#Cami can rot in hell

[roseannevip]

Just me shiping Klaroline and Bashing Cami

Cami :*Analyzing Klaus*

Cami :*Continues annoying everybody*

Klaus : *Not ripping her heart out because she's the only thing that reminds him of Caroline*

Caroline :*Comes to NOLA*

Caroilne :*Takes one look at Cami*

Caroline : "Klaus, you forgot to take out the trash!!"

Klaus : "You're right, so silly of me to forget"

Cami : "Klaus!!"

Cami : *Whining*

Me : STFU

Klaus : *Yeets cami out of the window all the way to south Africa, in front of a pack of lions where she gets murder by a them*

Me : And that is the end of TO

[star2fishmeg]

can you share some of your Luke recs?

Of course! I may have gone a bit overboard but I just love love love all these fics and their authors so so much. I highly recommend all these writers and their blogs, from the nsfw to the sfw, I couldn't stress how highly I respect and recommend them enough:

≡ᴍᴇɢ's ʟᴜᴋᴇ ʜᴜɢʜᴇs ғɪᴄ ʀᴇᴄs

—SMUT

♥ again by @hhughes (you can find her on @bedsyandco now I think) ➥ I frequently find myself going back to this one, the way Cami has written it is just so addicting and it's so hot.

♥ the mortifying ordeal of being a 20 year old virgin by @theemporium ➥ This series is hard as hell, literally love it. Each chapter is just divine and I love Luke and reader's dynamic, it's so juicy and with every new chapter, I think I literally heel click and do a jig.

♥ escape from la by @eyesthatroll ➥ Another one I go back to often, still think about it to this day actually, I just picture it vividly and it gives me butterflies every time.

♥ locker room by @lucijawriteswords ➥ Words cannot describe how much of a chokehold this one has on me. Angry Luke is so hot and I can't stop thinking about the imagery and I want this so bad.

♥ those sleepless nights - @wineauntie ➥ I present to you; my bedtime story. Sleepy smut is just so yummy, you know? And I just wanted Luke wrapped around me after I read this, I now go back to it when it's some silly hour of the morning.

♥ stress reduction by @goldfades ➥ Bro I cannot begin to explain how many times I've read this one. Short and sweet and so sensual, I want it. You'll literally read it and feel something.

♥ risqué reflections by @sweetestdesire ➥ This is the place for filth and I'm a loyal customer. This fic had me doing deep breaths and GOD it's so yummy. Read it once and then went back because the buzz it gave me.

♥ the green eyed monster by @puck-luck ➥ Jealousy has never looked hotter on a man. I remember reading this one morning before uni and yeah let's say I wasn't thinking about my class that day. Andy went all in with this and Jesus it was hot as fuck.

—FLUFF

♥ he's been a bit of a jerk by @quinnylouhughesx43 ➥ I've never liked the winter more, I need Luke to come find my lonely ass and kiss me too. This was too cute honestly and the second part is just as good. Recommend reading them back-to-back.

♥ too tall by @toasttt11 ➥ Anything to do with height differences has me in shambles and this was so cute. I just love the image of Luke standing in the kitchen at 12am like a deer in headlights.

♥ uh oh by @be4chywritez ➥ The Curtis-Luke rivalry will always make me giggle and even funnier with the sneaking around trope, I adored this and the locker room scene. The whole thing is so cute and lighthearted.

♥ jelly on a plate by @wineauntie ➥ I dislike the process of flying so this was a really comforting read and I love it so much. It's adorable and reassuring at the same time and if you're not a fan of flying, I really recommend having Luke with you in spirit.

♥ my princess by @lvrhughes ➥ No because this one's fun and fresh and adorable. Something about drunken nights will always get me, especially when it's one looking after the other. Filled my heart with warmth.

♥ caught by @ifimdreaming ➥ Love this one a lot, it's funny and cute. It perfectly portrays siblings having an argument and Trevor making an appearance will always be funny. Luke is just too cute and love me protective Luke.

♥ kiss her you fool by @withwritersblock ➥ Tooth rotting fluff, friends to lovers and just pining and that's my cup of tea. Loverboy Luke has you aching for him to be honest and you'll wish you were y/n and so much touching that has you tingling.

♥ "are you awake yet?" blurb by @bedsyandco @hhughes ➥ I wish I had this in my life, honestly. Read this and you wish you did too. It's so sweet it makes me kick my feet and twirl my hair, run laps around my room, go through my Luke Pinterest board. I love the way Cami writes Luke.

[marciego]

51, 68, 1, 3, 54, 23, 44

woh that's a lot thank you so much!!

51. The most random episode of the show and why

i'm honestly really bad at remembering what happens in each episode so i couldn't tell what episode it was even if i tried, but i think that time ludmila had to act as a pig for a tv ad was pretty amazing in terms of "what in hell is going on here"

68. Your ultimate NOTP

if tomas is less than 5m away from violetta i get physically sick

1. Favorite first episode (1x01, 2x01, 3x01)

nostalgia wants me to say 01x01 but i think i'll go with 02x01!! it's just...so fun and seeing violetta this happy and open and herself makes me feel SO GOOD!! also i'll always remember when disney channel released the first few minutes of the ep a few days early and i was SO excited!! it stopped right after hoy somos mas and i watched it sooo many times, mostly in awe at how good the song was and how happy vilu was and how pretty naty ludmila and leon were (baby bisexual ass talking here)

SO YEAH 02x01 is just an amazing episode altogether and it makes me all excited every time i rewatch it

3. Best endgame couple

LEONETTA MY BELOVED they're to this day still a huge comfort ship for me, they're one of the first ships i've ever loved and when i feel bad i just start randomly watching some of their scenes!!

54. A couple you didn't picture being a thing at all until it happened

diecesca is the easy answer here but it's true that they kinda appeared out of nowhere, so yeah probably them, but i think they're cute!

44. Favorite season 1 episode

i hesitated a lot with 01x80 because nothing will ever top the s1 finale, but 01x35 just......feels so good, it's when leonetta start officially dating and they are SO CUTE, like all those glances in class? when gregorio has to call leon out because he can't help staring at her? camila fran and maxi being SO excited when vilu tells them she kissed leon? TE CREO?? especially te creo omg it's one of my favorite leonetta moments ever and just....they're everything to me and this episode perfectly captures early leonetta i love it SO MUCH

23. If you were to rewrite season 1, what would you change?

so i haven't rewatched s1 in a while so i might forget stuff but here are a few ideas

the temptation to just. write tomas out is huge lmao, but instead of doing that i'd have him actually face consequences for his actions. my main problem with tomas is not even his behaviour (even tho, yes, it is) but the way the narrative NEVER paints it as bad. i'd want the show to condemn his awful Nice Guy persona and have him get some actual development. i'd want him to properly apologize to vilu, ludmila and fran for what he put them through and honestly i think AT LEAST fran or ludmila should be allowed not to forgive him because what he did to them was just. unspeakable. i'd want him to realize how his actions were not ok and work to do better exactly the way leon did, maybe i wouldn't hate him that much if he actually did that

regarding the tomas/violetta thing, i'd want them to kiss way earlier so vilu could properly get closure way before the finale, and tomas would have time to realize it was time to move on as well, especially because for a looong time before they brought back the love triangle vilu was only thinking about leon so it didn't make any sense to give her closure AFTER all of that. so yeah, leonetta break up, something something, the tomas vilu kiss happens as a way to get closure and say goodbye to each other, tomas starts to move on, leonetta write podemos together in their dreams and even tho they don't go back together in s1 because they both need time alone and away from each other the telepathic dreams started so we're all good

speaking of men facing consequences for their actions, i want german to rot in hell for the way he treated jade. i want him NOT to cheat on her (especially when he didn't even really get angie's consent before kissing her lmao), i want him not to marry her out of...idk i don't even know why he was dating her when he clearly didn't feel anything for her, i want him to treat her like a person deserving of respect, but since it's probably too much to ask, i want the narrative not to paint this as normal because "oh well it's the evil girlfriend". jade was a victim all along and i'll die on this hill, yes she did bad things yes she often went too far but this woman had absolutely NOTHING in her life expect a toxic relationship with her brother, a toxic relationship with her fiancé, and a fucked up father so. i want the show to at least acknowledge that

also for the love of god i'd remove entirely broduey and federico's crushes on vilu AND fran and cami always trying to get their attention. and since disney are cowards and won't let camila be a lesbian can we PLEASE not have her relationship with broduey be based on lies and arguing all the time

i can't think of anything else but i'll edit this post if i do! tomas and german are my biggest complains about s1 so if i fixed how the narrative acted with them i'd probably be already very happy! thank you again for asking 💕

[lcvebuilt]

That’s FINN MIKAELSON not ROSS BUTLER.  He is OLD AF and an ORIGINAL VAMPIRE. He may be +resourceful, +strategic, & +intelligent but he's also -resentful, -cunning &  -petty. 

hey there hi there!  it’s ya girl c, back at it again with a new muse.  this time, it’s actual disaster finn mikaelson.  let’s just say he’s not very happy about being back in his original body,  and would have been much happier body-jumping or something of the like.  but we’ll get into that later.

BACKGROUND

finn is a canon character from tvd / the originals.  he is the second oldest of the mikaelsons, after freya.  speaking of freya.. her being taken away from the mikaelsons is why he’s so strange with his siblings. he was suffering from extreme ptsd, let’s be clear, from losing her to their ‘aunt’ so he distanced himself from the rest of them.  always and forever? he doesn’t know her.

he is best known for all the years he spent daggered in a coffin bc klaus doesn’t know how to have healthy relationships!  when the rest of the siblings were undaggered after the five were defeated, he was left to rot bc he was a downer.  i get it, but yeesh.  unfortunately for finn, he started to come to over time and was conscious in his body even though he couldn’t move or undagger himself.  so he went a little crazy, which, yeah, understandable.  but before that, he was in love with a mortal named sage who he agreed to turn (at her request) even though he believed he was condemning her.  that’s love, bitch.  when he was daggered though, she was on her own,   he’s also died several times.  he was the first original vampire to die, which decimated his sire line. ( and killed sage wyd )  y’all welcome for THAT.  someone had to be the guinea pig i guess. 

 but this is tvd / the originals, so the dead never really stay dead.  when esther was brought back and possessed the body of a young with, she brought finn back and threw him in vincent griffiths body.  he continued his legacy of being a mama’s boy and helped esther fight against his siblings.  the goal was for all of them to end up in witch bodies so they wouldn’t be immortal monsters forever.  they got kol in a witch’s body, and rebekah at one point, but the plan was largely unsuccessful.   he also got a little creepy creepy with cami, trying to infiltrate into the lives of people close to klaus,  there was a whole lot of drama that went down there but it confirmed finn’s coffin ptsd triggers for me so y’know ok.    i think we also confirm how fucking savage finn is, even though he tries to play nice guy.  he’s just as bad as his siblings he just think he’s doing the “right” thing which, ok buddy, 

FINAL DEATH DESTINATION

finn died for good towards the end of the originals s3.  he was bit by lucien and died on relatively good terms with his whole family.  he died surrounded by all of his siblings and finally started to understand the whole ‘always and forever’ mantra they always had.  he was also starting to come around to the whole immortality thing so its ironic that he had to die. 

