#( i am not particularly nice to elena in this one

[thebennettdiaries]

Prompt: Ripper Stefan and Dark Bonnie reeking havok together on the MFG and anyone who stands in their way.

"If we're not careful Bonnie and Clyde will end up destroying the whole damn town..." Damon stops mid pace and then lights up with a smirk. "Look at that, I didn't even have to change her name for that reference."

From her seat on the sofa, Caroline rolls her eyes.

Elena is more tolerant of Damon's attempts to bring levity to the situation. She takes a deep breathe. "In the end, she is still our friend." She looks to Damon. "And he is still your brother."

"My murderous, messy, psychotic brother," Damon corrects. "And he's dragging the little witch along for the ride."

"Because we let him," Caroline finally says, and it is the first time her voice has echoed through the room in awhile. She is done being unusually quiet. She sets her gaze on the pair of them. "We let Stefan do this to her."

Damon makes a face. "And just how is this my fault?"

"Not just yours, ours," Caroline says, her hands twisting on her lap. "Think about it. We have relied on Bonnie to save us time and time again. We never learn, we just go right back to risking it all and expecting her to pick up the pieces." She pushes herself off the sofa and now she is the one pacing. "She has been hurt, she has lost people she loves, she has died --- and what do we do? We ask her to do it again. No wonder Stefan was able to whisper into her ear. Tell her that she is worth more than that..."

"That was a beautiful speech." The voice is familiar, although there is something in it that seems different now. Whatever it is, it halts all movement in the room and demands the attention of the three co-conspirators. They all stop to look at Bonnie. Just behind her, with a hand on her waist is the so called demon responsible for her current state of mind. "But I didn't need Stefan to realize I am worth more than being your magical fix it."

Stefan smiles. "It's easier for them to believe that the Ripper corrupted you than for them to understand that you don't want to die for them anymore."

"Bonnie," Elena begin, stepping towards her.

Bonnie raises a hand and everyone goes still again. There is no mistaking the power that radiates off of her. All she has to do is flick her wrist and the worst could happen to the girl that she had once called her sister. A week ago, everyone would have assumed it was not possible. Now, after seeing what Bonnie could do (especially with Stefan at her side), no one wants to risk it. "I don't want to hear that you never intended to make me into your scapegoat time and time again. I don't want to hear that I am your best friend. I don't want to hear that you love me."

"Than what do you want, witch?" Damon asks.

She nearly cuts him down with her eyes alone. Behind her Stefan lets out an amused chuckle. He would like to see it no doubt --- his brother begging his witch for mercy.

"I want you to leave me..." She feels Stefan's fingers tighten at her waist. "...leave us alone. Let us be who were are meant to be and we'll stop. We'll stop the maiming, the killing, the general need to look over your shoulder. We'll stop if you stop."

"But..." Caroline begins and then she falls silent. She is careful when she moves. Her face is a mask of pain and concern. "You won't want this. One day, I know you won't. You do now and I get that. You've been through too much. So when you don't want this, I'll still be here. Waiting for you. Whatever it takes."

"Once again, cute speech." It is Stefan who says it this time. He steps so that he is equal with Bonnie, the pair of them standing shoulder to shoulder as they eye their so called rescue squad. "So how about it?"

"How about what?" Elena asks.

Stefan rolls his eyes. "You really can be so dense sometimes, Elena. It's not your fault. We have just been coddling you along this whole journey." He turns his attention to Caroline, deeming her the brains of the operation. "Just as Bonnie says --- you all stop trying to fix us and we will stop killing at random. Or you can keep it up and I will start being messy about it. Leaving them in places you can't ignore."

"It's a fair deal," Bonnie says as if Stefan hadn't just threatened to paint Caroline's bathroom red with the innards of some poor soul.

Damon looks like he wants to say something cute. Before he can, he is on his knees clutching his head. Bonnie just gives him a look.

"Deal," Caroline says quickly. "But don't forget what I said."

"Already did," Bonnie quips in return. Stefan takes her hand and in the blink of an eye they are gone.

Damon collapses to the floor, his face buried in his rug. When he speaks his voice is muffled. "That went well, I think."

[klausysworld]

Can I get something where reader becomes close to Klaus due to Damon just using her as a destruction and human blood bag (Damon’s in love with Elena) Damon and reader get into a fight after he sees her with Klaus and he tells reader Klaus is only using her to get at him. But Klaus shows reader that what he feels is more then just friends, he proves it to reader by asking reader to leave with him, as reader is more important to him then his hybrids.

Thanks so much… your amazing 🤩

Just us

I stood silently in the doorway as i spotted Damon, my so called boyfriend, tucking a strand of Elena’s hair behind her ear before kissing the corner of her mouth. My heart ached and i began to feel sick as i walked away.

I carefully undid the bandage on my neck to see the torn skin and two deep parallel cuts. I brought the antiseptic wipe up to the wound and gently wiped at the remaining blood. I glanced back at my face and gave a weak smile as i heard Damon calling me back to bed

Damon had been particularly needy recently, apparently due to the stress of Klaus. I had met him and seen him a couple times, he seemed quite nice actually, he was polite and smiled when he saw me, though maybe i’m just imagining it compared to the distasteful looks Damon offers me.

I was sat in the grill at the bar talking to Matt about his day but then he had to leave and serve a table so i was alone… until someone took the seat next to me. I was fully prepared for it to be Damon in a strop over Elena so i turned my head with a sigh though i adjusted my posture and blinked in surprise when Klaus Mikaelson was sat looking at me with raised eyebrows and a teasing grin on his lips

“am i that bad love?” he pouted and i blushed in slight embarrassment

“i’m sorry, i didn’t know it was you” i explained quietly playing with my fingers

“who had you so disappointed? Don’t tell me it’s Damon? Do you want me to torture him for you?” i gaped slightly at his semi-serious offer and felt a small amount of panic to rush through me, did he plan to kill Damon!?

“y/n, love, your hearts going a million miles a minute. I promise i’m not that scary” his tone was light and he put is hands up in a mock surrender action

“no- i know that! i wasn’t, i didn’t mean to offend you” i grasped aimlessly at excuses hoping he wouldn’t get upset… when Damon gets upset he tends to bite.

“i’m not offended, you worry too much sweetheart. Now what are we drinking?” he asked leaning over the bar to get a bartenders attention

that was the first time Klaus and i spent the day together.

from then he seemed to pop up quite regularly.

———————————————————————

“i was about to take a stroll, why don’t you join me, love” and so we walked all over mystic falls, he actually brought us to see the falls where he playfully nudged me toward the water which resulted in me shoving him in and him latching onto me taking me with him. I attached myself to his back and he willingly carried me back to his house where he showed me how to use one of the showers. That evening i received the first pieces of his clothing.

———————————————————————

“You seem peckish love, i myself am quite hungry, perhaps lunch is in order?” he asked rhetorically as he took my hand in his and guided me back to his house where he made his hybrids leave before cooking us food himself.

“i wasn’t aware someone as rich as you would humour yourself with ‘simple human tasks’” i spoke, distaste clear in my voice as i quoted Damon from the other night. Apparently i should be washing his clothes because i’m weak and irrelevant.

“money is an object that not even i can understand, your hunger however is something i can help” he spoke almost carefully, slowly as he studied me. I regretted the tone i had previously used but neither of us mentioned it. Klaus had told me i wasn’t allowed to apologise for things anymore, apparently ‘sorry’ isn’t his favourite thing for me to say.

We sat and ate with minimal conversation but a comfortable silence. We both continuously stole glanced at each other and i could feel the heat rising in my face.

I stayed the entire day, we watched films, mostly my picks as i learnt he was boring and hadn’t seen anything remotely interesting. He showed me his art room and attempted to teach me how to paint.

By the time we had finished and i was ready to leave it was pitch black outside

“you know i’m not entirely comfortable with you being alone in the dark, perhaps you should stay here the night?” he asked softly, his hand on my shoulder. i was apprehensive about staying, Damon would have questions, why wasn’t i in his bed, what if he got mad?

“you can borrow my clothes…or keep my clothes?” i mulled over the opportunity for a moment and as though the universe pushed me in the right direction it began pouring with rain

“well i suppose it is a nice house” i muttered turning back around.

He put me in the room next to his, i was lead on the softest bed i have ever imagined covered in the scent of Klaus’s shirt as i drifted to sleep in the warmth of a thousand blankets

———————————————————————

Klaus and i had been out for the day, we actually went bowling which was…fun. I thought i was pretty good, i forgot he was a thousand year old original hybrid with flawless aim and the perfect pressure to throw it down the aisle.

We parted earlier up the path as i split of the go to the salvatore boarding house. The second inside i was grabbed by the neck and held in a painful hold agains the door, the handle stabbing my side as i clawed at Damons wrist

“what.the.fuck.are you doing with him.” it wasn’t a question. He was furious and the veins were already under his hatful red eyes

“you think he cares if you live or die!? you’re pathetic y/n! i could rip your head from your shoulders and he wouldn’t even notice” he growled squeezing my windpipes harshly and i felt my body giving in to the helplessness. Suddenly the pressure was gone and i was on the floor gasping, tears pouring down my cheeks as i scrambled to the furthest corner of the room

“how dare you touch her.” Klaus. Klaus was here.

I breathed in relief and let myself sag against the wall my head resting against the hard surface.

I felt my eyes droop to the exhaustion and lack of air, muffled shouting and breaking of objects in the background.

———————————————————————

“y/n? are you awake yet my love?” his voice was so delicate. So loving. i reached out for him, my eyes still shut as i held his warm hand and tugged him closer. I felt the bed dip as i was brought closer to his chest, his arms enveloping my body and holding me gently

“we’re going to leave okay? just us, me and you. No hybrids, no doppelgängers, no pathetic excuses of a man. Just us, anywhere you desire” he whispered and i nuzzled closer to him

“but…you’ve waited a thousand years for all of this, you’re hybrids, you don’t want them?” i asked quietly cracking my eyes opening and angling my head up to look into his eyes

“no, they’re not important anymore, i just want you” he promised and sealed it with a kiss. His lips ever so faintly on my the gentleness he held had my heart melting

“just us?”

“just us”

[nicolettesdreamworld]

Guilty as sin - Chapetr 23

Nicolette knew she needed to face her friends about last night. She’d made difficult decisions, ones she knew they wouldn’t agree with, but she believed they’d been necessary. Her loyalty lay with both Elena and Elijah, and she’d done what she had to protect them. She steeled herself, ready to explain, to make them understand. But all her resolve vanished when she saw Damon’s message: Alaric is in jail.

Without hesitation, she hurried to the police station, compelling her way past officers until she reached the holding cells. There, she found the sheriff standing with Damon, and inside the cell was Alaric—disheveled, with his shirt stained in fresh blood.

Her gaze shifted sharply to the sheriff, her frustration barely contained. "Why is he locked up, and why is he covered in blood?” she demanded, her voice tight with concern.

"Meredith shot him last night," Damon said, his voice laced with cold disdain. "Looks like you're not the only back-stabbing bitch in town."

At that, Alaric staggered to his feet, pale but defiant. "Don't you dare call her that, Damon, or I swear to God!"

Damon’s glare shifted to Alaric, unyielding. "You clearly had no idea what she's capable of." He turned toward Nicolette, ready to fire another verbal shot, but she raised her hand, cutting him off. "Not now, Damon," she said firmly, "first, we’re getting Alaric out of here."

The sheriff stepped forward, glancing cautiously between them. "It's for his own good," she insisted. "Meredith saved him with vampire blood, and he’s safest in here. Besides, there’s evidence linking him to the council murders."

Nicolette’s eyes widened in shock. "The council murders? Have we forgotten that he nearly got killed himself?"

The sheriff looked uneasy. "Dr. Fell suggested his wounds could’ve been self-inflicted."

"You think I stabbed myself half to death?" Alaric spat incredulously.

"And why are we trusting anything Dr. Fell says?" Nicolette demanded. "She literally shot him."

"Because he attacked her with a knife," the sheriff replied.

"A knife she stashed in her own things!" Alaric retorted, frustration etched across his face.

The sheriff shook her head. "I don’t know what to think. All I have are murder weapons from a hidden stash and a founding family member pointing fingers."

Damon huffed, stepping closer. "Well, I’m a founding family member too," he snapped. "Hell, I am a founder. And I’m telling you this is complete bullshit."

“If either of you meddle in this investigation, I won’t hesitate to throw you in that cell with him,” the sheriff warned, her eyes narrowing at Nicolette and Damon.

Damon scoffed, crossing his arms. “Nice try, but you know that’s a threat without any bite.”

Nicolette stepped forward, her gaze unwavering. “I’m a 500-year-old vampire. Your threats and little cells are useless. The only reason Alaric is still in that cell is that you’re right; right now, he’s safest here.”

“Nicolette, I suggest you—” the sheriff began, but Nicolette cut her off, her voice cold and sharp.

“Do not suggest anything to me,” she said, her tone fierce. “If this were your father, what would you have done?”

The sheriff blinked, momentarily taken aback. “Alaric isn’t your father, Nicolette.”

“Maybe not by blood,” Nicolette shot back, “but he’s the closest thing to a father I’ve ever had.” Her glare intensified, a mixture of anger and desperation swirling in her eyes as she fought to make the sheriff understand.

“Do what you must,” the sheriff said, her voice laced with resignation. “But just know that when you go behind my back and obtain any evidence illegally, justice won’t be served.”

Nicolette chuckled coldly, a chilling sound in the tense air. “I don’t particularly enjoy killing, Sheriff. But that doesn’t change the fact that my sense of justice is a little different from yours.” Her gaze was unyielding, a fierce resolve burning within her.

“Enough, Nicolette,” Alaric interjected, his voice firm. “You’re not killing anyone.”

Nicolette turned to him, a mix of frustration and defiance in her eyes. “I might, Ric,” she shot back, her tone heavy with implication.

“No,” he insisted, shaking his head. “Because that will only make things worse. You find the real killer, you kill him, and I’m still stuck here. Or you break me out, and I spend the rest of my life on the run. Let the sheriff do her job; she’s on our side.”

Nicolette knew he was right, his logic cutting through her rage like a blade. With a reluctant nod, she silenced the storm brewing within her, for now.

