#( MAIN. silas ) i said hey: what’s going on?

[natsukishinomiyaswife]

Checking In

Hello ♡ This fic is set in the same universe as, The Viper Club (or, The Jamil Viper Support Group) and is sort of a sequel to it. In this fic, Lydia goes around checking in with everyone (including some new OCs and pairings I didn't mention in the first fic!) ♡

OCs featured/mentioned (along with their OC x Canon) include: Yuusha (@crystallizsch) x Jamil, Mayu (@anbaisai) x Jamil, Rebecca (@0honeybones0) x Jamil, Astrid (@cheerleaderman) x Jamil, Damali (@midnightmah07) x Jamil

Silas (@theolivetree123) x Jamil, Fayrouz (@fell-e) x Jamil, Dranav (@justm3di0cr3) x Jamil, Jeanne (@midnightmah07) x Kalim, Copper (@cyanide-latte) x Kalim

Shuu (@oya-oya-okay) x Azul, Lysander (@offorestsongs) x Rook, Kiyuu (@skriblee-ksk) x Jack, Daisy (@midnightmah07) x Ruggie, Jewel (@jewelulu) x Floyd

Chris (@selfinserttothestars) x Malleus, Leota (@twsted-canvas) x Malleus, Sophie (@gl00myb3arz) x Malleus, Ellis (@starry-night-rose) x Malleus, Perse (@midnightmah07) x Idia

Yuya (@cheerleaderman) x Idia, Ryoko (@kathxrat-01), Yuu Shi (@boopshoops), Cecil (@lostonesart), Yuuki (@theolivetree123)

OCs featured/mentioned (along with their OC x Canon) that don't belong to my mutuals include (if you would like for me to remove your OC/untag you, please let me know!): Ashi (@ashipiko) x Ace, Flurin (@amatsuchan-eiliniel) x Vil, Hopper (@amatsuchan-eiliniel) x Rook

Enjoy! ♡

"So, how's everything going?" Lydia asks, following Kalim into Scarabia. It's been a few days since everyone appeared, Crowley still looking for a way to send them home. Kalim leads her to where Jeanne and Copper are, sitting in the main room of the dorm. He laughs before he responds, a smile lighting up his face.

"Everything's going great! Jeanne and Copper are so much fun. It's interesting to hear about how things are like in their world! Though, I would have liked to throw a welcome party for them..."

Lydia smiles at this, waving to Jeanne and Copper. "That's great to hear, Kalim. Have they been joining you around campus?" Kalim nods his head, moving to sit between them.

"Yep! They come to class with me, and to my club meetings. They're even gonna attend our concert next week!" He tells her with a smile, looking between the two. Lydia frowns for a moment, the thought that they may not be here next week crossing her mind. She wasn't going to ruin the mood though, nodding her head as she tried not to think about it.

"Where's Jamil?" She asks, changing the subject as she looks around the room. "Oh, he's in the kitchen! The others are there with him." He informs her, pointing down the hall. She thanks him, nodding to Jeanne and Copper before leaving.

She heads down the hall, entering the kitchen to find Jamil in front of the stove. Some of them are helping him cook while the others watch, sitting at the table. He glances towards the doorway when he notices someone enter, his features going soft as he realized who it was.

"Hey, Jamil! I just wanted to check in and see how you were." She starts, her voice causing him to turn. While he looked tired, he seemed to be holding up alright, and everyone was accounted for.

"Yuusha... made shirts." He states, sounding tired yet... the tiniest bit fond. At least he seems to like them, she thinks, finally taking notice of the clothes they were wearing.

Each person wore a shirt that said "Jamil Support Group", with flames coming up in the background. "Oh... how creative!" She says, unsure what the proper response was. She does a double take when she notices the stuffed animal around Mayu, almost looking like a realistic snake, with a red and black pattern. Jamil noticed where her attention was and sighed, moving to the sink.

"Apparently, it's supposed to be me... they worked together to make it."

"Him!" Mayu corrected, causing Jamil to shake his head. "It's noodle Jamil." She says, introducing him to Lydia. A small smile comes to her face as she pats the stuffed snake's head, thinking to herself how cute it was.

"Has everyone been getting along alright?" She asks him, Jamil leaning closer to make his response more private. He keeps his voice low, glancing whenever he mentions someone.

"Silas doesn't seem happy, but everyone else is getting along. They've been telling each other stories about their Jamil's, and follow me around campus when I'm out."

"Most of us refer to Jamil as 'babygirl', just like I thought." Astrid chimes in, redirecting Jamil's attention.

"Don't call me that." He states, crossing his arms. With his back turned, he was unaware of Kalim coming to the doorway, having heard some of their conversation.

"If you don't like babygirl, how about habibi?" Kalim adds, Jamil's head snapping towards him.

"Don't give them ideas!"

"Oh, can I have a shirt too?" Kalim asks Yuusha, becoming distracted. Jamil shakes his head, muttering "Are you even listening to me?" before dropping the subject. He focuses back on Lydia as Kalim and Yuusha talk in the background, Rebecca and Fayrouz plating the finished food.

"So, you're checking in with everyone?"

"Yep!" She says, nodding her head. "I already checked in with Ryoko and Kiyuu, who's with Jack. I also checked in with Daisy while I was there, since Ruggie was nearby. And Malleus is taking his group to look at gargoyles, since he's curious to know if the ones we have are different from the one's in their worlds."

"Is that why Sebek's been running around campus?"

She laughs awkwardly as she nods. "Malleus didn't tell him where they were going, and he doesn't trust them yet. So he's worried about Malleus being alone with them."

Jamil's eyebrows raise at this, having seen them around campus. While he didn't know their names, they seemed harmless, and didn't mean any trouble. Lydia laughs at his reaction, having thought the same thing.

"If you've met Chris, Leota, Sophie, or Ellis, you'd know how much they care about Malleus. I mean, you could probably see it too, just by how they act around him. But, you know how Sebek is..."

Jamil nods, Lydia checking her phone for the time. "Oh, I better get going! I still have a few people I need to see." She says, walking over to the doorway. She waves goodbye to everyone, Jamil watching her go.

"Should I make a shirt for her too?" Yuusha teases, Jamil giving her a look as she smiles to herself. After a moment he shakes his head, making his way to the table. He better eat, before the food gets cold...

Lydia heads to Ignihyde next, asking Ortho how Perse and Yuya were. She felt bad for not meeting with them directly, but she didn't want to risk seeing Idia, and kept her distance from the group. Ortho informed her that they both seem to be doing well, and that they spend most of their time with him or Idia's tablet, since Idia hasn't left his room.

"The Board Game Club should have a meeting tonight, so he'll leave his room then. Have Perse and Yuya join him." Lydia tells him, with Ortho agreeing to do so.

She moved on to Pomefiore, making sure Flurin was good with Vil before looking for Rook. He wasn't at the dorm, and when she looked around campus, she found Hopper and Lysander. Just not him...

"Hmmm..." She hummed to herself, wondering where he could be. He was supposed to be watching them, after all. Wait...

"You know Rook, when I told you to look after them, I didn't mean like this!" She shouts, looking up at the trees. Rook is hidden between some branches, high enough to where you wouldn't see him at first glance. She waits a moment for him to come down, shaking her head at his explanation. She understands he's a hunter, and while she appreciates him trying to make things more exciting, she needs him to stay with them. They couldn't afford to lose someone else...

"... Actually, Rook, go back up in the trees. Maybe you can find Yuu Shi for me..."

After standing under the trees for a bit (and Yuu Shi still nowhere to be found...), Lydia moves on to Octavinelle, passing by Ace along the way.

"... Ace, where's Ashi?" She questions, noticing he was by himself.

"Oh, I think she's back with Deuce. Wh-"

"Ace, stay with Ashi... please! We've already lost Yuu Shi, we can't afford to lose someone else!" She exclaims, anxiety on her face as she grabs his jacket, shaking him as she speaks to emphasize her point.

"Woah, woah! Calm down, Lyds." He says, grabbing her wrists to make her stop. He looks down at her as he moves her hands away, doing his best to ease her worries.

"She probably went off on her own somewhere, and I doubt she's in any danger."

"Still..."

"Alright, alright. I'm going..." He puts his hands up, turning around. "I'll be back later to visit, alright?"

"Ok, sounds good!" She says, a smile coming to her face. She waves him goodbye before continuing on her way, making it to Octavinelle. She just had to check in with Shuu and Jewel, and then she could go have lunch with Cecil and Yuuki. At least, that was her plan, entering the Lounge to find Floyd had left his shift early, taking Jewel with him.

Azul spots her quickly, making his way over as Shuu followed. She's thankful he at least listened, and hasn't been using Shuu for free labor. (At least, that she knows of...)

"Lydia, do you mind?-" She interrupts him before he could finish, already knowing what he was gonna ask.

"Let me get my apron..." ♡

Ahhhh I hope you guys like this next installment in the series! ♡ Again, I did my best to keep things vague, so that way you can insert your own dialogue/thoughts for your OCs! ♡

Thank you! ♡

[dunno1234]

Gideon the Ninth review, I guess

So, Gideon the Ninth, huh? The darling of Tumblr, along with the rest of TLT. I read it. Finished yesterday. And now, for my first post ever on Tumblr, I'll also make my first full review of a book. It'll probably be long. I'll divide this in the following sections: Prose (yes, we're starting with it); characters; story; what I liked; and what I really wish had been done. Full spoilers for literally everything in the first book, and warning that I did not like the book much. It's like, 3 stars. But hey, that was a passing grade in college, and thus I'll also read the next book. Also, it will be extremely rambly. I did an editing pass, but to ramble is my nature.

Prose

This is the most relevant aspect to my experience, which is really sad, because I hated it. And it's really weird, because it's the first time I disliked a technically good prose (and I assure you, the prose is good in the technical aspect). The descriptions are very verbose (I learned 4 new words while reading it), but also, well, descriptive, and it has its own distinctive style, and theoretically I would've enjoyed it a lot. So, why did I not? Well, the quips. Oh boy, the quips. They were extremely prevalent throughout the story and I hated almost all of them (other than the Dr. Skelebone one. That one was great, specially how they committed to it), and they actively ruined my experience because I was always bracing myself for them. Another thing I heavily disliked was the use of parentheses to denote both thoughts and quips characters said (I think parentheticals do not belong in prose in any situation, and this book just reinforced that belief). And the funny thing is, it's not as if I'm against the idea of it. Pale Lights (which I absolutely recommend) is also in third-person limited and uses quips during the dialogue, but the main difference is, well, I like how it works in PL and not here, I guess. And it sucks, because, if I dislike the prose, I automatically dislike the entire book experience, since it is an always-present aspect of it. I would even have preferred aggressively mediocre prose, like anything written by Wildbow, over what I got here.

Characters

I loved Palamedes and Camilla.

I liked Harrow, and Gideon was well-written.

Coronabeth, Naberius, and Ianthe were somewhat interesting, or at least interesting ideas behind them (and Naberius had a parrying dagger, which is extremely hot). Would've been good if Coronabeth had existed after the Ianthe review, though. I assume the intention is that she becomes relevant in HtN?

Teacher was fun.

Silas Octakiseron (worst surname in a cast full of impressively bad surnames (although I don't think that they are actual surnames since Harrow's parents have different surnames than her)) is a good antagonist, I guess. Brother Asht had a cool scene.

I have run out of characters to say positive things about.

This is mean (and honestly most of this review will be mean), but yeah... I don't care about anyone else. Most of them are one note with barely any personality traits, and there are simply too many of them for the story's own good. Who cares about the Second House members, who are so irrelevant that I don't even know who is the cav and who is the necro. Magnus was kind to Gideon, but he was also obviously going to be sacced from the start, while his wife I don't even remember having dialogue. Both of the Fourth were developed literally the same chapter as they died, and while they were mildly amusing before, I never got to care about them. Dulcinea/Cytherea was a twist villain, and not a good one. Her cav was literally dead before arrival.

The main problem of the cast, I think, is how they all have to share screentime (or pagetime, I guess) with everyone else. I don't get to see Naberius's life history and training to be sad about his death, when I also have to get attached to Fourth Necro (I do not remember his name) for his death. As a result, none of them get the necessary focus, and they fall flat to me. The worst offenders are the Second, who are completely indistinct from each other and whose only impact in the story is killing teacher and calling Necrolord Prime, two actions that Cytherea could've done with barely any rewriting.

The romance between Harrow and Gideon also fell pretty flat. Gideon spends 90% of the story flirting with Coronabeth and Dulcinea, while Harrow is either not in the scene or emotionally distant, and then in the last couple chapters she gives The Reveal in the pool (which revealed barely anything) and in the penultimate chapter we see how much she actually loves Gideon.

Palademes and Camilla were cool as fuck, though.

Story

It started pretty good before they left Drearbuh (of whatever it's called), but as soon as they arrived in the First planet, it just meandered. I've seen some people who actually liked the book, and they also seemed to agree that it was slow, but I don't think it improved greatly later on. After Palamedes and Camilla first appeared and Gideon was finally allowed to speak it did pick up, and the tests she and Harrow did were fun, but soon after the story became about who has which keys, and I refuse to believe anyone was interested about that part.

Eventually, it had the plot twist that Ianthe is actually a fucking genius who is proving Palamedes wrong about him being the best necro of his generation (sadly) and she fights the Eighth and kills them and also apparently Dulcinea isn't Dulcinea and Palamedes kills himself to kill her but it doesn't work and the remaining characters take turns to kill her until Gideon sacrifices herself and Harrow kills her. And then we get an epilogue.

So, 90% of the story is contained in the last 10% of it. This is not good. The pacing of this book sucks. The last 10% of it is pretty good, but that does not redeem the rest. There is also a lot of telling instead of showing. We only see Ianthe after she becomes a Lyctor; Palamedes's backstory is told by Camilla literally a chapter before the reveal; we never get to see the Second killing Teacher; we never see Silas grabbing Dulcinea's keys. Gideon as the PoV character doesn't really work, because she only becomes the central point of the story at the very end, and for the most part everyone else is doing their own things out of screen.

What I liked

I already said this, but Palamedes and Camilla were great. Harrow was very fun, and, while I did not enjoy Gideon, she was pretty well written.

The setting was very interesting, and felt much bigger than what we saw. I wish that the glossary had been at the start of the book, but it isn't that big of a problem. The necromancy was also fun, with all of the different styles, although I wish it were better explained (and I understand that it probably wasn't because Gideon knows dick about shit about it, but it doesn't really change me having a problem with it).

The last two chapters were easily the best in the book. Like, I genuinely liked them. This is mostly because Gideon wasn't the PoV, I'll admit, but the Necrolord Prime (I do not remember if he's actually called that or not, but I'll still call him that) was very fun in the like, three pages he was in.

What I Really Wish Had Been Done

So, I'll try to be as direct as possible. Have multiple PoVs. Preferably one for each House. This could solve literally every problem I denoted here. The Ianthe reveal came out of nowhere? Well, now we can properly set it up. The Palamedes backstory was explained through exposition two pages before it became relevant? Well, instead of Camilla giving it, we see him think about it. I hate the quips? Other characters won't have quips. The story meanders at the start? Go to characters who have stuff to do. And you can even use the skulls besides the chapter number with the Houses to signify which character is the PoV, and, at the epilogue, have it for the first time have the skull of the First. Wouldn't that be a cool usage of it? I am completely aware that this would require completely rewriting the book, but I think it'd be worth it.

Conclusion

I'll still read the next book, and I will probably enjoy it more due to not having constant quips and Ianthe presumably having focus, although I've heard from multiple people that it's confusing as fuck. So yeah, I'm decently hyped for Harrow the Ninth, and if I have was many thoughts about it I'll probably also write a review. Also, hey, Reddit!

[can-of-pringles]

When I'm Alone with You - Chapter 14

Rating: Gen

Warnings: None unless you count pet rats

Word Count: 2k

Summary: Copia has a surprise for Silas

Note: We're back people!