NOW...

    finn ‘i’m a bad bitch you can’t kill me’ mikaelson is back.   i feel like he woke up and was just like... are you fucking kidding me.  nature couldn’t throw him back in a witch body, or heck even a human body? nah he’s an original.  he’s a little less upset about it than he would have been years earlier but i feel like he felt peace, though he can’t remember, so he’s pretty bitter about having it stolen from him.  

 personality wise, finn has always been loyal to esther.  do i think he might try to find a way to bring her back? maybe so.  will he also try to find a way to bodyjump into a witch?  100%.  i think he’s definitely exploring his options y’know.  it is what it is.    he’s always been a moral guy but his morality has its blind spots.  his mother, especially.  even when she was terrible he still helped her, even at the expense of his siblings.  for the most part he thinks his siblings are dramatic as hell and brought him a lot of suffering.  like, idk, 900 years in a box.  but his anger is mostly gone now, he’s resigned to his fate.  he has pretty good self control with his vampirism and probably isn’t the sort to drink directly from the vein and is a bloodbags kind of guy.  he’s probably less interested in the white oak now given that apparently the dead can rise bc of... gods?  honestly he’s not surprised by anything he’s just like sigh okay whatever.  he’s over it.

UPDATE: feb 2020

finn was doing his best to acclimate again with the family and you know what? it was working.  he and klaus had one (1) civil conversation, he only tried to chomp on henrik twice, and there were croissants exchanged creepily with the niece he one tried to kill.  all in all, by mikaelson standards, pretty civil.   but.  ( and there’s always a but)  everything went to hell.

levi stone ( aka daniel warren ) who was possessed by the horseman famine infected finn with insatiable hunger. the hunger was so strong that he couldn’t control himself. this led to the daggering of his original body.  rip finn.  however, because he’s a paranoid bitch, he had a fail safe.  in the event his body was ever daggered again, or incapacitated, he had a witch spell him into the body of a young, dumb, witch.  so as the dagger went in, finn was yoinked into arlo park’s body.   then, with the barrier down, he preceded to yeet out of town and to parts unknown.  with cloaking spells hiding his location, and his family thinking he was slumbering ( not so ) peacefully, he’d finally achieved the ‘peace’ he thought he wanted. 

so imagine he’s on a beach in tahiti, or waikiki, idek where he is but olivia raymond popped by for a quick hello and a romp ( or twelve ) in the sack, and he thinks to himself — wow self, i’d love to be in the hot tub right now.   then, suddenly he is.  bitch can orb because he’s also a darklighter.  the witch clearly didn’t know,  neither did the poor sucker he’s riding.  so he’s been having some Fun with all of that   let. me. tell. you.

now i know what you’re thinking .... he has it made, why come back? the quick answer is this; freya.  remember that ptsd he had? that close bond? yeah it makes him stupid and that’s why he’s wandering back into the lion’s den. he’s not totally stupid though so he will have to come up with a plan as to how the hecky he pulls this one off without a) getting caught by the real arlo, and b) not tipping off his family to the betrayal TM.

[originalhybridloverfics]

If I Knew Love Was So Dangerous I Would Not Have Loved Ch4

A/N: I'm not too sure about this chapter but it's been forever since I updated this story. I hope the chapter doesn't completely suck. However, there are some Klaroline moments that enjoyed writing. Anyway, I apologize for any mistakes and hope you like the chapter.

Warning there's light smut in this with Caroline and a guy who is not Klaus. If that bothers you feel free to skip the last of the chapter.

Klaus sat at his desk in his study, riffling through some old parchments. “I cannot believe you disposed of those vampires without me,” Rebekah complained, arms crossed over her chest. “You know how I love to set things on fire.” “Was I supposed to leave them in the front yard to rot?” Klaus didn’t even bother looking at her. “Besides, they were my responsibility. They attacked the helpless wolf girl.” “Oh, I am so moved by your newfound sense of responsibility to a werewolf you don’t even know,” Rebekah said sarcastically. “I have zero responsibility to her." he didn't care what happened to the wolf. "She is simply a means to an end. If I can benefit from a werewolf presence in the Quarter then so be it. That is her only use to me.” “Enough about how everyone is nothing but a pawn on your chess board. What about Elijah?” Rebekah demanded. “What are our plans?” “Well, that depends what plan you mean, dear sister. My plan for global domination, or your plan to find love in a cruel, cruel world?” Rebekah snatched up a pencil from the desk beside her in a flash and threw it at him. Klaus caught inches from his face just before it could impale him. “Tsk, tsk.” He smirked at her. Twirling the pencil between his fingers. “What’s the plan to get Elijah back from Marcel ?” Rebekah insisted, frowning. “It’s hard to believe that he and Caroline are our enemies now.” “Well, firstly, Marcel is not my mortal enemy—he's my son, albeit one who is unaware that I'm trying to sabotage his hold over the supernatural community of the French Quarter, and win back his mother but a son nonetheless. Secondly, Caroline is not my enemy. She has never been an enemy to me and she never will be. She is my wife.” Klaus said strongly. “And thirdly, I daggered Elijah in order to gain Marcel's trust. If I had known he would place our brother in the hands of a particularly nasty teenage witch, I certainly would have weighed my options a bit differently. And fourthly, sister, please.” he dropped the pencil onto the desk.   “I know the plan isn’t just to simply ask Marcel for Elijah back." Rebekah insisted. "What diabolical back up plan do you have in the works.” “War,” Klaus smirked folding his hands together, his eyes shining with mirth. 

Marcel stood getting fitted for his suit, accompanied by Thierry and Caroline was seated in a chair, flipping through a clipboard.   “Damn, I do look good in a suit,” he said, looking at himself through a mirror. Thierry chuckled. “You always do,” Caroline didn’t bother looking up from her clipboard. ��Have you been fitted for your dress?” Marcel asked glancing at his mother curiously. She looked up from her book. “The party is tonight. Of course, I have a dress already and I look amazing in it.” Marcel grinned. “I’m sure you do. Are you bringing David?” “Are you bringing that bartender?” Caroline asked avoiding the question. “Her name’s Cami,” Marcel told her pointedly. “I don’t much care what her name is.” As far as Caroline was concerned no one was good enough for her boy. Especially not some human bartender. Marcel shook his head, he knew her protectiveness came from a good place. “You didn’t answer my question.” “Depends rather or not Klaus will be there or not,” Caroline responded. “I’m not about to get him on Klaus’s radar.” She could always just show up at his place later. He wouldn’t mind. Thierry turned to the television when it caught his focus showing photos of a girl, Tina McGreevy and a guy, Joshua Rosza. “My guy at the docks is gonna come forward as an eyewitness, saying he saw those two drunkenly fall into the Mississippi. They'll be dredging for weeks. No one will come looking around here.” “That's good, considering one's dead in a dumpster behind the county morgue and the other one is a vampire now,” Marcel commented. “Anything else?” “Ow!” The Tailor exclaimed suddenly, having accidentally pricked her finger with her needle, drawing blood.   “Allow me, darling.” Marcel crouched down, taking her finger into his mouth, cleaning it of blood.   Caroline raised one perfect eyebrow at him before returning to her clipboard and the extensive guest list.   “One thing. I sent 4 nightwalkers to look into a werewolf sighting in the Quarter. I haven't heard from them since.” said Thierry.   “That makes 10 dead nightwalkers in the last week. You think the werewolves are back in town trying to start some trouble?” Marcel wondered. Caroline scoffed. “I don’t think it's a coincidence that our nightwalkers started dropping like flies right after Klaus arrives in town.” “Now, now, love. I know you're angry with me but that’s no reason to throw around false accusations.” Klaus' voice sounded announcing his arrival. Caroline dropped her clipboard to her lap, scowling. “What are you doing here?” “I want to see my son.” He responded. Caroline scoffed. “Like I would believe that was your only reason for being here.”   “Well, the more obvious reason for being here is you.” Caroline glared, she rose from her seat and move toward her son. “I’ll see you tonight. Don’t let him drag you into trouble.” she leaned up kissing his cheek before brushing coldly past Klaus. Klaus turned watching her go. “I see you've given him free rein of your compound now, too,” Thierry said to Marcel making his opinion on the matter evident.   Klaus turned back at his comment, he stepped toward Thierry aggressively. “Yes. Well, seeing as my family and I lived here, built the place, in fact—” “All right. Come on.” Marcel stepped in between them. “You both know the drill. Thierry's my guy, inner circle. Klaus is my old-time friend and he was like a father to me. He's also a guest here. Peace, all right? All right.” he focused his attention more on Klaus. “What do you need?” “I'm afraid my sister Rebekah is insisting I demand Elijah's return. She's quite worked up about it.” Klaus stated.   “I'll say,” Marcel replied remembering his encounter with her in the Quarter.   “We're not gonna have Three Originals walking around town, are we?” Theirry hated that they were here. “Half our guys think the sister killed the nightwalkers.” “Is that an accusation against an Original?” Klaus demanded at Theirry’s audacity to accuse him when he was right there.   “Eh.” Thierry shrugged, he stood straighter as Klaus stormed over toward him, he was ready for a confrontation, he wasn’t going to back down just because he was Klaus Mikaelson. However, Marcel interceded not wanting things to escalate further.  “What did I say about peace?” he reminded looking from Klaus to Theirry and back to Klaus. “Come on,” he said to Klaus. “Walk with me.”   Klaus sent Thierry a smug smile as he allowed Marcel to steer him out of the room. “Your inner circle man lacks a sense of humor,” Klaus commented as they walked out along the balcony of the building.   “He's a little overprotective but loyal to a fault. I saved his life back in the forties, found him dying of a war wound outside a VA hospital. He'd kill for me and die for me.” Marcel stated. He trusted Thierry more than he did most. “Plus, that boy can play the trumpet like you would not believe. Maybe I'll see if he can play a little tonight at the party. You're coming, right? “How can I miss my chance to meet the city councilman as he accepts your gigantic charitable donation?" Klaus responded almost mockingly. “Oh, he's a schmuck,” Marcel said dismissively. “but he lets us do our thing in exchange for certain community services, like keeping our fangs out of the locals.” “I know your mother is planning this party but will she be attending?” Klaus asked him tentatively. Marcel looked at him consideringly for a moment. “She’ll be there, however, I can’t promise she’ll be very welcoming to you.” “If I gave up so easily on your mother we never would have been together,” Klaus responded, remembering a time when he first met his beautiful Caroline and she had wanted nothing to do with the strange man who had taken a sudden interest in her. Marcel had been told the story of how his mother met Klaus when he was still just a boy. However, he imagined it would be a whole lot harder the second time around for Klaus to win Caroline over. “Listen, about your brother... I would love to help you out, but Thierry is right. My guys are on edge. They see the Original family moving in, vampires dying, it makes them nervous. If I hand Elijah back now, it might give the wrong impression about who's really in charge here. You know what I mean?” Klaus nodded, forcing a smile. “You understand I had to ask.” 

“No, that needs to be moved more to the left,” Caroline ordered. “My left not your left.” She resisted to her eyes in annoyances. “Bossy as usual.” Caroline turned scowling. “Don’t you ever leave.” “You want me to leave?” asked Klaus. “Yes.” was Caroline’s immediate response. “Then come with me.” Klaus stepped forward. “Hell, I’d leave New Orleans if you would just come with me.” He wanted New Orleans but he wanted Caroline more.    Marcel could have it as long as he got Caroline. Caroline scoffed. “I would never leave town with you.” “Then I’ll be sticking around indefinitely,” Klaus responded. Caroline groaned turning away from him calling out to a vampire across the room. “Hey, Jesse, make sure the bar is stocked.” “Will you have a date to tonight’s events?” Klaus asked moving around, placing himself back in her sights. “If that is your way of asking to be my plus one the answer is a firm ‘No.’” She glared up at him. “That still doesn’t answer the question.” Klaus persisted. “It’s none of your business if I do or not!” she snapped. Klaus’s eyes narrowed. “As long as there’s something between us it is my business.” “But there isn’t anything between us anymore.” Caroline countered defiantly. Klaus stepped into her personal space, looming over her, his hand reached out, his thumb brushing across her jaw. “There is always going to be something between us as long as you feel something for me.” Caroline suppressed a shiver at his touch, her eyes hardening. “The only thing I feel for you is hate.” Klaus cupped her cheek,  his other hand reaching out to grip her shoulder, and pulled her close until she was pressed against him. “There’s a very thin line between love and hate, love.”   Caroline glared. “Maybe but there’s hate then there's hate and I hate you. If you just left, vanished, disappeared, I wouldn’t even blink. I could care less what happens to you or your family so tell me where is the love in that?” Klaus’s hands fell away, her harsh words and scornful look searing into him like a flame licking at his skin, leaving its mark. Caroline pushed away from him, thinking, finally she had gotten through to him. “The sooner you let go of the past and move on the better because I already have.” Klaus watched her turn, walking away from him, a tightening in his chest, feeling the gap, the distance between them grow deeper and deeper with every harsh word, every scornful look shared between them. 