As Nicolette and Damon stepped out of the police station, he grabbed her by the shoulders, his grip firm and unyielding, forcing her to meet his furious gaze. “Is your humanity off? Did you stop taking your vervain, or did all that time spent with Klaus fry your brain?” His words dripped with frustration. “What you did today, even yesterday…”

“I’m protecting the people I love the best way I can,” she shot back, her voice steady despite his intensity. “Remember when you were willing to kill Bonnie to save Elena? Remember waking Mikael from his slumber, not caring that he’s hunted me for centuries, all to keep her safe? I forgave you for that because I understood. You and I are not that different, Damon. If you weren’t so busy pretending to be Stefan to win Elena’s heart, you might actually see it the same way I do.”

Her words hung in the air between them, a charged reminder of their shared darkness and the lengths they would go to protect those they cared about.

"Did you guys just…?" Elena’s voice trailed off as she walked into the police station, her gaze landing hesitantly on Nicolette.

"See Ric?" Nicolette filled in, her tone curt. Elena nodded, though the strain was clear—yesterday's events hung thickly between them, unspoken but painfully present. Yet with everything spiraling out of control, there was no time to dwell on it.

"Ric’s fine," Damon cut in, his voice edged with frustration. "Sheriff wants us to stay out of it."

Elena frowned, her worry intensifying. "But you’re not going to, are you?"

Nicolette shrugged, a flicker of defiance in her eyes. "Seems as good a plan as any."

"But Alaric’s in jail for murder! You have to do something," Elena pressed, her voice tinged with urgency.

Damon’s expression turned icy. "Well, Nicolette’s solution was simple enough—take out anyone with a hand in Ric’s arrest," he said, his words dripping with disdain.

"Damon, stop it," Elena snapped, horrified.

"Guess suddenly 'staying out of it' sounds a little more appealing, doesn’t it?" Damon shot back, his smirk cold as he watched Elena’s resolve waver.

“Damon,” Nicolette breathed, her voice barely above a whisper, a silent plea laced in her tone. She shot him a look, a flicker of urgency in her gaze, as if hoping he might rein in his sharp edge—at least for Elena’s sake.

Damon’s jaw clenched, and for a split second, something softened in his expression. But then his steely resolve returned, the weight of their entangled lives simmering just beneath his calm exterior. “Fine,” he muttered, letting the sarcasm drain slightly from his voice, though his eyes still held their intensity.

Elena shifted, glancing uncertainly between the two, the tension heavy around them. Nicolette’s gaze stayed on Damon, willing him to let his guard down, if only a little, but knowing all too well that she could only hold back so much of his storm.

“We can���t get involved, Elena,” Nicolette said, her voice low but edged with frustration. “Ric told me himself—he doesn’t want us tangled up in this. Sure, I could tear down every wall in that station, kill anyone who had a hand in this, break him out…but then what? He’d spend the rest of his life running.”

Her eyes flickered with a dangerous intensity, tempered by the shadow of restraint. For all her power, there was a line she wouldn’t cross—not for Alaric, not when he’d rather endure than see her spiral down that path.

"You're right, I just—" Elena paused, her brows knitting together as desperation edged her voice. "There has to be something we can do."

The weight of their situation hung heavy in the air, a palpable tension that coiled around them like a snake ready to strike. She searched Nicolette’s face for a glimmer of hope, a plan hidden beneath the surface of their grim reality. But the silence stretched, echoing the uncertainty that loomed over them all.

"For now, we have to wait and see how this plays out," Nicolette said, her voice steady despite the turmoil swirling within. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Elena nodded, though uncertainty flickered in her eyes. The world around them felt charged, as if a storm was brewing just out of sight, ready to unleash chaos at any moment. In that moment of fragile peace, they clung to the hope that somehow, against all odds, they could find a way to protect Alaric and unravel the tangled web of secrets threatening to ensnare them all.

“Did you talk to Bonnie?” Nicolette asked, her tone laced with concern.

Elena sighed, her shoulders slumping. “She doesn’t want to talk to me. I doubt she’d talk to you either.”

Nicolette nodded, her heart heavy with understanding. “Look, I can sort of grasp why you did what you did, and I think Bonnie can too. But we both know deep down that you didn’t just act to save me. A part of you is relieved the ritual didn’t happen.”

Elena’s gaze turned distant, the weight of the truth settling in. “And she can’t face that right now,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. The tension hung between them, thick and unresolved, as the reality of their choices loomed over them like a storm cloud ready to burst.

“What happened wasn’t your fault,” Elena said, her voice firm yet compassionate. “When Elijah asked me to meet yesterday, I was going to tell him about his mother’s plan too.”

Nicolette’s heart sank at the weight of those words. “You were?” she asked, a mix of surprise and concern threading through her voice. 

Elena nodded, her expression shifting to one of grim acceptance. “He would have kidnapped me either way,” she said quietly, her voice laced with a mixture of resignation and understanding. “All you did yesterday was try your hardest to protect those you love. None of us could have predicted that Elijah wouldn’t hold up his end of the bargain.”

Nicolette felt a wave of relief wash over her, but it was quickly replaced by the weight of the situation. “I just wanted to keep you safe, Elena. I thought we were in this together.”

“We are,” Elena replied, her gaze steady. “But in this world, trust is as fragile as glass. We can’t afford to break it, not now. We have to find a way to make things right—together.”

The words hung in the air between them, a fragile promise in the midst of chaos. They both knew that confronting Elijah would require more than just strength; it would demand unwavering resolve and a united front against the darkness threatening to engulf them.

“I think I should talk to Elijah,” Nicolette sighed, the weight of her decision pressing heavily on her chest.

Elena raised an eyebrow, concern flickering in her eyes. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? After everything that happened…”

Nicolette cut her off, her voice steady but laced with uncertainty. “If there’s any chance of making this right, I need to face him. He deserves to hear it from me. We all deserve a chance to understand each other.”

Elena nodded slowly, recognizing the fire in Nicolette's determination. “Just be careful. He’s not the same Elijah you once knew. The stakes are higher than ever, and I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know,” Nicolette replied, a mixture of resolve and fear coursing through her. “But if I don’t do this now, I might lose him forever. And losing him isn’t an option.”

With a deep breath, she steeled herself, ready to confront the tangled web of loyalty and betrayal that lay ahead.

Nicolette drove through the winding streets to the Mikaelson mansion, her heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and determination. She hesitated at the door, the weight of her decision heavy on her shoulders. With a deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked, the sound echoing in the stillness of the day.

To her surprise, it was Klaus who opened the door, his expression a blend of curiosity and guardedness. The sunlight cast shadows across his sharp features, highlighting the conflict simmering just beneath the surface. “Nicolette,” he said, his voice smooth yet laced with an underlying tension. “What brings you here?”

Caught off guard by his intensity, she swallowed hard, steeling herself for the confrontation that lay ahead.

“I need to speak to Elijah,” she said, her voice steady but urgent. The air thickened with anticipation as Klaus studied her, the tension in the room palpable. His brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of concern crossing his face. “Elijah is… occupied,” he replied, his tone inscrutable. “But I can deliver a message if you’d like.”

“Nicolette,” Klaus began, but she swiftly cut him off. “I don’t have time for a fight, Klaus. Alaric is in jail for murder, and I have more pressing matters at hand,” she replied, her frustration palpable in every word. The tension crackled between them, but her focus was unwavering; she needed answers, and she wouldn’t be deterred.

“Very well,” Klaus relented, stepping aside to let her in. The door creaked open, revealing the dimly lit interior of the Mikaelson mansion, where shadows clung to the walls like secrets waiting to be uncovered. Nicolette brushed past him, her mind racing with thoughts of Alaric and the tangled web of alliances that had brought her here. She could feel Klaus’s gaze on her, a mix of curiosity and concern, but she was too focused on finding Elijah to dwell on it now.

“Where is he?” Nicolette demanded, her voice cutting through the thick silence like a knife. She glanced around the lavish yet haunting décor, her impatience mounting. Klaus, leaning casually against the doorframe, raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk playing on his lips.

“Ever the eager one, aren’t we?” he replied, his tone teasing. “But alas, I believe he’s in the garden, brooding as usual. Careful, though—his mood might be as unpredictable as the weather in this town.”

Nicolette didn’t wait for further elaboration. She brushed past him, determination fueling her every step as she headed toward the garden, where she hoped to find Elijah and confront the truth behind the betrayal that hung heavy in the air.

“Where is he?” Nicolette demanded, her voice cutting through the thick silence like a knife. She glanced around the lavish yet haunting décor, her impatience mounting. Klaus, leaning casually against the doorframe, raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk playing on his lips.

She found Elijah sitting on a sun-drenched patio, his pen gliding smoothly across a sheet of paper, his brow furrowed in concentration. The serene setting contrasted sharply with the storm brewing inside her.

“I came here for an explanation,” Nicolette said, her voice low but laced with intensity as she glared at him, frustration simmering beneath the surface. The weight of her words hung in the air, an unspoken accusation that dared him to respond. Elijah looked up, his expression shifting from surprise to something resembling regret, and the warm sunlight seemed to dim between them as the tension escalated.

“I was just writing you a letter, Nicolette,” Elijah replied, his tone measured, yet tinged with an undercurrent of urgency. He set down his pen, the ink glistening in the morning light, and met her gaze.

“Is that supposed to make this any easier?” she shot back, crossing her arms defiantly. The air crackled with unsaid words, and the distance between them felt like an insurmountable chasm. Elijah sighed, as if gathering his thoughts, the shadows of doubt flickering across his face.

“Yesterday, I did something I abhor to keep those I love safe. I betrayed your trust and the vow I made to you to protect my family. I can’t express how deeply I regret the pain it has caused you. That was never my intention,” Elijah said, his voice low, carrying the weight of his remorse. He paused, searching her eyes for a flicker of understanding. “But if anyone knows what it’s like to do anything—no matter how cruel or distasteful—to shield those you hold dear, it’s you, isn’t it?”

His words hung in the air, a delicate balance between accusation and plea, challenging her to acknowledge the darkness they both shared. Nicolette felt a tightening in her chest, torn between her anger and the undeniable truth of his statement.

“How can I ever trust you again, Elijah?” Nicolette's voice trembled, a mixture of hurt and betrayal lacing her words. She stood firm, her gaze piercing into his, demanding an answer that could mend the rift between them. The air crackled with tension, every moment stretching painfully as she awaited his response. Trust, once so effortlessly woven between them, now felt like shattered glass underfoot, and she feared the cuts that came with trying to piece it back together. Elijah’s expression softened, but the weight of their shared history loomed large, an unspoken acknowledgment of the fragile ground they now stood on.

“By knowing that when it comes to you or the duty I have to my family, I will always choose my family,” Elijah declared, his voice steady yet laced with a sorrow that echoed in the stillness around them. The resolve in his words hung heavy in the air, a painful reminder of the choices he was willing to make. Nicolette felt a pang in her chest; his loyalty was admirable yet heartbreaking, a testament to the unforgiving bond of blood that ran deeper than any friendship or mutual understanding they might share.

Nicolette nodded, the weight of his words sinking in. She understood the fierce loyalty that ran through the veins of the Mikaelson family, a loyalty that could just as easily become a weapon as a shield. It was a bitter truth, one she had faced before but had hoped would be different with Elijah. “I see your point, Elijah,” she said, her voice steady despite the turmoil within. “Family comes first for you, and I respect that. But it doesn't mean I have to accept the consequences of your decisions.”

She turned away, letting the cool breeze wash over her, grounding her in the moment. “I just need you to know that I will always fight for those I care about too. Just like you.” The sun shone brightly overhead, illuminating the distance that had grown between them—a chasm filled with trust broken and promises shattered.

Nicolette's phone rang, the shrill sound slicing through the tension in the air. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding as Alaric’s name illuminated the screen. Her heart raced with a mix of hope and anxiety.

“Alaric?” she answered, her voice a fragile whisper, brimming with urgency.

“Nicolette,” he replied, his tone strained but familiar, grounding her amidst the chaos. “I need your help.”

His words sent a ripple of concern through her. She glanced at Elijah, who was watching her intently, his expression unreadable. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, but I’m in a tight spot here,” Alaric said, his voice low and serious. “They’re trying to pin everything on me. I need you to find out what the sheriff has on me. I can’t stay locked up. Not like this.”

Nicolette felt the weight of the situation press down on her chest. She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. “I’ll do everything I can. Just hang in there, okay?”

As she ended the call, determination surged through her. She turned to Elijah, a fire igniting in her eyes. “I have to get Alaric out of there.”

“What? Nicolette, what is going on?” Elijah asked, concern deepening the lines on his face.

“They arrested Alaric for the murders of the council members,” she replied, her heart sinking as doubt crept in.

Elijah’s expression darkened. “That’s impossible. Alaric would never—”

“I want to believe that,” she cut in, her voice tense. “But there’s evidence against him, and it’s hard to ignore. I don’t know if he did it or not, but I can’t let him rot in that cell without trying to help.”

"Then why do you want to get him out?" Elijah asked, his curiosity piqued as he tried to understand her unwavering loyalty.

"Because when Alaric found me, I was doing things I’d rather forget," Nicolette confessed, her voice trembling with the weight of memory. "I had my humanity off, and he was still a vampire hunter at that point. He could have killed me—he had a stake pressed against my heart, ready to end it. I was cornered, completely at his mercy. But instead of taking that shot, he looked into my eyes and chose to help me."

Her gaze was fierce, determination radiating from her. "He saved me, Elijah. He saw something worth saving in me, even when I couldn’t see it myself. I owe him that same chance now. If there’s any possibility that Alaric is innocent, I need to fight for him, just like he fought for me."

Elijah regarded her with a newfound respect, recognizing the depth of her commitment. "Then we will find a way to clear his name," he promised, his voice steady. "And I will stand by you in this fight."

[notmoreflippingelves]

@saemi-the-dreamer asked: Esteban: 2, 7, 18, 19 and 21? :D

As I mentioned in my initial reply to the ask, I made a separate post for Esteban, since--as will surprise no one--I really rambled on A LOT about him. And it wasn't fair to shove all my EsteRamblings into the same, much shorter post with Gabe.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Honestly, pretty much everything about Esteban's character journey in S3 makes me absolutely INSANE (in the best way). But I think the thing that makes me most feral of all is the moment when he falls into the crystal well. His sparkly new outfit and stupid hairdo. The fact that the narrative has visibly and thematically linked him via this shared experience with Elena for the entire rest of the show. The symbolism of him being given the power to run away (literally and metaphorically) from the problems that he has caused. The fact that the show will ultimately end with him not running away but instead running towards something (Elena, specifically to save her from the problem Esteban himself caused). It's just... they did all this to me, an English major, and expected me to be normal about it. The audacity.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I like it when Esteban is *included* in things. While I wouldn't say he gets as much focus as the four amigos or Isabel, he still does get a good bit of art and a reasonable amount of fic. And its honestly nice to have a blorbo who isn't just shamelessly ignored (*cough Jean Innocent *cough) or vilified to the point of OOC-ness (*cough Kristoph Gavin cough*) , or used almost exclusively as a plot device to facilitate the fandom preferred ship of which they are not part of (both of the others).

