#//it’s been longer than Willow thinks it’s been since she told anyone she was alive

[project-traveler]

Open RP

Willow slips out of the ropes holding her she’d been missing at for what she can guess is probably only twenty four hours at most by this point. She’s gotten the information she came here for and within two hours time can be ready to take down the whole operation.

Willow opens her phone after escaping and taking down her guards silently. She quickly dials a number and on the third ring you answer it. This is also coincidentally when the wave of goons comes through the door looking to check on their fallen comrades.

Tags: @the-good-redheaded-witch @serenastark-official @wong-the-not-wizard @thebestmerc-1 and anyone else. I’m blanking on who to tag.

[coraniaid]

One of the things I like best about the second half of Season 7 -- one of the few things I like about it at all, if I'm being honest -- is the fact it lets Buffy accept that she's still growing up and figuring out who she is as a person.  "I'm not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I'm gonna turn out to be", as she tells Angel in Chosen.  She doesn't have to have all the answers, she doesn't have to be defined by the choices and mistakes she made when she was a miserable and lonely teenage girl, she doesn't have to have found a perfect relationship or future life partner before her twenty-third birthday.

The show ends with Dawn asking Buffy what they're going to do now that she isn't the singular Chosen One, and she doesn't offer an answer because she doesn't know yet!  "That's kind of the point," as she also told Angel earlier.

I think that's a really good and emotionally satisfying place to end the series on -- with Buffy finally free of the destiny that she's been forced into ever since we met her, not because she's been forced to stop being a Slayer or because she’s sacrificed herself to save the world, but because she's no longer The Slayer but merely one of many.  The story of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is over, but the story of Buffy Summers has just begun.  Who knows what will happen next?

It's why I've never been at all tempted to read the post-Season 7 comics, because there's no way that they -- or anyone -- can better that ending. By definition, a future of infinite possibilities is better than any concrete suggestion.  (Also, yes, lots of the specific details I've heard about the comics make them sound pretty bad anyway, that's also a factor.)

It's also why I think it's kind of pointless to spend time arguing that Buffy definitely would or wouldn't end up in a relationship of some particular type, with somebody she knew before she was old enough to graduate college.  Maybe she does get back together with Angel or Riley or Spike.  Maybe she finally realizes she's attracted to Faith, or to Willow, or somebody else she met before the show ended. (Maybe Owen Thurman is still alive.)  Maybe she meets somebody new. Maybe they get married, maybe they don't.  Maybe they have kids, or adopt, and maybe they don't.  Maybe Buffy decides she's happier single. Maybe she doesn't get to have the sort of romantic relationship she'd want at all; maybe other things get in the way.

Some of those possible futures sound like happier endings to me than others, and some seem more in keeping with the direction I'd like to imagine the story going if the show had continued.  But anyone who tries to argue that they know which of those things would or wouldn't happen because they know what the sixteen or nineteen, or twenty-one year old Buffy would have wanted is, I think, not being serious.  The show itself explicitly rejects this idea. Even though her mother's death has forced her to take on more adult responsibilities, Buffy herself is still growing up.   We don't know what will happen to her a year, or five years, or ten years after Chosen.  We don't know what she'll want, we don't know who she'll be.  Buffy herself doesn't know that, so how could we possibly know?

As Buffy said, that's kind of the point! 

[daughter-of-eve-narnian-queen]

I want to know about the mentor for Rue and Trash. I want them to be looking at someone who was just like them and for the Victor to know, panem never quits. So I had an idea.

The mentor for district 11 is a female, but she’s young, really young. She won the 66th hunger games at thirteen and is now barely twenty two. The capitol lied about her age because Finnick was an easier person to market off because Willow, the tribute turned Victor, suffered many scars from her times in the games. She thought she would never have the stomach to be a mentor, not after how brutalistic her games were. But she couldn’t send kids just like her off to die.

And now here she was. Staring into the eyes of a sixteen year old boy who had accepted becoming a murderer and a twelve year old child whose main skill was climbing trees. And she was supposed to teach them how to survive, to be interesting. But both of them had already accepted their fate. Rue knew she was going to die without help and Thrash was just angry at everyone.

So Willow spent the last two normal weeks this kids had getting to know them. Getting to know that their only desire was to screw over the capitol. That two children were going to die and no matter how much training she pumped into them, no matter how much survival instinct she force fed them, these children were going to die.

And so when they ask about her games she tells them. How could she refuse. She tells them about the jagged rocks and tundra-like scape that made you rely on the Capitol more than any other arena. How, since she wasn’t a favorite, she had to kill her fellow tributes and steal their gifts instead, just praying that she could survive one day longer. She told them how she got low, really low, and that when the waterfalls swept away her and the other tributes and she survived just a moment longer she wanted to fall on the rocks herself. She told them about how the capitol took her out and made her lie about her age. How she would read and draw for capitol citizens and how she wasn’t desirable enough to be bought, thankfully.

And then they go into the arena. And they survive the first few days. And she holds out some form of hope. She holds it in her heart that maybe one of those kids were going to home home and she could help them through the rest of their lives but at least their blood wouldn’t be on her hands anymore.

Then Rue dies. And her heart breaks. Cause this kid, this little girl, was only a year younger than she was when she won her games. And she can’t help but think if the arena had been slightly different the kid might be alive. But Thrash is still breathing.

Then Thrash spares Katniss. And at that moment Willow knew, she knew that he would die. Because Willow had seen the horrors of the Capitol and knew that anyone who helped the girl on fire would wind up dead. And he did.

But then Katniss and Peeta win. Dual victors. And she can’t help but think that it should have been Rue and Thrash. Or that Willow herself should be standing with the boy from her district, a kid she went to school with, a kid she didn’t even get to say goodbye to. Dual survivors. It was unheard of.

But Willow can’t be mad at these kids. They’re victims as much as anyone else was. So, when she got home to victors village in district 11 she sat down at her desk. She sat down for a while just thinking. She had won her games because she was vicious, because she was cunning, but most importantly because she had nothing to loose. And that helped her more than anyone could imagine. So she took out a pen and wrote down seven words.

She hadn’t joined a rebellion because she was a mentor, the kids she trained could suffer for her actions. But she just witnessed the rules change. She witnessed a twelve year old girl get killed because of something their ancestors did. And she wasn’t a stranger to their deaths, she had been a mentor for two years already. But something about the rules changing for the ‘star-crossed lover’, but not changing for a child broke something in her. So she dropped the note at the outskirts of district 11 and never looked back.

Come get me, the viper is waiting.

[cosmokyrin]

Metamorphosis

Summary: A “supplemental” / “missing scene” fic for V8C12. This takes place inside the Manta ship as they were heading for the Vault.

Ship: Ruby Rose / Penny Polendina

Rating: Teen

Length: 1,132 words

Notes: I'm posting this for the informal event within the N&D community to commemorate the anniversary of the RWBY Chibi Fireflies episode! I hadn't had time to make anything longer than this, so I latched onto the more recent ideas I had. I wrote this a sort of "supplemental" scene that I felt was lacking for the recent episode, in light of Penny's transformation.

Link to AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30103029

(Full story also here)

***

It was always the darkest before the dawn.

Faint rays of sunlight that lined the dusted crimson sky sat on Penny's face as Blake and Yang assisted her inside the Manta. Despite the help of her friends, walking was an effort. All inside her ached. Jaune was right behind her, the strength of his hand and Semblance keeping her steady. Then as they reached inside the ship, she felt his hand leave her shoulder; in the deep recesses of her mechanical shell, she once again felt the grips of the virus rumbling from within.

"I gave her a large boost. The Aura amp should last until you guys get to the Vault," Jaune said.

"Thanks, Jaune," Ruby said, hugging her fellow leader before she hopped to the ship. The two exchanged nods as the aircraft started to lift off the air.

The ride wasn't going to be long. Not that they had much time in their hands anyway. They knew the virus could emerge again sooner, and what they didn't know was how much more Penny could fight the temptation to succumb. There were only the four of them to hold her back. Klein was busy piloting the ship, Willow was rusty in battle, and Whitley barely had combat experience. Just less than an hour ago, the nine of them almost weren't enough, if not for Penny's own self fighting it.

Penny closed her hands together. She tried not to think about the virus, but her awareness wouldn't dare linger to anything else than scanning her systems. The offender was still wreaking havoc in her code, and it took a great amount of her will to correct it. Thankfully, Blake and Yang's presence at each of her sides brought much comfort.

But Penny thought it didn't have to be like this. If only she didn't take the Maiden powers. If only she let Winter have this. Then maybe they wouldn't have been so divided. Then maybe she didn't need to heavily burden the group in trying to save her. Maybe their plans would have gone better. Maybe she would be with Pietro right now, telling him she's alive and alright. Maybe the Kingdom would have been safe now. If only...

If only she wasn't built that way.

The unpleasant words yelled at the back of her mind even louder than the virus that told her to open the vault and self-terminate. Every time the virus screamed, forcing her soul into chains, she desperately waded through the ropes of control within her consciousness. But more effective than it in washing her away was the voice that told her, it's because you're like that.

Penny was ready to believe that.

But the person who now knelt before her was not.

Two hands placed itself above hers. Even for a moment, for a little more, the terrible voice quieted as silver eyes looked at her, graced with a smile that encapsulated her in a feeling of safety. Penny relaxed and smiled back. Blake and Yang gave both Penny and Ruby a knowing look, standing up and huddling to another corner in the ship. Ruby sat beside Penny, hands still over hers.

“Hey,” Ruby softly said. Penny recalled the same tone from when they were in the Snowshoe warehouse. Despite the violations on her bodily control, she nonetheless felt a tug inside her. She didn’t want to get close to anyone just yet, but the urge was enough to have her lean slightly towards Ruby. The shorter girl wasted no time and wrapped one arm around her back, the other refusing to leave her folded hands.

“I’m… I’m scared, Ruby,” Penny admitted, her voice small and withdrawn.

“We’ll be there for you, Penny. I promise.”

Penny looked at Ruby, the worries drawn within her expression. “I...I always thought my... body was alright the way it is.”

"It is, Penny."

"But they-" Penny clenched her fists tight. "They're using my own body against me. Against my friends. Against my will." She gazed at her hands. "I wish I was enough."

Ruby pulled her closer. "You already are.”

Penny shut her eyes, trying to calm the voice that was resurging. She felt Ruby’s hand grip her waist tighter. As she opened her eyes, her gaze remained fixed on her hands. “But didn’t this all happen because… of this part of me? This part of me that I’ve already learned to... love?”

Ruby brushed her fingers up and down on Penny’s waist. “Sometimes… we all wish there were things about us that we could… replace. Or leave behind.” Penny just slightly missed the brief moment of hurt within Ruby’s eyes.“ Often that’s impossible. And we just accept that. Learn to live with it. Learn to see the bright side of it,” Ruby stared distantly to the side. “But there are also things... we can’t carry forever. Sometimes, these things we choose to carry... they slowly destroy us,” Ruby looked at Penny. “Then we have to make a choice. The choice to let go.” 

Penny’s shoulders dropped. Ever since she reawakened in her new body, assigned to watch over Mantle day and night, the thought never left. As time passed, the exploitability of her nature perpetually knocked from the back of her mind, lying within the grim memories when she learned about the Fall of Beacon. She always knew her body was a liability. She knew that, maybe in the end -- the multiple swords of Floating Array, the multifunctionality of her hands, the speed at which she can adjust to threats, the X-ray vision, the special functions of her eyes, the flight ability her father had gifted her, the things she loved about herself, the things that were part of herself -- will be something she would have to let go. She knew that one day, perhaps, she will be forced to fight her friends against her will. And that everything she feared would happen. 

She just didn’t expect it so soon.

“I do not want any more of this, Ruby. If… if this body will no longer reflect who I am, then...” Penny searched for silver eyes, for her comfort. “What will be left of me?”

“Everything you truly are.” Ruby wrapped her in a warm, full embrace. Penny didn’t understand what warmth was except for what she had associated them with. But nevertheless she felt it. She felt it in her soul.

And with that, Penny hoped her soul was enough.

The wrecked underside of the Vault was coming into view. The crimson sky had already turned into a dusty orange, and the sun seemed brighter than ever. Blake and Yang were at her side once more, helping her to her feet.

With one last look at her torn gloves, she bid farewell to the things she loved.

[rwbyremnants]

WARNINGS: FREEZERBURN: alcohol, skinny dipping, outdoor sex.

So there's been a lot going on with me. Not all of it good, not all of it bad; I won't bog you down with all the details. But I am glad to be getting back to work here! More fanfics coming soon, I promise!

=Chapter 35

The first thing Blake did the next morning was draw a bath and follow through on her promise. Weiss jokingly offered to “help” and received a glare of blistering death for her trouble.

Delicious smells lured her downstairs while waiting for the bathroom to free up. Kali made an incredible breakfast for the four of them, and her mother looked delighted with the spread - and she had a suspicion they had been working on it together for at least an hour. It was sweet and domestic… even if strange that two women were so domestic together.

Not that they were together together. Just cohabitating.

That sounded even worse in her head.

“Morning, sweetie,” Willow greeted her with a little wave, sipping her coffee. “How did you sleep?”

“Not… as well as I hoped,” she admitted truthfully as she dropped into her chair. “New room and everything. But that will probably get better soon.”

Kali arrived to set down a platter of bacon - a full platter of it, overflowing and sizzling. “Blake didn’t keep you up too late, did she?” The eye that Willow couldn’t see winked at her playfully, and Weiss was glad she hadn’t started eating yet or she might have choked.

“No,” she told her stubbornly.

“Good. I noticed when I looked in on you that the two of you were snug as bugs in a rug.”

While Weiss was busy trying not to blush - and ignoring the smirk that lingered on the other woman’s face - her mother was cooing, “Aww, that’s just the most precious thing! I felt so sad when you agreed one of you would sleep downstairs… that’s no way for two young girls to get along.”

“Mmm,” Weiss hedged as she tried her own coffee. Not that she made a habit of drinking it.

“Well, they were all wrapped up in each other when I saw them,” Kali commented casually as she finally sat, the breakfast spread complete. “Makes a mother proud.”

“A mother like you, yes.”

Her eyes danced as she raised her own cup to her lips. “I don’t follow.”

“Suuuuure you don’t.” Then she turned to smile at her mother. “How did you sleep? Does Mrs. Belladonna hog the covers?”

“No, not at all,” she reported pleasantly. “She was… this was the first good night’s sleep I’ve had in years that wasn’t because I was too drunk to wake up. Sleeping beside Jacques made that impossible; sorry, Weiss.”

“Don’t apologise to me! I know how awful he’s been, and… and I’m glad we’re away.” She didn’t sound completely convincing. What she really wanted was for her father to be a good person, to treat his family with respect and affection instead of trying to rule them with an iron fist. But that wasn’t in the cards.

“I’m glad you are, too,” Kali put in, abandoning her teasing to reach over and pat Willow’s arm. “This might be temporary, but I would be alright with hosting you indefinitely. Anything to protect you from that.”

It wasn’t clear if “that” was Jacques or from the situation. Either one worked. Weiss decided to let them have their moment of comfort and camaraderie, and focused on tucking into her breakfast.

Nearly an hour passed before Blake joined them, and she was freshly-scrubbed and in a pleasant mood. Weiss caught her eye and smiled, and she rolled her eyes, trying to avoid confronting what they both knew had taken place in that tub.

“Sorry for taking so long,” she sighed. “We’re probably gonna be late for school.”

“Probably. But I think it’s alright after yesterday.” As Blake nodded sleepily, picking at the cold breakfast, Weiss added in a casual tone, “So apparently, you were snuggling me again this morning. You’re a clingy sleeper, I guess.”

Blake paused with the rasher of bacon halfway to her lips, eyes wide.

“It was like a Rockwell painting,” Kali teased with a smirk playing around her lips. That only made Blake’s cheeks flush even brighter. “I wish I had a photograph of you two, all cozy like that.”

“Mom…”

“Aww, me too,” Willow added, and Weiss giggled. They were all going a bit overboard teasing Blake, but it was fair play after Blake had been so heated about their parents spending “too much” time together. And besides, this teasing was all in good fun; everyone knew she was dating Yang and unavailable.

“Do you want me to have breakfast here or not?”

“Alright, alright,” Kali chuckled. “Sit down and eat before I have to tan your hide like I used to.”

“OKAY, MOM! ENOUGH!”

----------------------

Eventually, they made their way to school. It felt a little odd to be riding on Blake’s bike instead of Yang’s - especially after how close they got during the dead of night. Someday, she would have to get her own bike… but that day was going to be in the far future at the rate they were going.

Her family was penniless. Jacques Schnee no longer counted as her family as far as she was concerned; Whitley was debatable. But she and her mother were destitute, forced to depend on the kindness of a family friend to keep from winding up in the gutter. It was a bleak future. Still, at least they were alive and healthy, and had a network of strong women around them. Might as well keep her eyes on the horizon and try to make the best of a bad situation.

“Hey, uh… watch where those hands are going, Schnee.”

“They’re not going anywhere weird!” she protested, redoubling her grip around Blake’s stomach. “I have to hold on, don’t I?”

She sighed impatiently as they came to a stop at an intersection. “Yes, but you keep moving them around! And you almost grabbed my boob a couple of blocks back!”

“Oh, you’re exaggerating.”

“I am not!”

Things continued in that way all the way to the school - good-natured bickering over where the boundaries of propriety lay when they were both forced to be so close to each other. They dismounted and greeted the other Dragons with waves and smiles. Emerald was there, even though Cinder wasn’t quite recovered enough to be discharged - mostly according to Cinder, of course.

But Yang seemed to have something up her sleeve. A paper bag was clutched in one hand that was a lot larger than one for lunch, and must have been quite unwieldy to carry all the way there while driving a motorcycle.

“You bringing lunch for everybody?” Coco chuckled.

“Sit on it, Adel.” Her eyes swivelled to find Weiss, who took a step away from Blake on instinct. That was stupid; they hadn’t done anything wrong. Or at least, not while conscious.

“Hey,” Weiss said with a slight smile.

“Hiya. Wanna talk to you.”

Dread flared in the pit of her stomach. “Oh?” But when Yang opened the bag and pulled out a large bouquet of flowers, she felt the dread turn into butterflies. “Ohhhh… what’s this for?”

“For you. I, um, I wanted to ask… if you maybe… wanna go with me to the homecoming dance?”

The other Dragons sent up a chorus of wolf-whistles and cheers, punctuated with laughter, and Yang grimaced as if fighting down a blush. Weiss did feel a little embarrassed, as well, but mostly she was beyond pleased that she had been asked at all. Though one or two boys had asked before she went to the hospital, they were turned down flat - she didn’t want to lead them on, especially if they had zero chance of progressing past a polite dance.

Speaking of people with no chance…

“I’m happy for you two,” Blake said with a fairly convincing smile, clapping for them along with the rest. Weiss knew she wasn’t happy, but that she was at the same time; she would have to give her an extra hug later. “And for the extra steamy time you two are going to have in the locker room that night.”

“What?” Weiss asked in some surprise. “Steamy time? Why would we go to the locker room?!”

It was Coco who answered, smile casual and bemused. “Well, the gym is where the dance happens. And the locker room is right off the gym… and nobody will be thinking about two girls necking in there when they’re so busy watching for boy-girl couples. So…”

Weiss and Yang exchanged a bashful glance. It was the surprised princess who said, “Oh.”

“Don’t sweat it,” Emerald snorted, elbowing Coco. It seemed that now the dust had all settled, and she realised how hard Weiss had been trying to help everyone instead of actively setting things on fire, she was back to regarding her as something resembling a friend. “You two could just have a good time sock-hopping and then neck afterward. Don’t let Adel talk you into anything.”

“I’m not!” Coco protested, hands on her hips. “Just want everybody to have the best time possible. And we could all have it in the locker room.”

Blake squinted at her. “Will you stop trying to get that to happen? Nobody’s buying what you’re selling.”

“What?” Weiss asked in some confusion.

“Don’t worry about it,” Yang sighed in annoyance. But when Weiss still looked confused, she relented. “Oh, Coco wants to try a, uh… ‘petting party’ kind of thing. Been trying to talk us all into it ever since that night some of us tried Velvet on for size - which was a completely random situation! And we’re not all loose women like you are!”

Coco scowled. “Hey, I’m not ‘loose’; I am highly selective about who I pet and who gets to pet me. I just so happen to think all of you qualify, that’s all.”

The penny finally dropped, and Weiss held up a hand. “Wait, wait - are you talking about… about all of us having sex in the same room?!”

“I’m talking about all of us having sex with each other.” She glanced at Yang’s glower and rolled her eyes. “It was an idea, Xiao Long. Cool it. Pardon me for wanting to give my girl a big sendoff, okay?”

Velvet was already flushing scarlet. “Y-you do remember that I felt awful after the last time, don’t you? It w-wasn’t anyone’s fault, but…”

Her hands came to rest on Velvet’s shoulders, caressing up and down to soothe the timid little bunny. “Cinder’s fault, a little bit. But you’ve come a long way, baby. Like I said, I’m only interested if anyone else is; they aren’t, so I’ll drop it.”

“Thanks,” Yang sighed, reaching over to knock her shoulder gently. “Sorry, I’m just kinda… I dunno. Not really into that whole thing, and not into making Weiss try it on for size when she’s so green.”

Conflicting feelings rose up in Weiss at those words. She was very slightly irritated at Yang speaking on her behalf… but also found it satisfying. Yang was so protective, and always looking out for her interests. It was nice.

“Me, either,” Blake said, looking between Yang and Weiss. “Though it could be fun, it could also be really strange - and make all of us feel ooky afterward. Let’s just not and say we did.”

Then they heard the bell ring. “Back to the salt mines,” Coco sighed as they made their way toward the building. “Let’s go, spoilsports.”

But Weiss saw Blake looking morose as they moved off. She wanted to ask why, but decided it would keep until later.

----------------------

And later arrived.

“What do you mean by that?”

Shrugging in a would-be nonchalant way, Weiss leaned her elbows back against the china cabinet in the Belladonna dining room. “Nothing. I’m simply asking if it’s really alright if she-”

“What else am I supposed to do?” Blake shot at her tiredly. She looked as if she had just run a marathon, merely because of Weiss asking the question. “You two can’t walk on eggshells around me all the time. It’s better if I start getting used to you going around together. Like I have been trying to do. For weeks.”

“But we didn’t know you were swooning over Yang when we started! Now we do- or I mean, at least I do, and we don’t have to-”

“Hey, come on. Cut that out. I’m not a baby, I can handle myself.”

“I never said you were a baby!”

“No, but you implied that I-”

“Girls, girls,” Kali laughed as she edged through the kitchen door with a meatloaf sizzling in the pan, caught between her oven mitts. “What’s all this commotion?”

Sounding even more petulant than she looked, Blake turned away and muttered, “Nothing.”

“Sounds familiar,” Weiss muttered herself.

Blake’s mother rolled her eyes. “Well, it sure is a whole lot of noisy nothing. Come on, it’s time for dinner.”

So they ate. It was a nice meal, and both Blake and Weiss could let the matter drop for the time being, instead focusing on tales from school, and Kali’s work. Willow tried to participate as best she could, but her day had consisted of either sitting around or crying, so she mostly kept her silence while encouraging the others to go into detail about their stories.

“Your mom’s nice,” Blake admitted later when they were doing the dishes.

“What?” she gasped theatrically. “Can this be? Blake complimenting a Schnee?”

“A one-time event, you jerk. But… yeah, I’m…” Handing another dish over to be dried, she relented completely. “I’m even more sorry now about telling you to stop setting her up with my mom. Especially since…”

Weiss waited a few seconds before prompting her, “Since?”

“Since you might be right. They’re close, but I haven’t seen ‘sparks’. Just two good friends, and someone your mom needs to lean on. My mom needs more companionship her age, too.”

“To keep her from trying to get the baby Dragons into bed.”

“Yeah.” They both chuckled, and Blake smiled fondly at her. It was a real, honest-to-goodness fond smile, and it was directed at Weiss. She seemed to realise it a moment later because her eyes snapped down to the dishes and she scrubbed a little harder than was necessary. “You dodged a bullet there.”

“Oh? And how did I do that? You saying your mother isn’t good company?”

“No, I’m saying she’s too good company. And she doesn’t really do… monogamy. As in, ever since Dad died and Raven cut her out of her life…” Discomfort crept into her eyes. “Maybe I shouldn’t be saying this stuff about my mom. It’s probably not nice.”

“I won’t tell her, I promise.”

“Well, okay. It’s just that I’ve never seen her get serious about any woman. Raven, she might have, but we’ll never know now because of how everything hit the fan. Any other girl she’s played with has just been that: playing. Like a toy a little kid forgets about two days after it comes out of Santa’s stocking.”

Frowning down at the dish she was still drying long after it had been cleared of water, Weiss set it down. “That’s really… sad. I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for? You didn’t kill my father or make Yang’s mom a bitch.”

“Blake!” she gasped, but Blake only let out a cruel little titter. “Good golly, you can’t call her that - she’s an adult, and she’s-”

“A bitch,” she repeated firmly. “If anyone deserves that word, it’s Raven Branwen. And you know I’m right.”

“Maybe. Still not very nice - especially when we both know she's been trying harder lately.”

Amber eyes rolled toward the ceiling. “You're such a goody two shoes. But… I guess that's not such a terrible thing.”

Weiss tried not to let her smile look too overly pleased as they went back to washing.

----------------------

The weekend finally arrived. Even though everything with her father still loomed over her head like a black cloud, establishing a routine at the Belladonna household definitely helped both Weiss and her mother regain some sense of normalcy. The single bathroom tended to be a bit more clogged with four women always vying for its attentions, and Kali had to adjust her recipes to be a bit larger, but they were all such relatively easy fixes and everyone seemed more than ready to try.

That said, she still felt a bit grateful when Yang showed up out of the blue on her motorcycle, commanding her to hop on. Waving to the two mothers, she slipped on her jacket and headed out the door.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise!”

“Why so many surprises lately?!”

“That’s a surprise, too!” But the gales of laughter that floated out of the blonde afterward told her that she was just playing around. As usual.

Once they got out of the city, Weiss began to truly worry, but they didn’t go much further until they crested a hill and a beautiful meadow stretched out before them in the late morning sunlight. Yang quickly guided the cycle toward a little copse of trees along the side of a lake and around it, leaving them mostly shielded from the road. Only the lake lay out before them.

“Hey, what is this?” Weiss asked with a little smile as the driver took off her helmet. “Either we’re going fishing, or…?”

“Got the answer riiiight here.” Yang reached into the copse and pulled out… a picnic basket.

“Huh?!”

Still wearing that coy little smile of hers, she carried it a little ways from the trees and opened the top, pulling out a chequed blanket and spreading it over the ground. “Well, it feels like I don’t get to see you all that much lately. Lot of crazy stuff happening. Plus if we don’t do it now, it’ll be too cold to do stuff like this pretty soon. Wanted to have a picnic with you while we could.”

Heart melting, she quickly flitted over to Yang’s side and leaned up to peck her on the cheek. “Awwww!”

“Alright, alright,” she giggled. “Help me get everything set up. Grab a couple of rocks from the pond, willya?”

Weiss complied, and Yang used the rocks to anchor the corners of the blanket against any winds that might try to upset their little lunch. One at a time, she began to take out little Tupperware containers of various foods.

“How long have you been planning this?”

“Just since last night,” she told her, popping one of the containers open. It was full of ambrosia - Jell-O mixed with marshmallows and nuts. She closed it again and reached for a different one. “I dunno, I really wanted to do something. You were pleased as punch about me taking you to homecoming, which is great, but… it kinda reminded me that everything’s been so wild around here lately. We need to fix that.”

“We definitely do.” She snuggled into Yang’s side as she retrieved chicken salad, a loaf of bread, a wedge of cheese. Then the last item emerged and Weiss gasped, “Yang!”

“What?” she laughed, reaching back in for a corkscrew. “I mean, we won’t be driving again for a few hours. Besides… I really want this to be a real date.”

Smiling even as she rolled her eyes, Weiss helped hold the bottle steady while Yang opened it. “We don’t need wine for it to be a real date. But… I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. I’m just not as much of a fan lately.”

“Yeah…” She shrugged as the cork popped out and she tossed it and the screw back into the basket. “I know, your mom and all. But we’re not her, and it’s not the wine’s fault. That was just… y’know. How she dealt with things. But I can pour it out if you-”

“No, no,” she cut Yang off quickly, kissing her cheek to reassure her. “I want to share this with you. All of it.”

So they set about making themselves little sandwiches, hacking the bread and cheese up with the knife she packed. Yang kicked off her boots, and Weiss followed suit by shedding her saddle shoes. They laughed and ate and talked, mostly about school and Dragons business. A little about their parents and Blake, but those subjects were a tad touchier so they didn’t dwell nearly so much.

By the time they were into the ambrosia, passing the spoon back and forth, they had reached the topic of Ruby and Qrow. Though Yang wasn’t thrilled with it, she was a little too inebriated from the wine to put up much of a fight.

“You’re totally right,” she admitted begrudgingly after swallowing. “I should maybe try not to be so… so mad, I guess. And I’m already trying with Ruby! Isn’t that enough?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t. Just that you could try… getting along with Qrow, see if he’s open to starting over. He’s family, right?”

“My uncle. Doesn’t make him a good person. Enough,” she cut Weiss off before she could protest as she set the bowl down, hands on her hips as she stared out over the lake. “Promise I’ll try harder, okay? But I don’t wanna think about that right now. I want… to swim.”

Weiss was still blinking in surprise when she saw Yang tossing her jacket aside, then reaching for the waistline of her jeans. “Swim? But… neither of has bathing suits.”

“Sure don’t,” she told her, casting a wicked little grin over her shoulder as she pushed them down to her ankles, taking the socks with them. Her bare, firm ass was on display.

“YANG!”

“Come on, nobody’s around for miles. That house on the other side of the lake? It’s abandoned. Everybody moved into Vale, or down the road the other way.” Her hands unbuttoned her blouse the rest of the way and dropped it to rest in a pile with the other clothing, leaving her wearing nothing but a bra and a foxlike expression. “Just us.”

Swallowing hard, she gazed up at the perfection that was Yang Xiao Long. That hourglass figure that was only strengthened by her formidable muscles, not diminished, and legs that seemed built both for kicking down doors and modelling pantyhose at the same time. “Wowee…” Then she pushed to her feet as well. “Want some help with that?”

“Yeah, I would.” Weiss made quick work of the clasp as Yang asked, “Does that mean you’re gonna join me?”

Heart leaping into her throat, she was quick to hiss, “What?! NO! Jeepers, I couldn’t- I mean, out here in the- I would be naked!”

“That’s the idea, Schnee,” she laughed as she turned, displaying everything God had given her to the nervous paper shaker. “Let’s get you out of that dress.”

“But…” Her cheeks were already flushed from the wine, and they only got worse. “W-well… did you even bring a towel?”

“Nah. We can dry in the sun; there ain’t a cloud in the sky.”

Chewing her lip, she looked around at the lakeshore again. She was right; the only house she could spot was very far away, and looked like it had half-crumbled. “Ohhh… I… alright, but…”

Yang stepped on the toes of Weiss’s socks, reaching up to hold her shoulders. “Go on.” She walked backward out of them, trying not to giggle at the slightly ticklish sensation of their toes fighting with each other. The minute she was barefoot, Yang reached down to the hem of her dress and whispered, “Are you ready? I’ll only do it if you say ‘yes’. Not gonna throw you in the water if you don’t want me to.”

“Fine, go on,” she sighed irritably, and Yang laughed as she helped her out of it. Hands roamed instead of assisting with her underwear, so she swatted Yang’s shoulder. “Cad.”

“Hey! I’m allowed to do a little heavy petting with my own girlfriend!”

“Is that in the rules somewhere?” They both chuckled a little as Yang finally did unclasp Weiss’s little bra. She always felt so self-conscious when their chests were on display to each other, since hers was so much smaller, but Yang didn’t seem to mind at all. “I can’t believe we’re skinny dipping, I feel so childish…”

“Really? Because you look like a real woman to me.”

Pleased more than she wanted to let on, Weiss pursed her lips to keep from grinning and finally stepped out of her panties. Yang had already seen her, after all - it just wasn’t in such a public setting. “Okay, there. Let’s get in the water so I don’t feel like such a… a degenerate!”

“Wow, touchy,” she chuckled as she stuffed the clothing into the basket. Then she turned and scooped Weiss up in one fluid motion.

“HEY!”

“Okay, so,” she began as she took long strides toward the water, “I may have told one teensy… little… FIB!”

Then she tossed Weiss into the water.

“AAAAH!” she cried out. “IT’S COLD!”

“Too bad, Schnee!” she cackled, beyond pleased with herself. Of course, it wasn’t particularly deep there, so it only took a few seconds of floundering and sputtering for her to get her feet under her and stand up, shivering and glaring daggers at where Yang was wading in, taking her sweet time.

