she defies them

the ghosts whisper to me. they wail the songs of forgotten souls, drowning in your apathy. silly little men on your hollow thrones of brittle bones. don't you remember? i know all your secrets. careful now. swallow easy. you will choke on all the lies. selective & private magnolia castillo of tantalus by lenee

[desafia]

mutuals only roleplay blog for magnolia castillo,  an original character featuring original science fiction lore ‘tantalus.’  est. august 2021!  cherished by lenee,  they/them, 26.  &  there will be mature themes on this blog.  in affiliation with allie tia and molly

important note: magnolia has a trauma & injury induced speech disability. she primarily uses sign language for communication and cannot speak verbally to strangers or unfamiliar muses.  more details in her carrd. 

CARRD.   LORE.    PROMPTS.

WISHES INTEREST TRACKER     SOUNDTRACK   COMMUNICATION

blogroll: @klarsynt @li0ncourts @faerys

[desafia]

hmm

hmm

[desafia]

RULE ONE: you did not die when you should have. your flesh has not learned this yet. it bears the scars of every time you should have ceased to walk the earth. RULE TWO: y ou are already dead. no one is coming to save you. heroes are for the living and you are a ghost trapped in bone and sinew, waiting to rot. RULE THREE: you will save yourself. you will wish you didn't.

[desafia]

magnolia castillo edits:  ↳ the testimony script

magnolia’s eyes scan the crowd while attorney lawrence speaks.  the camera follows her gaze,  we see what she does.  first emmett,  then aspen.  when she answers the question her eyes lose focus.  we are the crowd looking at her.  expectant.  waiting.  she speaks again and this time her eyes find a new target: former research manager charlotte langford.  the woman who stole her voice. 

[desafia]

personally i think more ppl should call mags 'magpie'

[desafia]

@terr1fy daniel sent: daniel : “ is that your blood? ”

❛ maybe. ❜ a noncommittal sign before she looks down at herself. she really doesn't know. she is drenched in crimson stains. her dress is ruined. her arms are blotched with blood splatter. sticky and quickly growing cold. she frowns. magnolia tilts her head and glances up thoughtfully, trying to pay attention to each limb of her desensitized body to ascertain if any seem like they are more in pain than usual. after a moment, she lifts her brows and grabs her right bicep, twisting the skin towards herself to peer at it carefully. there is a deep laceration. but that seems to be all that is amiss with her. she nods, satisfied, and returns her attention to the man. ❛ most of it isn't mine. ❜

[ofthclight]

he thinks of his answer at first in the way of the force . in balance and light and that sense that has anchored him since he was a child . in the steadiness he feels when things were quiet and he was surrounded by nature , looking up at the stars . and then he thinks of his answer , thinks of the concept of home , in the way of other things . watching the embrace of families , kisses of lovers , the warm spark in brown eyes and the one curl in a head of hair that seems to be immune to being tamed . " it feels like you can breathe , or... sleep . " he thinks of how to describe it in a way that makes sense . " feels like everything is quiet . "

[desafia]

❛ it's true i don't really sleep... ❜ she signs thoughtfully. ❛ it would be nice to find a place where i can do so without nightmares. ❜ it is devoid of self pity when she says it. she is a haunted woman and this is a simple fact of existence, as much as breathing. truth be told, the part she doesn't sign to him, is her uncertainty there will ever be such a place for her. she doesn't want to admit it when he is being hopeful. she thinks it rather pretty when people have hope. after a moment she admits ❛ it feels quiet with you. as long as we're together i think i'll be okay. ❜

[desafia]

Confession: our ships are so ingrained in my brain and in my heart that when I tell myself my little bedtime stories in my head, 95% of the time both Emil and mags (and madric bc I’m a sLUT) have made their way into them because oh my good lenee I just love your little creations SO MUCH

giggling and kicking my feet rn 🤍 our ships make up 80% of my personality at this point. also i literally cannot see a tvd post without automatically thinking of you and caroline and i won't even say 'your caroline' bc like there is no other to me except yours :') ily @seesgood

[terr1fy]

he'd been treated like a zoo animal for most of his life. he hadn't stepped into a house since he was ten, and that last time was to bring a knife down upon some family friend's, pretending that they were his parents, his sister. magnolia's home didn't look like his childhood home. it had more color, more organized clutter. more tea. michael didn't think he'd ever had tea. eyes moved slowly down to the mug, watching the steam lift from amber liquid. a long moment passed before he reached up, using a hand to remove his mask and toss it onto the table in front of him.

once he could open his mouth, he brought the mug to his lips, ignoring her warning completely and taking a large gulp. tea burned all the way down, leaving his tongue a bit numb, but neither a wince nor a hiss escaped the man. head turned toward her as she offered the apple before they move back to magnolia. she was strange. bringing a man in a mask into your house would be considered crazy. maybe she was crazy. maybe that's why he didn't want to kill her. michael took the apple and paused for only a moment before biting and chewing, some of the juice dripping down his chin. eyes never left hers.