Also Read on AO3

August

---

Copia smiled as he watched his new pet rats settle into their new home. It had been a long time since he'd had rats. He’d missed how sweet and affectionate they were. It had been rough when his childhood rats had finally crossed that unholy bridge, but he was grown up now; he knew it was better to focus on spending time with the lovely furry sweethearts than to mourn prematurely.

“Just wait until Silas finds out about you guys. He’s going to love you!” He whispered and watched as they explored their habitat.

As much as he wanted to watch them play all day, he knew he had to work. He sighed and frowned, resting his head in the palm of his hand. Maybe he could just work from his room today? Sister probably wouldn’t care as long as the work got done on time, as it always did. And besides, he still wanted to make sure the rats were settling in properly. How could he do that if he couldn’t monitor them sometimes throughout the day?

“I’ll be right back, okay? Don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone.” He smiled as he watched them run around and play in their new home.

Copia left his room to go retrieve his work for the day, walking down the halls and heading towards his office. He was already in a good mood from his new pet rats, but seeing Silas as usual made it double. He was leaning slightly with a broom, taking a pause in sweeping.

“Silas.” He called, lightly waving.

Silas noticed him and smiled, returning the wave. Copia walked over to him, seeing no issue in having a small chat with him before getting his work.

“Hey, you’re not working in your office today?” Silas asked, curious.

He shook his head. “Yeah, working from my room, actually… but I have a reason.” He tried hiding the smile growing on his face.

Silas picked up on it, smiling and raising a brow in interest. “What’s the reason?”

“Well, I didn’t want to leave my new rats all by themselves while they’re settling in,” he played it casually, before grinning.

“Hey, that’s great! Everything’s going well?” Silas asked.

“Yes, they’re happy and healthy so far.”

“I’m very happy for you.” He smiled.

Copia blushed but ignored it. “Thank you.”

“Maybe the next time we’re on break I could meet them?”

“Yes, of course! They’d love to meet you.” Copia nodded.

“Sounds great. See you and them soon,” Silas said before getting back to sweeping.

Copia gave him one last quick look before heading to his office as he had originally planned.

---

“Just one more page and you can go on break…” Copia muttered under his breath, tapping his foot impatiently.

He looked up and turned around in his chair when he heard a squeak coming from his rats. He smiled when he saw them climbing around in their cage, playing with their toys.

“It’s almost time for you all to meet Silas,” he spoke before turning back to his work.

“Just power through this…” He thought, furrowing his brows as he focused.

After around ten minutes of solely working, he sighed and leaned back in his chair, relieved that it was finally done. He re-stacked the pages, leaving them in a neat pile on his makeshift desk. Copia stood, lightly stretching his wrists. Now was hopefully going to be the best part of his day.

He left his room to find Silas. The bedrooms were kept slightly separate from the main part of the building, but it wasn’t any distance he hadn’t walked before. His eyes visibly lit up when he saw his friend.

Silas had a small smile on his face when he saw him. “Hey, I just finished, and I was going to try to see if I could find you, but I guess you found me first.”

Copia chuckled shortly, scratching the back of his head. “Yes, I suppose I was eager for you to meet the new rats…”

“Oh, yeah, we can go right now if you want, and then maybe eat lunch afterwards?” Silas asked.

Copia smiled. “Yes, that would be great.”

They walked side-by-side, talking briefly about their day. When they got closer, Silas looked around slightly.

“Something wrong?”

“No, it’s just I don’t clean around the personal rooms as much as the other janitors, different shifts, and all of that. So I was going over all the details again, just a reminder.” Silas explained.

Copia muttered an ‘oh’ and nodded.

“Well, here we are. Ta-da!” He motioned to his room in a slightly exaggerated, comical manner, causing Silas to chuckle a little.

He opened his door slowly, and they walked inside. “Maybe try to just start slow and keep quiet, since they’re not used to visitors yet.”

Silas nodded. He stood for a moment, vaguely observing his room. It wasn’t anything extravagant, quite the opposite, though he figured it wasn’t like his own apartment was that fancy either. He at least noticed a tiny kitchenette, a small couch, and a bathroom nearby. There was probably a bed somewhere slightly out of view. It reminded him more of a hotel room. Although Silas definitely noticed some small personal touches, a couple of cat related posters on the wall. Some candles close by. Even a small potted plant.

“Silas?”

“Oh, um, yeah?” He answered, realizing he wasn't paying as much attention as he'd thought. “What is it?”

“You can meet them now. Could you maybe wash your hands? Just in case.” Copia asked.

He nodded and quickly washed his hands at the small sink in the kitchen. He wasn’t sure if Copia was actually going to want him to hold the rats, but whatever happened, it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

“Okay, here they are.” Copia smiled, leading him to a large multiple-story cage full of toys and things for rats to climb on.

Ironically, it looked like rat heaven in there. Silas watched in a bit of awe as the three rats climbed around and played. They took turns burrowing in their small hidey holes, climbing up ladders, and chewing on wood toys.

“The light silvery one with white patches is called Alessa. The black one over here is Bella, and then the brown one is Clara.” Copia pointed them all out.

Silas scoffed lightheartedly once he put it together. “They’re ABC rats?” He raised a brow, amused.

“Yeah, I thought it was kinda funny.” Copia shrugged. “Aren’t they perfect?” He spoke softly as he looked at them.

Silas smiled and leaned closer when he saw Alessa sniffing at him through the cage. “She’s very cute. They all seem very sweet.”

“Yes, though I’m looking forward to seeing more of their personalities shine through once they completely settle in,” Copia explained. “Do you want to hold one of them?”

“Oh, well, only if it’s okay with them… I don’t want to disturb them too much. Also, won’t the other ones get jealous?” Silas stammered a bit.

“Yeah, they’re very cuddly, and as long as you stay calm, they won’t mind. We can also do one at a time so they all get to meet you; no chance of jealousy. If you’d want to.” Copia carefully opened the cage and began to place them one by one in their playpen outside of their cage. “They need outside time from their cage, anyway.”

“Oh, alright,” Silas said as he watched the rats run around in their play habitats.

“Sit down and I’ll bring you Alessa first.” Copia gestured to his couch.

He listened and sat down, staying still and mentally preparing. He liked Copia’s rats and all the rat-related stuff Copia had shown him, but he still wasn’t that familiar with being around them, especially holding them.

Copia gently picked up Alessa, talking to her sweetly as well as reassuring the other two. Silas tried listening to what Copia was saying quietly but realized it was in Italian. Copia looked up from his rat, practically seeing the nervousness radiating off Silas.

“You know, you don’t have to hold the rats if you don’t want to. I promise I won’t mind,” he said.

Silas looked up at him, opening his mouth to speak before shutting it, and then trying to speak again. “Oh, it’s not that I don’t like them. They’re very cute. It’s just that I’ve never held a rat before… I don’t want to hurt them accidentally.”

“Well… I trust you, and I’m right here to help. They’re not as fragile as you’d think. Seriously, I’ve seen the way they play with each other. It gets brutal.” Copia winced at the end.

Silas laughed, thankfully loosening up slightly. Copia smiled.

“I’ll sit next to you just in case.” He moved towards him and sat beside him, still holding Alessa. “Untense your shoulders, relax, Silas,” Copia spoke soothingly. “Do you want to hold her?”

Silas nodded, following his instructions. Copia carefully placed Alessa in Silas’ arms. He remained as calm as he could, looking at her.

“Hi, Alessa, my name is Silas.” He started petting her head, beginning to naturally relax more. “Wow, she’s really soft.”

“Oh, yeah, it’s one of the best parts of rats.” Copia smiled.

Alessa squeaked and sniffed his hand, licking it.

Silas raised a brow, trying not to cringe at the feeling. “Um, what is she doing?”

“Don’t worry, she’s just trying to groom you. It means she likes you,” he explained.

“Oh, aw, thanks, Alessa.” Silas chuckled.

She chirped and rubbed her head against his hand.

Silas gently petted her, smiling and talking to her sweetly as if she were a puppy. Which, she basically was a tiny puppy. Copia couldn’t help but beam as he watched them and watched as Silas became visibly more comfortable.

After a while, Alessa began to grow bored and started to try to escape Silas’ arms, attempting to climb up them instead. Before she could get far, Copia picked her up, allowing her to perch on his shoulder, since Silas probably wasn’t ready for that quite yet.

“Are you ready to meet the others?” Copia asked.

“Yeah, thanks for introducing me to Alessa, the rats in general.”

---

After the meeting with the other rats was finished, and the rats were placed back in their home, Silas and Copia chatted for a moment by the kitchenette, each quickly washing their hands. Silas noticed when Copia replaced his leather gloves, not used to seeing his ungloved hands. Since he wore the gloves all the time, it left his hands looking soft.

“Your gloves are kinda cool… is it a uniform thing? Or…?” Silas casually brought it up.

Copia glanced down at his hands, so used to the feeling of wearing the gloves that he forgot others noticed them. “Oh, well, it’s not exactly a requirement… but I think it completes the look, and if I’m being honest, they help with certain, um, sensory things.”

Silas furrowed his brows and nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, that makes sense. When I was a kid, I’d have to wash my hands every time after eating a meal. Now I just use forks and spoons for pretty much everything.”

“Oh, yes, touching food is the worst.” Copia’s face scrunched up in disgust. “I'm so glad we invented utensils.”

“Speaking of food… do you want to go get lunch now?”

He nodded, looking forward to eating lunch with him.

“I have one more question though… if you have a kitchen in your room, why even bother going to the cafeteria?” Silas asked, tilting his head slightly.

“It’s better to eat with friends than alone sometimes,” Copia answered. “Although I usually eat breakfast and a late supper here,”

The corner of Silas’ mouth tugged up in a lop-sided smile. “That’s a good point.”

Copia returned it, and they headed off to lunch, but not before they both gave quick goodbyes to the rats; hearing them scurry about in their cage.

[casspurrjoybell-24]

The Alpha's Beta - Chapter 16 - Part 1

BOOK ONE: The Alpha's Trilogy

*Warning Adult Content*

His Warmth - Part 1

Alpha Silas Clayymore

We drove for about twenty minutes and in that twenty minutes I was able to change the radio twice, get yelled at for changing the radio, twice.

Ask if we were lost, since we seemed to be driving though thick forest and not the main road and change the radio a third time, I also got yelled at, a third time.  

"There should be CD's in the glove-box. Find something you like and stop touching my damn radio," Darren huffed, rolling his eyes.

I sat forward popping the glove-box open and shuffled through the CD's until I found one that I knew and liked.

Soon 'Fall out Boy's Irresistible' blasted through out the whole car.  

After another five minutes of driving Darren stopped the car and took the keys out of the ignition.

I looked out the window and noticed that we were parked in front of a small house, that was brightly lit up inside.

The smell of beer and strong liquor was potent in the air, along with the stench of sweat and musk.   

"Where the hell are we?" I asked, as we both opened our car doors and lifted ourselves out from the small sports car.   

"This is 'The Blackfoot Pub'. Only pub open, to supernatural being like ourselves and the only pub in this area that serves alcohol that would actually get werewolves drunk. You are going to drink your stress away, Alpha."   

I looked at Darren confused.

"Wait. How come I've never heard of this pub or that alcohol before?"

"You've lived a very sheltered life," he said sarcastically.

"It's on a need to know basis and you didn't need to know," he added, with a shrug.

We got to the front door and a tall man stood before it with a stern look on his face.

He stood over my 6'3 frame and even Darren's 6'5.

So I could only assume he was seven foot.

His hard mask broke when his eyes landed on Darren though and a smile broke free.   

"D-Man. It's good to see you again. Didn't think you'd be in these parts anytime soon. Who's your friend?" the man asked with a slight German accent.

I noticed then he had tattoos covering both his arms and I'm sure there were tattoo's hidden behind his  tight black shirt.   

"Hey, Gunnar. It's nice to see you too. This is the Alpha, I was telling you about."  

I glared up at Darren who wore his smug smirk on his face.

I looked back to Gunnar, who was looking between us in amusement.

"Alpha Silas Claymore of The Autumn Falls pack."   

"Gunnar Dermot, Rouge from The Dark Winters pack. Not a crazy Rouge though. A good Rouge. My exile wasn't my fault. It was more the fault of the Alpha of the Dark Winters pack."   

"What do you mean?"

I knew Alpha Victor well.

He wasn't a mean man but he again he wasn't known to be very fair either.

I've heard of him demoting wolves to Omegas for not following popper training techniques.

"I fucked Roman a couple of times and he found out. Apparently having relations with the Beta, if you're not mated to, is a big no- no' It would have been nice to know that before hand," he said with a chuckle, obviously not holding any hard feelings for the events or none outwardly.

"Anyways. You guys enjoy yourselves and don't do anything stupid, like fucking a Beta," he snorted gesturing us inside.   

I almost wanted to laugh at the irony of his statement but I just left it be as Darren weaved thought the crowd of people, waving to a few before he sat us at a far table.

The inside was just as I had pictured it.

It looked like a log cabin, with wooden tables and chairs all over.

We sat at a high round wooden table with two bar stools.

The lights casted a nice orange glow over everybody.

The place was pretty packed but I could see only Werewolves around.

I also caught the scent of a few vampires coming from the upper floor but I wasn't about to walk up there.

"So this is were you go on, your free time. Not just Hypnotic?"   

"Nah. I only went to Hypnotic twice. Humans aren't very fun when you're sober," he said nonchalantly as the waiter came over.   

The waiter was a smaller man, about 5'4 with short brown hair and dull brown eyes.

He smiled at us but there was no real light in the smile, so you could tell it was forced.  

"Hello and welcome to Blackfoot. My name is Jeffrey and I'll be your waiter this fine evening. Would you like a food menu?"

He waited for us to reply and when we both shook our heads he continued.

"That's totally fine. We don't serve much food here," he laughed a little this time and it didn't sound strained, I could tell Jeffrey was starting to get comfortable.

I could understand him being hostel.

Anyone would be when two large men walked in and held authoritative vibes.

"Is there any drinks I can get you guys to start off or would you like a minute."   

"We'll have two Toxic's and a bowl of tortilla chips and dip," Darren said, apparently changing his mind on the food.

Jeffrey nodded his head and made his way through the crowd.   

Darren and I sat in silence for a few minutes before someone came up to the table.

A large man with salt and pepper hair stood in front of us.

He had on a red plated button up shirt, he kind of reminded me of a lumber jack with his beard.

His green eyes looked over my face before a small smile crept onto his lips.  

"Moon Goddess. You look just like Rodrick Claymore. You've got to be his kid or somethin'... Are yeah?" the man asked, with a southern drawl.

I nodded, turning my head to him.

"Yeah, I'm his son. Silas Claymore. Nice to meet you.." I put out my hand for him to shake, he took it with a strong grip.   

"Maxwell Bondman. Everyone calls me Max though. Nice to meet ya', Silas. Gotta' ask how's the old man doin' still stiffen' out rogues with Jere?"   

I pursed my lips and looked to Darren for help but he looked almost amused at the exchange.

Obviously not everyone had heard of my father death, though an Alpha dying is big news.

We tried to keep it on a need to know and packs who didn't have alliances with us normally didn't find out tell years after.  

"I'm sorry I have to tell you this Max. My father died a little over four years ago."

Max's smile dropped from his face and a flash of sadness appeared in his eyes.

He grabbed a free chair from the table beside us and sat down.

He cleared his throat before he started talking again.

"If you don't mind me asking. How? Man, I saw him not long.. well I guess long ago. He seemed so healthy. A little depressed but nothing to bad. He used to come in here with Jeremy and have a few drinks. Back in the day your dad Jere, Marshall and I used to all hang out here. He was a good kid, your daddy was."   

I didn't want to tell him.

It was almost to hard to even think about my fathers death.

He lost his mind.

I used to think he was just angry and sad all the time and that's what made him do it but he if came here he obviously must have had a drinking problem too.

I wish I knew.

I wish I could have helped him.

I wish I saw the signs.   

"He committed suicide. I guess losing his mate was to much for him."