“I’LL SHOW YOU!” she shouted - as she tugged her down into the water with her.

“No fair!” Yang shouted, though she was already laughing. Of course it wouldn’t work quite as well on her - she might have known.

The two paddled around for a few minutes, just laughing and splashing. Weiss had to admit she was having a lot of fun; both because of the whole trip, and because it was such a bold and obscene thing to do. Her mother would have kittens if she knew! Yang’s mother probably would even have something to say about it, about how foolish it was to let down their guard that way, even if she didn’t care about the nudity part. It was quite freeing, having nothing between her body and the water, even though it also felt unsettling having it ripple past certain sensitive areas.

“So,” Yang asked some time later - she couldn’t be sure how much. “Great idea, or greater idea?”

Shaking her head, she muttered, “So full of yourself” before pushing at Yang’s head. The blonde only laughed more. “But… okay, this is fun. Next time, I think I would prefer a bikini, even if you don’t think we needed one.”

“Awww, but I like knowing I get to do this whenever I want,” she purred, reaching out to poke Weiss’s nipple. She recoiled instantly, covering her chest. “Hah!”

“Don’t do that!” To retaliate, she did the same, and Yang also let out a little gasp before laughing. “See how it feels?!”

Biting her lip, she fluttered her eyelashes before whispering, “Feels pretty good. Do it again.”

“No.”

“Come on…” Unable to stay mad, a smile escaped Weiss’s guard as she poked a second time. “Oooh… you really have the Midas touch.”

Drifting a little closer, she began to caress over Yang’s ample bosom more earnestly, and saw the shift in the taller girl’s expression. The playfulness remained but muted, moved to behind a wall of pure lust. Her other hand grazed past the Dragons brand in the center of her chest on its way to the other breast, grazing over the erect nipple - as if they could be anything other than erect in such frigid waters. This felt like a terrible idea but she couldn’t help herself around Yang sometimes.

“O-okay,” Yang said with a shaky little laugh. “Maybe… we should take to this to the shore.”

“What’s the matter?” she teased, grinning at being the pursuer instead of the pursued for once. “Thought this was the whole idea.”

Shoving her hands off, Yang grinned wolfishly. “Giving me a run for my money, Schnee. Nah… I really did want to swim with you.”

That made her feel all warm inside, despite the chill on her skin. “And I’m having a great time.” She pulled her in for a deep kiss, hands ghosting up her back. It felt weird with their legs swirling around each other in the water, feeling wet skin slip and dimple under her fingertips, but it was oddly wonderful. New and beautiful and full of magic.

After another hour or so, they paddled back to the shore and stretched out on the blanket. The sun beat down on them from almost directly overhead, warming their bare skin. She glanced down along Yang’s body, at her sizable mounds and the flat plane of her stomach, the thatch of golden hair that disappeared between her legs. Every once in a while, one of them would twitch their foot over to poke the nearest one of the other person, just as a way to check they were still there.

“How long did you want to hang around here?” Weiss finally whispered, as if not wanting to break the comfortable silence that had grown between them. The sounds of the birds overhead and the gentle lapping of the lake water demanded their attention.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have you home in time for Perry Mason. Or whatever you watch in Casa Belladonna now.”

“I used to watch What’s My Line? with Father. But now… I don’t know, it won’t be the same anymore. Even if I did try it.”

Yang’s hand drifted over to pet up and down Weiss’s trim little abdomen. “Sorry. I know you didn’t want life to turn out… well, like this. And it’s kinda my fault.”

“No!” she cried, rolling to face her. “Come on. I may have lost my father, but… I got my mother back. I’ve missed her so much! And even if I never met you, I’m sure something else I did would have set him off, and… and I would have had no big, strong Dragon to help protect me. You or the others. So… I mean, yes, I’ve had a few pity parties about the whole thing, but for the most part? This is for the best. Really.”

The smile on Yang's face told the whole story. She already felt the same way, but couldn't help the lingering guilt from flaring up since she had started her down this path of deviance and iniquity. She pressed a gentle kiss to Weiss's lips, pulling back to gaze down into her eyes.

“Love you.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered, reaching up to grasp her by the hair and yank her down for another kiss, and another.

It wasn't long before their nude bodies were entwined as their lips danced, enjoying the warmth and the familiarity. The warmth built until it blazed, thighs slipping between thighs and rubbing against where the heat seemed to be collecting. It always seemed like Yang's was much hotter than hers. The more their bodies shifted, the slicker the trails they left behind until it felt like they had never left the lake at all.

“Weiss…” Their lips only parted long enough for that one word to slip out, and yet it was enough to double the passion for the young Schnee, rolling to perch atop Yang's body as their hips began to slam harder and harder. That broke the kiss for good, as they were beginning to need more and more air to keep going. “Weiss!”

The few people who ever got to see the mighty Yang looking so open, so submissive and given over to her own pleasure, should count themselves lucky. Weiss certainly did.

Within a few more minutes, the two of them were completely spent and lying curled around each other, catching their breath. Nothing had changed while they let passion take over. Birds still chirped in the trees and circled overhead, and the water still moved, and the wind still stirred the blades of grass surrounding their little blanket-island.

“Okay, so…” Yang began petting up and down her stomach again. “This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I brought you up here.”

“Liar.”

“Really! I'd be lying if I said I wasn't secretly hoping for it, sure, but… I also just wanted to have a nice day with you after all the craziness.”

Chuckling lightly, Weiss leaned up to press her lips into Yang's cheek. “Mission accomplished. I've been having a great time. Whoopee or no whoopee.”

“Who still calls it ‘whoopee’?” she chortled, earning her a hearty pinch on her ribs. “OW! Hey, hey!”

----------------------

They took their sweet time in getting dressed and the picnic packed up. Partly because Yang kept trying to undress Weiss again, and she had to take time to swat her away - even though she spent the whole time grinning. It was exactly what the two of them needed after so much strife in their lives lately.

“Wish I didn’t have to call it a night already,” Yang said over the road noise as they got back into Vale proper. “But… I kinda promised myself I would.”

“Promised yourself?”

Yang looked a little awkward. Weiss loved seeing her that way; it made her feel less like the only fish out of water in their relationship. Seeing her girlfriend display some vulnerability reminded her that they were both human, both figuring things out as they went.

“Well… your mom has had a really rough time, y’know? I don’t want to keep you out until all hours and make her worry.”

“Oh…” Her lips turned up into a small, pleased smile. “Yang, I… I didn’t think you ever thought twice about my mom. Thank you. I mean, on her behalf. That’s really sweet of you.”

Looking somehow proud and embarrassed at the same time, she dipped her head slightly. “Awww, it’s nothing.”

“No, it isn’t.” She leaned forward and squeezed her girlfriend a little tighter. “You’re a real gem.”

However, when they turned the corner and saw someone waiting on the Belladonna lawn, their little bubble of happiness receded - not completely, but the confusion definitely intruded on their bliss.

“Ruby?” Yang asked the worried-looking girl when she arrived. “What are you doing here?”

Stepping forward, the diminutive little sister tried to speak, but it came out more like a squeak than a speak. “I’m s-s-sorry if this is a bad time… but… do you have a minute?”

[ex-vengeancedemon]

Averting Disasters and Other Ways to Avoid Your Problems

Chapter 4

Characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Mentions of things that occurred in Angel: The Series season 5.

Main Pairing: Buffy x Spike

Characters: Buffy, Spike, Giles, Willow, Xander, Andrew, Faith, Dawn

Summary: Set in 2008, five years after Spike’s resurrection at Wolfram & Hart. Buffy is living in Cleveland guarding the hellmouth. Spike has left Angel and company and is hiding out in Chicago. The Scoobies are scattered. When something starts going wrong with the slayers around the world, it’s time to get the gang back together.

Masterlist & Chapter 1

"Well it's not like I'm thrilled to see you either!" Spike retorted. "Always buggerin' up the works! What are you gonna do? Whine the slayer's sane?"

"How? What? How?" Xander stammered, blinking rapidly.

Xander seemingly hadn't changed much in the past 5 years. He was still as incompetent and irritating as ever. Although - Spike would admit - both he and Willow did look a bit older. Some might even say a bit haggard, like they hadn't slept right in a year or two. One thing was certain, the ponce's wardrobe hadn't improved a lick. Even Andrew had him beat there. Sad really.

"I'm sure there'll be plenty of time for interrogate the Spike later," Spike replied, waving a hand at him. "Maybe when we're not, say, dealing with a wave of off their nut slayers?"

"You were dead," Xander continued, pointing a finger at him.

"Yeah. And now I'm not. Of all people, you lot really shouldn't be so surprised. It's bloody impossible to stay dead around here."

The shock factor had yet to wear off. A more generous part of Spike's mind knew he couldn't really blame him. The only other person to come back from the grave was, well, Buffy. And people had wanted her back.

"Xander, later," Willow told him. "We need all the help we can get. Especially since we can't ask any of the slayers. It's just us on this one."

"And the librarian," Spike drawled.

"Where is Giles?" Xander asked, finally composing himself a bit.

"On his way." Willow stood up and dropped a book in his hands. Xander coughed as a plume of dust puffed up in his face. "Well?" Willow pressed. "What are you waiting for? Research won't do itself."

Xander took a seat at the table next to Andrew, noticeably at the furthest point away from Spike. Unsurprising really. Git had always had a chip on his shoulder. But, if they had to make due with non-slayers, he supposed Xander might not be... the worst. Although his arrival did beg the question of the one missing party.

"So where's everyone's favorite little ex-demon, eh?" Spike asked. "Anya retire from the Scoobies? She always was the smart one."

The table froze, the rustling of pages coming to an abrupt halt. No one made as if to answer and a grim silence descended over the room. Spike no longer needed their answer. It was clear from their faces. Anya was dead. Gone. Six feet under or what all.

Spike's sardonic demeanor vanished.

"How'd it happen?" he asked quietly.

Andrew sniffled a bit, wiping at his eyes. "She um... she saved me. She died during the attack. You know, at Sunnydale. Same as you."

Xander and Willow remained dry-eyed. Willow's eyes were downcast and she carefully avoided looking at anyone or anything in particular. Xander's face was hard, an uncommon sobriety plaguing his normally lighthearted countenance.

Xander scoffed and shook his head, the frown lines deepening on his face. "In what world is it fair that you come back, and she doesn't?"

"Only the twisted kind," Spike mumbled under his breath. He didn't think Xander heard.

"Xander, that's not really fair," Willow replied softly.

"Yeah. It damn well isn't," Xander snapped back.

A tense pause persisted before Andrew's shudder broke the silence. He had his head in his hands and looked like he was still grieving her all these years later. Guilt will do that to a person.

"I'm sorry," Spike said louder. "She was... well she was one of the good ones."

"She was," Willow seconded with a terse nod.

The room fell back into that uncomfortable silence that had started when Spike mentioned Anya's name. A moment of silence for you, our dearly departed. Buried beneath the rubble of Sunnydale. Gal deserved better. Who the bloody hell didn't?

While the rest of the gang continued with the barrels of books and the magic of boredom, Spike perused the magic shop's other wares. He had no idea what half of the junk did, and he was a bit wary to find out. With his luck, he'd go poking around and wind up a toad. 

He picked up a small golden mirror and almost dropped it when he noticed his reflection staring back at him. Only it wasn't him. It was the face of a decaying corpse, rotted through almost to the bone with sickening tufts of hair jutting out at random from his skull. The reflection had no nose or eyes, just gaping holes into the abyss with tendrils of black smoke slowly curling out. He hurriedly put the mirror back face down. Windows to the soul my ass. No more magic mirrors for this vampire.

Spike shook off the disturbing image and made his way over to the cash register in search of a quick distraction. Sitting neatly next to the register was a leather-bound book labeled "Bills of Sale". Had to be a ledger of sorts. Spike flipped through it and spotted Willow's name pop up more than a few times. She'd been quite the little Wicca since he'd been away. Giles' name cropped up a couple times as well. 'Course it did. And then his finger stopped on Buffy. It seemed she had ordered a few things from the mystical multi-dimensional magic shop from hell. 

It listed her address. Right there in Cleveland. It couldn't even be that far. Maybe ten kilometers.  

Spike glanced up at the gang. They seemed engrossed with their books and chatted sporadically amongst themselves. Part catch-up, part theory, part shared anxiety.

Andrew got up to pull another book from the shelf and Spike slipped out from behind the counter. He made as if to casually pass by the table - as he had done multiple times before already - just as Andrew turned back from the shelf. Spike rammed into Andrew's shoulder, causing him to drop his book.

"Watch it Watcher!" Spike snapped. "You'd think a Watcher would be better at watching where the hell they're going."

Spike continued to mutter under his breath as he walked away from Andrew's somewhat confused apologies. Spike smiled as he gripped the keys in his pocket. A lifetime of delinquency came in handy every now and again. Who was he kidding? It came in handy all the damn time.

***

Spike parked Andrew's car on the curb just outside of Buffy's house. At least, it was the house the address at the magic shop had listed. Dusk was just falling and Spike was sure the Scoobies had noticed his absence by now. He had only circled the block six times. Just to be sure. Hard to tell sometimes with... addresses. With specific house numbers. Maybe that six should really be a nine. Who knows? Could happen.

The house was small. Spike supposed it didn't need to be big if it was just Buffy living there. Seemed odd. Buffy living alone. In a city with none of her old mates. A lot had changed since he died. He wondered if anything had stayed the same.

Lawn looked like it could use a mow. It was a bit unkempt and probably angered some suburban Homeowners Council or what all. But the rest of the house looked nice. All cookie-cutter with that early 90s retro-chic vibe. Bloody hell. Now he was just stalling, examining the bloody architecture.

Spike took a breath and opened the door of the car. The neighborhood wasn't busy and the streetlights had just come on. He made his way up the concrete walk to the front door. Moment of truth. 

He rapped on the door and waited for what felt like an eternity. Maybe she wasn't home. Then he heard a shuffling from behind the door. Finally, the door opened, and there she stood. Radiant.

"Buffy," Spike said, barely managing to get the name out.

Seeing her again, alive and standing in front of him, was so much better than revisiting the memories. It struck him that her face had started to fade from his memory the way a worn picture does when you carry it around in a wallet for years. And a picture is nothing compared to the real thing. A shadow of a person. Less than a flat, lifeless imitation.

She gave him a puzzled look, her brows furrowing together in a familiar way. "Spike. What the hell is going on?"

He finally noticed the blood that soaked the front of her shirt and the disarray of her hair. Mud coated her bare feet and a deep gash ran up her calf. Spike could smell the blood. It seemed old. Something was very wrong here.

"Come in," Buffy said, stepping aside to let him pass.

Spike hesitantly stepped across threshold. She pulled him the rest of the way inside and slammed the door shut behind him, immediately jumping over to the window and peaking out behind the curtains at the street as if she thought he might have been tailed. It wasn't exactly the reception he had been expecting.

"Spike, what's going on?" Buffy asked, whirling on him. "Where am I? How'd I get here?"

Spike glanced around, looking for any clues as to what might be causing this bout of frenzied panic. To no avail. The inside of the house looked just fine. Not very lived in. Bare bones. No overturned furniture, no broken glass. Some muddy footprints. But overall, fine.

"You're in Cleveland," Spike said slowly. "Remember?"

Buffy shook her head, becoming more agitated. "Why? Does this have something to do with The First? We need to get back to Sunnydale, now."

[fxkthatdairy]

Panic Room Chapter Seven: How To Save A Life~ Grayson Dolan

Overview: In the year 2020, to solve the problem of overpopulation. Selected few are thrown into the PANIC ROOM simulation. If the person finds their soulmate in the simulator and manages to survive, they are able to rejoin the rest of the population. If they fail they will become a victim of the PANIC ROOM. What happens when (Y/N) gets thrown in the PANIC ROOM? Will she survive? Or will she fall victim to the simulation?

Warnings: Mentions of death, depression, angst, violence

                                               (Y/N)’s POV

It’s been a week since Grayson woke up from his nightmare after we made love for the first time and he hasn’t been the same. He’s been very territorial and he won’t even really talk to me verbally, the only responses I can really get out of him are yes, no, I don’t know, and Goodnight. At night is the only time he’ll actually touch me and it’s only to hold my body so close to him that I feel like I’m suffocating. Don’t get me wrong, I would normally enjoy him holding me and I do but not when he’s been so distant and won’t let me know what’s wrong. He still hasn’t told me anything about his nightmare and when I try to bring it up, he pushes me away. I began to feel as he was only pretending to put up with me because he has too.

                                              Grayson’s POV

I know I’ve been distant and I know it’s killing (Y/N) but I just can’t. I feel emotionally numb and I don’t want to drag her into it. For the past week, I’ve been collecting the puzzles throughout the area and bringing them back. I don’t want (Y/N) to know so I hide them every night and once she falls asleep, I pull them out and try to figure them out. I’ve figured a few out but the rest is so damn difficult, I end up getting so frustrated that I just put them away and try to fall back asleep. I haven’t been sleeping much lately because I’m so terrified of losing her, I’m scared that if I go to sleep for a long period of time, that something or someone would take her away from me. So I will sacrifice all my hours of sleep trying to solve these damn puzzles to try and get us out of here. But then again a small part of me is begging me to tell (Y/N) how I truly feel and tell her about everything that’s been going on from the dream to the puzzles but I push that away and decide to stay secluded. I was sitting outside with one of the puzzles trying to figure it out, when (Y/N) walked out. I tried to quickly shove it under my thigh, hopefully, she didn’t see anything or wouldn’t bring it up.

                                                   (Y/N)’s POV

I walked outside to check on Grayson and to try and talk to him for what seemed to be the millionth time. I wasn’t going to give up until it killed me because it honestly was killing me slowly watching him seclude himself.

“Hey Gray, what were you doing?” I asked curiously as I approached him. I saw him stick something quickly under his thighs, in an attempt to hide whatever he had from me.

“Nothing, I’m just sitting here,” he said in a monotone voice that broke my heart. This was the voice of the man I love but not his tone, not the tone that could make me smile just from hearing it.

“Don’t lie to me Grayson, please, you’re killing me. Something hasn’t been the same since the night you had your nightmare. You’ve been shutting me out, Grayson. You’ve been silent and you’ve been secretive. The only time you touch me is to hold me at night till you think I fall asleep and then you leave. So tell me the truth Grayson, what is going on? Do you not love me anymore? Am I too much of a damn burden? Just please tell me something and stop leaving me in the dark because it’s killing me, Gray, I love you.” I said as tears began to well up in my eyes.

“No, no, god no don’t ever think that I don’t love you or that you’re a burden because you’re not (y/n) if anyone’s the burden it’s me. I love you so much, so much that I can’t take the thought of losing you. In my nightmare, I was restricted and I couldn’t escape. This dark man had you, my mom, Ethan, and Cameron all tied up and he killed everyone slowly and made me watch but when he got to you he made it agonizingly slow. You called out to me and I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t keep my promise. I watched your life leave your eyes and it crushed me. When I woke up, I knew I had to get us out of here because the longer we stayed in here, the higher my risk was to lose you. God, we only get one soulmate in our lives and your mines and if I lose you, god if I lose you, I wouldn’t know how to live because you’re my oxygen, my blood, my reason to live, and my everything. So I shut down, I didn’t want you to know these because I didn’t want you to worry about me. (Y/N) I think I found how we get out of this place. These puzzles have been hidden and I think I’ve gathered all of ours and I’ve been able to solve a few of them but they others I’ve struggled. I’ve been trying to solve these every night because my body wouldn’t let me sleep because I felt if I slept for long periods of time something bad would happen to you and I can’t let that happen. I love you so much and I’m so sorry I’ve shut you out.” He said through the tears that were falling from his tired eyes. I was so worried about him not loving me, I failed to notice the bags that were forming heavily under his eyes. My heart broke. He had been struggling for a whole week and I was so stubborn I didn’t even offer help sooner. I wiped away a stray tear and sat on the ground next to him. I pulled his head to my chest and ran one hand through his hair and the other rubbed his back soothingly as his body shook from his cries.

“I’m so sorry, my love. I’m sorry you’ve felt this way but I swear to you Gray, that I’m not leaving you. I will fight like hell to make sure I will survive for you. Grayson I need you to be open with me, I love you so much and seeing you in such a depressive state, killed me. Grayson, I know everything is scary right now and I know we are fighting to survive but we’ve got this. We are stronger together than we are apart. I’m so glad you found these puzzles, now let me help you solve them. I was the expert puzzle solver growing up. We have to stay together if we are going to make it but before we even attempt to try and solve a puzzle, you and I are going to pick up everything out here, go back to the tent and you are going to sleep and if I have to stay awake to make sure you sleep I will.” I said as I kissed his forehead. He leaned up and kissed me gently on the lips.

“Whatever you say, Angel, I love you more than you’ll ever know. Thank you for helping me my love,” he said and stood up, grabbing the puzzle. I grabbed his hand and we walked back to the tent and he put the puzzle with the rest of the puzzles. I laid down and told him to lay down beside me. I pulled his head to my chest and massaged his scalp softly and rubbed my hand gently around his back. I felt his breathing start to slow down and his eyes started to flutter shut. Once I thought he was completely asleep, I tapped his shoulder to see if he would respond and he didn’t which made me happy. He deserved sleep, he was so worried about me that he didn’t take care of himself which in a bad way was really sweet. I just wished he had taken care of himself. For the next few hours, I watched his back rise up and down with every breath that he took, I admired every single facial feature he had from his sharp jaw to his bushy eyebrows and plump lips. I admired the facial hair that had grown on his face over the past two weeks that we had been trapped in this simulator. My thoughts then drifted to my mother. I missed her dearly and I hope she’s doing fine. I can’t wait to get out of this hell hole and see her again. I can’t wait to get out of here and spend the rest of my life with Grayson and see his family again. I knew we would get out, we just had to figure out those puzzles. So I reached over and grabbed one and silently solved it and then another and another until Grayson slowly began to wake up.

“Gray, I’ve almost solved them all, they seem to be giving directions on where to go. Maybe this is our way out. We just have a few more to solve and we could possibly be free at last.” I said as I kissed him gently on the lips. He smiled and pulled me into him.

“God, you’re so smart angel, You amaze me every day, now let’s solve these puzzles.” He said and we got started hard at work until we had all the puzzles laid out in order completely solved.

“Look they tell us exactly how to get there. We have to follow the river and take a right at the willow tree and follow the trail, make two lefts and a right and we should be at a door and this is the code. We could get out baby we could go and start our lives.” I said excitedly as I kissed him. We began to pack up all of our stuff and head on the trail beside the river, hand in hand we walked. The sunset and we continued to walk letting the moonlight guide us through the night.

Third Person POV

The two walked alongside the river, watching around so that they didn’t get attacked. They had made sure to pack up everything in case this turned out to be a hoax and they carried it on their backs. When they approached the willow tree, they made a right turn just as the clues had said. They then began to realize how oddly quiet it was as if nobody was around, empty tents were scattered everywhere. It couldn’t be possible that they were the last two alive. They just continued on following the directions they were given by the clues. After making two left turns and a right, they stood in front of a tall black wall. You could see the outline of the door and the keypad. Grayson approached the door and grabbed the clue with the numbers.

“Are you ready baby?” He asked (Y/N) as he went to type in the password.

“Hell yeah, let’s get the fuck out of this place,” she said with a smile as he typed in the password.

The doors opened........

———————————————————————

CLIFFHANGER! I’m sorry I had to do it. This chapter also is slightly shorter I'm sorry. Chapter seven is done! I hope you guys enjoy this series as much as I enjoy writing it. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on how the series is going so far. As always let me know if you have any requests, concepts, or blurbs. Part eight will probably be up in the next few days. Part eight and nine of The Principals Office should be up within the next couple of days as well. I’m going to focus a little more on my Principal’s Office series because I have greats ideas. I’m also going to be writing imagines soon so send in requests 😊 Love you guys 🥺😊💛

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[littlemisssquiggles]

Hey, what if Willow Schnee (a.k.a. Ice Queen Mom) actually becomes the Winter Maiden? I mean, it's unlikely, she isn't the youngest... But still. It is worth a thought. Or hey... Wait. Even better: what if Neo disguises as Winter and gets a hold of the Winter Maiden powers like that somehow? Aaaaaaah, may I ask you to comment on these thoughts?

Hiya Mizu. Apologies for the late response. Hmm, while I like your theory, I’m not so sure about Willow Schnee ever becoming the Winter Maiden though. For me, I always figured that Willow’s key role for the Atlas Arc was assisting Weiss in reconnecting with her grandfather: Nicholas Schnee—the original founder of the Schnee Dust Company.

However, some RWBY theorists have mentioned that the RWBY Theme: Path to Isolation hinted that Nicholas Schnee passed away prior to the main story. This bummed me out a bit since I was hoping for us to at least get a glimpse of ole St. Nick. Perhaps even have Weiss learn of her grandfather’s true location and go in search of him with her mother’s help in hopes of convincing him to reclaim the Schnee Dust Company from her father.

But with Nick believed to be deceased, this leaves his daughter—-Mama Schnee a.k.a Willow as the closest thing to a true heir that Nick had. If anything, my hopes now is that Jacques is dethroned as Head of Schnee Dust Company with Willow pulling herself together to take his place as she rightfully should have long ago.

While I’m unsure of Willow’s personality, I’d like to think that Willow must’ve been Nick’s eldest or only child and it wouldn’t have surprised me if Willow was the one person who knew her father better than anyone else in her family. She probably even had a much better idea of how Nick would’ve ran the company and probably would’ve made a more fitting successor to her father than her so-called “husband”.

Back in V4, Weiss told Yang that on her tenth birthday, her father callously revealed that the only reason he married Willow was because of her family name. So it wouldn’t surprise me if the only reason that Jacques managed to convince Nicholas to sign the Schnee Dust Company over to him was with Willow’s support. Here’s what I’m thinking.

My theory is Willow Schnee was originally meant to become Nicholas’ successor with St. Nick planning to leave both his company and his legacy in the hands of his beloved daughter. However, once Jacques got his slimy hand rubbing Willow’s back, he was able to persuade Willow into convincing her father to make Jacques the new CEO in her place. Tie that all in with Jacques proposing to Willow just to further win her approval. I’d like to believe that Willow has always been the core reason that Jacques became Head of Schnee Dust Company in the first place. If she hadn’t fervently vouched on Jacques’ behalf then her father would’ve never agreed to the idea.

Perhaps toss in the notion of Willow never truly desiring to inherit her father’s company out of her own fears of never being able to measure up to her father’s legacy and expectations of her. Unlike Jacques’ relationship with his children, I’d like to believe that Willow shared a very close relationship with her father so his inevitable passing probably hit her more than anyone. All the more reason why I think it would be a fitting conclusion for Willow if she ends up taking over as CEO of Schnee Dust Company in Jacques place—finally standing up to Jacques and taking back what he stole from her and her family.

The allusion seems to be that Jacques broke Willow. So what I’m banking on is Willow piecing herself back together through the love and support of her children and taking back what probably should’ve been hers from the get-go. Starting with her father’s company. 

Despite Nick signing the company over to Jacques, I’d like or at least I’d hope that there is a chance for his leadership to be relinquished back to Willow as she was always meant to be the rightful successor to the Schnee Dust Company as the daughter of its founder. That’s my main headcanon for Willow. 

She will replace Jacques as CEO of Schnee Dust Company and work together with Whitley to undo the mess Jacques’ reign has done to tarnish the family business.

I say Willow and Whitley together since I’m hoping that there is at least somewhat of a bond between Willow and her children; inclusive of Whitley. 

Since Whitley is the Schnee child who is often at home, it’d be interesting if Whitley does spend part of his time being the one to mostly look after his mother or at least look out for her. Since the idea is that Jacques doesn’t seem to care that much about his wife, I’m looking to Whit to be the person to cater for hismother’s well-being.

I didn’t get any impressions of animosity towards Mama Schnee from Whit back in V4. He more so kept tabs on her whereabouts and activities at home. So I’m hoping that should Willow somehow be absent or excuse herself from the Schnee Dinner Party for this new episode, Whit would be the one to inform Weiss of how she’s been coping since she was last home. 

Or something to that liking. But yeah, that’s what I believe will be Willow’s destiny. Not to become the next Winter Maiden (since she has zero connection to Fria and not even Winter herself seems to think about her mother much since she disowned herself from the Schnee family name) but to become the rightful Head of the Schnee Dust Company in place of Jacques after he falls further from grace and Willow is finally able to put the Jacques-ass in his place.

As for your next point regarding Neo becoming Winter Maiden via impersonating Winter—now that’s a theory that I think you’re might be onto something with, fam.

Since the conclusion of the Battle of Haven highlighted our heroes successfully claiming their first Relic, my assumption is that the Fall of Atlas will give our heroes their second biggest loss since the Fall of Beacon while simultaneously marking the first time they lost a Relic to the enemy. 

Since Ironwood revealed to Oscar that the only thing keeping Atlas airborne is the Relic of Creation then that line alone was mega foreshadowing for the kingdom falling straight out of the sky as a result of someone taking the Relic. 

Last time, with Yang, it was a hero to retrieve the Relic of Knowledge from the Vault of the Spring Maiden. 

So naturally, I’m expecting the reverse this time with a villain claiming the Relic of Creation from the Vault of the Winter Maiden, resulting in Atlas plummeting to decimate  Mantle below. It’ll be the double homicide of both of Solitas’ signature kingdoms. 

Ironically enough, perhaps… this will be what leads to the People of Mantle and Atlas finally coming together when they have to rebuild a new home for themselves from scratch. But perhaps I’m getting too ahead of myself here. 

As you brought up Neo impersonating Winter, I wonder if this will be part of the “cruel thing” that Neo has been alluded to commit since V6. 

What if…by some means, Neo and Cinder learn of the identity and whereabouts of the Fria as well as her connection to Winter.

So as you said, Neo will impersonate Winter and the cruel thing Neo will do is murder Fria—probably by either smothering her to death with a pillow or via strangulation all the while using the face Fria trusted the most—Winter’s—up until the very end when she reveals her true self to Fria so that the last thing she sees before the poor old woman breathes her last breath is Neo’s face silently smirking down at her as Fria’s powers are absorbed into Neo’s body.

I mean Neo has done some shady things in the past courtesy of her time spent working alongside Roman Torchwick. However, I’d like to think not even Torchwick would’ve encouraged his young accomplice to steal magic from an innocent old lady. I mean that facetiously. Who knows what Roman would’ve condoned Neo to do if he was still alive.

Strangely enough to say, I kind of like the concept of Neo becoming the Winter Maiden because I see it as symbolic. Not just for the obvious pun of our veteran ice-cream-inspired character gaining magical powers over the element of ice. 

But if Neo kills Fria then she would no longer be like Torchwick anymore. The thing with Neo was that she was supposed to represent the female equivalent of Roman as his right hand protégée, right?

But if Neo kills Fria then she would be just like Cinder. Cinder only retrieved her Fall Maiden magic by stealing it from her predecessor through murder by her own hands. If Neo ends up doing the exact same thing as Cinder then to me I will see that action as synonymous with her shedding the part that she shared with Torchwick and becoming more like Cinder Fall; her new master. At least, that’s impression she gives; even to Cinder. 

I mean I don’t like the thought of yet another Maiden’s powers being stolen through them being murdered by their ‘successor’;however…somehow I can see this becoming canonical. There is no doubt in my mind that a villain is going to claim the Relic of Creation and spark the Fall of Atlas.

What I’m mostly curious about is…how soon will Cinder turn on Neo?

If Neo successfully becomes the Winter Maiden, there is no way Cinder is going to allow her to hold onto that kind of power for long. If Cinder attempted to steal the Spring Maiden magic back in V5 then Cinder will definitely do the same thing for the Winter Maiden magic.

In her megalomaniac mind, Cinder believes all the Maiden magic belongs to her. Neo, despite being her perfect little pawn for now, is no exception. 

So my hunch is that Cinder will use Neo for as long as she needs her to. Use her to steal the Winter Maiden magic from Fria (since she’s best person for the job). Use her to kill Ruby and if that fails, she’ll use her to claim the Relic of Creation just for the sake of killing Ruby via Fallen Kingdom at the expense of all of Atlas and Mantle.

And once Neo has done Cinder’s bidding, she’ll kill her off. Or…at least she’d try to and possibly fail. 

Do you know what would be the penultimate perfect poetic irony?

If Cinder tries to double cross Neo but Neo manages to outsmart Cinder first.

And not only does Neo manage to survive the Fall of Atlas with the Winter Maiden magic still in her possession but what if...she also makes away with Relic of Creation. Upon learning the abilities of the staff, Neo attempts to use it for the single purpose of fulfilling her greatest wish—bringing Torchwick back from the dead.