[desafia]

a small measure of surprise briefly shows in her eyes when he discards his mask. she blinks and simply observes him as he first drinks the tea with little regard for its heat. she is certain it must have burned him but he doesn't so much as flinch. magnolia quietly studies his features as he eats the offered apple. he appears relatively ordinary. she supposes she is not the judge of normalcy but there is a simplicity about him. he's just a man, she supposes. most people, no matter how lost or deranged, really are just human.

magnolia reaches to the side without looking away, blindly feeling for a napkin from one of her wood-carved holders. she holds the paper carefully between her fingertips and moves very slowly. if he doesn't want to be touched he can make it clear, he can pull away or growl or do whatever it is someone like him does. either way she moves to try to dab the apple juices from his chin before it grows sticky. if he tries to hurt her she supposes she could arrest his mind, choke his motor functions long enough to get back. but then, maybe she wouldn't. maybe she would just let it happen to see how it unfolds. either way it's a risk she is willing to take in the name of treating him with humanity.

[graunblida]

what escapes lexa's lips is a cross between a soft laugh and a sigh. she's convinced mags could steal her apartment with that exact same look and a little conviction. she definitely doesn't mind the other keeping a stash of her comfy clothes - certainly doesn't mind the image of the latter in sweats just a little too long and loose for her. if it makes magnolia happy, all the more reason to enable it. lexa can never quite put her finger on it, but she feels this...NEED to take care of the other woman. not out of necessity ( mags is more than capable of looking out for herself ) but a DESIRE to be a source of peace for the former asset.

the statement bounces around in lexa's mind. Heart flutters at the INVITATION. even after all this time, she still struggles with the concept of being wanted. " i only brought one towel... " she signs pointedly. her initial demeanor gives off the impression that this is a predicament, but she's trying and failing to hold back a smile of her own.

[desafia]

amusement dances in emerald eyes as she takes in the other woman's response, senses the spike in her energy, like a little stutter in her brainwaves which is more than endearing. she likes it here with lexa. if she wanted to stand alone in a shower she would have found her way to her empty apartment on a less than savory part of town ( not that she minds, undesirable neighborhoods are the best to hide in and full of people who accepts her as she is ). no, she came here for the company. because lexa never turns her away.

❛ we can share, ❜ she signs as if she is solving a great problem. magnolia pushes the towel back into the other woman's arms. as soon as her hands are completely free she peels off her sweater, leaving her torso completely bare. she drops the garment on the floor. lips curl into a devilish grin. she extends her hand for the other woman to take to walk together to the bathroom.

[terr1fy]

MAGNOLIA CASTILLO: DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

knife in his hand halts against the chocolate tomatoes on his cutting board, the man taking a moment to grin a bit before he glances toward magnolia. she's stationed herself onto one of his kitchen counters, and though normally he would be strictly against having anyone in his cooking area, let alone sitting on the pristine marble top, he'd decided to make an exception for her. it was a rare feat when he didn't, these days. 'not in the literal sense, no,' hannibal answers after a moment, returning to his careful slicing of vegetables that he'd prepare them for dinner. 'do i believe some might have metaphorical ghosts absorbing the spaces in their minds they so desperately want to reach? i suppose so. though, in my profession, we refer to these more as illnesses than spirits,' @desafia.

[desafia]

genuine interest rests on delicate features as she fixes her bright gaze upon the man. she watches his hands, appreciates the precision and familiarity in each movement. her lips form the shape of an 'oh' though no sounds comes out. it's just a silent gesture before she nods. she waits to catch his eye for just long enough to sign ❛ real ghosts are easier to deal. ❜ she says it with the confidence of a woman who has in fact dealt with both. she doesn't need him to believe. he has no reason to. most people don't. ❛ you can banish ghosts. bad memories never go away. ❜ she turns towards him a little more, glancing at his progress with the vegetables. ❛ do you have brain ghosts? ❜

