ejected

[hqessex]

marixsanchez​:

It will always be incredibly gratifying to watch someone jump at her costume. Mari enjoys getting as involved in Halloween. Most holidays reminded her of family, and what she was missing out on. But Halloween? This was a time to celebrate the scariest of the scary, eat as much candy as possible, and ignore the inevitable consequences of her actions. “Hey, they don’t call it the Satanic Soiree for nothing. I gotta make sure I’m the scariest thing in the room or else was it all really worth it?”

    a nervous laughter overtook the woman. “right... right! yeah, i forgot the name for a second.” the woman shrugged, still looking nervous. “maybe i’ll get to reunite with my father then.” her eyes widened and she took th final gulp of her drink. she was intoxicated and that was evident at that statement. she was thinking about nathaniel, how he had wronged her, without crying about it with lots of wine in her system; a brewing disaster waiting to happen. “you have certainly committed on the costume front. i never really did well with horror films.” she said that as if nathaniel showed her anything.

[hqessex]

seven-c23​:

“I’m not very savvy with popular culture.” Seven says, a little bitter. More than a little. She says that this character is quite hot —and Seven could gag. The thought of Emmeline Essex wanting to look hot, presumably to hook up with someone, is reprehensible. Out, enjoying herself, even after all that suffering. “Very embarrassing,” he deadpans. It could be taken as a joke, if someone were delusional enough.

The compliment is dismissed with a wave of his hand. A compliment from her is unsettling more than anything. “Vodka and coke.”

     emmeline couldn’t read the other when he delivered his statement. “perhaps it is, dressing as a crush for halloween.” the woman smiled but underneath, she didn’t like it one bit. it was something that nathaniel would have said. all of a sudden, the club seems very loud again and she had feel the bass in her chest, no, in her head. “is it really that embarrassing?” before the other could answer, the woman had turned to the bar. she shook her head to herself and walked a couple of steps before turning back.

    “are you coming? i don’t quite feel comfortable getting someone a drink that doesn’t see it being poured.” that must have been a subtle give away... she knew that people shouldn’t trust her so she’d give no (other) reason for his distrust. emmeline claimed to care but the thing was that were were far too many victims, she remembered very little. they were all grouped as people who she’d wronged. the woman knew where she wasn’t wanted, that’s what she got now... yet her own self-esteem kept her talking about compensating. 

[hqessex]

[hqessex]

[hqessex]

tiffany-chiba​:

“Oh, I mean, I’m not a huge film buff or anything! I just pick up random facts here and there.” Kind of comes with not having a huge social circle; Tiff spends a lot of time at the library on the computer. Club Nyx is probably not the best place for a deep discussion on movie making, with the music muffling voices, details probably get lost. But Tiff’s never really been sure about what you’re meant to talk about in clubs, so… Sailor Moon it is! The woman seems genuinely interested, not just asking to be polite. “Sailor Moon’s a manga, and also an anime, it’s about this girl called Usagi who like, she sleeps in all the time and she always cries and she just really wants to be loved, but she can also do her magical girl transformation and become Sailor Moon, with magic powers! Even in, like the first episode of the anime, she defeats the bad guys because she cries so loud it’s kind of supersonic. Her and the other Sailor Soldiers have to protect the world from evil. And two of the Sailor Soldiers are lesbians, which is super cool.”

      “no, no. don’t be embarrassed about it.” emmeline nodded towards the other. she admired the other’s passion on the topic and would keep on listening. always crying was bound to resonate with the woman, it was something that nathaniel ridiculed her for. “supersonic, huh?” the woman shook her head. she was certainly not that but she had been proven to be dangerous. there was a time when she had dramatised it, when she was the punishment in the essex house - just like she lost herself playing the role of morticia this evening, she had lost herself in that house and would never get it back. she was nine when she was first there... nine...” when she thought of that, her self-pity sent the tears flowing. “sorry.” she sighed. 

        “this sailor moon seems like quite the relatable heroine.” nodding, she shook her shoulders and patted underneath her eyes, not wanting to smidge her excellent morticia make-up. “i think i’m gay. i mean, i felt it at the start of this year but now i’m not so sure.” it was an unexpected confession on her part, one that was hopefully drowned out by the bass. before 1997, everyone she’d ever come into contact with sexually was within the walls of essex house she was ‘awarded’ several names, as you could imagine. it felt like an never-ending question. “sorry if this is strange, but how do you determine it? i thought i was gay but if i’m not then... i don’t know.” her love for morticia addams was a little too strong and the near kiss she’d taken control of earlier in the night was all her but she wasn’t sure she could be so picky. 

[hqessex]

      emmeline’s eyes widened as she recognised the familiar face, the one that caused her to cry over the metaphor of the fish in the pond. “oh my goodness, you look marvellous.” she grinned, an extreme contrast to how she had been in their first encounter - emmeline couldn’t remember a name, wasn’t even sure if she heard one, but she remembered fish-pond-person’s kindness. “and it’s your birthday?” her tone was slightly higher pitched. “well, i have to get you a drink, it would only be rude of me.” she placed her hand on the other’s arm.

@haleandhorns​

[hqessex]

tiffany-chiba​:

“Exactly! Although for me I don’t think I could ever be like Morticia, I’m not like… cool enough. My personal ‘strong independent woman’ is Sailor Moon, because she cries a lot but still kicks ass. You know–” It doesn’t take much to put Tiffany into rambling mode, and the drinks she’s consumed tonight are enough to do it. This woman’s older, a little intimidating, but she’s obviously got cool taste in fictional women so Tiffany’s not too shy. “I read that apparently the set for the Addams Family was mostly pink, because on black and white film pinks and reds have better contrast than if they’d just used black for everything. So if you were on set, it would have looked like a total Valentines dream rather than spooky and weird.”

     emmeline herself was far from morticia addams, apart from the obvious ease it took to transform into her aesthetic. the woman’s face twitched slightly as an unrecognised subject was brought up. “sailor moon? spologies, but i know absolutely nothing about her.” it resonated with her somewhat, a strong person that cries? practically unheard of in her world. “so, so cries but is still considered strong? please humour me, i’m quite interested.” emmeline meant every word. every time she’d cry, nathaniel saw it as weakness but it never fixed what was making her cry. “wow-” she widened her eyes before laughing. “perhaps i got my outfit all wrong, then.” she chuckled, giving off the impression she wasn’t too serious. “that’s interesting. so you know a lot of interesting facts about film making, then?” her voice is slightly raised over the music.

[combustiibles]

location: satanic soiree participants: ciarán o’connell & emmeline essex ( @hqessex​ )

“is this seat taken?” ciarán vaguely gestured to the empty seats surrounding emmeline - though he didn’t wait for her to respond before taking a seat. “my feet are killing me,” he laughed, as he placed his feet on the table in front of him. “are you enjoying yourself?”

[hqessex]

   “no.” the other had taken a seat before she had given her answer but she wasn’t about to object. “i am, actually.” it was a rarity. however, in becoming someone else for the night, the woman’s defences were down. there was something about being completely submerged in dancing bodies, alcohol and music that she loved. she had rarely experienced it, only really those few times she had bothered to come into club nyx, intoxicated on her birthday and then those occasions at the crimson veil - it was quite liberating. she had never had the younger years of party, had snuck out a few times and got so wasted she couldn’t even remember it, just the staff covering it up.... “what about you? apart for your feet hurting, that is.”

[hqessex]

seven-c23​:​

Neon lights casts everyone in chiaroscuro shadows. Everyone appearing neon blue or red in flashes. He isn’t certain it’s her, at first. So he stops. Stares. Waits for another bright flash of light, for the stranger to move just right. And she does. Emmeline fucking Essex, out celebrating.

Seven follows her through the crowd before he can even think what he’ll do if he catches up to her. Working through the crowd, he wonders if she’ll be too oblivious to connect the dots. His scars aren’t hidden. They shouldn’t make him uncomfortable; they should make everyone else uneasy. Slipping out of the crowd seconds after Emmeline, he walks right up to her, discovers what he’s going to do when he finds her as he speaks. Sidling up to her, voice low (but loud enough to be heard),“What are you supposed to be?”

    being followed or even pursued hadn’t been new for quite some time. emmeline had recently been pursued by jack, once more, and that was never about to end well. the woman had been enjoying the night because she wasn’t herself and that gave her a different type of confidence and power (as morticia addams’ character took over her) - she was enjoying herself for the first time in what seemed a year. 

       the tension breaks as a stranger quizzes her on her costume. “morticia addams, she’s quite iconic, i think.” again - everything she was not. “in all honesty, i think she’s quite hot so i thought i’d give it a try.” her lip quipped as she looked down and shook her head, smiling. “sorry, that was a tad embarrassing, wasn’t it?” the woman hadn’t at all recognised seven. instead, she was working on the assumption she had met a new friend. “i must say, you look remarkable. i love the glitter.” she smiled, naturally. “do you want a drink?”

[tiffany-chiba]

“I love your costume! I used to like Wednesday best but as I got older I came around to the Morticia side.” @hqessex​

[hqessex]

         “likewise. wednesday is very likeable.” the woman nodded “odd but aren’t we all? still, she has a lot more confidence than i had at that age and i salute but morticia...” perhaps the woman was going on a bit but if she was committed to a costume, she at least had to act a little out and show her appreciation. “well, she’s definitely an icon. a strong-willed, non-conformative matriarch... which makes her quite hot in my opinion.” morticia addams was everything that emmeline essex was not.

[hqessex]

     an obvious jump was made by the woman has she turned around to see the other’s extremely convincing freddie krueger costume. the imagery had terrified her and still did to some degree. while he wasn’t the man who haunted her nightmares, he might as well have been. “oh my!” gasping, the woman put her hand on her chest and breathed out. “you frightened me.” there was a second where the woman still looked afraid but then a chuckle to mask to followed. “i think you really understood the assignment of the dress code.” she nodded, stepping back ever so slightly to flash a smile.

@marixsanchez​

[hqessex]

      the phenomenon of someone knowing when they’re being watched had caused emmeline to shift on the spot. between finishing a conversation and starting another, the woman glanced over her shoulder to see a silhouette of an individual supposedly looking in her direction - she was paranoid but her paranoia appeared to be just given how much had transpired over the past year. it was a busy enough affair, she’d be able to get lost in the crowd and quickly obstruct herself from view... keeping distraction to a minimum, she started to weave around people to get to the other side of the room. there was little sense of emergency as it wasn’t something that needed dramatising. her breath was slightly shallow but she was set on keeping herself as grounded as possible.

@seven-c23​

[hqessex]

     it hadn’t taken her long to find herself on the dance floor, dancing a little too closely the another woman. emmeline wouldn’t have been able to name the costume the other was in but she wasn’t interested enough to ask. when her nose brushed against the other woman’s, she’d pull back a little. emmeline essex wasn’t one to be desired but it seemed that emmeline essex pretending to be someone else was. it was too early in the evening to be kissing someone in her own personal opinion. she ran her fingers down the woman’s face until she softly held the other’s chin. “find me later.” that missed sensation of power had returned and the woman had a smirk on her face as she slowly returned towards the bar.

          the joy on the woman’s face couldn’t be ignored nor was it easy to shake. someone had wanted her, she had decided that it wasn’t going to go any further - it was the power she had missed. “this morning when I woke up and the sky was all dark and cloudy, i knew right then and there that this was going to be a lovely day.” the woman was certainly dedicated to the role. perhaps morticia addams was her new icon.

@rcyal-mercer​

[hqessex]

            perhaps walking into a club for mutants on halloween wasn’t the best idea the woman had ever had but, for one night and one night only, she wasn’t emmeline essex but morticia addams.  there was something that made her feel desirable and powerful in the look, the black with the bold lip - it did make her feel more feminine and glamorous, which wasn’t a surprise seen as she had spent her time in casual clothes hiding inside the institute for, sometimes, months on end without so much as leaving. she didn’t feel like herself, she didn’t want to be. 

      the outfit caused the woman to pose more than normal, her stature being straight and poised as she held her flute glass (she was going to spend nathaniel’s dirty money on the finer alcohol this event). “what a glorious evening, is it not?” she posed to the nearest person, being slightly in character.