Max nodded then looked over to Darren, he smiled slightly at him.

"And now you gotta' be, Jeremy's boy. You're both the spitting images of your fathers. How is he doing or has he.." he didn't have to finish his question, we knew what he was asking.   

Darren shook his head.

"Nope. Jeremy is still... very much alive."   

"Oh that's great. I'll have to give him a call. We used to be the three musketeers. We used to all play for the same hockey team at the rink in town. Years before your boys times. I can remember when your mother were just pregnant with you both. Sweet ladies they both where," he let out a sigh before getting up.

"I should leave you gentlemen to your drinks. Enjoy yourselves. Tell your daddy to expect a call from me," and with that he walked off leaving Darren and I in an awkward silence.   

I was to busy focusing on Max that I hadn't noticed the drink and chips had been set in front of us.

I picked up the drink.

It was a blue mixture with ice.

It smelled like vodka and I looked over at Darren and saw him munching on a chip before taking a sip of his drink.   

[yoongiblunt]

I remember once a huge rpc peg posted that I was a bad person bc of things that never actually happened and were being fed by hateful people.

I joined this rp back in 2016-2019. It was a city rp and I brought 3 idol fc’s two from bts and Jackson wang. I was just using easy characters I had written in the past to Segway in. I immediately encountered issues with god modding from mods in the group, but ignored it. There was a character connection that my muse had no knowledge of between mod and someone else that was infringed on. My character Polly was becoming very good friends with this guy Silas. Silas was dating this other character. The mun messaged me saying they wanted to explore options for these muses.

I was new to the rp, didn’t know there was another plot running somewhere else.

Tho the mod never spoke to me, her muse never was informed about the friendship, her character started to viciously bully mine and even threatened to sc*lp my muse ic. This was never talked about ooc, never ran by, and I quickly messaged them like “hey, what’s goin on cause this is a lot and also can we avoid terms like that bc it makes me uncomfortable” I am native. This was a white woman in her 20s writing a white character that is interacting with an 18 year old native dudes nonwhite oc. She proceeds to tell me her muse just Fuckin hates Polly. I’m very cordial about it, we talk anout it for a while, and she’s still being intense with me. I just drop the conversation and explain I won’t be plotting with her or the other mun if it’s going to be an issue, despite having a great friendship with silas’ writer.

I sent all of the screenshots to my gf at the time as she was a mod and I was anxious about what could happen.

Hours later my ex is messaging me showing the me the mod chat, and blatantly photoshopped messages are being sent. It was everything the other said, but she pasted my icon over hers? The conversation didn’t even make SENSE at that point, but everyone was just like oh well then we will just give him a strike blah blah.

A few weeks later, the same mod, using a cardi b icon for herself on the main, posted some stuff about how no one was to bring up cardi’s transphobia. I was like that’s weird bc she literally is one tho.

That lead to an argument and when I linked her a video of it, she claimed it made her uncomfortable. This is a cis woman. She claimed I was making her upset and triggering her.

So I left it.

Two weeks later I am showering, not even on the dash for the day. I received a message saying I needed to change my rp characters bc bts was cancelled and all of my muses would need to go or have fc changes. I didn’t get online. I did not see this. Also, not all of my fc’s were bts members, she was just assuming these Asian men were all in bts and even listed the characters for me.

Not even 10 minutes after this message is posted, they post on the main stating that I refused to change my muses fc’s that I was transphobic, that I was argumentative, and obviously supported antisemitism. They allowed members of the rp to tear into me, sending me messages saying I should kill myself???? I get on that afternoon to a shit show and two different rpc help pages dragging me. And while I was absolutely argumentative, I was actively being pushed out of the rp without any real communication. Instead of asking me to leave, or giving me a chance to even read the messages, they dragged me. It was obvious I wasn’t even online. And had they asked me to just drop my characters I would have if it made people uncomfortable, but all of my characters were not members of kpop groups. They weren’t even Korean men. It was the generalization of Asian men, the usage of oppressive language, and gaslighting a trans person when they are expressing discomfort with cis behavior.

I hope these people have terrible days, except that rpch. They were informed of a shitty person and did what they could to protect their community. I stand by that. I still follow them and support their work always

[tosrp]

My parents decided to go to Cabo San Lucas for spring break. It landed during my fifteenth birthday so it would double as a birthday retreat as well.

So here we were Angela, Silas and Katrina Easton getting off the Easton Jet. I was lagging with my best friend since I was seven Hayes Eldridge.

It had been extremely overcast in New York but not here. It was hot and extremely sunny.

“Oh, come on Lynnie. It is a vacation!” Hayes said with his southern accent.

“Maybe for you, but the Easton’s are trying to purchase the resort, so all business for them.” I said rolling my eyes trying to get my bag out of the overhead compartment.

“Let me” he said reaching up and letting our hands brush for a second making the spot feel warm.

“Thanks” I said smiling.

“So, in this scenario you aren’t an Easton? He asked as he took my bag and his own.

Nope, Daddy says I am not until my first kill” I said walking carefully down the stairs and going to meet the others.

“Oh, right” Hayes nodded.

He had his first kill already this past December. His father brought him a present that he couldn’t resist. He was quiet when he came back to St. Andrews. It took me days to pry it out of him.

Not me though, I had already started vampire puberty as my parents and sister would tell me. I would get times when my throat burned, and I would see red. I did not want to kill anyone though, so I ignore it.

“There you two are” my dad said giving me a hug even though he had seen me not two minutes ago.

“Thank you, Silas, for letting me come. Cabo beats the outer banks where my family goes” Hayes said smiling.

“Not a problem at all. You are part of the family, my boy” my dad said getting in the car.

“Wouldn’t that be incest dear sister?” Katrina whispered in my ear.

I was the only one that heard her. She liked it that way. She knew Hayes and I were just friends even though I wanted more.

We all got into the limo, and I looked out the window.

“Alright listen up Lynnie. Today is the ninetieth. We have the rest of the day to check in to the resort then you and Hayes can fend for yourselves tomorrow, but Saturday we are hosting a banquet at the resort to announce the merger as well as celebrate your birthday” my mother said in her stern voice.

I just nodded thinking even my birthday was second rate.

After we had checked into the resort, we all ate dinner then Katrina disappeared as per usual. Hayes and I played connect four until we were both too tired. He was too tired to go to his room, so he slept in mine. It wasn’t unusual. We had grown up together, but now since I had developed feelings it was difficult to concentrate

After tossing and turning I got up to get water.

“Hey you, okay? Hayes asked groggily.

“Yea just… “I stopped mid-sentence because I didn’t know what to tell him.

He got up and came over to me “Is it your throat again?” He asked assuming it was my blood lust and not just lust.

“I just looked at him trying to smile.

He hugged me “You can’t hold out forever”

“I can try” I said muffled through his chest.

The next day we went to Playa El Médano the main beach in Cabo. It was nice to just relax. I buried Hayes in the sand, then we splashed in the ocean. It was like old times.

We ate lunch then went back to the resort to take showers. We had decided to go to a bar that was loose on ID’s.

I got dressed in a mini dress and sky-high boots, I put on make up that made me look like Katrina’s age.

“Wow” Hayes said as he walked out of his hotel room.

I looked at him and his sandy blonde hair was still damp from the shower, but he was dressed nice in a blue shirt and jeans. He made jeans look classically cool.

He extended his arm, and I took it. “You look nice too by the way” I said as we got in the elevator.

“I always do” He said smirking.

“Cocky” I said playfully hitting him on the shoulder.

“Ow” he teased.

We had no problems getting served at the bar. I saw Katrina in the corner with a few guys. She waved and I turned away.

After the second shot nothing could hurt me. “Lets dance!” I said to Hayes.

“Yes Ma’am” he said taking my hand and leading to the dance floor.

In the distance I felt eyes watching me. I wrapped my hands on Hayes neck and swayed to the music. We were looking intently at each other. I would move and he would counter my movements perfectly.

“Hey baby can I cut in?” the eyes finally had a face. He was tall and had to be at least eighteen.  He wasn’t Hayes cute, however he was attractive.

“I’m with someone” I mumbled.

Hayes tightened his grip on me instinctively.

“I can do more than him” He said confident.

Just then the breeze from the open door gave me a whiff of his scent. God, he smelled delicious. I looked at him and his neck was exposed, and I saw the vein pulsating.

I saw red. I could not think of anything but his blood coursing through my veins.

“Lynnie keep control” Hayes almost growled in my ear.

I let his hand go and silently took the stranger’s hand out of the club into the back alleyway.

I heard Hayes call after me begging for me to come back but blood was on my mind. I could feed like my parents then spell him to forget.

One sip, a simple taste.

“Yea baby! Let’s party” He said.

I pushed him against the wall. He kissed me hard on the mouth. It tasted like booze and sweat. I kept my eyes on his neck.  

The burn in my throat was intense now because I was so close to human blood. It knew somehow.

I pulled away from his mouth and he pulled my body closer. I again smelled the sweet aroma of his blood. My vision was blurred now.

I felt a rain drop as well. My affinity was weather. I hadn’t harnessed it yet, but a seer had said that’s what my affinity was.

It began to pour when I pulled my face away and then it happened all at once. My fangs appeared but he wasn’t paying attention

Just a taste Lynnie

I reared my head back and sank my teeth into his neck, right at the vein. At first it was slow. The pressure barely pierced his skin. Then the sweet crimson began to flow from him to me. It made my entire body relax. The burn was gone but the thirst I felt was no match for his screams.  I sank my teeth in more and drained every drop of his life. He fell in a puddle of the storm I had created.

I looked at the man and tried to get his attention.

He could not be dead.

One taste, right?

I looked at myself and the front of my dress was drenched in his blood, my mouth I quickly wiped the remanences of blood smears and felt hot tears in my eyes.

I had to get out of here, but I felt paralyzed in the rain.

“She’s here” came a familiar voice.

Hayes came to me wrapping me with his strong arms and Katrina was behind him already on her phone.

“We need to go” Hayes said “Lynnie can you move?”

I nodded and we ran to the other side of the street then the car came, and we got inside.

Katrina got in behind us and told the driver to go fast to the resort.

We rode in silence. I had began shaking and Hayes kept me close. Katrina took my hand as we stopped. My parents were inside waiting for us.

“Lynnie, you are all right. You are safe now” my dad said hugging me tightly.

We then went to my parents’ suite and after the door was bolted shut, my mother spoke.

Emberlynn, you did nothing wrong, you hear me?” she said firmly

“I killed him” I said quietly. “What are we going to go?” I asked looking up at my parents and sister.

“We have a clean up crew already dumping the body where no one can find him.”

Hayes sat down next to me.” It’s alright Lynnie”

“I killed him” I said leaning on his shoulder.

“You are a legacy vampire. You completed your birth right. You had your first kill. Now let us celebrate!”   my father said beaming at me.

[sabrinifettuccine]

Happy birthday to my bestie babe!

I know how you felt extremely insecure for the past few months, so I'm going to dive right into the main point of this message and emphasize (again) for the nth time that I wish I was you.

Out of all the things I cannot do, the one shitty idea that bothers me a lot is me finding it difficult to stay truthful. I call it the "lying disease" or the condition wherein I shy away from saying what's on my mind even if it's just an answer to a simple question (re: hair color, choice of outfit, etc). This lying disease created a mental…prison cell. It's a barrier that prevents me from burning bridges that really deserved the burning and the destruction. It prevents me from breaking away from most people. When I think about this internal issue, I quickly think about you also. How does she do it? How could she say it? How did you obtain such ability to tell people the truth? That they hurt you and that you did not like what they said and did? It fucks me every time I have to condition my mind that I have to let it pass because if I won't shut the fuck up then the odds that I would lose them would be higher.

But then came the days we made those important conversations. I learned about you and the way you perceive the dynamics of telling the simple truths. I wish I have it, really. It would have spared me the pain - that's what I thought. But now, I really don't think about graduating from my pushover phase because I have you.

Alam mo ba kapag sinasabi ko sa'yo yung mga bagay-bagay na nakakasakit sa'kin kahit hindi in full detail - kahit sabihin ko lang na "kingina talaga ng taong ito," an immediate sense of relief would already wash over me. For some reason, feeling ko may kakampi na agad ako kahit hindi mo pa naman alam lahat, kahit hindi ko na sabihin. I know you would burn the bridge for me already. Sorry if I sounded like my emotional stability depends on you HAHA.

But hey, I'm learning and I listen to you. I really take it to heart when you say "walisin mo sila." I believe your words and I cling to it because they help me survive. Your words? They are one of the reasons why I am not yet depressed no shitting haha.

That is why everyday, now more than ever - because it is your birthday, I really wish that you could see yourself more clearly. I know you get that a lot already, but this time it is an intense "sana makita mo na kung gaano ka ka-worth it and kaganda." I hope you know that you're such a strong beautiful woman. I mean it. No sane person could go through the hurt you've been - whether self-inflicted, "supposed" friend-inflicted, or boy-inflicted. Ang dami na.

Also, babe, alam kong alam mo (TW) we were both badly bullied before for acting in a certain way na ayaw ng mga tao sa paligid natin. But you emerged so strong and willful. You emerged stronger and kinder. Imagine that. Sana lahat ganon bumagon.

Kaya babe, happy birthday! I love you and I thank God for your existence. I thank Him for bringing me closer to you!

I hope this time, He'll give you what your heart wants. I know He will.

All the love, your bestie (not yu)

[chessdaze]

NRC VS TWI - BATTLE OF THE BANDS STORY 2

Part four- Familiar Faces Part five- A new tour guide Part six- A plot twist?!

PART FOUR: Familiar Faces

Silas: Let me show you the rest of the booths.

[LOCATION: TWI BOOTHS]

Grim: There’s so much more! My hands are too full with food though-

Yuu: Whose fault is that?

???: Why don’t you give some of it over here? Shishishishi--

Grim: Wha! My hand is moving on it’s own!

???: Thanks buddy.

Grim: You!!! Ruggie Bucchi!

Ruggie: Thanks for the food! [ munch ]

Grim: Whaaa my food.

Yuu: You have so much more in your arms still.

???: Havin’ fun Ruggie?

Silas: Oh, Ozan!

Ozan: Yo Silas.

Ruggie: Of course, Grim was just nice enough to share some of his food with me.

Ozan: Oh how nice of him.

Grim: Hey! What’s with this sharing thing?! You stole it! What are you even doing here?!

Ruggie: Easy Easy now~ This event is open to the public after all. My buddy Ozan told me about it. It’s the perfect place for cheap food and entertainment~

Yuu: Cheap? That reminds me I don’t know how much all this costs. Crowley didn’t mention any kind of field trip costs.

Ozan: Oh yeah, it only costs 500 madol to buy a ticket - since they’re donation based you can spend more if you want but you can also just spend the bare minimum and get access to everything. I figured Ruggie would like that kind of deal.

Ruggie: It’s great! I’m totally trying all the food. Hey Grim, wanna share some more?

Grim: No!!

Silas: It’s as Ozan said, the minimum for a ticket is 500 madol then you can pay more based on if you want to donate to the grand prize / charity or not. You can even suggest charities to donate to aswell since not all the groups come with a specific charity in mind. It’s great advertisement and just good fun for a good cause.

Yuu: That’s great.

Grim: Yeah, perfect - except for the part where people steal your food!

Yuu: What- where did all your food go, grim?

Grim: That hyena and monkey took it all!

Silas: I apologize for Ozan, he’s one of my friends too and he’s still….adjusting to normal life. He used to be an orphan living on the streets until the headmasters took him in. He’s their adopted son, Ozan Bell.

Grim: Wait! That monkey guy was like, super important?! And he stole my food anyways?!

Silas: Like I said, he used to live on the streets so old habits die hard, I guess. I’ll buy you some more food later Grim.

Grim: Really?

Silas: Of course

Yuu: You might regret th- ah!

???: Sorry.

Grim: What is with people here?! First the thieves then someone bumps into you and just walks away!

Yuu: It’s fine, she apologized.

