𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔖𝔠𝔬𝔯𝔭𝔦𝔬𝔫,

( ... )  𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗐𝖺𝗇𝗍 𝗍𝗈 𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗒 𝖻𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗒?

[sanitatcm]

no, he would not. that is the simple truth of it. if she wishes to dance with him - however poorly he manages it - he will not deny her the opportunity. even if she does manage to sting his pride. he bears no illusions, of course, that her choice has anything to do with his charms. perhaps she is avoiding more unpleasant partners, or maybe it is something to do with the contrary look in her eye. whatever the reason, he does not intend to probe it too deeply. after all, his presence in her world is fleeting and the motivations of sharp-tongued heiresses could not, under any circumstances, be considered his business... she has made his evening more intriguing than it otherwise would have been - that is enough to have made venturing out this evening worth the effort.

" indeed you are not, " he agrees before meeting her eyes. " nor would i presume that any of our company could afford you if you were. " from his tone, it is clear he does not mind a challenge, either - and he does not intend to be made a doormat of... " but if it is your intention to make a project of me, ma'am, i would advise you to save your efforts for some other gentleman... i fear i am beyond help, " he adds, amusement quirking on his lips.

[shivawne]

if she seems satisfied by his asertion that she is beyond everybody's standards, leagues, and purses, it's because she is. quite satisfied, actually, smirk only growing in size and smugness. "and i fear that i like a challenge, sir," she retorts just as quick, impressed to see that he is not doing what his richer and classier counterparts would, and capitulating or cowering to her.

both reactions are understandable, of course, given who she is. a granddaughter of a marquess, the lone daughter of the eighth richest man in the country, a highly intellectual and astute young woman who is wealthy in her own right (humble to boot, as well). but it's why the miss roy is fascinated by a man whom she would otherwise completely ignore. maybe it ought to teach her something about the pitfalls of underestimating others; unlikely it will, though. "besides, i rather think that no other gentleman would be able for me, don't you agree?"

[sanitatcm]

@shivawne said: you're a lousy dance partner. (she's starting off on a bullying note fr)

he glances up at her, surprise briefly clouding his face before an apologetic smile takes its place. " i might have told you as much before we began, miss roy, " he says, his hand taking hers once more as they go down the dance. he still finds it strange that she is dancing with him at all - a sentiment no doubt shared by the gathered company. compared to much of the crowd, he is a nobody. a penniless doctor with a respectable, but ultimately unimpressive name. a man who'd spent his morning in cramped hovels tending to the ailments of fishwives - and free of charge at that. hardly a suitable partner for one of the most eligible young ladies in the country...

he knows full well that he has only been invited tonight to make up the numbers of young men in the party. the truth of that does not offend him - as diverting as it might be to look into this world for an hour or so, he would much prefer to be at home with his books... all the same, he is by no means insensible to the charms of an attractive partner, even one he is as ill-suited to in skill as he is in station.

" if you wish me to hand you off to a more competent partner, you need only say the word, " he continues. his words are polite, but there is a glint of defiance in his eyes. perhaps his pride had not been untouched by her critique - as accurate as it might have been...

[shivawne]

her grip on his own tightens, the impassive smirk she wears falling for only a second––but it's a marked moment. "you would not dare." he is far from exceptional at this, but nor is he as lousy as she makes him out to be; siobhán simply takes pleasure in the freedom that comes with her family name, which extends to the insolence that she can brandish the same way men do their arrogance. (she can only begin to imagine her mother's histrionics when word spreads that her only daughter danced so often in one night with a simple doctor. the scandal!)

"i am hardly a commodity waiting to be passed off to the next willing buyer." it ought to be perfectly clear just how often she's uttered something to the effect of those words by her tone of voice, as well as the roll of her eyes that follows suit. the eligible bachelors up and down the country have made no secret of just how desirable a bride she would make, and so why should she not make her disdain for them all as equally apparent? "besides, i like a challenge."

