can you imagine that?

once upon a time...

independent  +  selective multimuse,  by zanza.

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carrd. memes. edits.

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nightsung​   –   abby

this isn’t anywhere she wants to be.   not in a thousand years would abby hope for life to bring her back to wyoming  —  but the decision had been nearly unanimous   ❪  with herself as the only holdout  ❫,    so here they are.  something about the leader of the fireflies having friends in jackson who’d insisted they relocate and join up with the other group  —  and even abby can’t argue that it doesn’t make sense.  there’s no doubt that the remaining fireflies in wyoming are better equipped for long-term survival those who occupy their small base in santa barbara  —  always with another gang threatening their safety and livelihoods,  losing more people by the month.  

yeah,  it makes sense.  but that doesn’t mean she has to like it.   

“put the fucking gun down,”   keeping the hostility from her voice isn’t easy,  and her success is minor,  but it’s something.  it’s something.  fuck,  she’d hoped this moment would be further off,  but abby’s luck remains negligible.  of fucking course.   “believe it or not,  my being here has nothing to do with you,”

did tommy know ?      did maria ?      these two questions go round and round in ellie’s head the longer she looks at the other.      there   –––   there’s no way they couldn’t know   …   right ?      the past year ellie had spent repairing what relationships she had left while finding her footing back in jackson , while letting her memories of abby fade into a haze.      or as well as she could with the two missing fingers sitting as a constant reminder.      but it seemed as the pattern went , once she got too comfortable , there was always something that arose to shake up her whole world.      and this something was giving her no chance to brace herself.

perched at the entrance,      the fellow patrol guards standing around directing the other’s that followed , the now twenty year old did not move her gun lower an inch at abby’s comment.      rather only when she was instructed to by the patrol director did it falter.      albeit still in her grip.      ❛   then why   ❜      she needed an answer , and needed it now.      and while no matter what abby said ellie was not going to believe it until she was told by maria herself , she needed to hear the reasoning from the woman that took joel from her.      the one she let live in california with the silent agreement NEVER TO SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN.      ❛   why the hell do you think you can come to jackson ?   ❜

every muscle is tense as she pushes lev behind her,   encouraging him to lower his bow despite the history they have with the other woman.  his instinct to protect her is something she appreciates,  but abby’s not about to say anything right now.  she’ll remind him later.  she will.  for now there are more pressing issues.  

not that they’re unexpected.

carlton lassiter. 

this isn’t a moment he’d ever considered would actually happen.   juliet’s his partner,  an incredible detective in her own right and a phenomenal person to boot.  suppressing his feelings    writing them off as being connected to their regular proximity    has been manageable enough,  especially with the…  incident with his former partner.

besides,  it isn’t as if carlton’s got a great track record when it comes to romantic…  anything.  his marriage had fallen apart,  any dates since then haven’t been especially remarkable,  and for now?  he’s written off any focus in life aside from work.  well…  that,  and ridding his yard of squirrels once and for all.

throat clears at the colorful description of a potential future    one he clearly would prefer to avoid    but that’s beside the point right now.  it’s not important in the least.   “it’s about time i get the recognition i deserve,”   a quick clarification follows,   “regarding my being one of the world’s best detectives,  not the felony thing,”   

a pause as he leans in a little to pose another question.   “and just so we’re clear,  that’s liking me in a way beyond partners,  right?  because i really don’t wanna make a fool of myself right now,”

from the day jules got her dream job, even during the time it took to prove she was the right one for the role, jules’ intention was to stay clear of the dating pool, was to stay sharp and absolute,  especially moving to a new place, new people, new home. she never considered the chance with someone she worked close with, let alone liking the only other person who was should’ve been, by all means, unattainable, her partner carlton lassiter.

woman shakes her head in honest disbelief, how could he not see it? then again, neither did she. not fully capable of grasping it, until now. because as they both thought, there’s no way. she can’t help the small eye roll, half lidded, partly to the floor as she plays back his answer. underneath her breath is a chuckle, lighthearted, still can’t believe it either really, that this right here was a thing, that it was actually happening. and the carlton lassiter was asking her and it wasn’t just a part of her imagination.

must she spell it out?  

detective o’hara has something else in mind, something that will solidify the acknowledgment between them. the partnership that binds them. what better way to tell, than to show, in the place that has brought them together every day, the good and the bad. committed as she was to her job,  right at this moment he was all that the blonde had in her midst. 

pondering no more on it, she takes hold of his loosened tie and tugs it a margin, just enough to bow his neck, at an angle jules uses to her primacy, leaning in to plant a short and sweet kiss over his lips, barely there long enough to have an affect, but still felt nonetheless.  “is that     uh, clear enough for you, comrade?” she smiles bashfully, parting eye contact. 

there’s silence and then she shakes her head.   that’s not a good sign,  is it?  no,  no,  that means no    he may be shocked,  baffled,  utterly surprised...  but carlton’s hardly an idiot.  he knows that a shake of the head following a lengthy silence is code for no.  anxiety surges as his mind works desperately to backtrack.  

it’s fine.  he’s alright.  he’s got this.  it hasn’t gone too far yet.