Silas: Shall we go look at some of the business booths?

Riddle: Oh? What’s this? Yuu and Grim are here too?

Yuu: Riddle! Oh and everyone too.

Deuce: Hey Yuu!

Trey: It’s nice to see you.

Ace: What are you doing here?

Yuu: I’m taking pictures for the school. Are you here to support Cater?

Riddle: We are. Crowley gave permission for students to attend.Oh, who is this with you?

Silas: I’m Silas Rosamund, I’ve been acting as Yuu’s guide. I’m helping take pictures on the three wishes side.

Riddle: I see, it’s nice to meet you.

Silas: Likewise. I was about to show Yuu and Grim around the booths, if you’re all friends I can show you them together, if you’d like. The show isn’t starting for a while longer.

Ace: Sounds good to me.

Deuce: Thank you, Rosamund-kun.

PART FIVE: A new tour guide

Riddle: Hm? Is that-?

Ace: Whoa! What’s going on over there? Street dancing?

Silas: Oh! I was told this might happen. Sometimes dance groups come by this event too. It’s an event all about music, even if the main event is about bands specifically.

Riddle: That explains it.

Trey: Explains what- Oh! I see now.

Grim: What? What?!

Riddle: Jamil is in that dance circle.

Deuce: Oh! You’re right! I do see Jamil-senpai. He’s a great dancer isn’t he?

Silas: He is! I’m going to go take a picture. Come on Yuu, you should too.

Yuu: Right!

[Camera Flashes]

Jamil: Hm? Oh, it’s you.

Riddle: hello Jamil.

Jamil: Heartslabyul aswell - I’ve seen so many NRC students already.

Deuce: That dance was so cool - wait, who else did you see?

Grim: Well that Ruggie stole my food! Again!

Ace: Ha, sounds like it was your fault, again.

Jamil: I saw Jack-kun and Epel-kun from Savanaclaw and Pomefiore. I heard rumors that Malleus is supposed to show up aswell.

Yuu:Really?

Trey: One can only assume he’s going to be coming to support Lilia. I wonder if it’ll cause a stir, though…

Grim: Why are you here though, Jamil?

Jamil: I am still Kalim’s aide, I have to be close by. Plus, his little brother is here aswell - someone could take advantage of the situation.

Riddle: Yet you are here dancing?

Jamil: That’s - Zeki told me to enjoy the festivities while I could.

Silas: Well, he’s right. We likely won’t have another one of these for awhile. So please, enjoy yourself.

Jamil: Thank you. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to dance some more.

Ace: Why does he have to be so cool. I could be that cool.

Deuce: In your dreams, maybe.

Ace: Hey!

Riddle: Enough you two! We’re representing NRC here so be more aware of your position.

Ace and Deuce:  Yes dorm-leader.

Silas: Your friends are very lively.

Yuu: Almost too lively.

Silas: Well I have an idea, how about we get some photos of the other NRC students? You'll need more to work with than just the event itself - that’s what the head of our newspaper club said.

Yuu: Won’t you need photos too?

Silas: You can’t take two steps here without seeing a Three Wishes student, I’ll be fine taking pictures anywhere. I also got some pictures from earlier in the week during the set up for the event and everything too.

Trey: Sounds like you’re prepared.

Silas: Well, it was all thanks to the head of the newspaper club. Maybe we’ll see them around and I can introduce you. For now, why don’t we find those NRC students?

Deuce: Oh! I spotted Jack! I can see his ears over the crowd.

Grim: Yeah he’s kind of hard to miss.

Jack: Hm? Oh, Yuu and Heartslabyul.

Epel: H-Hello everyone.

Deuce: Hey Jack-kun, hey Epel-kun. Did you come to enjoy the concert?

Jack: Ruggie-senpai told the dorm about it and I thought I’d come see what was going on.

Ace: What about you Epel? This doesn’t strike me as your kind of scene.

Epel: You tryin’ to start somethin’? [coughs] I mean, I actually really like music, ever since the VDC I’ve been looking more into it - and I found out this event was happening online.

Silas: Oh, through our website?

Epel: That’s right!

Silas: That’s good, the music club was worried that the website might be a dud, but I’m glad it brought you here.

Trey: Was the music club in charge of making that?

Silas: Yup. The Music club did alot of the preparations for the event - Dearly-san works closely with the music club since he used to be a professional musician, so he helped them out too.

Grim: A professional musician?! That guy?

Silas: I know, seems wild right? To go from musician to headmaster, but it’s true.

Riddle: This school sure is interesting.  

Silas: Right, before we forget why we came here, let’s take some pictures!

[Camera Flash]

???: Working hard I see, Silas-kun!

Silas: Oh! Jaiden-senpai.

Jaiden: Hey! You’ve got a pretty big group here, and all NRC students? Cool.

Silas: Everyone allow me to introduce you, this is Jaiden Rush - he’s one of the dorm representatives of the Nightingale dorm. Actually Rue is one of the others.

Jaiden: Nice t’ meetcha!

Ace: So this guy is the same rank as Riddle?

Deuce: Never would have guessed.

Jaiden: The volunteering class are helping work the booths, so I can take over the tour if you were giving one, Silas.

Silas: Oh, I couldn’t possibly- Jaiden: Hey, listen to your seniors, yeah? You worry about the pictures.

Riddle: It is fine Silas, thank you for your company so far. You three need to keep to the task at hand.

Silas: in that case, let me take a picture of you all with Jaiden

[Camera Flashes]

PART SIX: A plot twist?!

Silas: Well we’ve taken a few photos around here, why don’t we head backstage again?

Grim: Sounds good to me! Let me just grab some more food--

Yuu: No.

Grim: Wha!! Stop pulling me!

[LOCATION: TWI THEATER, BACKSTAGE LEFT WING]

Silas: Oh! Hey Li Jie, hey Zeki, taking a break?

Li Jie: Hey Silas! And yeah, we are.

Silas: Great, Yuu mind if we take a break here too? I also am supposed to be asking questions around the three wishes students. Do you two mind?

Li Jie: Course not!

Zeki: Whatever.

Yuu: Go ahead, I could use a break.

Silas: Great! I’ll get us all a snack then we can get started.

[awhile later]

Silas: Okay, so Li Jie, you’re close with Mingyu - a member of AMBUSH. Were you surprised to hear she was entering the competition? There wasn’t word of AMBUSH on campus until the event started advertising, after all.

Li Jie: I’ve known about it for awhile! Me and Mingyu are besties after all, heh. But I’m not surprised in the slightest. Mingyu has always loved music! Wished she could sing but you know, sometimes it be like that.

Grim: Be like what?

Silas: That’s… a long story let’s save it for another time. Do you think AMBUSH has what it takes to win?

Li Jie: Absolutely. With Mingyu on their side, it’ll be hard to lose!

Silas: And what about you Zeki?

Zeki: What about me?

Silas: Do you think AMBUSH has a chance of winning or do you think your brother’s group will win?

Zeki: I’ve never heard them perform before, either of them, so I can’t really say. I hope NRC doesn’t win though.

Grim: Hey! Why not?!

Zeki: Because they’re the top dogs as far as schools go - you guys and RSA. I was looking forward to a competition where they didn’t completely stomp out the competition but here we are, at another ‘waiting for NRC or RSA to win’ event.

Silas: There could be a surprise upset!

Zeki: Not likely. But if anyone might be able to pull it off - it’s Kunal.

Grim: Who?

Zeki: He’s a member of AMBUSH, I think he’s the leader? Anyways he’s also the dorm representative for my dorm. He’s an annoying guy who barely knows how to communicate but he’s stupidly stubborn - so he could just brute force it and scare people into voting for them if nothing else.

Grim: Sc-scare people?

Zeki: Let’s just say you’ll know him when you see him. Not a hard guy to miss.  Still, didn’t think he would be the kinda guy in a band. I wonder what instrument he plays.

Silas: He’s not that scary, but I agree. I wonder what Kunal-senpai will be playing.

Silas: Thanks for the answers you two, I got them recorded onto my phone and i’ll hand that off to the newspaper club later when they start writing the article about this event.  

Li Jie: For sure, happy to help!

Silas: Let’s stop by the NRC dressing room for you two. They should be ready by now for a few questions or photos for you too.

Yuu: Good idea! Bye Li Jie, Zeki

Li Jie: See ya!

Zeki: Hmph.

[LOCATION: TWI THEATER, BACKSTAGE RIGHT WING]

???: Oh Silas, there you are.

Silas: Quinn-senpai!

Quinn: No need to be so surprised. I’m checking on everyone in the newspaper club and those volunteering.

Grim: Who is this guy?! They’re so...fancy.

Quinn: Ha, thank you for the compliment. I’m Quinn Neander, I’m the head of the newspaper club and a third year student at Three Wishes Institute. Any pronouns are fine.

Yuu: It’s nice to meet you.

Grim: This guys aura is something else.

Quin: Hm, so, Silas?

Silas: Oh! I’m doing fine. I was about to walk with Yuu back to the NRC dressing room so they can take some pictures of them.

Quinn: Excellent, I’ll tag along with you, I need to interview them anyways.

Silas: Great, let’s all go over together then.

???: Whisper whisper

Quinn: Hm? Hold on.

Silas: What is it?

???: Whisper, whisper.

Quinn: With me you two, I smell a story.

Grim: Since when were you in charge?!

Yuu: Let’s just go with them.

[LOCATION: TWI THEATER, CONTROL AREA]

Grim: Wh-Whoa, who is that big guy?

Silas: That’s Kunal-senpai, Zeki mentioned him.

Grim: Well he was right about him being scary!

Quinn: Quiet.

Kunal: I’m sorry but I really don’t know.

Reed: Well, this is a disaster.

Amelia: I can pull from my savings if it comes to th--

Reed: No way! We’re saving that for our wedding.

Amelia: But if it’s to replace the donation money--

Quinn: If I may

Kunal, Amelia, and Reed: !!!

Kunal: You. How much did you hear.

Silas: only a small amount but-

Quinn: Did something happen to the donations?

Amelia and Reed: …….

Kunal: ….it’s been stolen.

Silas, Yuu, and Quinn: !

Grim: WHAT?

[gwinnetts]

tag drop 02: mains

// 

[rjhpandapaws]

Technical Difficulties

Ch 1: Blue Screen, Blue Eyes

Daniel was a new accounting intern. Which in and of itself would have been fine and entirely not Silas’s problem; but he wasn’t the best with computers, so Silas found himself called up to accounting once or twice every week. Silas probably would have been more annoyed if Daniel wasn’t so friendly. He made a genuine effort to help and that made it difficult for Silas to be upset with him. Silas was usually pretty swamped when it came to work. He was head of the IT department as well as the lead engineer for the company. He was always working on something be it fixing up a computer, rewriting a program, or developing improvements for the medical equipment that the company was built from; so he was always slightly annoyed when he was called away to fix something else. Despite the size of the company, the IT department was the smallest and usually spread pretty thin. Which again fell back on Silas, he was very particular about the people he hired. It was one of his usual days, he was spreading himself between about three different projects when the main office phone rang. He cursed under his breath and answered it before the third ring, “You got Silas.” “It’s Daniel.” Silas let out a quiet sigh as the intern spoke, of course it was. “The intern terminal blue screened and it’s making a horrible noise that I can’t get to stop.”  Silas nodded, he could faintly hear the computer screaming it’s grievances in the background, “I’ll be up in a few Daniel.” 

He grabbed what the department had lovingly dubbed the Crash Cart and made his way to the elevator. Silas was pretty sure this one wasn’t Daniel’s fault, the intern terminal had been giving them trouble for quite some time. One of the other interns was downloading mp3s that were a little questionable. So if Silas had to blame anything for the computer finally biting the dust it would be that. He pressed the call button and waited. The accounting department was due for some new computers, they had added enough new people that the few extras they had were no longer enough. The ones he had ordered wouldn’t be in until the end of the week. Fixing and or replacing this downed computer was now added to that list and now things were going to take even longer. He was going to be spending a few nights at the office so he wouldn’t fall too far behind, and he probably wasn’t going to hear the end of it from Connor. His twin always lectured him about his health so it wasn’t going to be anything he hadn’t heard before. The elevator chimed and he pushed the cart inside. Josh was still on vacation for another three days, so he was going to be on his own for any repairs that would need to be done. He sighed again and took his glasses off to rub at the bridge of his nose. He liked his job and he really didn’t mind helping people, but there were days when he wished he could say  that IT was down. It would give him more time to work on some of the bigger things, but AME was mostly paperless at this point so unfortunately he couldn’t be that petty.

He played favorites, as any reasonable IT person tended to. His brothers were at the top of his list, Daniel was a close third; Hank hadn’t had any issues yet but he seemed nice enough. Gavin was the problem child in a way, he was always getting food or drinks of some kind in his computer terminal and messing it up. He was annoying, but every office had one. If it were up to him, Gavin would be in filing so that he wouldn’t be anywhere near computers, but it wasn’t up to him so he would just have to deal with it. The elevator chimed for his floor and he pushed the cart out to find Daniel waiting for him. The blonde was wringing his hands as he always did when he thought someone was mad at him. Silas gave him a pleasant smile. “Hey Daniel, wanna take me to the problem child?” He asked and waited for the blonde to lead the way, “I’ll see if can fix it up here without taking it apart, then you’ll be good to go. No worries, okay?” “Alright/” Daniel agreed, “I know I break things a lot of the time so I’m sorry about that.” “I don’t think this one is your fault. You aren’t the only one that uses that terminal.” He amended as they made their way to the bullpen, “You were just unlucky today. Just like with the coffee machine.” Daniel laughed, “Oh god, don’t remind me.” Silas found himself smiling now that Daniel seemed to be in a better mood, “We had a good laugh about it though.”

When they got to the bullpen Silas could hear the digital cry of the computer. It was a sound that he hated, both because of the sound itself and because of what it typically meant. He called it the Death Wail. Hopefully he could fix it without taking it apart, if that wasn’t the case he would have to do temporary repairs and then replace it once the new computers came in. He would just have to add to the order when he got back to the workshop. They got to what was Daniel’s desk for this shift, the intern corner as it was dubbed. The screen was a deep saturated blue with white code text crawling across the screen. This was worse than he had thought. “The writing wasn’t there when I left.” Daniel said with a bit of worry in his voice, “That’s bad isn’t it?” “Yeah, I’m going to have to take it apart and see where the issue is. It’s gonna take me a few days probably.” He reached behind the terminal and unplugged it and began to disconnect it from the monitor, “Is there anything you can do here while the computer is down?” “Paper work I suppose.” Daniel said as Silas moved the computer to the Crash Cart, “I’d have to see if there is anything backed up. If not, then there won’t be anything for the interns to do.” “How would you like to learn a bit about computers?” Silas asked after he had stood up, “If Richard says it’s okay of course.”

Daniel lit up some at that, “That sounds interesting. Maybe I won’t have as many issues then.” “Just talk to Richard, then if you’re able to, come down and join me on floor six.” He pulled the cart away from the desk, “I might have this taken apart by then. So I’ll see you in a bit.” Daniel nodded as Silas headed back toward the elevators. He had his work cut out for him alright. He planned to run a few diagnostics in hopes of not actually having to take the thing apart, but he was sure he would have to anyway. Both the Blue Screen and the Death Wail had him sure this one was toast. He hit the call button and resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn’t be going home for the night. “One day.” He said to the empty hallway, “I just want one day without any computer problems.” The elevator at the far end of the hall chimed open and Richard stepped out of it. He eyed Silas as he passed but neither of them did anything more than wave. Richard would learn about the problem soon enough. Silas made his way to the elevator and hit six. He wouldn’t be getting his smoke break today so he might get a bit testy in a few hours. He was trying to quit either way so maybe this was a blessing in disguise after all. If he helped Daniel get over his computer anxiety he would have one less thing to worry about. One less stressor, one less reason to smoke.

