ ❝ was there ever a war where only one side bled? ❞ ❝ great wrongs have been done you, but the past is dust. the future may yet be won. ❞ ❝ i am growing strangely fond of you.   i may kill you yet, but i think i’d feel sad about it. ❞ ❝ ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow. ❞ ❝ courage and folly are cousins, or so i’ve heard. ❞ ❝ a curious way of fighting. it looks suspiciously like hiding. ❞ ❝ whatever enemy waits out here will not find us so easy to deal with. ❞ ❝ love is poison. a sweet poison, yes, but it will kill you all the same. ❞ ❝ schemes are like fruit, they require a certain ripening. ❞ ❝ i can smell the fear on you. ❞ ❝ when the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. ❞ ❝ no royal is ever late. those who arrive before them have come early, that’s all. ❞ ❝ power resides where men believe it resides. no more and no less. ❞ ❝ you would not force me to reveal all my little secrets, would you? ❞ ❝ sorcery is the sauce fools spoon over failure to hide the flavor of their own incompetence. ❞ ❝ there are ghosts everywhere. we carry them with us wherever we go. ❞ ❝ you stop feeling, you stop thinking, you stop being you, there is only the fight, the foe, this man and then the next and the next and the next. ❞ ❝ terrible times breed terrible things. ❞ ❝ i do not beg. of anyone. mind you remember that. ❞ ❝ betray me, and you’ll wish you hadn’t. ❞ ❝ i do not require your understanding. only your service. ❞ ❝ would that bones could talk. this fellow could tell us much. how he died. ❞ ❝ the wide world is full of people wanting help. would that some could find the courage to help themselves. ❞ ❝ a frightened man is a beaten man. ❞ ❝ the ones who look the most suspicious are likely innocent. it’s the ones who look innocent i need to beware. ❞ ❝ it is peaceful here, but for how long? ❞ ❝ the man who kills his own blood is cursed forever in the sights of gods and men. ❞ ❝ a sweet dream. now put it aside, i beg you. it can never be. ❞ ❝ you’re as bad an omen as any raven. ❞ ❝ this is no game, so don’t play the child with me. ❞ ❝ my life is a poor thing, but it is yours. ❞ ❝ they will not love me, you say? when have they ever loved me? how can i lose something i have never owned? ❞ ❝ they’re all afraid of me. no one will hurt you again, or i’d kill them. ❞ ❝ i had begun to fear for you. did you meet with trouble? ❞ ❝ i grow ever more admiring of you. ❞ ❝ i’d sooner hold a wine goblet than a battle-axe. ❞ ❝ a lord never lets sentiment get in the way of ambition. ❞ ❝ if you have something to say, say it. ❞ ❝ how can i do my duty if i do not know where it lies?❞ ❝ don’t look at me, not…not like this…not you. ❞ ❝ i’ve broken laws, but i’ve never felt evil until tonight. ❞ ❝ are you here to serve me? or to vex me with arguments? ❞ ❝ men do not love me. they follow me because they fear me. ❞ ❝ why would people run off and leave their homes and everything? what could scare them so much? ❞ ❝ fear cuts deeper than swords. ❞ ❝ let us not get into the habit of names. names are dangerous. ❞ ❝ i do not relish being played for a fool. ❞ ❝ you have said nothing that requires forgiveness. ❞ ❝ perhaps you are wiser than i knew. ❞ ❝ a good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good. each should have its own reward. ❞ ❝ you set us a battle we cannot hope to win. ❞ ❝ learn to use your ears more and your mouth less. ❞ ❝ sleep a bit. when you wake, all this will seem a bad dream. ❞ ❝ why should men fight and die for you? ❞ ❝ fuck your questions. you’ll choke on them before you get any answers from me. ❞ ❝ i am certain of nothing in this fickle and treacherous world. ❞ ❝ a good lord comforts and protects the weak and helpless. ❞ ❝ is a secret still a secret if everyone knows it? ❞ ❝ look around you. they’re all liars here…and every one better than you. ❞ ❝ i have a role to play, and you must do the same. ❞ ❝ sadly, no victory is without cost. ❞ ❝ this is evil, unthinkable…please, listen to me. ❞ ❝ is that what troubles you, that some fool call you cowardly? ❞ ❝ you must forgive me if i have spoken to you harshly in the past. ❞ ❝ a sweet offer…yet sweets can be poisoned. ❞ ❝ how beautiful you look tonight. ❞ ❝ the day is won, and yet you do not smile. the living should smile, for the dead cannot. ❞ ❝ the time for talk is done. now we see who is stronger. ❞ ❝ i am no stranger to nightmares. ❞ ❝ so much villainy; it sings a sad song for our age. did honour die with our fathers? ❞ ❝ some men are born to be killed. ❞ ❝ come if you like, but if you can’t keep up, don’t think that i’ll nurse you along. ❞ ❝ i will kill him. i swear it. i swear it. ❞ ❝ this is madness, but sooner madness than defeat. defeat is death and shame. ❞ ❝ does it give you joy to scare people? ❞ ❝ when i require your counsel i shall ask for it. ❞ ❝ will you put away your blade? ❞ ❝ need an escort? the talk is, the streets are dangerous. ❞ ❝ it is ill to keep a lady waiting. ❞ ❝ kneeling won’t save you now. stand up. ❞ ❝ you’re very pleased with yourself, aren’t you? why? ❞ ❝ do you think i wish to be here? ❞ ❝ don’t you know how i have cared for you, lived for you, loved you despite all? ❞ ❝ see, there is nothing to fear. ❞ ❝ you have a cheerful way of grieving. ❞ ❝ a dream, that’s all it was. it meant nothing. ❞ ❝ a dog doesn’t need courage to chase off rats. ❞ ❝ the gods give with one hand and take with the other. ❞ ❝ only a man like you would be proud of such an act. ❞ ❝ i cannot answer for the gods. ❞ ❝ it’s swords i need, not blessings. ❞ ❝ you look very lovely today. ❞ ❝ they said you were dead. ❞ ❝ all sorts of people are calling themselves kings these days. ❞ ❝ you need me, whether you care to admit it or no. ❞ ❝ be quiet and kiss me. ❞

