searching hearts

funny things, memories. two different lives, competing for space in his head -- as though he didn’t have far too many thoughts swirling their pointless way around. two different lives, from two entirely different worlds; somehow trying to co-exist side by side. 

it made no sense.

but be it as it may, this felt like a homecoming from that different lifetime - returning to the red keep after more than a year’s absence, trying to run back to the life he knew. this time, he still had both hands - though perhaps those memories explained why his right only half worked. and this time, he thankfully had a whole lot less mud and shit on him. 

“cersei,” he said, from the doorway of her house. the thought that she might not remember him - or even the thought that she might not welcome him - never crossed his mind. 

“and here we are,” he said, looking around woodshore with a faint smirk. “such a quaint little town - certainly not the sort of place we’d normally find ourselves in.”

@searchinghearts — for any muse !

cristina had settled down at the least crowded picnic table she could find. she hadn’t been planning on stopping by the festival, but the smell of fried food from a nearby food trucked has enticed her. she popped a french fry in her mouth and smiled. “you know, as a cardio surgeon i definitely shouldn’t be eating this stuff. but i don’t really think i can bring myself to care right now.”

(¬_¬ ) from sherlock !!

“no, you don’t care,” sherlock said. he’d been people watching at the festival -- he cared little for the banalities of the celebration, but he supposed that he’d been drawn to it for the same reason that everyone else had; there really wasn’t anything else going on around here. 

“the human mind lacks the ability to effectively quantify risk,” he continued, “you’re young, so the statistical probability of developing heart disease isn’t on the cards right now, not in the face of something --” he held up his own tray of chips, “-- so immediately rewarding.”

but really, dissecting why people generically ate fast food and or not was hardly interesting conversation. “let me guess - you’re the type of person who knows what they want and isn’t afraid to go get it,” he said.

“I’ve been okay,” she answered slowly, glad that at least they were talking again. Looking around her shop, her lips quirked up into a little smile, proud of what she did and accomplished since she came here somehow and opened up her store. “Thank you,” she said slowly with a nod. ‘They have-and have yours?”

“listen,” yennefer said, not one to dance around the bush unless there was something in it for her. “i remember what happen between you and geralt. and that you’re in love with him.”

she paused; geralt had never been hers, not in the way that traditional couples had it - they had spent significant time together, but also significant time apart. it was hardly fair of her to lay any claim on him, but at the same time, it was hard to fight her innate desire to want everything. 

“but he’s not here,” she said at last. “and ... i don’t wish for something like that to get between us.” she smiled, moving closer to take triss’ hands. “i would have us be friends.”

@searchinghearts​ - leia x lando; decoration shopping

shopping for things that han solo would deem…appropriate…seemed to be the most boring task. don’t get her wrong, she loved her husband, but his sense of style was quite…bland. so, she’d implored her best friend and forced him to go shopping with her. his style was as much if not more extravagant as hers. “what do you think about this lando?” she asks, holding up different colorful curtains. “which would he hate less?”

“oh, he’ll hate them all,” lando said, with almost a sense of unholy glee. “his sense of style is limited to dust and dirt with a side of mud. so i’d say we should just pick what we - that is, people with actual taste - would like.”

eying the swathes of fabric, he nodded his approval. “i must say, leia, that your sense of style of style is impeccable.” running his hands over the material, he hummed at how soft they were - definitely suitable for billowing in the wind, before narrowing down the choices to two. “my vote would be for these two - given that we have a sea-facing residence, both the blue and the green would perfectly complement that. i’d say get them both - we’ll need to change of curtains once in a while, after all.”

and to be fair to han, they were, in lando’s entirely humble estimation, not gaudy at all. a little gold trim never hurt anyone.

indy had been minding his own business as he sat at the end of the bar, taking slow sips of his whiskey and keeping his gaze locked onto a book he’d found in the library on odd occurrences. he almost didn’t hear the guy next to him until he spoke again - finally playing back in his mind and piecing together the other’s words.

“did i finish mine already?“ he asked, blinking and looking over at his empty tumbler and giving a small laugh. “sure, why not?“ he held up the glass to the bartender and smiled at his newly arrived friend.

