queen

all things live forever, though at times they sleep and are forgotten.

[odett3]

@odett3​ ; it is holy to say any name three times, but i’ve stood in front of enough mirrors to know no one is coming just because you ask for them.

the swan queen of swan lake. private & selective roleplay blog, headcanon based. largely friends only. written by bee ( 25, est, she/they )

about.   rules.   

[mcflymemes]

PROMPTS FROM PRACTICAL MAGIC *  assorted dialogue from the 1998 film, adjust as necessary

sometimes i feel like there's a hole inside of me, an emptiness that at times seems to burn.

be careful what you wish for.

wish you could believe in me.

we have to banish him.

he wants me. just me.

what was that, [name]?

you know what? i wished for you, too.

let him take me.

the nudity is entirely optional.

it wasn't me, it was you.

we'll grow old together.

can love really travel back in time and heal a broken heart?

i think if you lifted my heart to your ear, you could probably hear the ocean.

don't die on me, [name], please.

i bet we even die on the same day.

of course you're going to see me again.

hang on to your husbands, girls.

what wouldn't i do... for the right guy?

i have this dream of being whole, of not going to sleep each night, wanting.

i took an oath to uphold the law.

life is perfect.

don't do that.

i'd like to think so.

i have never asked you for anything.

i feel like i'm never going to see you again.

what are you doing?

i came here to bring in the bad guy because generally that's what i do.

sometimes when the wind is warm or the crickets sing, i dream of a love that even time will lie down and be still for.

i just want someone to love me.

i want to be seen.

please do this for me. please?

hold on just a goddamn second. one step at a time.

that's how you came to live with us.

everything is just so blissfully normal.

i wish you could see us.

they like to meddle in people's love lives.

thought you never wanted to fall in love.

you're saying what i'm feeling is just one of your spells?

fall in love whenever you can.

when you find yourself the center of attention... it's not that they hate you. it's that... well. we're different.

you have the worst taste in men.

i was born with them.

since when is being a slut a crime in this family?

you ever put your arms out and spin really, really fast?

maybe i had my happiness.

you promised me that.

so what kind of... uh... craft do you do.

yeah. it's not real.

curses only have power when you believe them. and i don't.

all i want is a normal life.

that's the point.

yeah, well, you know. all relationships have problems.

that's what love is like. it makes your heart race. it turns the world upside down.

when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue?

well... it's what i want.

now that was me.

i don't want them dancing naked under the full moon.

the guy i dreamed of doesn't exist.

is that why they wanted to hang her? because she's a witch?

i don't even mind the beard.

there's a little witch in all of us.

what was that?

i'll tell you all you need to know.

one step at a time.

you think he's dead?

is he cute?

you came for breakfast? we're having pancakes!

what's wrong? cat got your tongue?

someday you'll explain this all to me.

[flmed-archived]

one liner starter call tehe.

‘ did you really think i came here because i wanted something from you? perhaps i did––––––perhaps not . . . maybe i just wanted to know whether you're real or not .. there's always been. some fairytales about you &. i almost drown myself to find you .. it did give me comfort though, as a child, knowing you might be real &. i wouldn't be the only one that cursed this place. ’

@odett3

[odett3]

her head tips, birdlike, as he speaks to her. fairytales? and here she had supposed herself forgotten. how long has it been since her mother came through here on some pale morning, with tears upon her cheeks? odette had thought she was the only one who remembered. "well. i am real. you have seen that now." part of a white dress and one dark eye are visible from behind the tree she had fled to upon his arrival. "what do you mean - - - cursed?"

[derangedrhythms]

Louise Glück, Averno; from ‘A Myth of Innocence'

[odett3]

sorry for vanishing, planning on getting some replies done over here this weekend! work was slammed this week ( and every single needy client and adjuster felt the need to be rude to me xoxo )

[archivestarlyht]

i may need to open it for you.   great,   he thought.  and allow the maybe - kelpie or night creature within biting range?  even for a man who knew how to fight,  it was no contest!   “i’ll try it first,  my dear,”  he said,   “thank you.”

he slung his pack back over his shoulder and turned to the door.  no sound of her movements.  fox furrowed his brow and pushed, hoping for it to give way,  to hear that familiar creak from before —-

—- and,  nothing.

it didn’t budge.  it had to have been enchanted.  why?  there hadn’t even been a damned lock to pick,  not from the outside,  and certainly not from the inside.  did monsters always have to be so unsettling?

“well,  that didn’t work,”  he said.  he checked it again for good measure,  again useless.  in the same motion he loosed a dagger and worked it into his sleeve.  a familiar sleight of hand trick he’d been performing for years.  to be safe.  he still didn’t know what she was.

turning to her suspiciously,  he stepped aside.  “if you would be so kind.”

