bakerstreet | quotation marks.

[ ooc | playing from the book, but movie-familiar and willing to do mash-up with castmates. player hasn't yet read Find Me! permissions, no smut. ]

one |

You go your way
I'll go your way too
- Leonard Cohen, Book of Longing

two |

I can feel that other day running underneath this one like an old videotape -
- Anne Carson, The Glass Essay

three |

Everything flows and nothing stays.
- Heraclitus

wildcard |

Bring your own!

1) There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. - Louis L’Amour

2) The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off. - Gloria Steiner

3) Don't slay dragons that aren't in your way. - Jordan Peterson

4) Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. - Anne Lamott

1. I'll walk forever with stories inside me that the people I love the most can never hear. - Michelle Hodkin

2. They say age brings wisdom, but it isn't true. All you ever get is a better sense of your own limitations. - Curtis Edmonds

3. I turned you into a stranger in order to forget you and now I'm the stranger. - Carlos Ruiz Zafón

- It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them. — Agatha Christie

- It’s bullshit to think of friendship and romance as being different. They’re not. They’re just variations of the same love. Variations of the same desire to be close. — Rachel Cohn

- My father had taught me to be nice first, because you can always be mean later, but once you’ve been mean to someone, they won’t believe the nice anymore. So be nice, be nice, until it’s time to stop being nice, then destroy them. — Laurell K. Hamilton

- I think there will always be a need for musicals. - Julie Andrews

[ ooc: I am very rusty, apologies in advance.

Up to speed with D+, Mark your spoilers. ]

Edited 2021-07-03 17:37 (UTC)

((ooc: characters 18+ for anything shippy, otherwise open to all for gen prompts. castmates welcome, but would request no drogo and nothing shippy with jon. cross-canon also welcome; chill with assumed cr and au. feel free to message if there's any questions or you wanna hash something out first!))

[In the weeks that followed Daenerys' balcony, there were more balconies to follow. There were also natural shelves of hollows, more modest buildings, and waterfronts spread out over the course of weeks that turned into months. At the end of every sunset, Daenerys asked for Emilia's ranking for each perch. Because that was, after all, the reason they were ever there together. To find that perfect perch. Emilia did well in maintaining the ruse and always provided an answer that made it seem as though that's entirely where her attention had been. Daenerys praised her for her observations, and agreed and disagreed with her as needed.]

[But it seems no one was really convinced.]

[Daenerys was eventually warned about this dalliance, having it named a distraction or concerns expressed about the long-term. Daenerys responded with perhaps more force than was strictly necessary for putting an end to that kind of talk, but she wanted it to be clear that she had forgotten nothing. She knew well what she was doing. She knew the lines. She knew at which point she would likely need to steel herself. She knew her responsibilities and where conflict would arise. Daenerys didn't need to be chastised like a child to be reminded of any of it when it weighed so heavily in other moments. It wasn't mentioned again. If there were looks or conversations, they occurred when Daenerys was not present, and Daenerys acted as though it had never occurred.]

[Or she tried to, in any case. She hesitates to accept at Emilia's invitations more now. Not that she did not consider things before, but it feels as though there is a newfound weight upon the decision that was not there before. After all, if those she entrusts to counsel and advise her have noticed... is she becoming distracted? The question seems less foolish now that something has been said to her, and some part of her fears making the wrong decision.]

[But once she's with Emilia, it's different. While Daenerys does not forget, the questioning seems to stop and Daenerys feels as though she can trust that choice easily.]

So which has it been? [Daenerys asks as she continues weaving Emilia's hair. Daenerys' braids and twists are not nearly as intricate as the ones she wears, they were not half-bad when considering her limited ability to practice.] Of all the spots and sunsets, which has been the best?

[The sun had nearly disappeared over the horizon, the chill of the night now beginning to take its place as the stars began to spark to life overhead. Thus, it was time for the customary question. Except they were back at the beginning. There was nowhere else within or just beyond the city, and it seemed only right to return to Daenerys' balcony. So, there was no need to ask the customary question.]

Would you believe me if I said it was this one?

[ they are both beautiful, and they are both women, and daenerys especially as of late is in a position most covetous and powerful — there's not a honeyed line that hasn't been practiced on them, most likely, and emilia does not wish to mirror the suitors that have come before in such a manner.

her answer is as true as it is fragile, besides.

the city daenerys now oversees is as beautiful as it is suffered, and there is no denying each and every suggested perch came with something to enjoy beyond the company itself. but it holds not a candle to the quiet intimacy that this balcony affords, nor is daenerys herself seem so relaxed as she does now. the anger emilia carries like an extra limb always quiets to a dull roar, until she, too, eases. even in her stillness so that daenerys and her clever hands can do their work, her back is not so straight and the gleam in her eye not so suspicious. this may be what she cherishes most, beyond the attraction and pull that brews: true companionship. friendship.