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

"Admire" is a weird way to put it as it makes it sound as though the dynamic is or should be aspirational/healthy. And I'm honestly having trouble coming up with one that fits that particularly description. I guess either Isabel or Francisco would be closest to meeting that description. But I don't really have too much to say about them right now.

So I am just going to go ahead and treat this question as "relationship that I find interesting and enjoy watching." And honestly, there is a LOT of them. Obviously his relationship with Elena is arguably the building block of the entire show and naturally, I love and cherish it with my entire heart. But I already ramble too much about it so I won't do so here.

I also find his history and complicated relationship with Victor fascinating. The two are clear foils of each other and very shippable ones too, and so my little English major brain/rare pair loving self gets a lot of mileage over the little that we see of them together. But we really only get a single episode of the two of them interacting. (Apart from a few moments in "The Magic Within" and Esteban being mentioned a few times in "The Lightning Warrior") so there's really only so much that I can say about them. And a lot of what I love about them is really just head canons/parts of my fic, so it could be totally ooc.)

Similarly, I think his dynamic with Dona Paloma is fun to watch and has a lot of interesting potential, but we really only scratch the surface of it. The narrative lets them be temporary allies or business rivals for the sake of a given episode's plot, but its rarely done in a way that adds something new or interesting to their relationship. (When Esteban + Paloma political shenanigans happen, its rarely used to advance either of their character developments and when it is, it's usually just Paloma's..as Esteban gets most of his development in other episodes).

So, I feel like I have to say that the most-interesting-and engaging Esteban relationship (apart from Elena) has to be Naomi. The two of them have a really interesting dynamic to watch and their relationship specifically (as opposed to just the two of them as individual characters) gets a good amount of direct focus. Whether Esteban is sniping at Naomi from across the Grand Council table, begrudgingly accepting her as a capable colleague by the end of "Finders Leapers," teaching her to waltz (in order to show up Paloma) in "My Fair Naomi" or clinging to her when Valentina's carriage goes out of control, the two of them don't just steal the scene but positively abscond with it in the most delightful way. Plus, I love the parallels of Naomi ending the show in Esteban's former position as Chancellor. (I like to headcanon that she's gonna end up seeking a lot of advice from him for her new role and may even recruit him as her number two. He has 41 years of valuable experience that it would be shame to waste).

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

This is hardly a surprising answer, but...I do not particularly care for his relationship with Luisa. Esteban was orphaned when he was 9 at most, so he barely remembers his mother. The closest thing to a mother that he does remember is the grandmother who raised him. He needed lots of love and validation and attention, and based on what we see in canon, Luisa didn't give him nearly enough. It took years for her to realize they'd left him out of her "favorite" family painting, the flashbacks in "Dias de las Madres" suggest that she was unaware of just how lonely and vulnerable baby!Esteban was even knowing that he had just lost his parents, she gives a pretty clear impression of Elena being her favorite grandchild ( even before Esteban's secret comes out) which I am sure did *wonders* on baby!Esteban's already fragile self-esteem, and in "Coronation Day," even after she knows that Esteban helped save the kingdom (including both her and Elena), she still side-eyes Elena when Elena says that she has forgiven Esteban. tfw you sacrifice your life for your cousin's (who is also your grandma's fave) and risk it again to banish the evil time spirit, but it's still not enough to earn a long-overdue hug from your granny.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Give him very specific and sexual Shuriki-related trauma. I mean to be fair, it's not that I enjoy it so much. It's just there in my head and it happens even when I try to make fluffy and silly little plot bunnies. I would say my favorite thing that I actually enjoy doing and make an effort to do is just aggressively validate him and his feelings since he doesn't really get much of that in canon. I like having characters tell him how much he means to them, and I like for them to genuinely mean it. I like to tell him that he is capable of being loved (romantically and/or platonically ) and has the right to be loved. I like for people to recognize that he has been through so damn much and is still living with the scars that the Dark Times have left on his mind, heart, and soul. I like for other characters to come out and tell him that he's important to them, that he's fundamentally a good and worthy person even if a flawed one who lost his way for awhile, I like having characters tells him that they enjoy his company. And perhaps, most of all, I like having characters (especially Elena. but also Victor, Naomi, and probably anyone else) feel protective of him. To have them promise to take care of him and make sure that he never has to feel alone, forgotten, unloved, or helpless ever again. So basically, my favorite thing to do is aggressively project onto him and give him all the sorts of things I would want for myself as wish-fulfillment.

My least favorite thing that I sometimes see done in fic is when past (or present) Shuriki/Esteban is genuinely romanticized (as opposed to treated as inherently abusive/dubiously consensual). When their feelings are assumed to be mutual, genuine, healthy (if admittedly unconventional/unexpected), and redemptive. Particularly when Esteban tries to "save" Shuriki from Elena and/or "redeem" her from her prison cell, because he loves Shuriki/knows that she isn't really "all bad." Because no, in my view, Shuriki is far beyond any hope of redemption, and no one in Avalor would know that more than Esteban, who was forced to stay by her side and serve her for 41 years.

Now, I do think it's possible that Esteban may have developed a little bit of Stockholm syndrome towards Shuriki, based on the length of time they worked closely together, how utterly dependent on her that he had to be just in order to survive, and how desperate he's always been for just a little bit of attention/affection. But again this wouldn't be real, genuine love. At most, it would be physical attraction, and a conditioned learned dependency on her as a survival mechanism. And given the huge power imbalance between them, there's also this inevitable question of any physical and/or emotional relationship being built on a foundation of dubious consent and sexual harassment (at best).

Given that Shuriki does seem shocked and genuinely hurt when Esteban finally stands up to her in "Secret of Avalor," I think it's also possible that she did grow to care for him as much as she could possibly care for anyone. But I also think that the closest to "love" that it's possible for her to feel is casual affection (similar to what one might feel for a favorite toy) or possessive lust.

And um... so no, I do not think Shuriki is capable of love and even if she was, I don't think it would be possible for her to be rehabilitated by/through love. And even if she was, Esteban is the absolute last person I would want to do said rehabilitation work.

Shuriki personally murdered multiple members of Esteban's family, conquered and terrorized his country, and then made him do all the work of managing Avalor while giving him none of the credit. He was a stupid teenager when they met (and from what we can tell, she seems to have been at least 5-10 years older than him...possibly a lot more if she'd already started magically de-aging herself), . As such, she easily manipulated him by preying on his youth, insecurity, and naivety. (Honestly, they give me BIG "Edmund Pevensie and Jadis the White Witch" energy. Baby!Esteban was a bit older and presumably *a bit* smarter than Edmund, but still very naive and very vulnerable and therefore very susceptible to the corruptive powers of someone significantly older, crueler, and more powerful than he. )

So, it makes me super sad and uncomfy to think about Esteban wanting to be and being responsible for personally saving the life/ soul of the person who has corrupted and controlled every aspect of his life since he was 17-18. He deserves better than that. Even if I still like giving him extra trauma and having him wrestle with it.

[kiss-my-freckle]

Who's your most hated character and ship of all time? After experiences with many different fandoms over a long time my hatred of Stefan/Stelena is still #1. I absolutely fucking hate him. If Stefan Salvatore has 1 hater I am one of them lol. I definitely don't think he's a complete bad person, but the narrative that's pushed on him makes me dislike him. As if the show wasn't bad enough in how they portrayed Stefan/SE, many of his fans are so toxic that I could never stand him or Stelena as a ship. They act more like petulant children after not getting the endgame they want even though they were insanely toxic when the show aired too. Something I've noticed and have done my research on throughout multiple platforms is that Delena shippers focus less on antishipping than Stelena shippers and more of them like or are neutral towards Stefan as a character than the other way around. Also when discussing the show they are more patient with Stelena shippers than fellow Delena shippers over difference of opinion. I remember when the show was airing there was cyberbulling incidents against Delena shippers from hate blogs popularized by Stelena shippers and there was one particular incident of a Delena shipper on Tumblr committing suicide after season 3 that it even caught Julie's attention. As for Caroline I find her more likable than him even though her fans are toxic, especially about other women in the show particularly Elena and their stans. Even though she could be annoying occasionally, she was written well enough to be liked more than Stefan, and I may have liked her more if her fans weren't Karens to Elena and her stans (that's a nice way of putting it). I also feel like the show wanted people to empathize extra with Caroline like did with Stefan. For example, they wanted people to feel more bad than necessary about Caroline not getting every guy she liked immediately interested in her even though she dated all of Elena's exes and though Bonnie was more disadvantaged when it came to romance and was still a nicer person and not a slut shaming pickme. Caroline was also insensitive to Bonnie multiple times, like body shaming her and in season 8 Caroline was insensitive when Bonnie was grieving Enzo and focused more on her and Stefan. I found that strange since Caroline went off on Elena more than Matt when Matt was being inconsiderate on their double date and didn't see her as being a good friend.

Caroline is my most hated character. Romantically, Stelena is the grossest ship I've ever seen on tv, but I love them as friends. I hate Stefan's character for various reasons, but I don't hate him as much as I hate Caroline. I often refer to Stefan as the shit brother because he is. Caroline is the kind of person I'd beat the shit out of, and I very much meant that.

Going through this fandom, there's a huge difference I find among the shippers. Delena shippers don't have a problem seeing and accepting Damon's faults. They don't excuse them, but rather forgive him as Elena has. Stelena shippers are different in the fact that they excuse Stefan's actions, blame them on anything other than Stefan. That's what makes them petulant children. They're either uneducated or choose to ignore the reality of the writing for the sake of making their ship look good. Nothing they say can ever make their ship look good... just as the writers can say whatever they want in interview, it'll never change what they put on screen. Stelena is complete garbage. Stefan and Caroline are the worst characters in the show, which make them perfect for each other.

[harangularspectacular]

Recent Reading

- Once again I have failed to keep a record of my thoughts soon after reading each book, so here I am, almost a year later in some instances, trying to remember how these books have affected me. I am trying something new this time, listing the books in the order that I finished reading them:

Jonathan Franzen - Crossroads

Having grown up within an evangelical Christian environment, this was an uncannily-familiar story world to me. Needless to say, I couldn’t put this book down. I found Franzen’s engagement with ideas surrounding faith really compelling and refreshing, presenting complicated characters within a social milieu that could easily be flattened and made two-dimensional. I was a little miffed by the way the story seemed to sort of end abruptly - but I soon learned that this is the first book in a forthcoming trilogy. Needles to say (again), I look forward to reading Franzen’s next two books, whenever they are published.

Terry Pratchett - Witches Abroad

Read this one in preparation of teaching The Crucible, knowing members of my class would likely have read it as part of their curriculum the year beforehand. It was nice to revisit Pratchett’s work; I hadn’t guffawed aloud reading a book in some time (possibly not since I read The Light Fantastic, when I was sixteen?), but there was joke early on in this one that killed me. Overall, I thought this story was cute, though it is probably not among my top five favourites of the Discworld series. 

Tony Birch - Dark as Last Night

By the end of the first story, as I sat crying on a park bench, I knew that I would be reading all the short stories in this small collection. The compassion that Birch has for his characters is astounding, and deeply affecting.

Emily Brontë - Wuthering Heights

Some of the passages within this book burn on the pages with a searingly white-hot intensity of passion that I didn’t realise was possible (with the exception of some of my favourite moments from Shakespeare). What a book!

Joan Lindsay - Picnic at Hanging Rock

Taught this one for the first time, having never read it before. Three chapters of action and then a dozen-or-so chapters of miasma - the structure of this book is unlikely anything I had read. I particularly love the way that Lindsay implicates us as readers as being just as guilty of trying to impose order and narrative as the ostensible villain of the story, Mrs. Appleyard; mischief and mystery are afoot, though not necessarily in the ways one might expect. 

Elena Ferrante - My Brilliant Friend

Elena Ferrante - The Story of a New Name

Elena Ferrante - Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay

Elena Ferrante - The Story of the Lost Child

I had only planned to read the first book of Ferrante’s Neapolitan saga, but then realised at the conclusion of My Brilliant Friend that it hadn’t really concluded (practically a cliff-hanger!) - and that the four books intended as one long narrative that would otherwise be too largely to physically bind together with paper and glue... so I kept reading, trusting that it pay off eventually. (Spoiler alert: it did!) My feelings towards the four instalments, respectively: very good; kind of slow, lots of time at the beach; can’t really remember, but considering that I kept reading, probably felt that it was cooking with gas; brilliant.

Lesley Chow - You’re History: The Twelve Strangest Women in Music

bell hooks - The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love

Where to begin? I know people read this book, or other works from hooks, and then proselytise about it all the time... I get it! But you would sing, too, if you read this book. It is essential, life-changing reading. There are so many ideas and passages that have stuck with me, although the phrase “the everyday traumatisation of boys” is one that will linger with me for years to come as a haunting reminder of what I and many others have survived, and what I hope we can aspire to recover from - with (you guessed it) the will to change.

bell hooks - When Angles Speak of Love

After hearing the news of her death - unbelievably (or perhaps not, considering her influence and impact on culture) on the same day I was attending a book club meeting to discuss All About Love - I wanted to spend time with more of hooks’ writing.

Mariana Enriquez - The Dangers of Smoking in Bed

A student recommended this one to me - and I was shocked! And I am so grateful to have been shocked - it had been a long time since I had read something so engrossing and terrifying. I particularly loved the story Meat, which is about a charismatic popular music performer and their fans. 

Mariana Enriquez - Things We Lost in the Fire

Somehow, this collection is even more macabre and disturbing than the one above - and I think I liked it even more. These two books have rekindled my interest in reading translated literature from around the world; gratitude, again. I find myself often thinking of the stories The Dirty Kid, The Inn, and No Flesh Over Our Bones, all of which I loved.

Carmen Maria Machado - Her Body and Other Parties

Another collection of Gothic-horror short stories, also recommended to me by a student. Would I have found - or have read - these otherwise, in another version of my life? I don’t know; I am grateful for the ways in which my teaching work facilities new discoveries, thanks to students who are passionate about reading. I particularly loved The Husband Stitch and The Resident - the latter is vaguely reminiscent of The Shining. (Not that I have read The Shining, mind you; King’s work always seems undercut by such a strong current of misogyny that I haven’t known where to start with reading horror fiction previously.)