“so, usually when someone offers a drink to a stranger they’re either interested in the stranger or in the stranger’s belongings,“ he started, shutting the book and turning to face the other, “sorry to ask, but which is it before we go any further? in my line of work, i can’t be too careful.“

"you hadn’t noticed? that’s sure sign that you need more.” he slid a card over the counter at the bartender, and receiving two new glasses in return, the liquid in them a deep, promising looking gold. 

“peaty, i like it,” he said, taking a sniff from his glass. “can’t say i’ve tried this single malt before, but there’s always something new here, isn’t there?”

he turned to face the other with a small smile. “straight to the point, i like it. it’s the company i’m interested in,” he said, “i’m tony. mechanic, engineer, maker of stuff.” he nodded at the book that the other had been reading. “good book? not many people come to a bar to read.”

cersei had entered his office looking for something to do other than avoid those in nature that had annoyed her or hated her. when sherlock spoke up and made snide remarks the former queen rolled her eyes and heaved out a heavy sigh before leaning against his lab table.

“if we were back in the time of my life, i would have had you thrashed and possibly beheaded. it would sincerely depend on my mood and luckily for you sherlock, i happen to take an interest in you.“ she stated, pulling the phial of wildfire from around her neck and sliding the bright green liquid across the desk towards him.

with an arched brow, she waited for him to look at it, to take a curious interest and keen eye to it. “go on, ask me what it is - or better yet, figure it out for yourself. however, i don’t advise being too careless with it lest you wish for all of us to die.”

--

"of course,” sherlock said. “but then you’d regret it, because i’m far too interesting and useful,” sherlock said blandly, unaffected by the threat. “more likely, you’d recruit me to assist with your political machinations, weaponising my intellect and observational powers and likely completely disagreeing with my assessment of people.” he shrugged. “which is fair, i suppose. people’s irrational whims are still a mystery to me.”

“what you wouldn’t do is have me beheaded, because you’d find me far too useful - and face it, i am far too useful. so most likely you’d make the same kind of threats and, if you were truly vexed, i suppose a brief exile might be on the cards. am i correct so far?”

picking up the bottle, he studied it when a critical eye. “something dangerous, i wager, since it’s kept in a relatively secure vessel. is it yours or did you acquire it from someone or somewhere?”

—- maggie did not know what brought her to the man’s office that day. in truth, she’d been making some…. specific choices as of late. decisions related to finding the important people of her past. she’d gone to a veterinary clinic, wondering if her FATHER might be there. she’d gone to a music shop that gave singing and instrumental lessons— curious to see if BETH would be extending lessons herself. she’d gone to police and investigatory establishments, wanting to see whether her mentor, friend, and family member…. RICK GRIMES was back. she knew in her heart that he might not be here. this was all before she’d actually come to FIND HIM, and to reunite with him. but desperate ideas led to desperate measures, and the woman was tired of feeling so ALONE in this place. save for new friends, she did not have the loved ones of her past. and save for HER SON, her bloodline had gone dead. “you’re right, i should not BE HERE,” maggie replied. she’d detected the closed-off nature of the man’s tone, but it was not something that was worth hedging a conflict over. after all, she was the one who had been loitering in the doorway to his office— not even aware of the fact that she’d taken pause there. she’d been caught up in the gravity of her own thoughts— to such a degree, that she failed to NOTICE. “i do hope that your work goes well,” she mentioned politely, shifting her six-month-old son against her hip. “makin’ these sorts of scientific discoveries is so important— but of course, YOU already knew that.” 

so... she wasn’t here for a case. sherlock resisted a sigh. 

“and yet ... you’re still here,” he murmured, just loudly enough to be audible. his tone shifted, as something about her piqued his interest. the comment, rude on its surface, was more an observation -- in fact, the very fact that she wasn’t turning and scurrying off like most people did when they found they weren’t welcome ... was telling.

