[OOC] The Dark Beyond

[Lexisheeps]

I imagine that the Sabrina x Thierry collab will be done soon. Just one more part on White's end and we should be good. Just an FYI. Sorry for the wait. <3

[Days]

Knowing you two, it’s gonna be worth it.

(But I’m also soooo curious)

[Estylwen]

Thanks for the heads up, Lexi. I know it'll be well worth the wait. :)

[Lexisheeps]

Yeah, it's gonna be worth it! It definitely makes up for my avoidance at the harbor scene.

[Days]

Stop teasing me you menace!

[Lexisheeps]

@Days

NEVER

[Estylwen]

Is there good news for me today? :>

[Lexisheeps]

@Estylwen

We are waiting on the wonderful @WhiteAngel25 :)

[Estylwen]

Can I just say woooow! Amazing timing making my wish come true, I got good news today!! What an amazing collab!! I now understand why it took so long; the amount of detail, time and dedication in this work of art is amazing. You can really see Sabrina and Thierry finally finding common ground and understanding each other, after all this time. I.. I could cry. :'>

"Now, don't be getting jealous of the men I date from here on out, Thierry..."

This stuck out to me the most, signaling Sabrina letting Thierry go. It's sad. Very sad. But also beautiful. Will we see Sabrina find new love in the timeliness of DB? I hope so. :> She deserves to be happy to.

I also want to point out how emotionally mature Thierry was in this collab. He processed his emotions and apologized. Just, good feels all over. Being a good husband, or good father.

Amazing. Truly, an amazing post.

Also, the bits on the gala and Stella were the icing on the cake. :DDD

I think that means it's @Days turn now!

[Lexisheeps]

I bet @Days is gonna be excited!

@Estylwen

@WhiteAngel25 did an amazing job despite dealing with her household having the ick!

Meanwhile, my mentals stayed steady enough despite such hard topics to write. I was worried I sounded trauma dumpy at one point, and am glad I don't. White was sweet enough to double check that she hadn't crossed any lines. And I'm thankful for that.

Overall, I feel it all worked out in the end and am happy with how this collab came out. I'm excited to keep writing with you guys in the future! <3

[Days]

I- I am absolutely floored at how amazing this collab is, seriously.

@WhiteAngel25, the way you write their history from Sabrina's POV was so incredibly captivating I was on the edge of my seat. Her love runs deep, as do her reasonings for staying with him for as long as she had. The silent hope and denial that it was all just a phase or that it would get better, and after the girls that they just NEEDED each other and she didnt' want to leave him, even though Thierry's eye had already strayed. In a short bit, you encompass a hell of a lot of feelings and they all make so much damn sense. Her deep understanding (and reasoning!) of both Theo and Aurélie's behaviour vs their true feelings shows how in tune she is with her kids, good or bad. I can only imagine the amount of late night talks with a glass of wine Theo and Sabrina had done by now. And she is simultaneously happy for the happiness of the man she loves, and heartbroken that it's at the expense of her own heart and love.

I wrote a 'collab' between Aurélie and Theo and it's like you have already read that. Sabrina is a 100% right on how Theo functions and I loved reading that, and Theo isn't even introduced in the DB timeline yet. Her true love for someone who won't love her back was absolutely heartbreaking and I'm not lying wen I say I let out a tear, the pain was so real.

Some of my fav bits:

Thierry slowly stopped any physical contact aside from a chaste kiss on the cheek or a pat on the shoulder.

Her being aware of this is so heartbreaking.

Damn him, how does he manage to still make me feel like this? She thought, meeting Thierry's gaze with her stoic expression.

This is so, so good.

He needs to admit this more than I need the confession

This just hits so hard, cause sometimes it do be like this.

remembering Theo hugging her tight and calling emergency services after she had tried..

My heart :(

We didn't leave because I knew you needed us just as much as we needed you. I wasn't going to abandon you when we were both at our lowest

This is where I started grabbing tissues.

She had heard rumors that the higher-ups were looking for fresh blood to join the ranks of agents. She prayed that Theo wouldn't take the bait.

Now this is very, very interesting ;) More to come in my post LMAO.

