Tim Laughlin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
holyposition) wrote2024-06-13 06:55 pm
holyposition) wrote2024-06-13 06:55 pm
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t.laughlin
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WELCOME TO THE SALTBURNT NETWORK
USERNAME:
t.laughlin
text ❖ audio ❖ video
[ It’s certainly bold — but Alicent finds she doesn’t mind it, stiff arms soon encircling his back, leaning up on her toes to tuck her head into his neck. Unused to affection, not against it.
A frightful thought, unbidden: She could not say what she would do if any more of hers had been taken (Tim, Koby, Aemond). Losing Rhaenyra and Paul had ached enough, for how she knows those losses will repeat (A queen and a son, still to be claimed by the Stranger in time).
Though she pulls back, her hands linger on his arms, anchoring and assuring. ]
Of course. [ She should have stayed longer, when he was at his weakest, despite how it reminded her of her dying husband and son. ]
[ tipping her head to one side, ] It is a strange thing, to mourn those who would see my sons dead. [ Alina had been right, when she said as much. ] Jacaerys was only a boy, but Daemon — he has been a threat to my blood and thorn in my side since I wed his brother. [ Tim’s god would ask her to forgive, she knows it, but there can be no quarter for a man as vile as Daemon Targaryen. Simply, ] I weep for Rhaenyra, not for him.
[ Will it change anything for Aemond, if Daemon is dead? Who else might be strong enough to kill her second son, as fierce as the dragon he rides? Thoughts for another time, once the game is ended. ]
You were most valiant in the vote, particularly in the face of such wretchedness.
[ The vileness of Danny’s crimes unsettles her more than any other. Worse, so many men knew — Embry, Louis, Ash, Hawk, Tim — and yet what did they do, before others suffered? Did they ever think to tell Greer, who loved Embry best? Perhaps her womanhood excluded her from these monstrous secrets, as Alicent’s always has. ]
A frightful thought, unbidden: She could not say what she would do if any more of hers had been taken (Tim, Koby, Aemond). Losing Rhaenyra and Paul had ached enough, for how she knows those losses will repeat (A queen and a son, still to be claimed by the Stranger in time).
Though she pulls back, her hands linger on his arms, anchoring and assuring. ]
Of course. [ She should have stayed longer, when he was at his weakest, despite how it reminded her of her dying husband and son. ]
[ tipping her head to one side, ] It is a strange thing, to mourn those who would see my sons dead. [ Alina had been right, when she said as much. ] Jacaerys was only a boy, but Daemon — he has been a threat to my blood and thorn in my side since I wed his brother. [ Tim’s god would ask her to forgive, she knows it, but there can be no quarter for a man as vile as Daemon Targaryen. Simply, ] I weep for Rhaenyra, not for him.
[ Will it change anything for Aemond, if Daemon is dead? Who else might be strong enough to kill her second son, as fierce as the dragon he rides? Thoughts for another time, once the game is ended. ]
You were most valiant in the vote, particularly in the face of such wretchedness.
[ The vileness of Danny’s crimes unsettles her more than any other. Worse, so many men knew — Embry, Louis, Ash, Hawk, Tim — and yet what did they do, before others suffered? Did they ever think to tell Greer, who loved Embry best? Perhaps her womanhood excluded her from these monstrous secrets, as Alicent’s always has. ]
It's prayer, Tim.
At the bottom, that's what it is.
At the bottom, that's what it is.
[no, he's not going back to bed. he's going to keep shaking tim's shoulder, much as he hates waking him out of an angelic looking slumber. there's time for that later, when all the wolves have been put away.]
Tim, listen to what you just said.
That girl - turned into a chicken.
[he sits up, running an exasperated hand over his face and into his slowly, stubbornly curling hair, loose from the days activities and imminent sleep. his feet swing off to the side of the bed, walking over to tim's desk and grabbing the small book he's been taking notes in until he flips to a page from last round's analysis. he shoots back over to tim's side of the bed, shoving it practically under his nose and then thumps the page with the back of his hand.]
We're looking for a shapeshifter aren't we? She turned into a chicken.
Why didn't anyone point the finger before?
Tim, listen to what you just said.
That girl - turned into a chicken.
[he sits up, running an exasperated hand over his face and into his slowly, stubbornly curling hair, loose from the days activities and imminent sleep. his feet swing off to the side of the bed, walking over to tim's desk and grabbing the small book he's been taking notes in until he flips to a page from last round's analysis. he shoots back over to tim's side of the bed, shoving it practically under his nose and then thumps the page with the back of his hand.]