Rebekah walked through the Quarter,  her cell pressed to her ear. “Niklaus, for the love of Mary Magdalene, how long does it take to ask a simple question?” Rebekah demanded impatiently. “Much longer than you'd think, considering the answer was, as expected, "no". Marcel's man, Thierry, is suspicious.” Klaus informed her. “He thinks you killed 10 nightwalkers.” “Well, that's a lie. I only killed 8.” Rebekah replied like that made all the difference. “Should I make Thierry the ninth?” “Marcel is playing friendly. Caroline is being scornful. We can't kill the favorite son, or Marcel will catch onto us and it'll be just another thing my wife will hold against me.” “So, war it is, then,” said Rebekah knowingly.   “Indeed. Do you know what to do with the witch?” Klaus asked.   “I believe I do,” said Rebekah. “Good. You manage Sophie Deveraux. I'll take care of the next step.” Klaus hung up and turned to the newly turned vampire Joshua who had been keeping an eye on Klaus’s vampire hostage he had in his cellar.  “I ordered you to drain him of blood. What's taking so long?” “Sorry. I'm not, like, medieval torture expert guy.” Joshua felt absurd even having to apologize for not being evil enough for Klaus's liking   Klaus snatched up a pitchfork and ran the vampire through with it, the vampire groaned in pain, his head falling back before falling down to his chest. Joshua grimaced. “What did he do to you, anyway?” “It's not about what he did.” he pulled the pitchfork from his body. “It's about what he's going to do when we're done here, which is whatever I want him to, just like you.” he turned, locking eyes with Josh, compelling him. “For example, drive this through his torso.” he handed the weapon over.   Joshua accepted it and immediately impaled the vampire once again.  “That is crazy.” Josh’s eyes widened. “I didn't want to do it, but I did it anyway.” “It's called mind compulsion. Vampires can compel humans. Originals, like my siblings and I, can also compel vampires, and no one can compel Originals.” Klaus explained. “You following?” Joshua nodded. “Good.” Klaus continued, he didn’t have the time nor the patience to have to explain it twice. “That is how a brand-new nightwalker such as yourself is here doing my bidding with no one the wiser.” Joshua brow furrowed. “But I never had my guts drained out of me.” he pointed out.   “Yes. That, young Joshua, is because I got to you before you had even a drop of herbal vervain in your system. You see, it prevents compulsion.” Klaus told him. “Marcel has had his whole crew taking it since I returned to town, and that is why our friend here needs to be bled dry of it, so I can compel him to follow my every command. And with my brother currently in captivity awaiting rescue, we can't afford to be gentle about it, can we?” Klaus ripped the pitchfork from the vampire and ran him through again, twisting it.   The vampire groaned lowly in pain, head hanging in defeat. 

Rebekah waited outside the  French Quarter shop, Jardin Gris, impatiently at the sound of approaching footsteps she turned to greet the late arrival. “Oh, so glad you could make it. Elijah only lies daggered and rotting whilst you dilly-dally.” “You're lucky I came at all.” Sophie countered, glaring. “What do you want?” “Hayley was attacked last night by Marcel's crew because somebody told him there was a werewolf in the Quarter. She only made one stop.” Rebekah gaze drifted pointedly to the storefront they were in front of. “Whoever saw her here ratted her out. Watch and learn.” Rebekah turned, walking into the shop like she owned it. Sophie reluctantly followed her. A young woman emerged from the back room carrying a box.  “Hey, Soph.” she greeted catching sight of the brunette witch.   “Hey, Katie.” Sophie returned slightly distracted as she watched Rebekah touching an item hanging in the shop.   The woman, Katie, looked toward Rebekah not recognizing her for the dangerous Original she was. “That's filled with marigold—great for attracting the opposite sex. It would look awesome on you.” “I very seriously doubt that.” Rebekah scoffed and she had no problem attracting men. “Tell me do you make it a habit of talking with werewolves or turning them in for that matter?” “Werewolves?” Katie repeated. “Why would you want to know about werewolves? There are no wolves in the Quarter.” Rebekah spun around, speeding in front of Katie grabbing her by the throat. “Please do not play dumb with me.” She slammed her down against a table. Katie gasped was cut off by Rebekah’s tight grip on her throat. “Rebekah!” Sophie exclaimed.   “I just answered some werewolf girls questions. That's all. She’s the only werewolf in the Quarter. I warned her it wasn’t a good place for her.” “Are you lying to me, Katie? I suggest you answer my question honestly.” Rebekah tightened her hand around her throat.   “Sophie—” Katie choked out, a plea for help. “Just answer the question, Katie, please.” Sophie urged.   “Yes. I told someone, but you don't understand. I—I love him.” Katie gasped.   Rebekah threw Katie down to the floor violently, lifting her foot she placed the heel of her stiletto directly over Katie's throat threateningly.  “And tell me, who is this vampire Romeo of yours?” when Katie said nothing Rebekah’s eyes narrowed. “Shall I count to 3?” 

Klaus pulled the pitchfork out of the vampire and handed it to Joshua. “Be quick about it. I have an army to build, and one compelled minion does not an army make.” His phone buzzed in his pocket and he fished it out, answering it.  “Well?” “You were right about the traitor,” Rebekah informed him. “Luckily, she's just a kid and she doesn't know anything about us and what we're up to. Do you want to hear the part that's gonna please you the most?” “Oh, do tell,” Klaus smirked, interested in what new information Rebekah had for him.   “She's in love with someone in Marcel's inner circle. Guess who it is?”   Klaus could hear the smirk in his sister’s voice. “Right-hand-man type, favors silly caps?” Klaus ventured a guess. “Two points for you.” Rebekah quipped. “Thierry is fraternizing with the enemy.” “Well, that means he just unwittingly became the key to our entire plan,” Klaus responded, thoughts whirling on all the ways he could use this to his advantage. “I told you you'd be pleased,” said Rebekah, proud of what she had managed to find out.   “Oh, to be young and in love in a city where witches and vampires are at war,” Klaus smirked, something a mix of dark and mischievous all at once. “How very tragic.”

“Are you out of your mind?” Sophie demanded, looking at Rebekah and Klaus like they were crazy. “No way.” The three were in the Mikaelson study. Rebekah and Klaus had come up with a plan to find Elijah without Marcel and Caroline being any the wiser. “It's very simple. We need you to perform a teeny, tiny locator spell to help us find our brother.” Rebekah said simply. It wasn't like they were asking for a whole lot.  Just one little locator spell. “Witches who practice magic in this town get caught, and they get killed.” Sophie glared. It was why her sister has been killed. “Yes, about that.” Klaus narrowed his eyes accusingly on the witch. “It seems you left out a crucial detail when we made our deal—Marcel's secret weapon, the way he knows when a witch is using magic.” “Girl about yay high, cute as a button, anger issues,” said Rebekah, describing what she could recall of the young witch. Sophie's eyes widened. “Davina? Where have you seen her?” “I don't know. The little brat erased my memory right after she threw me out a window with her bloody mind.” Rebekah glared at the memory of a teenage girl handling her so easily. “Let me cut to the chase.” Klaus cut in growing impatient. “Davina has Elijah. You witches, I assume, want to get Davina away from Marcel. We don't know where she is. Ergo, we need magic.” “Davina would sense it,” Sophie said in rejection to their plan.   “Unless, of course, another witch—say, a traitor to the cause, Katie for example—was to perform much more powerful magic at the same time. That would create a smokescreen, concealing your very small spell from Davina.” Klaus explained the plan.   “Katie doesn't deserve to die.” Sophie protested.   “Sophie Deveraux.” Klaus angrily slammed his hands on the table, standing up, glaring at the witch in annoyance. “You're in no position to be so principled. You can't win a war without a few strategic losses, no matter how regrettable they may be. How many times have the vampires been one step ahead, known something they shouldn't? Your sister, executed in the public square for practicing magic, who knew she'd be caught? Did she even attempt to flee?” "She was caught hiding in a cargo hold of a freighter before it set sail down the Mississippi,” replied Sophie, her jaw clenching.   “And who, pray tell, of Marcel's valued inner circle manages his business at the docks?” asked Klaus leadingly.   Sophie looked at them, her gaze hardening as she reluctantly answered. “Katie's boyfriend, Thierry.” she sighed in agreement, feeling like she was already going to regret this. “Who's going to make Marcel and Caroline stay out of this?” “Well, Cami will keep Caroline distracted,” Klaus stated. “If I know her like I know do, she won’t be too fond of her simply because of Marcel’s interest in her and I will keep Marcel busy in the meantime as to not raise suspicion.” “Sounds like a great plan,” Sophie muttered sarcastically, glaring at the two Originals who looked rather pleased with themselves. 

Klaus looked down from the courtyard balcony with Marcel as Thierry played his trumpet in the courtyard.   “You're right,” Klaus admitted. “He's good.” “Right?” Marcel grinned. “Music man, I call him. Ladies love him, but he's spoken for. He knocks around with this pretty little witch, says he loves her, but I don't know.” “Your brightest soldier is fraternizing with your enemy, and you don't care,” Klaus commented, letting his tone take on a more judgmental note. “Well, of course, I care, but Thierry is a grown man. He makes his own choices, and I get some good intel.” Marcel responded, not to mention he trusted Thierry. “Besides, he's not gonna do anything to jeopardize what we're doing here. I mean, check this out—a vampire hosting a ritzy charity event. We have a community here. No one's gonna mess that up.” “Still... You don't want the witches to get too bold, given that a witch's tip about a werewolf in town led to the disappearance of your nightwalkers. I'm sure you've considered the possibility that it could've been a trap.” Klaus reasoned, wanting to plant the seed of doubt.   “Well, maybe I'll send a little message,” said Marcel. “Thierry!” he called down to his friend. “Take a team of nightwalkers to the Cauldron tonight, do a little rousting... Oh, and Thierry? Make it nasty.” Thierry’s eyes slid to Klaus accusingly but he nodded.   Klaus resisted the urge to smirk until Caroline walked into the courtyard with the same woman she was always with when he saw her. Tanned skin, dark hair, green eyes, curvy. “Who is that always with Caroline?” “That would be Silvi. She Caroline’s closest friend and confidant.” Marcel answered. “Caroline turned her in the 1920s, took her under her wing, the two have been inseparable ever since.” Klaus tilted his head watching as Caroline laughed at something the brunette said and as if sensing his gaze, he could see Caroline tense just moments before she turned, looking up at him, meeting his gaze head-on. Caroline's lips tugged into a scowl at the sight of him, she turned to Silvi. “Wait, here.” Caroline made her way up the stairs and walked up to Marcel, greeted him by kissing his cheek. “What are you two discussing so seriously that has Thierry displeased?” “Just planning a little rousting for the witch Cauldron,” Marcel answered. “Sending a little message.” “Uh-huh.” she turned to Klaus. “Don’t you have anywhere else to be or can I expect your new past time is corrupting my son to do your bidding?" “I was just advising him how to keep his people in line and his hold on the city intact,” Klaus responded with false innocence. “He doesn’t need your advice.” Caroline scoffed. “He knows what he’s doing.” Klaus chose to ignore her words. “It never hurts to have a little help from someone who's been around for 1000 years.” Caroline glared. “He has help from me, I may not be a thousand years old like you but I have enough years that he doesn’t need advice from you and if he was smart like I know him to be he wouldn’t listen to single a word you say.” “Alright,” Marcel cut in gently, seeing how just seeing Klaus seemed to upset her. “Did you and Silvi have a good time? Diego said you were getting her a dress for tonight’s event?” Caroline's eyes softened when she turned her gaze back to her son. “Yes, well, I can’t have my plus one lacking in proper attire.” She cast another glare to Klaus before focusing on Marcel. “Don’t let him talk you into doing something you’ll regret.” “Of course,” Marcel responded. “Good.” Caroline turned, patting his arm and then called to Silvi. “Let’s retire to my room, I have a necklace that is going to look great with that dress.” Klaus' eyes followed her as she faded from sight with the other woman, he sighed, turning back to his son. “Being on the wrong side of your mother is never pleasant.” Marcel snorted. “Try being the one stuck in the middle between the two of you. It’s tiring.” Klaus eyes slowly looked to the direction Caroline went, sighing to himself again. Hopefully, when he saw her at the party tonight he’d be able to make some kind of leeway with her. Any kind of progress would be welcomed. Hell, he would be happy to just get one smile from her instead of her constant glares and biting words. 