[terr1fy]

you're happy? she asks. a question he's never heard before, and a word he's never used to describe himself. the only time he may have come close is with the old man, now dead at the muzzles of wolves, and even then, the creature had paid for that near happiness, too. the overwhelming feeling within him now could only be unbridled joy, perhaps mixed with some guilt knowing that he may not deserve so much of what magnolia gives him. but it will not hinder him, not as he meets her eyes with his own, not as he slowly reaches down and wraps his arms around her, lifting her from the ground in a tight embrace, though he's careful not to lose track of his strength. 'i am. happy,' palomo whispers, burying his nose into her hair for a moment before he reluctantly drops her softly back to the ground. 'will you . . . spend time with me here? when you can? your companionship is . . . important, to me, as well,'

[desafia]

she laughs when she is lifted off the ground. the action manages to catch her off guard in the best of ways. she is more than satisfied and pleased when he confirms he is happy after all. joy has been rare in both their lives. she cannot imagine existing as long as he has so devoid of warmth. at least, for a time, she can provide it. head tilts back to look up at him when she deposited back on the floor. her expression grows tender and soft again. ❛ of course, ❜ she reassures him. ❛ i'm just below you...you can't get rid of me. ❜ she smiles. he needn't ask such a question when nothing brings her more joy than their companionship. ❛ i'd still like to come up here to paint sometimes, as long as the smell doesn't both you. ❜

[desafia]

when will @stilloves come back from war

[desafia]

lil warm up sketch of mags

[terr1fy]

MAGNOLIA CASTILLO: I'M NOT REALLY AFRAID OF ANYTHING.

'really? nothing at all?' joanna found that hard to believe. more than that, if it was true, she was envious, green with how much she wished she didn't fear a damn thing. jo rests her chin on her knuckles, leaning in a bit closer to magnolia as she speaks. 'not even being alone forever? never finding the one person who could . . . fix you?' blue eyes glisten a bit, as if she might cry. 'that's my biggest fear - never being loved like i deserve,' @desafia.

[desafia]

❛ nothing, ❜ she confirms. ❛ all the bad things have already happened to me. i think my body had to stop feeling or else i would've died from fright a long time ago. ❜ she shrugs. magnolia tilts her head as the other woman speaks, her brows knitting together with an empathetic expression. ❛ who says you need to be fixed? ❜ she ignores how it was framed as a question from joanna. magnolia is too broken to be fixed, but she hardly believes the same of her companion. ❛ love isn't fixing. it's accepting. maybe the right person will just take you as you are. ❜

[terr1fy]

holding himself back from mocking her ( very valid ) words, dennis takes another look around for the boy that had appeared and disappeared. he wasn't used to meeting ghosts that didn't want to kill him. then again, he's only been used for capturing spirits for shitty billionaires, so he supposed he could give this situation a chance. especially because magnolia actually seemed to know what she was doing. after a moment of staring dully at the woman, dennis sighs and sinks down to the ground, crossing his legs and leaning his elbows on his knees. 'we're not gonna hold hands and sing koombaya, are we? 'cause i'll leave right now,'

[desafia]

a satisfied expression settles on her features when he gives in. magnolia lowers down to sit in front of him as well, sitting on her knees. ❛ i don't know the words to koombaya, ❜ she replies dryly, a spark of humor in her eyes despite keeping a straight face. she closes her eyes and breathes deeply, trying to settle her own energy. ❛ just relax, ❜ she signs without looking. she knows it is easier said than done but she has faith in him. he is capable of more than he thinks. and he should get to experience communing with ghosts in a more pure nature than he has thus far. ❛ just tell the spirit we're here if he wants to talk. or if he just wants company, he can sit with us. ❜

[terr1fy]

MAGNOLIA CASTILLO: YOU'RE NOT SCARED, ARE YOU?

'yeah. a little bit,' there was no use in lying. joel didn't feel shame for being scared, sometimes. he dealt with frightening things, death and blood and people hurting each other deeply. he knows magnolia has been through her own battles, and come out a winner ( in some senses ), and so joel almost felt relief in the honesty he now gave her. 'but i can be scared and still get the job done. pretty sure some people would call that the duality of man,' @desafia.

[desafia]

she smiles softly when he speaks, the gesture small but warm. she appreciates his candor. values it. she mouths the word 'duality ' and signs it slowly, as if reminding herself what it means. ❛ i think that's call bravery, ❜ she responds after a moment. ❛ being scared and doing it anyway. ❜ magnolia nods. her body forgot how to be properly scared, she thinks that is it's own thing. desensitization. numbness. she furrows her brows. ❛ it's good to be scared, i think...if you say it won't hinder you, i believe you. ❜