We're looking for a shapeshifter aren't we? She turned into a chicken.
Why didn't anyone point the finger before?
[ A little too close to home, equating sex with worship...he pretends he does not see it. ]
I don't understand.
I don't understand.
[ Tim turns onto his back with a louder, more tired groan, and then shimmies himself up into a seated position. reaches for his glasses and his watch on the bedside - 12:50 AM. Give him a second while his brain turns on... ]
Because...she was doing it to help, I guess. [ Wiping a smudge off his glasses with the bottom of his t-shirt. ] It was silly enough to write off. She was upset about Luci and Astarion.
[ But now that it's established the wolves don't know they're wolves... ]
She can't be more than...5'3", maybe? The footprint could be hers.
Because...she was doing it to help, I guess. [ Wiping a smudge off his glasses with the bottom of his t-shirt. ] It was silly enough to write off. She was upset about Luci and Astarion.
[ But now that it's established the wolves don't know they're wolves... ]
She can't be more than...5'3", maybe? The footprint could be hers.
You think he wants people to think he's dead? What purpose would that serve? It just makes your crew look vulnerable, with their doctor gone.
It does. But it removes him from the playing field so nobody considers him. Let's him do things without observation.
Maybe that's what he wants? He's not very forthcoming, with me.
[Is Koby hurt about that? A bit. But he knows Tim understands that, at least.]
Maybe that's what he wants? He's not very forthcoming, with me.
[Is Koby hurt about that? A bit. But he knows Tim understands that, at least.]
[ He understands it very well. He doesn't like it. ]
If he's faking his own death without telling you...I don't know, Koby. He’s got to have something really big planned to be worth all thst grief, but hes already been found out by the doctors.
[ I mean...Hawk wouldn't even do that. Probably. ]
If he's faking his own death without telling you...I don't know, Koby. He’s got to have something really big planned to be worth all thst grief, but hes already been found out by the doctors.
[ I mean...Hawk wouldn't even do that. Probably. ]
I don't think every practitioner feels it like I do. But if you reach out to a higher power asking "please, I need help to make the changes I want to see"
I think I've said I wasn't raised with religion. But that's what it feels like to me. Fulfilling an obligation to others through a connection to something bigger.
I think I've said I wasn't raised with religion. But that's what it feels like to me. Fulfilling an obligation to others through a connection to something bigger.
Well, it backfired. Now everyone's considering him, since the body isn't really is. Where would he have gone?
He should have told you.
[ Completely out of patience for this type of thing, if you can believe it... ]
He should have told you.
[ Completely out of patience for this type of thing, if you can believe it... ]
Aemond's description of him was not very flattering. But it's still hard, I'm sure.
[ It's true that God would ask them to forgive. It's also true that if the things Aemond says of him are true, he'd be cast into Hell for them, if they're not all there already. Would Tim be pure enough in his faith to forgive someone who sought to kill his own children? He's not a father, and won't ever be, but even still, he can't imagine he would be. He's far from perfect himself, he can't ask her to be. ]
Thank you.
[ He hadn't felt valiant. He was terrified and in pain from the moment he started speaking to the one where the final vote was counted, hurt from being blindsided by Koby's crew, stressed from Hawk's need to fight with everyone Tim cares about that dared to voice anything but unconditional support - it felt like a disaster. And yet, it worked out in the end. For now.
Tim rubs his hand over his face, taking off his glasses and setting them down on the table. Just for something to do, he puts the kettle on. ]
I should have said something earlier. I wanted to. I'm sorry. He made me promise.
[ It's true that God would ask them to forgive. It's also true that if the things Aemond says of him are true, he'd be cast into Hell for them, if they're not all there already. Would Tim be pure enough in his faith to forgive someone who sought to kill his own children? He's not a father, and won't ever be, but even still, he can't imagine he would be. He's far from perfect himself, he can't ask her to be. ]
Thank you.
[ He hadn't felt valiant. He was terrified and in pain from the moment he started speaking to the one where the final vote was counted, hurt from being blindsided by Koby's crew, stressed from Hawk's need to fight with everyone Tim cares about that dared to voice anything but unconditional support - it felt like a disaster. And yet, it worked out in the end. For now.
Tim rubs his hand over his face, taking off his glasses and setting them down on the table. Just for something to do, he puts the kettle on. ]
I should have said something earlier. I wanted to. I'm sorry. He made me promise.
And that higher power is reached through sex? How?
Has that actually worked here? It looked like the belt just led you around in circles.