[shivawne]

shiv would see both oppenheimer and barbie, but barbie would be seen in absolute secret and she would deny having seen it to everybody (she also cried but she would rather stick needles in her eyes than admit to that)

[promachoia2]

@shivawne prayed: "you're a real piece of work." (x)

❛❛     is that a hint of frustration i'm detecting,  ms. roy  ?     ❜❜     his gravelly voice reeks of condescension.     ❛❛     or,  forgive me,  is it mrs. wambsgans ?     ❜❜     a manicured brow lifts toward the sky as a smirk slithers on ancient features.     the author is rarely this acerbic with his clients.     usually,  his shrewd tongue remains dormant,  snubbing the temptation to engage in such petty remarks—a professional in every sense of the word.     however,  this was no ordinary client standing before him.     she was siobhan fucking roy.     and when she called (back, that is),  you fucking answered.     as the only woman in the roy circus,  she was in a prime position to detail every heinous,  fascinating,  juicy thing behind the doors of waystar royco.     and who was henry to decline the opportunity ?    

as he stands,  he plops his moleskine journal atop the beautifully crafted desk and begins to pace.     ❛❛     i'm sure many around waystar would have the same to say about you,     ❜❜     his head cranes in her direction.     ❛❛     actually,     ❜❜     a pause.     ❛❛     i can attest that they've said much worse.     ❜❜     slowly,  his arms crossed over his chest,  and he stops.     ❛❛     when you called my office back,  siobhan,  you knew what this meant—the gravity of this book.     ❜❜     lips purse slightly as his feet begin moving again,     ❛❛     hell,  if i remember correctly,  you said some rather unsavory things when i first approached you about the idea.     ❜❜     henry laughs softly.  when arms uncross,  the writer begins to talk with his hands,     ❛❛     you even came to appreciate the idea of telling your story,  yourself,  in your own words.     ❜❜   

henry sits on the corner of her desk as a hand grazes through brunette coils.     well aware of the future scolding awaiting him once she took notice.     there was something enthralling about their partnership.     albeit reluctant on her behalf and if henry could be candid,  on his as well,  something about this situation worked.     whether it was the way the banter flowed or the sincerity that left the youngest roy's lips after a few glasses of wine—henry had never been on a writing journey where things seemed so easy.     ❛❛     listen,     ❜❜     he begins,  standing.     ❛❛     if you want to back out,  i would fully understand.     ❜❜     a playful grin begins to tug at the corners of his lips,     ❛❛     although,  it would be the last thing i would ever expect from siobhan roy.     ❜❜     there's a slight twinkle in his eye as he starts to pace once more.     ❛❛     then again,  the roy family is always full of surprises,     ❜❜     a nonchalant shrug of the shoulder,     ❛❛     what's one more,  especially from you ?     ❜❜    

[shivawne]

❝    oh hah hah,  fuck you.    ❞        such joshing hostility is muscle memory that she can’t help it,  a fun little back-and-forth between she and most of those that she has more than just an acquaintanceship with;  mr. fitzgerald should consider himself lucky,  in all honesty,  that he’s been afforded such familiarity already.        ❝    the wedding isn’t until next month,  actually,  so–    ❞        so there,  it’s as if she’s saying,  stick that in your pipe and smoke it!    if she were a child once more,  she’d stick her tongue out accordingly,  but that sort of behaviour is reserved for her brothers and her brothers alone,  so shiv just barely glances up from her phone to offer him a sadistic little smirk,  all glittering in its smugness.    it’s a crappy little office,  especially when compared to the ones she’s occupied in the past decade or so,  but it’s what comes with working for a socialist,  she supposes;  hasn’t stopped her from splurging on the best furniture,  or updating the coffee machine out in the break room to a high-end brand.    (the whole office was a-whispering about the princess and her delicate constitution,  but they shut up fairly quickly when they realised just how nice the coffee suddenly became.)

“i can attest that they’ve said much worse,”  henry claims,  and shiv is thoroughly amused by it.    she wonders who he’s spoken to;  gerri?  eva?  karl?  her brothers would all use far more colourful language,  so they’re out of the running immediately.    finally,  she lets her phone screen fade to black,  and carelessly drops it (almost throws it,  actually) onto the cushion of her desk chair,  hands clenching into fists that then rest on her hips.        ❝    yeah, of course i did.    you’re basically handing me a fuckin’ knife and asking me to stab my whole family in the back.    ❞        familial betrayal,  of course,  is practically a roy tradition at this stage.    nothing like votes of no confidence,  thinly veiled threats,  and publicity stunts staged as family therapy sessions to bring a fucked up dynasty closer together,  right?