Angela Chen - Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex

Another where-do-I-start? book. I wish so much that this book had been written - and that I had read it - a decade ago. I found it to be so wise and enlightening; my thinking about my own body has been transformed, as has my thinking about love, relationships, sexuality and sex in general - with the minimum about of hyperbole: this book is a gift.

Kae Tempest - Let Them Eat Chaos

Helen Garner - Stories

I started reading these stories in the bath and could not stop - most of a Saturday went by as I stood in the (eventually) empty bathroom, with the afternoon light streaming through the window, unable to move to put clothes on or go about my day. I particularly treasure My Hard Heart, Civilisation and Its Discontents, and What We Say - I find myself thinking about these stories often.

Jeanette Winterson - The Passion

Lynda Barry - One! Hundred! Demons!

I think Nick Hornby is quoted on the back cover of this book as using the word ‘soulful’ to describe this autobiographical collection of comics by Lynda Barry - and yep, that’s the word that comes to mind for me, too. There is such soulful feeling in these vignettes.

Yoko Ogawa - Revenge

I haven’t read many short story cycles before, although I am becoming increasingly interested in the form. I particularly enjoyed the eponymous story fro this collection, Revenge.

William Shakespeare - The Tempest

Homer - The Odyssey

Claire Louise-Bennett - Checkout 19

Carmen Maria Machado - In the Dream House 

Intan Paramaditha - Apple and Knife

I particularly liked the stories Apple and Knife, The Blind Woman without a Toe and... another one that I have forgotten the title of, and I have since returned this book to the library.

Etgar Keret - Fly Already

I particularly liked the stories Fly Already, Tabula Rasa, and Ladder.

Bora Chung - Cursed Bunny

The first story (The Head) is very memorable, and, for perhaps the first time in my memory, my favourite story from this collection was the longest, a dark fantasy story titled Scar.

Bradley Somer - Extinction

Authors need to be banned from simultaneously writing in the present tense and from the third person perspective — what an ungodly combination! Especially if your protagonist’s name is something mind-numbingly prosaic… Anyway, I thought this was a very flawed but nonetheless interesting book — the first eco-thriller I have experienced. A colleague actually recommended this one as a book that might be worth teaching sometime in the near future.

Yukio Mishima - The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

You know how sometimes sentences can be really beautiful, but the story is totally fucked up? This is one of those, although the disturbing subject matter is perhaps less disturbing than the pro-facist allegory it seemingly represents; this is a reprehensible little book that I really enjoyed reading.

J. L. Carr - A Month in the Country

Chelsea Watego - Another Day in the Colony

Chris Flynn - Mammoth

Those final lines! (Reminiscent of the ending of his short story 22F - another stunner)

bell hooks - Teaching to Transgress

Julian K. Jarboe - Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel

I loved this short story collection - too many favourites to single any out.

Sam J. Miller - Boys, Beasts & Men

*************************************************************************

I will hopefully keep adding annotations for most of the above over the next few months - I feel overwhelmed thinking about some of them, and am not sure where I would start...

*************************************************************************

I also read selections of short stories from collections - some more than others, mostly privileging the shorter stories where possible - by Kelly Link, Silvina Ocampo, Samanta Schweblin, Julia Armfield, William Faulkner, Grace Paley, Mirandi Riwoe, Chris Flynn, and Anton Chekhov.

*************************************************************************

I have currently started reading, all the same time (a terribly slow, hazardous, and unfocused approach) the following:

Homer - The Iliad

Herman Melville - Moby Dick

James Joyce - Dubliners

Eka Kurniawan - Kitchen Curse

Chinua Achebe & C. L. Innes (Ed.) - African Short Stories: Twenty Short Stories from Across the Continent

Saadat Hasan Manto - Mottled Dawn

Robin Wall Kimmerer - Braiding Sweetgrass

Wellcome Collection (ed.) - This Book is a Plant

[none-ofthisnonsense]

Merlin S3E6, “The Changeling”

That’s a cute baby, and a pretty room!

Are those the Sidhe again?

2 episodes after the longest pre-credits scene, I’m fairly sure we’ve just gotten the shortest.

With Miriam Margolyes? Ohh I’m excited now!

They seem like a chill family?

Uther is trying to set Arthur up isn’t he. I love bumbling Uther. 

Ouch, Elena isn’t making the best first impression…

Arthur has a true talent in making an arse of himself.

PFFFFT THE PILLOW AND UTHER

Okay I don’t trust that nanny anymore.

So it is the Sidhe!

She rides well!

Honestly she’s nice! I like her! She seems normal. If clumsy.

Is Grunhilda making eyes at Gaius?? (She is. And INTENSELY flirting.) Gaius’ reaction is the best part.

Ok maybe Elena’s a bit weird.

Gaius chides Merlin for getting into trouble, but really, he’s the instigator.

HIS FACE

I do believe Morgana likes Gwen. 

“It’s the last one we’ve looked at and by the ancient laws of sod, it must provide an answer.” THE DEADPAN DELIVERY

Gwen is braver than I am.

Elena’s hair changes from one shot to the next. I don’t usually notice these things, but this is particularly obvious.

We need sleep shirt Merlin more often.

I like this episode’s interactions between Arthur and Merlin. Actually, Merlin in this episode is just such a delight. I love the “I think you’re mad, I think you’re all mad, people should marry for love.” I don’t know what it is but the delivery and the lines and all of it probably make it one of my favourite Merlin moments. (Well, him in all this episode is one of my favourite Merlin moments.)

Morgana sort of looks like a dragon. 

Arthur gets a friend! I like that :)

It’s sunny for once! This episode is just happy :)

[thatfanficstuff]

Asshole - Elijah Mikaelson

Pairing: Elijah x Reader

Warnings: Bullying, Assholes, Flangst

A/N: I’m gonna let y’all in on a little secret. When I can’t/don’t write for a long time, I find it incredibly hard to start writing regularly again. Part of me feels like I am incapable and the rest fears I am. Anyway, this took much longer than it should have. I hope you enjoy!

***

You sat at a table at the back of the Grill enjoying your own company and a well-aged Scotch. Well, as aged as it got at the Mystic Grill. You were supposed to have been spending your evening with Klaus and Kol but they’d opted out to take care of some business. Kol had sounded so sincere in his disappointment you couldn’t be mad at them.

After some indecision, you came to the Grill on your own. It had been a long week and you’d been looking forward to getting out of the house. You’d already eaten dinner and decided to have a couple of drinks before you walked home. Or maybe more than a couple since you were already on number three.

Your gaze jerked up from the glass in your hand when someone slid into the chair across from you. Seeing Damon, you started to smile before remembering he was no longer your friend. And as much as you didn’t want to let that bother you, it stung. The two of you had been near inseparable until you saved Kol from the mechanizations of the Scooby gang.

You’d chosen your side. It didn’t matter that killing Kol would have ended the lives of who knows how many vampires. Apparently slaughtering innocent people was only bad when the Mikaelsons did it. None of your friends would even attempt to see it your way. They’d cast you out and the Originals had taken you in. You tried not to be bitter about it. You even succeeded most of the time. Until moments like this anyway.

You clenched your teeth together and willed the tears that threatened to fill your eyes to fuck off. “Is there something you needed, Damon?”

Damon clicked his tongue before giving you a little smirk. “So testy. Can’t I just say hi to an old friend?”

“You can do whatever you want, but let’s not pretend that these aren’t the first words you’ve said to me in months. Whatever we are, we’re not friends. Not anymore.” And god you wished that didn’t hurt as much as it did.

He made a show of looking around the room. “I just noticed that you were alone. Not a Mikaelson in sight. Thought I’d check to see if you’ve finally come to your senses?”

You swallowed what was left of your drink in answer. Anything else you said would only lead to a repeat of the same argument you’d had a hundred times.

He tapped his fingers on the table. “I’ll take that as a no.” After a moment of silence, he pursed his lips and leaned forward. “Or perhaps they’ve learned that your loyalty is a fickle thing and they’ve kicked you out of their little family.”

“Fuck you, Damon.” You wished you hadn’t finished your drink so you could throw it in his face. “I wasn’t the disloyal one. All of you turned your back on me because I saved someone’s life.”

“Not just someone. Kol fucking Mikaelson. You knew it was a betrayal before you even did it. How were we supposed to overlook that? To ever trust you again?”

“Honestly, I thought you’d all lost your ever-loving minds. Why would any of you think it was okay to not only kill Kol but everyone that would go with him?”

“It was to save Elena.” Damon all but hissed the words.

“No. It was to make her human again. Big difference.” You leaned back with a frown and signaled for another drink. “You know, for someone that claims to love a vampire, she certainly has a deep-seated hatred for them.”

Damon’s gaze moved over you as though he were looking for something. It wasn’t until your drink was delivered that he spoke again. “They don’t care about you, you know. They never did. Getting you on their side just another way to get under our skin.”

You sipped at your drink as you looked him over. If he only knew the number of times you had convinced Klaus not to kill one of them. The number of times you’d redirected the hybrid’s rage or Kol’s anger. Then again, maybe he wouldn’t care at all. “I’m not a tool, Damon. I’d know if they were using me.”

His ever-present smirk faded as his eyes turned cold. “Would you? You believed everything I told you readily enough. Of course, you were so lonely you would have believed most anything, wouldn’t you? Anything to have a friend. Somewhere to go where you weren’t alone.”

You clenched your teeth tightly and refused to meet his gaze as he threw confessions made over late night glasses of Scotch back at you. “Were you never my friend then?” You hated yourself for asking the question. Even more for the way your voice broke as you did.

He tilted his head. “Oh sweetheart, why would I have been?”

And with that, he was gone. So nice of him to stop by. You downed what was left of your drink and signaled for another.

By the time you determined no amount of alcohol was going to erase Damon’s words from your brain, you were well and truly drunk. When the waitress came by to check on you, you ordered a glass of water and pulled out your phone.

You tapped your finger against the back of it as you thought. Going home to your empty house meant wallowing in self-pity until you passed out and then probably doing the same thing when you woke. Kol or Klaus were always your first call at moments like this, but you had no idea what kind of business they had to do and didn’t want to interrupt if it was something important. The last thing you needed was for them to be angry with you as well. Rebekah was out of town.

That left Elijah. You weren’t as close to him as the others through no fault of his. No, he’d gone out of his way to make you feel welcome, to extend the hand of friendship. But you were painfully shy when he was around. If there was one thing in life that could be counted on, it was the fact that you would be incredibly awkward around anyone you felt the slightest interest in. Poor Elijah probably thought you hated him. Klaus however thought the way you clammed up in his brother’s presence was hilarious.

Maybe that was the only reason they kept you around. Because you entertained them. At this point, did it really matter? Even if they didn’t need you, you needed them. Without the Mikaelsons you would be completely, utterly alone. Maybe you should start thinking about moving on. You could just start over somewhere else. Preferably somewhere with no supernatural drama. That would be fantastic.

After giving it another moment’s thought, you pressed the screen and called Elijah.

He answered on the second ring. “Y/N. Lovely to hear from you. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Tears flooded your eyes at the warmth in his voice and a lump formed in your throat. “I’m sorry to bother you, Elijah. I just…” You trailed off and sucked in a deep breath to keep from crying.

“Is everything all right?”

You cleared your throat. “Not really, no. Could you come pick me up at the Grill?”

“Of course.”

You hung up and slid your phone back into your pocket. After pushing yourself to your feet, you stood still for a moment to get your bearings. When you glanced toward the bar to signal for your check, your gaze met Damon’s. He smirked as he ran his eyes over you and saluted you with his glass, clearly knowing he was the reason for your current state. Deciding to wait for Elijah outside, you tossed enough money on the table to take care of your ticket and a generous tip.

The cool air bit at your skin as you stepped outside. You moved to the end of the building and leaned against the wall. You tilted your head back to lean against the brick. Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath of the crisp air to sober yourself up a bit and drive back the tears.

“It’s not safe for you to be out here by yourself, Y/N. You never know who might wander by.” Damon’s voice cut through you but you maintained your position.

“Why are you doing this?” Relief flooded you when your voice didn’t break. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “Just leave me alone.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

The only response that came to mind was telling him to fuck off so you kept your mouth shut and ignored him. Or you tried to at any rate.

A firm hand grabbed your chin and tilted your head down. The pressure he applied was enough to send a jolt of pain through your jaw. Your eyes shot open at the violation. “Don’t ignore me.”

You jerked your head to the side and he released you. “Don’t touch me.” At least the anger chased away the tears.

He placed his hands on either side of your head and leaned in until barely a breath separated you. You pushed against him though it did no good. You knew it wouldn’t but you couldn’t just stand there and let him do whatever he wanted. “Get away from me, Damon.”

“Why should I? You like vampires, don’t you, Y/N?”

Your eyes darted up to meet his and you realized that your comments about Elena had bothered him just as much as his words hurt you. Good. Asshole. “I like some vampires. I’m not particularly fond of you at the moment.”

He snarled and shoved himself off the wall putting some much needed space between the two of you. “You think you’re better than me? You’re nothing. Less than nothing. The only attention you received from me was pity.” Every word he threw at you struck like a physical blow. And the smile that crossed his face told you he was very much aware of it. But he wasn’t finished yet. “I pitied you, took you in and you repaid me by siding with the Mikaelsons. God only knows what they’re still keeping you around for but when they finish with you—after they’ve taken whatever it is they want from you—don’t come crying to us. Frankly, I’m glad to be rid of you. We all are.”

Hot tears began to leak down your cheeks and you wanted nothing more than to escape. Before you could run away or even think of another response, Damon was slammed face first into the wall beside you. You jumped away in response, relaxing when you saw it was Elijah holding him there. He had Damon’s arm twisted behind his back and kept him pressed to the wall with a hand between his shoulder blades.

“Get off me,” Damon demanded as he struggled to free himself.

Elijah ignored him, placing all of his attention on you. “Are you all right?”

You swallowed past the lump in your throat. “I’m not injured if that’s what you mean. He was just being an asshole.”

He hummed as he arched a brow. “Yes, well, it is Damon.”

The corner of your mouth kicked up and you wiped the tears from your cheeks. Elijah stepped back, pulling Damon away from the wall in the process though he still didn’t release him. “In the future, it would be wise for you to leave Y/N alone. The next time we have this conversation won’t end as pleasantly for you.” Only then did he let him go and Damon was gone in the blink of an eye.

Elijah placed his hand on your back to direct you to his car parked a short distance away. It wasn’t until he’d started to drive that either of you said anything.

