#thehollyverse

[n0thingandnobody]

@thehollyverse (holly) said: [ slap ] sender slaps receiver in the face

there was a cacophony of drugs in his system, & maybe that's why he walked through the door ready to burn everything to the ground. if he'd been sober, they would've talked it out like adults. but neither were, & somewhere in the back of his head he wonders if it's his fault that she's been dragged down into this: day in, day out, sniffing white powder to numb everything . . . she would've been better off without him.

but that doesn't stop the anger when richie had mentioned sleeping with her in passing. conversation had stopped in its tracks then & there, his best friend's wide eyed gaze enough to make clear why mikey was so angry. barreling through the door like a man scorned, immediately in holly's face. never lays a hand on her, but oh was he close — no care that he had no room to talk, not when a mere few days ago he'd come home covered in marks put there by another woman [ whose name mikey can't even remember now ].

' you that much of a whore that you need to sleep with my best friend? ' practically screamed at her, no care for the way she flinches from him. when he's sober, he'll feel bad. the slap comes as a surprise: a sudden, stinging pain across his cheek & it takes his mind a moment to catch up & realize what she'd done. it's not enough to sober him up though, the coke & pills doing their part to only fuel the anger. hand grabs her wrist hard, too hard, she'll be left with a bruise that will make michael regret everything he's ever fucking done — ❛ the fuck do you think you're doing, huh? ❜

* MEME, always accepting.

[messiahed]

paul held an unbreakable gaze across the extensive sandscape, his blue within blue eyes followed spice as it travelled with the gentle winds. he had come to find great comfort in the sands & cloudless sky, a feeling he thought he lost when he watched the remains of his turn to ash by the hand of the harkonnen warriors. but after months of training and fighting, he had become more in tune with the desert than his father may have believed possible. he was accepted by the fremen, he spoke their language, he had been granted a fedaykin name, & overall, he was considered an equal. despite all of this, many still viewed him as an outsider due to his inability to ride a sandworm, which was the main test of the desert; a sign of whether shai hulud would accept someone or not.

however, the summer had only begun & stilgar continued to insist that paul wait. there would be plenty of time once the summer ended, but as paul had heard through whispers & hushed tones followed by laughter, not all believed he would survive to that point as many still felt he was still another outsider. he just got lucky when it came to picking up their language & fighting alongside of them. it was only luck; nothing more than that.

“ is it foolish to feel i need to prove myself more to them? ” paul asked, his tone soft as he looked over his shoulder & focused onkarcis’ familiar face.

⋆.ೃ ▎@thehollyverse ft. karcis sent a prompt » "try not to get yourself killed ."

paul chuckled, but the sound was muffled under his mask. “ i’m no fool, i wouldn’t go doing something like that. ” he turned his gaze back to the sand as he looked for spice. “ i only want to prove myself, is that asking too much? ”

[psielapki-a]

@thehollyverse's   holly   &   könig   /   unprompted

Holly sighing dreamily at her army wife König

                    𝘩𝘦'𝘴   𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘺   𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.   what   helps   him   with   the   paperwork   is   pretending   to   be   a   teacher,   though   only   in   his   head,   with   face   covered   by   his   balaclava.   he's   grading   the   papers   now.   this   is   exactly   why   he   decided   on   quitting   the   army   &   joining   a   military   contractor   fraction   :   sitting   by   the   desk   makes   him   nervous,   impatient   —   with   mind   always   on   the   edge   and   body   ready   to   jump   into   action.

                    he   lets   holly   stay   near.   it   calms   her   down.   it   calms   him   down.   birdie   is   his   favorite   subordinate,   and   if   he   can   make   something   to   make   her   stay   at   the   base   more   pleasant,   he'll   gladly   do   it   —   be   it   fucking   her   guts   out   or   doing   paperwork   in   the   same   room.

                    alert   as   ever,   he   picks   out   on   the   tiniest   of   sounds   —   immediately,   gunmetal   blue   eyes   seek   his   whatever   they   are   face.

                    ❝   what?   ❞   he   grunts,   sounding   irritated.   fuck,   he   didn't   mean   to!   ❝   why   are   you   looking   at   me   like   that?   do   i   have   something   on   my   face?   ❞

                    yes.   your   balaclava,   you   idiot.

[d-eathbringerarch]

@thehollyverse (jonah) said: ❛ i would let you rip me apart if it meant loving you. ❜

she smiles, as if she hadn't already known. a hand softly cups his cheek, hazel eyes looking up at him with feigned adoration. thumb rubs a gentle circle into the soft flesh in such a small gesture of affection. every movement, every word, done in an effort to keep the man under her control. ❛ i have no desire to rip you apart, darling. ❜ that was a lie: one wrong move is all it would take for persephone to sic nickolas on the man, watch him bleed in her name. though, she does feel a small sliver of hope that it does not come to that. he would be difficult to replace.

