#bravebitten

[blightts]

@bravebitten / Liked for a starter

Basil looks at Evan with a nervous but gentle expression. There’s a long pause before he actually speaks, but when he finally does, it comes out somewhat shaky.

“Um… are you asking me….?”

“I… I’m not sure if they’re open right now…? I think… maybe, but… I don’t know. I haven’t been there in a while…”

[sorevivals]

@bravebitten: "how are you not freaking out right now?" / for ollie !! :D

school spirits starters pt 6 / accepting

"I am. just—quietly." Words are quick as she keeps an arm out to her side in some effort to herd Evan behind her. She's not going to deny what they've spotted in the back rooms of the restaurant—hell, she can't take her eyes off it. Blood. A lot of blood. On the walls, on the floor, the shelves. She swallows, takes a step back, again trying to get Evan away.

Evan. She just needs to focus on Evan right now. She might not know what's going on, but she has a strong feeling they shouldn't see this. It's only a matter of time before someone is here to clean it up, before they get caught.

"Alright," she starts, voice a little shaky, "Alright, let's just...let's go back out front, get outside. Someone probably just had an accident or something." Does she really believe that? No, but she's trying to seem put together enough. Her main focus is getting out of here before someone knows that they've seen this.

[r4ggedy-a]

⠀ 🪡 ⠀ ╱ ⠀ 🧵 ⠀ ◞ ░ ◟ 𓊆 𝐄͓̽𝐕͓̽𝐀͓̽𝐍͓̽ 𓊇◝ º ➔ STARTER CALL ︴ @bravebitten ︴

𝐐͓̽𝐔͓̽𝐈͓̽𝐕͓̽𝐄͓̽𝐑͓̽𝐈͓̽𝐍͓̽𝐆͓̽ 𝐀͓̽𝐔͓̽𝐑͓̽𝐄͓̽𝐎͓̽𝐋͓̽𝐄͓̽ 𝐎͓̽𝐅͓̽ him — the   manner   in   which   the   aureate   nap   of   his   plush   form   absorbed ,   fractured ,   &&.   refracted   the   light ,   as   though   he   were   an   artifact   consecrated   yet   grievously   displaced ,   gilded   not   for   reverence   but   for   quiet   immolation .   panic   rippled   through   the   bear   in   hushed ,   tremulous   cadences ,   a   marionette   newly   severed   from   its   guiding   strings .   his   stitched   seams   fluttering   with   each   shallow ,   unnecessary   breath   he   seemed   nonetheless   compelled   to   draw .   the   circus   unfurled   about   them   in   its   customary   lurid   exultation ,   a   grotesquerie   of   lacquered   smiles ,   impossible   geometries ,   &&.   kaleidoscopic   excess ,   yet   she   perceived   with   aching   clarity   how   swiftly   such   brilliance   could   coagulate   into   something   merciless ,   how   easily   the   air   itself   might   turn   sharp   against   the   unwary .   

with   deliberate   reverence ,   the   doll   advanced ,   measured   &&.   unthreatening ,   as   one   might   approach   a   creature   poised   upon   the   precipice   of   flight ,   her   own   stitched   smile   softening   at   its   margins .   cottony   hands   arisen ,   palms   outward ,   suspended   between   guardianship   &&.   invitation ,   as   though   prepared   to   ensnare   him   within   a   fragile   cradle — both   literal ,   should   he   falter ,   &&.   figurative ,   an   invisible   scaffolding   of   solace   offered   without   transgressing   the   delicate   perimeter   of   his   fear .   each   subtle   movement ,   every   imperceptible   tilt   of   her   posture ,   became   a   silent   benediction :   that   for   this   trembling   instant,   he   need   not   endure   the   world   alone,   that   even   amid   the   circus’s   gleaming   chaos,   some   corner   of   it   could   be   held   in   tender   abeyance , ⸺   𓊆    🪡    𓊇  ❝  hey … it’s alright … take it slow ,  ❞  𓊆    🪡    𓊇   ⸺ a murmur , her voice a silken filament of warmth , spun delicately through the synthetic expanse , threading itself around him like a quiet promise , a fragile lattice of comfort against the harsh geometry of the circus , ⸺   𓊆    🪡    𓊇  ❝  we’ve all had to find our footing at first . easy there …  ❞  𓊆    🪡    𓊇   ⸺ though she discerned the tenuousness of her words — mere gossamer wards against a storm that never truly slept — the ragdoll proffered them still , a quiet litany of hope , tenderly spun to hold him fast , if only for the briefest instant , against the dissolution that threatened to claim him .

[feminemacabre]

@bravebitten liked for a starter!

"You're the new transfer student, right?" She offers her award-winning smile, extending her hand for the other to shake. "Nancy Wheeler. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'll be the one showing you around the school."

[sorevivals]

@bravebitten gets an ollie starter

in theory, everyone should be asleep, but ollie had slipped downstairs with the intent of heading out for the night. it's not a surprise, as these days she spends far more time outside of the house than in it. the more surprising part is when she hears someone else downstairs. her immediate assumption and fear is that it's her father. "shit," she mutters under her breath. when she realizes it's not her father, however, she does relax a bit. "oh, hey there, little man," she starts, leaning up against the wall, "what are you up to this late?"

[fearfathered]

@bravebitten: "how was i supposed to know that?"

morbid curiosity starters / accepting

"How about by paying attention?" the words are tense, impatient. Why his children seem to be incapable of listening to William is beyond him. Though Evan still isn't met with the same sort of anger that he would have used when talking to his two oldest kids. Instead, it's a simmering frustration and disappointment as he pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs, taking off his glasses for a moment and rubbing at his eyes.

"I don't know how many times we have to go over this, Evan."

[fearfathered]

@bravebitten: "where have you been disappearing off to?"

morbid curiosity starters / accepting

William gestures vaguely, "Work, of course." There's a thin layer of lightheartedness covering a slight annoyance. He's the adult here, why are his whereabouts being interrogated. It's also the semblance of a guilty conscious—knowing full well that work involves a bit more than most would assume. But William would rather die than have his kids learn about the reality his work before it's done: neither of which are going to happen. So he chuckles and mutters, "Work, work, work, work." He waves a hand dismissively. "But, I should be all done for the time being." If only because he's been called out on it now. "Was there a reason you were looking for me, Evan?"

[fearfathered]

@bravebitten: "i'm sorry i can't be what you wanted"

'what else do you want from me?' prompts / accepting

William sighs, shutting his eyes for a brief second. "That's not what I said." Not outright, although it is implicit in many conversations with William. He holds his children to high standards, for the sake of their success and the appearance of normalcy helps him cover up his own issues. And yet, they always seem to fall short, to William's irritation.

Still, there's a line drawn, where William can't express that disappointment too much, lest he push them away. Evan is different, too: the closest William will get to attributing one of his children's shortcomings as a result of his parenting. Rather than any earnest regret, though, it's the idea that William had spoiled Evan, made him too soft, and then over-corrected by turning a blind eye to Michael's treatment in the hope that it would toughen him up. Too late to change it now, but it along with the incident does change how William approaches it.

"Come here," he points his head towards the chair across from him. "You know I didn't mean it like that it's just...it's been hard, with everything that's been happening." The 'disappearances', Elizabeth's death, Ollie running away. His wife leaving, although he's affected less by that. He reaches out towards Evan, "You know I love you, right? More than anything."