Imagine if…Neo uses the power of the staff and Torchwick is brought back but…not exactly. Like all the staff is able to do is recreate or rather replicate Torchwick’s likeness making a perfect replica of his original form but…minus the part of Torchwick that made him the man Neo knew and loved—his soul.

So what Neo basically ends up with is a soulless husk that looks like Torchwick but isn’t him since he doesn’t recognize Neo. However Neo doesn’t care. All that mattered to her was that Torchwick was back with her again. Even if he was just an animated yet empty husk of himself who needed Neo to mostly look after him all the time, Neo didn’t mind. She would’ve happily looked after this version of Torchwick for the rest of her life just as he did for her so long ago.

Basically picture part of Neo’s story mimicking Salem’s from the Lost Fable. The tragic tale of a young woman whose life was changed for the better through the companionship and love of a man who freed her from her isolation and loneliness. Only for her to lose that man.

Let’s say…even though Neo thought revenge was all she needed to rid her of the pain she felt from losing Torchwick, I definitely like the idea of Neo switching motives after somehow learning of the true power of the Relic of Creation and what it could do for her. 

So gaining it’s power, no matter the cost, becomes Neo’s motive outside of working with Cinder. So it’s no longer Cinder using Neo to gain what she desires but Neo simultaneously using Cinder to get what she wants as well—only unlike Cinder, Neo is more discreet than the Fall Maiden. 

And what could be interesting if that aspect of Cinder—doing whatever you can to look out for own desires—is what rubs off on Neo and what she ironically ends up using against Cinder in the end. 

So basically, in the end, after using the Relic of Creation to bring him back, Neo takes Replica Torchwick and together the two go into hiding— taking refuge in the desert sands of Vacuo in the hopes that they would be able to build a new life for themselves while avoiding certain people who Neo believed might come searching for her. 

Since Ironwood mentioned that the Staff of Creation can only be used for one purpose at a time, let’s say—the only way Neo could keep Replica Torchwick alive is with the Staff itself. And once she used the staff to create Replica Torchwick, she couldn’t use it for anything else again. So pretty much, as my concept says, the only thing keeping Replica Torchwick alive was the Staff.

Who knows? Maybe in order to recreate Replica Torchwick, the staff was absorbed into his cloned body resulting in the Staff of Creation somewhat becoming Replica Torchwick. Or at least its seemingly unlimited power became Replica Torchwick while the staff part of it was rendered useless.

Now I know Neo stealing both the Winter Maiden magic and the Relic of Creation to run away to Vacuo to play house with a replica of the man she loved recreated by the Relic itself sounds mighty stretchy for a headcanon. 

But nonetheless, y’know what? I really, really like it. I don’t usually share Neopolitan Headcanons so this one’s going to be another rare keeper for me like my Red Queen Cinder Fall Headcanon. 

After the CRWBY brought Neo back into the story, this squiggle meister had no bloody clue what they were going to do with her after she was done being used as Cinder’s pawn. 

I mean I’m not that big of a Neo stan myself. As a matter of fact, the one thing I loved about Neo’s character was her relationship with Torchwick courtesy of RWBY Chibi warming me up to the Froyo pairing.

All the more reason for me to love my headcanon of Neo making away with Relic of Creation after the Fall of Atlas and using its power to bring back Torchwick in a way to that she can live the life with him she always dreamed of having. 

Her own happily ever after that she forged for the two of them—no matter the costs. 

I know its not likely to happen in the canon. However I think it would’ve been an interesting way to give Neo a story that was influenced by the people she worked closely with in her life but still her own, y’know what I mean?

A story that she took charge and molded for herself and wasn’t mostly just her being an accomplice to another villain...again. 

I mean if I were a CRWBY Writer and was tasked with crafting a story for Neo following her return in V6, this is probably where I would’ve gone with it as my own interpretation. 

Plus from this, I really dig the thought of Ruby meeting Replica Torchwick and harbouring a bit ofanimosity towards him because, of course, the only memories that the little redrose has of Torchwick were the ones of him being a cold-hearted criminal whoaided Salem in the destruction of her former huntsmen academy and tried to kill her and her friends on so many occasions.

However ReplicaTorchwick, being only a copy of the original Torchwick in face, has no memories of either Ruby orthe crimes he committed in his ‘first life’.

Asa matter of fact, thanks to Neo’s nurturing, Replica Torchwick is a much kinder,compassionate man than the person Ruby knew him once to be. 

So it’s a scenario whereReplica Torchwick meets Ruby and tries to chum up to her but because she onlyknew him as a criminal, it makes it difficult for Ruby to feel nothing but anger towards the man.

And I like this ideasince it plays off of reliability with Oscar. I mean he of all charactersknows what it’s like to shoulder the responsibilities and of course, the blame forthe repercussions of actions committed by his own past selves. 

So in this scenarioI can picture Oscar being more sympathetic with Replica Torchwick and helping Rubyto understand where the doppelganger is coming from. Not to mention that I can see Oscar being the one to convince Neo that Replica Torchwick isn’t the man she once knew. 

After all, for my story, once the heroes find Neo and Replica Torchwick in Vacuo, Neo will be forced to give up the happily ever after she had tried desperately to build for the mere sake of stopping the end of the world from the Wrath of the Gods, the Plight of a Second Great War of Remnant and perhaps even the Rise of Cinder Fall after she becomes the Red Queen—the new leader of the Grimm in place of Salem who was defeated and purified of her darkness by the Rosegardening Rosebuds—at least that’s how it is in my version of her fate.

And who knows? If I was in charge of writing Neo’s story, I’d do this and still find a way to give a silver lining to her unhappy ending that fits into the pre-established rules of the canon.

Like let’s say—even though Neo had to give the Winter Maiden magic back to Oscar (still sticking to my headcanon of him revoking all of Ozma’s magic back from the Maidens starting with Cinder)and ‘kill’ Replica Torchwick to return the power of the Relic of Creation—in the end, she still gets to continue the life the two made together in the most unexpected way.

While Replica Torchwick might not have been a good example of creation—the life he made together with Neo inclusive of the unborn child they conceived together was creation. One built on love. 

But y’know…these are all mostly just my ideas and I’m not a CRWBY Writer---probably thankfully so. Still it would’ve been cool to see some of these ideas done. Probably not all. But some. I really like the idea of Neo becoming the Winter Maiden and taking the Relic of Creation for herself. I think that would’ve been a cool twist especially on Neo’s part. 

Anyways, sorry for going off on a headcanon tangent Mizu. Overall, in a nutshell, I think your theory of Neo becoming the Winter Maiden is pretty interesting Mizu and I can see it being a possibility. Those are my thoughts on that, for now.  

~LittleMissSquiggles (2019) 

[flcksin]

" i want you inside me ” / @salices​

a young girl, a freshman, he met in a bar in his junior year told him early one fall that ‘ life is full of endless possibilities’. he tried valiantly not to choke on the beer nuts he was chewing while she gushed this kidney stone of wisdom, and he calmly washed them down with the rest of a heineken, smiled, and concentrated on the dart game that was going on in the corner. needless to say, she did not live to see her sophomore year. that winter, her body was found floating in the river, decapitated, her head hung from a tree in the bank, her hair knotted around a low-hanging branch, three miles away. he thinks maybe she was right. life is full of endless possibilities. after all, how else would her head have ended up tied to a tree? thrown up there in the same way that sneakers are thrown up onto phone line wires and stuck up there for weeks - months before some lazy local authority figure can be bothered to get them down with a twig. he thinks they got her head down a lot quicker than any sneakers, though. he thinks of how he’d left after a eurotrash girl had told him she liked his blue hair. he’d told her he’d like to tit-fuck her and then maybe cut her arms off, but the music, george michael singing ‘faith’ was too loud and she couldn’t hear him.

this was the geography around which max’s reality revolved. it did not occur to him, ever, that people were good or that man was capable of change or that the world could be a better place through one’s taking pleasure in a feeling or a look or a gesture, of receiving another person’s love or kindness. nothing was affirmative, the term ‘generosity of spirit’ applied to nothing, was a cliche, was some kind of bad joke. sex is mathematics. individuality no longer an issue. what does intelligence signify? define reason. desire - meaningless. intellect is not a cure. justice is dead. fear, recrimination, innocence, sympathy, guilt, waste, failure, grief, were things, emotions, that no one really felt anymore. evil is its only permanence. god is not alive. love cannot be trusted. surface, surface, surface was all that anyone found meaning in...this was civilisation as he saw it. colossal and jagged and  -

i want you inside of me. 

he switches back to where he is. what he’s doing. who she is. who he is. willow, a blonde haired woman with blue eyes. she’s the perfect example of hitler’s _superior _civilisation. the aryan civilisation. except she isn’t racist. she isn’t a dumb motherfucker either. she’s beautiful with a natural body and she kisses him in the night and sometimes, since he’s asked, during the day. but it’s mostly at night they share these kisses that are hidden by the darkness that suround them. alike now. except they’ve moved to a hotel this time. it’s a step up from the lousy motel they were in a few days ago. it didn’t have a television and the bathroom was a disgrace. ‘  i know you think i’m a piece of fucking shit, but i still have standards when it comes to where i fucking wash my balls and clean my teeth ’ he’d declared, frustrated, maybe even angry when he’d walked in to see the not-so-clean motel bathroom. but what could they expect? it was cheap. they were on the run. but for some reason max had been angered by it. sat on his knees in the bathroom for around an hour cleaning as though he were some kind of poor, underpaid maid. he doesn’t know what willow did while he was doing this. probably wallowing at the state of it all - or thinking about food. a common ground they share.

and she’s closer to him tonight on the bed. very close. there’s no separation between them. his hand has been playing with her hair, and trailing his fingers occasionally down her neck in between sparse kisses they share as though he limits the amount between the background noise of the television that plays at a low, comfortable volume. it’s a new luxury they’ve been taking advantage of. watching old movies and _storage hunters. ‘ i want to find an antique that costs like...five million dollars ’ he’d said once while watching the group raid a storage unit they’d bought, only to find someone had left the ashes of a relative in an urn and a few crap pieces of furniture. “ you don’t know what you’re saying ” he gives her the benefit of the doubt. maybe she’s half asleep. fantasising about some celebrity crush she has. or horny because she hasn’t had sex with a stranger for months. maybe this could be called, merciful. 

[buffyversefanfiction]

Twisted Tristan

Chapter 4 - B Normal Again

Warnings: I do not own or claim to own the original content to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Angel”, the comics or any of the original characters from the “Buffyverse” all rights belong to Joss Whedon.

15 plus, displays of Violence, Gore, Torture, M/M, F/M, F/F.

Buffy, Faith and Willow remained within the underground sewer tunnels completely broken by their loss by Buffy’s loss as Buffy stood there as a heartbroken mother with no idea where her son could be.

“There’s got to be some way to find him Willow some spell that you can do.” Buffy cried. “He’s my son Willow, my baby boy.”

“I really wish there was some way of fixing this Buffy but when I opened that portal, I backed it up with another spell so if we came back and were captured by one of them whoever escaped would be safe.” Willow explained to her as she shed tears of her own for her missing nephew.

“Find some way of reversing the spell Will find some way of opening the portal Willow I can’t lose my son.” Buffy sobbed as Faith remained silent clearly sympathizing for her friends. “He’s just a baby and he’s all alone.”

“I’m so sorry Buffy I really am that spell was supposed to keep everyone safe.” Willow apologised while trying to dry her tears.

“Safe,” Buffy shouted, losing her temper with Willow. “How can my little boy be safe when we have no idea where the hell you dumped in? What if he’s in some demonic dimension? What if he’s already dead?”

“B Willow would never put the kid somewhere that wasn’t safe,” Faith told her fellow slayer in defense of the redheaded witch. “Wherever your boy is now I’m sure he’s safe from the ones who tried to steal him.”

“Faith I’m his mother I should be with him he’s abandoned in some strange place probably crying for me and thinking I’ve just abandoned him.” Buffy replied, heartbroken by the reality of her situation. “He’s never going to grow up knowing that I loved him more than anything that I’d fight for him until my last breath. He’s going to grow up alone thinking he was unloved.”

“I know B,” Faith said as she walked over to the blonde-haired slayer and placed her hand on her shoulder. “But wherever your son is he gets to grow up and live a life it sucks he isn’t with you for now but at least he’s safe from this madness.”

“I’ll look through every spell book search the worlds,” Willow promised Buffy. “One way or another I will find your son and get him back to his mother.”

“No, we can’t go looking for him,” Buffy replied while drying her tears. “Wherever he is I know you put him somewhere safe which means he’s safe from them and if we start looking for him it gives Wolfram and Hart a chance to get their hands on him.”

“I don’t understand Buffy what you want me to do?” Asked a confused Willow.

“For Tristan’s own safety we tell everyone that he died, and we mourn him and try our best to move on from losing him.” Buffy revealed as her voice began to break. “If they think he’s dead they will stop looking for him and he’ll finally be safe from all this chaos.”

“Are you asking us to lie about Tristan?” Willow quizzed her before admitting. “I don’t think I could do that to Xander to Giles to your sister to everyone.”

“Buffy, Angel already lost his chance to raise Connor because of another god dam portal that sent baby Connor straight to hell only to return as a murderous teenager.” Faith said making her disapproval clear. “Angel may not be able to come back from losing another son.”

“We tell no one!” Buffy demanded with a furious tone in her voice. “As far as everyone will now this was the day my son Tristan Summers died.”

Willow walked into the prison style interrogation room at Giles’ slayer rehabilitation center to find Tristan handcuffed in chains to the table looking far from amused to be in this situation.

“I don’t like seeing anyone shackled in chains and handcuffs so for that I am truly sorry,” Willow apologised as she sat down at the table. “But when you have murderous tendencies precautions tend to need to be put in place to stop us all winding up dead.”

“This place is like some of prison and yet these chains aren’t as weak as the ones they used on me in prison.” Tristan replied before going on to ask. “Where the bloody hell am I?”

“My friend Giles prefers to call this place a slayer rehabilitation center prison’s kind of a touchy subject around here.” Willow admitted to him.

“So, basically I’m locked up with a bunch of deranged slayers.” Tristan scoffed. “Figures you lot would come up with a prison for your own kind.”

“Tristan, that’s an interesting choice of name.” Willow responded to him. “Who named you Tristan? Do you have any family?”

“No offense red but I’m not going to sit here and give you the dirt on the ins and outs of my life.” Tristan snapped at the witch. “I suggest you let me go before I have to go to the trouble of breaking myself out which I promise will be a pretty bloody prison break.”

“Tristan you have murdered several innocent defenseless humans not to mention your rather large murder count on slayers.” Willow snapped back at the raven-haired murderer making it clear she wasn’t scared of him. “We are going to keep you here at all costs until we believe that you will no longer be a threat to anyone which is a pretty good deal considering a prison would sentence you to life.”

“I find it hilarious how Willow Rosenberg is talking about me being the threat when your death count is rather intriguing yourself.” Tristan laughed cruelly. “I heard you once skinned a man alive before literally trying to end the world.”

“That was me during my darkest period but I’m not that person anymore.” Willow admitted. “We have helped many people escape their own darkness and taught them how to use their special skills for good instead of evil. I know you just lost the person you love, and I know how hard that is, but we can help you through it through all of it if you let us.”

“What is this some kind of widows club meeting?” Tristan asked clearly not impressed with Willow mentioning his recently deceased vampire lover. “I say you take these chains of me and I test how truly powerful you really are.”

“I know how delicious the darkness can be and I know how hard it can be to pull yourself out of it once it’s taken a hold of you but trust me evil maybe alluring but it costs you far too much.” Willow replied to try and get through to the troubled man. “But when you fight it when you come back from it and get to some form of normal again it helps heal those wounds.”

Willow walked out of the interrogation room and into a hallway within the rehabilitation center to find Faith anxiously waiting for her knowing she was hoping for her to say there was some hope for Tristan’s redemption as Willow feared there was no redeemed this long black haired psychopath.

“If this was a horror movie, he’d be the Chucky to your Tiffany,” Willow said to the redeemed slayer as she walked towards her. “Oh, great now that analogy is going to be giving me nightmares tonight.”

“Okay so what’s the next move then?” Faith asked her eager to know her thoughts about the man she found herself strangely caring for.

“To be honest Faith I think that guy is more in need of a psychologist instead of a witch but you were definitely more scary back in your vicious villain days so if you could turn your life around maybe there’s some hope.” Willow replied hoping to reassure Faith.

“Do you find there’s something off with him?” Faith asked the witch. “For some reason I want him to want redemption more than I wanted my own redemption.”

“Are you sure this obsession for him isn’t because of his name?” Willow asked her.

“It’s not because of some name a thousand other guys have there’s something different about this guy he’s as strong as a slayer yet not a slayer and he’s human it makes no sense.” Faith tried to explain her fascination with the raven-haired man. “Stay here for a bit longer and do your digging thing I need you to find out as much about him as possible.”

“I can’t deny my interest in finding out what this guy is but I should really be getting back to Buffy I don’t like leaving her alone for long especially since Dawn and Xander jetted off with baby Joyce to some weird hippy dimension.” Willow admitted to Faith.

“Come on red Buffy’s been a recluse for three years now and I totally get why but she’s still a bad-ass bitch who is more than capable than looking after herself for a while.” Faith reassured the witch.

“You’re right,” Willow admitted before taking a deep sigh. “I’ll look into this guy, but I make no promises I’ll actually be able to find out anything new.”

For a rehabilitation center specialized in helping slayers reform themselves and seek out to amend their dark path Giles’ slayer rehabilitation definitely looked a lot like prison especially for Tristan who had found himself locked up in a pretty bare prison cell sitting on the floor while bouncing a small bouncy ball against the wall.

“If your hoping to make some great escape by cracking the walls with a bouncy ball you’ll be spending a real long time.” Faith revealed to him as she walked into the room and stood outside of his cell. “You see the guy who runs this place was the watcher to Buffy and me very briefly, so he practically knows all the tricks in the books on how to lock up us super powered folk.

“Us super powered folk live outside of the laws that the normal people push upon the weak or at least we did.” Tristan replied as he stood up and walked over to the prison gates. “Leave it to a bloody watch to try and force laws upon the supernatural.”

“Yeah I’m not exactly a big fan on this whole project but it’s better than letting you go around killing people.” Faith admitted to him.

“I wonder where they keep the less pretty monsters for rehabilitation?” Tristan asked in a sarcastic tone. “Just fucking with you I know whatever you guys don’t consider human just gets dusted or killed without any chance to reform but hey we can’t complain that we’re privileged by looking like humans.”

“Keep an extra eye on this guy.” Faith said to the female slayer guarding Tristan’s cell after walking away from the long black-haired man.

“I’m sorry Faith but we don’t have enough resources to keep any more eyes on him he’s not our only prisoner.” She replied before going on to say. “Client.”

“I’m not asking for a god dam favour I’m making a demand.” Faith shouted at the guard causing Tristan to laugh to himself. “Get one of your prison guard wannabe slayerettes to help keep an eye on this guy before I show you why people don’t tend to piss me off.”

Faith walked back into the hallways of the so-called slayer rehabilitation center to find that this time Willow was the one anxiously waiting for her which could only mean one thing the clever little witch had already found out something about Giles’ latest prisoner.

“This prison rehab or whatever the hell Giles wants to call this place isn’t right for Tristan don’t ask me why I just know it’s not.” Faith said to Willow as she walked over to her.

“I agree,” Willow admitted while looking like she had just seen a ghost. “I agree so much more than you could believe.”

“You found out something juicy, didn’t you?” Faith asked excited to get some new information on Tristan. “What did you find out?”

“Give me a moment,” Willow snapped before Faith noticed the room spinning leaving her feeling dizzy before they disappear out of sight only for the two of them to reappear in the middle of somewhere nearby woods located a few miles away from the slayer rehabilitation center. “This play is far more discreet.”

“Next time let’s try walking here,” Faith said to her as she tried to calm her dizziness caused by Willows’ magic. “Why is this so top secret anyway?”

“Trust me Faith when I say the minute, I found out this info on Giles’ latest prisoner I needed out to get the hell out of sight because nobody can overhear what I’m about to tell you.” Willow revealed to her. “I ran his DNA into the criminal database which I swear gets easier to hack into every year and I found multiple records he racked up along with a bunch of fake names before finding out his surname was Black on his birth certificate only for him to change it himself when he was eighteen but that wasn’t even the strangest thing I found it. I then hacked into several hospital records putting everything online these days really isn’t a smart move and well anyways I found out that his original birth certificate was faked and there was no actual proof of Tristan Black-Summers’ birth.”

“Okay consider me well and truly lost Wills.” Faith admitted to her confusion while trying to work out what Willow was leading towards.

“I then went through all hospital records across the whole of America and found only three living candidates that were blood relatives to Tristan.” Willow continued to reveal.

“You did all that with such a short time Jesus no wonder no-one could beat Buffy back in the day with you by her side.” Faith replied shocked and proud of Willow’s research methods.

“Those three blood relatives were Buffy, Dawn and their father.” Willow divulged completely stunning Faith in the process.

“So, if I’m right little miss goody two shoes has a psycho in the family who literally stole the name of Buffy’s son.” Faith said while trying to make sense of Willow’s findings. “Is he a cousin, a long-lost brother…”

“Come on Faith you’re smarter than that I’m sure you can put the pieces together.” Willow replied while slightly mocking her friend.

“Oh, my freaking god,” Faith answered her as she finally realized. “The portal you put Buffy’s son three years ago was a portal to the past and the boy grew up to be the psychotic prisoner Giles is currently holding who is now only a few years younger than his freaking mother.”

“Tristan Black really is Tristan Summers.” Willow admitted. “He’s Buffy’s son and I have no idea what we’re supposed to do about this.”

Tristan once again found himself chained up and handcuffed to the table in the interrogation this time waiting for the founder of the slayer rehabilitation center wondering if he, Willow or Faith had found out his true identity fearing the truth would be spilled before he was ready to use it as his latest weapon.

“Well if it isn’t my favorite kidnapper.” Tristan joked as Giles walked into the room and sat down at the table.

“I would prefer it if you stop calling me your kidnapper and start calling me Giles.” He replied to him.

“You know what Giles you’re lucky I have a thing for older men,” Tristan flirted with his mother’s former watcher and his mother’s one-night stand. “But next time you want to get a little kinky I think it’s only fair that you’re the one being chained up.”

“Faith seems to have quite the interest in you Tristan why is that?” Giles asked Tristan completely ignoring Tristan’s attempt at flirting.

“The girl is clearly obsessed with me for some reason but she’s barking up the wrong tree.” Tristan told him noticing he was making Giles blush. “You’re much more my type to be honest I bet your wound up tighter than my chains I promise if you’re brave enough to cross the table, I’ll find a way of loosening you up.”

“I want to talk to you about your upcoming psychological evaluation.” Giles said to him in a desperate bid to change the subject.

Faith and Willow took some time walking through the woods nearby the slayer rehabilitation center as Willow explained to Faith that she must’ve sent Tristan when he was a baby into a past in which he was adopted by a family before eventually learning his true identity as they began to puzzle together how Tristan went from an innocent baby to someone so twisted.

“I can’t get over the fact that Tristan Summers should be three years old not in his 20s wanting to kill everyone.” Faith said in disbelief as she tried to understand the complicated turn of events that led them to this situation.

“The only thing that has kept me going that has kept Buffy going is picturing Tristan having this perfectly normal life, but that boy is far from normal.” Willow admitted to her. “I can’t begin to imagine what his life has been like all these years or what he must’ve went through to wind up where he is now.”

“Simple really he fell in love with a vampire very much like his mother then he killed a bunch of slayers not so much like his mother.” Faith joked trying to make light of the situation. “The real question is how the hell did he become so damn strong?”

“Well we know children of slayers don’t usually develop their powers but at the same time we know Connor developed special abilities from being a son of two vampires so if you take into notion his parents are a slayer and a vampire then his strength makes sense which is the only thing about his entire life which actually does make sense.” Willow explained to Faith. “Poor Angel we told him his son had died and now he’s back wanting him dead as much as everyone else.”

“He’s going to hate me for keeping this from him.” Faith feared. “I never wanted to lie to him in the first place I knew it was going to come back and bite us all in the ass.”

“There’s also the worrying factor about Wolfram and Hart I mean if I figured this out with a little research it won’t be long till they work things out and start looking for Tristan again.” Willow worried.

Tristan was once again back in his prison cell bouncing his bouncy ball against the wall harder and harder the sound clearly annoying his female slayer guard who gave in to his annoyance much to his own delight.

“Would you...” She began to ask but before she had a chance to finish her question Tristan launched the bouncy ball into her mouth catching another female guard’s attention who began rushing over to the choking slayer all while playing into Tristan’s hands.

Before the other guard could get to her fellow slayer Tristan quickly grabbed a hold of the choking woman’s neck instantly snapping it before grabbing the keys out of her pocket and throwing her lifeless body onto the ground as the guard look at him in complete shock and horror, Tristan using the remaining guards state of shock to quickly unlock his cell gate and walk out of his prison.

“What the hell did you do you’re monster?” The guard screamed at him before charging towards the callous murderer only for Tristan to push his gate open once again so the gate slammed against her face before the two began to fight.

The fight doesn’t last long before Tristan got the upper hand of the girl, grabbing a hold of her neck and snapping it just like the other guard as the second slayer’s lifeless body fell to the floor.

“Okay listen up bitches!” Tristan shouted down the hall noticing the many slayers in their many cells. “It’s time to get our own back on these bloody bastards for thinking they can lock us up like animals.”

Tristan wasted no time in making a run for it as he ran through an empty hallway before reaching a large window in which he looked out of horrified to discover nothing but a huge drop towards a large ocean before turning back around to see Giles standing in front of him holding a gun.

“No offense darling but I’ve had my fun and now I’m bored so it’s time for me to get the hell out of here.” Tristan told him.

“You killed two of my girls like it was nothing to you.” He shouted clearly furious by his loss at Tristan’s hands.

“You should never cage an animal and expect it to just follows your rules.” Tristan replied with a smug smile. “This little operation of yours is a complete failure.”

“Stay there or I will shoot.” Giles warned him. “I will shoot you.”

“Please you’re boring old librarian trying to redeem a bunch of wayward slayers you’re hardly going to shoot me.” Tristan laughed. “Although I do love it when you flirt with me.”

“You wouldn’t be my first kill.” Giles admitted to him.

“Okay this flirting is getting stale now.” Tristan said as Faith and Willow appeared from around the corner just in time for Giles to fire his gun three times.

Two bullets hit Tristan’s body with force one hitting him in the chest and another in the stomach while the third one hit the window causing the glass to shatter while the force of being shot threw Tristan backwards until Tristan fell out the window causing both Faith and Willow to scream out in horror.

A panicked Faith quickly ran over towards the window desperate to see some sign of Tristan only to be left horrified to see nothing but the ocean.

“I had no choice he already killed two of my girls.” Giles told them before Willow walked over to the former watcher and harshly smacked him across the face.

“You just shot and probably killed Buffy’s son.” Willow said to him with a cold stare completely furious by Giles’ actions. “He didn’t die we placed him in the past to protect him and after all this time we finally found him only for you to kill him.”

Willow left Giles in shock by her revelation as she walked over to the window to stand by Faith’s side as the two girls looked down to see nothing but ocean fearing that Buffy’s son wouldn’t have survived the fall even if he managed to survive being shot.

Tristan’s seemingly lifeless body washed up on the shore of a beach front completely motionless looking like he was dead, but his story was far from over his story was just about to change to the next chapter.

Suddenly Drusilla appeared from out of the nearby woods rushing over to the man she considered to be one of her children before lifting him up into her arms looking at him in the exact same way, she looked at him when he was just a baby.

“Oh no my little baby boy what they have done to you?” She said to Tristan’s unconscious body while continuing to carry him as she walked towards the woods. “But don’t you worry my littler cherub mummy is back now and I’m going to make you all better again.”

[shamrockace]

Gone But Not Forgotten.

This is not a raid fic follow-up piece but is connected to the other non raid related piece; Connor, Missing In Action.

Word Count: 1135

TW: Mentions of death, Metaphorical wounds, Mourning, Implied death, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Panic, Crying, etc.

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 It had been three years.

 Three years since his death.

 Three years since she last saw him.

 Three years since the first and last time she visited his grave.

 Three years.

 Morgana hoped that Connor would forgive them, for not visiting in three years. But neither she nor Róisín could bear to peel back the bandages on the festering wound that was his death. She had run away to join the watch and Róisín had chased after her. In the watch, both had been too busy to truly mourn Connor. Not until now, she supposed.

 The Spewraith children had a habit of avoiding visiting their relatives' graves, clearly.

 It had been three years since either of them had last visited their Mum's grave as well. Not since they relocated her to where she had originally requested she be buried, deep in Western Forest. In a glade, she oft visited when she first immigrated from Fasithe back to her ancestral home of where would become House Marvin. Back before she met their father and moved to House Schneeplestein, with him.

 They would have buried her there first, but their father hated the Western Forest. And so she was first buried by the old willow tree that stood beside their home in House Schneeplestein, against her dying wish.

 Morgana would have visited her more often had it not been such a difficult place to visit, so deep within the Western Forest.

 It had been even longer since anyone visited their father's grave. Morgana couldn't visit their father's grave even if she wanted to, not that she did, as both Connor and Róisín refused to let her go to their father's funeral and never told her where he was buried, due to his treatment of Morgana. She didn't think Róisín or Connor had actually visited the grave since the funeral. Maybe they might've visited his grave if he had kept only accusing her of being cursed, instead of also accusing her of matricide and being a changeling (and therefore not his real daughter) that was there to steal their mother away to the Western Forest. She was pretty sure that both of them liked their father up until he started spouting those accusations.

 Morgana shook her head as her thoughts digressed. She was here to visit Connor today, not contemplate about her parents' and their graves. Although she should probably try and visit her mother's grave soon.

 She walked to the trees near the stables of Rúnach Hold and stared at the little plot of land where Connor had been buried. The only marker that his grave was here, was his first non-training sword stabbed into the ground like a gravestone. The blade was completely rusted over. The small stone carved plaque bearing his name rested against the sword had started to smooth from weathering. Wormwood and Forget-me-nots had begun to cover the ground surrounding the half-buried sword.

 The sight brought tears to her eyes. Careful not to crush any plants, she fell to her knees before the rusted sword.

 Morgana closed her eyes and listened to the world around her. To the faint rustling of the wormwood, forget-me-nots, bushes, and leaves on the trees. To the whistle of the breeze and the birdsong. To the whinnies of the horses. To the distant hubbub of the watchers within the outpost.

 She listened to the sound of Eamon slowly padding over to sit beside her.

 The weight of him beside her both comforted her and made her feel worse. Was he really four years old now? Had he only been a year old when Connor died?

 She clicked her tongue and he climbed on top of her lap. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug as the first tears began to fall.

 It took a minute before her tears dried and Eamon shuffled off her lap to sit next to her again.

 “Thank you.” She whispered, feeling like she had a lump in her throat.

 She opened her eyes and stared at the sword. “I doubt you can hear me, it's been three years. Your soul has probably already been taken by a Fae to the afterlife.”

 She paused to breathe. “I miss you. I'm sorry it's been so long. I'm sorry I never mourned for you properly… I just…” Her words were cut off by a half sob.

 Eamon whined and nudged her hand with his nose.

 She patted him on the head and inhaled deeply. “You probably don't know, since you're dead but Róisín and I went back to Fort Stiofán after you died. I joined the Watch this time. I made two close friends, Anemone and Aiden, and a bunch of other friends. I think you would have really liked those two. They're twins. Anemone's into archery, and Aiden was the one who got me back into horse riding after your death.”

 Morgana tipped her head back and inhaled. “I recently returned back to our home here in House Marvin. Róisín's still at Fort Stiofán. I kinda ran away from her because I was tired of being known as her little sister and I wanted to…”

 She paused. “You'll probably hate what you're about to hear but I want to explore the Western Forest. I want to see all those creatures that mama told me tales and legends about when she had still been alive. I want to meet the nice Fae she always spoke about.”

 Morgana half grimaced. “Y'know, the ones that always made father… The Fae that always made father mad. Although any mention of the Fae made him mad. I suppose that's why he accused me of killing mama and of me being a changeling. So he could rationalise hating me. Well, that's what I think anyway.”

 She idly stroked Eamon's fur, to keep herself grounded. “I want to someday find Fasithe. I want to meet mama's family. I want to see the culture that mama came from. To hear the tales she's told me once again.”

 Morgana frowned. “That's something you, Róisín, and father all have in common. None of you had the same love of the Forest and magic and the Fae as mama and I have. Father hated anything and everything to do with magic and the Fae. You just wanted to run away from our family to go play knights. And Róisín cared more for science than magic…”

 She sighed and stared up at the darkening sky. “I'm sorry. I should probably go now. It's getting late and Aiden and Anemone are waiting for me.”

 She stood up, cast her gaze upon the sword once more and then turned on her heel and walked away from Rúnach Hold with Eamon not far behind her.

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@dumbthinmint

[bainelland]

In A Kingdom By The Sea

A/N: It took me embarrassingly long to write this one, so please enjoy it. Comments and kudos make my miserable life a bit better!

Read it on AO3

Part One

Some people believe, that humans can live forever. No, not like that. No living creature is immortal, I’m afraid, though I’ve been living this life with the illusion of being immortal myself, for the longest of times. Believe me, it was a relief to discover I’m not. But people can live multiple lives, indeed, and humanity even came up with the appropriate term for this phenomenon. Reincarnation. I know, I know. Some people don’t believe it. And I’m sure, you don’t believe it either, after all, I know you a little. It’s not a part of your religion. But in my opinion, reincarnation is not a part of any religion. It’s just a natural thing that happens. People die and are reborn in a different body, in a different time, in a different place. It's a tale as old as time. I see, that you are skeptical about it. But I, myself, do believe, and I have a very strong reason to believe it. Why is that, you ask? Well, because I experienced it many, many, many times.

It sounds ridiculous, I know. You may laugh. You may think I’m crazy. But as a witch, yourself, you should know, that there are things in this world, that can’t be explained with logic. Witches live longer than mortals. They can live for hundreds of years, but of course, you know that. Look at your relatives; how old are they? Where’s the logic in that? No human should be allowed to live for so long. I, being who I am in this life, live even longer than that. Hence my confusion about being immortal. But as I said, no living creature on this planet is immortal. Everyone and everything dies, eventually. I’ve seen it times and times again.

Why am I telling you all of this? Well, to be honest with you, I’m not entirely sure. We’re here, we’re both bored, so why not, right? You may also be wondering, why you, specifically? Why would I tell you something so personal? And the answer to those particular questions is quite simple. You were there for a significant part of the story. You know those people and you know most of the events that took place. To be honest, some part of the story had started just because of you. Don’t make that face, I’m not accusing you of anything, my dear. I’m grateful, in fact. If it wasn’t for you, I might be still wandering the Earth, searching for her for eternity.

Though you know bits and pieces of the story I’m about to tell you, still, you don’t know even half of the truth. And that’s why I’ve decided it’s about time you hear it all. So sit comfortably, and let me tell you everything.

This story had started a very long time ago. Way before you were born. Thousands of years ago, to be quite frank. I have lived a thousand lives; ‘Thousand’ is a figure of speech here, I’m not sure how many lives, exactly, but let’s say that enough.

As I already told you, reincarnation is real and I have experienced it many times. I remember my first life. I don’t know if I have lived a different life before that one, but I don’t recall anything before it, so for the sake of the story, let’s assume that it was my first one.

It was also the very first time I had met her.

I know you’re familiar with the term ‘soulmate’. One person, created specifically, for another person. Two halves of the same apple. A person, without whom you are not complete. There are too many different definitions of this word for me, to mention all of them. But you heard of it, I’m sure. And that’s exactly who she was to me. And who I was to her. We were meant for each other, as stupid as it sounds.

We had found each other, time and time again. In every life. At different stages in life. But we had found each other. Always.

Although I have never met anyone who would ever talk about experiencing anything similar, I'm sure there are others like us. After all, the idea of reincarnation and soulmates had to start somewhere. And I'm sure there are people who remember their past lives. I don't know if they remember all of them, but a few, for sure. As I have mentioned already, I remember every life I have ever lived. Every moment I have spent with her.

And the first time I have ever laid my eyes on [...]

***

It was a very hot summer, indeed. One of the hottest days he had ever experienced in his eighteen years of life on this planet. He sat on the grass, in the shade of a large oak tree, his back against its trunk, a poetry book in his hands. Despite the shade provided by the tree, and the light breeze roaming the garden, he was still sweating in his button-up cotton shirt.

The sun, high in the sky, was merciless to every living being. And yet, he did not find it unpleasant. It was quite the opposite. He had found the beauty in the garden, bathed in the sun. In the sunlight shimmering through the treetops. In the sound of buzzing bees in the background. In the birds chirping happily, sitting on the tree branches above his head. In the sound of the trickling water coming from many fountains placed around the garden. The ever-present beauty was enough to take his mind off the fact that it was so unbearably hot.

His eyes wandered around, leaving his poetry book forgotten in his hands. Even though, he knew that he was not alone in the garden, it was really easy to fall under such an illusion. The tree under which he decided to sit that day, was secluded enough to give him the impression he was all alone in this magical green world.

But there were always people walking around the green pathways. Some of them were workers; gardeners or handymen. The rest were either his father’s guests that seemed to never leave the mansion or the town’s citizens. Though, the latter did not come for walks around the garden very often. At least not since...

He looked around. He knew everything about this place. He knew every tree, every bush, every flower. Every bench, every fountain, every lantern. He knew how many lanterns there are, how many fountains. He knew that every fountain had something unique about it. He knew exactly how the statue of the cupid in the east wing of the garden has lost its arrow. He still has that scar above his left knee. He knew why it’s best not to sit on the swing right beside the entrance to the garden. And why there is a marble statue of a smiling woman, hidden right between those weeping willows in the west wing, so different from other statues that were made out of plain stone. Why his father comes there every night at sunset. And why he always leaves a  single white rose right beside it.

He knew all this because the garden was a part of the mansion he had lived in his whole life.

His mother had always loved this place. She would come to the garden for walks with his father and they would talk, laugh and make love under those weeping willows. That’s why there’s this marble statue. The woman made out of marble was his mother. It’s her statue.

His father had ordered every gardener to tend to the garden every day. He has always loved his mother very much, more than he had ever loved him. Even after her death.

He took a deep breath and turned his gaze back to his poetry book. He had always loved poetry. His mother would read her favorite poems to him. It has always calmed him down. Her tone, the melody of her words. Even though he was too young at the time to understand the meaning of the words she was reading, he could not get enough of it. And now when he was older, he had finally understood.

Oh, to feel all these things those great poets were feeling. To love so fully and unconditionally. To feel their pain of being filled with such overwhelming emotions that you feared they might spill out of you. Oh, what would he give to experience even a small part of those things?

He thought about Edgar Allan Poe. An American man. The man who wrote one of his favorite poems, ‘Annabel Lee’.

And he thought about said poem. What would it be like to love so strongly that not even death was going to stop it? He longed for a love so strong that even angels were envious of it. To be so beautifully ignorant to think no-one has ever experienced such feelings before.

Was this how his parents had felt? His father loved his mother even after her death. He came to her statue every night. Was this it? Has his father, the coldest man he had ever met, found what he, himself, has been longing for?

He thought about Annabel Lee, whoever she was.

To have an Annabel Lee in his own life. To have this one person that he could love and receive the same feeling back. To be blind to other people and have only her on his mind…

He was brutally brought back to reality from his thoughts by a female voice. It was humming some song unknown to him. He looked around, but there was no-one in sight. He frowned. Where was this sound coming from?

But the mystery was quickly resolved when a girl came into his line of view. The most beautiful girl… No, not beautiful. Such a mundane word did not cover her breathtaking presence. There wasn’t a word in any language he knew to describe her beauty. Her face, her fair skin, her long, reddish hair… She carried herself with grace and pride… Who was she?

He forgot he had to breathe. So he gulped air into his lungs as if he was drowning and was desperately trying to stay alive. And the girl was still there. She was still strolling through the garden right next to him. She also had a book in her delicate hands.

The girl had apparently felt someone watching her because… Oh, dear. She looked right at him. And he became painfully aware of how sweaty he is. Of the way, his damp shirt is clinging to his back. He could feel his cheeks getting red. Her eyes twinkled when she smiled, just the most delicate smile he had ever seen. She had smiled at him! And he felt his heart thumping in his chest, trying to get out and run into the girl’s arms.

And… Oh, Lord. She took a seat right there. There, on a bench opposite him.

***

[...] Did we ever talk about our past lives? We did. But it wasn’t until this life. This right here, in which you know me. I remember every second of that first talk. It was right after I had decided that it was about time to take my own life into my own hands. Before that, we did not acknowledge our past. Not ever. I don’t know why, to be honest. Maybe it was because we were both scared that it was all in our heads. That we were only imagining the whole situation. Maybe we were scared that the other person will think we’re insane. Or maybe it was because of something else, I don’t know. Sometimes I have left little hints to test the waters. Sometimes I was under the impression that she was leaving hints too. We were too stupid to address the subject properly though. But we did talk about it, eventually.

But let us not get sidetracked. Back to our story.

After that time I had seen the most beautiful girl I have ever met, in my father’s garden, I forgot how to function as a human. I did not speak to her that day, I’m afraid. I just kept on sitting under that oak tree, watching her while she was reading her book on the bench. We exchanged a few more glances. She smiled at me a few more times, taking my breath away each time.

And that was it.

A maiden had come to tell me that my father was expecting me in his study. And so, sadly, I had to move from my place under the tree. My father did not tolerate lateness, you see. He did not tolerate a lot of things when it came down to me, actually.

But because, as I’m sure you have noticed by now, I was a hopeless romantic back then - still am, but secretly, so don’t tell anyone or I will have to kill you - I came under that very same oak tree the next day, hoping against all odds, that the girl who took over my mind so quickly would show up again.

She hasn’t.

Disappointing, isn’t it?

I came under that same oak tree every day for a week.

Every day, I woke up and I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Perhaps, she’ll show up today? Maybe I’ll go to the garden, find that bench, and she’ll be there? Or she’ll come by, later?

I would go, sit under that unfortunate tree, and pretend I was reading my book for hours on end. Waiting. Hoping I could see her just one more time. Just for a second.

It was like a loop, and I couldn’t do anything to escape it. My emotions seemed to find a pattern to follow. Anxiety, anticipation, excitement, anxiety again, and finally disappointment. The next day everything had started all over again.. And the day after that, and the day after that, and the day… You know what I mean. It lasted a whole week. Oh, the pain it had caused me. Every day I went back to that damned tree and every day she wasn’t there.

Until she was.

The seventh day came around. I’m not gonna lie, I was discouraged by then. There was very little hope left in me. Yet, I went to the garden ‘one last time’, as I kept telling myself.

Oh, you have no idea how happy - and shocked - I was to see her reading while sitting on that very same bench as the last time [...]

***

One could say that the weather was perfect that day. Not one cloud in the sky. Sun shining brightly. Birds chirping happily, bees buzzing without any care in the world, lazy breath of wind going around the garden, and that one specific scent of fresh air lingering in his nostrils, warm rays of sun caressing his skin. A perfect summer day.

And yet chills were running up and down his spine, his back covered in cold sweat, breath caught up in his throat.

He stood there, rooted to the spot.

Was he dreaming?

Was this a hallucination?

Perhaps, he was feverish?

Confusion and happiness made him dizzy. Or maybe it was because of lack of sleep? After six full days of pointless hoping, thinking, sleepless nights, and coming back to the same spot… She was there. Sitting on the same bench as the last time, surrounded by the beautiful scenery taken out straight from a landscape painting.

And he stood there - stood there like a fool! - staring at her as if expecting her to disappear by the first time he’d dare to blink. As if he was certain that she was but a figment of his overheated imagination.

He looked at her, his eyes roaming her figure, noticing every little thing. The way her hair fell down her back. How the sun was reflecting in her reddish hair. How her dress hugged her body. How she bent a little over her book in her lap. How she crossed her ankles elegantly. How her eyelashes fluttered every time she blinked.

All of a sudden her eyes were on him and he felt trapped.

He had no idea what to do with himself. Should he turn around and flee? No, that was a stupid idea, even though a very tempting one. Perhaps he should say something? But what should he say? What should he do? Wha… But, before he could do anything, she spoke.

“You're late,” she said, and he felt dumbfounded. What did she mean? Was she waiting for him?

“I'm-I’m sorry?”

“Yes, you should be,” there was a hint of a smile in the corner of her mouth.

“I…” he started, not knowing where exactly was he going with that sentence, too distracted by her smile, but she interrupted him.

“It's rude to keep a lady waiting, didn't you know?” So, she was waiting for him? But how was he supposed to know that? If he had known, he would run to her as fast as he could.

“I wasn't aware…”

“Well, that explains everything, doesn’t it?” She laughed, raising her eyebrow, and at that moment it had dawned on him - she was making fun of him. He could feel the warmth of a blush spreading on his neck and pale cheeks. He stood in the same spot, not knowing what he should do. She was watching him, and he wanted to say something, but before he could even open his mouth, she spoke again.

“Why don't you sit with me?” She pointed with her head towards the oak tree. “That patch of grass over there doesn't seem very comfortable.”

She scooted over to make him some room and looked at him expectantly.

His body moved on its own accord. One foot after the other, and he hadn’t even had time to start to panic; his mind was completely blank. And in the next second, he was right next to her. She gave him a pleased smile and turned her head towards her book.

Her face was even more beautiful from up close. He noticed that her nose was marked with a few freckles. Her skin was glowing in the sun. And her hair looked so soft. He felt the urge to run his fingers through it.

He blinked a few times. How long had they been sitting like that in silence?

He’s been staring again.

Why couldn’t he tear his eyes away from her? She probably thought he was being weird.

He should say something. Start a conversation with her. He wanted to hear her voice again, to hear that beautiful, melodic sound. So he thought hard about things he could say, but all his mind was providing him with were synonyms of the word ‘beautiful’. He opened his mouth, not knowing what he wanted to say, and all that came out was:

“My name is…” He wasn’t even surprised when she had interrupted him, yet again.

“Oh, I know exactly what your name is.” She said, without looking up from her book. “This town isn't that big, after all, and your father is the most influential person around here.”

She was right, of course. Every man, woman, and child in town knew his father’s name. He was the mayor, after all.

Silence fell upon them once more. He sat there, at a loss of what to do. He wanted to talk to her so badly. He was imagining this moment for the whole week. Every time he dreamt of the day he would finally speak to her they were talking, laughing, telling each other secrets, and their heart’s desires. Never had it occurred to him that he would become a sweating, stuttering mess in her presence.

“I still don't know your name.” He said, breaking the silence once more. That was the only thing that came to his useless mind.

“No, you don't,” she said, simply, not even bothering to look up from her book. He felt frustrated. Was she being difficult on purpose? A tinge of anger started to rise in his belly.

“Aren't you going to introduce yourself, ma'am?” He asked, a little bit too harshly, but she was being so difficult to talk to that he couldn’t help himself. “For someone so focused on the rudeness of others, you're being quite rude yourself right now.”

“Am I? How so?” she asked, finally looking up at him. Right now, he wished she hadn’t had done that because he got distracted with her eyes. They were a light shade of a color that was hard to name at a first glance. Green, perhaps. Some might say her eyes were almost greyish.

“You're refusing to introduce yourself and…”

“That's not true,” the woman interrupted him, “You haven't asked me properly.”

“ And you're interrupting me all the time,” he continued as if he hadn’t heard her. The corners of her mouth turned slightly upward.

“That's fair,” she said, turning her eyes back to her book.

“Aren't you going to apologize?”

“Aren't you going to ask for my name?”

“What's your name?” He asked immediately. She pursed her lips, trying - and failing - to hide her smile.

“Rose.”

“Victor.” They shook hands. She had a really soft and warm hand, and it fitted so nicely against his own.

“I apologize for interrupting you, Victor,” she said, “May I have my hand back?”

He looked down and came to the realization that he was still holding her hand in his own. He let go immediately, trying his best not to blush, but he could tell by her smirk, that he was red in the face.

She returned to reading her book and he was trying his best not to stare at her. He looked at the tree in front of the bench. The very same tree he had been sitting under for the past six days. And he thought about how he spent those days, hoping he would see her again and how now she was right there beside him. It made him think about what she said when she saw him, ‘you’re late’. Was she waiting for him? Why did she say that?

“Why?” he asked out loud, following his own train of thoughts.

“What was that?” she looked up from his book again, her brows knitted together.

“Why did you say I was late?” he clarified.

“I don’t know. You stood there and seemed a little bit overwhelmed by seeing me, so I thought why not to engage in a pleasant conversation?”

“Shall we start the ‘pleasant conversation’ now or...?” his voice was dripping with sarcasm. The corners of her mouth twitched and she turned her eyes back to the book in her lap.

He desperately wanted her full attention back for himself. He tried to come up with something to say. Ask a question she would have no choice but to answer.

“So, why are you here?”

“It’s nice weather, I fancied sitting on a bench with my book,” she said without looking up at him, “And I’m waiting for my fiancé.”

“Your fiancé?” He felt as if she had slapped him across the face.

A fiancé. She was engaged. His mind was racing. Of course, she was engaged. A woman like that couldn’t possibly be … He did not want to think about that. He pushed those thoughts away from himself. Instead of dwelling on that little piece of information, he tried to focus on something else. His eyes fell on the book in her lap that she had been so focused on.

“What are you reading?”

“A novel.”

“What about?” He tried really hard not to grit his teeth. Why was it, that she had to be so difficult to talk to?

“Love at first sight. Rather dreadful, really,” she said with a deep sigh.

“Don’t you believe in love at first sight?”

“I don’t believe in love,” she clarified.

“Yet you’re engaged. How does that work?” She sighed again and rolled her eyes closing her book and turning to fully face him. It was clear to him that he was annoying her and he couldn’t help but grin.

“What were you reading?” Rose asked, changing the subject, all of a sudden. She pointed to the oak tree with her head. “Last week, under that tree over there?”

“Poetry,” he replied immediately.

“Do you like poetry?”

“I do,” Victor nodded.

“And do you believe in everything those poets write about?” He did not expect that question.

“I…,” but she didn’t wait for him to finish his sentence.

“How can we believe in the existence of things we’ve never experienced before? These are just books. Not reality.”

“Have you never been in love then?” Victor felt confused. How could she be engaged if she did not love her partner? “Don’t you love your fiancé?”

“I am…,” she hesitated, “fond of him.”

“You’re fond of him?” Victor chuckled and couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “He must be thrilled. Such heated emotion just for him.”

“What about you?” she shot him an annoyed look. “Don’t you have someone to be fond of?”

“Not really, no.”

She looked at him. For some reason, he felt uncomfortable, being watched so closely by her green eyes. Weird, he wanted her attention so badly when she was not paying any, and now, when she was watching him, he wished she wasn’t. It felt as if she was looking for something in his face. Victor had no idea what was she looking for, or if she found it or not, but after what felt like an eternity, she looked away.

“Consider yourself lucky then.” He thought he could hear the bitterness in her voice.

“Why?”

“Because this engagement is more of a business arrangement,” she said, “There are no ‘heated emotions’, as you had called them,” she looked at him again, sending him a small smile, “I don’t recommend marriage out of necessity to anyone.”

“Why is it a…” But at that precise moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall man standing a few meters away from them. He was handsome, Victor could tell. Dark hair, mustache, sharp cheekbones, and a strong jaw. Wearing a three-piece suit. He was watching them.

Rose followed Victor’s eyes and froze for a second.

“My darling,” the man said, looking at Rose, as if expecting her, to run to him immediately. There was no warmth in his eyes.

The girl turned back to look at him. He didn’t like the look on her face. There was something… He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he had the impression that she grew sad all of a sudden.

She sent him a small smile and said quietly,

“I’m sure we’ll meet again.”

***

[...] and left.

The next life we met… What? You want to know what happened in that one? Well, uhh... Okay, okay. I wanted to spare you the unpleasant parts of the story, but since you’re insisting, I suppose… Alright.

I know, I told you we had had always found each other, and I’m not saying that that was a lie - we did - but I suppose you’ve been imagining there was always a happy ending for every story. I’m sorry for misleading you.

So, as you already know, she was engaged. A ‘business arrangement’, as she had called it, a ‘necessity’. I did not understand what she had meant. It seemed bizarre to me that a marriage could be an arrangement…

“I’m sure we’ll meet again,” she said. And we have met again, indeed.

It wasn’t until two weeks after that lovely, hot summer day, when I saw her sitting on a bench in my father’s garden, that we met again.

Again in the same spot, sitting on a bench. We talked, laughed, bickered. And we made quite a habit of those meetings. We grew to like each other. We became friends and after some time… Lovers.

It all happened so suddenly.

One second we were laughing about one thing or another and the next thing I knew she was kissing me. And before I knew what exactly was happening we were under the weeping willows. We made love hidden from the whole world. And it was glorious. Oh, so glorious...  

“Ew! Gross. Remember, we’re still talking about my aunt.”

Yes! Right. Sorry about that.

As I was saying, we turned into lovers. It had lasted some time, but as I already told you, there’s no happy ending for this story. It can be a happy beginning or a happy middle but an ending is never happy. A story with a happy ending is a story that’s not finished yet.

We did not live happily ever after.

In fact, that was the first time she broke my heart.

It wasn’t the last time, either.

You already know, she was engaged. And the fact that she was having an affair with me did not change that. It was all fun and games for some time, but when her fiancé found out about us… He was furious, to say the least. I will spare you the unpleasant details of his anger. How he - forgive me the foul language - beat the shit out of her. How he had sent his chums to deal with me.

It all ended up with Howard - because that was the name of her fiancé - moving out to who knows where taking Rose with him. The heartbreaking part of it all is, she had a choice. And she had chosen him. She told me that herself, the night before they left. After all, he had done to her.

As I said, she broke my heart.

But it’s not like I’ve never broken her heart, don't get me wrong. To be honest with you, I think I have done that a lot more, and far more cruelly, that she has. I have literally killed [...]

***

His problem wasn’t that he wasn’t happy with his life. He wasn’t - that much was true. But in his defense, no slave has ever been happy with their life. His problem was that he was looking at the man in front of him, and at the moment their eyes met for the first time, he knew. He did not know how exactly he knew. He just did. Images and something that could be only described as someone else’s memories were flooding his mind. But those were his own memories, he was certain. Only everything was different.

Different time.

Different person.

Different life.

It had to be. Because in this life he was a slave; a gladiator. He was sold as a young boy to go and train; to become a warrior who would entertain Ceasar and the people of Rome, with his own death. Fighting for his own life, killing both strangers and friends, who all wanted the same as he did. Freedom.

The only thing that was the same as the images in his head, were the eyes of the man standing in front of him. Those light, green eyes; eyes, that were looking at him with a mixture of confusion and understanding, at the same time.

Suddenly everything became too much for him. The unforgiving sun, trying to fry them alive. All of the faces of the crowd around them became blurred. Their screams became one collective noise that buzzed at the back of his head. All that mattered at that moment was that he was standing in front of a man. A man who, at the moment, looked like struck by lightning. He was sure he had the same look on his own face. How could it be? Was it possible that they had met before? In a different life?

Unfortunately, it wasn’t time to think about it.

He couldn’t breathe.

He took one, two steps forward.

It was almost over in less than a few minutes, even though to him it felt like hours. His sword, his hands, and his body were now covered with sweat, blood, and gore. The man’s and his own.

He was trembling, though he hadn’t had realized that at first. His hold on his sword slackened. Only when he looked at the man, now kneeling in front of him, had he seen the reflection of his own exhaustion, agonizing pain, and misery, in the man’s bloody face.

The crowd was chanting, but he couldn’t understand. His senses were dulled by the pain of his own injuries and his broken heart.

He looked up, his eyes fixed upon a man standing at the center of the loge seating, amongst the rest of the aristocracy. He waited, heart, thumping loudly in his ears. He waited for Ceasar to give him a sign. And he got it. The man in a white toga held up his right hand and turned it with his thumb pointing downwards.

His heart sank.

He looked at the other man at his feet; looked into those green eyes; the man nodded slightly as if to encourage him; as if he had already agreed with his fate.

“Do it,” the man whispered, and his voice almost got lost in the noise surrounding them.

“I’m so sorry,” he muttered, barely audible for the other man to hear.

Life has a way to laugh into people’s faces, he mused, as he tightened his grip on the sword.

***

[...] It was not the last time I had her blood on my hands. Fate has a foul sense of humor, let me tell you. It brought us together times and times again, only to tear us apart, one way or another. We were gladiators in that life in Rome, a Jew and a Nazi in another life in Poland, two knights in a different life in England… I won’t tell you about every single life we had, because that would take us forever.

I lived a thousand lives. Yet, I haven’t lived a more bizarre one than the one I’m living in now.

Lilith. That’s my name.

The first woman. The first witch.

On the sixth day of the creation of everything, I was brought up to life alongside my husband, Adam, by the False God. We were created with the same clay, created to be equal. We were to watch over the Earth, look after every living creature in the Garden. We were to live happily. And to some degree, we did. But as time passed… I’m sure you know at least tidbits of the story. You know that happiness and equality are not a part of this particular tale.

The False God wants people to believe it was a woman who committed the first sin, by eating the Forbidden Fruit. While it is true that it was Eve who took the apple first, it's not true that it was the first sin.

It was a man who committed the original sin. On the woman’s body. He took forcefully what I wouldn’t give willingly.

And I ran.

Away from Adam, away from the Garden, away from the False God.

All alone, deep in despair, self-pity, and pain, roaming the land beyond the walls of Paradise. I’m not sure how long it had lasted. How long have I been walking around the desert, like a child in the dark? Months, it could be years, really.

And then I met Him.

A fallen angel.

Lucifer.

We were both outcasts. And suddenly I wasn’t roaming the world alone, for He was by my side.

He was… Tender. Kind. Sweet, at first. He promised me He would make me His queen in exchange for my servitude. I agreed. Why wouldn’t I? It was a small price to pay for what he was offering, after all.

And the very first thing he asked of me [...]

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #208

Don’t forget to vote on the season 7 polls!!

BTVS 7x21 End of Days

Stray thoughts

1) So this is how Faith is doing as the leader…

…and this is how Buffy is doing as the outcast Slayer…

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I wonder who’s the boss… (maybe we should ask Abed.)

2) I don’t like seeing Faith hurt, but I do get a very sick (I admit it) satisfaction at seeing all these girls hurt and scared because they kicked Buffy out and they screwed everything up in the worst possible fashion. I know that by having Faith lead them into yet another trap the writers were trying to prove the point that what happened at the vineyard could’ve happened to anyone and that it wasn’t Buffy’s fault (Buffy will make this same point herself later on the episode.) Both Buffy and Faith were trying to do what they thought was best, yet it backfired. Shit happens yada yada yada. Yet I just can’t help but feel personally vindicated when I see Faith and the potentials fuck everything up so spectacularly.

On the other hand, not only was Buffy able to pull herself together after the group (and her friends! Her family!) kicked her out and made her feel like the worst piece of shit in the whole world, but she also managed to A) get the scythe and B) make Caleb nervous, which was a first. So yeah. #teamBuffy

3) So why exactly were the Scoobies looking for Buffy? I mean, didn’t they kick her out literally the day before? And now they’re suddenly worried about her or something? The only person who followed Buffy after they all kicked her out was Faith. Faith! Do you see how wrong/ironic that this? Do you see how painful it must’ve been for Buffy not to have NONE OF HER FRIENDS – not Xander, not Willow, not Giles, not even her own sister! – go after her to see if she was okay? To ask her where she was going or what she was going to do? The only person who showed any concern whatsoever about her was probably the only person she would’ve labeled a potential enemy. 

Damn you all, I’m still pissed off. I hate this. I hate having to feel this way about the characters I’ve loved for seven seasons in the FINAL EPISODES OF THE SHOW. It just feels so wrong, but I can’t help but HATE THEM. What the hell was this fucking writing choice? I hate it. I hate everything about it.

4) If I have to say something in favor of Kennedy is this, when shit hit the fan, she was the only one who wasn’t screaming like a moron and who was actually trying to fight off the Turok-Han. So yeah. The girl got spunk.

5) But she’s nothing compared to our designated BAMF.

6) No one is kicking Buffy out now, HUH? HUH???????????????????

7)

Yes. Yes, you did.

8) And this is exactly why they shouldn’t have kicked her out or “rebelled” against her or whatever the fuck they thought they were doing.

BUFFY You guys, it was a trap. It's not her fault. That could've just as easily happened to me.

9) While I do appreciate the pun and the side glances between Buffy and Willow…

I still feel it’s very wrong they’re all just talking and Giles is playing around with the scythe as if the last time they’d been together they HADN’T HUMILIATED BUFFY AND KICKED HER OUT OF HER OWN FUCKING HOUSE???? LIKE SERIOUSLY??? In Willow’s own words, you're not gonna jokey-rhyme your way out of this one.

Like, I know the apocalypse takes precedence, but maybe say “sorry for kicking you out” and “thank you for saving us AGAIN”.

10)

11) Again, I get the same feeling with Xander. Like, did they all suddenly forget they had left Buffy alone and kicked her out of her own house? Xander is all like, “I don’t need you to protect me just because I lost an eye” but literally a day before he was telling her it was HER fault he’d lost it, and using that as a justification not only for removing her from her role as a leader but also TO KICK HER OUT OF HER OWN HOUSE. And now it’s just like nothing ever happened? How is that possible? How is literally no one apologizing to Buffy? And not only is he not apologizing, but Buffy is telling him that he’s her heart and the reason she’s still alive, which okay, it’s all kind of true, but he’s also the guy WHO BLAMED YOU FOR LOSING HIS EYE AND WHO KICKED YOU OUT OF YOUR OWN HOUSE THE DAY BEFORE?!

I didn’t know that End of Days could make me as angry as Empty Places but here I am.

We’re 14 minutes into the episode and still, no one has apologized to Buffy and they’re all pretending like they didn’t turn their backs on her and it’s pissing me off. I hate feeling this way in the episode prior to the series finale. This is not how a fan should be feeling right before the show ends!

12) Not only do I know what a glottal stop is but I’ve also learned how to pronounce it. Or at least I was able to pronounce it a few years ago. 

13) And hence the fate of Miss Kitty Fantastico was finally revealed…

DAWN Xander, my crossbow is not out here. I told you, I don't leave crossbows around all willy-nilly. Not since that time with Miss Kitty Fantastico.

If you must hate Dawn, it should only be for this.

14) Did anyone really believe Xander would hurt Dawn?

15) What was the point of this scene…?

…I mean, other than to give us Nathan Fillion’s orgasm face?

16) And this is the difference between Buffy and the rest… just remember how everyone reacted and treated Buffy after the vineyard, and see how she acts here after literally the same happened with Faith in charge…

FAITH What do you want me to say? I blew it.

BUFFY You didn't blow it.

FAITH Tell that to—

BUFFY People die. You lead them into battle, they're gonna die. It doesn't matter how ready you are or how smart you are. War is about death. Needless, stupid death.

She’s understanding and reassuring, she’s not pointing fingers or kicking people out. And that’s why she’s a hero and the rest are a fucking bunch of morons. I’m sorry, I’m still so angry about Empty Places and this episode is not making things any better.

17) But I do love when my two slayers see eye to eye…

FAITH So, here's the laugh riot. My whole life I've been a loner.(…) No ties, no buddies, no relationships that lasted longer than... (…) Me, by myself all the time. I'm looking at you, everything you have, and, I don't know, jealous. Then there I am. Everybody's looking to me, trusting me to lead them, and I've never felt so alone in my entire life.

BUFFY Yeah.

FAITH And that's you every day, isn't it?

BUFFY I love my friends. I'm very grateful for them. But that's the price. Being a slayer.

FAITH There's only supposed to be one. Maybe that's why you and I can never get along. We're not supposed to exist together.

BUFFY Also, you went evil and were killing people.

FAITH Good point. Also a factor.

BUFFY But you're right. I mean, I... I guess everyone's alone. But being a slayer? There's a burden we can't share.

FAITH And no one else can feel it. Thank God we're hot chicks with superpowers.

BUFFY Takes the edge off.

FAITH Comforting.

BUFFY Mm-hmm.

This is something that had been a long time coming. Since day one, Faith had envied Buffy. Just like Buffy saw in Faith her road not taken, Faith saw in Buffy the life she could’ve had but didn’t. She envied it and she wanted it for herself. She literally tried to steal it away several times. So if she couldn’t have it, if it wasn’t meant for her, then she could take Buffy away from it, drive her to the dark side, where she lived. Every attempt was futile, even stealing Buffy’s body and literally taking her life. It only made her feel more undeserving, more inadequate, more unworthy. But every time she’d taken a shot at being the leader, it was by playing tricks, by taking what it wasn’t rightfully hers. This time around, she had somehow earned it. There was no foul play on her part. Others made the decision for her and gave her the role she’d craved for so long. And she finally understood that it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Yes, Buffy did have friends and people who looked up to her and cared about her. But when push comes to shove, when tough calls must be made, the Slayer is always alone. The weight of the world is only on her shoulders, and she can’t share the burden. It took four seasons but Faith finally got it. And she could finally let go of all the envy and jealousy.

18) I just love the fact that for the first time Buffy is the one who opens up to Spike. She’s always been the one who pretends there’s nothing between them and who skirts around her feelings and dismisses his. But not this time. And for me, it was enough that she acknowledged that it meant something, even if they – and we – don’t know exactly what that was.