When Rebekah walked into Rousseau’s zeroing in on her target immediately. The blonde bartender was more than happy to listen to her problems like any cliche bartender. Rebekah barely refrained from rolling her eyes. What Marcel saw in the plain Jane human she didn't know. “And so then I moved back here to be closer to my brothers because—let's face it—family's important, right, Camille?” She was careful to keep her fake smile in place. “Cami.” The other woman corrected. “I have to change this name tag. Drunk guys keep hitting on me in French. You sure you haven't been in here before?” Cami gaze looked at Rebekah, traveling over her features. “Your face looks so familiar.” “You must have seen me out and about.” Rebekah dismissed. “Aren't you dating Marcel Gerard? He's a pal of mine... sort of. I heard he had a crush on the blonde bartender at Rousseau's.” “I would hardly call it dating.” Cami denied with a barely-there smile. “He's wooing me... sort of. I don't know. I mean, he's very charming, which probably means I should run for the hills.” “I'm kind of in an on-again/off-again thing myself at the moment,” Rebekah confessed, fighting her annoyance of just hearing Cami talk about Marcel. “Those are the worst, aren't they?” asked Cami conversationally. “The ones you can't shake, even though you know better, and you always know better?” “I like you, Cami.” The lie came easily to Rebekah as she offered up another false smile. “Most girls have the unfortunate tendency of being whiny little twits.” “Thanks…” Cami’s brow furrowed. “I think.” “Hey, I'm supposed to go to this posh charity thing thrown by this philanthropist tonight. He's a bit of a Gatsby, throws a mean party. Any interest?” asked Rebekah with false friendliness. Cami smiled noncommittally, shrugging. Rebekah watched the blonde carefully, eyes narrowing. Cami better go or they were going to have to find another way to keep Marcel and Caroline distracted.

Klaus sat at his desk sifting through some papers when his phone started buzzing next to him, Rebekah’s name flashing across the screen. He answered it; placing his phone against his ear. “Little sister.” “Well, brother, I believe I've made certain Marcel will be properly distracted tonight,” Rebekah informed him. “Good. That just leaves Caroline.” Klaus responded. “She's your wife,” Rebekah stated. “I'll leave that to you. I did my bit. What are you doing to ensure Elijah's safe return?” “Currently, I'm preparing insurance against the tender-hearted,” Klaus said in answer to her question. “Meaning?” Asked Rebekah inquiringly. “We need proper motivation for Katie to cast a powerful spell tonight. I'm creating that motivation. Marcel has ordered a rousting of the witches.” he informed her.

Vampires jump from the balconies causing mayhem as they tore through the shops in the Cauldron, the sound of witches screams filling the air. 

“And I, in turn, have arranged for things to go tragically wrong,” Klaus spoke.

“You understand what you're to do?” Klaus stood in front of the vampire he had strung up in his cellar and the vampire nodded. “Good,” Klaus answered. Josh stood off to the side, watching the exchange easily.

Back at the Cauldron, vampires continue to upturn tables and destroy things while witches screamed in fear. Thierry snuck away from nightwalkers through a backdoor into Jardin Gris. Katie ran to him when she caught sight of him, throwing her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his only to pull back seconds later. “Hey! What's happening out there?” “Oh, it's Klaus.” he turned away from her to a shelf of glass jars, trinkets, and herbs. “He's convinced Marcel that the witches are planning to make a move against him. Marcel wants us to send a message…” he knocked over some of the shelves sending them crashing and looking at her apologetically. “And if he thought I was playing favorites because I'm in love with a witch—” “Say that again.” Katie interrupted stunned and happy to hear him say he loved her.   "I love you, Katie,” he repeated sincerely with feeling. “And all this is gonna be okay, I promise.”

"Marcel may not be concerned with Thierry's romantic entanglements..." Klaus mused.  

Thierry walked out of the Jardin Gris, bumping into the same vampire that Klaus held captive in his cellar, torturing, draining him of vervain and compelled. “I already got that one,” Thierry told the vampire, walking away. The vampire, however, didn’t listen and went into the shop anyway.  

Klaus leaned back in his chair as his desk, speaking into his phone. “But there are other crimes which he'll be less inclined to so easily forgive…” 

Thierry heard a scream from inside the Jardin Gris and turned to see the vampire dragging Katie outside, biting into her neck as she screamed, crying out. “Leave her alone!” Thierry shouted, running toward her. “Get off!” He threw the vampire across the courtyard; making him smash into a table. Thierry ran over to him, grabbing a broken table leg, and used it as a stake, driving it through the vampire's heart, killing him. The courtyard fell silent, the other vampires circle around the scene of the crime, Thierry looked around, realizing what he had just done. He had broken one of Marcel’s rules. 

“Killing a vampire, for example,” Klaus spoke into the phone leadingly. “That would be unforgivable. If Katie hopes to save her one true love from Marcel's punishment, well, a rescue mission like that will require something positively magical. But then... what's worth dying for, if not love?” his lips pulled into a smirk. 

At the Cauldron, Katie stared at Thierry, horrified, and Thierry himself looked like he knew the consequences would be dire for him once Marcel learned what he had done. 

Rebekah and Klaus entered the party, arm in arm, taking in the dark, wild atmosphere. Acrobats perform, dancers handle exotic animals, and confetti fell glittering upon the party guests. “Well, this certainly is a fitting backdrop for tonight's events, I must say,” Klaus commented, he didn’t really want to think about how upset Caroline would be when her hard work for arranging tonight’s events was ruined.    Rebekah and Klaus spotted Cami as she entered the party, wearing white angel's wings and a vintage white beaded dress. Rebekah and Klaus both were pleased with her arrival.   “What made you think of using her to distract Marcel?” Klaus asked looking away from Cami and scanning the crowd in search of Caroline. He couldn’t spot her but he did notice her friend Silvi at the bar. “What better way to distract Marcel than to put his very human, new girl in a room chock full of vampires?” Rebekah responded, crossing the courtyard to greet Cami. “Hello, darling. You look precious.” 

Caroline’s eyes had narrowed when she saw Cami walk in. “Did you invite her tonight?” “No,” Marcel answered from beside her. “But she’s here so please try and be nice.” Caroline turned her gaze to him. “You want me to be nice to someone I don’t even like?” “You just don’t like her because of my interest in her.” Marcel shot her a knowing look. “You don’t like anyone I’m interested in.” “That’s because they are not good enough for you,” Caroline responded. “You don’t even know her,” Marcel responded. “How can you possibly know that?” “Because no one will ever be good enough for my son,” Caroline said with absolute certainty.   Marcel gave an amused chuckle, leaning over to press a quick kiss to her cheek. “I love you, too, Mom.” Caroline shot him a smile patting his cheek affectionately before turning her gaze back down below watching as Cami seemed to stare transfixed at Klaus. “C’mon, I rather Rebekah didn’t corrupt Cami.” Marcel headed down the stairs, linking arms with his mother. “To corrupt someone, they have to be innocent and I doubt your new girl is as innocent as you want to believe,” Caroline said earning her a look from Marcel but she didn’t care. He wanted her to be nice, fine but she had her opinions and she wasn’t in the habit of keeping them to herself. 

“This party is ridiculous, but I think I..” Cami trailed off lowly. “with this dress.” she locked eyes with Klaus, staring at him a moment and nodding toward him. “Is he the infamous on-again/off-again?” Cami asked Rebekah. Klaus approached them and answered before Rebekah could. “He's the brother, actually.” “You clean up pretty well.” Cami complimented.   “Well, don't be fooled, love.” Klaus' lips tugged up into a smirk. “I'm the devil in disguise.” “You two chit-chat. I need booze.” Rebekah ditched them heading for the bar.   “Shall we?” asked Klaus.   “Okay.” Cami agreed and Klaus offer his arm to her and she accepted it with a smile.   “Scotch, please,” Rebekah ordered when she reached the bar.   Marcel approached Rebekah at the bar, Caroline on his arm and she sighed at the sight of them. Not wanting to deal with either of them separated let alone the two of them together.   “You trying to be cute, inviting her here?” Marcel demanded as Caroline moved away from him to lean against the bar, motioning for the bartender for two more scotches. “I think she's darling. I can tell you fancy her pure heart. Perhaps I'll feed it to you.” Rebekah responded. “Now, there’s a thought,” Caroline said accepting the scotches earning a glare from Marcel. “I take it you’re not fond of her?” Rebekah asked Caroline. “You can say that.” Caroline turned her gaze to Rebekah nodding at her. “‘Bekah.” she turned, her eyes scanning the bar and landing on Silvi talking to a group of men in suits. “Hmm. Jealousy looks good on you, Bekah.” Marcel commented, moving closer to her.   Caroline glanced out the corner of her eye and resisted the urge to sigh. Marcel and Rebekah were a roller coaster, she had hoped her son had learned from the past but watching them together she wasn’t so sure. “If you'll excuse me.” she headed toward her friend. “Where have you been?” Silvi asked waving the men away. “Around.” Caroline sipped at her scotch. “I see you’re working your charm already.” Silvi grinned. “I can’t help it if men take notice when a beautiful woman is in the room.” Caroline laughed. “Men can’t help but notice beautiful women.” “Speaking of men I see that Klaus is here,” Silvi commented. “With the bartender no less. How do you feel about that?” Caroline's eyes narrowed on her friend. “Is this your way of trying to find out if I have any lingering feelings for Klaus because I refuse to talk more about him?” “Nooo.” Silvi dragged the word out unable to keep a straight face and Caroline snorted. “I don’t care if she takes an interest in him but if she hurts Marcel she will regret it.” “Always such a mama bear. You do know he’s a grown man, right?” “I’m aware but he’ll always be my son first,” Caroline responded unapologetically, her eyes sliding back toward Rebekah and Marcel. 