[odett3]

when he turns she is in exactly the same position as she was when he looked away. not a hair has shifted and the unnatural stillness that has settled over her extends even to her expression as she watches him try the door. upon second thought it doesn't surprise her that the door will not budge for him. this place is meant to be ... inhospitable to outsiders. it is only slightly hospitable to those who remain here night after night. after a moment of regarding him from her spot odette rises again and begins to move across the chapel.

"he must have enchanted it." odette's voice rings through the space and she frowns at the thought. "there are not supposed to be outsiders here. it is why you must be gone by sunrise." she moves gracefully, as though floating through the stone and moss, and approaches the door. "there may be others about, but they will likely flee if they see you." with that she brushes past him and easily pushes the door open, as though it was never locked.

sure enough, there is a flutter of white skirts and loose hair as some clutch of other swans darts into the wood at the sight of a stranger. odette will assure them later all is well, and then they will badger her for stories until the memory of the man has faded to mist. odette stands with a hand upon the door. "you would rather sleep outdoors?" it is a clear and cloudless night, the moon half a circle and the stars glittering overhead.

[spookyagentfmulder]

As she continues to speak, Mulder carefully slips off his jacket. His mind is so focused on helping a potential assault victim that he barely registers the strange, dream-like quality to her voice. Instead he offers the article to her, a safe space, a warm place beyond her shivering isolation. To anyone else it simply looked like a man aiming to help a drenched and timid woman, but to one who feared the unknown it reeked of a fisherman preparing his net.

"That's right," he attempts to assure her, "I'm an FBI agent. Fox Mulder." Ah, he needs to show identification. Dropping his jacket from one of his hands, he pulls the badge from a pocket and holds it open for her to see. The gold of the shield glints in the light of the street lamp, proving that indeed he was a protector. Someone who she could trust. Someone who could get her somewhere safe.

"It's okay." Mulder's voice remains steady, calm, and he once again holds out his jacket for her to bring herself into. He doesn't press forward, not wanting to spook her anymore than she already seems to be, "Can you tell me how you got here?"

[odett3]

those dark eyes remain trained on his face rather than the arm extended, the garment offered. how differently people dress. odette cannot run as free as she once could - - - and what a sorry semblance of freedom that was, to miss it now is something she never would have imagined in another time - - - her gaze only drops when mulder pulls out something small and shiny.

the glimpse of it first makes her draw back another half-step. the glint of a knife, of an arrow, of a weapon of some kind. the wounded look in her eyes mellows when she sees it is nothing but a strange little badge. he calls himself an fbi agent and odette wonders if she is meant to know what that means. perhaps people who are people would, but she has not counted herself among them in long enough that she has forgotten the last time she saw a human about their business and thought of them and her as the same sort of thing. but she knows what the jacket is, and the offer slowly registers as a kindness.

how odd. a damp, pale hand reaches out to slowly grasp an edge of the jacket. the question he asks strikes her as even odder. "i have been here before here existed." it is a confusing answer and she knows that even as she slips her arms into the sleeves of the jacket and revels at feeling ... warm, for the first time in ages. "since before the lake."

[fairydrowning]

– Via "twinnedpeaks" on Tumblr

[TEXT ID: / july didn't even say goodbye. the years don't kiss you goodnight anymore. they just leave behind this empty space, a phantom pain. and still i ache, i ache, i ache! / END ID]

[archivestarlyht]

fox’s eyes flitted about nervously.   he racked his senses.   he wasn’t under a charm.  he couldn’t have been under a charm.  he’d entered of his own will,  and charmed persons were far more pliable and less afeared.

damn it,  how fast can these things move? running might be worthless,  if he could leave.  beasts controlled their lairs. he didn’t have a shred of magic in him to get around it.  he glanced about again.  there were no signs of dead things he could perceive,  no chips of bone or skulls or anything like that.  it could have been an illusion.  or he’d lost his damned mind.

“disturbing you was ill-mannered of me,  gone by sunrise or not,”  he said slowly.  sunrise?  he couldn’t recall anything about kelpies and sunrise.  unless she wasn’t a kelpie at all,  but a creature of the night?  fox couldn’t decide which was worse.  vampiric creatures were unnaturally swift,  and far more powerful than any one man.   both possibilities led to him being eaten.

“i apologize for my intrusion.”  slow,  careful,  almost courtly.  sprezzatura was a thief's most treasured friend.  perhaps he had a chance if he didn’t show he was suspicious.  “will the door open to me from the inside?”