“which means ...” he gestured at a chair. “sit down. something’s clearly bothering you. what is it -- missing person? perplexed by the mystery of this place? searching for something lost?”

his gaze travelled across her, and the tiny human that she had. (really, he always forgot how squishy faced they looked at that age). “five months?” he mused. “or just eight and on the small side?”

losing interest in the child, he turned back to maggie. “i suppose discoveries are important, but really, they’re just a means to an end.” that end being keeping himself entertained, but he always found that people threw a fit when he put it like that. “my name is sherlock holmes. consulting detective. solving crimes is my preferred past time.”

@searchinghearts​ > tony & clarke.

“thor told me about you.” it was something that clarke shared with the man: both of them found some joy in talking about the people they had made a family out of working with. she had always found it easier to praise the others: bellamy and his heart, octavia’s strength, monty’s resilience in his beliefs. his need to be the good guys. she still wanted that for herself, questioned if it was even possible. she wanted the answer to be yes, that there was still hope for herself. that this place could be a real second chance. “he spoke highly.”

“really?” tony said with a grin. “what sort of things did he say about me? good looking? charming? clever? good with cats? where’s our good old thunder god, anyway? i haven’t seen him around in a while.”

he held out a hand, offering a handshake. “clarke, was it? so, unfortunately you have me at a disadvantage, since i haven’t heard much about you, but i can already tell that you’re amazing and we’re going to get along swimmingly.” 

woodshore, as always, felt peaceful. the weather was heating up now that it was proper summer, but nothing about this place ever felt like it had him on the edge. it was ... really refreshing, if he were to be honest about it. “so ... how long have you been here?” he asked. “and do you have your memories back?”

Quiet Aquarium || Open

Cal leaned against the railing and watched the fish swim by. It was a weird sight for sure. None of the fish were familiar to him. While at the same time every single one of them he remembered, and remembered standing in this exact spot. He wasn’t sure how to explain it. But for now it didn’t matter. He was here because it was nice. Nice to get out and do something other than work. Nice to be free from the fear he constantly had. He took a sip of the soda he had purchased and sighed. “Nice day for a festival huh?” Cal asked the person who had came up next to him. 

ᓚᘏᗢ tony stark

tony was incredibly excited about the festival - the town had been quiet recently, and while he enjoyed the peace and quiet, and he was also used to a much higher paced lifestyle. 

in a nutshell, he’d been bored.

“definitely,” he said, glancing at the fish. “don’t know much about fish myself, but the whole coral reef thing they’ve set up is pretty.” he leaned against the railing as well. “are you new here? i don’t think i’ve seen you around before -- though the town is getting a bit bigger.” he smiled. “i’m tony, by the way. i build robots and things.”

“Wait, the Falcon?” Finn asked, not exactly sobering up but more alert than before he took the offered drink. For a moment the alcohol was forgotten and the idea of home was brought back to him. “Is the Falcon here?” One would think a bit ship like that would be noticeable but with Finn lost in his own mind, it wasn’t actually that difficult to believe. “Does Rey know? Does Poe know?” Probably questions he could’ve asked in his head but he asked them aloud. With another pause, Finn attempted to get a better look at him and realized there was an intensity of familiarity. Yet, he didn’t want to ruin this moment of peace he felt. “You know what, never mind. I’ll ask about it when I can see straight.” He was steadfast in his reply and took a rather large drink from the martini glass. He couldn’t really taste anything anyways.

“wait, you know the falcon? like, the millenium falcon? she’s my ship,” lando said, before peering more closely at him. “are you from ... hey, they call it the ‘star wars’ universe around here, which is kinda weird and insulting -- there’s so much more to the universe than just the war, although i have to admit that there’s quite a bit of war...”

he paused in the middle of his ramble. “rey? you know rey? do you know leia and han too?” he squinted. “nope, don’t know a poe, at least not from around here.”

grinning, he threw open his arms -- not least because it made his cape swirl dramatically. “it looks like we’re from the same place in space! i’m lando calrissian, and you are my new best friend.” he toasted him from his glass. 

adam was taken back by how upfront the other guy was, with all his effort towards keeping an eye on who came around the bar, he hadn’t noticed lando before. “ i’m sorry, but that sounds a little bit like a stalker, doesn’t it? “ he asked, though he didn’t leave, instead turning towards the other, curious. “ i’m adam. i’ve been here a few weeks now, i thought i was keeping a low profile but i guess not.. how long have you lived here? “

--

"no, just someone who comes here often,” lando said, unperturbed. “pro-tip - you hang out in the same place every night, doing the same thing -- people will notice. you want to avoid people and setting off alarm bells? you gotta move around a bit. take it from me - i’m used to running away from people and things.”

he gave him a smile. “good to meet you, adam. i’ve been here for just about over two months. so... what’s your story before you turned up here?”