“Would you mind just driving around for a while? If it’s not too much of a bother I mean.”

The silence stretched but you resisted the urge to look at him. Fresh tears were running down your cheeks and you preferred to keep that to yourself for the time being.

“Of course, it’s not a bother,” he finally responded, his voice quiet, concerned. “Whatever you need.”

Some time later you wiped the tears from your cheeks and turned to watch Elijah drive. His face was drawn and he had a firm grip on the steering wheel. He glanced your direction and smiled when he met your gaze. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You shrugged a shoulder. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Certainly.”

“Why do you keep me around?”

“What?” He couldn’t have sounded more surprised if he tried.

You turned your attention back to the view from your window. “Not you specifically. All of you. I mean, you don’t owe me anything if that’s what you think. Or maybe you just feel bad for me because everyone else is mad at me. You don’t have to. I’d do okay on my own.”

Elijah didn’t respond right away and you figured he was trying to think of a way to gently break the truth. Just as you were about to tell him it wasn’t necessary, the car slid to a smooth stop. You glanced around to see nothing but trees and you hadn’t been paying attention to the direction Elijah drove from town. You had no idea where you were.

“Look at me, Y/N.”

You turned in your seat so you faced him as much as possible. His dark gaze ran over you and if you didn’t know better, you’d swear you saw sorrow in his eyes. After a moment, he cleared his throat. “What exactly happened tonight?”

You glanced away as your hands twisted together in your lap. “Nothing. I told you he was just being an asshole.”

“Why don’t you try expanding on that a bit, sweetheart. I’m afraid I’m not buying it at the moment.”

You stayed silent as you figured out how to phrase everything so it would make sense.

“Y/N—” Elijah started and you held up a hand to cut him off.

“The thing about your best friend deciding they hate you is that they take everything they know about you and use it to hurt you. And god, Damon’s a pro at it. He hits the mark every time.”

“What do you mean every time? Has this happened before?” The irritation in Elijah’s voice made you smile.

“Not for a while. Right after the whole Kol thing, it happened almost daily. I figured he was done being an ass to me. Guess I was wrong.”

“Why did you not say anything?”

You shrugged again. “It didn’t seem important at the time. I just quit going anywhere I might run into him or the others unless one of you was with me. I figured it had been long enough I’d be safe to have dinner and a couple of drinks without a bodyguard.”

His hand reached out to cover yours where they still twisted together in your lap. Your face heated immediately but you didn’t pull away. “Y/N, if it was bad enough to keep you from living your life the way you wished, it was very important. I can’t believe none of us were aware of this.”

You shook your head, not wanting to argue the point. “It was just pokes. Snide comments, dirty looks. Tonight though…He said he was never my friend. That he pitied me and took me in and I betrayed them. He said there was no reason for anyone to ever be my friend.” Your voice trailed off at the end until it was barely audible. And once again you found yourself unable to look the vampire in the eyes.

He hummed in acknowledgement and released his hold on your hands. Seconds later he was out of the car and opening your door. He offered you a hand to help you out and you took it with no hesitation. He led you toward the front of the car before lifting you and placing you on the hood. You looked up at him with wide eyes as he stepped forward, placing himself between your knees.

One hand settled on your waist while the other hooked around the side of your neck, his thumb tracing the line of your jaw. You swallowed past the lump in your throat as he stared down at you with a serious expression. “Listen to me, Y/N. The Mikaelsons pity no one. We are a thousand years old. We have long ceased wasting our time on those that we deem unworthy. Damon is simply pissed that he never wormed his way into your bed before you proved yourself to be monumentally out of his league.”

The corner of your mouth kicked up a bit at that though you weren’t sure you believed him. There was one part of what Damon said that still bothered you. “He said once you all get what you want from me, you’ll toss me away and I’ll be alone again.”

His hold tightened enough to let you know he was upset but not enough to hurt. His jaw set and he took several breaths before responding. “The only thing my siblings desire from you is your companionship, Y/N.”

There was a brief flash of hurt that he hadn’t included himself in the statement. The look in his eyes had you pressing for more. “And you? What do you desire from me, Elijah?”

The press of his lips against yours was an answer you could never have anticipated. His hands pulled you forward and you slid off the hood to erase the space between your bodies. The hand on your neck shifted to bury his fingers in your hair while his other arm wrapped around your waist. Your hands gripped the lapels on his jacket as you tried to pull him closer.

Finally, the two of you separated and your chest heaved as you sucked in much needed air. “That was…unexpected,” you breathed.

“Unexpected but not unwelcome I hope.” A smile flirted with his lips as his dark gaze studied you.

You shook your head and he kissed you again before resting his forehead against yours. “I’m sorry Damon hurt you, Y/N. I won’t allow it to happen again.”

“How can he possibly hurt me when I have you to protect me?”

His low chuckle rolled through you as you leaned up to kiss him again. As his hands gripped your waist you couldn’t help but be a little bit grateful that Damon was such an asshole.

[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​

[jkottke]

My Recent Media Diet, the Fully Vaccinated Edition

Every few months for the past couple of years, I've shared the movies, books, music, TV, and podcasts I've enjoyed (or not) recently. Here's everything I've "consumed" since early February, accompanied by a mini review.

How To with John Wilson. What happens near the end of the risotto episode got all the attention, but I'm all about the bag of chips saga. (B+)

Black Art: In the Absence of Light. I can listen to artists and critics talk about art all day long. Also? Everyone in this has impeccable eyewear. (A)

Spirited Away. A masterpiece. (A)

Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine (BNT162b2). Possibly the best experience of the past 5 years. (A+++++)

Casino Royale. The best of the Daniel Craig Bonds IMO. (B+)

The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante. Another marvelously constructed world with vibrant characters by Ferrante. (A)

Wandavision. A love letter to television. Watched this with the kids and we all loved it. (A)

Looper. This is perhaps my favorite type of movie: clever sci-fi with a creative director and good actors that give a shit. (A-)

Sonic the Hedgehog. Jim Carrey is the highlight here and not much else. (C+)

The Remains of the Day. One of my favorite movies. I've watched this every few years since 1993 and what I get out of it changes every time. Great book too. (A+)

Judas and the Black Messiah. Fantastic performances by Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield. (A)

Zack Snyder's Justice League. Way too long and nearly pointless. This is what happens when you start treating the director of Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole like an auteur. (B-)

A Promised Land by Barack Obama. I recommend the audiobook version of this. You can really tell the bits of the book he cares about and the stuff he phones in a little bit more. The tone of his voice when he talks about Michelle -- that love is real. (B+)

Making Sense -- The Boundaries of Self. I listened to this conversation with the poet David Whyte at the beginning of March and it was exactly what I needed to hear at that time. I must have listened to his short essay on Friendship about 5 times. (A)

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. About the invention of the wireless telegraph and the beginning of our abundantly connected world. (B+)

Still Processing - The N Word. The way that Morris and, particularly, Wortham use inclusive language is fascinating. They invite people into the conversation without any loss of insight or critical capability. A bracing rebuttal to the idea that using so-called "woke" language is hamstringing discourse in America. (A-)

Matilda by Roald Dahl. Read this aloud to the kids and was told my rendition was not nearly as good as Kate Winslet's. (B+)

You're Wrong About (The continuing OJ saga). This has become the show's version of Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine, with entire episodes dedicated to explaining mere minutes of the trial. I am here for it. (A)

Godzilla vs. Kong. I watched this after eating an edible and I think that's the perfect way to do it. Monsters, roar! (B)

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. One of my favorite Trek movies. (A-)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Less popular with me and the kids than Wandavision. Occasionally fun but also kind of a mess, especially when it comes to the "moral of the story". (B)

The Talk Show with Craig Mod. Every single second of this 2.5-hour-long conversation between Craig Mod and John Gruber felt like it was created specifically for me. (A-)

Rough Translation - Liberté, Égalité, French Fries... And Couscous. A follow-up to a classic episode about a French McDonald's that was commandeered by its employees. (B+)

Unstoppable. The perfect movie. I wouldn't change a thing. (A)

Pac-Man 99. A nice update to this venerable game. The kids dismissed it as "too hectic". (B+)

Fortnite. The perfect game for introverts -- you can actually win by cleverly avoiding crowds and then dealing with a much more manageable 1-on-1 situation. But also I am old and there are too many buttons on this controller. (B+)

Croupier. Young Clive Owen, wow. (B+)

HazeOver. Recommended to me by Mike Davidson, this macOS app dims background windows to help you focus on your work. (B+)

Titanic. Had to rewatch after Evan Puschak's video about it. Still an amazingly effective blockbuster movie. (A)

For All Mankind (Season One). So many people have recommended this to me over the past year and I finally got around to watching it. I was hooked within the first 5 minutes. (A)

The Mitchells vs. The Machines. Entertaining and stylistically interesting. (B+)

NYC. So much to say about this city and the resilience of the people who call it home. Still undefeated. (A)

Throughline -- The Real Black Panthers. Great podcast on the political agenda and strategy of the Black Panther Party. A natural companion to Judas and The Black Messiah. (A)

Frick Madison. They have like 10% of the world's Vermeers in just one room! (B+)

The Whitney. Great to be back here to see the work of Dawoud Bey and Julie Mehretu. (A)

The outdoor dining situation in NYC. The city has to keep this and the pandemic pedestrian areas reclaimed from cars. More room for people, less room for cars. (A)

Fairfax. This is the sister restaurant to my two favorite places in NYC, both of which closed permanently because of the pandemic, and the first restaurant I've been to since March 2020. We ate outside, I had too many cocktails, and it was perfect. (A+)

Past installments of my media diet are available here.

[muthaz-rapapa]

HealPre Final Review: Not terrible but not entirely laudable either...

*sigh* Where do I start?

Well, one thing I’m pretty sure of is that COVID definitely affected production somehow. By that, I don’t just mean the show needing to go on hiatus, resulting in a shorter run compared to previous seasons. I’m also talking about any possible changes that might’ve been made to the original narrative, if there was one.

Much like how Suite’s story had to be altered in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster, I believe Heal underwent a similar treatment in response to the pandemic becoming more widespread as 2020 went on.

Especially since it dealt with health and nature, HealPre is probably the season that has come the closest in relevancy to real life events.

Frankly, that can be quite scary because this virus was and is still a fucking nightmare on a massive global scale. From that view, I can understand why the writers/producers would be concerned of the anime hitting too near home. At least for their main demographic’s (children) sake, maybe they were compelled to shift to something lighter and less edgier so that the kids could find some comfort and enjoyment in the midst of the world’s current crisis.

So I can’t fault Toei for that, if that’s really the case. Going through a pandemic is terrifying, infuriating and exhausting and UGH. We could use something that can help ease our worries or momentarily distract us even a little bit. 

Though would it have killed them to dedicate one episode to the importance of wearing a mask or washing hands? (-_- ;;)

HOWEVER! Seeing as I am not a fragile child, I’ve still got several (oho~) criticisms to air out before I put this season behind me. This review isn’t particularly scathing but...there is a lot of discontent so you’ve been forewarned.

But first, let’s tediously review what structure means in Precure.

We all know that there are certain things that will forever (?) remain fixed in the series formula.

The plot is always going to be “magical girls fight evil doers threatening to ruin the world”.

There are plot points to indicate story progression but in reality, are put there to correspond with toy releases which are usually marked by these five: introductions, first power up, midseason Cure, second power up, and build-up to the climax + finale.

There is usually a specific message (a theme) to be told with every season and motifs (narrative tools) to aid in getting that across. For HealPre, the theme is “living is fighting” and its motifs are “health” and “nature”.

I left out “animals” b/c 1) it didn’t hold as much significance as the other two did, 2) animals are part of nature anyway and 3) let’s be real, it’s just a synonym for “mascots” which we already get every year. :P

Right. I’m probably forgetting something but for the most part, these are immovable pillars of Precure.

Story, on the other hand, has more variables you can work with.

Story is how you tell the plot, how you convey the message.

Precure, as a tv series, is unarguably carried by its main stars, the Cures. So it only makes sense that a huge percentage of a season’s success owes itself to how much of an impact its characters had on the audience as well as how effective their individual story arcs were as sub-plots tying back to the bigger picture (the message/theme).

Ideally, these arcs would shine the brightest in the filler episodes, where the plot  (“good guys vs. bad guys”) is less of a focus so there is more space for personal development and growth.

Also, not all character arcs have to be directly related to the plot but they ought to be written well in order to support the overarching message (the theme).

Now, has HealPre done that? Has each girl’s story demonstrated a good example of what “living is fighting” means?

...nnnnnnyyeeee... look, even I can’t give a straightforward answer on that because while technically they did, by virtue of Nodoka’s observance in ep 44 recounting it as such, there’s also actually not enough to make it feel substantial from a viewer’s standpoint.

At least, that’s what I thought while watching HealPre.

With the exception of Nodoka’s, there was a lot of saying but not much doing to convincingly back the other girls’ arcs up. The fillers themselves were very weak, loosely composed in relation to the motifs and, if I may be so blunt, downright boring that if Nodoka didn’t phrase those episodes as things that counted towards the theme, I probably would put up more of a fight on disagreeing. so shoot me, I’m soft for her :P

And I know that sounds confusing right now but I will elaborate as I continue.

Before that though, to be utterly fair, some seasons keep their respective themes shrouded in vagueness until they’re given a more concrete form in words around the finale. So it’s not like we can do much except make educated guesses on what they really are. Most of the time, we’re just measuring everything against our perception of a standard in the fog. Or maybe that’s just me?

Nevertheless, you can just tell, y’know? By simply watching and observing the whole show, you can tell if the characterization, the development, and the outcome (essentially the content given) really live up to what the season claims is endgame.

So let’s go through that first then. The characters, starting with our lead Cure...

Nodoka being the only Cure in her team to have an arc deserving of the praise “exceptional” should come as a surprise to no one.

She was the most solid in terms of direction on how her story was going to proceed. Out of all the girls, her journey had the greatest connection to the subject “health”, repeatedly delved into it every time the spotlight was on her and fulfilled everything it seemed to promise from her debut in episode 1.

Her struggles on the road to recovery from a long-term illness and the strength she’s drawn from that traumatizing experience as well as her time as Precure did more than establish her as the strongest character in HealPre.

She has also rose to become one of the most memorable Pink Cures in the entire franchise (personally, I rank her in the top 5).

And it’s not hard to see why she’s earned such high regard in a lot of fans’ hearts.

The writers clearly worked a lot on her character composition to the point where she can pretty much embody the theme of “living is fighting” all on her own.