[odett3]

as he looks about, as though he is a hare caught in a snare instead of a fox, odette slowly folds herself to the ground so she sits with legs folded to one side. her pale skirt, almost like the gown a bride might wear, forms a puddle of white about her as she folds her hands neatly in her lap. the swan furrows her brow a little and watches as he seems to panic in a largely interior way. it is something she recognizes.

her gaze drifts from him to the door and she nods her head but once. "yes. well - - - i believe so." odette realizes she has never seen anyone but her fellow swan maidens and the sorcerer who has doomed them to such a title enter or exit this place. some of the other women like it in here more, gather in small clutches to speak softly or hold hands or weep together. odette prefers to spend time by the side of the lake. von rothbart enters and all of the maids scatter. but never a traveler, let alone a man. god knows what von rothbart would do should he know one is here.

"i may need to open it for you. i have never seen a visitor enter or exit." she admits softly. "would you like to try? i am not ... holding you here. if you cannot open it and would like to go, i will open it for you."

[odett3]

@spookyagentfmulder ( continued from x )

mulder. such a strange name. mouldering comes to mind, doesn't it? rotting under the force of neglect. she blinks sad, dark eyes at him that remain half-lidded against the unnatural light from the streetlamp. it reflects off of her, catching on the way her hair clings to her cheeks and neck, how her white dress is sodden and drips upon the grass at the edge of the pathway where she stands. it did not used to look like this, here. odette can remember when it was ... different. when no one passed by this lake. when the nearest town was hours of walking away.

she watches as he approaches with wary eyes. a step too close and she moves back half of one, movements those of a startled deer that very well may bolt if he startles her. where, though? she has no wings currently, and cannot fly away. there used to be more, more of them, but odette has not seen them in a long time. hunters. people. as this place grew more populated, the swans became sparser. odette frowns slightly but remains in place as she stares at the man.

what about him drew her to him? there was - - - something. oh, she is so tired. how long has it been? odette ceased counting days only months into this, and now it has been ... it has been so long. her head aches and she stares as if seeing through this mulder rather than looking at him.

" - - - odette." her voice is strange. when she speaks it is melodic and soft, yet it seems to echo through the air around them. the words are carried on the fine mist that rolls about her and she draws her arms against her stomach in a position almost defensive, as if she expects some blow to her core. "you - - - i can tell ... you help people. there is an air about you."

[archivestarlyht]

walked into that one,   he thought.   the absence of expression on her face was even more unsettling.   “you know what they say about beggars.”   perhaps though he had begged at the wrong place.   it wouldn't be the first time.  “a   ...   stroke of luck that you were here,   then?”   shit.   maybe she was a kelpie.   it would explain the water.  he racked his memory of them,   but could recall little else.   they lured victims,   usually only men,  to watery deaths.   

perhaps he ought to take his chances outside.   ----   outside,   past the fucking lake?   fuck.   fuck.   it's a fucking kelpie,   isn't it.   no sleep tonight,   then.   the rogue glanced back at the door.  the same door he hadn't been able to open, because it was probably fucking enchanted.  “i would   ...   hate to impose on your peace,   in that case.”

[odett3]

odette watches as his eyes dart back to the door. is he afraid? she isn't used to being the fearsome, only the fearful. the weather is fair, the season spring, and there is no von rothbart to fear here as he is no doubt out at some village festival finding another poor girl to curse. perhaps he will be back in the morning with a swan beneath his arm. odette had seen the others scattering into the trees at the sound of commotion, but she had remained. "i am here every night," she says softly as she remains in the hollowed out sanctuary and watches her unexpected guest.

every so often there is a hunter, or lost traveler, or some other such. the others get frightened but there is some lingering excitement. giddy whispers of true love and everlasting vows. odette does not let the thought enter her mind any longer these days. so she blinks at the man and finally gives a small smile. "there is little peace here, truthfully. less than it may seem. so long as you are gone before sunrise i promise you there is no harm for your kind to be found in this place." even if von rothbart arrives, odette need only distract him long enough for this fox to slip away. he seems the sort who would be good at vanishing if the need arises.

[mcflymemes]

ASSASSIN'S CREED III PROMPTS *  assorted dialogue from the video game, adjust as necessary

we never took them seriously. maybe we should have.

i'm getting ahead of myself.

we've been fighting them for thousands of years.

i've seen the truth.

it holds the power to change everything.

there's only so much we can do.

if we can't find a way to stop it, these next few weeks will probably be our last.

it worked. we think. we hope.

we're here. let's go.

you must find the key.

here we go again.

do you hear us?

you collapsed and entered into a fugue state.

you weren't in any danger.

i know what i'm looking for, by the way. it's a key.

i'd like to run a couple of quick tests.

have you seen it before?

my father brought me here as a child.

on to business then.

the stairs are watched. you'll need to find another way up.

you should have come to me.

for what it's worth, i'm sorry.

that's why we've called you here.

i am yours to command.

well, then i'd best be on my way.

my research has been stolen. without it, i'm of no use to you.

i'll see if i can't speed things up.

we need to find a way inside.

i believe i've found the solution to our problem.