“i’m thirty-eight now.” peter replies softly. the years weren’t kind to him, why would they be with the profession he was in? It was odd, being so close to tony’s age and still feeling as if he was a father figure to him, but part of that would never go away.

“head aches, i lose time.  i’m just a mess, tony, theres really nothing to it. it comes with the excelled healing.” peter shrugs, really unsure of what all to admit to tony right now. he didn’t want to be seen as a frail little kid anymore, he could deal with things on his own.or at least he liked to believe he could. “he is going to teach me how to use the mirror realm. i haven’t told him much else.” and he probably wouldn’t. peter was secretive, more so because he didn’t want to bother the people around him with his problems. he didn’t want to be an issue for others and he didn’t want to be seen as a puzzle others cant solve.

tony started pacing, and it made peter nervous. one of his hands started pulling at the others fingers, a way to ground himself and keep his own anxiety at bay. “it’s fine.” he replies, really not sure of what else to say. “i don’t even know what i need anymore tony, ever since…” peter pauses to clear his throat and shake his head. “ever since may died i’ve just felt lost. i don’t know what to do with myself. I couldn’t save her, i couldn’t save ben. i couldn’t save you. so whats the point anymore?”

sometimes, there were things that couldn’t be fixed.

tony had learned that the hard way - what with the arc reactor, what with finding a way to fix the arc reactor then breaking the avengers apart. it was just so damn hard to accept that other people - especially the ones that he considered his kids - having to walk down the same path, and discover the same hard truths for themselves.

“there’s always a point,” he said, spearing peter with a look. “i didn’t need saving, hell -- i went out with a flash and bang the way i wanted to, and ...” he sighed. “look, point is, you didn’t need to save me.” he put both his hands on peter’s shoulders. “it’s never been your responsibility to save me.” this was worse than he’d thought. and it definitely wasn’t the sort of thing that was going to be fixed in a day. but he hoped - oh how he hoped - given time and opportunity, some of those wounds could begin to heal again. 

“woodshore was my chance to start anew, you know? and i think it could be yours too.”

@woodshorestarters​ - open

sighing, steve pushed himself up to a stand again from where he was leaning on the railing of the front porch of his house. the place he lived now in arwen properties was nice, out in the woods and quiet, but it really didn’t change much. truthfully, it just left him more alone with his thoughts. he turned to head inside before he paused when he heard someone, assuming they were just a hiker out in the woods. “nice day out, even if it’s hot,” he greeted before he turned around. he assumed that maybe they’d keep walking, but anything to just fill the silence.

☆*: .｡. yennefer .｡.:*☆

yennefer had been trying to find a quiet spot to work on her magic. the woods seemed like as good a place as any - rather perfect, in fact, given that it helped with her memories.

recalling her magic had proven far harder than she expected. simple spells - fire, lightning, anything -- had slipped through her fingers, making her feel like an incompetent apprentice once more. as her frustration mounted, her concentration wavered, and the more erratic her spell-casting became.

when some idiot decided to start talking -- her concentration snapped entirely, and in a blaze of fury, her magic spiked, launching a lightning bolt straight into the nearest tree. 

“damn!” she swore, as electricity crackled and an entire branch split away, sparking as it started to catch fire. “don’t just stand there, get water!”

Throwing up her hands, Triss sighed and shook her head. “I ordered the right thing. and they brought me something totally-” she stopped as she whipped around and stared at the other woman. “…Yennefer…” she said slowly. Triss didn’t know if she should hug the woman or just downright stand there. She remembered everything about her past life, including everything she and Yennefer had ever did together. “They brought me something totally different.” she finished. “How are you?”