BUFFY You're a dope.

SPIKE I'm a what?

BUFFY You're a dope. And a bonehead. And you're shirty.

SPIKE Have you gone completely carrot-top?

BUFFY Do you see this? This may actually help me fight my war. This might be the key to everything. And the reason I'm holding it is because of you. Because of the strength that you gave me last night. Look, I am tired of defensiveness and weird, mixed signals. You know, I have Faith for that. Let's just get to the truth here, OK? I don't know how you felt about last night, but I will not—

SPIKE Terrified.

BUFFY Of what?

SPIKE Last night was... God, I'm such a jerk. I can't do this.

BUFFY Spike...

SPIKE It was the best night of my life. If you poke fun at me, you bloody well better use that, 'cause I couldn't bear it. It may not mean that much to you, but—

BUFFY I just told you it did.

SPIKE Yeah... I hear you say it, but... I've lived for soddin' ever, Buffy. I've done everything. Done things with you I can't spell, but... I've never... been close... to anyone. Least of all, you. 'Til last night. All I did was... hold you, watch you sleep. And it was the best night of my life. So, yeah... I'm... terrified.

BUFFY You don't have to be.

SPIKE Were you there with me?

BUFFY I was.

SPIKE What does that mean?

BUFFY I don't know. Does it have to mean something?

SPIKE No. Not right now.

19) Update: 29 minutes in and I’m still waiting for someone to apologize to Buffy.

20) Am I the only who thinks this speech is okay but like, the writers were trying too hard to give Anya her “Anya Speech Moment” of the season and it kind of feels a bit, I don’t know, forced?

ANYA Well...I guess I was...kinda new to bein' around humans before. But now I've... seen a lot more, gotten to know people... seen what they're capable of, and... I guess I just realized...how amazingly screwed-up they all are. I mean really, really screwed-up in a monumental fashion. And they have no purpose that unites them, so they just drift around, blundering through life until they die...which they...they know is coming, yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them. They're incapable of thinking about what they want beyond the moment. They kill each other, which is clearly insane. And yet, here's the thing. When it's something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they're lame morons for fighting, but they do. They never... never quit. So I guess I will keep fighting, too.

21) #priorities

22) And in another episode of Plots Totally Pulled Out of the Writer’s Ass… (a.k.a. Joss Whedon Tries to Rectify the Fact that He Wrote a Bunch of Men Violating the Original Slayer by Putting a Demon Inside of Her and Thus Utterly Destroyed the Whole Slayerness Equals Feminism Theme)

WOMAN We forged it in secrecy and kept it hidden from the Shadow Men, who...

BUFFY Yeah. Met those guys. Didn't really care too much for 'em.

WOMAN Ahh, yes. Then you know. And they became the watchers. And the watchers watched the slayers. But we were watching them.

BUFFY Oh! So you're like... what are you?

WOMAN Guardians. Women who want to help and protect you. We forged this centuries ago, halfway around the world.

Okay, I get it, I get what you were trying to do, but it was so fucking obvious, it was so transparent. Like, I know most of the so-called metaphors in this show were not so subtle (think the fucking monster-penis in Doublemeat Palace, for instance.) But the feminist struggle in the slayer vs the council struggle was always something that I personally enjoyed. And this is how Joss’s brand of “feminism” began to crumble down, in my opinion. This is what a white dude who is a self-proclaimed feminist believes to be a Good feminist storyline, but it’s so clichéd and self-evident it's almost cringe-worthy. Like, you get a bunch of Evil Men quite literally raping a Poor Woman, who is faked Empowered (her powers were lent to her by the Evil Men and the source of her powers is Evil, Demonic in nature because  duh! she is a Woman)  so that they can Manipulate her and Use her for the benefit of the Patriarchy. But oh wait! This is a Feminist Show! So in spite of what the Evil Men who were supposedly the Powerful ones did, there always were These Great and Powerful Women behind it all, the True Guardians of the Slayer, This has been a Matriarchy all along, you see?! PLOT TWIST!

Yawn.

The worst part? I can imagine all the writers patting themselves on the back for writing such a groundbreaking and Feminist storyline and for sticking it to the Men.

23) And btw, just to show you how big a Feminist Show this is, we get this…

I guess since this is a Feminist Show and Angel is the hero here and Buffy the damsel in distress, that makes Angel a woman, right?

But hey, at least he (or she?) literally let Buffy deliver the lethal blow…

24) And yes, this totally makes sense!

because Angel has not claimed to be in love with Cordelia and Buffy has not just had her more honest heart-toheart with Spike. Let’s just disregard whatever arcs have been developed in both shows in order to deliver a Ship Moment for the Bangel fans, right? Who cares about character development, right? Because I’m positive this is what former lovers do after not seeing each other in over a year, being currently emotionally unavailable, and facing the greatest evil of all. Suck face.

25) Update: minute 42 and I’m STILL waiting for someone to apologize to Buffy.

26) Sorry for the bitter rant! 

27)  If you’ve got this far, thank you for reading! If you enjoy my recaps and my blog, please consider supporting it on ko-fi. Thanks!

[wombathos]

the lawyer, the witch and the minotaur

Here’s my 2018 Buffyverse Secret Santa gift for @aesthetically-turnt - because I just got really carried away with the concept of a Lilah/Tara pairing (thanks for that prompt). Merry Christmas, and hope you enjoy!

12.5k words, read here on Ao3 or below the cut.

The thing is…

The thing is that Tara has been dead for a while. All things considered, it’s not too bad. Well, she would rather not be dead. Wouldn’t most people? And she had been quite young. And it had all been so very sudden, with Tara standing in the room with Willow - her Willow, reconciled and happy and whole for the first time in forever. She had felt the bullet, in a weird, disembodied kind of way. Thinking back, she wonders whether she had died the moment the bullet impacted. There was an after-bullet: in a vague sort of way she can remember falling down and Willow being there and weeping, but all the pain she would imagine came with a bullet just kind of… didn’t.

And then she was dead.

But now, it’s all soft. And comforting, because there’s nothing here too hurt her. It’s not as much fun as being alive was. It doesn’t hurt either, which is nice. She doesn’t understand exactly what this is, where she is and where she’s going. If she’s going anywhere. There are no gates, no old white guy with a beard. No demons and hellfire either, which she’s sure would come as a surprise to some people. But it is peaceful, and she is grateful for that.

She does miss Willow, though. She hopes that everything turned out all right. Then again, Willow never needed anyone, least of all Tara, to protect her.

***

The thing is that all of this changed. Much like being wrenched out of life in the first place, this is sudden too. That vague nothingness that had surrounded Tara became something - and it’s hard to explain because there isn’t really anything to look at. No swirl of colours, no white blankness either. But now, the nothingness has solidified. It has become a door.

And Tara sees it, even though there shouldn’t really be a Tara who is able to see it. It’s all very confusing, but the door somehow has shifted her perspective. As if the door being something, that forces her to be something too. And she’s staring at the door. Because she can see it. She can see.

That’s when the door opens. That’s when Tara sees the woman standing there, dressed in what she imagines to be quite a fancy suit, with a mane of brown hair falling down and curling up again, looking distinctly unruffled as if this is something she does every day when she stretches out a hand into the nothingness and the shiny pink lips stretch out into a smile.

“Come on then. I don’t have all day.”

***

The thing is, Tara doesn’t know exactly how she ended up on the other side of the door. She looks have a body to cross through the door, for starters. She’s also not sure whether it is her choice. Did she accept the hand? She finds herself staring down at perfectly manicured nails, that hand grasping another one which she ends up recognising as her own. Does that means she chose to go through? Or did the woman pull her through?

“Merry Christmas, Miss Maclay.”

Tara stares at the woman. And she stares some more. And then she reaches for the only word she can think of.

“Huh?”

***

“I suppose it’s arguable whether it’s actually Christmas if you’re dead,” says the woman in a conversational tone as she looks Tara up and down.

Which means… there is a Tara to look at. Tara looks down, takes in grey denim and a thin blue jumper. She was wearing this… She reaches up to her heart, draws her finger away. It is stained red.

“Yes, that is rather unpleasant,” says the woman. “Considering all of this is only corporeal in the very loosest of senses, I suppose you should be able to change that. Focus hard, or something. Isn’t that something witches are meant to be good at? Psychic projection and whatnot?”

“What is this?”

The woman’s smirk broadens. “Good to see you still have some sense about you. It makes all of this easier.”

“What - Tell me what’s going on. Please.”

A titter. “And polite too! It really is Christmas.” The woman adjusts her scarf - soft and purple and carefully wrapped around her neck - seemingly content to make Tara wait just a little longer for anything approaching a proper answer. “Let’s see then. Well, first of all, you’re dead. Now I know this may come as a shock -“

“I know that,” says Tara. “I meant, what is -“ She gestures around her. She gazes around her to see what looks suspiciously like a corridor. “This.”

The woman blinks. “That was easier than I expected. I really thought we’d take longer to get over the whole ‘death’ thing but I guess we can skip straight to the bit where you help me out and then get to go back to whatever you were doing.”

“I - what?”

“You help me out,” repeats the woman, slowly. “Do the world a service, that kind of thing. There’s a few benefits you can secure, too, in terms of insurance against paranormal incursions on your regular death experience. If you’d feel more comfortable signing a contract, then I have several papers prepared too.”

“A contract?” says Tara, able to feel her brain gradually dissolve.

The woman produces a leather bag which she definitely hadn’t had a second earlier and pulls out a thick wad of papers. “Yep. All in order.”

She holds them out. Tara does not accept and instead simply stares at the papers, then at the stranger again.

The woman rolls her eyes. “Oh, there’s no clauses that involve selling your soul or anything. That’s what people always worry about, which is a reasonable thing to worry about but really isn’t necessary. But it’s just to formalise the arrangement, show you what you’re going to get out of it and that you’ll be returned back safely. We can always continue without.”

“Who are you?”

The answering grin is all teeth, some unnerving combination of cocky and dangerous. “Lilah Morgan, attorney at law. Well… I was, anyway.”

***

The thing is, Tara had not expected - as far as she had been expecting anything at all - to be bailed out of limbo or heaven or whatever it had been by a lawyer, of all people. And this lawyer isn’t making a lot of sense: when you’ve just been wrenched back into some sort of a manifestation of a physical reality after an indeterminate time in an inexplicable void, it takes you a little time to be ready to deal with things like contracts again.

Tara isn’t at her best right now. So when the woman - Lilah - tells her to follow her, she does so, without really thinking about it. They are walking along what is indeed some kind of a corridor, bleak with no particularly interesting features that distinguish it from normal corridors of the sort one would come across in the land of the living.

“I’m confused,” says Tara, unnecessarily.

The woman considers her with an air of patience. “That’s understandable. I imagine it’ll take you a bit to wrap your head around all the details.”

Tara is less worried about the ‘details’ than she is about the ‘what the hell is going on’ bit, but she declines to mention this.

“What is this place?”

“I suppose you could call it the afterlife,” says Lilah. “Though that term isn’t particularly useful in an explanatory sense, is it? You are dead, after all. This is after life by definition.”

Tara blinks a few times. “You’re right. It isn’t helpful.”

The woman seems to find this funny. Tara doesn’t.

“Where are you taking me?”

“To a connection point, of sorts. The closest place - well not place since none of this is geographically construed in the regular sense but you know what I mean - to the real world, if you will.”

“You want to… to bring me back?”

“Oh. Well, no. Sorry,” she says, looking genuinely apologetic. A little, anyway. “No, it’s more that we need a place to get the connection straight, so to speak. Give an access to whoever might need it. I’m a little vague on the details myself, if I’m being honest. All I know is that I need to get you there.”

“Why?”

“Long story.”

“I have time.”

Lilah laughs. She seems to do that a lot. “It doesn’t really matter. Come on, we still have quite a way to walk.”

***

But that really isn’t good enough, Tara decides after a few minutes.

She stops.

It takes Lilah a moment to notice, but then she turns around to look back at Tara.

“Is something the matter?”

“What do you want?” asks Tara, deciding to get to the crux of the matter.

Lilah gives her an odd look. “I told you -“

“I want an explanation.”

The odd look deepens, and Tara thinks Lilah might be surprised. After a moment, she sighs.

“Come on, I’ll explain as we walk.”

“No,” says Tara, and saying the word makes it feel like something important has returned to her. She doesn’t know what it is and it probably doesn’t make any sense, but it makes her feel more like herself again. “Explain to me first what you want.”

“Fine,” says Lilah with a shrug that is just a little too casual for Tara’s liking. “I want to undo a spell. Or rather, my employers want to undo one, though for all intents and purposes it’s quite the same thing.”

“A spell?” repeats Tara, unsure of what she had been expecting. “You want to use my magic?”

“I’m not here for your power, I’m afraid,” says Lilah. “Oh, it’s considerable. Don’t get me wrong. Just, in this particular instance, it’s your link to a particular hotheaded force of nature that has gotten the attention of the folks on top.”

Willow.

“What do you want from her?” asks Tara, feeling her fists curl up into tight balls. No way is this woman getting Tara to do anything that would in any way -

“You’re linked. Magically, I mean. She summoned up a great deal of dark magic trying to get you back -“

“She did what?”

“- which kind of leaves its mark. Well, yes. And then went on a bit of a rampage, from what I hear. Anyways, she then went on to do a very specific spell with a whole bunch of consequences which I need you to undo.”

Tara’s mind is still reeling from all this jarring new information so she seizes on to one of the few things she is reasonably sure of. “You can’t just undo spells that have already happened. That’s not how magic works.”

“Not with the living it might not. Here, however? Things are a little more flexible. See, we’re not so much undoing it as making sure that it never happens in the first place.” Lilah winks. “I’ll explain more if you come along.”

She starts walking again and Tara seriously considers for a moment turning around and letting this strange and quite possibly malicious woman wander off on her own. But where would she go? Tara groans quietly, well aware that she simply does not know enough yet. So she follows the woman again, determined to get at the answers she needs.

***

It’s not easy getting anything useful out of the woman, but there’s another quite crucial question that really needs answering.

“Why would I help you?” asks Tara. Because she’s getting quite close to turning around, out of frustration if nothing else. They are still in the corridor, which feels unending. Maybe it is.

“Kindness of your heart?”

Tara just looks at her.

Lilah smirks. “Fine, then. If you want to be all difficult about it…”

“Then what?”

“Then I could always ask you what else precisely you’re intending on doing. You didn’t seem to be very busy.”

“And if I told you I’m sure I’d figure something out?”

“Then I’d have to inform you that my employers rerouted you from your initial final destination - a particularly nasty hell dimension. And if you don’t cooperate… Well, let’s just say there’s some folks who’d be thrilled to have that decision revoked.”

Tara’s heart sinks. She isn’t even quite sure why. Probably because the idea of being sent to a hell dimension doesn’t sound at all appealing, but the alternative of helping a woman she really doesn’t think she should trust isn’t great either.

That’s not all, though. There’s a sense of disappointment, almost. So she had died… and she had been judged… and she had been found wanting.

Which shouldn’t be a surprise, really.

Doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt.

“Do you know… why?” asks Tara quietly, not really expecting an answer.

“Why?” repeats Lilah, glancing at her and then giving her a harder look. “You… Oh, it wasn’t because of anything you did, if that’s what you’re worrying about.”

“It wasn’t?”

Lilah laughs, but trails off at the expression on Tara’s face. “You’re… Look, from everything I’ve heard you were… you know, good. It’s just because of what I said earlier, about your girlfriend using a hell of a lot of very dark stuff to try to suck you back to the material realm. It leaves a mark, and it left one on you too. She summoned powerful demons and did her best to piss them off. When she failed… they were ready to take their revenge.”

If anything, this makes Tara feel worse, as the cold realisation burns her, creeping into her lungs and scratching at the back of her throat. The idea that Willow - her Willow - might have accidentally damned her is too horrible to seriously contemplate. So she takes the only avenue open to her: denial.

“You’re lying.”

The lawyer smirks at her, before shaking her head. “I can’t lie,” she says. “Literally, cannot. I don’t know what it is about this place, but somehow the rules for… communication are different here. Passing on mistruths is a major no no. Makes it so much more tricky in my line of work, I can tell you.”

This is not what Tara wants to hears. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Many things don’t. Sometimes they don’t have to, as long as the overall story works. So accept it and move on.”

“You could be lying about… not - not lying.”

“Right.”

“How do I know you’re not?”

“You could always try lying yourself.”

This strikes Tara as a good idea and she’s irritated at herself for not coming up with it. Given the circumstances, perhaps it is understandable. “I am -“ she starts, then cuts off. She physically cannot bring herself to say the word ‘alive’. It is more than a little disconcerting.

Lilah looks smug. “See? Told you.”

“How do I know it’s affecting both of us?” asks Tara. “For all I know, it’s only me who’s stuck truth-telling while you’re free to lie however you please.”

“You’ll just have to trust me, I suppose,” says Lilah, then chuckles at Tara’s expression. “Even if you don’t think you were headed there already, trust me on this: you will be sent to a hell dimension if you follow me. Just a small job, then you have the rest of forever.”

Tara is about to ask more questions, but Lilah instantly cuts her off, pointing at a door.

“See that?”

She does, but just stares at it before answering. The corridor, that expanse of boring nothingness she had almost believed would end forever, ends there. “Where does it lead?” she asks, not sure if she really wants to know.

“Depends,” says Lilah. She hasn’t stopped walking and they’re getting steadily closer to the door. “Hell, if you head the wrong way.”

“Hell?”

“The underworld proper. When you were… diverted, you were sent to a sort of limbo zone. Thing is, it’s buried pretty deep. Not deep in a geographic sense, mind.”

“But you’re taking me to hell.”

“Hopefully not. There are shortcuts, ways to skip most of it. And on the other end, a connection point. Which is all we need.”

Tara is not following any of this but she doesn’t have time to get any answers, because now they’re at the door. Lilah stretches out her hand to grasp at the handle - which looks all cheap and plastic-y and not particularly important or hellish - before turning around and winking at Tara.

“This should be fun.”

She wrenches the door open.

***

There’s a gust of wind that ruffles their hair when Tara steps through into a kind of cave. She looks around. It’s badly lit, but she heads to the first thing that catches her eye.

A plain wooden door marked with a ‘2’ that shines with an odd green light Tara might have described as neon.

“Not that one,” says Lilah. “Definitely not that one.”

Something in her tone of voice makes Tara back away a bit, and she follows Lilah to an even more unassuming gap in the corner of the chamber. There’s no door, just a place where the stone looks a bit crumbly and the light doesn’t reach. Tara probably wouldn’t even have noticed it.

But before they can slip through the gap, someone appears.

***

He looks like a teenage boy with wild, faintly greasy black hair. His jeans are all ripped up and he resembles a million similar specimen Tara has run into over the years, but he’s wearing a rather silly Christmas jumper with a big, smiling reindeer on it accompanied by the words ‘Jingle Beelz’.

Lilah looks like she’s suppressing a grin. “Hello, Beelzebub.”

Tara makes a small choking sound. When the boy looks at her, she got out - “Beelzebub?”

“What, not live up to your expectations?” asks the boy in an ill-tempered way.

“Eh…”

The boy glares at her. “Go on, then, have a laugh.”

“I wasn’t going to,” she says, quite honestly.

“Oh, I’ve heard it all before.” He grimaces. “It’s bad enough to be stuck in customs for three hundred years without having that arse Mephistopheles deciding that what we really need is another infernal human celebration. What is the point of these jumpers anyway?”

He is looking at Tara as he said this, and Lilah is enjoying herself too much to step in. “They’re… meant to be funny?”

“Funny?” spits the boy. “What’s funny about this monstrosity? People have burnt in hellfire for thousands of years for lesser crimes of fashion.”

“Who came up with ‘Jingle Beelz’?” asks Lilah.

“Gressil,” says the boy bitterly. “And he’s so very friendly with good ol’ Meph these days, of course he thought it was hilarious. Oh, never mind. It’s not like I care what a couple of humans think anyway. Sometimes you just need some meat to talk at, you know?”

“Indeed.”

“And wherever you think you’re going, don’t.” The boy sniffed. “Just so you know. This is as far as you get.”

“What a shame,” says Tara, about to turn around when a firm grip held her in place.

Lilah smiles sweetly at her. “Don’t worry, dear. I’ve got the paperwork.”

The boy eyes them both with a frown, then groans. “Let me guess. Wolfram and Hart?”

“Yes. We met a few years back, actually - at a gala. Don’t think you’d remember… So if you’d just take a look at the file -“

“I’m afraid we’re not able to take requests just at this moment,” the boy intones. “It’s Christmas Eve, you see. Come back, new year of 2103 and I’m sure somebody will be able to process your request.”

“We have a right for audience, especially since you don’t get leave for human holidays,” says Lilah, still smiling at the demon.

The boy gives her a rueful look. “What if we’ve changed the rules?”

“You haven’t. Unless you want me to contact my employers -“

“Fine,” snaps the boy, taking the papers from her. “Thousands of years building up a reputation for leading men astray through their pride and gluttony and then I’m banished here for a simple misdemeanour just to set an example,” he mutters as he flips through them. “I missed the entire industrial revolution, for crying out loud. The demons they send down these days barely make any effort… Don’t even really care about humans…” He looks up, gaze settling on Tara. “You’re a human, aren’t you? Surely, you’d want the demon exploiting your deadly sins and leading your species to its own damnation to really have put some time and effort into the whole thing, right? You’d want someone who actually knows about the societies they’re ruining, right?”

“Eh…” says Tara, not feeling like she is going to get any more articulate any time soon. “Yeah?”

“Exactly. Well, this request is ridiculous. The human died, she’s serving out her RDE. And I’ll note that Wolfram and Hart already got a request through to redirect her from a hell dimension.”

“Like I told you,” mutters Lilah to Tara. To the boy, she says - “This is a short-term engagement. Besides, my employers only brought her here in case they needed her again.”

“That’s not my problem. Rules are rules. I’d be better disposed to your case if you hadn’t already gotten special waivers. Besides, she’s a witch and they don’t ever do anything else than burrow away at the veil between life and death, causing the rest of us no end of trouble. As I once said to my good friend James, a living witch is nothing but trouble.”

“I don’t want to bring her back to life.”

“But you want to bring her into contact with the living. A magical link to a witch? Sounds dreadful.”

“It’s for a good cause.”

The boy snorts. “I very much doubt that. This witch… Willow Rosenberg? Oh yes, I remember her. All sorts of dark magic about this one, seems determined to rip out every dead soul one by one. Awfully blunt about it, too. If you’re trying to sacrifice her then good luck with that, but otherwise…”

“No!” exclaims Tara.

The boy’s dispassionate gaze fixed on her for a moment before he looks back at the file. “Mind you, I did get a taboo-breaker a few years back where she invoked my name… Nothing real, I’m afraid, so I couldn’t actually do anything about it but she did say ‘I worship Beelzebub’ which was rather nice of her… Still, there’s no way I can allow this. So if you could just leave….”

“And what will you put down as your reason for denying the request?” asks Lilah.

Tara suddenly wonders whether squabbling about paperwork with a demon is something this woman does regularly, and then decided that it probably is.

“I don’t need to put a reason,” says the boy. “I made the decision, and that’s that.”

“Actually, you need to make an official declaration. So that we can try to have it overruled.”

There was a moment of silence as the boy considers Lilah with narrowed eyes.

“Do you want to be tortured for all eternity?”

“My soul isn’t up for grabs.”

The boy raises his eyebrows.

“Standard perpetuity clause.”

“Oh, how irritatingly human of you. I don’t actually need your immortal soul, you know - I’m not Mephistopheles. I’d just ram in some hot pokers, cut out your tongue, make your listen to Daft Punk all day. That sort of thing.”

“What’s wrong with Daft Punk?” asks Tara.

The demon looks a little taken aback by the question, but then shrugs. “Nothing, I’m sure. But this one doesn’t like them, so it’s part of the routine.”

Tara looks at Lilah, who shrugs in an apologetic sort of way.

“I just think they’re a bit irritating.”

“Right,” says Tara. She turned to the boy. “And you know her taste in music?”

“I know how to torture her,” he says, sounding increasingly irritable again. “What kind of demon do you think I am?”

“Of course,” she says weakly, pretending like this made sense.

“The point is,” says Lilah, “we have papers. And if you want an inquiry, I can make your life to hell, pun absolutely intended.” That earns her a particularly vicious glare from the demon. “So unless you want to stick around customs for another few centuries, by which time humans will probably already have managed to destroy themselves…” She trails off, voice laden with implications.

Beelzebub glares at her some more. But somehow, that is that.

***

The gap doesn’t lead to some spectacular hell-scape. Instead, it’s more corridor for them.

Tara is almost glad, because she’s not sure she can process anything else just now.

“Are you all right?” asks Lilah, sounding amused.

Tara can’t immediately reply, so settles for nodding.

They walk in silence for a few minutes.

“What was he?”

“Beelzebub? A demon.”

“But he -“

“Not just any old demon. One of the archdemons. I suppose you’d call them Old Ones.”

Tara exhales sharply, earning her another amused look from Lilah.

“Not bad, right?”

“He doesn’t look it. And surely I would’ve heard -“

“He’s been grounded, remember? Trust me, he thinks customs is -“

“But he looked -“

“- beneath him too. Yes, well, some of these demon types enjoy looking ordinary. Side effect of being extraordinarily powerful is that you don’t need to boast about it. The ones that look entirely ordinary? They’re the really dangerous ones.”

Tara thinks about all the demons and other assorted evil she’d faced over the years, and can’t help but think that the scary-looking ones had been dangerous enough already. Then, a new troubling thought strikes her. “What exactly is powerful enough to ground an Old One?”

Lilah shrugs. “They do have their own system, you know. Beelzebub has always been a bit of a rule-breaker, from what I’ve heard. He must have done something to irritate the others enough to keep him confined here.”

This makes sense, but is quickly followed by a new, equally unsettling, thought. “But if you were able to get past him…” A lump formed in her throat. “Who exactly did you say your employers were?”

Lilah’s mouth quirks but she doesn’t answer.

“Wolfram and Hart,” repeats Tara. She has never heard of it, though that doesn’t have to mean much. “Are you -“ She breaks off, incredibly irritated at herself for not having considered this quite obvious possibility earlier. It’s just that Lilah looks so ordinary and…

“Very much human, I assure you,” says Lilah. “Unlike my employers.”

“They’re demons?” A beat. “Old Ones?”

“Something like that.”

“You’re working for demons?”

“Haven’t we all,” says Lilah airily. “They’re not all bad, you know.”

“Old Ones are.”

“But they offer an excellent pension. If you survive to enjoy it.” She chuckles.

“So why didn’t they get me myself? Why send you?”

“Because,” says Lilah, “we’re not quite back to the land of the living yet. This place - I suppose you could call it a limbo. Come and go, in between, here and there and everywhere.” She laughs. “They didn’t have enough power to wrench you back just like that, you see. Now me, I can move a little more freely. Advantages of being undead.”

Undead.

She shouldn’t be surprised. But she is.

***

The thing is, Tara still isn’t quite herself. That’s why she has followed the lawyer down a winding path that is leading to some mysterious new location without protesting. She’s taking way too long to process information.

The corridor is changing, too. Gradually, it’s shifting away from the bland and bleak faux-office design to something quite different. Pebbles are appearing on the ground with increasing frequency and the walls on either side are becoming less smooth, with the occasional rougher stone or protruding rock shedding dust that worms its way up Tara’s nose and makes her want to sneeze. She hasn’t sneezed for a long time.

It’s hard to focus, with everything going on. Easier just to follow this lawyer. But Tara has heard enough to make her uneasy - deeply so.

There are two facts that matter right now.

One: Lilah wants her to undo a spell cast by Willow.

Two: Lilah is working for Old Ones.

It’s been a while since she’s had to make moral judgements, but as far as she is concerned Willow is good and the Old Ones are very much bad, which is what makes all of this so very worrying.

Of course, there’s also Three: If Tara doesn’t help Lilah, she’ll be sent to a hell dimension.

Maybe that isn’t true. Maybe it is just some elaborate con. Then again, the same could be said about her other two ‘facts’, whatever Lilah might say about her inability to lie. All she has is Lilah’s word for any of those things.

But it’s all she has. And if they’re true…

She can’t worry about Fact 3 now. It’s Facts 1 and 2 that need to be her more immediate concern. And once again, she finds herself in dire need of more information.

The path has turned decidedly rocky by the time Tara has prepared herself for another attempt.

“What kind of spell do you need me to undo?” she asks, trying to sound casual.

Lilah gives her a very tired look, and Tara can’t help but think this is turning into a long day for both of them.

But that’s how Christmas usually works, she supposes.

“Here’s the thing. Your witchling put some powerful voodoo into the world and has shaped her own brave new world. She gave every little girl out there who had the potential to be a slayer the power. No more ‘in each generation, one is born’. Now, there’s hundreds - possibly thousands - of the little brats running around, carving stakes like there’s no tomorrow. Which there might not be, if we’re being honest.”

“Willow… did what?”

“Oh, there’s some reason, I’m sure. Some primal evil or other - isn’t there always? Still, it’s caused an awful mess, of the kind my employers aren’t at all happy about.”

“Why?”

“All those girls, running around and making trouble? Killing things left and right? Just between ourselves, all these clients being slaughtered just isn’t good for business.”

That certainly sounds honest to Tara, and she isn’t liking it one bit. “I need to turn back.”

Lilah sighs. “Are you going to be difficult this entire trip?” She shakes her head. “Don’t answer that. What part of ‘you’ll get sent to a hell dimension’ do you not understand?”

“I’m not going to help you! You’re just doing it for the benefit of evil demons -”

“I never disputed that,” says Lilah. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t have benefits too.” She smirks. “Can’t lie, remember?”

“First off, I still don’t know whether I can actually believe you. And there’s a huge gap between benefits and this is a good idea.”

The lawyer laughs. It almost sounds genuine. “Good point. All right - this is a good idea.”

“Vague,” protests Tara, weakly. But she can feel doubts niggling at her. Because if what Lilah says is true… Well, it sounds insane. But Willow has done insane things in the past. And it’s so hard to figure any of this out, and a part of her is horribly afraid that Willow has done something incredibly stupid in a way that makes her feel deeply ashamed.

Lilah can see all of this on her face, of course. Which is why she keeps walking with a smirk on her face that is growing far too familiar.

***

She’s still thinking when music starts blaring all around them - electronic and sounding suspiciously familiar to Tara.

She looks around, trying to figure out where it is coming from, but it seemed to be all around them.

Lilah groans.

Tara is still confused by this odd turn of events when a man started singing.

One more time.

One more time.

“Hilarious,” Lilah mutters.

One more time we’re gonna celebrate.

Tara tried not to laugh. “Daft Punk.”

Oh yeah all right don’t stop the dancing.

Lilah shoots her a dirty look. “You won’t think this is so funny after several hours.”

“Several hours?”

“What, do you think it’ll just play once and then be fine? Demons might not be able to stop us but they can certainly irritate us, so get ready to become very familiar with the lyrics of  ‘Harder Better Faster Stronger’.”

“But… why? Surely they can’t think we’ll turn back because they’re playing irritating music?”

Lilah looks at her blankly. “They’re demons. Sure, sometimes they try to win our souls and damn our species, but mostly they’re just quite petty.”

They continue walking as the singer croons One more time for the eighth time.

***

The path is entirely rocky by the time it opens into some sort of cavern. Tara sees the ground drop off below them a few feet ahead, except where it continues on along a narrow, closed off path.

It’s like a bridge. A bridge over hell, with glass on either side separating them from what lies below. It’s all so bizarre - this oddly artificial gap to the chaos outside as they continue over metallic planks, dull lightbulbs illuminating the inside - and Tara feels like she is in a zoo of some kind. Outside of the bridge lie the enclosements, but there are no animals here. No, the shapes and the screams of the inhabitants are distressingly familiar.

Because they are screaming. Screams blending into the sound of music, so that the wail is hard to distinguish from the voice going Our work is never over.

Lilah hasn’t stopped and Tara has to almost jog to catch up to her, but she’s peering out through the glass because she just can’t help herself. It doesn’t need description, but it’s fair to say that it’s a dreadful sight.

“If it helps,” says Lilah in a conversational tone, “they’re not human.”

That makes Tara look more closely.

And she recognises the faces - well, not who they are but what, with their features distorted from those of usual humans: the brow, the sunken eyes, the teeth…

“Are those…” Tara hesitates.

“Vampires?” finishes Lilah, staring dispassionately at the faces contorted not only through screams. “Yes.”

“But I thought… aren’t their bodies separated from their souls when they’re… turned?”

“And now they’ve been reunited.”

Tara feels a horrible lurch in her stomach. “Those aren’t demons’ souls?”

“The ones making all the noise? No.”

“But then… Are the humans… They’re being punished for what the vampires did?”