Has that actually worked here? It looked like the belt just led you around in circles.
...not too much, I hope? I'm juggling a lot right now.
I really shouldn't be going on about my...I don't know what you'd call it, dating life? There are people dying.
okay, fine.
I hit it off with Harry last month, while Hawk was gone. We went out on a couple dates and he made me a protection charm, and let me watch while he explained it all, which probably made it take a lot longer, but he was sweet about it. It’s been...slower. Meaning we haven’t been intimate, but I like that. I tend to throw myself into things completely without using my head, so it’s a good change to be sure first. I feel really good about it. And him.
But Hawk’s back now, and he’s different, in a good way, but I don’t know if that’s real or it’s just the situation we’re in right now, where if he doesn’t tell me what’s going on we could all actually die. He’s reliable right now but I don’t know if he’ll stay that way. We didn’t have time to see where we were before Embry was killed
He was fucking Embry, by the way. Which I didn’t know until I was scrubbing his blood off the altar.
I’m not upset he did it, it’s not like I was celibate when he was gone. But he knows who I’m with. Why shouldn’t I get the same courtesy?
I told him when he came back that I can’t commit to him again when I don’t know if I can trust him, and I need time to figure out what it is I really want. I had him stay in the other room, and then all of this started and we’re sharing a bed again and he saved my life, and between us it’s good, even with everything else falling apart. But this will end, and I don’t know where we’ll be, and I don’t want to give up on Harry or hurt Hawk or abandon Quentin (what happened with those two??) - I just need to stand my ground and give myself time. But it feels selfish.
I think that’s most of it. Sorry, that was more vomiting out my feelings than fun gossip
I hit it off with Harry last month, while Hawk was gone. We went out on a couple dates and he made me a protection charm, and let me watch while he explained it all, which probably made it take a lot longer, but he was sweet about it. It’s been...slower. Meaning we haven’t been intimate, but I like that. I tend to throw myself into things completely without using my head, so it’s a good change to be sure first. I feel really good about it. And him.
But Hawk’s back now, and he’s different, in a good way, but I don’t know if that’s real or it’s just the situation we’re in right now, where if he doesn’t tell me what’s going on we could all actually die. He’s reliable right now but I don’t know if he’ll stay that way. We didn’t have time to see where we were before Embry was killed
He was fucking Embry, by the way. Which I didn’t know until I was scrubbing his blood off the altar.
I’m not upset he did it, it’s not like I was celibate when he was gone. But he knows who I’m with. Why shouldn’t I get the same courtesy?
I told him when he came back that I can’t commit to him again when I don’t know if I can trust him, and I need time to figure out what it is I really want. I had him stay in the other room, and then all of this started and we’re sharing a bed again and he saved my life, and between us it’s good, even with everything else falling apart. But this will end, and I don’t know where we’ll be, and I don’t want to give up on Harry or hurt Hawk or abandon Quentin (what happened with those two??) - I just need to stand my ground and give myself time. But it feels selfish.
I think that’s most of it. Sorry, that was more vomiting out my feelings than fun gossip
I don't mind you vomiting out your feelings, Tim. That's what friends do.
And it seems like that's been building for a while, which...makes sense. We've all been distracted.
But I think you're right to ask for time. I don't think that's selfish at all. You're allowed to ask for that, especially with
Everything.
Hawk and I got into a fight, during the last round and Quentin stood up for me. That's probably...why the tension.
And it seems like that's been building for a while, which...makes sense. We've all been distracted.
But I think you're right to ask for time. I don't think that's selfish at all. You're allowed to ask for that, especially with
Everything.
Hawk and I got into a fight, during the last round and Quentin stood up for me. That's probably...why the tension.
It's worked for charms that didn't directly tie to the game. And technically, I think Parisa's spell did work, it's just that the inquiry wasn't particularly probative.
[ A pause between messages. ]
Nobody 100% agrees on exactly how magic works, so this is colored by my personal experience. But it comes from human sentience + some element of ritual applied to an outcome, and for me, intimacy is like
a way of connecting to someone all at once, with everything. Mind, spirit, body, emotions. You can surpass the boundaries of yourself to make something that's bigger than you and your partner individually.
[ A pause between messages. ]
Nobody 100% agrees on exactly how magic works, so this is colored by my personal experience. But it comes from human sentience + some element of ritual applied to an outcome, and for me, intimacy is like
a way of connecting to someone all at once, with everything. Mind, spirit, body, emotions. You can surpass the boundaries of yourself to make something that's bigger than you and your partner individually.
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