The elevator chimed for his office and he pushed the cart to one of the more clear work tables and started getting things set up. Since he would would be down here for a few hours he decided to play music through the workshop speakers. He got the terminal set up as needed and started running the tests. They would take anywhere from ten minutes to three hours to complete depending on how bad things were. He walked to one of the other work benches and picked up his tablet to continue working on the specs for the new prosthetic arm he wanted to design. He bobbed his head to the music that was playing. He got pulled far enough into his work that he didn’t notice the elevator chime open or Daniel step into the workshop until the blonde was standing on the other side of his tablet. Silas started and set the tablet down after closing the case. “Holy fuck.” Silas gasped, “I was busy. I didn’t hear you come in. Sorry about that.” “Sorry for scaring you.” Daniel looked over toward the testing dock, “What are you working on?” “Product specs. I can’t show them to you unfortunately because it’s private information.” He said conversationally, “I figure I could get more work done while I waited. Your department is all caught up?” “Yesterday’s intern apparently did the last of it so I’m free until the computer is back to normal.” Daniel said as he leaned against the work bench.

Silas glanced at the dock monitor, “We’ve got about a ten minute wait still. Is there anything you want to do to pass the time?” “Talk I guess, there isn’t much else to do.” Daniel said, “Do you like doing all of this? It seems like a lot of work for a group of four.” “It’s definitely a lot of work, but it’s worth it.” Silas shrugged, “As far as liking it, that really depends on the day. The days I’m not able to get anything done, not so much; but the days I’m able to get more research done are pretty nice.” “So you don’t like IT work all that much?” Daniel continued, “Why do you do it then?” “Because I like it.” He said simply, “Its what got me through college. What about you, why accounting?” “I like working with numbers, they are like little puzzles for me to solve. Which is fun.” Daniel smiled again as he spoke, “Its simple most days, but the technology tends to give me trouble and make things difficult.” “Let’s see about fixing that last part.” He turned to face Daniel with a pleasant smile, “On the days you have time, I can teach you about computers. Then maybe you’ll have better luck with them.”  “If you have time.” Daniel said as he straightened up, “You have a lot to do already.” “We can start today with this little problem child.”  Silas said as he moved to the other side of the bench and opened up the terminal and got to work, “You can even come over here to see what I’m doing if you would like.”

Daniel walked to the other side of the work table and Silas spent the next few hours explaining things as he took apart the computer. What each piece was used for and what issues and malfunctions could be caused by something going wrong. Daniel nodded along and listened intently. By doing this he was also able to find the issue sooner than he had thought. He thanked Daniel and walked him through the process of fixing it. The blonde had sat down at the work bench and the next time Silas checked on him he was asleep. He checked the time and found out that it was creeping up on three in the morning. He stopped long enough to go grab one of his lab sweatshirts and draped it over Daniel. He dimmed the lights and got back to work on his tablet to fix the arm specs a little more. Next would be printing a 3D model. He could work on the terminal again when Daniel woke up. “Sleep well Blue Eyes.” He said to the quiet room. He found himself looking forward to computer repairs for the first time in a long while. Who knew someone with such poor luck could be such a refreshing change of pace? Blue screens and blue eyes could turn out to be a good thing after all.

[feelinkeeli]

Six Sentence Sunday - March 14th

Belatedly noticed my main blog got tagged by @elouanwrites and @ironhoshi for the 7 line wip game but uh... here's a long snippet because it's also Sunday?

It was silly, Jango didn't need to keep checking. His chain code wasn't going to suddenly revert back to listing Jaster as his mentor if he stopped looking at it. Even if it did, it would be a mistake or a hack and Jango could fix it. He kept checking his chain code anyways.

Jaster was his buir now. Jango had thought after he turned thirteen and passed his verd'goten - like there was ever any doubt he would when he helped fight Deathwatch when he was eight. When he made his first kill that day. His verd'goten test was a forgone conclusion. Especially with the Mand'alor overseeing his ba'jur - that he'd never have a buir again. 

Jango Mereel Dar'Fett, buir Jaster Mereel.

Jango read the beginning lines of his updated chain code over and over again. Maybe once he believed it was real he stopped checking. Even days after the fact Jango still felt like he was dreaming. Every time he called Jaster buir it felt like he was free-falling without a jetpack until Jaster smiled and called Jango his ad.

"-go? Jango. Su'cuy! Are you ignoring me, vod?" Silas called out from where he was laying half under a troop transport ship he was trying to repair… and Jango was supposed to be helping. "I swear if you're looking at your kriffing chain code again I'll-"

With a smirk Jango pulled the hover gurney out so he could stare coolly at Silas face to face. "You'll what, vod?" Jango challenged, quirking an eyebrow as he waited on Silas to respond.

Unsurprisingly, Silas went wide-eyed and quiet as he always did when Jango challenged him. Jango didn't understand why Silas even bothered giving him any attitude if he was too hut'uun to put money where his mouth was. 

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Jango said, rolling his eyes and shoving the hover gurney back under the transport.

"Hey!" Silas protested, pushing back out to glare at Jango although it looked more like a pout. "You said you'd help me Jango but I might as well do this work myself for all the help you've been."

Silas had a point. Jango had agreed to help and was too distracted to keep his word. He was tempted to brush off Silas's remark, but Jaster had told him it was okay to admit to weakness or fault when it wouldn't cost you anything. It might even work in your favor to gain you something. Jango didn't think he would gain anything by apologizing, but it wasn't going to cost him anything, not with Silas.

"You're right. Sorry," Jango admitted and scowled when Silas gave him a surprised look. What was that look for? This wasn't the first time he admitted he was in the wrong to Silas… was it?

But then Silas was grinning and bumping shoulders with him. "I'm happy for you, you know? I'm glad you got Jaster as your buir now. And that Montross is locked up. Good riddance," Silas said and seemed to mean it. "But I'd like to finish these repairs this cycle. Think you can focus that long, Jan'vod?"

[hyperion-moonbabe-art3mis]

Caught In Between 34. The Final Location

Summary: Athena Dumont has finally found a place to call home after many years of foster homes and traveling. She had finally tamed her supernatural side and just wanted to live a normal teenage life. She quickly discovers that there is nothing normal about her hometown, Mystic Falls and gets sucked right back into the supernatural world.

Post Date: 02.16.21

Word count: 2.6k

Based off: 04x17 “Because the Night” || 04x18 “American Gothic”

Masterlist

CIB Masterlist

A/N: This part is quite a doozy for Klaus and Athena. I decided to stick the two eps together because the 04x18 scenes I picked were fairly short and I wanted to share the piece of info that reveals a bit about them. I hope you enjoy!

Even though I wasn’t present for the little party Elena decided to throw. I thought it’d be nice to help Caroline clean the Salvatore house up. After I got ready I head over. As soon as I made my way in I could see why Caroline needed my help.

“It looks like a tornado blew through here,” I say walking into the house.

“Tell me about it,” Caroline says taking a sip from a random cup. 

“Well, what can I help with? Well, I mean where can I start?” I ask.

“Anywhere. The trash bags are in the kitchen,” Caroline says. I head to the kitchen and grab a trash bag. As I head back into the main room I hear a voice I’m not particularly keen on hearing. 

“Tyler made it his life’s mission to kill me. You can’t hate me for driving him away,” Klaus says.

“She can and so can I,” I say walking into the room. Klaus looks up at me, almost with a guilty expression, but I just write it off as Klaus being broody.

“Hello, love,” Klaus says almost returning to his normal self.

“Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to spiraling, so go away,” Caroline says.

“Actually, I asked him to be here. We need his help. I think Silas is in Mystic Falls,” Stefan says walking up next to me. Stefan explains the situation to us as we continue to clean up.

“So some blood went missing from a few hospitals. What about Elena? Don’t vampires with their humanity off tend to overindulge in human blood, or were you the exception?” Klaus says turning to Stefan.

“It’s not Elena,” Stefan says.

“Well, let’s just say for a moment that it was Silas. I’m struggling to see how this affects me,” Klaus says sitting down.

“Look. Silas wants to die and be reunited with his one true love, but he’s supernatural, so if he takes the cure and dies, he gets stuck on the other side,” Stefan explains.

“How Shakespearian,” Klaus responds taking a sip of his drink.

“But if he destroys the other side altogether, he can take the cure, die, and pass on, but in destroying it, every dead supernatural being will return to our side,” Stefan explains further.

“That means every werewolf, every witch, every vampire,” Caroline starts.

“Every hybrid,” I add.

“I wonder how many of those you personally killed. Care yet?” Caroline finishes.

“My interest is piqued. How do we stop him?” Klaus asks.

“Bonnie said Silas needs to complete 3 massacres to do this spell. Before Professor Shane died, he convinced the pastor to blow up the council. Next, he had you kill your hybrids, and now he only needs one more massacre. So if he’s here, that’s what he’s doing. We need to find him,” Stefan says.

“So what’s the play?” I ask.

“We look to see if  Shane had any info we didn’t know,” Stefan says. We all nod and head to Shane’s office.

“What are we even looking for?” Caroline asks as we walk in.

“Well, If Shane really was working with Silas, chances are he was helping him plan his next move,” Stefan says as we look around.

“Where, on his evil villain to do list-- steal blood, perform 3 massacres, pick up dry cleaning?” Caroline says.

“Actually not to nit-pick, but we evil villains usually use minions to pick up our dry cleaning, that sort of thing,” Klaus says.

“Why is he necessary again?” I ask.

“I second that,” Caroline says.

“Well, we don’t know what Silas can do, so if we do have to go head to head with him, an original hybrid who can’t die might come in handy,” Stefan explains.

“Would a hybrid who doesn’t want her friends to die be a good enough substitute? Cuz you got one right here,” I say raising my hand.

“Sorry love. But I’m not letting you go head to head with another immortal being,” Klaus says.

“Was I asking you? Was I asking him?” I ask looking at Caroline and Stefan.

“Besides the point. Stefan and I work well together, or at least we did in the Twenties,” Klaus says.

“Well, granted my emotions were off,” Stefan says.

“And that’s why you were way more fun. Just as Damon is probably relishing in Elena’s emotionless company in New York,” Klaus says.

“My brother knows what he’s doing,” Stefan says.

“Does he? Don’t underestimate the allure of darkness, Stefan. Even the purest of hearts are drawn to it,” Klaus says looking over at me. “Still, I’m sure it will all be fine,” 

“I think I found something,” I say looking at the book I have in my hand. “‘Symbolic Figures in the Dark Arts’ Didn’t Bonnie talk about expression triangles?” I say bringing the book to the desk and pointing to the picture on the page I had open.

“‘In some schools of magic such as expression, human sacrifice can be used as a focus for power. It’s rumored that the addition of two supernatural sacrifices compounds the mystical energy creating an expression triangle,’” Stefan reads.

“Humans, that was the council fire. Demons, Klaus’ hybrid failure,” Caroline says.

“Well, I wouldn’t exactly call it a failure. What’s the third?” Klaus says wanting to move past the statement.

“Oh, no. Witches,” Caroline says.

“Great. I can’t believe Bonnie is gonna go through with this,” I say.

“Well, we need to figure out where it’s gonna happen. I’m gonna see if I can find or contact Bonnie,” Stefan says and leaves the room.

“Is there a map?” Caroline asks. We look around and Klaus finds one and sets it on the desk.

“There’s been two massacres. Pastor Young’s Farm,” I say and Caroline points to where it is on the map and I make an X.

“And the old Lockwood cellar. Where you spitefully slaughtered 12 of your own hybrids is here,” Caroline and  points to the cellar. I make another X and draw a line to connect them.

“According to the book, the expression triangle is equilateral, putting it here,” I say drawing an X and two lines to find where the witch massacre would happen.

“Somebody’s been skipping their geometry classes. There are actually two places where the massacre could be,” Klaus says and draws another triangle below mine.

“Well, you didn’t let me finish,” I say.

“Hey. What’s going on? Did you find Bonnie?” Caroline asks as Stefan walks into the room.

“No, but I talked to her dad. I think I found Silas,” Stefan says. We all split up to find which location where the massacre was taking place.

“I just want to see where we are,” I say as Klaus and I walk through the forest.

“You know, when we split up, you did have the option of going with Stefan and Caroline,” Klaus says.

“I don’t think so. If I recall the conversation correctly. You said ‘Athena and I will go together’ and then you whisked me away...again. You know is this just another one of your little ploys to get me talking to you alone, and not about Silas or the cure, right?” I ask but get no response. “Do you know how to read a map?” I ask.

“Yes, and do you know who taught me? My friend Magellan,” Klaus says.

“I didn’t know you could make multiple friends. Was he drawn to your darkness too?” I ask.

“Actually, I was referring to Damon and Elena when I said that, but clearly it struck a chord with you,” Klaus says.

“It’s because it’s not true. There’s no allure to darkness,” I say.

“Really?” Klaus says and turns to me.  “So you’ve never felt the attraction that comes when someone who’s capable of doing terrible things for some reason only cares about you?” Klaus asks me.

“Are you referring to you and me?! Because I never knew this side of you until you decided to rain all hell on my family and friends. And before you say anything about Ray’s pack, they were my family. They’re the ones who helped me become the person I am today. The fearless werewolf you decided to make a hybrid of your own will, not mine. So no, I don’t know the feeling you’re talking about, because the man that I knew you as was the one who loved me unconditionally. I heard the stories, but I only saw the good in you, until you decided to mix me up in your supernatural--I don’t even know what this is,” I say feeling a tear fall down my face.

“We’re here, although judging by the lack of witches, here is not the correct location,” Klaus says. We start to head to the other location where Caroline and Stefan went to.

“They’re linked. Bonnie’s gonna kill them,” Stefan says.

“Not if the witches kill her first,” Klaus says.

“Klaus we need to save her,” I say after he pushes Stefan against a tree.

“How? The only way to stop the witches is to kill them, and then Silas gets what he wants,” Klaus says.

“Spirits, take her soul. Free her from darkness,” One of the witches says holding a knife above Bonnie. Caroline doesn’t hesitate for a moment before stabbing the witch with her own knife, stopping the ritual.

“No!” Klaus yells. All the other witches die, completing the expression triangle.

“The triangle is complete,” Bonnie says. We quickly get Bonnie and head out of the location. After we made sure Bonnie was safe, I headed back to my house, trying to take in what happened tonight.

“Hey. How’s Bonnie,” I say answering the phone.

“She’s fine. But she doesn’t remember anything past the island,” Stefan explains.

“I’m just glad she’s ok,” I say.

“Me too. I’m gonna let Caroline know,” Stefan says before hanging up. 

The next morning I was going to head out to check on Bonnie until I noticed an unnatural amount of messages on my phone from Klaus. Knowing he wouldn’t leave me alone with this many messages, I thought I’d go see what he wanted.

“I got you messages...All of them. This better be life and death,” I say walking into Klaus’ mansion.

“Go away,” I hear Klaus say.

“Klaus? Where are you?” I say. I walk towards where I heard his voice until I saw him clenching the piano seat on the ground. “What happened to you?” I ask as it looked like he was in pain.

“I need more time. Stop hounding me!” Klaus yells.

“Excuse me? You messaged me more times than I can count,” I reply.

“Athena. Is it really you?” Klaus asks shakily.

“Of course it is,” I respond. Klaus sighs in relief. He struggles to sit on the piano seat but manages to anyways.

“Prove it to me,” Klaus says.

“I really don’t have time for you to want to solve our relationship problem right now. I have more important things to deal with,” I say before turning around.

“Wait, please. Silas. He stabbed me with a white oak stake. There’s a little piece of it stuck inside of me,” Klaus explains.

“Why would Silas attack you?” I ask.

“Well, I was in no position to ask questions. Suffice it to say, I’m hurt. So you can understand why I called you,” Klaus says.

“I’m not really sure what I could do to help you,” I respond.

“If I die, you, Caroline, Tyler, all of your friends die with me,” Klaus says.

“Fine, just tell me what to do,” I say.

“Well, it’s quite simple, really. I need you to cut the stake out of me,” Klaus says pointing to the already bloody shears on the floor. I pick up the shears and Klaus turns around so I could start to try and get the stake out.