[zilmdat]

bucky like all my muses is a ride or dier did you know ?

[zilmdat]

* @nerimoi ! ❝ secrets are worth more than silver and sapphires. ❞

" and we all collect them. " comes his retort, clouded gaze settling on the woman as he shifts his feet. " is this your way of telling me you have something to say? if anyone's good for keeping their lips sealed, it's i. mostly out of inability to do otherwise. " he relaxes against the wall he's languishly leaning against, fingers itching to get their grip on a good glass of ale, body riddled with days of exhaustion despite his enhanced status.

" but if you're set to keep them locked away, well, that's all the same. we can sit here in silence until the sun peaks the horizon if you'd prefer. " he was never a prying man, not then, and not now. simply, james minded his business unless it became his own and that worked out better for everyone. " i'm starved for a good meal, if you're open to the offer. "

[zilmdat]

* @banedicti ! ❝ knowledge is a weapon. arm yourself well before you ride forth to battle. ❞

he stands still, statuesque, overlooking the sprawling bustling city and it's night time inhabitants. a hand lays dormant at his side, covering sheathed sword, the other hanging loosely. " what exactly are you implying? " comes james's gruff retort, brow furrowed as he turns his attention toward the man. " what battle am i facing? this conversation is beginning to sound like a thinly veiled threat, if i didn't know any better. "

not that he can do anything about it, if it were. half of baldur's gate could strike him down and he could do little but idly stand by and watch it happen. his own actions were compelled into stasis by something unknown. metallic fingers come to swipe at his chin, brushing down some stray beard hairs. " i prefer my ultimatums in plain speak, if it's all the same to you. "

[zilmdat]

Thought you would have learned by now. You never fight alone. STEVE ROGERS, BUCKY BARNES (& Alpine) CAPTAIN AMERICA: SENTINEL OF LIBERTY ✧ 2022 Issue #4 written by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly