an amaranthine weed

♚ ind \\ sel QUEEN RED from a.g. howard's splintered series

[loveliesblccding-blog]

[ ♚ ] @netherlingguide​

Morpheus cocked an eyebrow at the red queen’s words. The corners of his mouth tilted into a light smirk and he put a hand to his chest as though her words had had an effect on him. Though if one knew Morpheus, they knew that this wasn’t the fact at all and that the moth-like netherling just had a flair for the dramatic. “How rude.” He stated simply, lifting one hand to run it through his glowing blue locks. “And even after I was kind enough to remove my hat.” At this, the dark navy top hat was replaced, the wreath of red moths that adorned the brim swaying ever so slightly as he tilted the hat to a slant. “What, pray tell majesty, makes me a time waster? I was simply being hospitable.”

She clicked her tongue, wholly unamused by this melodrama––––in itself a waste of time, although she supposed that point would be lost on him. Hardly a moment in his presence and already she wanted nothing more than to leave it again. Were he not so important––––he and his damned knowledge––––Amaranth would be making her exit right now.

As it is.

An effort made to untighten the jaw, smooth out the frown. “Do get to the point, Morpheus. Some of us do have provinces to run, and precious little time for hospitality.” Her lips curled around the word like the very sound of it offended her. 

[loveliesblccding-blog]

checkmcte

          the REVELATION of magic is much more horrifying than maddie anticipated. her breath catches; her eyes fall on the ANIMATED plants, && she feels something DARK run down her spine. she sees chatting plants && for a second she can’t help && wonder if she’s the victim of a cruel joke. the next second, however, she wholeheartedly accepts this MAGIC, because it’d been so real in her head when she was little. she still believes in magic. aww, how silly && childish of her.

          anguished eyes fall upon her tea && she stares into its depths, hardly listening to what are no doubt LOVELY tales of abducted children. but it’s more than that. it’s all these POTENTIALS— it’s her own unreached potential. if magic EXISTED, then she could have used it to her advantage years ago. the realization stings more than it should. perhaps she’s just being weepy && emotional.

          ( she could have MADE herself to fit her parents’ expectations. )

          “vengeance is NEVER misguided,” she growls, voice low && cold as it ALWAYS gets when she’s fantasizing about blowing herself && the rest of the world up. ending it ALL. “unequally spread, perhaps, but NEVER misguided. those who hurt you— there’s multiple people, sometimes. perhaps you focused LESS on the one who deserved the bulk of your vengeance, but… i’m sure it wasn’t MISGUIDED.”

         amaranth watches, curious, as some bleak mood descends upon the other woman; another twitch of her fingers && the plants fall silent. she can almost feel them sulking before they settle back into their earlier doze. she holds her tongue, too, waiting for maddie’s response.   ( amaranth is not terribly patient by nature, but the passage of time has at least taught her the value of waiting, observing, listening. )

          an eyebrow lifts with fussy precision at the sudden vehemence in maddie’s tone––––she’s struck a nerve, perhaps, && she must make a point of exploring it in more depth in the future. for now, she smiles, only a little brittle.   “if there is collateral damage, my dear––––if vengeance is unequally spread, to borrow your own phrase––––then it is by definition misguided, is it not ?   you’re more correct than you realize.”

          far above anything else she lost when she purged her own memories is the loss of moderation. revenge, in amaranth’s view, is only worth pursuing if it is precise. proportionate. she sighs.   “those who hurt me have, indeed, been punished. save one, but i have plans for him. by any reasonable measure, my vengeance was COMPLETE a full year before it && its aftershocks faded at last. those who had never done me any wrong––––those who helped me, even––––were needlessly swept into it.”

[loveliesblccding-blog]

withoutsiin

          “first— i don’t know what subterfuge means, but it sounds dishonest. you see, i LOVE vivienne very much, i’d not want to stoop to any of this… subterfuge. she’s VERY clever, anyway. she would know i’m up to something.”

          except it IS worrying lucy. she’s walked in her sleep more lately && the only stressor she can identity is that vivienne && edith && phoebe MAY be plotting murder. but she doesn’t think it’s HER murder. at least, she really hopes not. they’d probably SUCCEED if they were plotting her murder, too, which is the frightening thing.

          “not MINE— i mean, i can’t be positive it’s not my murder, but i’d HOPE not. as to whom it COULD be, i don’t know. anyone, really. they can be HATEFUL— sweet, but hateful !! it is one of their few flaws. all of them. i’m worried, amaranth.”

           “deceit in service of achieving one’s goal.”   there’s a beat, during which amaranth considers && then discards the idea of pressing the matter. human notions of morality place a far higher value on honesty, after all, && when in rome...   “i suppose it is dishonest, come to that. nevertheless––––if you truly believe someone’s life is in danger...”

           desperate measures for desperate times is left unsaid, although barely. she shrugs && leans her elbows on the counter, a movement which brings them   ( almost )   to eye-level with each other.   “if you’re unwilling to investigate yourself, you ought to ask what they’re up to––––although i would refrain from accusing them of CONSPIRACY TO MURDER at least until you have compelling evidence that that is, indeed, what they’re plotting.”

           a wry smile crosses her face.   “or, of course, you could send the children to me for an afternoon––––extracting the truth from sweetly hateful children are something of a specialty of mine.”

[redhairedflower-blog]

OVER THE GARDEN WALL sentence starters pt 1 ;;

EPISODE 1 the old grist mill.

“ where are we ? “  “ we’re walking home. “  “ i can leave a trail of candy from my pants ! “  “ i think we’re lost. “  “ you’re gonna get us in trouble again ! “  “ no, we should not ask him for help. “  “ shoot. you think we should have asked him for help ? “  “ don’t you know the beast is afoot here ? “  “ welcome to the unknown. “  “ everyone has a torch to burn … “  “ bad plan. forget it, bad plan. “  *throws candy in the air* “ am i supposed to throw something ? “  

EPISODE 2 hard times at the huskin’ bee. 

“ wow ! i get a wish ? “  “ i’m not magical, i’ll just do you a good turn. “  “ you are a lost kid with no purpose in life, right ? “  “ who cares ? “  “ aahh ! i stepped on a pumpkin ! “  “ let’s re-join society. “  “ see anybody ? “  “you hear that ? “  “ pumpkins can’t move on their own … can they ? “  “ you find this place as creepy as i do, right ? “  “ you’re in denial, that’s fine. “  “ let’s leave immediately ! “  “ i don’t want your help ! “  “ you’ll join us someday. “ 

EPISODE 3 schooltown follies. 

“ nobody is singing anything anymore. “  “ … just a pathetic pushover who relies on others to make his/her decisions. “  “ see ? no will-power whatsoever. “  “ the world is a miserable place, ________ . life isn’t fun. “  “ we need to make our part to make the world a better place ! “  “ school ? psht. not today. “  “ he doesn’t have a brain, he can’t learn anything. “  “ i’m too busy doing what i’m told. “  “ oh, ________ ! why did you have to leave me so ? “  “ good. i’m glad you feel that way. “  “ play something like this ! *smashes hands on piano keys* “  “ deep down in your heart you’re a stubborn jerk ! “ “ when are you going to give this up ? “  “ maybe never. maybe i’ll never give this up. “  “ i think he’s asleep … let’s go steal his stuff. “ 

EPISODE 4 songs of the dark lantern.

“ you know how to make eggs from a duck ? i’m hungry. “  “ let’s go to this creepy tavern and ask for some directions. “  “ you’ll die one day and i will laugh. LAUGH. “ “ are you wearing lipstick ? “  “ what kind of person talks to a horse ? “  “ hey, lover ! sing us your love song ! “  “ we’re related ‘case my mum re-married and then gave birth to him with my step-dad. “  “ you don’t need directions, you follow that compass in your heart. “  “ er … no, i think we need directions. “  “ that’s all well and good but you were supposed to get directions. “  “ nice to horse your acquaintance. “ 

EPISODE 5 mad love.

“ why are you pretending i’m your nephew/niece ? “ “ we need money. “ “ we already stole a horse. “ “ i wanna steal. “  “ you are bonkers. “  “ it’s too big, get a grip. “  “ i fell in love with a ghost. “  “ let’s try not to break any more - *breaks something* AGH ! “ “ ghosts are just floaty things. “ “ it’s stuck. well, guess we’ll have to spend some quality time together. “  “ how about you tell me your dark secrets instead ? “  “ i secretly whisper poetry to myself in my room at night. “  “ should i not know that kind of stuff ? “  “ do you know what this filthy hands did for that money ? “  “ i’ll never steal again ! i’ll get an honest job ! “ 

[loveliesblccding-blog]

withoutsiin

♡ ;; @loveliesblccding

          “i have a PROBLEM,” lucy begins— && it’s a serious problem, but it probably won’t sound like it. no one ever takes her problems seriously. at least, not problems regarding her personal life && choices. 