“listen,  o’hara,  i’m not any good with this personal nonsense and we both know it,”   he starts in strong,  expression stern and solid,   “misreading signals isn’t anything new or unprecedented and i  —  ”

apologize.  i apologize.

they’re not words often heard from him,  and today’s no exception...  but not for the typical reasons.  no,  the next thing he knows she’s grabbed his tie and reeled him in  —  then juliet o’hara is kissing him.

oh.

𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.          ———          amanda clarke. ​

@lindscys​   ∞   semi-plotted.

gaze flickers briefly to meet erin’s,   but it’s only seconds before amanda’s looked away again.  there’s a pause that’s…  honestly unnecessary,  a little too long,  followed by a deadpan statement,   “you should see the other guy… or girl,  i guess.  not that it matters.”

it wasn’t like it was unusual to see one of the girls in that way - a day without some sort of altercation was a rarity, but maybe had underestimated amanda. “what she do?” no need to beat around the bush. “try and steal your pudding cup?” okay, so maybe not as sympathetic as she could have been, but sympathy got you nowhere. 

   “   have you never wanted to know more?   ”

sc + @nightsung​ !

since she’d been a child her mind has questioned,   it’s pondered and considered ideas that have prompted horror in those she’s surrounded by.  while the views of others have impacted some of her behavior,  there’s no doubt that jessamine is hardly the typical empress.  numerous instances have shown it to be a trait that’s hesitant to fade.   

she finds herself faced with a figure that most would shy away from  —  that most would cower in fear of  —  a situation where all too many would turn and run.  and she?  she,  faced with the same face?  curiosity is the most prominent among the instincts that arise.  jessamine wonders,  for instance,  if he’s able to sense that curiosity at the question posed or whether it’s merely an instinct they each find themselves experiencing simultaneously.

erin didn’t trust it –– how could she? she could play along for the sake of the conversation, but even she knew that she couldn’t just pretend like this had never happened. she’d have to do something she hadn’t done for a long time, walk down her own memory lane, and use her means to piece together exactly what had happened to amanda clarke and emily thorne. but that would have to wait until she was back in chicago if she could –– though confronting the blonde in private at another time was all the more tempting. 

“no no, i can assure you. there’s nothing i don’t remember about the allenwood days.” she’s disguising the words as a reassurance, but they aren’t. they’re telling, and that’s exactly what she wanted them to be. hands fell to her hips, head moving in a slow nod as she listened to exactly what the blonde was doing with her life now. whatever the motivation was, whatever the reasons behind the swap in identity, she was clearly doing very well for herself. 

“wow, sounds like you got pretty lucky.” that was genuine. you couldn’t fake that sort of lifestyle, not without a team of people helping you orchestrate it at least, and if nothing else, the big pile of money she’d clearly landed on was real. “so is this what you do then? toss money at charities and spend your days in the hamptons? sounds like a pretty nice life. wouldn’t have thought it back then, would you?” 

it seems that the road to revenge isn’t without its roadblocks.   which isn’t to say easy had been anything emily had anticipated,  but...  this isn’t something she’d accounted for.  amanda making herself a pest is one thing,  but erin showing up as well?  it’s uncomfortable,  to say the least.  it’s dangerous.  

she doesn’t like being backed into corners.

“well,  you know how unreliable memory can be,”   the threatening undertone is mild,  but given the course she’s set on?  impossible to push aside.  she can’t risk being undermined by someone snooping because they’d been unlucky enough to wind up in allenwood together.   “and it’s been so long now...  wow,  if you could remember everything i’d be really,  really impressed,”

stranger​:

SETTING:   undetermined my brain isn’t working.

“you’re olivia pope,  aren’t you?”   a smile sits on her lips as she addresses @gdvas​,  practiced and easy  —  though it’s not entirely genuine.  it rarely is,  these days,  is it?   “i’ve heard some pretty impressive things,”

olivia is no stranger to people needing things from her upon initial interactions  –  most of them are politicians or high profile businessmen that everyone knows. as her eyes flicker across the blonde’s features,  she has to wonder what she could want, covered up with the lack of recognition she had in olivia’s eyes. a fake smile is plastered across her lips, the way it always is when she’s around someone she doesn’t have any rapport with.  “mm, i am, and i’m supposed to be on vacation.”  in the hamptons,  away from all the political pressure  –  though she knew she would find something here to keep her from reaching that bliss.  “what have you heard?”  she was curious about what and from who,  or where,  given her presence across the country.