(emilia is not oblivious. she knows theirs is not an encouraged closeness save for perhaps missandei. one day, daenerys must sail off to westeros. the day that follows, emilia must go in the opposite direction. it would hurt less if she pulled back more. and yet here she sits.) ]

[Daenerys doesn't quite laugh because while she may have broken the silence, she does not wish to disturb the quiet just yet. But Emilia likely knows how close she comes to a giggle with the abruptness of her exhale and certainly when she speaks. She doesn't attempt to suppress her smile either. Not that it would hardly make a difference even if she did. Daenerys has never been all that talented at keeping her smiles out of her tone of voice, the warmth of it always manages to slip past whatever amount of stoicism she might summon.]

I would.

[Daenerys knows it's foolish to offer such trust so easily to anyone. Even those closest to her, she ought to scrutinize. But Emilia has proven herself to be honest over and over again, and by now it seems to Daenerys that even if Emilia might withhold information from her, it is not out of an attempt at deceit. There has to be another reason. There simply has to be. But Daenerys leaves that trust unspoken, flitting away from it with some teasing.]

You would not risk insulting your Queen by insinuating something of hers is less than another's, after all, would you? You are too wise and too clever to make such a naive mistake.

Pleased though I am you have noticed, I assure you it isn't my cleverness that leads me to such a conclusion.

[ that leads me to you. the would-be giggle floods her with a warmth that will linger for the rest of the evening. skeptical at heart, emilia knows how difficult it is to trust in a world that would leave you bruised and battered no sooner you open yourself up to its fragile promise. that daenerys allows herself to be just that in these moments between them — not only the chosen queen, but daenerys — means everything to emilia. it feels safer to reciprocate in kind.

to be wholly herself, though she still learns what that truly means.

and so she lets this playful moment sit between them for just a bit longer. lets herself bask in the soft feel of dany's fingers in her hair. but then she speaks again, reluctant though she is to shift the moment. perhaps that is why her voice is much softer for it. ] The last thing I want bring you further complications.

[Daenerys does not pause or freeze at the shift in tone albeit her smile does somewhat fade. There is no easy way to proceed forward from here, but there is no other way than this. Daenerys knows that. Emilia knows it as well. Try as they both might to forget it for as long as they are able.]

You were always going to be a complication, Emilia.

[Although there is no malice to her tone, no ounce of accusation or scolding, to Daenerys it still feels a cruel thing to say. She's just not entirely sure who exactly it is cruel towards. Perhaps to Emilia given the baldness of the truth behind those words that she should always prove herself in some way a form of trouble for Daenerys. Who would enjoy hearing such things? Perhaps to Daenerys herself for every close relationship always inextricably linked with complication. She knows some unspoken part of her aches at the words even if she refuses to let it show so easily.]

[Daenerys presses on as she ties off the braid.]

But my life has always been full of complications. [Daenerys pulls the rest of Emilia's hair over her shoulder.] If I were to be paralyzed or frightened by complications, I would never truly be able to live.

[She places a hand on Emilia's opposite shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.]

I would never find myself happy.

[Even if Daenerys would never delude herself into believing that she could take Emilia with her to Westeros, to thinking that their paths would not one day diverge... It is enough for her to have these moments.]

a. You know, I think of my life as a kind of music, not always good music but still having form and melody. (J. Steinbeck)

b. So we make these deals, with ourselves and with others. Lies we agree to. Compromises we pretend are victories. (C. Priest)

c. You might be looking for reasons but there are no reasons. (N. LaCour)

[or bring your own]

((ooc: similar age for anything shippy, otherwise anything is fine for gen. castmates welcome, but would request nothing shippy with spike. cross-canon welcome; cool with assumed cr and au. typically pull up through s5, but can be flexible with 6 and 7 if desired. feel free to message if there's any questions or you wanna has something out first!))

quotation marks.

Elio | Call Me By Your Name | OTA

J’onn J’onzz 👽 DC

natasha romanoff | mcu | ota

Bucky Barnes | MCU | ota

Molly Hooper | BBC Sherlock | OTA

alice yabusame | your turn to die

Sif | MCU | ota

daenerys targaryen | got | ota

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

Sigyn || mythology

buffy summers | btvs | ota

Sumeragi Subaru | Tokyo Babylon, X/1999