          “i have reasons to believe my wife && children are conspiring against… well, i don’t know WHO they’re conspiring against, but they’re certainly up to something. i am concerned that it will end with MURDER. i’ve told them time && time again that murder is BANNED from our household, but they’re the type to find loopholes— what if they murder someone elsewhere ?? i am concerned about this, but i feel as though i can’t just ASK my wife or children for clarification.”

         “plotting to murder WHOM ??   not you, i hope.”

         that seems like the most immediately pressing issue, here, && amaranth isn’t certain she believes lucy’s insistence that she doesn’t know the victim in this   ( alleged )   conspiracy. surely she must have some small idea ?   the shadow of a suspicion, perhaps ?   

         “...&& while i can’t speak to the experience of CHILDREN being involved, my dear, i do feel compelled to point out that any spouse plotting something behind your back is bound to leave traces. no matter HOW clever of a lawyer she is. occasional subterfuge may be required to root it out––––which is to say, asking directly is far from your only option here.”

[loveliesblccding-blog]

checkmcte

           well, THAT’S a turn of conversation maddie did not expect. her face falls. magic ? as a CHILD, she’d always believed in magic, but her parents had firmly stamped that idea out of her— magic isn’t REAL, it’s BLASPHEMY to heavenly father to believe in magic !!— && she supposes the idea has stuck.

          “forgive me, but i fail to see what MAGIC has to do with your falling out of the doomsday business,” she says as politely as possible. it come out strained && forced— in her defense, maddie has not worked with POLITENESS in a long time && she’s entirely out of practice when it comes to… like, BEING nice.

          she doesn’t want a slip of tongue or tone to cost her a potential MINION, however. fine minions are rare. she’s got to have a steady, reliable collection of minions when world domination comes to her. it’s what TRUMP does, except he doesn’t do it well. maddie, however, will do it RIGHT. 

          “…but, YES, i suppose i can be persuaded into believing in magic. why ?”

          “oh, magic has everything to do with it. i’m not, you see, ENTIRELY human.”  or human at all, but they can work up to that. a slight flick of the wrist, a flutter of fingers   ( both more for show than any true need )   && the potted plants in the corner give a collective shudder. they’re half-asleep, sheltered from the frenetic energy that pulses in the sap of plants in wonderland, but amaranth has always had a WAY with plants && in a moment they are alert, animated, grumbling in their rustling voices of their imprisonment in their ceramic containers.

          the human beside her will not be able to understand the plants’ murmurs, but the quivering animation of their limbs && leaves should get the point across nevertheless. amaranth turns away from the plants && faces her companion again with a pleasant smile. 

          “years ago, i ruled over a country of magic––––i suppose you might call it a fairy land. certainly we abducted enough human children to qualify.”   a bitter laugh. she knows well the stories dear charles wrote of wonderland, sweet allegorical children’s tales obscuring the truth of the real thing. softened, tamed for the sensibilities of the nineteenth century audience––––&&, amaranth has long suspected, out of respect for her grief over the true state of her queendom.

          she experiences a pang of regret whenever she considers piercing their light-hearted whimsy with REALITY. it seems such a terrible shame.   “the details aren’t important. i was––––betrayed––––by some of those closest to me && subsequently swore myself to vengeance. misguided vengeance, as it turned out, in the end.”

[loveliesblccding-blog]

redefiningsanity

     Calm down? CALM DOWN? If Alyssa hadn’t been shaking like a leaf, she probably would have laughed. Instead, she fought to swallow a scream of fear and frustration. How? How could it be that Queen Red – catalyst of several generations, former ruler of Wonderland, embodiment of madness – was STILL ALIVE? She could recall the lost memories — the wicked claw marks they left on her soul, and how they tore her heart in two. And what about the thumbprint she left in her genetic code? The markings, the wings… that hellish streak of fiery crimson in her hair?

          Blood ties be damned!

     “I––––– I have no idea––– what you’re doing here,” she started lowly, her chest fluctuating in the effort to maintain an even breath. “ –––––––––– But you either need to explain yourself, or you need to disappear from my life––– RIGHT NOW.”

     Amaranth sighed, heavy. Despairing, even. “Your lack of understanding is perfectly clear, thank you.” Chin high, hands on hips––––she was the very embodiment of offended royal pride. “But–––dear child–––panic is a terribly unbecoming emotion in a queen. And, moreover, not at all conducive to rational explanations. We royals do not have the luxury of overreaction.” 

     She ought to know, in light of her own decades-long overreaction to––––well. EVERYTHING following the misguided repudiation of her memories. Her gaze lingered for a moment on the lock of red hair her forays into Alyssa’s mind had left behind. “As it happens. I came intending to explain myself. To reconcile, perhaps.”  She paused, canting her head a little to the side before adding, pointedly, “I could have simply toppled Grenadine from her throne and taken back the crown. It belongs to me by right as much as it does to you, you know.”