@alchemiists​

[hqessex]

endlesshvnger​:

        a laugh escapes him—a harsh, dry sound that fully encompasses how much respect he lends to her excuses. none. “don’t start this with me, emmeline.” there are a thousand things he could say, of course. about how her excuses fall flat when reality is examined. about how she had been an enforcer under her father’s rule, cruel to those stolen away from their lives. sometimes literally, too. about how not knowing ( a laughable notion, really ) couldn’t possibly have taken away from her crimes, let alone her family’s. about how if she really wanted to atone for her monument of sins, she would take a long walk off of a short dock—or at the very least, live a shameful life far away from any of them.

         but truthfully, jack is tired of reprimanding her every word. tired of centering her on every conversation they have about essex. tired of the clear signs that an essex, no matter how apologetic they seem, will never change for the better. something they all already are well aware of. even seven. even milo. spread to thin ribbons, his sympathy couldn’t have stretched much farther… but it would never point in her direction. never. of every chance the escapees have given those responsible for their torment, all have been wasted.

         “oh, shut up. you always act like this,” she spits, releasing her once he’s withdrawn her abilities. pathetic, how easy it still is. at least one thing regarding the younger essex is correct—she won’t defend herself against him. “haven’t you gotten the message yet? nobody cares about you. dad ran off. your empire is in shambles. the only thing between you and a shallow, unmarked grave is the fact that we’re out in public. and nobody would even realize you were missing, either. or if they did… well, good riddance.”

     it seemed as if no one actually listened to her. she had done wrong but was now of the opinion that she had been punished enough yet they just kept going. “you’re the one who followed me, cornered me, hurt me. this isn’t a matter me not starting something.” people were out to destroy her and they were doing a pretty good job without the authorities snooping around and pulling her in for question. it wouldn’t end and it needed to because whenever she would set on a path of self-improvement, an event would disturb that and no issue would be fixed. 

           losing her ability was an interesting experience. it was meant to make her feel easier but it didn’t. the woman’s nose was bleeding and she was unsure of the cause. “jack, undo whatever you just did. udo it.” it felt as though she was shouting into a void. emmeline had been out of control when she had some sort of awareness of what was going on - if jack abused that and took it on, things would become catastrophic, with potential bodies getting caught in the cross fire if something happened. 

    that home truth upset her. as soon as she was released from his grasp, emmeline could feel the lump in her throat getting bigger before she, predictably, lost control and started sobbing. there wasn’t much of an empire to begin with but jack’s words only reinforced how alone she felt, how alone she felt now that nathaniel was truly out of her life and people were against her... because of him! it was infuriating but her infatuation over him couldn’t just disappear completely. her entire life had revolved around him, she spent most of her time thinking about how her actions affected him. the term ‘used’ didn’t begin to cover it. it hurt. this hurt. however, she needed to keep focused. 

    “jack, you need to give it back right now.” the woman wiped the blood from her nose. “it’s not safe.” 

[hqessex]

endlesshvnger​:

         no, i mean it. jack’s eye twitches, the only overt sign of his growing annoyance. everything out of his mouth continues not only to disappoint, but to enrage—she hasn’t learned her lesson. at this point, she never would. the world has given her far, far too many chances to wipe the red from her ledger, and what has she done with it? force her way into a space ( a haven ) where she doesn’t belong? make excuses for the atrocities that she had committed? even their old plan had hinged on the idea that she would leap at the chance to return to her father—the person behind their so-called sob story.

         her wording has another haze of red passing through his vision. of course that’s how she would see it. what did she care about the plight of those trapped in essex? despite her pitiful arguments otherwise, nothing has changed. things are the same as they’ve always been, she just, as always, refuses to see what’s right in front of her. at this point, it has to be intentional. nobody can be this blind, not even an essex.