She came into HealPre fresh out of the hospital and full of earnest desire to make the most of her newfound freedom but she also wasn’t without knowledge on what hardship is. From there, she only got stronger, even when she was stumbling and trying to figure things out along the way. She grew more fortified in her beliefs on what it means to be truly live a healthy life.

She bravely defied the ones who attempted to take advantage of her and twist her cause against her. And she learned that taking care of herself is equally as important as wanting others to be safe from harm.

It was never about winning or coming out on top. It was about protecting a fundamental yet precious truth. That one thing any decent human being should never have to concede: the right to live well.

Honestly, Nodoka is absolutely inspiring all around, as a fictional character, a heroine and a normal everyday person.

Everything about her arc went satisfyingly right like it was meant to and the best thing is, we don’t need to question it because we saw how it all happened with our very own eyes.

I sincerely wished I could say the same for the others but sadly, they were just too flawed.

And Pegitan can throw flippers with me all day if he wants but as undeniable as the above statements are about Chiyu, her arc failed to leap over the increasingly mounting disappointment I had with every episode that’s been assigned solely to her.

Two of which weren’t even about Chiyu. One centered on Pegitan’s admiration for his partner and the other focused on her brother, Touji. Which, while nice to give to supporting/secondary characters, is a fat waste of valuable screentime and not what I’m here for.

It also didn’t help that the conflict of her arc (the indecision over choosing between two dreams) started really late in the game and was resolved so quickly within two episodes. There was no time for me to get invested into it, there was no powerful sense of conviction like how Go!Pri or Hugtto handled theirs and really, it just felt like Chiyu was only following what the script dictated for her rather than genuinely awakening to her own competitive passion towards track and field.

It was almost like it didn’t matter. Almost as if the writers procrastinated in thinking up something worthwhile to further her development...but then settled on grabbing an old idea off the shelf without refining it to suit Chiyu when they ran out of time.

This happened similarly with Minami in Go!Pri and Elena in StarPre, both of whom left me angry at how their arcs were executed. Yet theirs don’t compare to how pissed off I am about Chiyu’s. Because while Minami’s took a while to arrive, it wasn’t done poorly and linked back to Go!Pri’s theme well enough. And while Elena’s was over crammed last minute, at least it was unique to her character and had lots of potential ways to play out if they actually started it earlier on in StarPre.

Chiyu’s arc is like a discount version of the former with hardly any of the intriguing qualities of the latter. Sure, she had two early episodes that laid out the two most important aspects of her life (her family inn and her dedication to her sport) but after that, they weren’t brought up again until we were only weeks away from the ending. Y’know, just to fill up episode slots and meet the minimal requirement of saying they did give Chiyu some issue to resolve. 

It was not engaging at all.

Furthermore, the fact that her arc had very little to no relation with either “health” or “nature” hurt my appreciation of her character somewhat. I just...don’t think her kind of story really matches with the central topics of HealPre?

...but maybe I’m being bitter about this all wrong and that’s screwing up my rational thinking on this matter.

Because Chiyu’s arc is valid under the logic of the overall theme, I would never say it isn’t. And again, character arcs don’t have to be close to the plot nor is it necessary to employ the “suffering builds character” method to make them interesting.

Chiyu always does her best every day. That’s sufficient argument on why her story does fit within the frame of HealPre’s premise.

Guess I’ll just have to wrangle my resistance into acceptance somehow.

...still, her arc could’ve been done so much better than what we were given. Chiyu at least deserved that much.

Next, Hinata.

Since the beginning, I knew she was gonna be runner-up to Nodoka for having the (for lack of better term atm) “best” arc because it was heavily implied that she has ADHD and therefore, immediately checked off the “health” trait. She was even more obvious about it than Nozomi was.

Difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, impulsiveness. Hinata didn’t just display all those signs, she also showed how hard it was for her to deal with the downsides to them on a regular basis.

She kept apologizing and put herself down excessively for inconveniencing her friends even though they never blamed her for her condition. Got them annoyed a few times, yes, but didn’t stop them from staying friends with her and definitely didn’t make them hate her either.

Everybody was understanding of Hinata...except Hinata because she always took her failures to heart and considered quitting several times to avoid the crushing dejection of making mistakes over and over again.

She got better, though, and no one could have summed it up more heartwarmingly than Nyatoran with the encouraging words he gave her at the conclusion of her arc. 

But it still feels like there’s a huge chunk of development missing between the start and finish. Or rather, it seemed like all of it occurred offscreen and we were only informed later that it did in fact, happen.

To recap, iirc, Hinata had around 5 episodes that focused on her (ep 9, 13, 23, 35 and 40). Ep 18 doesn’t count because that was a Nyatoran-centric filler more than anything.

Ep 9 and 13 did their jobs of introducing and highlighting the details of Hinata’s troubles while also suggesting she will eventually learn to overcome her insecurities. The ones after, though? They pushed those issues to the backseat.

In Ep 23, she had to share the (uneven) spotlight with Asumi. Hinata’s improvements were briefly mentioned but the majority of the ep went to teaching Asumi what “cute” meant and how to get along with puppies. I mean, I get that Asumi recently joined the group and bonding with her was mandatory by tradition. But since each Cure only gets a limited number of eps to herself, it would’ve been more beneficial for Hinata if she didn’t have to split screentime with someone else’s growth schedule.

Ep 35 is slightly better but not by a whole lot. Sure, Natasha was able to reconcile with Elizabeth which was very sweet and heck, it was the goal for that episode. But again, nothing was really done or addressed about Hinata’s main conflict. She tossed it back with the rest of her homework to deal with later. ahaha, a TroPre hint

Then ep 40 came to formally close the curtains on her story and apparently, Hinata screwed up lots of times since...whenever but she picked herself up every time after and kept on trying. Awesome. So WHY didn’t we get to see that? 

I’m not asking for the impossible here. I’m not asking for Hinata to be cured or anything miraculous like that. There is treatment available for ADHD but it is not curable.

Also, forcing Hinata to find a way to get better at studying, the thing she struggles with the most, is not the solution either because that would only make her more stressed and anxious over her own disorder.

What I want is to see how she moved from wailing “I can’t do it! I don’t wanna! I’m so scared of failing so why bother?!” to determinedly declaring “So what if I failed 1 or 100 times? So what if I fail another 1000 times? What matters is that I don’t let that stop me!”

That confidence is not something that can be built up overnight. It’s gradual and it takes numerous tries to reach from where Hinata was to where Hinata is now.

Telling me she grew emotionally stronger can only allow me to believe so much. I need to actually witness the changes as well.

If it weren’t for that, Hinata’s arc would have been a lot more impressive. Shame.

Finally............... Asumi.

Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi... *sighs & drums fingers*

...she has no arc, ok? Seriously, what story is there to speak of, much less write a hefty analysis on?

A spirit born for the sake of Latte who just went along with the Precure ride because Latte didn’t want to abandon her duty. She made friends with those who aren’t Latte, extended her knowledge and understanding and gained valuable human experience during her stay on Earth. But ultimately, she will always define her entire existence around a puppy. 

Nothing is more important than this puppy.

...... to be honest, Asumi not having a storyline isn’t what bothers me. It’s her lack of depth that does.

Hell, even the giant burger she ate had more depth than she did!

Oh, Asumi does have a personality alright. She’s consistently and unfailingly polite, utterly devoted to her raison d’être and in crucial moments, gives pearls of wisdom when the girls are in a pinch. She’s good.

But if that’s all she is, then she’s also painfully dull.

She has nothing to contribute to the discussion of health or nature, despite being created through an element of the Earth so you’d think she’d have an opinion of her own. At least worry about the planet that gave life to her as much as she frets over Latte all the time. But nope.

She shares the exact same face as Teatine’s past Precure partner so you’d think we’d explore that connection to see if it would influence or affect her in any way. But nope.

90% of the time, her role was just being Latte’s constant, fawning satellite.

Not only did that irritate the hell out of me but it just reinforced my stance that this type of character is one of the worst you can ever insert into any narrative.

Because if someone keeps reiterating how much they’re obsessed with this one thing and seldom talks about anything else without bringing their obsession into it... then what’s so special about them on their own?

You’ve practically surrendered the different qualities you could have had for worship of something else. That’s not a fair trade-in.

Asumi’s character is so packed with Latte-related stuff that there’s not much space left for anything that can be considered uniquely Asumi.

I mean, maybe it’s because I can never see myself or any normal person comfortable with living like that.

Living for the sake of being together with the one you love? Okay. But living with your whole universe revolving around that one thing? Making most if not all decisions based on this one thing?

No. That’s absolutely crazy, alright? Nobody with a healthy amount of awareness and self-worth would live like that.

And you can counter that Asumi’s just born like that. That she can’t help her origins because Teatine’s wish to protect her daughter is essentially what brought Asumi into existence so of course, her biggest concern would be Latte. At least, she wasn’t forced into it, right? As long as Asumi chose of her own will to follow Latte, it should be fine, right?

You can even use the fact that Asumi isn’t human. That she’s a spirit and we shouldn’t apply our human standards too strictly to her.

Yea, but those are feeble defenses in the face of her being a good main character, a good main heroine. 

There are many ways to make a decent MC. The way Asumi was written proves she certainly does not possess traits that can classify her as true protagonist material. A protagonist has to be more than one amplified feature, which Asumi is not.

For the record, I don’t hate Asumi (she’s not interesting enough to generate a feeling that intense). I'm just severely let down because even if I don’t end up loving the midseason Cure for whatever reason, I can usually count on them to bring something intriguing to the table to dissect and analyze. At least I should find something to care about them.

Didn’t happen with her. :(

Oh god, I’ve been working on this post for days now and I’ve got a headache and with the baton pass happening in less than a few hours as I type this, I just really need to get it done and over with so please forgive me for speeding up through the rest, I’ll try to keep it as coherent as possible. NYARGH! (@_@ ;;)

Mascots.

Would you be surprised to hear that I’m not surprised that they were actually written very well?

Like I said early on, I suspected the return of fairy partnerships were going to improve the mascots’ significance in the story and, well, I was right. 

This time, they didn’t just fill in the usual expectations of relaying exposition, serving as the Cures’ transformation devices and looking cute for the merchandise. The Healing Animals had to make progress on their own training to become doctors as well.

And they did through their relationships with their human partners.

It was a refreshing take on the mascot aspect of the series because the friendships felt really symbiotic. When the trainees arrived on Earth, they relied on the girls to help them perform their jobs as well as provide them with shelter, food, the occasional peptalk about their trainee status, etc.

Then as the story continued and they got to know each other better, the mascots were able to return the favor by giving support when the Cures needed it. Rabirin when Nodoka was frightened and confused about how to deal with Daruizen, Pegitan when Chiyu was having trouble choosing between two dreams and Nyatoran who made sure to always lift Hinata’s spirits up when she got upset at herself.

In short, they achieved their objectives of learning what it means to be good doctors by being there for their friends! How wonderful! :D

My memory for Latte is hazy, unfortunately, since she’s coddled by everyone all the time (can’t blame them, she’s friggin’ adorable! <3) but I’ll never forget how she stood firm on the battlefield to see things through, to fight for the Earth like she promised her mother. She started out so babie but showed us all there was enormous bravery behind her cute face and ugh, we should all be very proud of her! <3

The only major issues I had about the mascots were these:

1) Too many irrelevant fillers went to them. They only needed a maximum of two for their entire mascot group.

2) Latte kept getting sick even after she acquired a Precure partner of her own. I was hoping it wouldn’t hurt her as much as it did before Asumi arrived or that she would build up a stronger immunity but noooo, they insisted on torturing the poor pupper! T_T

Villains + Finale Battle

Not a lot needs to be said for the first part. We’ve had mediocre antagonists before. HealPre’s just happened to be extra annoying as they were despicable. 

Which is worse because jerks you can just leave in the trash but assholes won’t stop harassing you unless you pummel them into their graves, set fire to their corpses and leave no trace of them behind! >:(

Y’all know who I’m talking about. Opinions on him continue to vary depending on who you talk to and if they’re avid fans of his face or not but whatever. The son of a bitch served his purpose and is dead now. That’s all that matters to me.

Anyway, the King was flat like his two lesser generals. He was neither intimidating nor distinguished enough in the brand of evil to really make us think of him as a serious threat and because of that, it ended up making the boss fight look like any run of the mill boss fight.

I know, they tried so hard with all that shiny animation but it just didn’t have that glorious sense of vindication that previous seasons (or ep 42) gave and I blame it all on this Rumiko Takahashi reject.

Also, this strategy was pretty useless?

They built it up like Earth was gonna sacrifice herself and die or something (she wouldn’t and even if she came close, deus ex machina would’ve kicked in to prevent that and COVID-induced caution too I guess). 

But there were no signs of pain (well, that’s a relief) after absorbing Shindoi-ne and they really pissed King Byogen off more than they did any damage with the absorbed byo-gen power.

...so yea, this tactic was just to kill some time and budget, nothing more. Meh.

By the way, did Asumi eject Shindoi-ne’s pathogen out of her body yet or did they just leave it in there to bounce around until it eventually dissolves on its own?

Because that’s eww. I mean, it’s obviously not gonna hurt Asumi they can both relate on hyperfocusing their affection for someone so maybe the compatibility helps :P but still, ewwwww.

Fillers + Underused Motifs

In hindsight, perhaps HealPre didn’t exactly promise the content we I wanted about “health” and “nature” if their objective was to teach that any manner of “fighting” can count towards “living”.

......but fuck you Toei, you’re still cowards! >:/

Fillers will be fillers but it’s always better to try and make some of them as meaningful as possible. And they wasted the opportunity to inform an impressionable audience (during a very crucial period of our time, I must add) on a lot of things related to the HealPre’s motifs. Especially about the environment which for some ridiculous reason, they chose not to touch on for the main stretch of the overall story.

Proper hygiene, good diet plan and sleeping habits, regular exercise (already done by the girls a few times but could use another example), meditation, counseling/therapy (especially for mental health!), etc.

Real life pollution, climate change/global warming (IMPORTANT!!), deforestation, preservation vs conservation, endangered species, recycling, volunteering to clean up your community, etc.

These just came off the top of my head but yes, there’s more and no, I’m not saying that the writers need to cover all of them in extreme detail or replace the slice-of-life episodes.

But they should be able to mesh both serious and light-hearted together in harmony somehow. Like those fillers where the mascots saw people cleaning up littering at the park or that interaction with that arborist who taught them about wild animals and trees when the group went to visit a lake.