“Cruel, isn’t it?” remarks Lilah, not sounding in the least bit concerned.

“That’s horrible,” says Tara. “It’s not… It isn’t fair.”

Lilah snorts and Tara looks at her in shock. At the expression, the lawyer rolls her eyes. “Calm yourself, I’m hardly disagreeing. But nothing about… well, anything, is particularly fair, is it?”

They stop talking.

Work it harder make it

Do it faster makes us

Tara finds herself listening again to the stupid song after having worked very hard to block it out. Because just then, she really needs something to distract her from the screams.

***

“This trip was more enjoyable when you were talking,” says Lilah after they’ve walked for an indeterminate amount of time through a series of hellscapes.

Tara summons a glare. “Enjoyable? How can any of this be enjoyable?”

The lawyer shrugs. “Feeling bad doesn’t actually help them, you know.”

“Is that supposed to help?” asks Tara, then winces. She’s surprised at how scathing her voice is.

Lilah gives her a look, then shrugs again. “Don’t know what helps you. I never found out what makes you… hero-types feel better.”

“I’m not a hero-type,” mutters Tara. “But I can’t just not care.”

“Can’t you?” says Lilah, expression blank. Like it is the easiest thing in the world.

“How can you justify it?” she asks, trying to get through to the woman. “They didn’t… It wasn’t them.”

“So the wrong souls get punished. It’s always that way. I suppose the folks in charge here would argue that it doesn’t mean the souls aren’t responsible for the sins of the flesh.”

“This is all…” Tara looks even know how to finish the sentence.

“Look, if it makes you feel better humanity’s downfall will come through its own sins. Demons only facilitate the process. We’re all doomed, it’ll all come to an end. Cheer up, it’s Christmas.”

But that only makes Tara fall silent again. And it makes her think.

***

Tara stops.

Lilah turns around. “What?”

“I can’t do this.”

“You can’t… what?”

“I can’t - If Willow was fighting something that evil, I can’t undo it.”

Lilah frowns, whether it’s at Tara or at the renewed blazing of ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’ she might never know. “Let’s keep going, Tara.”

“No.”

“You’ll be sent to a hell dimension. For real, this time.”

“Fine,” says Tara. “Do it. I’m not dooming everyone, I’m not betraying Willow, just to save myself.”

Lilah keeps frowning at her for several seconds before sighing. “Heroes,” she mutters. “Always rediscover their morals when you last need it.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“Whatever you want to tell yourself. Look, this primal evil… Sure it’s bad. But what your girlfriend did was really bad.”

“Saving everybody? That was bad?”

“Oh, but even you know that your enchantress is the reckless kind. I’ve been told all about her - about the two of you, in fact. Didn’t she even put her little spells on you?”

“We made up.”

“And perhaps you did. But she has a history of using magic irresponsibly. Making all the girls slayers - that’s going to have consequences. Not least for the girls themselves. You know Buffy. Did she strike you as happy with her lot? And now think of all the girls out there. Targets, just like her. Your sweetheart has condemned them.”

Tara glares at her. “I’m sure they’ll deal.”

Lilah laughs quietly. “Do you really think so?” she asks. “There aren’t enough watchers in the world to supervise all of them, not least because most of them got blown up. Don’t ask,” she adds, seeing Tara’s shock. “The point is, Willow has made their lives hell. There’ve been several casualties already. Other girls who’ve gone mad. All of them have had their lives irrevocably changed - ruined, even. You can make it right.”

“She was saving the world,” says Tara stubbornly.

“Do you really think they couldn’t have come up with something else?” asks Lilah. “A better solution? Your friends are smart. But they let those girls pay the price for their plan.”

“But -“

“I’ve never pretended to be doing this for anyone except for my employers,” she interrupts. “I might be a servant of evil, but at least I’m honest about it. That doesn’t mean your friends didn’t do some serious harm, and I’m not giving you a way of undoing it. Most people don’t get that chance, you know. To do good from beyond the grave.”

“You say it’s good.”

Lilah snorts. “Are you coming or not?”

Tara hates herself because she knows Lilah has convinced her again. Because if there’s a chance that Willow has done something truly horrible… isn’t it her responsibility?

***

“Are you… dead?”

Lilah smiles thinly. “Clearly.”

“But you’re…”

“Seemingly a model of good health? I know, right? I’ve been preserved.”

Tara nods despite not understanding, which she has been doing a lot. She recalls the meeting with the demon. “Standard perpetuity clause?”

The smile widens. “Exactly. Work doesn’t end with death.”

“You mean you… have a contract that still binds you when you’re dead?” Tara is again feeling the overwhelming urge to scream.

Lilah nods, as if this is perfectly normal. Which none of this is.

One more time we’re gonna celebrate

Oh yeah all right don’t stop the dancing

“How did you die?” asks Tara, then winces at how blunt the question was.

Lilah doesn’t care, because of course she doesn’t. “Bit of a long story, actually. Was running away from a vampire, then this ancient powerful being - think Old One except technically speaking on the side of the angels except this one really wasn’t - who was possessing my ex’s former friend killed me.” She shrugs. “Not that long, maybe. Oh, and then my ex ended up chopping off my head. In all fairness, it was rather sweet of him.”

She says all of this rather airily, like it is of no great import whatsoever. But for some reason, Tara isn’t convinced. It’s just a little too casual for her liking. And there’s something about how Lilah’s staring straight ahead, how her fingers are stretched out and stiff like she’s trying not to curl her fists… Dying can’t be a pleasant experience for anyone. It certainly isn’t for Tara. And Lilah’s experience hardly sounds pleasant.

This woman is human. She had an entire life. Her career. An ex, who she had some kind of history with. There’s so many edges and snark to her that Tara had almost forgotten to be curious - but she is, now.

Why would you chop off the head of a dead person?

The bit of her mind that’s actually working supplies her with this question, and it isn’t one she can immediately come up with an answer to. Some kind of ritual? A way to end possession? But hadn’t Lilah said…

Wait…

“Your ex,” says Tara. “He… Was he trying to stop you from… coming back? As a vampire, I mean?”

Lilah looks startled by this, and her eyes narrow for a moment. But then she nods. “Heavens, you’re pretty smart, aren’t you? Yes, he was.”

“And did he succeed?”

A snort. “I’m not a vampire, if that’s what you’re asking. That’s not how the contract works.”

Then how does it work?

***

“End of the shortcut,” says Lilah with what approaches trepidation in her voice. “Now, there’s a path that takes us directly to the contact point, but first we need to get through a bit of hell first.”

Tara gives her a look.

“Just a bit,” says Lilah in a tone that tries and fails spectacularly at being reassuring. Once more, she reaches out

Tara takes another look at the scarf. And she thinks about the own blood staining her jumper. And she thinks of what Lilah said. My ex ended up chopping off my head.

Blood and gore comes as part of the territory for witches. And Tara has seen plenty of it in her time. But there’s something so sick and twisted about the whole thing that she can taste bile in her mouth.

When Lilah opens this new door, the blood and gore come rather closer.

They step through onto a plateau of some sort and when the door swings shut behind them with a loud clang, Tara realises there is nothing behind it. Instead, a few feet away, there’s a sheer cliff under an unsettlingly crimson sky.

What lay ahead of them, however, is considerably more unsettling. There is an acrid smell in the air that verges on sulphuric, and it seems to be coming from the river. It’s hard to quite make out, what with the steam gently curling from it. She steps forward to get a better look (because hey - if she’s survived this much what’s a weird river going to do) and she thinks… that the river might be burning. Constant flames of red and blue and the occasional green flare up, with the steam diffusing into the air that bore down on them like an insistent mist. Like they are both pushing against each other, constantly fighting.

But it’s not water, she realises. It’s too dark, too red for that - it runs slowly and it’s thick and is that odour -

She blanches. And then she gets very close to retching.

“Let’s get out of here quickly,” says Lilah beside her, and for once they are in perfect agreement.

***

Before they had passed through the door, they had been sheltered. Tara had seen hell. She had heard it.

But she hadn’t felt it. And she hadn’t been surrounded by it.

It surrounds her now, engulfs her, seeps into her very pores - inescapable and unbearable. There is another bridge that leads them across the river, but unlike the safety of the last one the river is boiling and spitting on either side of them. She flinches every time a drop comes too close.

The music is gone now. She very nearly misses it.

When they’ve crossed the bridge, they have to walk alongside the river as a shallow stream runs on their other side, keeping their heads down and wearily looking out for anyone to come close. Tara keeps her eyes averted from the more distant figures.

They’re getting close to the little door Lilah says will take them straight to the contact point. Of course, this is all going too smoothly.

***

Tara hears a growl and as one, the two of them whirl around.

A shadow is approaching - twice their height and looming over them - and as it takes another step the light of the burning rivers illuminates his form. His body might be shaped like that of a human but his head resembles that of a bull and he’s coming closer, ever closer -

And the monster rears before them - monstrous, face twisted into fury as the fires from the deepest pits of hell lit in its eyes, dark and writhing yet impossibly bright all at once. Its mouth opens and impossibly sharp and impossibly many teeth protruded, with a set of fangs that promise to tear into shreds anything within reach.

It pauses, reared above them, as drool drips down in front of them. Then, the minotaur frowns.

“Who are you?” it asks.

It can talk. Not in a harsh growl. The voice has a bit of a squeak, actually.

“Hello there,” says Lilah. “I’m Lilah Morgan, and this is Tara Maclay.”

“Oh,” says the minotaur, looking the closest a minotaur can to put-out. “You don’t belong here.”

“We’re just passing through,” says Lilah brightly.

“Right,” says the minotaur and gives a long-suffering sigh. It isn’t really rearing any more. “Just passing through. Well, don’t let me bother you. No one else does.”

“Could we get through here without actually… having to go all through the hell?” asks Lilah.

That earned her a baleful look from the minotaur. “You just want to skip all this?”

“It’s just that rives of fire and blood tend to do hell for the shoes.”

“Ah.”

“Stains, you know.”

“Of course.”

“So can we?”

“No.”

Tara half-watches a centaur passing. He’s muttering something about strangle them with tinsel and she decides she doesn’t need to know more.

“We’ve gone through this already earlier,” says Lilah. “My employers are Wolfram and Hart. Beelzebub agreed to us taking the fastest direct route to -“

“Beelzebub can suck it,” says the minotaur. A rock the size of a frying pan dislodges itself from the ceiling above and falls straight down at the minotaur. He steps aside, looking bored. “He’s not what he used to be if he’s just letting humans wander about.”

“We’re not just wandering about,” says Lilah. “We have all the requisite papers -“

But she’s interrupted as a winged rat swoops between them.

“Delivery coming through,” the winged rat screeches at the minotaur and the two humans. “Move along now!”

Tara stares, and somehow she still manages to be surprised as several centaurs cross the bridge with pine trees strapped to their backs. They all move aside, and she can’t help but notice that the passageway is now directly behind them. If they could just make a run for it…

“Christmas decorations?” asks Lilah in a polite sort of way.

The minotaur groans. “They keep wanting us to make our torture Christmas-related. You’d think we could get on with what we’re meant to do without randomly shoehorning in Christmas at every possible moment, but apparently that’s not the seasonal spirit.”

“What, do you impale them with the trees?” asks Tara.

She doesn’t know whether they catch the sarcasm because they both look at her like they’re both surprised and impressed (she thinks she’s getting better at interpreting the minotaur’s expressions).

“You have been hanging out with the slayer for a while, haven’t you,” mutters Lilah. “Not everything’s a stake, you know.”

“It’s not a bad idea,” says the minotaur, “but we’re using this batch to tie the victims against, then we set them on fire and have a few imps sing Christmas carols. They’re horrid at it, of course. Thing is, pines are far too flammable - usually you’d want a more slow-burning experience. As always, the aesthetic is coming before the practicality.”

“Dreadful,” says Lilah with sympathy. “Now, about letting us through…”

“I said no,” says the minotaur.

“We have the proper documentation -“

“I don’t care about your papers. You’ve come here, and you should have been prepared for the consequences.”

Consequences?

“There’s nothing you can do to us,” says Lilah, slowly. “Wolfram and Hart -“

The minotaur laughs. “They have no power here. You were foolish to come. More foolish still to believe you could get away again. And now” - he leers at them - “you will join the others.”

He takes a single step forwards and swipes at Lilah. She shrieks as she flies back and lands heavily on the floor. And he advances towards her, fangs in full view again.

Tara doesn’t know why she steps between them.

But she does.

She reaches for the power she has felt all her life. Instinct, she supposes: she has no reason to believe that it’ll work here. Tara flexes her fingers and juts out her palm, muttering a syllable. There’s a tug inside her, somewhere close to her gut, and the warmth curls around before spreading outwards. She knows it’s there even before she sees its effects: the demon flying back.

It lands - hard - against the stone wall. The smell of sulphur is thicker than ever in the air and it’s making Tara feel faint. She tries to steady herself - she really doesn’t want to fall into the river to her side. Lilah’s still on the ground, the soles of her shoes sliding on the slick stones stained red at the riverbed. Tara starts coughing and even as her eyes tear up she can see the minotaur raising itself again. She looks around desperately, struggling to see through the tears and the mist that is now tinged red. The way out is still behind them, and whatever her worries about going on with this mad mission she’s not exactly got a lot of choice right now.

But Lilah’s still lying on the ground. Tara runs to her, terrified the lawyer has lost consciousness.

She hasn’t.

Lilah stares at her, eyes wide open, and (genuine) shock on her face. Tara holds out her hand, because what else can she do?

“Come on, then.”

The lawyer keeps staring for a moment, but then grabs it. Tara pulls her up, with only a little difficulty.

They start running as rocks fall from the ceiling behind them. Completely blocking them off, keeping them away from the minotaur. Which would be great if they weren’t in serious danger of being crushed.

One stone sets of another, and the ceiling above is crumbling. There’s an opening ahead but the path is caving in way too fast and Tara has to drag Lilah behind her, refusing to let go. With a last burst of strength that is half magic and half muscle, she throws Lilah ahead off her into the cavern. The lawyer falls hard but safe.

For a horrible second, Tara doesn’t think she’s going to make it. But a last, desperate leap takes her into the cavern and she falls forward before managing to drag her legs out of the way of the falling rocks.

She quickly gets up and looks around. The opening barely deserves the term - but the rocks are a slightly different colour. Beige. And no rocks are falling here. It doesn’t look stable, but the path ahead isn’t currently trying to kill them. So she pushes Lilah ahead of her into the wider path.

Lilah isn’t moving fast. Even though there could be something els here that’s trying to kill them. It’s agonising.

But also exhilarating. Tara has missed being frightened.

***

Tara wants to go on, but Lilah is slowing down.

“Just… let me catch my breath,” she says. She leans against the wall, looking more dishevelled than she has been by anything else, but casts her an almost sly look. “That was pretty brave of you.”

“Yeah, well,” says Tara. “Just kind of happened.”

“Uh huh,” says Lilah. The smirk has returned, but it’s softer this time. She places the palm of one hand against the wall, still steadying herself but pushing off. After a moment of stillness, she almost falls forward and stretches out the other hand, landing against Tara with her fingers closing around her forearm. Tara stumbles - if Lilah had let herself go with her full weight she would surely have fallen. But her movements are far too careful, too deliberate for that. Instead, she leans into Tara, pressing against her closely. She smells of expensive perfume but sulphur clings to her hair and that hair is suddenly in Tara’s face, making her want to gag. But she doesn’t, instead watching as Tara’s lidded eyebrows hide her eyes before her head gradually tilts upwards. She doesn’t do anything as those big eyes meet her, pupils wide and almost hiding the bleached-out colour of her irises.

Both hands are on Tara now, grabbing at her forearms. She doesn’t know how much of it is for support. But it doesn’t really matter now, with Lilah leaning in ever further. Lilah’s mouth opening slightly. Lilah tilting her head to the side. Lilah’s lips brushing against her own.

Which wakes Tara up. Which makes her stand back. Which makes her jump back.

Lilah almost falls. But she’s steadier again, and after a moment she’s leaning against the wall, and she’s shaking just a little. She’s trying for the smirk again, but it’s not as firm as it should be.

“What can I say,” says Lilah, “Near death experiences make me thirsty.”

It makes Tara sure, all of a sudden, that Lilah is covering. The thought hits her, confuses her because… it would make what Lilah had done real.

But this could be a manipulation. It could be another manipulation.

She’s about to say this, but something stops her.

Because somewhere beneath the smirk is a horribly unguarded expression.

“Sorry,” says Tara. Lilah’s mouth opens again - she hadn’t noticed quite how full those lips are. “I have a girlfriend.”

“You’re dead, honey.”

Tara almost laughs at the bravado. A part of her suddenly wonders whether - if this were real - she could somehow use it to get out of this mess. And then she hates herself for the thought.

She should have jumped into hell’s fires before even considering it.

“Still,” she says, more weakly than she wanted.

“If it’s fidelity that’s worrying you, you’ll be thrilled to know that Willow has moved on,” says Lilah dispassionately.

“Oh,” says Tara, then forces herself to be happy for Willow. She has every right to move on, of course. Every right to be happy. “Good.”

“I’m sure. Not that it should matter. You being dead and all.”

They stand in silence for a moment.

“I… Look, I saved your life. Can we just go back now?”

Lilah shook her head. “I don’t have a life for you to save.”

“But -“ She bit ferociously at her lip, in a moment bringing back a bad habit she had managed to stop years and years ago. The pain, at least, is real. “What happens? If you die here?”

The lawyer studies her.“You’ve changed the subject.”

Tara does not answer, the kiss still hanging between them.

“What happens when a dead person dies?” The smirk is a sour twist of the mouth now. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

This is ominous, and not at all useful. Tara is just about to protest when something catches her attention.

The walls are closing in on them.

Slowly, but slowly, they’re shifting towards them. Stones screeching over stones, somehow escaping her awareness until now. But now -

“Um… Lilah?”

Lilah frowns for a moment, still distracted. Then she realises too. “Ah shit.”

The walls haven’t stopped moving.

“We need to get out of here,” says the lawyer and before she has the chance to straighten up properly, Tara has grabbed her hand. They’re running again, with a new desperation, and Tara is searching for an exit even as she has to concentrate to not stumble on the rough terrain.

They’re both gasping and straining as their lungs struggle - just as a corner of Tara’s brain realises that the shoes that Lilah are wearing really aren’t appropriate and she’s astounded the lawyer has even gotten so far. One burning leg ahead of the other, pushing each other forwards as the walls press in ever closer, pushing up stones and making the ground hard to step on and their ankles flare up in pain. But Tara can see a space ahead where the walls are no longer moving and it’s a desperate last sprint - fifteen feet, ten feet, five -

They make it. Just.

They’re in a cavern. And they had better hope these walls don’t betray them because right now, they’re too tired to run.

***

“Somehow, this doesn’t even make my top three worst Christmases,” says Tara.

Lilah, who is still panting, looks up at her in bewilderment, then catches Tara’s expression. She starts laughing - it’s a nice laugh, Tara finds, even if it’s interrupted by regular bursts of coughing. All the smoke and gruesome odours are still messing with them. Tara looks away, a smile appearing on her own face. Somehow, that makes Lilah laugh harder.

“This is all so not going to plan,” says Lilah at last, wiping her forehead with the pack of her wrist before examining her dirt-covered hand with an air of disgust. “A few checkpoints, I was told. Just stride right through, they said. And then there’s you, of course.”

“Me?”

“I was told you were going to be disoriented. Easy to convince of anything, considering you long jaunt in limbo and your unfamiliar surroundings.” She laughs again. “All that bullshit about protecting you about paranormal incursions or whatever is just rubbish to make it go down smoother.”

“Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Yeah. You’re not easy to disorientate. Instead, you’ve been… well, you. Or at least, I hope you won’t more argumentative when you were alive?”

Tara shrugs, somehow not bothered by this new information. “Probably. I don’t think I’d have followed you this far if I were thinking straight.”

“Figures,” says Lilah. “You’ll be thrilled to know that my employers very much underestimated you.”

“For all the good it’s done me.”

She laughs. “This’ll be over soon. Promise.”

“How?” asks Tara. She gestures at the ruins behind them. “We can’t get back.”

“There’s another way,” says Lilah. “I think, anyway. Once we get to the contact point, there’s a door that leads back to hell proper.”

“Great.”

Lilah smirks, but it’s as close to warm as she’s ever been. “We need to continue on to that point though. It’s the only way.”

“How very convenient.”

She rolls her eyes. “Trust me, this was not my plan. None of this…” There’s a moment of awkwardness as Lilah straightens again.

There’s only one path out of the cavern. Just when Tara is feeling herself again, she’s all out of choices. So there’s really nothing to do except to continue. Whatever may be waiting for them next.

“I didn’t really do much of that sort of thing when I was alive,” says Lilah suddenly. They’ve walked for a bit and it’s shaping up to be a fairly ordinary tunnel.

Tara glances at her but Lilah is looking down. She does the same, able to guess what the lawyer means. She doesn’t know whether dead people can get tired… but this definitely feels like the real thing.

“Maybe death changes things,” Lilah continues. “Or… Perhaps I didn’t see the point in it. I liked using intimacy. I liked the power I got from it. Women never did have much of that, not where I’m from.” She flashes Tara a smile. “Should have sought out some witches, shouldn’t I?”

Tara really doesn’t know what to say to this. She racks her mind for something, then tries to figure out how to change the subject and goes with the first thing she can think of.  “Your contract. The one with your employers, I mean. Does it even bind you here?”

Lilah stares at her for a few long moments, making Tara wonder whether she’ll get angry. But she shrugs, and again she’s looking so very painfully casual. “It’s complicated.”

“If you disobeyed…”

“It wouldn’t be a great idea.” Another shrug. “You’re not the only one who could spend the New Year in a hell dimension.”

“I’m starting to think I really shouldn’t be doing this,” says Tara sardonically.

Lilah snorts. “If you really want to get away, there’s another path you can take,” she says. “There’s the one that leads to the real world, where the connection is formed. And another one, that leads straight back to hell. The real hell, that is. Trying to get back to limbo? You’ll have to go through the second one either way.”

“Why are you telling me this?” She can’t keep the suspicion out of her voice.

“Because -“ says Lilah, then cuts herself off suddenly. She closes her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. “It’s what I need to say,” she says eventually. “To get you to follow me.”

Of course, they’re faced with one last obstacle.

A pit of fire. Just what Tara needs.

***

“We need to jump,” says Lilah.

“What?”

“Well, there’s meant to be a bridge but clearly the denizens of hell haven’t felt in the mood to provide one.”

“It’s too far,” she says. The gap has to be at least five feet, and the flames beneath are hissing. The edges of the rocks on the other side hardly look stable either.

“Then use your magic.”

“You can’t just -“ Tara takes a deep breath, trying to ignore the inevitable smirk. “I don’t even know why my magic is working, but it’s not particularly reliable. And it’s not as strong as it usually is. Levitation requires a lot of energy and self-levitation is beyond me so unless you want to continue on your own…”

“That won’t do,” says Lilah. “How about creating a bridge?”

“What, just magick some stones into place?”

Lilah nods.

Tara rolls her eyes. In doing so, she focuses on the pit of fire. As conduits go, fire is pretty much perfect - like a ready-made fuel. “There’s one spell - the Ritual of Cherufe. It warps fire into ice. Usually you’d use candles but…”

“- we’re not exactly short on fire.”

She nods, examining the ground. It’s dusty, and the thin sheen is ideal to make signs on. “Don’t suppose you keep a stick hidden wherever your papers are?”

“No.”

Tara kneels on the ground, gesturing Lilah to stand aside. She closes her eyes for a moment, summoning the relevant memories. She’d always had a good head for spells. Perhaps she never would have had Willow’s raw power, but when it came to knowing magic, there is no one who matches Tara. She sketches a pentagram with her grubby finger and adds the specific lines and runes to the edge, before adding a small latinate stabiliser to the bottom. Then she steps gingerly into the pentacle.

“You’ll have to be fast once I conjure the spirit,” she says, hoping spirits could even be summoned here. “I won’t be able to hold it for long.”

“You’re sure the ice will hold?” asks Lilah dubiously.

Tara gives a thin smile. “I thought you can’t die here.”

That earns her a scowl.

“All right then,” she mutters, and recites the incantation quickly and confidently, waving her hands in a manner reminiscent to a conductor, before throwing her head up in expectance of the spirit - even though there isn’t much reason to expect it to come from above or anywhere at all.

But a prickle of energy and a gasp from Lilah tells her that the spell is working. After a moment, she looks down to see that the fire has transfigured itself to a single ice platform.

Lilah gives her an uncertain look, but she takes a quick run and bounds on to the platform, skittering dangerously on the surface but jumping immediately on. She lands at the edge and almost tips backwards, but after peddling furiously with her arms she manages to fall onto her knees, before instantly raising herself again and beckoning to Tara.

“Come on!”

Tara takes another deep breath and inhales a lot of soot for her trouble. The ice looks rather flimsy, especially with the fearsome flames licking at its bottom. Well, no time like the present. Besides, a fall to a fiery undeath would certainly be one way out of her current dilemma.

She runs forwards and jumps on to the platform, landing with both feet and pausing. She can see through the ice, can see the flames leap at her. After teetering for just a moment, she summons her courage and jumps again, falling against Lilah and taking them both to the ground.

They lie on each other. Lilah looks winded, but quickly gives a cheeky grin.

“Skipping straight to the good parts, are we?”

Tara groans and rolls off. She lies on her back staring at the jumble of rocks above, wondering whether this day will ever end.

***

They’re in a room of some kind. It’s lit by a single torch, which makes Tara wonder where all the light in the taverns came from. Hell has different lighting rules, she supposes. She can’t make out the corners, and Lilah has pried the torch from the wall to illuminate stairs.

“This is just the antechamber,” says Lilah. “What matters is up those stairs.”

Tara just looks at her.

“Come on,” says Lilah. Tara has to stay close to see anything, and the stone steps don’t look particularly safe. It’s another narrow path that curves around with steps that are slightly to high to be comfortable and uneven enough to be dangerous. She has to stare at her feet where the flickering flame shows her where to step. They don’t speak.

The room at the top is somewhat better lit. That’s mainly by the glow of a portal of some kind - with tendrils of silver spinning around on the frame and spiralling off the edge. And behind it, an altar of some kind. A stone that shines green.

“What…”

“It’s linked to you,” says Lilah as they step forwards.

“To me?”

“Once you reach in.”

Tara looks around for another way out, but there’s nothing except the portal.

“We need to find the moment of the spell,” says Lilah. “In your time stream -“

“But what you want after my death.”

Lilah shakes her head. “The time stream is… everything. It’s who created you, what effects you had on the world. You live on in Willow’s magic. That’s why this’ll work. Then you step through and touch the stone. That makes the connection.”

Tara hesitates. “You said there’d be another way. A way out of this.”

A nod. “There is. But behind the portal - there’s the stone you touch to make the connection. You do have a way out.”

“And if I decide not to help?”

Lilah shrugs. “You’ll see the truth of your choice in the stream. Then you can decide what to do.”

“My decision, eh?”

No answer.

She stretches out and lets her hand run through the portal.

***

She stares into the time stream, the visions and voices washing over her in a ferocious mess. Glimpses of people connected to her, as far as she can tell - a younger version of her father standing over a cot, her cousin laughing at something she can’t see, a girl who looks like her mother sipping at coffee.

She’s growing so -

Norman Lamond said he’d prop up -

It’s in the bag for the Rams -

But it isn’t just the past. She sees Willow again and again - and not just the Willow she had known but an older Willow too. A Willow who had a bright future - sometimes with Buffy at her side, sometimes without. Willow with friends, enemies, lovers… Xander frowning at a man with handsome curls, holding a flashlight tightly. Buffy pressed with her back against the wall, a bruise covering her brow as she groaned quietly.

I can’t give you up. Not after Dortmund -

The Gatwick drones changed everything. Now that everyone knows about vampires -

Dawn, it’s not safe. Please, come back, let’s talk about this. You don’t need to do it on your -

And a voice piercing through. A familiar one. Spike.

Something’s brewing and it’s so big, ugly and damned, it makes you and me look like little bitty puzzle pieces.

Tara tries to hold on to the voice. She feels, instinctively, that it matters.

His eyes are wild and he stares at someone out of sight. Maybe it’s Buffy.

And his voice says one more thing. You’re gonna need help.

“There it is,” mutters Lilah.

Tara whirls around. “That’s it?” She has felt the darkness. Whatever it is… Whatever Willow did, she suddenly knows it was necessary. She can’t undo this spell, she just can’t. Consequences be damned.

The First. A primal evil, indeed. One that Willow had -

She has to get out of here.

“If we do this,” says Tara, pleading, “we’ll ruin everything. God, Lilah, can’t you see? Don’t you care?”

That makes something break in Lilah’s face. But the mask is back in an instant. “I don’t care. And I got past appeals to God a long time ago.”

“You do care,” says Tara, not sure if she believes it or if she wants to convince herself of it. Because she’s begun seeing Lilah as a human and she can’t - she won’t - think of her as a monster, but now more than ever she just needs to get through…

Lilah hesitates for a moment. Then she pushes Tara in the back towards the stone. “I’m sorry. But I don’t have a choice.”

***

“You don’t have to do this!” shouts Tara, struggling furiously. But Lilah’s grasp is surprisingly strong and she pulls her wrist towards the flickering stone. She tries to reach for her magic but she’s exerted herself too much. There has to be some way to bend the torch’s flames or to -

Lilah lets out a gasp of pain and she’s staring down at where she’s grabbing Tara’s wrist. Tara is burning her through the touch, one of the first spells she mastered. She can only imagine how painful it is but Lilah does not let go, tears in her eyes but still pulling her hand down. Tara starts muttering under her breath, pouring her magic into the stones below, loosening them and making them crumble from within. But it takes time, time she doesn’t have.

Her hand is inches away from the stone.

She can’t resist any longer so she does the only thing she could think of and steps forward to kiss Lilah. It has been a long time since Willow. It has been a long time since she has been this close to anything. To anyone.

But there’s no real time to think - no real time for anything at all except to get away from here, to end this. She’s managed to disorientate Lilah enough to pull her away from the stone and in a natural continuation of the movement her hand makes a gesture towards the floor. It takes all her energy to even make a dent and for a single, horrible moment as they lean ever closer into each other she thinks she won’t be strong enough. She pulls out every last tendril of her power, not caring what happens past this moment.

And the floor comes crashing down.

***

The thing is… That is that. There’s nothing else to do. Nothing else to say.

This is how their story ends.

***

Except that they’re no more dead than they were before Tara ripped up the floor and made them tumble through, before they landed in a mess of dust and stone that leaves scratches and bruises and they need time to crawl away from, before Tara makes a small light hover in the air above her head with power she didn’t know she still had.

They don’t speak. They just sit on their respective piles of rocks.

***

“We’re stuck here. In an antechamber, with the path leading back completely blocked off and the path ahead collapsed,” says Tara, dully.

Lilah still has her eyes closed, but eventually she answers. “That’s not entirely true.”

Tara stares to where the lawyer is once again flattened against the wall. That once lovely suit is pretty much in tatters by now, the scarf isn’t looking much better. She’s grubby and grime-cladden and hardly an impressive figure any more, but right now she’s all Tara has.

And Tara wants her to explain herself. Now.

“There’s a crack,” says the lawyer and slaps the wall to her right. Tara looks where she’s gesturing. And hidden in the corner, there is indeed another opening.

***

Lilah opens her eyes to see Tara’s expression of fury.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers. “It’s what I do. It’s what I always do.”

It’s not like Tara hadn’t been warned. Not like she hadn’t known.

Tara makes a move towards the door, and for a moment Lilah thinks she’s going to leave her there.

***

The thing is, whatever Lilah has done, Tara can hardly leave her there. She has enough of a measure of the woman by now that there’s more to the woman than the cold veneer, more than this last trick. This series of tricks and misdirections, because of course now Tara realises how carefully Lilah chose her words. No lies. Only half-truths.

She’s all Tara has.

“Come on,” says Tara.

Lilah’s expression is blank. The silence stretches between them.

“Lilah,” she says. “Come on.”

At that, Lilah’s gaze meets her own. And she straightens up, somehow, again. And she follows Tara towards the gap in the stones that leads to another world entirely. But before Tara can cross the threshold, Lilah stretches out her arm and blocks her way.

It takes Lilah a moment to say what she wants to.

“If you hadn’t needed to distract me…” The question hangs unfinished in the air.

Tara imagines testing out either response, figuring out which one is the truth and which one dies in her throat. But neither feels right. Not yet.

“I guess we’ve got all the time we need to figure that out.”

There’s a ghost of a smirk on Lilah’s face as she withdraws her arm. “Let’s rule hell.”

“Merry Christmas.”

The smirk becomes a real one and it’s the last thing Tara sees before she steps through the crack. And as she enters the next part of their journey, she can just about hear Daft Punk playing in the distance.