[loveliesblccding-blog]

@redefiningsanity

         “–––––––––Will you please calm down?”

If she’d known this would be the response to her arrival, perhaps she wouldn’t have bothered to come at all. Not that she’d been expecting a warm welcome, either, but even so. 

[sendathing-blog]

１９８９ sᴇɴᴛᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴍᴇᴍᴇ

“Everybody here wanted something more.” “I could dance to this beat.” “Like any great love, it keeps you guessing.” “Like any true love, it drives you crazy.” “But you know you wouldn’t change anything.” “I could show you incredible things.” “I’m dying to see how this one ends.” “I can make the bad guys good for a weekend.” “So it’s gonna be forever or it’s gonna go down in flames.” “We’ll take this way too far.” “You’re the King, baby, I’m your Queen.” “I can make all the tables turn.” “‘Cause, darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.” “They’ll tell you I’m insane.” “Don’t say I didn’t say, I didn’t warn ya.” “It all seems so simple.” “The rest of the world was black and white.” “We were built to fall apart.” “People like you always want back the love they gave away.” “And people like me wanna believe you when you say you’ve changed.” “All you had to do was stay.” “I’ve been picking up the pieces of the mess you made.” “Did you have to hit me, where I’m weak?” “I wish you would come back.” “I wish you knew that I’ll never forget you as long as I live.” “I want you for worse or for better.” “And you left her all alone, and never told her why.” “I thought heaven can’t help me now.” “I never dreamed of this.” “I can hear them whisper as we pass by.” “Love’s a fragile little flame, it could burn out.” “They are the hunters, we are the foxes.” “Let them say what they want, we won’t hear it.” “Loose lips sink ships all the damn time.” “I know places we won’t be found.” “And they’ll be chasing their tails tryin’ to track us down.” “I’m spinning out of control.” “Didn’t they tell us don’t rush into things?” ”Didn’t it all seem new and exciting?” “And we pretended it could last forever.” “But there were strangers watching.” “I reached for you but you were gone.” “We play dumb but we know exactly what we’re doing.” “I could build a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me.” “But every night with us is like a dream.” “We need love, but all we want is danger.” “He keeps the picture of you in his office downtown.” “And by morning gone was any trace of you.” “Just because you’re clean don’t mean you don’t miss it.”

[ordinarymagic-archive-blog]

♥  –––  does this picture scare you ??                   come on through,                                                         i dare you–––––               dreams will not prepare you, alice !!

[loveliesblccding-blog]

checkmcte

it’s a miracle. 

her ambitions being looked upon as anything other than deranged chatter && hopeless nightmares ?? yes. this is good. maddie likes this. she fusses with her blazer && pulls on one of her 4am curls to ensure it still has maddie-approved bounciness. it does. then, an honest, not-threatening smile comes to her face. she is cautious && waiting for this amaranth to laugh in her face, but there is no reaction of that sort. 

“maddie quizzle,” she supplies, despite her narrowing eyes. it’s a reflex— glare at people && bully them before even thinking it through, but she catches herself && tones it down to a polite, interested stare. maybe too intense, but hey, if people were just smart && ambitious like her, maybe she’d have more practice communicating with pawns. “RECENTLY out of the doomsday business ?? i must say i’m intrigued. doomsday how && why are you now— OUT of it ??”

she’s not looking for… someone to rule WITH her, because she’d like to be solely in charge, thank you, but she’s going to need a small circle of trusty advisers to go out && carry her commands through, since she can’t be everywhere at once. not yet, anyway. but maddie likes this amaranth, who seems to genuinely appreciate what a genius she is. it’s rare when people acknowledge how smart she really is !! so she eats it up, of course, lapping up the praise. 

( maybe it’s not exactly praise, but maddie will take it as the praise she deserves && no one ever gives her. )

she meets maddie’s scrutiny with a slight, self-deprecating smile. the STING of her various failures && repudiated memories has yet to fade completely, but nevertheless she tries to cultivate a certain sense of humor about it——lest the tempting cocktail of guilt && grief && humiliation drive her to further errors. better to laugh at herself now than compound her mistakes by repeating them in the future, yes ??

so it’s with a decidedly wry tone that she answers, “RECENTLY OUT, indeed. it is————rather a long story. quite long.”

amaranth is no stranger to the delicate business of introducing humans to the existence of wonderland; she succeeded well enough in enlightening dear charles, after all. but the particular challenges of doing so have shifted since the nineteenth century. humans are more skeptical now. more cynical, perhaps, && certainly more demanding of definitive proof.