For health, maybe let the girls visit patients with chronic illness in the hospital or have them converse with a medical professional on some matter. Particularly if it’s got something to do with mental illness because stigma in Japan on those who are afflicted with such conditions is still prevalent and has caused a number of sad and shocking tragedies that could have otherwise been avoided if people didn’t have such outdated, judgmental mindsets.

That last part might be too dark for a children’s anime but there’s a lot more out there that is doable.

Do that without reducing it into a footnote, Toei. It is so necessary for your target audience to be aware of these issues at the age they are now. You have an almost 20-year old franchise to serve as a very effective platform. Make better use of it if you truly care about the message you’re conveying through your show!

Also, what the fuck.

The last episode was a mess. Why are you only mentioning this now when the season is already over?

This should’ve been brought up months ago!

All the things we could’ve seen the Cures done to protect the Earth without magic.

The excuse of “I didn’t know humans were so horrible!” is a shit one because everybody knows humans are deplorable trash when it comes to abusing the Earth. All the more reason why you have to persistently drill it into people’s heads that they should not be like those who don’t care or choose not to care.

One crack episode isn’t going to cut that.

God, I so want to unsee this ep just so I don’t have to end HealPre on a more sour note than it already was. *big aggrieved sigh*

Lastly (and this really is the end of my long ranting, I promise), the missing undisclosed lore.

There are few Precure seasons without a past lore of its own in the recent years. Is it a wonder, though?

Lore is mysterious and fascinating. If it involves a past Precure, even more so.

Sometimes fans might just hang onto a show because they’re curious about what happened before the main story. We’d never get the full tale of those adventures but at least, it’s fun to imagine the “prequel”.

Also, past Precure are just badass. Fact.

Strangely enough, we didn’t get that for Heal. All we know is that she was called “Fuu” and was very close to Teatine. 

Hmm. Probably one of those changes caused by COVID interference cuz I can’t imagine the writers choosing not to tell her past in the original draft.

With all that finally off my chest, I’m ready to part ways with you girls until the next All Stars (Nodoka, I’m gonna miss you so much! T_T)

HealPre wasn’t the worst and it was nowhere near the best that it had the potential to be. But it’s passable. At least for those who loved it even with its flaws, I’m genuinely glad it was good for you.

For those who are thinking about picking it up (although why you would read this spoilery post before watching, I have no idea), if you’re looking for a standard magical girl anime to enjoy casually, then this is a safe pick. If you really want to invest your attention and heart into it, though? Then perhaps it would be in your interest to ask someone who saw it already to help you filter out the episodes that are worth watching. You don’t need to worry about the rest, they’re inconsequential. :P

Ok then! Thanks for reading as always, brave souls who have reached this point. 

Stay healthy and safe out there and I’ll see you at the beach next week! Tropic underwater paradise here we coooooommmmmeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! xDDD

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Eurovision Semifinal 1 reactions/thoughts:

Well, I can't be bothered to try to navigate through the YouTube page (and probably spoil myself in the process), so I guess I will watch a national broadcaster with commentary. Watching on SVTPlay.  

Have to say, 3500 screaming, apparently unmasked audience members crowded together (zero social distancing!) in a place with 30+ cases per 100K people and a test positivity rate > 10% makes me very nervous, much more so than the unmasked people at the Oscars.  How many of them are fully vaccinated?

This is a different look for Duncan Laurence than I recall.

Switched to NRK, too much talking on SVT.

Lithuania, The Roop, "Discoteque" – Honestly, not a fan of purposely-quirky dancing and silly faces. Like the song but find the performance a bit of a distraction.

Slovenia, Ana Soklič, "Amen" – This stage looks pretty great, but it would be very easy to go overboard. She certainly has the voice.  It is a big lift for her to be all alone on stage.

These little hologram houses work far better than I expected.

Russia, Manizha, "Russian Woman" – Stepping out of the dress made me laugh.  That was a fun performance.

Sweden, Tusse, "Voices" – That's an interesting change to the outfit.  The stage is much larger than the one at Melodifestivalen, and it opens up the vertical dimension in particular (I recall it seemed relatively constricted before). However I do not remember this visual assault of flashing lights, which distract from Tusse himself (who remains the strongest element in the performance).  

Australia, Montaigne, "Technicolour" – Dancing was a little odd (she didn't look particularly comfortable moving), but sounded better than I expected.

North Macedonia, Vasil, "Here I Stand" – I have heard/read people describing this as "musical theater" which I think is unfair to musical theater.

Nice of them to bring in Montaigne at what must be a weird hour.

Ireland, Lesley Roy, "Maps" – Post-postcard delay, how odd.  Not a great sign.  It's a very unusual staging and quite fun to watch. I would very much like to see a behind-the-scenes video of this.  Vocals are not as strong as I had hoped.

Cyprus, Elena Tsagrinou, "El Diablo" – The mirroring effect is a clever touch.  It fills the stage effectively; it feels like a performance made for a large space, more so than the previous entries.

Norway, TIX, "Fallen Angel" – This is one of the very few performances where I had seen the official video in addition to listening to the song before the contest.  The MGP performance has been scaled up pretty well, I think.

Croatia, Albina, "Tick Tock" – Not sure what the concept is here.  Space glam disco?  Good vocal performance.  I wish they had focused on the "OH NOOO" graphic a little longer.

Belgium, Hooverphonic, "The Wrong Place" – Nice lighting and camera work to make the presentation something slightly more compelling than "we are a band" for the television viewers at least.  (Though that's basically still what it is.)

Israel, Eden Alene, "Set Me Free" – Liked all the strutting from place to place.  If anything the whistle notes were better than in the recorded version, though the main body of the song was a little weaker.

Måns is self-aware.

Romania, Roxen, "Amnesia" – Wondering if maybe all the choreography is affecting the singing.  For some reason I really like it when the singer and their backing dancers march between different sections of the stage.  Hoping that other artists use that element too.

Azerbaijan, Efendi, "Mata Hari" – I might be a little tired, but for a moment I wondered if I was watching a deleted scene from the Eurovision movie.  Nice to see all of the competitors in the green room reacting.

Ukraine, Go_A, "Shum" – Her strange-bird energy is easily my favorite thing tonight.  (Sounds great too.)

Malta, Destiny, "Je Me Casse" – Seemed like you could see her growing more and more confident as the song progressed.  Really strong.

Ranking:

1. Ukraine 2. Russia 3. Malta 4. Croatia 5. Australia 6. Belgium 7. Lithuania 8. Ireland 9. Israel 10. Slovenia 11. Norway 12. Azerbaijan 13. Cyprus 14. Sweden 15. Romania 16. North Macedonia

If the top 4 qualify I will be happy.

"The Power of Water" This has very a Olympics opening ceremony feel.   Am I sure I'm not watching the Eurovision movie?

The winners' segment was cute.  Poor John Lundvik, to be the face of not winning.  I wonder if they asked the not-winners if they minded being "featured" in this way.

Måneskin look so very young.

Martin Österdahl.  Seems very unstressed.  Hmm.

Still not a fan of commentary but I was amused when the NRK commentator screamed.

Whoever in the audience is yelling "Ukraine" – yes. 

I suppose my top three going through isn’t too bad.

[fandom-imagination-ss]

Imagine requested part 2

The first Request : Klaus confessing the supernatural too you and too convince you that you should run off too New Orleans with him

This Request: your First Date with Klaus and Him giving you a gift.

Author Note: there is some History in this imagine of New Orleans and A pretty Messed up Lady who lived in the 1830’s . So google her if interested. This Imagine Is much shorter then the last one (Only around 4 pages from Word vs the 9) but I hope you like it! @nick-1432 !!

Did I proof read?: semi.. and by that I mean I skimmed XD

Word count: 1802

Rating: 14 A.

*************************************************************************************

Elijah walked passed his’ brother room with his head stuck in a book he was half way passed Klaus door when he heard his brother groan as a piece of clothing threw across the room. Elijah stopped in his track seeing Klaus was in his closest and was tossing things out of his closet frustrated at his cloths. Elijah walked into the room at ease as he spoke, “problem brother?” Klaus stepped out of his closest noticing his brother as he spoke, “I’m searching for something too wear.” “what for?” Klaus stared at his brother as he spoke, “im having dinner with Y/N.” Elijah chuckled softly. In all his life he has never seen Klaus flustered from a women. Any women in the history of their lives. None of them ever had the hold that you had on Klaus. Seeing Klaus nervous was hilarious too Elijah especially since it’s you. You who Once referee too a particularly dangerous angry vampire as a man who didn’t get enough hugs in his life. How you captured the bloodlust Klaus heart and attention stuns Elijah at times. Especially seeing Klaus freaking out. “you have had dinner with Y/N hundreds of times.” “this time it’s different! I- I told her I loved her.” Elijah smiled walking over too his brother patting his shoulders, “congratulations brother- but you have nothing too worry about. You haven’t scared her away yet.. I don’t think you can.” “ha- Ha brother- I just want everything too be perfect.” “It will be.” On the other side of the house you were sitting in your room while Rebecca was fixing your hair, after overhearing everything She was excited too do her favourite activity with you. She loved playing dress up with you. Especially since you had Little to No experience with makeup and didn’t have the patience too learn the craft or Even do it often. Getting dressed. You wore a pail blue summer dress it was freakin Hot in New Orlean today. Too Hot too wear anything Black or anything that stuck too you. Your hair was curled even those you knew it wouldn’t last. Not enough hair spray can handle the humanity! Your hair was shinny and soft as Rebecca spoke, ‘where is he taking you?” “I’m not sure.. I made him promise too add food too the mix.. the human likes food.” She chuckled softly as you headed downstairs too see Klaus wearing Jean and a nice shirt, with his leather jacket. You smiled brightly he reminded you of when you first meet him in Mystic falls. You were waiting for Caroline and Bonnie at the Grill sitting at the Bar waiting for your Milkshake. The bartender looked at you funny when you asked for a chocolate milk shake but you pointed out on the menu it was on the kids menu so he was fixing you a large one. Klaus came In cocky as he sat down beside you. “Well-well well what a beautiful girl like yourself. Doing alone.” The line is as old as klaus. You simply turned too him and told him you were waiting for him. He chuckled as you soon got your milkshake and left. Standing there now. Looking at Klaus you smiled brightly as he smiled, “you look beautiful you ready?” “yea of course- am I dressed okay? What are we doing?” He chuckled softly as he lifted his arm up, “you’ll see” Getting too his car he helped you into his car as he drove. He was tense as you grabbed his arm softly. “Hey what are we doing?” He smiled as he spoke, “Patience.” He reached up grabbing your hand from his forearm and laced your fingers together. You smiled as you spoke, “ where we going.?” “you have no patience’s.”

“I used it all up on you.” He chuckled as he got too Lalaurie Mansion you gasped. Seeing the mansion . Lalaurie mansion is considered the most haunted location in the French Quarters. You turned too Klaus stunned. Since coming too New Orleans this was one of the places you wanted too visit. You loved checking out haunted places. Even those you would think. Between Vampires, werewolves, and witches you had enough Ghouls in your life. But you Love the glorified horrific historical Haunted places in the states. Living In mystic Falls and NEVER going anywhere. Lalaurie Mansion was one of the places you wanted too visit, Also Salem, and the Queen Mary. Klaus , Elijah And even Rebecca use too say there was enough horror in your life. You didn’t need too Add Ghosts too the mix. But Klaus smiled as he spoke, “Come on.” Getting out of the car. He walked over fast offering his arm as you grabbed it tightly as he lead you inside. Seeing the place was about too close. Klaus looked at the tour guide as he spoke ‘your giving us a private tour.” “of course I am.” Normally you disapproved of him using his abilities on humans. But getting a private tour . Sounded amazing. So you let it slide. Getting into the house. The tour guide gave you a tour of the grand mansion telling you about Delphine Lalaurie A vicious cruel Socialist /Serial Killer who tortured and murdered her slaves in her torture chambers in 1831-1834. The stories the tour guid told were terrifying. Klaus truthfully found this boring but he loved seeing your Eyes light up hearing the history. He use too love watching you study with Elijah when he tutored you in History seeing your eyes lite up with wonder of anything History. When you got too the chambers you held Klaus tighter as he wrapped his arm around you kissing your head, “don’t worry love, all the ghost and goblins are gone.” You smiled reached up kissing his cheek as the tour finished as Klaus and you got back into his car as he drove you too get some Food while you went too a Indie outdoor movie theatre. Afterwards Klaus and you went home. The moment he parked the. Car he spoke, “you know the moment we step out of here. They both will swarm us and demand too know what we did and every single detail.” Smiling weakly you turned facing him as you spoke, “Down side for dating someone who lives with you.- and when you live with your siblings.” He chuckled as he looked at you, “you have fun?” Smiling brightly you nodded your head reaching over cupping his face, before leaning over giving him a soft kiss. He smiled as you pulled away, “Good night Klaus” “No Night cap?” You smiled shaking your head, “Nope not while Everyone is home! Gross! They all have super hearing!” Klaus chuckled as you laughed getting out of the car. The next date you both went too the Bar. Which ended up with Klaus fighting with the werewolves So you dragged him out and went home. Klaus was a pure gentlemen, Not rushing anything, not forcing anything you weren’t comfortably with. It was when you talked too your sister. Elena who you confessed too her knowing about the supernatural did she ask if you slept with him yet. Your main reason for Not sleeping with him yet was because Well. The quarters were NEVER empty. Someone was always around. Between Elijah, Rebecca, Hailey, Kol! Marcel it was NEVER just you and him! As much as Klaus was being a gentleman and was respecting your decision too wait you were also getting antsy too just jump him. But the Super hearing.. was a Huge stop sign! Walking over too Klaus who was tense over the werewolves and witches. You stepped over. Too him as you spoke, “Hey can I kidnap you?” He looked up grinning. He leaned back in his big leather chair a he spoke , “And where are you taking me too?” “as a kidnappie you don’t get too know.” He chuckled as you grabbed his hand dragging him too your car. Where you drove out of the city ending up at a small cabin near the swamp. Seeing the lights were on he spoke, “what is this place?” “I rented it.”

Klaus grinned swooping over too you picking you up As your legs instantly wrapped around his waist as he carried you inside the cabin, all the time his lips were pressed against yours.

Perfection would be a under statement. You have had sex before. With your ex boyfriend. It was Nothing like it was with Klaus. Could it be the love you shared with him that made it perfect. Or the decades of experience Klaus had perfecting his skills. Or the creativity of his moves. You couldn’t figure it out but you were shaking when you were done. He was beside you breathing deeply as he reached over too his pants as he spoke, “I got you something.”