❝    haven’t you heard?    i’m the black sheep of my family.    ❞        and by the looks of it,  shiv couldn’t be prouder of the fact.    the tabloids have many names for her,  black sheep title notwithstanding;  the lone liberal,  cashmere communist,  the acceptable face of the worst family in america,  ginger menace––no matter how hard she fights against her surname,  she can never escape it,  and honestly?    she doesn’t want to.    she doesn’t want to shed the security and comfort it affords,  the access it offers.    but the chance to tear the family company down and help build it up again is appealing.    massively.    it’s just what they get for keeping her at arms length,  for refusing to let her take part,  to compete,  to get to be just as awful at all of this as her brothers.        ❝    i don’t know how to back out of something.    ❞

[princessmo]

people with siblings love saying shit like "you never played first degree murder knife chase?"

[shivawne]

oh i am losing my mind

[technojizz]

SARAH SNOOK as SHIV ROY in season 1 of SUCCESSION (2018-)

[conheaded-a]

" yeah, ha-ha laugh it up, just remember i'm not the one who'll be smothering you in aloe later. " he points to himself and then her on respective pronouns, though there is no venom in his tone, it's said with a tint of fondness. he'd done it before, wrapped her in a white sheet on the yacht because it 'draws the heat out'. he misses when he could sit and nod and listen as she handed him perfect little letters, stamped siobhan roy and be told to deliver them on time this go around. she still has that energy to her, bossy : you're not playing it right. he bumps her shoulder with his own, grinning down at her before he nods.

" the well house isn't far, come on. " it feels like an adventure, even if he's walked this trail a million times. he wishes he could have talked her into riding, there's nothing more beautiful than the ranch on horseback. the full ranch experience.

[shivawne]

❝    tom’ll be thrilled that he doesn’t have to fight you for the honour.    ❞        a little half-snort of amusement,  because she remembers the summers where he would do precisely that,  and put up with her complaints of  “it’s freezing cold!”  when the aloe––fresh and cool from a mini-fridge somewhere on board––was slathered onto irritated skin,  instant relief.    (what she won’t remember,  of course,  are the few instances where she’d let herself cry from the pain for a few moments,  and he’d never told on her.    never handed her a mirror,  or drew attention to the splotchiness of her face.)

if she knew where it was,  she’d threaten to race him.    well,  if it wasn’t so fucking hot either,  and if she weren’t acutely aware of  (and only a little bit worried about)  both of their staminas.    the last thing she wants to be doing is staggering into the kitchen back up in the house and dragging her big brother in behind her,  parched and sweaty and out of shape.        ❝    oh,  there’s a well house?    how fancy.    ❞        poking fun she may be,  but there’s no bite to it,  those sharp teeth of hers put away for the time being,  no target for her to sink them into.        ❝    no,  but,  all jokes aside,  con,  it’s really beautiful out here.    ❞

[shivawne]

i’ve been thinking a lot abt shiv + therapy,  and how she’s probably been in therapy from a very young age,  and how as a kid she was likely told that she needs to rein in her emotions and control her outbursts and stop being so easily and visibly angered,  and then as an adult,  there’s the absolutely opposite problem wherein she is emotionally constipated,  she’s icy and tight-lipped and prone to giving people  (who aren’t her brothers or tom)  the cold shoulder,  and sure part of that is because if she were anything but stone she’d be branded an emotional and hysterical woman (aka just A Woman) and therefore be lesser,  but a huge part of it is also stemming from her fucking childhood

[conheaded-a]

the sun is bright in the sky, an endless expanse of blue above them. connor has for once detached himself for willa to show his baby sister the ranch. pride sitting warm in the center of his chest as they walk side by side. leon in the gator not far behind them, but @shivawne had mentioned privacy, and there wasn't a single place more private in the world.