&& she can provide ample proof——coming out with the wings would certainly do it, if she could persuade maddie into a more private location; smaller displays would no doubt suffice in the interim. still, she’s cautious about how she broaches the subject.

best, she decides after a few seconds of deliberation, to start with blunt simplicity. “i don’t suppose you believe in magic ??”

[loveliesblccding-blog]

checkmcte

“he wants to build a WALL.”

her eyes glitter with malicious excitement. talking about politics is something she can rarely do without— well, NOT talking. usually, the nasty liberals fight her && she can’t do so much talking as ARGUING.

( &&  even conservatives are liberal to her standards. )

“i agree with a wall. but why stop at a WALL ?? besides, there is no way the mexican government will FUND a wall.”

she shakes her head.

“we need a wall along the southern border, yes. but also along the northern border. i doubt the canadians will fund it either. && it can’t JUST be a a wall. it needs BOMBS. that way if anyone tries to approach it, they will CEASE to exist.”

this time, maddie nods. THAT sounds like a good idea, if she says so herself.

“&& after we annex mexico && canada— && the rest of of the western hemisphere, actually, we turn them all into our brainwashed pawns. it’ll make up for their lack of wall-funding, see ?? so, donald trump is on to something. he’s just being unrealistic && liberal, that’s all.” 

amaranth is quite certain she’s missed at least a few important pieces of pertinent information——in particular, when people had come to believe that WALLS were any good at keeping determined immigrants out. put a wall in front of them && they’d just climb it if they truly wanted to get in——or dig underneath, in the even that it was coated in explosives.

( && wouldn’t such a strategy undermine the integrity of the wall itself ?? )

or fly !!   the humans had done remarkable things in the field of aviation since amaranth had been here last; unless this trump planned on building his wall into the stratosphere amaranth just can’t see how it’ll do him any good. && what about the people trying to get OUT, in that case ??

besides which, it seemed very gauche to ask another country to fund one’s own infrastructure. even for an american.

“...i see. well————best of luck with that.”

it’s sarcasm, but deeply buried. quite apart from her utter lack of GOOD SENSE, amaranth rather likes this woman——the glittering malice in her eyes, the ambition coating her every word, even her self-importance. she’s very——wonderlandish. like a familiar beacon from home in this rich tapestry of a world.

“you know, you’re quite the——most interesting person i’ve met in a long while. usually people wait to introduce themselves before diving into the particulars of their politics.”  she paused for a moment before adding,  “i’m amaranth hargreaves. recently out of the doomsday business myself.”

[loveliesblccding-blog]

❛ she loved wonderland once. before she lost sight of her good intentions, she wanted to change it for the better. ❜

[loveliesblccding-blog]

alistairkxng

Alistair swallowed, “No, that wouldn’t be very practical now that I think about it.” He frowned, confused as to why else this strange lady would ask such a question “then why ask? I mean, I don’t know what to think of it, since I’ve never been, well, dead.” At least that’s what Alistair thought. He was pretty certain he’s been alive for most of his life.

She lifted an eyebrow, skeptical. “One hardly needs to be dead in order to consider the act of dying. Quite the contrary, I would say, given that the dead have already gone through the whole miserable affair and have no more need to wonder about it than your or I have to wonder how it feels to fall asleep. For the living, however, it remains uncharted territory.” 

[loveliesblccding-blog]

alistairkxng

“Um– well, sort of?” Alistair frowned and rubbed his temple, “Wait a minute,” he paused and terror flashed in his eyes, “you’re not going to murder me are you?”

“If I meant to kill you, I certainly wouldn’t offer any word of forewarning. It would be so terribly counterproductive.” That was as close to an outright no, of course not as he was ever going to get. “And how can you ‘sort of’ have thought of death? It either is or it isn’t——you have or you haven’t——never equivocate. It’s unbecoming.”

[loveliesblccding-blog]

to-do list 05/12 — 05/19 !!      ( watch me finish like half of this lmao )

reread splintered / unhinged / ensnared in entirety

( oh god why )

also maybe finish untamed finally ??

finish the bio ffs

more icons ??

i want at least 200, 200 is a decent amount

human realm headcanons

[loveliesblccding-blog]

♔ ——  ❛ and  that’s  where  the  story  begins,                    as    you    well    know.  queen  red’s                   court mutinied against her,  her  own                    husband joined the traitors in order                    to    marry    her    stepsister,    &&    it                    upended the balance of the  realm. ❜

              (   independent                     queen red                 from splintered   )