"Well, you should know that Theo is less hateful of Nick and more jealous," Sabrina murmured as she gazed out the window thinking about how Theo seemed to turn into a wonderful young man overnight. "Theo hasn't told me that but every time he returns from staying at your place or running into the two of you at work, I can see it in his eyes. He's jealous of the time Nick gets to spend with you,"

This whole bit is just facts, and I love how clearly Sabrina is trying to explain this to Thierry that is respectful to both Theo's private feelings and not to hurt Thierry's.

"I wish I could help you with that, however, I believe that I'd be overstepping boundaries that are no longer allowed for me to cross,"

These boundaries are stellar, she truly is saying she's not going to cover for him anymore, but giving him the tools to try and understand and fix things himself.

As for Auri, she doesn't hate you. She's been tortured relentlessly for the last seven years. Cosette was used as a carrot to be dangled in front of her. She's healing, Thier, like all of us. It will just take time

Straight up facts, that are hard to realise for everyone. Sabrina's so real for saying it out loud.

@Lexisheeps, it's so marvellous to fully read Thierry's side of things. It's incredibly realistic in a way that he doesn't fully understand his kids feelings due to the lack of that connection. Thierry's not perfect, but he'd trying to do better and heal himself while also trying to douse his burning bridges. He needed to hear some harsh truths but takes them to heart. Like when Sabrina told him Theo's jealous, Thierry misunderstood this, and that's just so real. With Sabrina's comment about Auri, Thierry will realise that it's not as simple as 'she hates me' and that he can't stay in the victim role here. The vulnerability and growth was so amazing to read.

Fav bits:

He used her like a brick wall to hide behind, whenever his militant father came around.

This is such an understatement reasoning of Thierry's actions, it's marvellous.

And that is not worth being jealous over. But I guess I never realized that he felt this way.

He doesn't understand that it's exactly as Sabrina says, the time spent, the mutual interests, feeling like Nick is the go-to even though Theo would love to hear his dad's stories too.

And while I don't believe that there's anything to be jealous of, that's not to say that Theo's feelings are invalid.

Growth!

I'm sure Aurélie still hates me from my lack of attentiveness at the harbour. But I would at least like to have Cosette with me for a few days.

Thierry is fulfilling some self-fulfilling prophecy here, haha. Luckily Sabrina tells him what it's really like, more growth! <3

He didn't want to upset Sabrina with his affectionate antics towards her ex-husband. Nick was fully aware of the many years Thierry had romantically stagnated her.

Look at Nick adulting!

I can never do this all justice, lmao. But I am writing. Theo's introduction is incoming! <3

[WhiteAngel25]

You all are so sweet! Thank you for the compliments!

@LexisheepsIt was a pleasure as always collaborating with you. :) I feel like we did Sabrina and Thierry justice.

@Estylwen Sorry the gala bit and Stella weren’t more. With the amount of text, my laptop was starting to lag on the website. Lol

@DaysI thought about Dragon coming up to Nova and asking her to the gala but my brain was fried by thought crossing my mind. Haha! Can’t wait to see Theo all grown up!

[Days]

@WhiteAngel25 Aww that’s fine! I’ve written them to be in a limo going to the gala so it’s all settled! 😌

[Days]

Ok so um, it's very, very long BUT
I have 3 characters in 2 different moments in time to describe, including the introduction of Theo and a good long talk between the siblings. I'm sorry :(

I've tried to make it into bite size pieces, music included. Uh, enjoy?

[WhiteAngel25]

@Days Your post was brilliant! Your attention to detail is phenomenal! Also, I’m going to PM you. I have a plan! mwhahaha!

[Days]

@WhiteAngel25 Oh you're too kind!

A PLAN?!


Edit: Oh it's a GOOD plan alright muhahaha

[Lexisheeps]

Because the hider tag is my friend! <3

My Hider

@Days



Me as a writer:



AND

My many half baked characters who'll never see the light of day:

Here's a more in depth reaction:

...

Somewhere in the back of her mind, her old hobby tried to crawl to the surface. To photograph the people she was watching.

My Hider

Leaving the comfort of her familiar home. Even though she did have to text both her mom and him a status update every couple of minutes.

My Hider

Now Cosette is with Thierry, and she is with Sabrina, like a properly shattered and divorced family.

My Hider

My Hider

gathering his notes he had left haphazardly on his desk

My Hider

”The Louvre pays me well because dad makes them pay me well. So I won’t ask questions, or stick my nose in places it doesn’t belong.”

My Hider

Pain he’d very carefully drunk and fucked away. That or by entirely burying himself in his work.