Across the courtyard, Cami watched Rebekah with Marcel, looking uncertain. “The guy of hers Rebekah was talking about... I'm sensing that would be Marcel.” She commented.   “I wouldn't worry about it. Ancient history.” Klaus told her. “And what of the other blonde?” she wondered. “They're always together.” Klaus laughed out loud, the thought of Caroline and Marcel absurd. “What’s so funny?” Cami asked. “There is nothing romantic between Caroline and Marcel,” he assured her. “How can you be so sure?” Cami wondered. “I mean, she's beautiful and he’s charming and they're always at each other’s side.” “For one their family and secondly, Caroline is my wife.” Cami eyes widened. “I wasn’t aware you were married.” Klaus gave a wry smile. “She seems to forget it herself. It’s complicated.” “It sounds it.” Cami shook her head ruefully. “I'm beginning to think your sister is a bit of a bitch.” Klaus laughed. “It's as though she invented the term.” Cami gazed at Klaus, being drawn in by the sound of his laugh. However his focus wasn’t on her, he saw Marcel getting ready to approach them, his eyes on Cami.  “Listen. Pardon me for a moment.” he excused himself, walking away from her.   “Cami.” Marcel greeted, flashing her his charming smile.   “Hey. Killer party,” she commented in return. “Oh, it's more of a work thing. And all the credit goes to Caroline.” Marcel dismissed. “I would've invited you—” “Oh, no.” Cami interrupted with a small smile. “We've been on one date. No explanation necessary. You do your thing, I'll entertain myself.” “What, leave you alone, looking the way you do?” He grinned, widely looking her over with appreciation. “Hell with that.”

Caroline was in the middle of talking to one of the city officials when she felt Silvi tug on her arm, she turned questioning eyes on her. “Incoming.” Silvi nodded to her right and she turned to see Klaus approaching her. Caroline sighed. “Silvi would you mind taking Mr. Sawyer to get a drink and taking over explaining why it’s good for not only the city but all of New Orleans to maintain an arrangement that benefits us all.” Silvi smiled charmingly at Mr. Sawyer her hand smoothing up and down his arm and flashing one of her irresistible smiles. “I’d love to, it helps that the company leaves nothing to be desired." Flattered and enchanted by Silvi Mr. Sawyer offered his arm to her. “Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you look tonight,” “Yes, but it never hurts to hear it again.” Silvi looked up at him from beneath dark lashes. Caroline watched Silvi lead Mr. Sawyer over to the bar just in time for Klaus to reach her. “It looks like Marcel stole your date.” she glanced toward her son where he was talking to the bartender who she didn’t believe was worth the time her son was so set on spending with her. Klaus’s gaze narrowed. “She’s not my date.” Caroline hummed uncaringly turning her focus on Marcel watching as he pulled Cami into his arms for a dance. “I see you don’t have one either.” Klaus pointed out, stepping closer to her. “Let me buy you a drink.” “No.” Caroline shot him a glare before walking away from him, wanting distance between them. Klaus watched her go, his hands clenching in frustration. God, that woman drove him crazy when she wouldn’t even spend two minutes in his company.  

Caroline couldn’t help the scowl that graced her beautiful features watching Marcel dance with Cami. She firmly believed he could do better than the bartender and getting mix up with your average human in this city was a disaster waiting to happen. She didn’t want him getting hurt, but it was his life and he could make his own choices. There was only so much she could do to protect his heart especially when he was so insistent in giving it to those who don’t deserve it, who didn’t deserve his affection. She felt him at her back before she heard his voice, always so aware when he was near. Guess that was what 800 years of being with someone would do for you. “Always so protective over him after all this time, love? Don’t you think it’s about time you let him live his life.” Caroline glared at him over her shoulder. “I do let him live his life. He makes his own choices but that doesn’t mean I have to approve or like them. And secondly, you’re one to talk. You were the same way with Rebekah and I'm willing to bet you still are that way about her.” Klaus knew she was right and chose not to comment further. “Dance with me.” Caroline shot him a glare. “Dancing with you is the last thing I want to do.” Klaus rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around her waist. “It’s just one dance.” Caroline grumbled as he pulled her out onto the dance floor, placing his hand on her lower back, pushing her against his body, until there was barely any space between them.  Caroline reluctantly set her hand on his shoulder, her other hand clasp in his, fingers intertwining. “Last I check there’s no need to dance this close.” Klaus leaned in his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. “We always used to dance this close.” Caroline pulled back, glaring. “That was then, this is now.” Klaus hummed, his eyes looking into hers with a challenge. “I don’t see you pulling away. You want to be close to me just as much as I want to be close to you.” Caroline scoffed. “Keep telling yourself that.” her eyes looked past him to her son. Now that they were on the dance floor she could see his every expression as he talked to Camille and she was determined to read his every expression just to see how serious he was about the bartender. Their voices drifted over to her, distracted with listening, she didn’t protest when Klaus’s hand slid slow on her hip, his fingers flexing against her, digging into the thin fabric of her dress. “I thought you said you were in community work.” Cami looked at Marcel inquiringly.    “Community fundraising. Throw a party, folks open their wallets. No one throws a better party than Caroline and no one is more charming than me. It’s kind of our thing.” he said. “Guess I'm what you call a necessary evil.” “Caroline?” Cami repeated. “You’re almost always together.” she paused, staring up at him. “I’m not stepping on any toes here am I?” Marcel gave a laugh. “While it’s true Caroline and I are together a lot it’s not in the sense you’re thinking. Caroline, she’s my family. She’s like a..mo-” he paused, hesitated and then said. “Sister. She’s like a sister to me.” Marcel had been so close to revealing how he saw Caroline as his mother, but Cami would never be able to truly understand that. Not when Caroline looked even younger than her by a few years. “Like she could step on my toes.” Caroline scoffed, the very thought of her son like that enough to make bile turn in her stomach and the thought of someone choosing the bartender over her was laughable. “Like any man in his right mind would choose her over me." “Is that your dislike for her talking or are you just that self-assured about yourself?” Klaus said, eyes shining in amusement with her obvious dislike. “Both.” Her eyes returned to him. “Are you saying you would choose someone like her over me?” Klaus’s hand on her hip tightened before it slid up her back over her shoulder slowly over her neck until he was cupping her jaw, his fingers buried in her blonde hair, his thumb sliding against her cheek. “I would never choose anyone over you. No one.” Caroline stared into his eyes drawn in by the intense blue gaze,  the passion in his words and how sincere and honest he sounded, she faltered for a moment, her body leaning into his, her hand tightening on his shoulder. “Klaus.” Klaus’s gaze drifted to her mouth and his thumb swipe over her bottom lip. The touch of his thumb to her mouth was like a shock to her system, she pulled back, his hand falling from her face with the action. “Don’t. You don’t get to look at me like that. You don’t get to say things like that to me anymore and you certainly don’t get to touch me like that.” Klaus clenched his jaw, his eyes darkening. “Do I at least get to finish this dance?” Klaus figured he pushed her enough as it was but he had got a glimpse of what he needed to know. He needed to know if he still had the effect on her that she clearly had on him and he got his answer. The way she said his name, how her body leaned into his, how her gaze was captured by his own. Her body's reaction to his.  She could deny there being nothing left between them all she wanted but it was nothing but a lie. It was more apparent to him than ever that what was between them was still there and always would be. Caroline hesitated but after a moment she grabbed his hand and set it on her waist, continuing to move with him, she avoided his gaze by turning her focus back to observing her son. “And Rebekah, she's one of your donors?” Cami questioned Marcel uncertainly.   “She's an old friend,” Marcel answered.   “Can't be that old,” said Cami. “She looks younger than me.” “You'd be surprised,” Marcel told her. “I was a kid when I met her. Enough about her. I just want to be right here with you.” Diego walked into the courtyard, expression grave, he saw Caroline first dancing with Klaus and then Marcel with Cami, barely any space between either of the pairs. Diego moved toward Marcel, whispering quietly into his ear.   Caroline frowned as she watched Marcel’s expression changed from charming to tense in a moment’s notice. Marcel turned his head, eyes scanning the crowd until they landed on Thierry, and he clenched his jaw, barely containing his anger. “Excuse me,” he told Cami not waiting for her response and walking over to Thierry. Caroline watched as he grabbed Thierry by the throat, forcefully pushing him away from the main party. She pulled away from Klaus, not bothering saying a word to him, followed closely behind by Diego as they rejoined Marcel who was in the middle of berating Thierry. “What the hell did you do?” Marcel demanded.   “Marcel,” Caroline laid her hand on his arm, casting a glance over her shoulder where she could see Klaus and Cami watching them. “You’re making a scene. I’m sure that’s not something you want.” Marcel released Thierry, taking a step back. Klaus smiled, watching the display sure his dance with Caroline came to an abrupt end but his plan was coming along as intended. Cami watched with a disquiet expression, feeling uneasy.  

“I know you think he's a monster.” Katie cried to Sophie from inside a candlelit chamber.   “It doesn't matter what I think. Thierry killed another vampire. He broke Marcel's biggest rule.” said Sophie, she ignored her guilt for the part she was playing in tonight's chain of events. Events that had yet to fully transpire. “You'll never see him again... unless we do something.” ‘"We"?” Katie repeated, looking at her in confusion. “I want to save our people. You want to save Thierry. There's only one way we can do both.” Sophie told her. 

A little while later, Katie and Sophie sat out in the cemetery, arranging items for the ritual they needed.   “You ready?” Sophie asked her. Katie answered by beginning to sprinkle sand over their tableau. 

Davina had been fast asleep in her bed, when suddenly the whispers got louder, she could feel the magic in the Quarter, she thrashed for a moment before her eyes snapped open. “Marcel. Something’s coming.” She rose from the bed walking over to her easel and started to draw madly, for several moments before abruptly stopping. “Magic.” 

Marcel had moved Thierry and his day walkers to the balcony so they could talk more privately without so many prying eyes watching them due to Caroline’s urging.   “I want to hear your side of it,” Marcel said, his voice held a hard edge.   “Hey, Marcel, come on-” “Your version.” Marcel cut off his protest. “Go.” Caroline set a hand on Thierry’s arm. “Thierry, just tell us what happened.” Thierry nodded at her, looking from her to Marcel. “We were tossing the Cauldron. This guy, some nightwalker, he attacked Katie for no reason.” Caroline brow furrowed, she could almost picture how everything unfolded, in Thierry’s eyes he was protecting his girl. “His name was Max.” Marcel ground out angrily. “I turned him, and as far as reasons go, he doesn't need one. She was a witch. He was a vampire. Now he's dead.” Caroline frowned, she didn’t believe it was as black and white as her son made it sound. If never was when matters of the heart were involved. She glanced over the balcony, her eyes first landing on Cami, she looked past her to Klaus who stared up at them with a look in his eyes she was familiar with, one where everything he wanted to happen was coming along just as he planned. She frowned deeper, suspicion nagging at her as she turned back to look at Thierry. “I didn't mean for it to happen,” said Thierry, it was just when he saw Katie in danger all he saw was red. He had to keep her safe.   “You broke my most important rule. Damn it, T.” Marcel cursed, frustration growing. “How long we been friends, 70 years? I turned you into something that would never die. I gave you a gift.” “And I have been loyal to you all this time, and I still am.” Thierry defended. “I'm still your friend, Marcel. I swear, that hasn't changed.” “Marcel.” Caroline waited for Marcel to look at her. “Listen to him. He thought he was protecting the woman he loved.” “I know that but that doesn’t excuse what he did,” Marcel argued. “It doesn’t change anything.” “He isn’t wrong though,” Caroline argued. “Thierry has always been loyal. That has to count for something.” Loyalty was a hard thing to find and Caroline didn’t believe it should be just thrown away over one, emotion-fueled mistake. 