we'll attack on my signal.

i made a promise to you, [name], one i intend to keep.

the sooner we're done, the sooner we can get out of this cold.

it does not engender peace to cut your way to resolution.

if we applied the sword more liberally and more often, the world would be a better place than it is today.

now i've upheld my part of the bargain, i expect that you will honor yours?

you seem disappointed.

you have shown me great kindness, [name]. thank you.

really? that's your response? it's like dealing with a six year old.

i sense my words cause pain.

do you even know what that symbol represents?

come on. i've got something to show you.

very well. i'll train you.

you're also going to need a new name.

what's true and what is aren't always the same.

you'll be happy to hear there's actually good news for once.

it's silly for us to go back and forth like this.

we cannot give up our home.

do you have a name? do you know who is responsible?

time will tell if you speak the truth.

why are you here? has something happened?

you should have heeded my warning.

perhaps you'll respond better to the sword.

are you threatening us?

i thought it might bring clarity or instill a sense of accomplishment. but all i feel is regret.

such sacrifices must never come lightly.

all of them must be dealt with in turn.

you speak the words, but do you believe them?

takes a true monster to do something like this.

every day i wait, more will suffer.

many who should've died today now live because of you.

we do the best we can with what we've got.

you wield your blade like a man, but your mouth like a child.

there are more important things at stake here.

i do what is right. no more. no less.

i don't even see a stall in here. what if i had to take a dump?

please just mute the microphone if you do.

life is not a fairy tale, and there are no happy endings.

in your haste to save the world, take care you don't destroy it!

our interests are aligned.

perhaps some time together might do us good.

i can kill you now if you prefer.

would you like me to come along and hold your hand, perhaps?

why the change of heart? where is this coming from?

you oppose tyranny. injustice. these are just symptoms. their true cause is human weakness.

you have said so much... but you have shown me nothing.

tell me of your latest exploits.

you have not come this far to throw it all away over misplaced sentiment.

there is nothing more to discuss.

i should have stayed.

now you must hide it.

what once was shall be again.

[archivestarlyht]

the temptation to reach into his pack for his lanthorne rose,   but he refrained,   unsure if the gesture would be unwelcome.  as best he could he took in his surroundings,   a bit disappointed with the state.   it reminded him more of a garden than a chapel.   he'd known nobles who kept rooms like this,   but never seen it in the form of what otherwise appeared to be a chapel.  “uh   ...”   he glanced curiously at the water trailing her,   dripping from her clothes.   is she even human?   maybe he ought to have slept outside after all.    “it's just fox,”   he said slowly.  for good measure,   he offered a polite bow, but did not step any closer.   “and you,   my lady?”

[odett3]

"hello, just fox." there's a ghost of a smile in her voice, even if such a thing has yet to make an appearance upon her wan face. the bow he offers is regarded with the same steady look of vague suspicion she had offered outside the chapel doors, but something within her posture shifts if only ever so slightly. the set of her shoulders relaxing, her head tipping just a little at the polite gesture. " ... you may call me odette. i am sorry there is not a better place to sleep ; i do not rest in here often." she sleeps when the sun is high and her form is changed, preferring to be well rested for the hours her body is her own.

[the-evil-clergyman]

Ophelia by Léopold Burthe (1851)

[archivestarlyht]

that surprised him,   actually.   “i   ....   thank you,”  he said,   falling into silence as he observed her.   the door was   ...   unlocked?   she must have been a mage,   or it was attuned to respond only to her.   “i can live with that.”   just wanted a place to rest,   to regain his composure.   he was used to sleeping out of doors,   but this   ...   was far nicer.   “i'm impressed actually,”  he added as he moved inside after her.   “it's rare anyone catches me unaware.” a mistake,   he swore silently,   that would never happen again.

[odett3]

she looks at him as though he has just said something very strange. of course she had caught him unaware ; THIS IS HER LAKE, HER CHAPEL, HER GROUND. brought to ruin by her being here, brought to existence by her mother crying so terribly for so long that she created this place. of course she was able to surprise him. odette merely walks further into the silent chapel that is devoid of pews now and has strange beds of moss and moonlight filtered through twisted stained glass windows. "it wasn't my intention to startle you." the hem of her white dress is sodden with lakewater and it drags upon the ground as she walks towards where an altar may have been, once. "what is your name?"

[valerieandherweekofwonderz]

Marie Horáková as Princess Růženka in Jak se budí princezny (1977) dir. by Václav Vorlíček.

[mirefireflies]

“the ending is always the same”

war of the foxes - richard silken / waterloo - ABBA / euripides’ medea - the little theatre / anne carson / the three fates - luca cambiaso / the oresteia - aeschylus / road to hell II - hadestown / when i met you - mira lightner / andersen’s fairy tale anthology