My Hider

Even though he missed his littlest one like crazy when she left to be with Thierry.

My Hider

But now that he had learned everything, and that he was kept in the dark, and the choice Thierry faced, Theo was mad.

My Hider

Tried to be kind to Nick.

My Hider

Thierry had fallen off the too-high pedestal Theo put him on.

My Hider

He scoffed, trying to act tough, but she could see the hurt swimming in his eyes.

...

"Hell, he never let me in to start with."

My Hider

but she’d be damned if it broke even further.

My Hider

there was still an odd offer lingering on his desk from the higher ups.

My Hider

Would it conflict with Nick, too?

My Hider

"Dad thinks I hate him."

My Hider

She had been an unwanted child.

My Hider

Thierry's father had single-handedly convinced him that:

"...Mom and dad were still married and-”

My Hider

”I don’t nearly see Nick often enough to really have to have an opinion about him, you know?”

My Hider

...Nick thought of Theo...

My Hider

His requests to get to the field were constantly denied for various unknown reasons

My Hider

Now there was an enticing offer on his desk at the Louvre.

My Hider

"I could’ve been a better son. "

My Hider

"I don’t care that dad is gay."

My Hider

"you are half gay.”

My Hider

”But Nick is younger than I am."

My Hider

My Hider

Now it was his turn to protect her.

My Hider

Paris was a very romantic city, after all.

My Hider

He could do so easily because he was tall, taller than his father.

My Hider

...the Louvre’s ex-director...

Even now, during an event in honour of an artefact he had both retrieved and worked on restoring, the whispers in the hallway spoke of Thierry’s somewhat unconventional departure instead.

My Hider

Show everyone that Theodore de Villiers is his own man, not just the son of.

My Hider

...revenge dress.

My Hider

”I know. It’s the only reason I’m here. Theo and Cosy.”

My Hider

Aurélie was an adult now, and by no means did Sabrina have to take care of her, or take her in. Especially after the divorce. She was Thierry’s mistake, after all, not hers. And while she might have been officially adopted by the woman, that didn’t mean Sabrina still had any obligations toward her now.

My Hider

”Okay. Sneak in the sidedoor completed. I can do this. I can.”

My Hider

And who better to send than the Vice President and his arm candy, Ms. gathered-from-the-basement?

...she speculated what would be in the file. Has a cat. Owns an alarming amount of houseplants. Caffeine intake is at its very best concerning. May require additional feedback on how to ensure no strands of hair fall from a bun. Her eye twitches when colleague ‘B’ is closeby, may need further medical investigation to find the cause. Heartrate picks up when presented with pictures of the Vice President.

My Hider

”It seems a bit… hectic.”

My Hider

[Days]

Ah an iconic gif reaction post. I’m glad you… liked it? Haha ❤️ You’re too kind!

[Estylwen]

AHHHHH!!!

You've done it again, Days! From the dress choices to the emotional character development - letting us actually see how Theo and Auri have changed, and how they get along now. And talking about how they both feel about their parents and Nick…

The true and epic tragedy of the de Villiers family. What a beautifully broken family. //raises glass in a toast

Now Cosette is with Thierry, and she is with Sabrina, like a properly shattered and divorced family

This… this broke my already shattered heart.

Her baby brother was a man, and Aurélie was stuck in time as a teenager.

This captures the skip between Candyland and Dark Beyond so… so utterly perfectly…

She had never really liked embraces, yet she couldn’t help but long to be back in the one her father gave her upon finding her.

I’m- I'm gonna cry-

He knew the truth now, and that made this whole event tonight a weird mixture of faded pride, muted self-importance and cognitive dissonance.

Theo has grown up into quite the young man! This development is awesome, and a little heartbreaking.

Heartrate picks up when presented with pictures of the Vice President.

Awwwww, so sweet. :>

So both Angel and Days have posted on the gala, so I think that means it's @Lexisheeps turn to post next? Unless Angel wants to post again?

(The reaction gifs were a joy to go through, by the way, Lexi.)

[Days]

Awww Esty 😭

Yeah I really liked showing Theo as a grown man now, and while he didn’t get tortured for 7 years, he’d gone through some shit too. He no longer is puppy that wags his tail.

Auri is falling back in a role that’s comfortable for her; fixing other people’s relationships instead of her own.

Nova is just cute. And fixated on Stella.

Sorry for the heartbreak, haha.