Cami looked on in apprehension. “Are you all right?” Klaus appeared at her side.   “He's got a temper, doesn't he?” she turned away from the balcony. “I guess this is the moment I remember I know better.” she shook her head, disappointed in herself and walked away. Klaus didn’t have to turn to know that Joshua had walked up behind him. He reached into his coats inner pocket, withdrawing a folded piece of paper and handed it to Joshua, who pocketed it and walked away to do as he was instructed. Klaus watched the balcony as Joshua appeared next to Marcel, handing him the slip of folded paper. 

“We found this at his girl's place,” Josh informed him. Marcel looked at the paper before holding it out to Caroline. “You were saying?” Caroline took the paper her eyes narrowing when she realized it was the daylight ring spell. Marcel turned back to Thierry glaring. “Still my friend, huh? That's funny because it looks to me like that little witch of yours got her hands on a spell that Caroline and I keep locked away.” None of this made sense. How did Thierry even get his hands on it? Something about all this just felt off. “Marcel, I have never seen that.” Thierry protested, eyes wide. “Shut up.” Marcel snapped. “I see on your hand, you still have the daylight ring I gave you. So what would you need with the recipe for making new ones? Unless maybe you and Katie were gonna go off and start a little kingdom of your own?” “Marcel, no.” Thierry denied shaking his head.   “Here's a lesson in friendship. Friends don't lie to me, they don't break my rules, and they do not steal what is mine.” Marcel said angrily. He turned away from him, taking a moment to breathe and compose himself. He looked at his mother, seeing how conflicted she look and he didn’t have to ask to know she was more than hesitant to punish Thierry. He reached out, gently taking her arm and pulling her close. “I can’t let this slide.” Caroline shook her head, the spell gripped tightly in her hands. “I don’t think everything is how it looks. I think you need to consider everything before making a decision.” “I have,” Marcel argued. “I can’t show leniency. It’ll make me look weak. He has to pay for his betrayal.” Caroline pressed her lips tightly together. She didn’t like this. Not one bit. Marcel dropped his hand from her arm and turned back to Thierry. “For the crime of murdering one of his own, I sentence Thierry Vanchure to 100 years in the Garden.” Caroline blew out a breath, casting a sympathetic look toward Thierry. She couldn’t shake off the feeling of how wrong this was. Her eyes drifted over the balcony.  Eyes narrowing when she saw Klaus smiling up at them, her focus narrowed down to him and she heard him murmur.  “And it begins…” She clenched her jaw. He was behind this. She was sure of it. She knew he couldn’t be trusted and she was right. 

Sophie preparing her locator spell in the cemetery feeling a presence she looked up and saw Rebekah had shown up. “You're doing the right thing,” Rebekah assured her. “It's the only way to find Elijah.” Sophie took a deep breath, steeling herself. “I'm doing what I have to do.” she started chanting and Rebekah fell silent.

Marcel grabbed his mother’s arm and pulled her off to the side. “I need you to keep an eye on Cami for me while I take care of this.” Caroline glared. “Yeah, I do not want to spend any amount of time with her.” “Please,” Marcel asked of her, his eyes pleading. “I hate that look,” Caroline grumbled. “You have been using it on me since you were just a boy. Fine.” Marcel nodded and kissed her cheek in thanks as he headed out with his vampires, leading Thierry out of the party. Caroline started searching around for Cami, growing frustrated when she was unable to find the human? Had she already taken off? Caroline spotted Silvi at the bar nursing a drink and approached her. “Have you seen that blonde bartender?” Silvi motioned to the blonde guy behind the bar.   “No, I meant the one that caught Marcel’s attention?” Caroline clarified. “Oh, that one.” Silvi nodded, sipping at her drink. “I saw her leave about 5-10 minutes ago.” Caroline nodded. Okay, so she didn’t have to keep the woman occupied at all. She looked to the door debating whether she should head out and meet back up with Marcel. “Hey, what was going on up there with Thierry? Did he really kill one of our own?” Silvi asked, placing her glass on the bar top, growing serious.   Caroline paused, looking around to see no one seemed to be paying attention to them and she moved closer to Silvi, talking quietly to Silvi explaining what had happened and her reservations about punishing Thierry because there had to be more they weren’t aware of and she was sure Klaus was behind it. 

Marcel and his men led Thierry out of the party and onto the street, a small crowd of the New Orleans vampires had gathered just outside. Katie walked down the street, approaching the vampires, expression angry as she chanted.  

Davina could feel more magic in the air and sketch frantically across her easel.

Thierry’s eyes widened in panic when he saw his girlfriend. “Katie, no!”   “Like clockwork,” said Klaus, watching from a window above smirking, waiting for events to unfold.   Katie waved her arm and a lamp's light exploded; all the vampires grab at their heads, falling down in pain. 

Davina’s drawing became more clear the more magic Katie used as she sketched the woman who was attacking the vampires. 

Marcel alone rose back up pushing through the pain to face Katie. Katie angry at the sight of him used more of her magic, another light exploded as she continued her advance and Marcel went down again, pain rippling through his skull.

Sophie continued to chant, concentrating hard.   “Hurry,” Rebekah told her feeling a sense of urgency. 

Marcel rose again despite the pain he felt in his skull, but Katie used her magic to break his bones, and he fell again, collapsing to the asphalt, shouting in pain.

“NO!” Davina shouted from her room. She lifted her hands slowly. 

Marcel rose again and Katie looked at him astonished. How did he keep getting up? “You're here to save your man. Well, come on, little girl!” Marcel taunted, feeling the strength of Davina’s magic flowing through him. He growled, rushing to attack her. Katie reacted quickly halting him with her magic before he could lay a hand on her, he fell to the ground groaning. 

Davina fell to the floor, a sense of panic filling her. “Caroline!” She concentrated hard, trying to transfer what she was feeling to Caroline to warn her. 

Caroline halted her steps stunned by the sudden feeling of panic followed by a flash of Marcel in trouble. “No, Marcel!” She sped off, desperation tearing at her heart. She had to get there. She had to protect him. 

Katie lifted a wooden stake above Marcel. “Die, you son of a bitch.” “No! Katie! Don't!” Thierry shouted in horror. The stake came down and Marcel couldn't up but suddenly there was a flash of blonde hair. Caroline grunted as the stake pierced her skin at the same time she plunged her hand into Katie’s chest, her hand wrapping around the witch's heart. “No, Caroline!” Marcel shouted in panic. A roar sound from nearby and suddenly Katie was being yanked back, the motion yanked her way from Caroline but she gripped the witch's heart in her hand as Katie fell to the ground. Caroline stared at Klaus in surprise, letting Katie’s heart drop to the ground. 

In the cemetery, Sophie stopped her chants abruptly. “Something's wrong. Katie's magic stopped,” she said looking conflicted for only a moment before pushing it away. “I can keep going.” “You can't. She'll sense it.” Rebekah protested.   “No. I can find Davina. I just need another moment.” Sophie insisted stubbornly.   Rebekah snatched the paper with black sand on top of it that Sophie was using and threw it aside away from the witch.  "You may be willing to die to get your witch back, but if anything happens to Caroline, Klaus will kill anyone and everyone, he’ll tear every soul in New Orleans apart until there is nothing left. Including his own family. Rescuing Elijah will be for nothing if he thinks Klaus can no longer be saved or if we're all dead. It's over. We failed.”  

Klaus stared at Caroline, the fear of losing her still coursing through his body. He grabbed her arms. “Sweetheart, are you alright?” he reached for the stake embedded just above her heart. Caroline could hear the concern and worry in his voice, but she didn’t care for it. How convenient of him to show up? At this exact moment? Caroline knocked his hands away from her before his fingers could even graze the stake, taking a step back. “I don’t want your concern.” Klaus brow furrowed in confusion by her harsh glare, her expression one of suspicion. He had planned this, Caroline was sure of it but she didn’t know why. If she hadn’t step in would he have let Katie kill their son? Had he fallen so far to allow death to take Marcel? “Mother!” Marcel scrambled to his feet, no longer feeling Katie’s magic, his hand gripped her shoulder, turning her around to him, his eyes widening to see the stake deeply embedded in her shoulder, mere inches from her heart. His eyes snapped back to hers, realizing how close she had come to dying. Caroline saw the fear in his eyes. “Hey, I’m okay,” she reached for the stake, fingers curling around the wood and yanked it out, dropping it carelessly. “See, I’m fine.” she placed a reassuring hand on Marcel’s shoulder. Marcel shook his head. “That was close. Too close. You shouldn’t have done that.” “You were in danger. That was all that mattered.” Caroline answered. Her son needed her, she had to protect him and she did. Marcel shook his head again, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her, needing to reassure himself that she was fine, that she was okay. Caroline wrapped her arms around him, knowing she had scared him. She smoothed her hand up and down his back, just like she did when he was just a boy on the rare occasions when he had been scared. “You scared me,” Marcel admitted quietly, pulling back from her. “I know,” Caroline murmur moving her hand back to his shoulder and squeezing. “I’m sorry.” Klaus watched as Caroline pulled Marcel into another comforting hug and he felt his stomach twist in jealousy. The easy affection between them. The way Caroline accepted his concern and the way she was so open with Marcel, nothing but loving and caring. Marcel took comfort with his arms wrapped around his mother, relieved that she was fine no matter how close he came to losing Caroline she was still here. The sounds of Thierry's voice had them both pulling apart from the familial embrace toward the man as he crawled toward Katie, breaking down. “No. Katie.” Thierry reached her body. “No, no, no, no.” he sobbed over her dead body, cradling her to him, rocking back and forth.   Marcel turned finally catching Klaus’s eyes and nodded at him, grateful that he had been there to lend a hand. He would hate to think where he would be if Katie’s stake had struck home in Caroline’s chest. How lost he would be with his mother’s death. 

Marcel stood across from Thierry, he was chained to a wall in the underground bricked room, that Marcel like to refer as the Garden. “Just tell me this. Was she worth it?” asked Marcel, glaring.   “I loved her, “ he answered grief-stricken. Marcel nodded slowly, his jaw clenching right before he drove an iron stake into Thierry's gut. Thierry groaned out in pain.   Another man appeared, and Marcel handed him a wooden mallet. “Seal him up... and let him rot.” He instructed.   The man started to lay bricks over wet cement, clearly intending to build a wall to encase Thierry. A prison of his own making.

He wasn’t the first to be sealed down there and he wouldn’t be the last, the tunnel was filled with vampires that had met the same fate. 