“I swear there’s nothing in here,” I say before digging a little deeper. Klaus screams and slams his hand against the piano. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry... You know what, I’m not,” I say ripping the shears out. “I’ve already got my hands full with helping my friends and you trying to pine for me is not helping. So if you want my help, stop getting in the way,” I say. I move to the couch as Klaus struggles to try to get the stake out himself.

“I can feel the splinters moving towards my heart. Help me!” Klaus yells.

“Will you stop getting in the way?” I ask.

“You really think I’m just going to stop getting in the way when your life could be in danger?” Klaus asks.

“And you know how many times my life was in danger because of you? If you want to get in the way, why can’t you just do something decent for once?” I ask back.

“Because Tyler Lockwood tried to kill me,” Klaus says.

“We’ve all tried to kill you. Hell, I even put you down for a time. But you’ve tried to kill most of us. Why are you going through all this effort to keep me safe when I don’t even need you to. You made me who I am, so why am I not strong enough to protect myself?” I ask. 

“Because I can’t lose you again!” Klaus yells.

“And I’m strong enough to protect myself, hybrid or not. Why can’t you see that?” I ask.

“Because I lost you the first time I met you! You...you we’re in my arms and I let you slip away,” Klaus says.

“Because I wanted to,” I responded.

“No...no. The first time we met. The very first time,” Klaus says confusing me.

“What do you mean? I didn’t even know who you were when we met,” I say. 

“It’s gone,” Klaus says quieter, ignoring my question.

“What?” I ask.

“The pain. The pain is gone,” Klaus says feeling his back. “Oh, see, it was never there. He got in my head. Silas got inside my head,” Klaus says shakily. “You took my mind off it. You brought me back, Athena,” Klaus says cupping my cheek with his hand.

I move his hand off of my face, “If Silas can make you of all people, believe that you’re dying...what can he do to the rest of us?” I ask. Klaus goes to clean himself up, leaving me to process and figure out what Klaus meant by the “very first time” we met while I cleaned myself up.

“I’m heading back to mine,” I say walking past Klaus.

“Hey,” He grabs my arm and pulls me to face him. “Thank you for helping me,” Klaus says.

“Of course. Just don’t think I’ll come running every time you scream for help. And don’t spam my phone either” I say.

“Promise,” Klaus smiles.

“I just have one question. What did you mean by the very first time we met? When was that? I remember the first time we met, we bumped into eachother when I was leaving a cafe,” I say.

“My love. That is a story for a different day, but I promise I’ll tell you one day,” Klaus says and kisses my forehead.

“So you’re just gonna leave me guessing?” I ask.

“There are more pressing matters right now. But I promise I’ll tell you soon,” He says. 

“Fine. But you can’t break that promise, seriously,” I say.

“Promise. Can I ask you a question?” He asks and I nod. “Will you ever love me again?”

“Uhh...I--I can’t really answer that question right now. That’s pretty loaded. But I’ll think about it. I uh guess,” I say and head out.

🏷: @tristanacarry​ | @commentaryfanfic​ | @april-14-blog​ |  @simonsbluee​ | @awkwardspontaneity​ | @keiko0​ | @xetherealbeautyx​ | @vxidnik​

[atreegrowsinnorthnywrites]

A little v-day love story

I was on my second helping of Dad’s infamous enchiladas when my older brother, Sam, clapped his hands together and declared, “We’re going out!”

My fork clattered to the half-eaten plate and I gave him a stern shake of my head.

“Come onnn, Em,” Sam whined, precariously tipping back his chair so it hovered on two legs. “You can’t sit around and mope forever. Silas and Sean will come too.”

I looked to my two other older brothers with a challenging raise of my eyebrow as Dad leaned forward and cuffed Sam over the head. 

“Hell no I’m not,” Sean said without hesitation. All four legs of Sam’s chair returned to the ground with a disappointed thud. “I love you and I’m here for you, Em, but no.”

I chuckled at my eldest brother’s immediate reaction. With a family of his own, and an hour and a half drive back to Tucson, I was not surprised in the least. Silas’s lips were pursed and he actually appeared to be considering. 

“Just say no,” I muttered as Sam egged him on. 

“I have to text Paige,” Silas said slowly, “but if she doesn’t mind.”

“YES!” Sam pumped his fist triumphantly. “Dad?”

I looked to our patriarch, mid-lift of his beer to his lips, who snorted. “I’ll pass, but so thoughtful of you.” I stifled laughter at Sam’s disappointed face. 

“Alright, Em. Go get ready.” 

“I’m not done eating?”

My plate disappeared with a quick swipe of Sam’s hand and he waved me away with the other. “You are now.” 

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

An hour later we were pulling out of the long driveway that led to Dad’s ranch. I was wedged in the back seat of Silas’s truck between his work boots and tools, Chattahoochee blaring through the speakers, Sam and Silas arguing about the best bar in Bisbee on a Friday night, and it hit me this was the first time I had ever gone out with my brothers. 

If I thought about it more, it wasn’t that surprising. After the divorce-court mandated summers in Arizona with my dad and brothers had ended my senior year, I never came back for an extended period again. My mom, my friends, and college were all back in Michigan. Once I met Thomas my sophomore year at Michigan State, I had spent my holiday weekends with his family in Chicago instead of visiting my own. 

“You need more air, Em?” Silas asked from the front seat, smiling at me in the rear view. 

“I’m good,” I murmured back, a wave of guilt flooding me. 

Guilt that reminded me the five years of my life I had spent on Thomas had been a waste, and when the engagement and subsequent wedding had been called off, it had been my dad and three older brothers who had welcomed me home. It was my dad and brothers who had no judgement or questions. 

“You better not sulk all night,” Sam warned, whipping around and eyeing me warily. 

“I won’t.” I crossed my arms and scowled. 

“Good.” 

It had been three months since I had broken down in sobs at a dinner with Thomas and proclaimed I couldn’t marry him. Though I would die before admitting aloud any of my brothers were right, it was indeed time to get out of the house.  

After Silas parked the truck in downtown Bisbee, we made our way down the string-light filled main street toward a packed bar with live music. Wafts of cigarette smoke, and definitely weed, greeted us outside the door. Silas and Sam shuffled me inside, pushing passed bodies to inch our way towards the bar. The crowd was far more eclectic than I would have guessed for my western brothers, with a band that sounded more like folk rock than country. 

“What’ll it be?” Sam shouted over the music.

“A margarita,” I yelled back. “Spicy, if they can.”

He gave me a thumbs up and approached the bar while Silas waved to a group of guys from across the bar that had recognized him. During my summers on dad’s ranch, the only friends I ever really made were friends of my brothers, but I had not seen any of these guys since high school. The band played the final notes of their song and the crowd cheered enthusiastically as they announced a short intermission. Then I heard a high-pitched whistle.

“Ho-ly shit.”

I turned at the curse and came face-to-face with a brown haired, short-bearded, six-foot-or-so man wearing a white t-shirt, dark jeans, and vans. I squinted, and then he said my name.

“Emmeline Collins.”

There was only one person I had ever heard drag the “i” in my name that way.

“Lane?”

My stomach was in my throat. I remembered, very clearly, the last time I had ever spoken to Lane Diaz. He was smiling despite my memory, his right hand wrapped around a bottle of Corona and his left in the pocket of his jeans.

“Didn’t recognize me?” He asked with a laugh, and I debated admitting the truth. He looked great. Better, actually. But his southern accent had faded, and his cowboy look from all the years romping around the ranch with Sam was gone.

“Diaz!” Sam cried as he approached with two bottles in one hand and my cocktail in the other. He distributed the drinks for Silas and me, and then gave Lane a hug. “What’s up, man?”

“Just getting reacquainted with Em.” I frowned. Were we though? “Y’all didn’t mention your little sister was back in town.”

Sam looked down at me and then back to Lane. “Oh, right! You two haven’t…since…oh...right.” Sam took a long pull of his beer, and I stared him down the entire drink.

“Weekend visit to see the family?” Lane asked politely.

“Uhm,” I sipped my margarita for courage. A bite of jalapeño, just the way I liked it. “No. I’m uh, here for the summer.”

“Just like when we were kids,” Lane observed. I took another drink.

“Oh, hey!” Silas announced loudly, moving towards the crowd, “I see uhm...yeah I’ll be over here.” 

Silas hurried out of sight, but when Sam went to follow, I dug the heel of my sandal down into his foot.

“What’s it been? Six years?” I asked Lane, taking a third sip and willing the alcohol to hit quickly.

“Seven in August, actually.”

Oh, he remembered.

“I’m going to let you two catch up,” Sam declared bluntly, extracting his foot from under my heel through gritted teeth and patting my shoulder as he walked by. The band was returning to the stage. Lane nodded to a pair of empty seats that had just vacated next to a window, on the far side of the bar from the band. I was trapped and agreed with a jerky, awkward nod.

“You look as surprised to see me as I am to see you,” He noted as we sat down.

“My brothers didn’t mention you were still around,” I replied. I was not entirely surprised he was, considering the rate of people who never leave a small town, but Lane had always seemed different. It was what had attracted me to him all those years ago.

“I moved back last summer,” He shared as the band started up again.

“Where were you before?” I asked over the growing sound.

“Army.”

Now, that, I did not expect. We had talked about going to college together on the west coast before everything happened.

“And you?” He asked, “What are you doing here?”

The question was edged with a coolness I deserved. His face was serious, his warm, brown eyes watching me intently. I did not want to rehash my screwed up, disappointing life with my ex-boyfriend, of all people.

“Another drink, hon?” A waitress asked from behind and I realized I had drained the cocktail in my hand.

“Yes,” I agreed quickly, “Margarita with jalapeño.”

Lane chuckled as the waitress walked away.

“What?” I asked him defensively.

“Why am I not surprised Em Collins’ drink of choice is tequila and spice?”

Ouch.

“The same reason I’m not surprised yours is Corona. What are you on vacation in Rocky Point?” I scoffed.

“You know I asked for a Pina Colada, but they gave me this instead.”

I laughed, and his stoic expression split into the friendly grin I had seen when he first caught sight of me in the bar.

“How long were you in the Army?” I asked, curiosity getting the best of me. He had a knowing look on his face, aware that I had dodged his question, but polite enough not to call me out. Yet.

“Four years.”

The waitress returned with my drink, and I made sure to put it on Sam’s tab.

“Good for you,” I replied, “Thanks for your uh…service.”

Lane cringed and took a sip of beer while I briefly contemplated throwing back my entire drink so I could at least claim my awkwardness was from blacking out.

“So, where’s your fiancé?” He asked. 

I froze mid sip of my drink and looked up at him. We had not been friends on social media since my freshman year of college when a few months into dating Thomas I did an inventory of old photos and took down all of those with Lane and removed him as a friend. A little dramatic, thinking back on it. 

“How did you…”

“Sam and I are still friends, Em.”

Duh. My stupid brother had probably told him ages ago. The alcohol was starting to go to my head, making me light and loose-lipped. I didn’t even know why I was skirting around this. I had nothing to prove to Lane Diaz. 

“I broke off the engagement a couple months ago. We’re not together.”

It was the most abrupt way I had said it yet. It felt painfully final. Despite my boldness, I could not look at Lane’s face and so I followed it with a shrug and stared out the window.

“Damn. I’m sorry.” Lane said gently. 

“It was for the best,” I said quickly, glancing at him and seeing furrowed eyebrows, “Trust me.” 

“Doesn’t make it any less hard,” He noted. No, no it did not.

“It sucks, but what do you do,” I replied pitifully, taking yet another drink.

“Is that why you’re back?” He pressed. Lane was never scared to push me. I remember that about our two summers together. He always asked the questions I did not want to answer. Challenged the things I thought and believed. 

“Part of it,” I admitted, “Honestly, uhm...I’m having a bit of a quarter-life crisis.”

“I see.”

“I knew my dad would be more understanding...”

A look of recognition crossed Lane’s face and he winced for me. I had almost forgotten our daily phone calls nearly every night of my junior year.

“How’d your mom take it?” He raised an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“You’re a jackass,” I said with a flourish of my straw, flicking droplets of my drink in his direction. “Because you know exactly how well she took it.”

He coughed on his drink of beer and we both broke into laughter.

“Still a little high strung then?”

“A little?”

“Worse?” Lane gaped.

“After I told her we broke up, she called me back and said I needed to beg for Thomas’s forgiveness. Tell him I was having mental health issues or I would fracture my future.”

“Jesus.”

I finished the rest of my second margarita at the memory of my mother’s shrill voice on the phone. We had spoken once since, and that conversation had been even worse.

“How’s your ma?” I asked, desperate to change the topic.

“She’s good. She was sick last year, but she’s feeling better.” He paused at the look of my face, and I bit my lip to keep from asking more. I had my assumptions with the smoking habit his mom, Eileen, had back then. “She would love to see you.”

He placed emphasized on the word love, and I looked away, uncomfortable at the very thought of going back to Lane’s childhood home where we used to hang out alone when his mom was working nights. Lane seemed to regret the statement and drained the rest of his beer. Regardless of my discomfort, I was not heartless.

“I’d love to see her too,” I added, and Lane relaxed. When his tense shoulders fell, I noticed how much more muscular he was than when we were kids. His brown skin wasn’t as tan anymore though, so he must work indoors. My eyes subtly trailed down to his hand, where I noted no ring on any fingers.

“Another round?” The waitress asked and Lane opened his mouth to answer, but instead gestured to me to decide.

“Sure,” I agreed, and she winked at me, obviously assuming we were on an early date. 

“You don’t have to,” Lane said. “I understand if you rather go find your brothers.”

Maybe it was the tequila, or maybe it was pure curiosity, but I shook my head. “No, this is…nice.”

He gave me his iconic frown smile I remembered well. “Well, alright then.”

The waitress returned with our drinks and when he offered up his credit card, I placed my hand over his and smiled sweetly at her, “Put them both on Sam Collins’ tab. That’s S-A-M.” 

When the waitress walked away to do just that, I realized my hand was still on top of Lane’s, my body angled close enough to his I could smell his minty aftershave. He smiled softly and I dropped his hand, quickly reaching for my third drink. The most sour margarita they had made me yet. My mouth puckered and I shivered as it went down.

“There’s the girl I remember.” I tilted my head with curiosity at his comment and Lane laughed, taking a drink instead of elaborating.

“I’m nothing like that girl anymore,” I declared defiantly. 

“Good,” Lane said, his smiling fading as he set down his beer. His eyes softened, and his voice dropped. “Because that girl broke my heart.” 

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TWB 1x08 + TTD Clues

Hey Everyone! So here, at last, is my TWB post. Sorry it took me an extra day to get it finished. But before I get into the awesome TD symbolism, I want to say something. Today is Thanksgiving in the states. It’s a day we eat lots of good food and appreciate everything we have and tell each other what we’re thankful for.

So today, I just want to say that I’m extremely thankful for this fandom and for all my lovely followers and fellow TDers. It’s been such a huge part of my life for these past years. It’s kept me company and shaped me in ways even I probably don’t appreciate. So thank you so much for all being on this journey with me. I’ve no doubt that our girl is coming home. And soon!

Okay, onto the episode. First, a quick run-down. Most of the episode is centered around whether or not Silas killed Tony and what they’re going to do about it. We do get a humdinger of a twist at the end: Huck is a double agent.

I rewatched part of episode 1 because I thought I remembered the lieutenant colonel (Julia Ormond – I’ll just call her LC, okay?) saying something to the girls about having a kid. And she did. It’s in the scene where Hope and Iris talk to her in the dark, still back at the University, and she gives them the map. She says she has a daughter who’s older than them and who is a soldier from the CRM, so she’s away from her mother a lot and LC misses her. Guess who that daughter is? It’s Huck. So, she’s been a spy for LC this whole time, and has been living at the university colony specifically to do her spying. When she “scouts ahead” of the group, she’s often reporting back to her mother.