* MEME, always accepting.

[godsdefied-archive]

@thehollyverse (holly) said: 'i loved you the way that you were'

he towers over her now. things had changed so much in only a few days time, & the words strike a nerve he wasn't expecting. regret overtakes him a moment, blue eyes squeezing shut — tries to remember WHY he did this, why he needed to do this. even as their fingers lace together, his heart feels like it's beating out of his chest [ 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛 𝚗𝚘𝚠, 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 ] & despite his new appearance, he's still just that kid that never even had a girlfriend before holly. choking down whatever insecurities try to come to the surface, steve only offers a half smile, eyes finally meeting hers again. ❛ . . . 𝐢 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐢'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲. ❜

why is he apologizing? isn't this what he always wanted? to be in the army, making a difference? so why does he feel so guilty — ❛ 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨. 𝐢 . . . ❜ he feels like he's back to talking to her for the first time, as if they hadn't spent the last couple years head over heels in love. no words seem to wanna come out, & he finds himself wishing bucky was here to guide him on what to say like he was when they first met holly. instead, he can only take her hand that's still entwined with his, pressing it to his chest so she can feel his heartbeat. he's still the same guy she fell for. ❛ 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞? ❜ he wouldn't be able to handle it if she said no.

[messiahed]

despite the city’s warmth, arrakeen felt uncomfortably cold. as paul walked the palace corridors, he could feel a shift in the winds & a change in the fremen. whispers became more frequent, loyalties were questionable, & trust was in limited supply. except for a select handful of people, he almost felt like he didn’t know who to turn to, but as his feet carried him into the throne room, a small wave of comfort flooded over him as he saw the familiar figure of an old family friend. someone who knew paul & not the emperor of the known universe. not another follower of the messiah.

“ i trust you were welcomed with no trouble. ” paul began as he walked closer to the other. “ my people know that anyone close to me should be treated with respect & if anyone refuses to do such a thing, they will answer to me. ” once close enough, he reached one of his hands forward to touch the other; a reminder that no matter how much time had passed, he was still the same person karcis knew. at least, that was his hope. time had indeed changed him, but he was still paul atreides.

@thehollyverse / starter call.

[arcanedesires]

@thehollyverse sent ; ❛    be loyal to what matters.  ❜ holly for evelaena

evelaena already follows these words religiously, though it's a more recent development in her life, if she's honest. she's had little cause to devote loyalty to anyone since her family married her off, and even less after her no-good husband had put himself into debts he couldn't pay and gave her away to settle them. not that he was much of a good man before that, but she'd be mostly taken care of, a roof over her head and food in her belly, what else could she have needed? a little kindness, maybe, but she tries not to think too much about it.

she hadn't known what to expect when hitching up with the van der linde gang; they had seemed kind enough ( kinder than colm was anyhow ) and that had been all that mattered in her great escape from the o'driscoll's. the whole thing was meant to be temporary; they'd never accept her if they knew the truth about her, but it didn't stop the feelings forming in her heart for them.

she lifts her head to smile at holly, hands pausing in their work of scrubbing one of arthur's shirts across the washboard. her hands are no longer soft and delicate as they once were, though she does not mind it as much as she once thought she would. "i don't think i've ever been around so many people loyal to one another before," she admits quietly, like its some kind of sin of her past, and maybe it is. "i've always thought that it was loyalty to one's self that mattered most, but i think i'm starting to believe differently."

[stagsong]

wiping   blood   or   sweat   from   their   brow, holly @ reno eheheheeEHEHEHE

COMING   DOWN   FROM   ADRENALINE   HE   HAD   A   GOOEY   GAZE   SET   ON   HER            like   a   cartoon   character   with   hearts   for   eyes—   probably   a   mixture   of   the   coke   and   booze   and   thrill   of   winning   a   fight.   or   maybe   it   was   having   holly   so   close,   wiping   the   red   dripping   from   his   busted   brow.   a   scar   that   always   seemed   to   reopen—   never   able   to   fully   heal   because   he's   always   getting   hurt   there.            “   you   smell   nice.   ”            he   said   casually,   jaw   tensing   slightly   as   she   applied   the   alcohol   wipe.            “   i'm   glad   you   showed   up.   would   have   been   less   of   a   win   if   you   weren't   there   to   see   it.   no   point   in   showing   off   for   nobody.   ”

/ @thehollyverse