it's nice to have her here, even if it seems she's uninterested. connor much prefers to believe his family simply plays hard to get in their own way.

if we get heatstroke, i'm blaming you.

connor is smiling ear to ear as he sets his hat on shiv's head, never quite able to see her ( nor the others ) for the adults they are. " we'll be fine, shivvy. " he reasons with a shrug. " i told you, you need to drink more water. hydrating is important, the well out here is fantastic, really. it's always cold. "

[shivawne]

barbed quips lie in wait on her tongue,  waiting to be unleashed,  snappy little reminders of all the times she was told she was adopted as a kid,  that her freckles and red hair were a sign of it,  or how they’d play twisted versions of slappy when on family sun vacations,  and shiv was the only one of them all who turned a particularly painful shade of lobster red,  so the winner was whoever left the whitest mark on her sunburned raw arms;  but connor had never done any of that.    no,  he’d been the one who would indulge,  who would crouch down and play with whatever monstrous kids’ miniature business she’d been gifted that week,  as though a wendy house version of buckingham palace could make up for absentee parents.

so all she does is scoff.

❝    yeah,  whatever you say,  mom.    ❞        she may scoff,  and roll her eyes,  and brush him off as something of a nuisance,  but she appreciates his clucking all the same,  and adjusts the brim of the hat slightly so that she doesn’t have to squint against the sun’s glare as much.    he has,  well and truly,  been the closest thing to a parent figure that she’s ever had in her whole life,  which is so incredibly sad and funny and fucked up all at once,  but hey    ––    they wouldn’t be the roys if that wasn’t the case, right?        ❝    c’mon then,  con,  lead the way to this magical fuckin’ well.    ❞

[shivawne]

shiv’s motivations for voting yes on the gojo deal r so incredibly intricate and layered that i think it’s wrong to dismiss any of them in favour of one rigid interpretation, but i do think one of the Key Motivations is that. she knew she’d have more influence as the wife of the ceo rather than the sister of the ceo

[shivawne]

[shivawne]

“we all eventually turn into our mothers” and “mothers and daughters existing as wretched mirrors of each other” and “this collusion does not save the daughter from the mother’s fate” and “the mother’s unhappiness will be the daughter’s unhappiness” and—

[patrick-stewart]

Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy SUCCESSION | 4.07

[avadaniels]

Work your magic.

SARAH SNOOK as SHIV ROY in Succession S04E01

[shivawne]

she doesn’t know what they are.    truth be told, shiv doesn’t think she’s ever known what they’ve been    ––    but she does know that to put a label on it would be ruinous.    on and off and back on again in a matter of weeks, that’s been their modus operandi for as long as they’ve known each other.    sofrelli and roy, a dream team in the campaign office and in the bedroom.    (and the car.    and the office bathroom.    an elevator, that one time.)    they’ve both had other relationships during those off periods, people they swore were eons better in bed and in conversation, but they never lasted.    it emboldens her, in one way, knowing that he can’t seem to quit her, ignoring the fact that the reverse was also applicable.    she’s loathe to admit, sometimes, that she relies on the knowledge that he’s always there for her to fall back on; loyal like a dog, always trotting along behind her, close on her heels.

❝    you know i have to kiss you now.    ❞        @rvolving​ says,

and it’s hard to keep a stupidly sweet grin from splitting her face wide open.    her face screws up in that distinctly siobhan way, the stretch of skin between her brows furrowed, freckles sent rippling as cheeks flush and dimple.    how disgusting, the voice in the back of her mind hisses, sounding more like her father than it ever has before, but she pays it no mind.    she may have a penchant for ruining things wile they’re good, for finding problems where they don’t exist, but not this time.    not right now.        ❝    have to catch me first.    ❞        that grin of hers takes on a decidedly cheeky quality, and she side-steps around him, arm brushing against his.

[shivawne]

look ok i know i’m beating a dead horse by bringing up this Parallel again but BUT HEAR ME OUT OK the intros for season one and two don’t feature matt macfad’s name until after that clip, whereas his name pops up right as the clip plays  ...  i’m losing my little pea brain here