LC asks Huck how “the asset” is and Huck says the asset is fine. My fellow theorists and I talked about who the asset actually is, and we’ve agreed that it’s probably Hope. I think the most obvious answer is Iris, because she’s more the “main” character and the one LC connected with the most in episode 1. But I think that’s misdirection. 

Not only because of the flashback conversation Hope had with her dad, where he hinted there might be something she needed to know that he hadn’t told her, but also because Huck is always with Hope. She’s the one Huck is friends with. Anytime the group splits up to check things out or look for supplies, Huck goes with Hope. Like she’s protecting her or something. So  for now, our theory is that Hope is the “asset.”

But let’s turn to Silas. We finally get flashbacks as to what happened with his father. And this is where more his Daryl-ness comes in. His father was super abusive. Silas beat him up in a fit of rage/self-defense. And while his father didn’t die immediately (it wouldn’t be fair to say Silas actually beat him to death) he died later of his injuries. And then as a walker, he attacked Silas’s mother and Silas had to put him down. It’s all pretty brutal and you understand why Silas is kinda messed up.

The point is, he has rage blackouts. That’s what happened with his dad. Silas goes into a rage and actually blacks out and, for at least a time, doesn’t remember what happened. So in the episode, even Silas thinks he probably killed Tony and Percy. I don’t think he did. The best evidence is that, when it happened with his dad, he didn’t remember what happened immediately, but within a few minutes, it does come back, and he remembers what he did.

In this episode, he doesn’t remember what happened with Tony and Percy, and it never comes back to him. And they specifically show us that that’s not how it worked with his dad. So, I’m thinking someone hit him over the head and that’s why he doesn’t remember: he didn’t do anything. But even he doesn’t believe that.

So, this struck me as being Silas’s Them episode. He’s super sad, hates himself, grieving a lot of things, and at one point even sort of gives up and is going to let a walker bite him until Hope shows up and saves him.

But the biggest thing is that he leaves at the end. Felix and Huck are trying to decide whether to leave him behind or not. They don’t want to, but they don’t know much about him and, in their eyes, he could be dangerous. Even if he doesn’t mean to, he could have another rage blackout and hurt someone.

Iris talks to him and says “just tell me you didn’t kill anyone and I’ll believe you.” He says he can’t because he thinks he might have done it. Then he just leaves so he’s not a burden on them anymore.

TONS of Beth dialogue at this point. Iris says he’s “gone.” He says he’s glad he got to know Iris (what Beth said of Zack in 4x01). So he leaves by himself and Elton wants to go with him (Hope finally confesses to Elton about his mother, so this episode ends very sad).

But here’s the real kicker, guys. At the end, we see Silas walking through the woods by himself, and he’s wearing his headphones. A walker comes toward him. The walker immediately caught my attention because it’s blond and female. Truly, it wasn’t any more or less Bethish than any other blond walker we’ve seen, but it still jumped out at me after all the other Beth symbolism around Silas in this episode.

He grabs a board or a branch and kills it. Doesn’t seem like that big a deal. He does injure it in the forehead, but it’s on the right side. And you know, no gun or anything. 

But then, at the VERY end, it shows the walker lying in the road up close and we see Silas walking away in the distance. 

And then it pans over, and his walkman and headphones are on the ground next to the walker. He left them behind. 

And the thing is, I don’t know why. Did he just abandon the music? Or did it stop working? I almost wonder if the walkman broke when he was fighting the walker.

If that’s the case, it’s a MASSIVE parallel to the broken music box. Lying next to the blond walker. With the forehead wound.

See why I’m having feels about this episode? 

So, either he’s just a massive Beth proxy, or he’s heading toward wherever she is. I almost feel like the writers are telling us Silas is heading toward Beth. (And granted, I’m not at all objective about this; it’s totally my TD hopefulness kicking in. But there’s one other reason I think this could be a thing. I’ll come back to it in a minute.)

Huck said something weird, too. When Iris told everyone Silas had left, Huck asks Felix, “Do you think he’ll change his mind and come back for us?” It’s just a weird way to word it. Why would he need to come back for them? Besides, they’re going to look for the girls’ dad, so they’re not going to hang around in the same place.

I feel like that’s definitely a foreshadow on the writers’ part. And it really may just be a Silas/plot thing. But it suggests that at some point he’ll return to save the group in some way. …Which is exactly what we’ve always thought about Beth, no?

Let’s talk about Percy for a minute. They couldn’t find his body, but there’s a trail of blood that ends at the river. The thing is, they’re all assuming Percy is dead. They think either he’s a walker and staggered away, in which case the river current simply took him. Or that even if he was alive when he staggered away, he was wounded, and no one can survive the river’s currents and undertow. If he went in wounded, he’s probably dead anyway.

It just stuck out to me that that’s EXACTLY what we think happened with Beth. The group went back for her, didn’t find her body, but maybe some blood or a trail that Daryl followed for a time, searching for her. But they’re assuming she died/staggered away as a walker (hence blond tree walker in 5x15) but they never found a body.

I siriusly doubt Percy is actually dead. It’s just meant to look like he is. And my main theory throughout the episode was that Percy must have killed Tony and framed Silas. No idea why he’d do that, but we’ve already discussed that Percy has kind of a sinister vibe about him, and I’m happy just going with it and waiting for them to eventually explain what happened and why.

But the reveal about Huck at the end throws a wrench in things. We have a second suspect, now. I still don’t know why, exactly, she would kill Tony and either kill or attempt to kill Percy, but the two of them did know a lot about CRM resources and were kind of flouting their rebelliousness and thievery. If she’s loyal to the CRM (because LC is her mom) maybe that would be enough for her to kill them. Or maybe something else went down we have no idea about yet (kinda like at Grady?). Or maybe it really wasn’t her. No way to know, yet. But it’s an interesting possibility.

There were plenty of other symbols to be had in this episode, but I don’t think I need to go over most of them, because by now you all know how to interpret them. Lots of stars. 

Boots. Pig references. Clocks. The scene where Elton and Iris talk and he tells her the stars she THINKS are dead are actually very much alive. (If that’s not on-the-nose, I don’t know what is.) And don’t forget the title: The Sky is a Graveyard. Lots of focus on the stars, including a shooting star indicative of Sirius, a blue bird toy at the playground, a song called “The Crosses Made.” Oh, and there were tons of dinosaurs behind Silas, especially in his room in flashbacks, which was interesting.

So yeah, you get the idea.

I said I had one other reason to think Silas might be heading toward Beth, right? Well, this didn’t come from the episode. Rather, it came from TTD, which they did for both FTWD and TWB this past week.

Among others, the actor who plays Silas (Hal Cumpston) was on. At the very end, as Chris Hardwick always does, he asked what the actors could tease about the rest of the season. Various answers were given, but Hal Cumpston said, “Rick.”

Now, don’t anyone freak out. The way he said it, laughingly, made it obvious he wasn’t being serious. He was teasing. It actually reminded me a lot of Lauren Ridloff being asked about Connie and Daryl and teasing a shower scene. The huge grin on her face is what let’s you know that’s not actually happening. She’s just having fun teasing fans about it. This was similar.

And let’s be real: if Rick WERE going to show up in TWB, no way they’d let this kid spoil that for everyone.

But one other possibility comes to mind: Beth. I have no idea if she’s what he was alluding to, but given the “new sheriff in town” symbolism and how interchangeable Rick and Beth symbolism is, it wouldn’t surprise me. I could be wrong, of course. I’m just throwing it out there as a possibility.

And given how many Beth parallels were in this episode, to have him say this on the TTD right after? Yeah, giving this a long, hard, side-eye.

That’s all I have for today. Happy Turkey Day, everyone!  

[sunflower-swan]

Wolfstar Chapter 7

A/N: Here’s what you need to know: I created this story for Writer’s Month 2020. Every day is a new prompt, and therefore a new chapter. This is an AU Wolfstar where Remus is a tattoo artist next door to Sirius who manages a flower shop. James and Lily are alive in this universe and own a coffee shop across the street. And to make parts of the story work with the prompts, Remus is about 10 years older than Sirius. It also takes place more or less in present time, minus Covid-19.

This is chapter 7 of a multi-chapter work. If you’d like to start from the beginning, here is chapter 1.

Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters. I just like to play with them.

Day 7 Prompt: Hurt/Comfort

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 2094

Tags: original character death, angst, pining, hurt/comfort, language

Chapter 7

Sirius

Johnny Cash, “Hurt”

I wear this crown of thorns

Upon my liar's chair

Full of broken thoughts

I cannot repair

Sirius apparated to the secluded alley behind the shops, and strolled toward the tattoo parlor. As he walked he pondered what the next six months without Silas was going to be like. He would likely be spending more time with Remus. Other than James and Lily, who else did he have? Coffee at Potter’s Wheel might turn into the highlight of his day. It would at least guarantee he wasn’t alone in his misery.

What about that Logan guy? He was rather good looking, in a rough sort of way. If one was into that sort of thing. Had Remus called him yet? Maybe he could live vicariously through Remus in a relationship. That’s assuming Remus could let go of his crazy ‘romantic quarantine’ theory. Although, that might make him miss Silas more. At the very least, Sirius would hold tight to the memory of his last day with Silas.

After their shared morning shower, Sirius helped Silas get everything packed that he would need for the next six months. They worked together to prepare an early dinner and ate it in the garden. Then they sat outside until long after the sun had gone down just being together, and talking about nothing and everything.

He was so caught up in his thoughts he walked right past the tattoo parlor and the flower shop. It wasn’t until he was nearly a block away that he realized what he had done, and turned around to retrace his steps. Remus stepped out the front door as he drew level with the shop.

“Hey, Sirius.”

“Morning, Remus.”

“Get a portkey sorted?”

“Yep.” He pulled a fob watch from out of his pocket and held it up for Remus to see. “We’ve got about 10 minutes before it activates, so we had better hurry and get out of Muggle view.”

Remus nodded and set off down the sidewalk toward the apparating alley. Sirius fell in step beside him.

“So...did you call Logan?”

Remus scoffed and rolled his eyes. “No.”

“What?!” Sirius couldn’t believe he was being so obtuse. “Why not? He was clearly into you…”

Remus sighed. 

“...and he was gorgeous.”

They reached the entrance to the alley and Remus stopped. “Sirius.” He massaged between his eyebrows.

“Remus.” He said in a friendly mocking tone.

Sirius pulled the fob watch out of his pocket and held it out so Remus could place a finger on it. A few seconds later, he felt a tug behind his navel, and they were whooshed off to Sennan, Penzance. The outskirts at least. They landed about a mile south of the official View Point.

Portkey was not Sirius’ favorite way to travel. He much preferred apparating. At least with apparition, he could stay on his feet. As he could have predicted, upon landing, he found himself on the ground in a tangle with Remus.

“Shit! You ok?” He asked as he helped Remus to his feet.

Both men dusted themselves off and looked around. They appeared to have landed on a somewhat rocky outcrop. Luckily, they also landed on the grassiest bit of the outcrop, which made for at least a semi-soft landing. Salty ocean air invaded their nostrils, and the sound of ocean waves could be heard. Sirius bent over and picked the fob watch from off the ground.

“This is also our ticket home. But it doesn’t activate until 4 o’clock. I figured we could also grab a bite and check out the area.” He gave Remus a hardy pat on the shoulder and pocketed the watch. “What do you think?”

“Whoa!” Remus cried, balancing on one leg. He seemed to still be unsteady on his legs from the portkey, and the shoulder pat almost knocked him over again. 

Sirius grabbed Remus' arm to prevent him from toppling over. “Sorry!” he apologized. “Let’s get going before I really hurt you,” he added with a laugh.

Remus raised his eyebrows in agreement and the pair set off towards the path which they had landed near.

After a few minutes of walking in comfortable silence, Sirius decided to ask the question that had been nagging at him all morning. “Why are you not going to call Logan?”

Remus shot him a sidelong glance.

“Come on! You can tell me. I want to know why my best friend is determined to be miserable and alone.”

“I’m not miserable!”

“Tell that to your face.”

“Wait...I’m your best friend?” Remus neck flushed.

“Well yeah, dummy. One of them at least. Other than you, James, Lily, and Silas...who else do I hang out with?” Wow...that’s kinda sad, if you think about it. Sirius decided not to think about it. It was what it was.

Remus smiled and threw his arm around Sirius' shoulder. “Is it possible to have more than one best friend though? Doesn’t the term ‘best’ imply there can only be one?”

“Well, you see, James is my oldest best friend. And by extension, as his wife, Lily is also my best friend. You are my newest best friend.” Sirius glanced at Remus to see if he wanted to interject. When he did not, he continued. “We have coffee together everyday. You were the first person to whom I showed the letter from Silas, and you were the first person I asked to come with me today. Who’s your best friend then? Who is this person you’ve never mentioned as long as I’ve known you?”

They walked a few steps in contemplative silence; the wind whistling through their hair.

Then Remus chuckled. “Point taken,” he said. “Thanks for being my best friend.” His eyes and smile lit up.

Sirius’ breath caught as he observed the light in Remus’ face. Just as quickly as that sensation surfaced, so did another...shame. He felt his scalp prickle, and he winced on the inside. Fresh on the heels of a ‘best friend’ speech, while at an outing specifically for your serious boyfriend, is not an ideal time to get a swhooshing feeling in your stomach when your best friend smiles at you. Sirius reprimanded himself, and decided to bury those feelings until a later time. He also pulled away from Remus' arm around his shoulder.

The path was beginning to become more crowded with people as they neared the View Point. They could see a cluster of buildings ahead, presumably comprising the Visitor’s Center.

“You still didn’t answer my question.” Sirius pressed.

“What question was that?”

Feigning ignorance, I see. “Why are you not going to call Logan, and why are you determined to remain alone and miserable?”

“Oh, yeah…” was all Remus said.

Fine. Sirius thought, and decided to drop it. I’ll figure you out one day.

They continued the walk along the path until they came to the Signpost. It read:

‘New York 3147’

“Three thousand, one hundred, forty-seven miles away…” Sirius said. He took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh. “Six...bloody...months.”

“It will be alright.”

“How do you know?”