The courtyard was deserted as the party crowd had henced cleared out. Klaus, Caroline, and Marcel stood alone on the balcony. Caroline overlooked the courtyard as Marcel and Klaus clinked their drinks against each other. Marcel downed his drink. “How much did Cami see?” “She just saw an argument, mate,” Klaus assured him. “It's nothing you can't fix. You really like her, don't you?” “God, I hope not.” Caroline groaned. Marcel nudged her shoulder with his. “We talked about this.” Caroline pursed her lips in response.   “I like that she's not a part of any of this,” Marcel admitted. “Sometimes it's good to see the world the way the humans do.” “I am sorry about Thierry, you know? I can tell he was a good friend.” Caroline resisted the urge to scoff, not believing Klaus for a second as she cast him a doubtful look.   “I made him what he was,” said Marcel and shook his head. “Obviously, my trust was misplaced.” “Yes, it was.” Caroline stared straight at Klaus and he caught her gaze, having the feeling that she was not talking about Thierry. Klaus tore his gaze away from her. “Doesn't make it easier.” “You were there for us tonight. I guess I owe you one.” Marcel admitted, turning to him. “You asked for your brother back. Seems like the least I can do.” Klaus gave the smallest of nods. Marcel nodded back, he reached out squeezing his mother’s hand and kissed her cheek as he turned and left, leaving just Caroline and Klaus. Klaus waited till he knew Marcel was gone before moving closer to Caroline, grabbing her hand, he stared hard into her eyes. “What the hell were you thinking getting in front of that stake? How could you have been so willing to die?!” Caroline wrenched her hand out of his grasp. “I was thinking of saving my son. When you love someone you’re willing to die for them because their life means more to than your own.” “No one’s life means more than yours, Caroline! You could have been killed!” snapped Klaus. “A little lower and that stake would have pierced your heart and we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” “And whose fault would that have been?!” Caroline challenged. “You were behind everything that happened tonight!” Klaus’s expression flickered as he took a step back from her. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” “Yes, you do.” she scoffed, taking a step toward him and shoving him against the balcony. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I don’t know what your end game was tonight but I know you set everything in motion. You convince Marcel to send vampires to the Cauldron, you were watching everything with Thierry unfold like it was a damn movie. It’s pretty convenient that Thierry so happened to have that spell and the fact that you were there on the street tonight. It’s all too much of a coincidence. I know you were behind all of it. If there’s anyone Marcel shouldn’t have put his trust in, it’s you.” Klaus gave a taunting smirk, his eyes cold. “Easy there love, your starting to sound like me with your paranoia and conspiracy theories.” “You may have Marcel fooled but not me.” Caroline's eyes flashed. “I don’t care what the hell you’re up to but you almost got my son killed tonight. If any harm comes to him because of your actions I will personally make you suffer.” She gave him one last shove before brushing past him, down the steps to the courtyard and out of the compound. Klaus watched her go, clenching his jaw. It was like every time he felt like he was making a step forward with her, in reality, it was two more steps back. 

Klaus walked in, his eyes scanning for someone in particular until they landed on the blonde drinking alone at the bar, he walked forward sliding into the seat next to her. “Cami-" “Don't even try it.” Cami cut him off. “I get the bro code. You're here to smooth things over for your friend. It's very nice of you, but—” “But you've been hurt before, and you aren't taking any more chances.” Said Klaus knowingly.   “Something like that,” Cami admitted, looking to him in surprise. “The guy I saw tonight—not the guy I thought he was. And if he can turn on a dime like that—” “Sounds like more than just a broken heart. Someone broke your trust.” Klaus looked at her closely. Cami felt her heart skip a beat at his gaze, she swallowed, and slowly leaned in. “Don’t.” his tone was sharp like a blade. “I’m only interested in one woman and that woman is not you.” Cami swallowed again, looking down as her face red hot with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I thought-” “You thought wrong,” Klaus said sharply, his jaw clenching, he motioned for the bartender to pour him a shot and downed it as soon as it was put in front of him. “A long time ago, I saw this girl, she was everything I wasn’t. She was kind, compassionate, understanding. She had this light about her that drew me in like a month to a flame and she had this innocence that was completely untouched. I was in awe of her mere existence, her true beauty and I have never been mesmerized like that again in my entire life.” Cami looked back up her embarrassment forgotten as his words captured her. “You must really love her.” Klaus looked at her. “No one has ever left their mark on me the way she did.” “What happened to her?” Cami wondered. “Are you still together?” She knew Caroline was his wife but if she was the woman he spoke of wouldn't they still be together. Maybe this woman was the reason things with his wife didn't work out. “No, but I aim to change that. I came back to this town and found that my wife was here and I fully intend to get her back, no other woman could ever hope to hold a candle to her." Okay, so Caroline and woman were the same person, Cami thought disheartened. There went that theory. "Now enough about me,” Klaus said, getting back to business. “I wanted to talk to you about Marcel, I need you to give him another chance.” “No,” Cami shook her head, still reeling to learn that he was a married man and Caroline, his wife, was the woman he spoke of. “I can’t.” “You will.” his voice changed, locking eyes with her with the intent to compel her.  “You went to Marcel's. You danced. You feel badly that he had a row with his friend, but otherwise, all you remember is that it was perfect.”

Klaus stepped into his home the sound of someone playing music filling the air. He spotted Rebekah at the piano. Rebekah sat up straighter, moving her fingers off the keys. “Well, tonight was an epic failure.” “On the contrary, sister. I’ll have to disagree, everything didn’t go as planned but everything worked out.” “Are you mad?” Rebekah demanded. “Katie died before Sophie could complete the spell.” “Oh, I'm well aware. I had a hand in her death even if Caroline ripped her heart out.” He gave a careless shrug as if to say what can you do. “You what?” Rebekah said in disbelief.   “There's no way our little suicide witch wasn't gonna try and take out Marcel with her.” Klaus’s expression darkened. "I hadn’t counted on Caroline stepping in front of him to save his life, I had planned on saving his life by killing Katie, it didn't work out how I planned completely but the result was the same, I now have Marcel exactly where I want him.” “Sophie trusted you.” Rebekah accused looking at him in betrayal, a look he was rather familiar with from her. “I trusted you against all my better instincts.” “Wake up, Rebekah. The witches are on no one side but their own. This girl, Davina? That's all they want, and when they have her, what do you think happens then, a truce? Of course not. They will use Davina's power against all of us. “ Klaus said, speaking down to her, wanting his sister to stop being so naive. “Even if you're right, the plan was to find Elijah, and you've failed us.” Rebekah accused angrily.   “You always did lack faith,” said Klaus dismissively. “By protecting Marcel, I've cemented his trust, so much so that he's agreed to return Elijah to us. Only Caroline is suspicious but I can work around that. And when the time is right, when Marcel has told me everything I need to know about Davina, I will have her for myself and I will take my wife back.” “I have all the faith in the world that you'll get what you want, Nik.” Rebekah stood up slowly, moving around the piano. “You always do, no matter what cost there is to the rest of us. You disgust me.” she took one last sip of her bourbon and set the glass on the piano top and pushed past him, judgment and blame coming off her in waves.   Klaus clenched his jaw, but he couldn’t afford to care about her opinions. 

The sound of a door opening had Davina looking up from where she was kneeling next to Elijah’s open casket. Her eyes widened, a relieved smile appearing when she saw Marcel walk in. She got to her feet, running to close the distance between them, throwing her arms around him. “You're okay! I was so worried.” she pulled back her smile, faltering. “Caroline?” “She’s fine.” he was quick to assure her. “I’m sure she’ll be here any minute.” he paused, gripping her by the shoulders. “Thank you. Whatever you did, I felt it. You helped me.” “It was the old ones, wasn't it?” asked Davina.   “Actually, Klaus helped saved me tonight,” Marcel told her. “I'm gonna make things right, starting off by giving him his brother back.” he moved toward Klaus’s coffin.   Davina stepped in his path. “No.” “What?” Marcel looked at her bewildered. “Davina—” “No. You said the old ones were dangerous. I won't give him back until I know how to kill them.” Davina stated defiantly. “And you shouldn’t.” Caroline walked into the attic. Davina’s face lit up. “Caroline!” Caroline stopped in front of her, taking her by the hands. “Thank you for warning me that my son was in trouble. I hate to think what could have happened otherwise.” Davina nodded. “I would never let any harm come to you or Marcel if I can help it.”   Caroline smiled. “The feelings mutual,” she squeezed her hand before turning to face Marcel. “Klaus does not get what he wants.” “Caroline, he was there for us tonight.” Marcel protested. “Doing this for him is the least we could do.” “No, it’s not. He orchestrated everything tonight.” Caroline gritted out. “And in doing so he almost got you killed.” “Caroline, I think you might be projecting your anger for him into something that-” “I’m not projecting anything,” Caroline argued. “I know he was behind tonight, I don’t why but he is up to something and we need to find out what. Don’t let your past with him blind you to what is happening now.” “I think you’re letting your feelings blind you into believing he’s out to hurt us,” Marcel said carefully. “Because he is!” she exclaimed. “You almost died tonight!” “No,” Marcel frowned. “You did. I never want you stepping in front of a stake for me again.” “What?” Davina looked at Caroline worriedly. “I’m fine.” Caroline offered her a comforting smile. “It missed my heart.” “Barely,” Marcel argued, his eyes flickered to where he could still see the stain of blood against her skin. “It was close. Too close. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if you would have died because of me.” Caroline's eyes softened and she placed a motherly hand to his cheek. “Not because of you. For you. It’s a mother’s job to always, always put her child first. It’s never a question of choice to save someone you love at the cost of yourself. And that is what I did tonight. I just acted because your life is more important to me than my own.” Marcel placed his hand over her's, affection and warmth in his eyes. Davina felt her chest tightened, watching their exchange wishing her mother had felt that way about her instead her mother was ready to watch her die. She felt Caroline’s hand wrap around her own, tugging the girl into her side, she turned her head and pressed a kiss to her hair. “That goes for you, too. Your life means more to me than you could ever know.” The tightness in Davina’s chest lessened as a sudden warmth filled her and she leaned in toward Caroline, a smile unbidden on her lips. Caroline let her hand far away from Marcel’s face. “I will always put the two of you first, you don’t have to like it but you will accept it.”

Marcel nodded and smiled slightly, before Caroline he had grown up without a family but from the moment he met her he knew what it was to have someone care about you unselfishly and unconditionally and Caroline never once faltered in her love for him and he brought Davina that same warm sense of family. Because that was what the three of them were. They were family. 

Rebekah walked down a street in the Quarter, she still wore her gown though her hair was slightly disheveled. She caught sight of Marcel and quickly turned the other way but he stood in her path. “You're following me.” she accused.   He walked toward her and Rebekah took a step back for every step he took until her back was pressed against a storefront. Marcel pressed in close to her. “Maybe you're just in my way.” Rebekah stared up at him, her breath caught in her throat, his body almost brushing against hers. Marcel could see the want in her eyes as he searched her face, abruptly he turned and walked away. Rebekah exhaled slowly, shutting her eyes, trying to push down the sudden emotion his closeness had brought on.  

Sophie waved a smoking bundle of herbs over Katie’s body, preparing her for her final rites. Witches gathered around her, including the old witch Agnes and Sophie friend, Sabine. “I told you no good would come from this unholy alliance of yours,” Agnes said in disapproval.   “At least I'm doing something,” Sophie responded, she stood and turned to Agnes challengingly.  “What about you?” “Do you really think connecting ourselves to the Originals will do us any good?” Agnes stepped forward, jaw clenching. “It makes us no better than the vampires we’re fighting against.” Murmurs of agreement echoed through the witches and Sophie felt a wave of uneasiness. 

