carlyle.

@destinywritten wanted to help me try out Anne as a muse so they get a starter 

“—I’m not the one you were meant to find.”

             it was no secret that scarlett has never been a very good follower of rules. her attitude and habits have created a name for herself, besides, of course, the story behind her name which she would often rather leave behind her. she has often been called many things— a rebel, an unorthodox woman, and the BASTARD of the dalager family. all of which were true, and yet the constant whispers that seem to follow her has never stopped her… yet. however, despite the fact that she has never been rather good with people and not many people have been good to her either, the redhead couldn’t help but grin upon seeing the man’s THEATRICALITY. she expected no less from him, after hearing so much about him and his circus.

             despite the many things she has been called in the past, a ‘ beautiful young lady ’ was the only one that caught her off guard. compliments were not often paid to those with reputations such as hers. nevertheless, she flashed him one of her trademark smirks. “ the infamous phillip carlyle— as i live and breathe. no need to apologise, although i have to say i don’t often crash into dashing young men. ” she said lightly, her last statement intentionally parallel to his. the occasional inanimate object? yes, she often clumsily crashed into, but not usually humans. when he extended his hand towards her, she reached out and gave it a small but firm shake. “ scarlett dalager. a pleasure to meet you. ”

so she knew his NAME -- to her, he was more than the vague young man with the circus. the way she reacted to him read high-bred to him, and he felt, for a moment, a twinge of disappointment. it was short lived as she gave him her name, and he felt one eyebrow raise -- he dipped his head to bring the back of her hand to his lips, rather than simply shaking it. the circus wouldn’t remove his manners after all; the last vestige of his upbringing, if his parents were to have a say. but they didn’t, and more than simply his manners remained. he knew the name of the young woman, just as she knew his own.

               HE COULDN’T HELP the delighted snort that escaped him when Phillip blamed his less-than-polite-citizen behavior on a head injury given to him by a horse. 

Henry knew that if he wasn’t careful, Phillip would arrange for that kick from a horse. 

Henry heard the disgruntled noise from the copper to his right, so he coughed, settled down, and attempted to look appropriately contrite. “Oh, my head. It aches, boss. I’m doin’ things that I’d never do otherwise.” Henry leaned his head on the policeman to his left, getting a jostle for his efforts. “I’m sorry, Officer. You won’t see me again. Trust me: I can see the future.” And with that, the policemen decided that one crazy circus performer was below their time, and they let him go without much preamble, causing Henry to stumble forward. 

When he’d caught his balance, he stood in front of Phillip, wiping the blood on his face ( he wasn’t even sure what was bleeding that this point ) off and onto his sleeve, waiting for the upbraiding he could already SEE himself getting. 

“Would I be able to cut the lecture short if I told you I’d already heard you tell this to me once before?”

                     ❝ no. ❞

hands steadied the beaten boy as he stumbled forward, finding spots on his shoulder and waist that didn’t seem as injured to brace his body. whatever sort of trouble henry had managed to get himself into, he’d certainly come out the loser, and while the story about the horse was false, he wasn’t certain the injury was. already, he was checking the performer over, unable to truly see past the blood on the boy’s skin, his own sleeves staining red as he tried to clear it from one particularly nasty looking cut above his eye.

this was not a chance encounter. this was orchestrated, phillip new that in his heart of hearts. orchestrated, because clara had cornered him with some sort of conversation he’d lost track of. she jumped topics every time he seemed to get distracted, constantly dragging him back in with a new, completely disconnected factoid that brought his attention back to her in a mixture of bewilderment and amusement. that, and jamie was somewhere here, speaking with noah, making his way through the crowd, and oh – clara had just noticed the mistletoe hanging overhead ( conveniently, not above hers, but phillip’s ). he had to laugh at their effort, truly; it didn’t take much for him to agree to kiss his own boyfriend under the mistletoe. but he laughed, pulling noah closer, his hands framing the man’s face as he looked up at him, blue eyes bright with affection, pausing for the briefest of moments to speak before he finally leaned in to kiss him.

                    ❝ you know, if they’d just told me this was here, i’d have dragged you under it myself. ❞

NAME  /  phillip carlyle THEIR PROFESSION  /  ringmaster / performer / general worrier over things related to the circus WHERE THEY CAN BE FOUND  / at the circus / at parties FAVOURITE FOOD TYPE /  he really enjoys fish of most any kind FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK /  whiskey FAVOURITE TRAIT /  passion WHERE THEY WOULD GO ON A DATE  /  someplace outside the city, or up on a rooftop to look at stars IDEAL GIFT  /  he’d prefer experiences with someone he cares about than physical gifts HOW MANY DATES UNTIL THEY GO TO BED  /  it depends on what he’s looking for. he’ll hook up with people, but if he genuinely likes someone, he prefers to take it slow

Tagged by / @gemineycs

hey, nonnie ! in a word, i’d say no, but because i’m Extra™ ( and i’ll take any excuse i can get to stare at zac’s face ), let’s take a look at phillip carlyle’s facial expressions and What The Fuck It Could Possibly Be.

so we know that phillip is a very expressive individual and doesn’t even try to control his facial expressions when he’s not being Diplomat Extraordinaire ( see THIS gifset of the other side, beautifully entitled ‘phillip’s wtf face’ ). he’s expressive with barnum and from his utter, dumb, lovestruck face the first time he even sees anne, we know that’s not gonna change. the only time we see neutral expressions after are when he’s introducing the oddities to queen victoria, and that moment where he releases anne’s hand because his parents are watching. it’s obvious he’s conditioned himself into that ( and i don’t blame him, i’d sell his parents to satan for one corn chip ).

SO, that being said, i’d say that rather than crying, the expression is closer to the neutral mask he picks up when he’s around people who will judge, with a bit of a mixture of the dawning realization that he fucked up real bad. ( gifset here ). anne’s clearly not only aggressively responding to his uncertainty, but walling him off, and he knows it. this moment, to me, is what sets everything into motion for the scene at the theater, and his not only proud but aggressive response to parents he’s been so neutral and blank around -- because he messed up once, he saw what happened, and this moment is him resolving not to do it again.

( @destinywritten ) « from henry

               “THIS ONE SAYS that he works for you.”

Henry stood between two policemen and looking at his young ( young, young, young, so young ) employer with a grin lacking any chagrin or shame. There had been a little bit of a TUSSLE down by the wharf, and the youthful-looking prophet had gotten involved because he had had the brief flash of a future where a child had fallen off the dock and had drowned. HE WASN’T GOING TO LET THAT HAPPEN; he instead caused… a little riot which led children and tough-men away from the water. 

He was bloodied and muddy, but his smile was wide in satisfiaction and anticipation, waiting to see how his boss would react. 

“Hi there, Ringleader,” he said, his arms still being held tightly by the two policemen who were this close to locking him up and throwing away the keys. “Mind telling them to loosen their grip a little? I won’t be able to shuffle my cards tonight if I’m all bruised.”

all in all, this wasn’t an UNFAMILIAR situation. his performers were something of...troublemakers, to put it lightly. and while barnum had been more  entertained and less concerned by their antics, phillip preferred to keep them alive, out of jail, and uninjured.

it seemed that henry didn’t quite agree.

his expression remained...neutral  ( mostly ) as he looked over the boy held in the police officers’ grasp, a deep breath lifting his chest before escaping his lungs once more. henry looked rough, without a doubt, but that incorrigible grin was likely what would get him in trouble more than anything. it was that expression that made anything he could say a little less believable.