[cajun-werewolf]

The Beaumont Family

A very well known pure were family in Louisiana. They are among those who are jokingly called “were royalty”. There are five living Beaumonts: Benjamin, James, Rene, Grace, & Willow. 

The youngest of The Beaumont Brothers & father of Rene and Grace died in an unfortunate accident, and not long after, the patriarch of the family died as well.

August & Marigold Beaumont

Christopher Lee & Blythe Donner

The deceased leaders of the Beaumont pack. August was an only child, so he inherited the Beaumont pack from his parents. August and Marigold were both very loving parents, though August could be very stern with his sons, while Marigold had a tendency to go very easy on them. They lived long enough to meet Rene and Grace, forming some memories with them. August passed away when Rene was 7 years old from a severe stroke. Marigold died peacefully in her sleep when Rene was 10.

~Notable relationships~

Benjamin, Max, and James: The sons of August and Marigold. Both Benjamin and James moved away to form packs of their own. Max “inherifted” his parents’ pack, which fully disbanded after Max’s death.

Kaya & Kele Turner: Friends of Marigold and August. They’ve known each other since high school, and Kaya and Kele’s son was a good friend of Max and Benjamin’s.

Kaya and Kele Turner Tantoo Cardinal & Graham Greene

The grandparents of Kaili. They adopted him sometime before his first shift, after his parents were killed in a car accident on their way to Baton Rogue. Kaya and Kele were very affectionate with their grandson and adored the relationship that he had with Grace Beaumont. They passed away, leaving their boat and house to Kaili and Grace.

~Notable relationships~

Max & Benjamin Beaumont: The sons of their packs alpha. Max and Benjamin were good friends of Kaya and Kele’s son.

August & Marigold Beaumont: Friends of the pair since high school.

Grace Beaumont: Kaili’s girlfriend. Kaya and Kele loved her just as much as they loved their grandson, and were always happy to see her. They even had a room for her at their house.

James Austin Beaumont Hugh Jackman

The youngest of the Beaumont boys. James takes after his father in many ways, and is often teased by his older brother that he’s a carbon copy of the man. He has very traditional views of weres and their relationships with other species, though that’s come into question since he met and started dating Esme Taylor. He is divorced from Nina, the mother of his daughter, Willow.

~Notable relationships~

Benny, Rene, Grace: Brother, nephew, & niece. He and Benny do not get along, but he adores his niece and nephew.

Nina Beaumont: Exwife. Mother of James’ daughter, Willow. Nina and James don’t have a very good relationship

Willow Beaumont: Daughter. Light of his fucking life. James would literally kill someone for Willow.

Esme Taylor: A witch that James has recently started dating. She;s caused him to call his previous views into question.

Benjamin William Beaumont Jeffrey Dean Morgan

The oldest child of August & Marigold Beaumont and twin of Max Beaumont. Benjamin was always the most reckless of the three of the boys. He often got himself and Max in trouble, including once getting his leg stuck in a bear trap in the woods, where he stayed with his twin for three hours while he tried to free himself, because he didn’t want Max to go tell their parents. Benny is a notorious flirt and is in a very committed relationship with Luca Barnaby and Althea Dixon. When Max died, Benny retreated in on himself and shut almost everyone out except for his nephew and niece. Marigold believed that the two shared a link that was severed the day he died, destroying something in Benny. Benny suffered from a mild depression after losing his brother, and still bears some scars from it. In a way, Benny blames himself for their deaths.

~Notable relationships~

James, Rene, & Grace Brother, nephew, & niece. He and James do not get along, but he adores his niece and nephew.

Max: Benny’s built in best friend and younger twin brother. Had a bizarre “connection” that was severed when Max died.

Beau Moreau: Best friend since...forever. Second in command.

Luca & Althea: The loves of Benny’s life. He never knew how much he could love anyone before they came along.

Aspen Devlin: Benny’s ex. Aspen was instrumental in Benny getting over the death of his brother, and he’s always been grateful for her for that. Unforunately the broke up, because she wanted more and he just wasn’t ready to give it. The two are still friends.

Maximus Lee Beaumont Clive Owen

The middle child of Marigold & August Beaumont and twin of Benjamin Beaumont. Max was beloved by everyone in and out of school. He, like his two brothers, was very popular and had many friends. He was often the voice of reason for Benny, though he wasn’t able to stop him from fucking around with a bear trap and getting stuck in it. Max married Claire Chambers after she got pregnant with their first child when they were 16. They were very happy and even had a second child. Max and Claire became a very well known and respected couple among the Louisiana were community. Max had a strange connection with his brother Benny, which was severed the night he and his wife were mysteriously killed.

~Notable relationships~

Claire Beaumont (Chambers): Max’s wife and the mother of his children. Their first child was an accident, conceived on a drunken night after the full moon. They were ridiculously in love until they day they died.

Benjamin Beaumont: Max’s best friend. Their mother used to say that they had a stronger connection to each other than anyone else could ever have with any other person.

Rene & Grace Beaumont: Max’s children. He loved them both very much, though he doted on Grace a bit more than Rene.

Esme Taylor Christina Hendricks

A local witch. She met James Beaumont during a full moon during a run through the woods. She was performing a mundane ritual when she noticed the large wolf, standing in the clearing watching her. The two got to know each other slowly, and began dating. Esme and Willow Beaumont get along very well, often laughing together when James isn’t around.

~Notable relationships~

James Beaumont: Esme’s boyfriend. They met a lucky full moon night. She’s working on making him a more open person.

Nina Beaumont Morena Baccarin

James Beaumont’s ex wife. They married only because he got her pregnant on accident. They didn’t have a good relationship to start with, and Nina believed that having the baby would save the relationship. If anything, it only made it worse. James divorced Nina and got full custody of their daughter, Willow.

~Notable relationships~

James Beaumont: Nina’s exhusband and the father of her child. They don’t get along.

Willow Beaumont: Nina’s daughter. She thinks they’re close, but they actually have a very strained relationship, due to not seeing much of each other during Willow’s childhood.

Claire Beaumont (Chambers) Rosario Dawson

Wife of Max Beaumont and mother to his children, Rene & Grace Beaumont. She and Max dated in high school. They unintentionally got pregnant and at 16, Claire gave birth to their first child, Rene, and Max proposed. Officially, they didn’t get married until they graduated, which Claire was only able to do with the help of Marigold Beaumont. Claire helped Max run their pack and they eventually had Grace. Claire an Max died one day. Rene has never told his sister the truth about how they died.

~Notable relationships~

Mr. & Mrs. Chambers: Claire’s parents. Claire never spoke about them after she married Max. Mr. & Mrs. Chambers abandoned their daughter after she got pregnant with their first grandchild, Rene. Claire made it a point not to talk about them more than absolutely necessary. To this day, Rene and Grace do not know where they are or if they’re even alive.

Max Beaumont: Claire’s husband and the father of her children. Their first child was an accident, conceived on a drunken night after the full moon. They were ridiculously in love until they day they died.

Marigold Beaumont: Max’s mother and the only one who was willing to take in Claire after her parents disowned her for getting pregnant before marriage. Marigold helped her take care of Rene while she finished high school, and then helped her care for Grace as well.

Rene & Grace Beaumont: Claire’s two kids, who she loved with all her heart. She took great pride in teaching them how to cook and sew so they could fix their own clothes.

Luca Barnaby Ian Bohen

Luca started in the same pack as Althea Dixon. He’d been a bit of a longer and had lost his parents when he was in his twenties. He stayed in Michael’s pack simply because they had been. He was present the day that Michael died. Luca stayed to help Althea through her mourning period, and the two eventually entered a sexual relationship. They found Benny Beaumont together.

~Notable relationships~

Althea Dixon: A member of Luca’s original pack. The two had a mostly open sexual relationship for a time. They’re both now seeing Benny Beaumont.

Benny Beaumont: An alpha that Luca met in a bar with Althea. Benny took an instant liking to them.

Alice Barnaby: Luca’s little sister. She’s very distant.

Althea Dixon Natalie Dormer

Althea was originally the member of a pack run by the alpha Michael. The two had a romantic relationship for quite some time. She had been weary the day he went out for a run in the woods, and after many hours, began to worry. When he finally came back, he’d been severely injured. Althea held Michael as he died, and went into a prolonged mourning period for many years. She became involved, after a time, with her fellow pack member, Luca Barnaby. The two found Benny Beaumont together.

~Notable relationships~

Michael: Althea’s original alpha. The two were in a romantic relationship and Althea was completely in love with him. Unfortunately, Michael was killed by poachers.  Althea mourned him for many years and, deep in her heart, still has some lingering feelings for him.

Luca Barnaby: A member of Althea’s original pack. The two had a mostly open sexual relationship for a time. They’re both now seeing Benny Beaumont.

Benny Beaumont: An alpha that Althea met in a local were bar with Luca. Benny took an instant liking to them. She still feels guilt for being attracted to him.

Lee Bouchard Kate Beckinsale

The exgirlfriend of Rene Beaumont. The two had been together since high school, and Rene’s grandparents thought they’d get married after graduation. They did not. Lee didn’t like that Rene became more concerned with the good of the pack when the murders started. Rene found her in their bed with another member of their pack. They broke up then and there, and, luckily, Rene did not banish her from the pack, though she spent a night alone in their room. She did not move with the rest of the pack to New Orleans, though she still checks in with Nathan Mason from time to time, for security reasons.

~Notable relationships~ 

Rene Beaumont: Lee’s ex and her alpha. She dated him since high school and was sure she was crazy in love with him. She was wrong.

Grace Beaumont: Lee’s good friend, despite the age difference. Their friendship was destroyed after Rene told her Lee had cheated. Lee insists there’s more to the story, but Grace knows better.

Rene Beaumont Joe Manganiello

The current Alpha of the Baton Rogue (New Orleans) pack. He was the son of Max & Claire Beaumont and Grace Beaumont’s older brother. Rene is a fiercly loyal man, becoming the alpha after the death of his parents.He only ever cared about keeping his pack safe. He was the one to discover the first murdered were, on a worksite. Rene moved his pack immediately to New Orleans in an attempt to protect him. Here, he met Magnolia Winifred, who he fell head over heels in love with. Rene can have a rough exterior, but he’s really a big softy deep down.

~Notable relationships~

Magnolia Winifred: Rene’s girlfriend and the absolute love of is life. Sometimes, Rene gets freaked out, because he never thought he’d love someone as much as he loves her.

Max & Claire Beaumont: Rene’s parents. He loved them very much and was absolutely destroyed when they died. He knows how they died, but tells everyone it was just a car wreck.

Grace Beaumont: Rene’s little sister. He’d give up anything to keep her safe, not matter what that meant.

Benny & James Beaumont: Rene’s uncles. He’s closer with Benny than he is to James, as James refuses to acknowledge that his father did, in fact, exist. James sort of just acts like Max and Claire disappeared into the universe.

Nathan Mason: Rene’s best friend since they were kids, and Rene’s second in charge (other than Zane...)

Zane Donovan: A member of Rene’s pack. Rene sees him as both his child and a brother. He became Zane’s guardian after his parents passed away.

Lee Bouchard: Rene’s ex. She slept with another pack member. Lee still live in Baton Rogue, though she is still a part of Rene’s pack, officially. He never had the heart to remove her.

Magnolia Winifred Alexandra Daddario

The only daughter of Mr. & Mrs. Winifred. Magnolia, more commonly known as Mags, has lived in New Orleans her entire life. Born and raised. Her parents had been known by about everyone in town, due to owning one of the most popular bar/restaurant’s in town. Her parents had brought her and her brother in when they were little, letting them sit at the bar and color. She eventually began helping out when she got older, becoming well known by all the regulars. Magnolia was always been a little off. Weird. It was when she was six that her reading minds had surfaced. Her parents took her to doctors, but all they wanted to do was pump her full of drugs, which her parents would not agree to. She was picked on in school often, and as she grew, got herself into trouble with her ability. She met Rene Beaumont at the bar on his first night in New Orleans.

~Notable relationships~

Mr. & Mrs. Winifred: Mags’ parents. They owned a popular bar in New Orleans right on Bourbon Street. They cared for their children very much, and though they found her ability to “read” people odd, they never let anyone do anything to her that could be harmful. They died in a wreck not long before her 23rd birthday.

Ethan Winifred: Mags’ older brother. He works at the bar with her. They were each others’ comfort after the death of their parents, heavily relying on each other. Ethan technically owns the bar, but insists it’s both of their’s.

Rene Beaumont: A were Mags met at the bar. He’s been absolutely enamored by her since their first meeting. Rene loves Mags more than anyone else in the world. She can’t read him at all.

Niklaus Driscoll: The only other non-were in the pack. They bonded over a full moon night spent together waiting for Rene and Zane to get home. They’ve been the very best of friends ever since. Just like with Zane, Nik would literally kill someone for her.

Grace Beamont Gal Gadot

The second child of Claire and Max Beaumont. Max loved Rene, but there was no question that Grace was special to him. Max spoiled her rotten, and so did Rene. Grace was always headstrong, and she met Kaili Kawena just after the death of his parents, and the two were fast enemies. The two became real friends after their first shift and eventually dated on and off. Grace was well loved by Kaili’s grandparents, and in their will, they left her half of everything. Grace left for nearly 3 years to help other packs who couldn’t handle getting their young ones through their first changes on their own. She returned to Louisiana not long after her brother started dating Mags Winifred.

~Notable relationships~

Rene Beaumont: Grace’s big brother. He’d do anything for her because he love her so much.Rene’s always talked to his sister like she was his best friend. She was the only one he actually talked to about his breakup.

Kaili Kawena: The only man Grace has ever loved. They’ve had an on and off relationship for years, but all that matters to her is that they’re together again.

Lee Bouchard: Rene’s exgirlfriend. Their friendship was destroyed after Rene told Grace Lee had cheated. Lee insists there’s more to the story, but Grace knows better.

Kaili Kawena Jason Momoa

The grandson of Kaya and Kele Turner. Kaili has his mother’s last name, as his parents never married. Kaili was adopted by them at a young age and went through his first shift with Grace Beaumont and Max Beaumont, due to his grandparents being a bit too old to help him through it. They died when Kaili was 26, causing himself to put a wall up between him and many others, including, regrettably, Grace. Kaili and Grace were both named in Kaya and Kele’s will as having inherited the boat and the house, a fact which Kaili has yet to bring to Grace’s attention. Kaili would never admit it, but he fell in love with Grace the first moment he saw her when they were kids, despite being too stubborn to admit it.

~Notable relationships~

Kaya & Kele Turner: Kaili’s grandparents on his father’s side. They’re full blooded native american and made sure Kaili had knowledge of that part of his heritage as well as educating him on the Hawaiian aspect. They loved him very much and made sure, when they got old, that they had everything set up so he’d be taken care of when they passed away.

Grace Beaumont: The only woman Kaili’s ever loved. They’ve had an on and off relationship for years, but all that matters to him is that they’re together.

Zane Donovan Kit Harrington

A very important member of Rene’s pack. He is the older brother of Riley Donovan and Niklaus Driscoll’s boyfriend. Zane’s parents passed away when he was 16, leaving him alone with his sister. They were passed to a then 19 year old Rene Beaumont. He did his best to take care of them, and Zane and Riley even spent some time overseas in London, where he met Niklaus. Zane was very helpful, raising his sister and helping her through her first shift. He now lives with the rest of the pack and his boyfriend in New Orleans. The whole pack, with the exception of Nate, know that if anything happened to Rene, Zane would take over.

~Notable relationships~

Rene Beaumont: Zane’s alpha. Only three years older than him, Rene’s worked hard to make secure a good relationship with Zane. He’s sort of the unspoken second in command, despite what Nate thinks, due solely on how much Rene trusts Zane.

Riley Donovan: Zane’s little sister. Riley’s always looked up to Zane. He helped her through her first shift, and they’re very close.

Niklaus Driscoll: Zane’s boyfriend. They met in London while Niklaus was in medical school. He’s loved Nik since the second they locked eyes in a shopping mall. He’d literally kill for him.

Niklaus Driscoll Kristofer Hivju

The boyfriend of Zane Donovan and son of Nikolai and Alessa Driscoll. Niklaus was born in Oslo, Norway. He and his parents were never close, though they were more than happy to help him pay for medical school, in addition to his scholarships. Niklaus attended one of the top medical schools in England. He’d always been somewhat of a disappointment to his parents, due to his disinterest in women, which they had never taken to mean anything. At almost 40 years old, Niklaus has still not formally come out to his parents. He met Zane by chance at a mall, and instant fell in love with him. He wasn’t too welcome by Rene at first, but eventually became a formal member of the pack, and the pack doctor. Despite having some general practice experience, Niklaus is primarily a surgeon and works in the OR, though he does sometimes find himself in the ER to help out when they’re short handed. Niklaus is very good with a firearm, and isn’t afraid to show it when it comes to someone hurting his family.

~Notable relationships~

Zane Donovan: Nik’s boyfriend. Nik has loved Zane ever since he first laid eyes on him in a mall in London. Nik moved to the states so they could be together.

Riley Donovan: The sister of Zane. Nik loves her, despite how nosy and childish she can be.

Nikolai & Alessa Driscoll: Niklaus’ parents. They don’t get on well. Nik hardly speaks to his father, though his mother often calls him. They don’t know that he’s gay, though his mother has her suspicions.

Magnolia Winifred: The only two non-weres in the pack. They bonded over a full moon night spent together waiting for Rene and Zane to get home. They’ve been the very best of friends ever since. Just like with Zane, Nik would literally kill someone for her.

Riley Donovan Bex Taylor-Klaus

The younger sister of Zane Donovan. Riley struggles through life. Her parents died at the age of six, leaving her with Rene Beaumont and her big brother Zane. Rene has always attributed the stress of her parents’ death as being the cause for her delayed shift, but Riley was terrified that she just wouldn’t go through the shift and be normal human. She finally shifted and is still learning to control herself.

~Notable relationships~

Zane Donovan: Riley’s older brother. She looks up to him and loves him very much. She worries that he’ll spend his whole life worrying about her, though.

Niklaus Driscoll: Riley’s older brother’s boyfriend. She looks at him like a brother. He’s great and all, but sometimes she just wants to shove him out the door and take her brother for herself for a few hours.

Hannah Creed: A girl Riley fell head over heels for. She accidentally turned her after she scratched her during a full moon.

Nathan Mason Charlie Hunnam

Nathan was a stray. He was adopted by two people who had wanted a child. Until they got one. Mr. & Mrs. DuBois were a somewhat older couple, and became very abusive towards Nate. They hit him in private and talked down to him in public. He had his first change early at the age of ten, alone in his backyard, screaming and sobbing. Mr. Dubois had tried to carry him to the car, dropping him as soon as he changed fully. He was seen on his first run, alone in the woods, by Max Beaumont. When Nate returned to an empty house, Max came and took him home, practically adopting the boy. He grew up beside Rene and Grace and fell in love with Adeline Levy, who he has had an off and on relationship with for many years until he accidentally killed her father in an act of self defense. Nate is considered to be the second in charge of Rene’s pack. Despite his alpha knowing the alpha of his biological family’s pack, he still has yet to meet them, and doesn’t even know of their existence.

~Notable relationships~

Mr. & Mrs. DuBois: Nate’s adopted parents. They were physically abusive towards him in private, which he doesn’t often talk about. They abandoned him after his first shift, due to being human and having no idea what was happening.

Adeline Levy: A were from Nate’s pack. He fell in love with her and the two have had a rocky relationship. Nate accidentally killed her dad. They’ve gotten back together since.

Rene Beaumont: Nate’s best friend since they were kids. He’s Rene’s acting second.

The Masons (Aleaha, Frank, Ray, & Morgan): Nate’s biological family. He doesn’t know any of them, despite the fact that their alpha is his alpha’s uncle.

Adeline Levy Amber Heard

A beautiful young lady from Rene Beaumont’s pack. She had a rough childhood, living in a house with barely any food. Her mother died when she was three, leaving Adeline alone with her father, who began sexually abusing her when she was seven years old. Her first shift was at 13. Unsure what was happening, her father beat her until she fled the house and suffered her first change on her own. She lived on the street for a few months before she met Rene. He took her in as one of his own in his pack, where she met Nathan Mason. The two started a rather toxic relationship, and he later killed her father on accident.

~Notable relationships~

Nathan Mason: Adeline’s on and off boyfriend. He accidentally killed her father, but they’ve been trying to have a real relationship again, despite their past.

Mrs. Levy: Adeline’s dear departed mother.

Hannah Creed Carlson Young

Hannah moved to New Orleans when she was 16. She was originally from Florida, and had considered moving back after she’d turned 18. Hannah stayed in New Orleans, however, and with the help of her parents, was able to get a nice apartment. She is currently dating Riley Donovan, who she met purely by chance one day.

~Notable relationships~

Riley Donovan: Hannah’s girlfriend. The two are a cute couple and get along absurdly well. Riley accidentally turned her.

Aspen Devlin Ashley Greene

Aspen started out a member of Benjamin Beaumont’s pack, and as actually a sort of girlfriend of his. She had actually only joined Rene’s pack to get some space, but ended up staying due to problems between her and Benny. Aspen is a successful woman and works for a lawyer. She was paired up with Mags’ brother by Rene and Mags in an effort to help her forget about Benny.

~Notable relationships~

Benny Beaumont: Aspen’s old alpha and her on-again-off-again boyfriend. Aspen helped Benny through a major depression. They tried dating, but it didn’t work out, since Aspen wanted a monogamous relationship, and Benny wasn’t ready for that. He’s still very supportive of her, though.

Ethan Winifred: Mags’ older brother. Aspen met Ethan by chance when she went to the bar with Rene to meet Mags.

Nikolai & Alessa Driscoll Charles Dance & Julie Waters

Niklaus’ parents. They never really had a good relationship with their son. He was always a bit of a disappointment to them, due to his disinterest in the many women they’ve thrown at him over the years. He’s never formally come out to them, but when he finished med school and moved to the states, they found out about Zane on their own. Niklaus’ father has refused to talk to him since, and his mother chooses not to let him know that they know, just suggesting he come visit and meet the new girl of the week.

~Notable relationships~

Niklaus Driscoll: Nikolai and Alessa’s only son. He’s a disappointment.

Avery Pryce: The son of Alessa’s sister. He’s less of a disappointment.

Mrs. Levy Stevie Nicks

Adeline’s mother. She was a nice enough woman who died when Adeline was seven. The pack doesn't know much about her, as they’ve all agreed not to pry too much and let Adeline tell them what she feels they should know.

~Notable relationships~

Adeline Levy: Daughter that she loved very much. When she died, Adeline was, unfortunately, left with Mr. levy.

Ethan Winifred Jared Leto

Mags’ older brother. He was sort of a normal teenager, running around and goofing off until his parents died and he had to really get serious. Ethan had an interest in music and had a little band before they died. He gave up his music for a time until Mags encouraged him to take it up again. Ethan is still new to this whole were thing, and struggles to understand it sometimes. He can be impatient but tries really hard to understand his sister and her new life.

~Notable relationships~

Magnolia Winifred: Ethan’s little sister. He won’t admit it, but he loves her more than anyone else in the whole world. If someone fucks with Mags,he’ll fuck with them right back.

Aspen Devlin: A beautiful young were he met through Mags and her boyfriend. He was kind of a dick at their first meeting, but he’s pretty sure he might love her.

Charles & Isolde LeRoux Ewan McGregor & Liv Tyler

Camille’s parents. Charles and Isolde were good friends of Benjamin Beaumont in high school. They were more than happy to join his pack when he split from his father’s. Charlies and Isolde had their first child, Remy LeRoux, when Isolde was 18. They married two years later, happily raising their son with the help of Benny and Beau. Isolde gave birth to their second child, Camille LeRoux, when she was 23. Isolde and Charles were very happy together for years until Charles got sick. At 40 years old, Charles was diagnosed with Advanced Alzheimer’s. The family struggled with the disease for many years, and by the time Charles died of Aspiration pneumonia, he could barely recognize either of his children. Isolde died a year later from a complication after surgery.

~Notable relationships~

Remy LeRoux: The eldest of the LeRoux siblings. He loved his parents very much. By the time Charles died, he couldn’t even recognize his son, which was horrifying to Remy. Unfortunately, Remy was stuck at work, unable to get away no matter how much he told his boss it was an emergency, when his mother died in the hospital. 

Camille LeRoux: Busy with school, cheer, and drama club, Camille wasn’t home much to see the way her father deteriorated, which was exactly what Remy, Isolde, and Charles wanted. Luckily, she mostly saw him on his good days. She vividly remembers the day he died, though, and the three of them sitting with him and the way he looked at her brother like he was a stranger and asked who he was. Camille was alone with her mother in her hospital room when she died, since her brother was stuck trying to get to them from work. Camille held her hand until she was forced from the room by the doctors.

Beau Moreau Luke Evans

The best friend of Benjamin Beaumont. Beau was originally in Benny’s parents’ pack before Benny grew up and left. He left with Benny and became his second in command. The two have been inseparable for years. Beau knows a few things other pack members don’t, due to the long friendship. He may be the only person in the pack other than Althea and Luca that Benny really trusts completely. No one really knows what happened to Beau’s family, as he’s been alone as long as Benny’s known him. Beau has always just told people that his grandparents paid for his apartment when he was in school. He is a doctor at one of the local mental hospitals, though he also had some training in general practice. For a brief time, he and Camille LeRoux had a mostly sexual relationship after the death of her boyfriend. Benny has suspected that he still has feelings for the girl and is also having less-than-legal relationships with a couple patients at the hospital.

~Notable relationships~

Benjamin Beaumont: Beau’s alpha and his best friend since he was a child, despite their age difference. Beau’s a very private person, but Benjamin can always get him to talk, be it with beer or just a bit of ribbing. Beau and Benjamin get along so well simply because they don’t judge each other and they keep each others’ secrets.

Camille LeRoux: A young were in the pack that had a brief sexual relationship with Beau. It’s suspected that he still has feelings for her, though it’d be hard since they never had a real relationship from the beginning, and they really don’t get along very well.

Haley Watson Vajen van den Bosch

A member of Benny’s pack. Haley had run away from her physically abusive boyfriend and was hiding out under Benny’s protection. They became good friends. Haley liked to hang out with Camille LeRoux and gained herself a little bit of a reputation among the pack. She was only with the pack for a month or so before she was brutally murdered. Benny suspected that it might have been the same person who killed two other weres in Baton Rouge and later killed Jonah Romero.

~Notable relationships~

Benjamin Beaumont: Her alpha. Haley had a little crush on him when she first arrived, though Benny has always treated her as a little sister. He made sure that when she was killed, they could retrieve her body from the morgue.

Remy LeRoux & Beau Moreau: Two pack members Haley bonded with. They both had brief sexual relationships with her in the short time she was in the pack.

Camille LeRoux: Haley considered Camille to be her best friend. She helped her sneak out to meet Jonah a lot and the two were often yelled at on school nights for stayed up so late, laughing together. Camille was destroyed to lose her.

Althea Dixon: Haley arrived in the pack just after Benny started seeing Althea and Luca. She secretly looked up to the woman.

Hazel Gryffon Darya Lebedeva

A beautiful young were that’s become a part of Benny’s pack. She and her sister, Iris Gryffon, ran away from home when she was ten years old, her sister only a couple years older. They’d been taken in by Benny, who treated them like they were his own kids, until they were old enough to not need him anymore. She grew up to be an amazing woman, and met Christian Graves at the club that he owned.

~Notable relationships~

Iris Gryffon: Hazel’s big sister. Iris is very protective of her sister, and took her away from their parents when she could smell Hazel’s first change coming up.

Christian Graves: A vampire that Hazel’s currently dating. He can be a bit abrasive or cold from time to time, but he does love her.

Clove Wright Lily Collins

A young were that belongs to Benny’s pack. She was originally part of James Beaumont’s pack, with her parents. She just didn’t fit in with the pack. Clove was a bit spirited, so James suggested sending her to his brother’s pack. her parents agreed a little too fast for Clove’s liking. But, she fit in great with Benny’s pack. The only thing he asked of her was to keep her grades up, which is easy enough for her. Clove was introduced to Cullen Bennett, a vampire, through Hazel Gryffon.

~Notable relationships~

Cullen Bennett: A vampire that Clove met via Hazel. He’s nice and took her to the fair for their first date. Cullen and Clove have fun together.

Remy LeRoux Greyston Holt

The hard ass brother of Camille LeRoux (who he lovingly calls Cam) and the other youngest member of Benjamin Beaumont’s pack. Remy was a wild child, running around wreaking havoc. He was a good student, though. Remy played Lacrosse and did Cross Country for Caddo Parish Magnet High School. When he was 18, Remy’s dad got sick and instead of leaving for college, Remy stayed home to help take care of his family. He helped his mother care for his father, who was deteriorating quickly, and helped to keep his sister from seeing it. Remy got a job and worked hard to help his mother provide for Camille. His dad died two weeks before Remy’s 24th birthday. A year later, Remy found himself stuck at work, unable to escape, as his mother died in the hospital with his little sister. Remy’s become a rather closed off person to everyone but Camille, and is fiercely protective of her. He didn’t mind Jonah much until things started getting too serious for his liking.

~Notable relationships~

Camille LeRoux: Remy’s little sister. They’ve always been close. Even when Remy started closing himself off to other people, he never closed himself off to Camille. He wakes her up at 6 am every year on her birthday with a little cupcake and makes plans with her for what they’ll do to celebrate.

Haley Watson: A were who was only with the pack for about a month. Remy and her had a brief sexual relationship.

Camille LeRoux Dove Cameron

Camille is one of the youngest members of Benny’s pack. She is a very good looking and intelligent young lady who’s not above using her looks to get her way. She was close to her father, who died of Aspiration pneumonia . Camille was busy with school, cheer, and drama club, so she didn’t get to see him on his bad days. She was the only one there with her mother when she passed away due to complications after a surgery. Benjamin Beaumont has treated her like family ever since. Camille was dating Jonah Romero before his death. They had planned to get married and he would join Benny’s pack after Camille had finished college. Camille convinced Jonah to come early and waited for him for hours the day they’d planned for him to join before calling his fellow pack member and her friend, Morgan Mason. She was informed that Jonah had been missing since the night before. It was Morgan who broke the news to her two days later that Jonah had been killed. Camille went into a brief depression before becoming a somewhat bitter person. She briefly had a fling with Beau Moreau, as a way to try and cope with her loss. Benny accompanied Camille to the funeral, as he believed she had a right to be there.

~Notable relationships~

Remy LeRoux: Camille’s older brother and all the family she has left in the world. Remy and her don’t have the best relationship, but he’s always been supportive of her. 

Jonah Romero: Camille’s boyfriend. He was killed not long after he proposed to her. Jonah loved Camille more than anyone in the world and often wrote her songs that he sent her over Snapchat.

Benjamin Beaumont: Camille’s pack leader. He’s always been nice to Camille, and there’s even pictures someplace of the two of them hanging out when she was a little kid. Benny seemed to be indifferent to her relationship with Jonah, which she appreciated.

Alice Barnaby Crystal Reed

The younger sister of Luca Barnaby. She was, originally, a member of Michael's pack just like her brother and parents had been. Alice had always been an independent person, and when her alpha died, she left with many of the other pack members. Alice spent time traveling and exploring until she finally returned, finding that her brother had joined a new pack. She joined it as well and met Iris Gryffon.

~Notable relationships~

Luca Barnaby: Alice’s older brother. She’s always loved him, despite his loner attitude.

Iris Gryffon: A were that was part of Benny’s pack before Alice came. Their relationship started after Iris found her reading a smutty novel.

Iris Gryffon

Holland Roden

Hazel’s sister and a member of Benjamin Beaumont's pack . She and her sister, Hazel Gryffon, ran away from home when her sister was ten years old. When she was 16, they’d been taken in by Benny, who treated them like they were his own kids, until they were old enough to not need him anymore.

~Notable relationships~ 

Hazel Gryffon: Iris’ little sister. Iris is very protective of her and took her away from their parents when she could smell Hazel’s first change coming up.

Alice Barnaby:  A were joined Benny’s pack not too long before Benny met Althea and Luca. Their relationship started after Iris found her reading a smutty novel.

Ian Bordeaux Aaron Johnson

A part of Benny’s pack, but just barely. Ian’s in and out so much that Benny often forgets he’s even there, though once the murders started, he went into lock down along with the rest of the pack. Ian writes a travel blog where he studies the “supernatural” legends of different areas. Since he’s gone under lock down, he writes about his pack, though names and locations are changed to keep the anonymity. 

~Notable relationships~

Avery Pryce: A young man that Ian met while traveling Europe. They’ve got a weird relationship going on, but Ian’s pretty sure they’re dating.