Remus placed a hand on Sirius’ shoulder. “Because you’re my best friend, and I’ll be here for you.”

~~~~~

Three months passed without much incident. Life for Sirius continued much the same as it always had. Morning coffee had turned into the highlight of his day, as predicted. On his days off he would hang out with either James and Lily, or Remus.

Spending time with James and Lily usually centered around something to keep Harry entertained. Sirius didn’t mind because he loved spending time with his godson. Their outings often included something that involved animals. The kid had a natural inclination toward snakes that was a little strange.

Time spent with Remus was a nice break from toddler amusing activities. The first time Sirius suggested they go see an Indie film playing at the theatre around the corner, he had to practically drag Remus there. At the end of the movie, Remus conceded it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be, but he still preferred a quiet art museum. 

He would write to Silas every two or three days to let him know what was going on. Silas would write back when he was able. He moved around a lot and was able to get out a letter about once a week.

Silas’ letters were always full of discovery and adventure. His team started out in Maine and were working their way through the forested region down the East Coast. Their main objective was to document observations of native American magical animals in their natural habitat.

Then Sirius didn’t hear anything back for a couple weeks. He was sitting with Remus at the Potter’s Wheel for an after work coffee.

“I’m sure everything is fine.” Remus had been attempting to reassure him for the past ten minutes.

Both men looked up at the peck peck peck at the window next to them. A tawny owl was flapping there with a letter attached to it’s leg. Sirius jumped up and ran out the door. His heart thudded in his chest. Finally! He took the scroll from the owl and it flew away. The untidy scrawl across the top was not Silas’ handwriting. Hair on the back of Sirius’ neck stood on end. It was addressed to him though. Unable to wait, he ripped open the letter, and read:

Dear Mr. Black,

We regret to inform you of a terrible accident involving Mr. Oleander. While on a field mission in central Maryland, his team was the victim of a Snallygaster attack. Mr. Oleander’s body was not found at the scene, and is presumed deceased.

Greatest sympathies,

Magizoologist Office, UK 

Sirius read through the short note again, and again, and again. His brain was unable to process or believe what he was reading. He slid down the window until he was sitting on the ground, and his tears fell upon the parchment. They fell upon the words that brought his entire world crashing down around him.

He was vaguely aware of handing the letter to Remus. A person on either side of him grasped him under the arms and pulled him to a standing position. He supposed he walked somewhere, because when he woke up, he was on a couch he did not recognize.

Maybe it was a nightmare. But whose couch is this? He felt the soft suede under his fingers and looked around. “Hello?” His voice was hoarse. He felt a wave of nausea as he moved to a sitting position.

Remus came into view, holding two teacups. “Hello.” He sat one on the coffee table, and kept the other for himself. “How are you feeling?” he asked, taking a seat in an eclectic mid-century modern chair across from the couch and crossing his legs.

“Like I’m going to be sick.” Sirius looked around for a wastebasket, or the bathroom. Anything so as to not vomit all over Remus or his furniture.

“Bathroom’s through there if you need it.” Remus pointed toward a door leading off from the room. “Try the tea though. It’s Peppermint Ginger. Should help your stomach.”

Sirius reached for the tea and gave it a sip. Not bad. He didn’t want to talk, so he glanced around what he assumed was Remus’ flat above the Tattoo Lounge. One entire wall was a bookshelf filled with books, which he found unsurprising. The titles he could make out from the couch appeared to be a varied collection of artist biographies and histories, and Muggle fiction; J.R.R. Tolkien featured prominently.

On the walls hung artwork he recognized as Remus’ style, because he had one similar hanging in his flat that Remus had gifted him at Christmas last year. Floral arranging was an art in it’s own right, but the skill evident in these pieces was exquisite. Some were done in Muggle-style, while others in wizard-style. Even the Muggle-style pieces looked so real, like they could jump off the canvas and walk around in the room. His best friend was an enigma wrapped in a tough shell; a puzzle he hadn’t cracked yet.

“Want to talk about it?”

He squinted his eyes closed. Unbidden came an image of Silas on their last morning together. He shook his head, and the nausea reared its ugly head again. Clasping his hands in front of his mouth, he opened his eyes and looked at Remus.

“Ok,” Remus said softly. “How about a shower? Or a bath? I think I have some fizzy bath bombs.”

In spite of himself, Sirius let out a little chuckle. “Bath bomb. Definitely.”

A/N: If you’ve followed the story this far, then I’m going to warn you now so you can mentally and emotionally prepare yourself...Sirius is not going to handle this death well. The next few chapters are going to get pretty dark, but I PROMISE it will get happier. This has a Wolfstar endgame after all. ;)

Next Chapter: Chapter 8

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

Reader, having a sensitive soul, adores exploring old places where the past times are the most perceptible and so, one day, she asks Sebastian to be her company on visiting an abandoned victorian mansion. Not being aware of his true self, she realizes the mansion may not be as empty as she thought... Maybe you could make it a mystery/horror with a good ending? :> Thanks in advance!

I can’t believe I wrote so much for this but also I kind of can believe it bECAUSE I’M ME

this has been a long wait but I hope it was worth the wait!!!

Silas is my own OC who I made up just for this but if anyone ever wants to see more of him I’d love to write more, because he’s my baby now and I love him!!

“My dear, are you sure you want to do this? I know this house looks like it hasn’t been lived in for a long while, but surely someone owns the property. Is trespassing a skill you want to add to your resumé?”

A scoff passes your lips, though muted somewhat by the smile you can’t squash down, as you push open the doors. They’re heavy and they creak something fierce. Hey, at least they open. “Why, SEBASTIAN,” you tease, “don’t tell me you’re scared. Do you really think the police are concerned with a silly girl and her boyfriend taking some pictures in an old Victorian? Please. They have murderers and bank robbers to worry about. Nobody’s even watching this place. Besides, we won’t be here long.”

You step inside, and immediately Sebastian is behind you. He’s so close you can feel his hand hovering near yours as if he wants to grab it and drag you out of here. “… Or maybe we will be,” you squeal softly.

The house is glorious on the inside. Of course, it’s far from being in perfect condition; that’s to be expected considering how old it is. Walking into the main parlor is like stepping back in time. Despite the carpet being faded and frayed, some of the elegant pattern is still visible. There’s a coatrack near the door, the wood of it rotting even though it looks just like you could still hang your jacket on it.

Every window is frosted over with a thick layer of dust that prevents any light from outside getting in. (Not that London’s weather decided to let the sun shine today, anyway.) When Sebastian shuts the doors behind you, everything goes dark, so you have to pull out your phone’s flashlight to continue marveling at the manor’s interior.

A grand staircase is the centerpiece of the parlor, with tarnished silver banisters bridging each side, and there’s even an extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling. That’s the only part of the place that seems to have not changed much ― when you aim your light at it, the glass actually throws a prism of glittering colors just like it would have when it was brand new. It’s still got some dust, but the sparkles break through it.

This place is amazing.

Has it truly been sitting empty all this time?

“Oh, this is gorgeous,” you breathe. A few pictures are snapped quickly, of different areas. “Sebastian, isn’t this such a lovely place? And it’s so big! I don’t think we’ll be able to explore the entire thing today. We’ll have to come back.”

Your boyfriend’s hand comes down on your shoulder; protective as he always is. “No, we will not. Being here once is not a good idea. Whatever you want to get pictures of, whatever you want to look at, do it all today. We have some time to mill about, even though I don’t think we should be in here for very long. Regardless, I am not coming back, which means you are not coming back.”

You give him a frown, which you accentuate by shining the light on your face so he can see your expression clearly. “What is going on with you, love? You’re usually so fearless. Does this place really have you that spooked?”

“Not… spooked. It just gives me a bad feeling, that’s all.”

The look in his eyes is something you don’t see often. He seems to be telling the truth in that he’s not scared, because he doesn’t look scared. He does, however, appear uneasy, eager to get out of here, and clearly would rather not be here in the first place. It makes you feel that he’s showing you a vulnerable side of himself, which happens so rarely that it softens your teasing. “Okay, okay.” You push up on your tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “We won’t be here more than an hour, and we won’t come back. I’ve got pictures here, so how about if we head upstairs and see what we can find?”

Almost as if you’ve said a word to cue someone, there’s a loud thump from the ceiling. It startles you enough that you’re practically attached to Sebastian’s side in an instant. “Oh, my God! What the hell was that?!”

“It sounded as though it came from upstairs, my dear.” Oh, he’s going to pay for that smug tone when the two of you get home later.

The sound repeats, but it’s quieter this time and accompanied by creaking instead of a single noise. For some reason, goosebumps raise up along your arms, and you think you get a small taste of what Sebastian must be feeling. At the same time, though, your curious nature won’t let you just ignore that. Whatever it is, you want to know. “It’s… probably just settling noises. That happens in old places like this.”

Your attempt at reassuring both yourself and your boyfriend is rather fruitless; you’ve been in enough old places to know those aren’t the noises of a house just settling. It’s not the wind, either. So what is it?

“Or maybe something fell down up there,” you try again. That’s even less comforting, you think. “Why don’t we go check it out?”

Sebastian’s chest rumbles with a low chuckle. “I can think of many reasons why don’t we, but I’m almost positive you’re not interested in hearing any of them.”

-

Predictably, there’s no more light in the hallways at the top of the stairs than there was in the parlor.

You offered to let Sebastian stay downstairs, though you knew he wasn’t going to let you venture into the next room of a creepy abandoned mansion by yourself, let alone the next floor. The two of you stay close as you head down the hall, and the further you go, the more you seem to hear noises.

There’s similar creaking and thumping sounds from earlier… you can also hear what sounds like some kind of scratching and dragging. You can’t help various scenarios from running through your mind ― is someone else in here? What are they doing? Hiding something? Just squatting and walking around living their life? If there is someone else in here, and you come across them, how are they going to react?

Your heart is hammering against your chest so hard you wouldn’t be surprised if it jumped right out. Even though Sebastian is very capable and will protect you from any threat, it’s just scary to think you may not be alone in here.

Several pictures find their way onto your phone, and thankfully you’ve been able to turn the shutter noise as well as the flash off. There’s not too much impressive in the hallway, but you figure a couple are better than nothing. You do get a couple pictures from the rooms you peek into, a washroom as well as what appears to be a servants’ quarters.

Based on what you know about the Victorian era, though, that seems strange. Most households would have the areas for their workers downstairs; out of sight, out of mind, so that guests wouldn’t have to see them. Why would the servants’ quarters be upstairs in this place?

When you open the door to find the master bedroom, you’re so awestruck that you walk right in. “(Name),” Sebastian whispers with an uncharacteristic worry in his voice. “Don’t go into the room. Just take a few pictures. Get back out here ― I ― please, please.”

“Sebastian…” The way he stumbles over his words raises a red flag in your mind. That’s not Sebastian. He doesn’t do that. You reach back and give his fingers a squeeze. “It’s okay. This is the last room I want to look at, and it’s so grand. Just let me look around a moment and then we’ll get out of here for good.”

Though he obviously doesn’t want to follow you, he does, probably to ensure that you stay safe. “Just… please try to be quick, my love.”

You smile and peck his cheek. “Of course.”

With that, you take a few steps toward the bed, snapping a series of pictures. It’s an enormous bed, so you want to get a few different angles. The bedclothes seem to be bunched up and piled on top of each other in the middle, and as you take more pictures, it becomes apparent to you that the sheets aren’t as dusty as the rest of the house.

A twinge of fear nags at the back of your mind as you consider why that is. Everything in this house has been dusty, even the crystal of the chandelier.

Why wouldn’t the sheets and blankets on the bed be covered with dust, too? Unless someone’s been using them…?

You know you shouldn’t, but your inquisitive nature moves your hand before you can even think to stop yourself. Your fingers grab at a part of the blanket, silk beneath your fingertips, and then there’s an inhuman hiss as you come into contact with something very much solid.

What comes next makes your breath catch in your throat. It’s a low, raspy voice: “Don’t touch me…”

“Oh, my God! Sebastian!!” you scream as you jump away from the bed. Somehow you trip over your own feet, and you end up on the floor. “Sebastian, there’s someone in the bed―!”

The resulting conflict is a blur. A figure appears to rise up from the bed like someone waking up, and then out of nowhere comes a creature almost made of nightmares. This black being, whose face is undeniably Sebastian’s, is a mass of long hair, sharp teeth, claws, and inky black wings. In the moment you don’t know what’s happened, but that your boyfriend is suddenly some kind of monster who’s pounced onto the bed attacking the other figure.

In a voice that reverberates with some kind of hellish echo that sounds at the same time like him and unlike him, Sebastian calls for you to leave the room and close the door. It takes you a moment to finally do that, because you can’t stop staring at this… creature.

As your back is pressed up against the door, your eyes wide, hearing the sounds of the scuffle inside, your mind is racing. What is Sebastian doing? What is he? Some kind of demon or something? Why didn’t he tell you? The two of you have been together for like three years. Is that why he’s so strong and always so in control of everything?

Your legs are like jelly when Sebastian finally says you can open the door. You’re not sure how you’re still standing after all of this.

When you open the door to reveal him with the other creature, a scrawny young man with dull eyes and strawberry blonde hair the length of which would put Rapunzel to shame, at his feet, you just stare at the both of them. You don’t know who to look at first.

Sebastian has lost the wings, claws, and horns he had, and his hair is back to its short style, though you can still make out those fangs when, at last, he speaks. “Well, this is Silas.”

You glance down to the creature on the floor, and notice that his eyes are darting everywhere at once. “… H… hello… Silas. I’m, um, I’m (Name).”

“P-pleased to meet you, my lady,” he wheezes. He looks as if he’s devoid of all energy. “H… how… how do you do?”

“I’ve… been better. Uh, thank you.” You look back at Sebastian. “Is… he okay?”

Sebastian nods before scooping Silas up in his arms. “For the most part. He’s a demon, he’s been hiding away in here for the better part of a century or so, and he’s hungry.”

This feels like some kind of horrible dream. When are you going to wake up. “Uhhhh… I think I have a granola bar in my bag.”

The snort you get from both of them as Sebastian places Silas back on the bed is maybe a little condescending, but they both seem of a much better humor than they were a moment ago, so you’re letting it slide. “I’m sure he would accept it, but it won’t help.”

“Oh.” You reach into your bag anyway, digging for any kind of food you brought along. At least something might take the edge off, right? “Well, what, um… what do demons eat?”

“Souls,” Silas pipes up cheerfully. Now that you’ve gotten a better look at him, he does look rather unhealthy. His eyes keep fluttering as if he’s two seconds from falling asleep, he’s obviously not having the best time breathing, and all things considered, despite his rather nasty attitude upon being woken up, Sebastian seemed to have subdued him rather easily. “Usually human, but… beggars can’t be choosers, so… I’d take a Reaper’s or another demon’s at this point. Hell,” he laughs shakily, “even an angel’s would be nice!”

Sebastian scoffs, taking the granola bar you pass over to him. “Angel souls. There’s either no accounting for your taste, or you really are starving.”

By now, you can deduce that, yes, Sebastian is very much a demon. If this is the way he’s talking about the taste of an angel’s soul, he’s either had them before, or he’s good at pretending he has.

The other demon shrugs at your boyfriend. “Likely a bit of both. I know most of us don’t look out for each other, but… I-I don’t think I’m… well enough to go outside. I’d be killed shortly ― there are other demons in the forest. Just waiting for me to step out. That’s why I don’t leave.”

“Oh!” Even though this situation is incredibly surreal, you reach over to grab at Sebastian’s sleeve. The look you give him with your pleading eyes is bound to soften his heart. “Sebastian, darling. We have to do something to help him. I-if he can’t leave, we have to… we have to get him something to eat. I… how hard is it to get a soul?”

Your mouth sets in a line as you contemplate this. It’s not the most moral concept, finding a soul for a demon to eat, but how long could he survive without eating? Starvation could kill him. And even if it couldn’t, since he’s been in here for over a hundred years, constant hunger pangs must mean he’s living in agony. That’s probably why he was so testy when you woke him up.

You look back up at Sebastian. “… I don’t suppose you could pick the soul of a very vile person so at least you’re not killing someone innocent?”

A laugh isn’t what you expect to come out of his mouth, but that’s what you get. “My.” That look in his eyes is… certainly something.

“Oh, vile souls are the best,” Silas hums. “I know it’s a lot of trouble, though… a-and I don’t really have anything to offer in return…”

“Please, Sebastian?” You weave your fingers into the spaces between his. “I want to help him. Will you do it for me?”

Sebastian looks between the two of you, then dips slightly to give you a tender kiss on the top of your head. “Silas, if I do this for you, I would like in return for you to let (Name) roam the house whenever she pleases and take photographs. She’s got a bit of a soft spot for these old manors.”

“Oh! Oh, yes, of course! That… that would be fine…!” Something sparkles in Silas’ eyes, and he looks at you. “A-after I eat… I could even clean everything up! That way, it… it would look nice… for your pictures.”

You smile and hope it looks sincere. “You don’t have to do that. I just don’t want you to suffer.”

“Well, I suppose it’s a deal.” Sebastian leads you gently to the end of the bed. “Darling, I would prefer you not have to see me go out and retrieve a soul, so why don’t you stay here and keep Silas company? You can show him your phone.” His eyes flash a dangerous neon pink as he snaps them toward the demon on the bed. “And you, Silas. You will not lay a hand on her, or I promise,you will regret it.”

“Of course not!” Silas pulls the covers back over himself, closing his eyes as he does. “She seems… nice… you’re very lucky… and I’m… tired…”

You sit down and try to make yourself comfortable. “Don’t worry, Sebastian. I’ll call you if I need to.”

He nods, heading toward the door, and gives you a final look before opening it.

“And, Sebastian?”

“… Yes, my love?”

“When we go home tonight, we need to talk.”

Even though you can’t see his face, you know he’s smirking. “Yes, my love.”