     “do you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice?” he asks, hand snaking out to make a grab at her, already siphoning by the time he touches flesh. she’s right about one thing, they could stand here for hours with a back and forth about the past. he isn’t interested in that conversation. she’s proven that there’s no point to it. “you really should learn when to shut up. maybe you’d be better at staying out of trouble that way.”

      “i didn’t know they did that to you.” that was the truth mixed in with a desperate plea. it was horrible and the woman was already disgusted but she just couldn’t shake that warehouse. emmeline had attempted to leave throughout the years, mildy, until her life became a target and nathaniel never wanted to help her but cover up. she loved her father, she had tried to grip on to that so tightly but after she left, he had not once spoken to her, only through a law firm silencing her. “he was my father...” with that statement, the woman shuffles uncomfortably on her feet, even shaking her hands as an attempt to expel energy. however, the past tense was intentional. he had not given her anything but being her only connection to the word family. 

        she had been reset with mark’s treatment and was therefore out of control. when jack grabbed her, the exchange of energy had already taken place, one that was difficult for her to process. “get off!” it was a temporary shriek, one that she couldn’t control.  it was like she felt ill and slight relief until she had realised what he’d done. it was a new experience for her too feel ill without it, perhaps it was that her emotions felt even more when they weren’t charging something.  

    a flash happens in her mind where jack was replaced with nathaniel and then nathaniel, jack - an all too familiar sequence. the woman was about to scream out again when she felt pain. the next thing she knew, her nose had started be bleed. unfortunately, it hadn’t been a sacred sight for those within the essex house at it would happen to her more than nathaniel would have liked but this was different. “jack.” dizziness was prevalent. “no, no. give it back.” there is a moment when her hand gently brushed his face as she demanded, not having much hope he’d actually listen.  “it’s different. stop.” that was her warning.

[hqessex]

jcnuaries​:

“I don’t think I will, Miss Essex.” Her voice is clear and dry, even as she’s seen with her. The woman who helped manufacture Jess’ torture—and found herself on the receiving end of it when all was said and done. Latent mutancy even in these circumstances, is pitiable. Sometimes, people go their whole lives without knowing they were special, and realize it a little too late. But January has no more pity for her, she thinks. The withered flower on the vine as she sits before her.

At the admission that there’s no coming back, January smiles wide. “That’s certainly one patch of scorched earth we’re happy to let die, don’t you think?” If someone sees her with Emmeline, it’s not for connection—simply a warning. “Have you heard that Brandt and Goetsch have disbanded?” Her hand reaches for a cup of coffee that’s not there, appearing as if it was always in her hand as she takes a sip. “And you’re almost the most famous woman on the East Coast. Do you have any plans you might think to take up?”

    was it a need for the other woman to project her voice so much? it was bad enough that she had struck initial engagement as it was. emmeline’s breathing was becoming more shallow as she attempted to control her breathing, so she wasn’t portrayed as so nervous, but it only upset her natural rhythm. the woman shifted in her chair, a shift that didn’t signify comfort on any accounts. this was what nathaniel said would happen if she left the corporation and while a few of his points were indeed fulfilled pre-oprah, it didn’t compare to the current situation emmeline found herself in.

      “it’s, uh-” there would no longer be a deal and she would most likely be implicated in it all. nathaniel wasn’t reachable, she was weak, it was a done deal. “that firm caused further issues. they acted for my father, to silence me. tell me, what good has it done now that worse atrocities have been spoken of? you can’t honestly believe i knew about everything they were doing?” she had just been another pawn, one that proved to be quite useful on the disciplinary side - nathaniel knew that if she gave the weak power for a few minutes, they’d go too far and he counted on it. “everyone’s run out of fucking holes to fuck me. i fucking don’t have a plan, i’m that fucking idiot who has no fucking plan.” although her voice was but a projected whisper, she found herself gasping at the end. “i haven’t even heard from him since i left.” and the infatuation was brought back in. emmeline hated the man but she still had it in her to show bitterness at the fact he had hung her out to dry.