Avery Pryce Thomas Brodie Sangster

A young man from England. He is the cousin of Niklaus Driscoll on his mother’s side. Avery is a bit soft spoken, but very intelligent and polite. He met Ian Bordeaux while he was visiting Europe for his job. Avery and Ian maintain a relationship over Skype, though Ian’s been working on helping Avery move to the United States on a student Visa. Ian’s fascinated by Avery, as he’s not a were, but displays some otherworldly qualities.

~Notable relationships~

Niklaus Driscoll: Avery’s cousin on his mother’s side. Niklaus and he were close when he was living in London, but since he moved to the states, Nik hasn’t been in touch with him much.

Ian Bordeaux: Avery’s boyfriend. They met when Ian was in Europe for his work. Ian’s absolutely fascinated by Avery, due to him not being were, but displaying otherworldly qualities. Ian’s theory is that Avery is a fae, medium, or witch.

Sam Woods Chris Hemsworth

A member of James Beaumont’s pack. He was part of his pack with his parents until he enlisted in the military. He’d met Josette Archer before he’d been deployed, and had a relationship with her. The two got in a car wreck together after a party, which caused Josie to go blind. He had his hair buzzed off so that Josie wouldn’t feel out of pace with her short hair. 

~Notable relationships~

Josette Archer: Sam’s girlfriend. He’s been devoted to her since before he shipped out, and has been by her side constantly since the accident. When shifted, the two are always together, Sam helping her navigate.

Josette Archer Ashley Benton

A member of James Beaumont’s pack that was blinded during a car accident. She was a happy young girl with loving parents. She met Sam Woods, and the two became very close. Luckily, her parents liked him. Josette got in a wreck with him on a rainy night after a party, which caused her to be put in a medically induced coma. She was heartbroken by her loss of sight, but Sam has tried his best to help her, and so have her parents, making sure that she could learn to read braille and navigate on her own.

~Notable relationships~

Sam Woods: Josie’s boyfriend. He’s been devoted to her since before he shipped out, and has been by her side constantly since the accident. When shifted, the two are always together, Sam helping her navigate.

Willow Beaumont Zoey Deutch

James Beaumont’s daughter. She is a bit of a rebel in her father’s eyes, as she doesn’t like to do what he tells her to, often having to do it after being commanded by him. Willow barely knows her mother, but she knows her dad’s girlfriend. She’s been glad that he’s starting to be a little bit more open, but is still hiding from him that she’s dating a vampire named Eve and that she’s planning to move to Shreveport to get away from him.

~Notable relationships~

James Beaumont: Willow’s dad. She knows he loves her, but she can’t stand the fact that he uses his “alpha authority” to make her do things she doesn’t want to.

Eve: Willow’s girlfriend. She’s terrified to bring Eve home, knowing her father is still pretty strict on the whole “weres and vampires don’t intermingle” thing.

Elena Julius Anne Hathaway

James Beaumont’s ex girlfriend. She is a good woman and very sweet. Elena works at an antique shop in Monroe. She and James were dating for a while, but broke up because Elena didn’t agree with his parenting methods, and he believed she had no right to criticize him, since Willow wasn’t her’s. Elena still lives with the pack, though.

~Notable relationships~

James Beaumont: Elena’s ex. The two disagreed on parenting techniques. Elena didn’t think he should have been commanding Willow to do things, and James believed that Elena wasn’t entitled to an opinion.

Frank Romero Josh Brolin

A close friend of James Beaumont and the father of Jonah. He is a reverend at the local church and is well loved by the community. Frank lost his wife during childbirth and became fiercely protective of his boy. He became very bitter when Jonah was killed, and when he discovered that Jonah was seeing Camille LeRoux, he became enraged. After the funeral, he yelled at her, telling her it was her fault that Jonah was killed, because he must have been on his way to see her instead of safe at home. Frank rarely talks to anyone besides James and Aleaha Mason now, and holds nothing but a burning hatred for Camille and the person who killed his son.

~Notable relationships~

Jonah Romero: Frank’s son and all he had left of his late wife. Frank never agreed with his son playing music and wanted him to become a reverend like him. He went mad with grief when Jonah was killed, and has his guitar in a case under his bed now.

Aleaha Mason: A good friend of Frank. The two had a brief relationship after the death of her husband, but broke up after realizing that the relationship just wasn’t sustainable. Aleaha has been a good friend to him for many years.

Jonah Romero Josh Upshaw

Jonah was the son of Reverend Frank Romero. He lost his mother in childbirth, never getting a chance to know her. He was a smart boy with a knack for music. He met and fell in love with Camille LeRoux from Benny’s pack. The two met up secretly, due to how much their alphas disliked each other. He often wrote her songs that he’d play for her when they were together or send her on snapchat. Jonah gave Camille an engagement ring and told her he was going to marry her no matter what their alphas thought. They had hatched a plan that he’d run off with her to live as part of Benjamin Beaumont’s pack and be with her. He had met a couple members of the pack when they caught him sneaking out after random visits to Camille. He was killed by an unknown murderer before they could put their plan into action.

~Notable relationships~

Frank Romero: Father. Didn’t know about Joanh and Camille’s relationship until after Jonah died. They were always close, though.

Camille LeRoux: Jonah’s girlfriend. They were head over heels and planned to run away together before his murder. Jonah liked to write songs for her.

Morgan Mason: A close friend of both Camille and Jonah. She’s always been in favor of their relationship, and has been close to Jonah since she was very small.

Benjamin Beaumont: Camille’s alpha. He literally ran into him one day after sneaking in to see her. Benny’s always had a little bit of a soft spot for Jonah.

Aleaha Mason Sigourney Weaver

The mother of Ray Mason, Morgan Mason, and Nathan Mason, and the wife of Frank Mason.  She’s a nice woman, but was unprepared to have a child when she gave birth to her first son, Nathan. She put him up for adoption so he could have a better life. A couple years later, she felt she was finally ready for children, and tried to get in contact with the people who had adopted Nate, to see if maybe they would be willing to reverse the adoption. They refused, telling her never to contact them again. So, Aleaha and her husband had another child, Ray, and then eventually had a third, Morgan. Aleaha wasn’t exactly happy in her marriage, but she was loyal. Her husband died of a heart attack, and not long after, she took up with Frank Romero. They broke up and are still friends. Aleaha has not tried to contact Nate.

~Notable relationships~

Frank Mason: Aleaha’s late husband. He was nice enough, but never really good enough for Aleaha. He died when Morgan was 2.

Morgan, Ray, and Nathan Mason: Aleaha’s children. She loves them all very much, despite giving Nathan up for adoption.

Frank Romero: A brief fling that Aleaha had. He’s a fellow pack member and still a good friend. Their relationship just wasn’t sustainable.

Frank Mason Thomas Kretschmann

Aleaha’s late husband. He was nice enough, but really didn’t make her happy. Frank was happy, though, with his wife and children. He made sure they were never wanting for anything, but really didn’t have an opinion in many things involving them, including when Aleaha put their oldest up for adoption. He died when his daughter was 2 of a heart attack.

~Notable relationships~

Aleaha Mason: Frank’s wife. She was sweet and he loved her very much, despite the fact that she wasn’t exactly IN LOVE with him.

Morgan, Ray, and Nathan Mason: Frank’s children. He loves them, but had very little to do in decisions concerning them.  Not because he didn’t care, but because it was, in his eyes, just not his responsibility.

Ray Mason Travis Fimmel

Ray is the second oldest child of Aleaha and Frank Mason. He knows he has an older brother, but has never met him. He is very protective of his younger sister Morgan. Despite coming from a pure blooded were family, Ray did not experience the shift until a little bit later than usual, which was unusual. However, he learned to control himself fast, and now assists new young ones with their first shifts. He doesn’t exactly fit in with James’ pack, but he can’t bring himself to leave.

~Notable relationships~

Morgan and Nathan Mason: Ray’s two siblings. Nathan was given up before Ray was even thought of, but he grew up with Morgan, and even spent her first shift with her, since their father was gone.

Aleaha and Frank Mason: Ray’s parents. They loved him and his sister, but their hands off parenting method can sometimes make people think otherwise.

Morgan Mason Joey King

The younger sister of Ray and Nathan Mason. Morgan is a very bright girl, and graduated from school a year early. She’s good friends with Jonah Romero, who’s a few years older than he, but has always gone out of his way to spend time with her. She always looked at Jonah like an older brother, and then when he started dating Camille LeRoux, she got attached to her as well. Morgan depends on her friends to help her feel normal, as she still gets teased sometimes about being a “genius kid”.

~Notable relationships~

Ray and Nathan Mason: Morgan’solder brothers. Though Morgan doesn’t know Nathan, she loves him very much. She and Ray are very close, though.

Aleaha and Frank Mason: Morgan’s parents. They love her and her brother,  but their hands off parenting method can sometimes make people think otherwise.

Jonah Romero: A man from James’ pack. He’s always made time for her, and the two hang out a lot, despite the age difference.  She was one of the first people Jonah told about Camille.

Camille LeRoux: A were from Benjamin Beaumont’s pack. She’s always been nice to Morgan and Morgan has become good friends with her, luckily.

Remy LeRoux: Camille’s older brother. She’s only met him a couple of times, but Jonah teased her because she had a little school girl crush on him.

Fawn Daria Sidorchuk

A beautiful ethereal woman that Ray Mason just took up with one day. She’s fae, and powerful at that. Fawn is accepted in the pack, despite James’ feelings, simply because of Aleaha standing up for her. More than once, though, she’s heard talk of Ray moving to Shreveport. Ray always equates her to a hippy.

~Notable relationships~

Ray Mason: Fawn’s boyfriend. He loves how free she seems. He’s head over heels for her. They’ve been dating quite a few years now. He’s always been willing to move if James wanted to try to break them up.

Greyson Kent Timothy Omundson

A fae who teaches at a college. He doesn’t really tell anyone his sexuality, as it’s not exactly a big deal to him. Greyson has a younger “sister”, a young fae named Andi, he found and adopted. He met his boyfriend, Noah Hudson, at a gay were bar.

~Notable relationships~

Andi Kent: A young Fae that Greyson found one day in the woods, huddled in a small ball and frightened. He took her home and cared for her and no pays for her college.

Noah Hudson: A handsome were that Grey met at a gay bar. He’s very jealous of Noah’s cam show, but knows that he doesn't have to worry.

Noah Hudson Jack Falahee

Noah doesn’t really belong to a pack. He runs a cam show that he absolutely loves doing (Come on. His job is cumming). He and Greyson met at a were bar that faes didn’t typically come to. Noah is a young man who’s very sexual and attractive, lucky for him.

~Notable relationships~

Greyson Kent: A fae that Noah met at a gay were bar. Grey really loves Noah, despite being a little jealous of his job.

Andi Kent Nina Dobrev

A fae that is cared for by Greyson Kent. She was abandoned by a sort of cult of fae at a very young age and was taken in by Greyson. He raised and cared for her, and Andi grew up looking at Grey like an older brother. She worked very hard in high school. She knows plenty about Fae lore thanks to Grey and tries hard to learn more about herself and who she was before Grey found her. She lives in an apartment that Greyson pays for with a friend.

~Notable relationships~

Greyson Kent: A grown fae who found and cared for Andi. He pays for her to live in an apartment near the college he works at, which she attends on a full scholarship.

Wyatt Montgomery: A vampire who Andi met on accident on her way home. He gets on her nerves sometimes, but deep down she’s pretty sure she has feelings for him.

Vanya Eliades Eva Green

A beautiful vampire who was turned many centuries ago. Vanya was mysterious and beautiful and often was thought of as some sort of spirit by those who saw her in the woods in passing. She changed Christian Graves several thousand years ago, and lived with him for a time to teach him. She was “killed” at one point by an angry mob. She never told Christian how she survived, but she found him about ten years after. She then met Lydia Rousset and changed her. Vanya disappeared somewhere around 1900, leaving Christian and Lydia with no one but each other and Lydia’s progeny.

~Notable relationships~

Christian Graves: Vanya’s first progeny. She changed him out of pity and loneliness. The to actually had a relationship for a brief period, until she was “killed” by a mob.

Lydia Rousset: Changed after Vanya “returned from the dead”. Vanya has always treated Lydia like her child, doting on her. 

Christian Graves Alexander Skarsgard

The first progeny of Vanya Eliades. Christian shows his age by how reserved he is with everyone but those he trusts completely. He is a quiet man of over 1,000 years old. He enjoys his life as a vampire and is well known among the community as being a fountain of knowledge. He is well respected due to his age and his maker, and is the “king” of Louisiana. He has two progenies of his own, Eve and Cullen. He is rougher on Cullen than Eve, but is still affectionate towards them both, treating them as his own children. He doesn’t dwell on his human life. Vanya was the only one who knew anything about it. He’d once been a prince, married to a woman he really didn’t care for, with children.

~Notable relationships~

Vanya Eliades: Christian’s maker. She turned him after finding him dying on the battlefield. The two lived together for some time while she taught him how to control himself. 

Lydia Roussett: Christian’s “sister”. He has always had a soft spot for her ever since she was changed.

Eve: Christian’s first Progeny. He treats her similar to how he treats Lydia.

Cullen Bennett: Christian’s second progeny. He can be a little short with him from time to time

Lydia Rousset Holliday Grainger

The second progeny of Vanya Eliades. She is close with Christian, despite them not visiting each other often. Lydia was turned during the renaissance and was the most beloved by her “brother”. To this day, Christian still holds a soft spot for her. Lydia had two progenies. The first was a boy she had fallen in love with who was dying for a mortal wound. She turned him in the hopes they would be together forever. He instead was angry with her, feeling she cheated him of his death, and lamented his new life until he met the sun and perished, leaving Lydia heartbroken. Her second progeny was Wyatt Montgomery, who she changed during the Civil War. He absolutely adores her. Lydia is very clever and knows exactly how to get what she wants when she wants it.

~Notable relationships~

Christian Graves: Lydia’s “brother”. Christian has a very soft spot for Lydia and is known to give her exactly what she wants when she wants it from him.

Wyatt Montgomery: Lydia’s progeny. She turned him after finding him mortally wounded on the battle field.

Eve Lucy Fry

A young and very polite vampire. Not much is known about her as she, like her maker, is a very private and reserved person. She often keeps to herself and is very loyal.

~Notable relationships~

Christian Graves: Eve’s maker. She is,perhaps, one of the few living vampires who knows anything about his human life, as he told her part of the reason he turned her was due to the fact that she looked like how he imagined his daughter would have looked as an adult, and because she shared names with her. He is much softer on her than he is on Cullen sometimes.

Cullen Bennett: Eve’s “brother”. He was turned by Christian with Eve’s help. The two clash, due to their conflicting personalities, but are still loyal to each other.

Willow Beaumont: A were that’s attending college in Shreveport. The two have an odd relationship, as they’re dating but Willow often worries she likes Eve more than Eve likes her.

Cullen Bennett Zac Efron

Cullen is one of Christian Graves’ progenies. He is the younger of the two, having been born in the late 60′s and turned in the late 90′s. He was a smart man who enjoyed his life until an unfortunate and very accidental overdose ended his mortal life. He was found by Christian and Eve, who took him back to their place. Christian changed him and he now works at his club and is seeing Clove Gryffon.

~Notable relationships~

Christian Graves: Cullen’s maker. Christian can be a little short with him from time to time

Eve: Cullen’s “sister” and Christian’s first Progeny. The two tend o leave each other alone.

Clove Gryffon: A beautiful young were that Cullen’s been seeing. He Was actually surprised that he liked her as much as he does.

Wyatt Montgomery Ian Somerhalder

Lydia Rousset’s second progieny. Wyatt was found by Lydia on the battlefield during the Civil War. He was a southern gentleman who was a part of a rather well known and rich family. He met Lydia not long before leaving for the war. He was mortally wounded during a battle, and thought that, as he was dying, he was looking at an angel. He awoke two days later under the ground and dug himself out, only to be grabbed by Lydia, who helped him the rest of the way out of the dirt, explaining to him that she’d changed him. He’s polite, if not a little sarcastic, and loves being alive to see things change in Louisiana.

~Notable relationships~

Lydia Rousset: Wyatt’s maker. She changed him due to romantic interest, but the relationship didn’t flourish. Lydia and Wyatt are still very close, though, and he is at her beck and call.

Christian Graves: Wyatt’s “uncle”. The two get along very well due to the way Wyatt was raised. Wyatt has made jokes before that Lydia and Christian should swap him and Cullen.

Andi Kent: A young fae that Wyatt met on accident while she was on her way home from college. Andi has mixed feelings about Wyatt.

[quartusbellum-blog]

KARLI for the role of  JAMES POTTER, using the faceclaim BOB MORLEY.

Everything about your application brings me such glee. I love James, but I also love seeing him break, since he’s such a strong, positive force in canon. In the writing sample, you balanced James’ principals with his desire to keep his family safe perfectly. My favourite part of this app, however, has to be the tulips. That was some stunning writing and I can’t wait to see what you do with James in this game!

ooc details

Name: Karli

Age: 27

Pronouns: She/Her

Activity Level: I can be around every day, but mostly on mobile throughout the week until the evening (CMT timezone). I work 11 hour days on Tues/Wed and likely won’t do as much posting then. I will have no problem meeting the requirements and can likely post more than that as well, usually at least once per day.

Other: No triggers or questions or anything else.

Acknowledgement: I acknowledge that the themes of this game may include triggering elements. I also acknowledge that my character may be harmed, coerced, or even killed (with player’s consent) during paras/events or may cause harm to or kill others during paras/events.

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general ic details

Name: James “Prongs” Charlus Potter

Age: 20

Ships: I ship chemistry, but I do have a special place in my heart for James/Lily. That being said… I think it’s pretty important to know that James views himself as part of that ship, due to having been in that relationship before his capture and now with his belief that the Death Eater’s have Lily. I don’t necessarily think this has to be an actual ship, though. Lily and him have been apart for a while now and anything can happen. Right now, James’ main purpose is less on ships and more about trying to get out of the situation he’s in (and get his memories back in order), so I don’t think a lot of hot and heavy romance will be happening regardless. I think Lily is extremely important to his character in this roleplay, however.

Gender/Pronouns: Cismale. He/Him

Face Claim: Bob Morley. Secondary: Ashton Moio. (If you don’t like either, I’m willing to explore more suggestions. I’ve been stuck for days on this FC question!)

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biography:

(Just as a warning, I do not follow the guidelines of Pottermore’s backstory for James or his family. This bio also revolves about Bob Morley as a FC, due to his Filipino background. If another FC needs to be chosen, this bio will have to be revamped to reflect that ethnicity.)

Charlus and Aizel Potter met late in life, long after Charlus’ years as an eligible bachelor. He’d given up, at that point, in hopes of finding a suitable wife and had poured himself into is work at the Ministry of Magic’s Department of International Magical Cooperation. He’d met Azelia during his work in the Philippines, her upbringing far from his own, and had fallen in love with her. They were old enough, they’d thought, and decided not to wait. Married within just a few short months, Charlus had taken her back to England with him to live at the Potter Estate, tearing her away from her country, her entire family, and all she’d ever known. With him working and her at home, it wasn’t long before their first – and only – son was born. It had been a hard pregnancy due to Aizel’s age and the healer had recommended against trying for a second. It did not matter to either of them – James was enough. A pureblood son who was brilliant and charming and handsome rolled into one.

James had a rather lonely childhood, however. Living without close neighbors and with all of his parents’ friends having kids much older than him, James found ways to pass the time on his own. His mother taught him from home, where he learned the basics, such as how to read, write, and do arithmetic, along with an introduction to magic. She had a spirituality about her that came from a long line of her family back home. She’d talked of a different sort of importance rather blood status – and his father agreed. Or he’d said he did. It was the more polite thing to do, of course. Prejudices were less becoming in more recent days – what with new laws and rights for muggleborns. Back in his day, Hogwarts had barely allowed them into the school, after all. But Charlus could not understand what the whole fuss was about. There had already been changes in the world – why were some groups calling for more?

When James had finally gone to school, he’d revered the house of Gryffindor and was eager to make friends. It had come on quickly – Sirius on the train and then Remus later, finally ending the group with Peter. It felt right. There were a few comments from the older students towards James – saying he could’ve chosen anyone for his friends and yet he’d picked a group of outcasts - but it turned out to be one of the best things James ever did. By the time their fourth year rolled around, even people from higher years were looking at the self-proclaimed Marauders with a wishful look in their eyes, hoping that perhaps they could fit one more. Only James thought the number four seemed quite appropriate – he’d choose a night with his mates over a large group of people any day. They enjoyed pranks and sneaking around the grounds and castle. It didn’t matter to any of them that, sometimes, they had to turn into animals so they didn’t get eaten – an adventure was an adventure, James always said! And maybe those adventures meant hexing a few people along the way but, come on, it was just a laugh. And nobody really wanted to miss out on the opportunity to point at Severus Snape, would they?

However, things grew darker as the years moved on. There was that incident with Snivellus and the Whomping Willow to deal with, of course, but it was mostly outside the walls that James worried about. By his sixth year, a full-fledged war was being fought in the Wizarding World, wix on wix, beast on beast. It was brutal and bloody and James noticed for what might have been the first time ever that he was one very small person in a very large world. He was eager to get out and fight. His true testament of growth, however, did not stand in his Head Boy badge (which he did get) or his offer to join in training camp for the Appleby Arrows (which did happen) or even the fact that he’d ended up as Lily Evans’ boyfriend (which was the talk of the school for a while) – it was the fact that, when Flich had confiscated the Marauders Map, James did not encourage his friends to go and get it. They had to leave all that behind. They were about to fight a war.

It seemed only fitting when Dumbledore recruited them to the underground group called The Order of the Phoenix. James himself loved the idea of such a secret rebellion. Hadn’t he spent an entire lifetime breaking the rules? Shortly after graduation, his parents’ death hit him hard, one after another. Nothing sinister about them – old age and dragon pox never did mix – but James grew more focused, more determined. Only he hadn’t prepared on how much he would have to see – how much he would have to endure. The Order began to tear itself apart. People were dying every day and James himself had been in enough scraps that he no longer thought himself invincible. When Lord Voldemort offered his hand out – again and again – James, of course, said no, barely escaping his own brush with death. It was affecting even his friends. There was a spy in the Order and fingers were pointed. Sirius thought it Remus – and Remus was so far off the grid that he couldn’t exactly defend himself. James held firm – none of them would betray another, he’d argued over and over when the conversation broke out amongst the Order members.

Only his luck was bound to run out eventually. His trust proved destructive and Peter, one of his best mates, had deceived them all. James’ confidence did not wane – he would lead the revolt in Dumbledore’s honor. Only things did not go as planned (James, after all, had never been the best at looking at things from all angles) and he’d wound up in the hands of the Death Eaters, the One Army. His body tortured, his mind played with. Now, he doesn’t understand why his memories don’t add up. He believes that Lily has been captured, held hostage, their baby with her. There’s been no indication to him that there is no baby. With his belief that she’ll die if he doesn’t obey, he’s taken the Mark. He does what he needs to do for his own survival and his family’s. He hopes to get her back – and get back to his friends – only there’s blood on his hands now and he can’t quite wipe them clean this time.

Evan Rosier holds the strings, after all. James is just the puppet.

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my character is:

Please Describe a Belief your character has that is wrong.

Pretty much all of what James believes to be true actually isn’t. After Dumbledore’s arrest and James’ subsequent capture, he spent just over six months in captivity, being tortured and played with by Evan Rosier. His memories are now befuddled. He thinks he knows why he’s doing what he’s doing, but he’s completely wrong about that. During those six months, new memories were planted, old ones scrambled. James finally took the Mark after being convinced - no, that’s not right, he actually remembers it happening, doesn’t he? - that his pregnant girlfriend was taken, too. In the dungeons, his baby was born. A boy, Evan had told him.

James took the Mark to keep his family alive and has been doing the Death Eaters’ bidding since then until he can get them out. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, of course - but it’s them or his family and, for the first time, James doesn’t have a way to get out of it. Nothing makes sense, but the one thing that he’s certain of is that there actually isn’t a choice at all. He would die to defy Voldemort if he had to, but he’s not willing to risk the lives of the people he loves. So, with his wand raised, he’ll think of his son locked in captivity and cast an Unforgivable. Pain, he’s had to decide, is something inevitable in this war.

Please Provide a description of either Your Character’s Job and Address the differences between what your character is currently doing and what they would prefer to do?

James does not have a job outside of being a Death Eater and working with One Army. Everything he has, he’s given to them. He handed over his estate, watched his childhood home be destroyed. They’d cleared out his vault at Gringotts. He’s even given his freedom, which is probably the worst of it all. But he does it to keep his family alive and to hopefully one day get back to his friends. By all intents and purposes, his work is as a Death Eater. It’s a job he’d never thought he’d be doing - a Mark he never expected to take. But it’s his life now, isn’t it?

James would prefer to be doing literally anything but this. He’d rather be running with the Ashen Phoenix - or even underground with the Radical Alliance, if his mate’s group would have him. He doesn’t exactly want to be a werewolf or vampire, but if it meant he could get away from his current situation, he’d gladly take that Mark over his own. Only - that doesn’t help Lily. That doesn’t help his child. So he stays and he does what he’s told. He’s heard the names of his friends - Remus in the woods, Sirius on the run. And, confusingly, he’s heard the name of Lily Evans in the Ashen Phoenix, too. But he assumes it’s just another trick. Just another way to mess about with his memories, another form of torture. That can’t be his Lily, not if he remembers her down in the dungeons. Something he’s determined to do, however, is get to the bottom of what’s going on. He needs to find Sirius and Remus. Needs to get out of here with his family intact.

ooc questions

Writing Sample: (I have included Evan in this para sample since James revolves a lot around him, but if we get an Evan who views him differently, with a different sort of dialogue, this can easily be changed!)

This thing itched. Was it supposed to itch? James’ fingers toyed with the Mark, tracing the outline silently, eyes watching the dark snake crawling from the skull. How many times had he seen this above a house, waiting for someone to find the people dead inside? He’d always wondered how anyone could do it. Follow Voldemort - take the Dark Mark - murder innocent people. He’d judged them for it. It wasn’t as though his entire life in war had been without bloodshed. No, he had spilled enough to know that battle was bloody - but he’d always been spilling Death Eater blood. The wrong side. He was supposed to be the good guy. But now - now he didn’t know. Things were much more complicated than a life of good and bad. People did things for a number of reasons, it seemed. James was living proof of that.

Evan moved from the house and James quickly pulled down his sleeve. He’d been left alone and hadn’t run. He hated himself for giving Evan the confidence to have James go ahead of him. They both knew James wouldn’t go anywhere. He had a reason for staying - a reason for living. A long time ago (it seemed like an entire lifetime), he would’ve rather died than become one of them. But it wasn’t his life he was protecting anymore. His son… his son had been born. James had taken the Mark for him - though, at the time he’d agreed to it, he hadn’t known it was a boy. He remembered Lily telling him she was pregnant; he’d been taken shortly after, Lily’s own capture following his eventually. But Evan had kept him informed of her progress. She’s getting bigger every day, he told James. She asks about you. She’s very pretty, isn’t she?

That last part had caused James’ blood to boil, to spit in Evan’s direction before another round of curses hit. But he hadn’t let himself die - because he knew it would mean her death. Their baby’s death. And, finally, when he was given a choice of the Mark with the assurance they would let the baby be born, James had agreed. Just raised his head in the dungeon, body aching from the Cruciatus, mouth bleeding from a teeth-pulling jinx, and said he would join them. Not a Gryffindor, after all.

Now, he stood to wait for his true master - sure, Voldemort was in charge, but he wasn’t the one controlling James - to come down the steps. The plan was to Apparate to the meeting point. James never got all the details of these little missions, so usually had to be guided to the location by Evan. It wasn’t his first ride along, but he hadn’t grown used to them yet, either. Mostly, he just stood around, doing what he was told, trying to hurt as few people as he could. He was their puppet and they knew it. James hated them. Hated himself. Wordlessly, he held out his hand and tried to ignore Evan’s smirk, taking the proffered arm. They turned on the spot together, James being wrenched somewhere he didn’t know. It was a small house with white shutters, flowers in the yard. Bellatrix stood in the shadows, Peter next to her, and James glowered, but kept his mouth shut. He was getting better at biting his tongue these days.

Bellatrix had approached Evan with a furious look in her eyes, violently gesturing around about the Dark Lord’s wishes. Apparently, they’d been late. Peter’s eyes connected with James, who stared back for a few moments before looking away. The power between the two men had changed and there was an ache that moved through his heart because part of James still loved Peter. Or, at least, the Peter who liked vanilla-flavored sugar quills and once made James laugh so hard his stomach had hurt for over an hour after. It wasn’t every day he ran into his old friend - and Peter did not gloat whenever they did, for which James was grateful - but the worse missions were the ones where they were together.

James clutched his wand. It was pathetic - they allowed him to have a wand, turned their backs on him. He was so clutched in their grasps that he didn’t even think about jinxing Evan from behind anymore. “Potter!” His head snapped up. “Apparently Bevan Vexx here has been helping Mudbloods get false papers. It’s time to teach him a lesson, don’t you think, Potter?”

“If you say so,” James replied, the answer easily on his lips, not the first time he’s agreed in such a manner.

“I’d like you to help me. Teach you a new trick or two. I’m afraid it’s not exactly a request, but I do hope you’ll agree that you might benefit from learning some new magic.”

“What do you want me to do?” Though James had a feeling. He couldn’t get away with not killing someone for very long, after all. His heart began to race, his grip on his wand grew tighter.

Evan smiled and it was such a fucking pleasant grin that James wanted to scream. “How about you follow my lead and then we’ll discuss your progress after, okay? We’ll have you practice securing the Dark Mark above the house, as well.”

James took a deep breath, thought of his son - he wanted to live to find out his name - and Lily down in the dungeons. His eyes moved around the yard again. Someone in the house must be very proud of their tulips. He wondered if it was Bevan. He was ready. In his head, he said the curse. He had to mean it for it to work. Hadn’t that been the problem the first time Evan had asked him to perform it? Avada Kedavra, Avada Kedavra. He could do this. He stepped over the Tulips to get to the front door.

Exploration:

1) There’s a lot that might be done with James’ memories. He thinks Lily is down in the dungeon, yes, but what else does he think he’s sure about? Evan has control over everything with him and I’m willing to throw James under the Knight Bus and have him fuck things up due to his false-memories. I would love to get an Evan Rosier because that’s such an interesting dynamic for James. I want to see Evan’s ability to convince James of things that aren’t true. I’m not afraid to make James hurt or kill people - hurt other characters in the rp, even! - because he’s working as a Death Eater and that’s what he needs to do to keep his so-called family alive. I want to get to the nitty-gritty of what being in the One Army entails. I don’t want to shy away from that.

2) I think it’s pretty important to find ways that everyone is forced to come together. Right now, the groups are pretty separate and there’s not a lot of room for a casual run in, since half the cast would be arrested. I could see some sort of battle happening, though. Perhaps the Ashen Phoenix decides to throw an explosion into Hogsmeade. Or maybe the Radical Alliance is caught selling vampire blood on the black market. I’m eager to see how it all plays out.

3) I was thinking that there is potential for James to end up siding with the Silent Daggers at some point. Right now, he doesn’t even know they exist but, if he ever found out, he may just have to crawl with his antlers down towards them because they’re at least a step in the right direction to what he wants. He can’t just go out and join the Ashen Phoenix, but working with other Death Eaters might not be so suspicious. So there’s potential for that.

4) Here’s a fourth because why not: Dumbledore’s escape!! What will it mean for the groups? For James? I like that idea. It would also be interested if it were a botched escape. Or let’s say they do get him out - he wouldn’t be the same Dumbledore anymore, would he? Ariana’s ghost has been haunting him for over a year. I’d like to see how that all changes things. Perhaps the Ashen Phoenix will need to stick by their new leaders, rather than their old.

Extras:

Here’s a few more interpersonal things I’d like to explore:

1) There has been a lot of time lost since the last time Lily and James saw one another. He’s been thinking she’s captured, yes, but he also expects her to be waiting around for him like he has with her. I personally don’t think that has to happen. They’re still so young and have dated for less than two years. She has the right to move on, especially during the times where she didn’t even know if he was alive or not. But James won’t see it that way, which I find incredibly interesting.

2) Severus Snape and him have always been enemies - and they are still on opposite sides now. Only it’s flip flopped. I’d love to see how this dynamic works with the both of them, given James has taken Severus’ place in One Army, while Snape has moved onto the Ashen Phoenix. For once, James can’t say that Severus is in the wrong here.

3) His relationship with Sirius and Remus is incredibly important and, right now, unable to exist much outside of wishful thinking. Sirius is trying to keep everyone and everything together, which is normally James’ job. So I’m excited to see how that dynamic will play out, especially with the betrayal of Peter having already happened. If we ever got a Peter in game, then he and James would have a lot of potential for interaction, given they’re both on the same side.