“triss,” yennefer said. 

it was... surprisingly difficult seeing her again. despite the fact that they’d been friends, yennefer recalled from her own memories - as patchwork and unreliable as they were - a certain amount of awkwardness. 

when triss sort of froze, clearly torn between greeting her as a friend and holding back, yennefer felt that awkwardness bubble up like a rift between them. “i’m very good, thank you,” she said, a lifetime of court intrigue the only thing keeping her from grimacing outright. “how are you?” she glanced around the shop. “i love the place you have here,” she said, “and i’m guessing your memories have returned...?”

magic. ciri remembered running for her life after nilfgaard attacked, how she had screamed so loud, surged with such power inside of her, that the ground between her and him had split. it wasn’t the only time that something like that had happened. “you’re a witch.” the statement comes out easily, even if mere months ago, she would have refuted the idea of them. that had been before she’d gone to another planet, before she remembered even a small fraction of the truth.

“but you’re more than that.” to me, at least, ciri thought. lips pursed together, a series of questions running through her mind and trying to settle on which to ask first. she wanted to know more, to know everything. “do you know how to make me remember everything?”

“a sorceress,” yennefer said, almost instinctively. witch always brought to mind the sort of crone who helped out a village (or in some cases, preyed on it), living in a little hovel somewhere and dispensing ‘cures’ that were barely more than good hygiene practices. still, though. she knew that wasn’t what ciri meant. in fact...

“but yes, i can use magic. and so can you.” she held up a hand, arcane flames shimmering at her fingertips, before she dispelled them with a thought. “and...” 

she deliberated on the knife’s edge of dilemma for a moment before she decided to simply take the plunge. “i taught you. raised you. you were a daughter to me.”

so far, nothing she had done -- no spell, no potion, no medication -- had been able to lift the fog of amnesia from someone. she could only hope that her words would reach cirillia, jolt something loose from where it was buried deep within.

“i can show you some of my memories,” she said. “perhaps... that would help.”

OPEN!

Panic rushed through her as she noticed that she had lost one of the most important items she carried around with her — Steve Trevor’s watch. He had given it to her right before he sacrificed himself and she had,somehow,lost it. Diana had been running around the park for the last hour just searching for it and decided to ask someone about it. Stopping in front of a person nearby,the Amazon smiled politely,hoping to get some extra help.”Hi,I’m sorry to bother you but have you seen a lost watch around here?I lost mine and it’s really important to me.”

ᓚᘏᗢ -- tony stark

“a watch?” tony said, blinking in surprise as someone came up to him. even without her saying that it was important, he could tell from her flustered demeanor that it wasn’t just an ordinary watch, and while he’d been heading over to meet rhodey, his best friend could definitely wait. “here, i can do a scan for you. do you have a picture or a description? and where was the place you remember seeing it?” 

pulling out a stark pad, he keyed in a few commands quickly, setting up the search parameters for his AI, FRIDAY. “i’m tony, by the way,” he said, chatting as a way to put her at ease. “i do a bit of tinkering and engineering.”

    adam turned the page in his book and reached for his beer, taking another sip of it as he continued reading. to most, he probably seemed distracted and at ease but the man was aware of every time someone left or entered the railyard tap, body tensing up slightly if someone got too close to his perch on the edge of the bar. he’d become enough of a barfly here the past few weeks that the bartender mostly left him alone, not bothering to ask why he sat there night after night, glancing up every time he smelt smoke. as someone approached his perch, not seeming to take his hint, he cleared his throat loudly. “ stool next to me is taken. “ @woodshorestarters

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ -- lando calrissian

“it is now,” lando said, sliding shamelessly into the seat and looking the guy over. 

it wasn’t the first time he’d seen him here -- in fact, lando had seen him turn up almost every night, without a companion. “listen, i couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been here a lot. same seat, same drink, same generally unhappy air. maybe a change in routine could help. despite what everyone thinks, drowning your sorrows doesn’t actually work. trust me, i’ve been there.”

he held out a hand. “the name’s lando. i take it you’re new here.”