Looking over too Klaus seeing him pull out a bracelet that had red beads. That were red as blood. Titling your head he reached over putting it on your wrist as he spoke, “in case somethings happens..”

Sitting up for that he sighed as you spoke, “what you mean? What is it- Oh god.. Klaus tell me this isn’t your blood!”

“I might not be there always too protect you!- this way your safe.”

Looking at Klaus you couldn’t help but hit his arm. “Ow!”

‘Klaus! You can’t gift a girl your blood after what we just did!”

He chuckled as he spoke “I’m not paying you. I just want you safe.. Please.. promise me you wont take it off.”

He looked tense as you looked down at the bracelet as you nodded your head, “Fine- but this is gross.”

“its cute.” He held your hand as you squeezed his hand back as you chuckled. “So we did it.”

He laughed as you couldn’t help but join along. Looking at your hands you spoke, “I-can’t believe you saw me naked!”

“did more then see you naked.” You chuckled as he spoke, ‘what brought this on? The Romantic spot?”

Rolling your shoulders you laid back down as you wrapped your arms around his body as he shifted getting comfy. Again.

“Honestly. I figured I would Die before the Quarters were. Empty- and I wanted our first time too be just us- And not your siblings or Hailey or hope overhearing.”

He smiled kissing your head, “it was perfect.”

“it really way.”

Dating Klaus had it ups and downs. Especially since everyone wanted too kill him or hurt you for your connection. But at least you had a life raft in case you needed it.

[strangenightsofdaydreams]

This is your Sweet Swap Gifter! Hopefully with one last question. Do you have a preference on side pairings? Particularly between Enzo/Bonnie, Bonnie/Kol, Enzo/Kol or Enzo/Rebekah? Thank you!

Hey, nice to see you again! I’m most down with the first or the last. I don’t hold a lot of stakes in side ships tbh, whatever fits best in that universe. If you want to do E/R and now am unsure about Bonnie- I don’t hate Kai. But I understand if he isn’t easy to write. It won’t bother me unless Bonnie is with Matt lol (and even then that’s not fic ruining at all)

Probably unnecessary info for you but I also lack strong feelings for any elijah and Elena pairings. they could partner with a sexy lamp and I wouldn’t pause my scrolling. I guess the exception Marcel x Rebekah because that is not for me. Thanks for stopping by 💛

[imagineofallkindsxxx]

Eternal Flame- Kol Mikaelson 5/?

You Should Be Like Me, Be Single!

Summary: 'You never know whats in a persons heart until you truly know them' - Belle French, Once Upon a Time

Singing. Thats all what Alexandra Gilbert has cared about since she was young and all she would care about until she met him.

With Alexandra fighting vampires, werewolves and all inbetween she may do a thing she vowed never to do, fall in love.

And to think it all started with a walk in the woods...

Waking up from the previous night was like I just had a bad dream but the bruises on my arm remind me that what happened was very very real. I looked at the digital clock on my night stand and saw it read 7:31. Shit. I ran into the bathroom to brush my teeth and have the quickest shower known to man before changing into burgundy dress with short sleeves and ends mid-thigh. Put on some winged eyeliner, highlighter and a nice shade of dark red lipstick. I ran down stairs seeing its 8:05, I'm able to get a coffee quick before heading off to the first day of school. When walking into the kitchen I saw my little brother on a stool. I poured myself some coffee into a travel mug before turning towards him.

"Hey. How are you?" I asked curious to how my baby brother is holding up.

"Alright considering. But I should be asking you that, how are you after last night?" I looked at him thinking of an answer that wouldn't seem selfish and rude but also honest. I hate bitching about Elena towards my brother. I don't want him to feel like he has to pick between the two of us. Before I could answer him, I heard a loud honk outside making me realise that Sam was here to five me a ride to school.

"That's my ride. do you want a lift to school?" I asked like every day and everyday he'd decline

"Nah I'm fine, Elena is taking me." I smiled and ruffle his hair before bidding him good bye seeing out my peripheral vision him trying to fix his hair making me smile a little. I grabbed my bag and walked outside getting into Sam’s car, he picks me up as on his way to school he passes my house, it’s been that way since sophmore year even before me and Elena became estranged.

"Hey, what's up?" Sam asks.

"Hi, nothing just a bit tired that's all. We still on for tonight?" I replied leaving out the reason I didn’t sleep being because of the worrisome thoughts about a certain Lockwood.

"To my knowledge. Hope so anyway, first performance in a month this Saturday. We need to prepare." He said determined to do well this weekend. Sam was always the most determined out of the four of us which I admired greatly. I hummed in agreement to his previous statement. We listened to music trying to find any song that would fit our genre on the radio before pulling up into the school parking lot filled with miserable teens not wanting to go back to school. We got out grabbing my bag and helping Sam with his bass I told him I'd meet him inside at our spot which I already know James will be lurking, he’s always early to get in. I saw my sister and her friends and walked up to them hearing Caroline say.

"Here we are. Senior year." Which made me sigh making my presence known.

"Anyone else think it should feel slightly more empowering?" Bonnie said voicing my thoughts of how deflating and normal this feels.

"Absolutely Bon. Understand where you're coming from." I replied agreeing with the witch.

"Okay. So, prank night was a bust. But we are accepting it, and we are moving on" she addressed us all not making me feel any better but for sake of pretence I put a smile on my face. This was before the pity party of my friends started with Bonnie starting by saying.

"You're right. I mean, why should I let the fact that my boyfriend is seeing the ghost of his dead girlfriends hinder this experience?" Wait what? Jeremy is speaking to his dead girlfriends? Plural? Jesus this is fucked up

"Today's our anniversary. Technically, Stefan and I met on the first day of school last year."

"Yes! And why should I let the fact that my boyfriend was turned into a hybrid put a damper on an otherwise fabulous day?" Caroline added making me think fair enough. Then Elena spoke.

"Okay you win" Caroline declared, this is when I stepped in and started walking backwards away from my sister and friends.

"Won what? The biggest pity party? You should be like me ladies, be single! Much easier than dealing and worrying about little boys!" I said with a huge smile on my face. I mean what's the big deal? "I’ll see you later." Walking away from the group of girls. I walked to our spot where I now realised Mark had joined also. this led to the four of us discussing what class we have next.

"I've got gym. Fantastic" Sam says sarcastically "Just what I need to start the first day of school"

"Better than math, feel like poking my eyes out just with the thought of quadratic equations" Mark states groaning at the thought of the numerical based class.

"I've got history. Decent compared to you two." I said looking at my time table.

"Same, thank god. I'm terrible at history. I literally only passed because I copied most of the work off of you." James informed me of his cheating.

"Gee thanks Jamie. feel so great about one of my best friends cheating." he just ignored me turning towards the rest of the group, "I'm going to put my stuff in my locker. Meet you here before heading to history?" I asked James.

"Yeah, sure." He dismissed me too engrossed in the conversation about a football game next week? Honestly, I don't particularly care about the game itself but the players do make up how boring the sport is.

I stalked off to my locker putting in my combination before seeing Elena and Caroline a few lockers up from me.

"Hello ladies." I said letting them know that I am there where Caroline shhh'd me pointing towards my sister who was on the phone, I gave her a questioning look.

"Damon" she whispered and I nodded in realization.

*******************************************************

"Rebekah? She's living with you now? Why?" asking many somewhat reasonable questions about the original, she’s quiet for a few seconds which I’m sure is waiting on Damon finishing.

"What about Stefan? What is he up to?" Asking about her beau worrying about him and his most likely death count. She waits while Damon answers.

"Come on Damon. I can handle it. What?" Persisting that Damon tells her what her boyfriend is doing before taking her phone away from her ear revealing he hung up on her. Yikes, must be bad.

Caroline then when the conversation finished put up a flyer next to me with it saying 'Spirit Squad Back to school Bonfire'.

"Is that tonight?" I questioned my friend forgetting all about the tradition, hopefully this one doesn’t turn out the same way the prank night did.

"I forgot about the bonfire" Elena said having more important matters to think about. Caroline taking our forgetfulness as not wanting to go by her rushing to say.

"You have to go. it's our first spirit quad event. And it sets the bar for the whole year." But me and Elena both ease her nerves by confirming that we will go and for her to relax. "Thank you. It's just that..." but before she could finish Tyler comes in suddenly and kisses Caroline.

"Happy first day!" he exclaims to the three of us which I give a small smile at until I see the red mark on his shirt which Elena clocks as well.

"Is that blood?" The brunette asks.

"Oh my god!" Caroline exclaims before pushing him into the boy’s bathroom with me and my twin following the couple.

"What's going on?!" he exclaims seeming genuinely confused about how having your breakfast on your shirt is a bad look.

"Vampire 101... don't wear your breakfast to school!" I'm checking if anyone was in the cubicles and would hear the supernatural based conversation going on between the couple.

"Chill out. it’s just a blood bag." Tyler said attempting to defend himself.

"From where?" Caroline questioned still extremely angry looking, before I could see this car crash of a conversation get even worse, I decided to escape

"Yeah. I’m just going to go now. Bye" being awkward but I had to get out of there. "Thank Christ I'm single" I muttered when I left the restroom.

I walked towards the spot in the corner only seeing James making me think the rest have went to class.

"Did you just come out of the boy’s restroom?" he asked confused about my whereabouts.

"Don't ask." I said and surprisingly he didn’t make fun making me think that I look quite stressed about the fact my friend turned hybrid is now going around with blood on his shirt.

It’s not even first period.

"Let’s just get to class."

When walking to class we made idle chat James trying to keep my spirits up. "Thanks James. I might let you cheat off my first paper just for this."

"For what?" he asked looking confused

"Being a good friend" yet he still looked confused when we walked into the class together, I saw my sister and Alaric talking quite closely making me furrow my eyebrows before smiling at the teacher and walking to the middle of the class where neither of us would be noticed. the class bell rang as I got my notebook out and wrote 'AP American History' on the front copying from the blackboard on the front. I overheard Elena saying to Alaric

"Look, him being here is not good for any of us. We have to do something." making me give her a questioning look which she dismissed by mouthing 'later' but something tells me it might have to do something with a vampire boyfriend with hero hair. Elena sits in her usual seat with Caroline coming and sitting next to left and Kyle sitting on her right well before our new resident psycho comes in to my shock going right to Kyle before saying menacingly.

"You're in my seat" making Kyle move to another seat. Poor Kyle.

Before anything else could be said Alaric started to teach the class

"Welcome back seniors. Let’s turn our brains back on, starting with this country's original founders... the Native Americans." Great can already feel how fascinating this lesson is, James already looking like he will fall asleep at any moment before class has even begun.

"What about the Vikings?" a girl asks taking a seat next to me

"She's hot" I heard a whisper come from my left making me give him a glare. before going back to looking at the blonde sitting next to me. Ric just replied by saying "There's no evidence the Viking explorers actually settled in the United States. Who are you?"

"My names Rebekah and history is my favourite subject"

Hope you enjoyed reading.

A/N: I fucked up with chapters so this is chapter 3 the beginning of 'smells like teen spirit.'

his was is the beginning of the episode and next will introduce Alex best girl friend Ash, dynamics between her and a certain character and more of the band.

Any British slang, spelling or grammar problems let me know.

Thanks for reading Lovelies xxx

Please comment any positive or negative feedback

[instablamwriter]

A3! Aspec HCs | Spring Troupe Part 1

I originally made a thread on twitter but links are possibly messing up the tags but these are expanded on those so anything there is also here.

I got inspired by Elena and thought of more HCs so I just thought of compiling it here instead. Doing 2 posts for each troupe so that they all have more spotlight time!

cw some sex talk

Disclaimers before I start

just my own hcs

i made them all aroacespec bc I can

no gender hcs included

am i projecting to some of them? lol yeah

not my main sexuality hcs for everyone

ofc everyone has very different experiences being part of the spectrum, so just my own hcs. Feel free to add or message me about these!!!

Sakuya

demisexual/demiromantic/pan or aroace

I say this bc I like both hcs a lot

since he never got the chance to create a lot of deep bonds in the past, he never realized it

had been kinda detached from the thought of dating and romance and just figured it will come when it comes

i’m sure neigbourhood people have definitely told him “I don’t get why you don’t have an S/O!“ and he’s always at a loss on what to tell them

he slips in some anti-amatonormativity sentiments to the preschool kids he handles

“it’s okay to want a partner but it’s also okay not to want one. it’s not everything in life“

“friends are just as important as romantic partners!“

“you shouldn’t be judged on the kind of person you are based on whether you want a family or not“

“sakuya-sen might not get married in the future and that’s okay! he’s still happy where he is!“

he loves hugs!! He wants all the hugs!! and his hugs are some of the best and he’s warm and nice

loves people liberally and with his whole heart

he doesn’t particularly contribute a lot to sex talk and has little interest in it

Masumi

ace/grayromantic/bi

didn’t even know he could be attracted to people at all until he met the director

something about her acting just sparked an interest in his heart that he has never felt before (whether it’s romantic or not is up to u reader)

most of his daydreams involve hand holding and forehead kisses and cuddling by a fire or something like that

he doesn’t really think about what the director looks like and focuses on her likes/dislikes and her quirks as a person

doesn’t understand what people perceive to be so attractive about him physically so he’s annoyed by any fangirls from his school because they don’t even know him

he doesn’t really understand when someone mentions someone being ‘hot’ so by default he just compares them to the director

doesn’t particularly like sex but if the person he likes wants it, he’s willing to try and make them happy even if to him it’s just okay.

Tsuzuru

demisexual/demiromantic/bi

the reason his works are mostly about friendship or focusing on friendships is not because of comphet but because that’s what he genuinely treasures the most

friendships and filial ties have had the biggest emotional impact on him

he associates pining with friendships mostly

he’s also oblivious to the people that crush on him

Which is funny bc he observes people a lot and can read them well but he doesn't really pick it up if potential feelings for him

tho I also think that he’s super horny for the person does he does come to like

and it troubles him because he never had to deal with all these feelings of want before and it’s all focused on one person

he shows a lot of love thru physical touch even though he’s hmm usually politely distant of people. Or more of he’s used to it with his family and would be ok in theory hugging/patting/etc with other people but he doesn’t quite know how bc his instinct is to not carelessly touch someone unless they’re close

he’s okay with other people’s physical affection towards him tho

probably wouldn’t realize he was attracted to someone right away and confuse them for all the feelings he associated with friendship so it takes some time for him to realize that the two can be quite similar but it also feels ‘different’. Not better or worse. Just different.