Caroline walked up the familiar path of the suburban area of New Orleans, it wasn’t too far from the pier. She closed her fist and rapped on the door and waited. She didn’t have to wait long because moments later the door was being pulled open, her eyes took David in wearing nothing but a pair of black sweats that hung dangerously low on his hips. “Hey,” David opened his door wider, stepping back without a word. “I didn’t think I'd be seeing you tonight." “Are you complaining?” Caroline asked, stepping into his home. “Definitely not.” David closed the door behind her, turning around to take her in. “You look amazing in that dress.” “Thank you,” she stepped forward her hands landing low on his hips, her thumb brushing his bare skin. “You look great with your shirt off.” David chuckled brushing her hair back over her shoulder and the smile on his face faded almost instantly when he saw the tear in her dress and the blood against her skin. “What happened?” “Things got a little out of hand at the party.” Caroline dismissed. “Look I don’t want to talk about it I just really want to forget tonight.” David nodded. “I can help with that,” he slipped his hand beneath the strap of her dress, tugging it down her arm, and dipped his head, his tongue stroking across the dried blood on her skin, clearing it away. Caroline's hand slid behind his neck, fingers curling into his hair, she gave a silent sigh at the feel of his tongue licking her skin at the top of her breast. She tugged at his hair until he lifted his head and crashed her lips against his. David’s wasted no time in deepening the kiss, stroking his tongue against hers, his hand moved restlessly over her body, he reached behind her looking for the zipper on her dress and pulled it down, tugging at the fabric once it loosened until it poured at her feet. He ripped his mouth from hers, panting, his eyes drifting down her body, her breast bare the only thing covering her was a scrap of black lace. “Bloody hell, your gorgeous woman.” Caroline laughed, he made it sound like a bad thing and it was flattering to her ego, she slid a hand down his chest to his waist and slipped her hand beneath the waistband of his pants, finding him already hard. “Are you saying that because you want sex?” David slipped his thumb beneath the sides of her underwear and tugged them down her legs making her lose contact with him. “I’m saying your gorgeous because you are and I can’t imagine any man who is lucky enough to have caught your attention not want you. Somedays, being with you is all I think about.” Caroline pushed impatiently at his pants as she kicked her dress and underwear away from her feet. “Then stop thinking about it and do it.” David shoved his pants down quickly, then reached for her, arms banding around her back and lifted her, hiking her up against his body. Caroline wrapped her legs around his waist and wrapped one arm around his shoulder, the other slipped between them, grabbing his erection and positioning him at her entrance, locking eyes with him, she slid down, her mouth parting at the feeling of him inside her. “Fuck,” David cursed, pressing her tightly against the wall, his hands moving to slam against it, palms flat, hips jerking upward feeling her wrapping around every inch of him. “You’re perfect.” Caroline moaned as he started thrusting into her hard and fast, she buried her face in his neck, her fangs dropping, she grazed her teeth against his flesh, right before she sank her teeth into him, his blood filling her mouth as he filled her. “Caroline.” David groaned in pleasure, hips jerking against hers. Caroline mind blanked out as she lost herself in David, forgetting the last couple of hours, letting him distract her from everything she wanted to forget. And it worked. For now.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Reblogs and comments are encouraged.

Tags: @coolbooklover1234 @barbar226 @lexia-m @ihappysmile @elis-blog @eloiselili @caritobear @unhealthyklarolineobsession @gabriellamarie97 @spicy5

[psychospeak-blog]

Nights with You

Warnings: Swearing

It had been a really strange day. 

Not strange in that fact that weird things were happening.  In fact, it was really an ordinary day in that sense.  You'd gone to work as normal, moving easily throughout your day, and even been delighted to discover Starbucks was practically empty when you'd gone to grab an afternoon coffee. No, it was the weather than was strange.  Hot and muggy, with barely any sunlight to be found, despite the fact that you felt a thin sheen of sweat break out across your skin whenever you'd stepped outside.  It seemed, strangely ominous.  

So, you really weren't surprised to see several dark storm clothes off in the distance when you stepped out of your office building at the end of the day, just hoping that you could get home before the rain broke free.  It was windy as you drove home, the car shaking, yet no rain coming yet.  It was starting to drizzle once you pulled into the parking lot of your apartment building, and you quickly gathered your files from the seat, hugging them to your chest as you pushed through the wind, your hair whipping wildly around you, until you were able to step inside, the door banging shut behind you.

"Getting stormy out there," your sweet older neighbor Bill asked you, as you stepped in next to him to check your mail, "You got candles and flashlights?  I heard the power's already out in half the city.  Likely to go out here, too." "I do," you confirmed, "How about You?"

"All set," he said confidentially, like he'd been planning for this moment for years.  "You just come knock on my door if you need anything, alright, dear?"

"Sure," you confirmed, him tapping you on the shoulder as he passed by with his mail in hand, heading back to his apartment. 

Collecting your own mail, you bypassed the elevator as the lights flickered, opting for the stairs.  You weren't a big fan of elevators as it was, and no way were you going to risk getting stuck in that little metal box if the power went out.   The lights flickered once more as you reached your floor, unlocking your door and stepping inside, startling when you saw a form sitting on your couch out of the corner of your eye, letting out a surprised gasp, your hand flying to your chest.  "Jesus, Trav, you scared me."

"Welcome home," he said, his eyes darting away from the T.V.for a moment, still smashing buttons on the controller on his lap. Your little Havanese, Milo, jumped off the couch where he'd been next to Travis, trotting over to you and circling through your legs. You walked further into your apartment, looking to see some video game on the T.V., his Xbox laying on the carpet and connecting to your television by a cord. He was eased back into the cushions on your coach, legs crossed, set on your coffee table, just like he owned the  place  "What are you doing here?"

"The power's out at my place," he explained. " So you used the key I gave you for emergencies, to come over here just to just steal my power?"

" So, it was an emergency - It's a double XP day and I couldn't play without power," he said, "and, like, you were at work all day, so what else was I supposed to do?"

You laughed, flinging your key ring around on your finger.  "I'm just going to take Milo out." "I just did, like, twenty minutes ago?" Travis said.

" You did?" "Mhm.." he nodded, not breaking his eyes from the TV, "it looked like it was going to start pouring, and I didn't know what time you were gonna be home, so.." he shrugged nonchalantly.  You crossed the room, leaning over him on the couch and ruffled his hair, and he scowled because he hated it when you did that.  "I guess you can stay then," you relented, and he turned his head, his hands still moving on the controller yet giving you his full attention as he kissed you.  You really had no idea how he did that.

" Why don't you go shower?" He suggested, " I'll be done here by the time you're out and we can hang out." "Are you trying to tell me I stink?"

"Nah, you smell good actually," he seemed to close his eyes momentarily and inhale deeply, "Fresh, like rain.  I just know that you like to shower before bed AND there's supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight and you're super freaky and are convinced you're going to get struck by lightening."

"It's a thing!" You said, laughing even as you made your way into your bedroom, grabbinga pair of pyjama pants and a cami,  "The National Weather Service advises against it." "The National Weather Service," he scoffed.   " It was on Mythbusters!" You yelled, disappearing into the bathroom and starting the shower. 

"Nerd!" He called from the couch, and you could hear him even over the sound of the running water.  

You had intended to shower quickly, but the warm water felt so good against your skin, and you realized you might have gotten a little more chilled on the walk from your car than you thought.

Just as you were beginning to try and psych yourself up to step out of the warmth, the room suddenly went dark.

" Oh, come on," you mumbled, shutting the shower off and stepping out onto the bath mat, trying to blink your eyes to adjust to the blackness.  You dried yourself off as much as possible, and then reached for the doorknob to open the door, hoping that would help you see a little better, but was being turned from the other side.  The door flew open, and you were immediately blinded by a bright light, your hands flying up to shield your eyes.

"Sorry," you head Travis say, but you still couldn't see him, blinking away the bright spots in your vision until you could see him, holding a flashlight, pointing it at the ground, this time. Now that you could see, you started gathering your clothes, letting the towel slide to the floor and pulling your PJ pants on.  "Travis," you laughed when you noticed where the light was shining, "Would you stop it with the flashlight?"

"You want me to just leave you in the dark then?"

"If you want to help, you could shine it at my clothes so I can see what I'm doing, rather than just illuminating my boob." He laughed but kept it focused there, even as you pulled your tank top on.

"Hey," he said, sounding excited like he'd just discovered something cool, "If I shine this just like this, it totally makes your shirt see-through."

You laughed, because he was acting like a 13-year old boy who would do practically anything to see a pair of boobs, and not like he saw - and touched - yours on a regular basis.

"Can I have my flashlight back, please?" you asked, extending your hand, because you needed to go into the kitchen to try and figure out what the hell you were going to put together to eat for dinner now that you didn't have a stove. "Fine," he relented, but then smirked at you, "I'm just gonna use the light on my phone then."

You rolled your eyes, shaking your head, but only laughed harder when you wanted him walk right in the couch, practically tumbling over the side.  You couldn't resist when you say him get knocked off balance, pushing him so he faceplanted onto the couch.  

"Hey," he chastised, immediately wrapping his arms around your legs, grabbing you behind the knees so your legs buckled, pulling you on top of him. And, then, of course, Milo jumped right on top of your back, seeing all of the excitement.

"Ah!" you squealed, shifting on top of him as he pressed playful, wet kisses, all over your face and chest.  The moment was broken, however, with a loud, sudden, crash of thunder, Milo immediately running over to the door, barking and snarling.

"Shhh....it's okay," you said in a calm voice, getting up from the couch and picking up your dog, who gave a couple of more growls in your arms, his noise twitching.  

You cradled him in one arm, and Travis gave him a little scratch behind the ears as you passed by, pulling the door of your fridge open to see it...much fuller than when you left it. 

"Whaa---" you started, but Travis pushed passed you, pulling a pizza box out of the fridge, setting it on the counter, followed by several take-out containers.

"So, cold pizza, or cold Chinese?" he asked, and then started pulling more stuff out of the fridge, "Actually, I think there's pasta, too, and like, a quinoa salad or something?"

"Where did you get all this from?" "I brought it.  From my place," he explained, "I didn't want it to all go bad.  What do you have?"

"Uhh...goat cheese?" you said, "And a butternut squash." You'd been planning on making some type of pasta or grain bowl for dinner but, of course, now that the power was out, that wasn't happening now that you couldn't cook anything.   Travis made a face," Yeah, you can let all that stuff rot," he said, "C'mon."

The three of you got set up in your bedroom, you holding Milo on your lap, arm tucked around him, petting him whenever he started shaking. You watched a couple of TV shows that Travis had saved onto his ipad, nibbling away on your dinner, illuminated by a couple of lit candles, a turned over flashlight, and the flickering light coming from the ipad. Eventually, the sound of the pounding rain outside was drowning out the sound of the show, and you shut it off, cleaning up your makeshift dinner, and grabbing a glass of wine, the goat cheese, a few crackers, and some chocolate for a midnight snack. 

You got back in bed, half propped up on the pillows, half laying down, slipping a piece of chocolate in your mouth and letting it melt.

Travis was on his side, facing you, and gave you a curious look.  "If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go?"

You shut your eyes in contemplation, listening to the pouring rain, seeing the soft flicker of candlelight, your boyfriend and your pup curled up with you.  "Here's good," you answered.

Travis laughed under his breath.  "Why? It's so ugly outside."

"Because you're here." "D'awwee," He teased. " You could take me with you, though."

"Oh," you said, thinking, "I don't know." "France?" he suggested, "With your fancy-ass wine and cheese."

"It's a five dollar bottle of wine from Target," you laughed, "France would be okay though, but not Paris."

"Why not Paris?"

"It seems so....tourist-y and overdone?" you said, "If I'm going to go to all of France, Iwant to experience all of France, like the countryside and all of the cool little spots, not just get a picture of me with the Eiffel Tower, y'know?"

"Hmm...." Travis considered.   "How about you?"

"Alaska," he responded right away.  "I've always wanted to go to Alaska." "Alaska?" you asked, "You're complaining about the rain here, and you want to go to Alaska?"

"Yeah, on one of those wilderness adventure tours," he said, "You can see bears, and go traversing, and there's boat tours so you can go whale watching. You'd like it."

"Would I now?" you asked playfully. "Mhmmm..." he murmured, snuggling closer to you, "I look really cute in a parka."

You laughed against him, another crack of thunder crashed overhead, and Milo huffed, pushing between your bodies and burying his head in your chest. 

  "What about you, dude?" Travis asked, in a voice that he had reserved only for use with dogs.  Seriously, you'd heard him talk to babies in a more serious tone.  "Where'd you like to go?  Anywhere but here?"

You were both quiet for a moment as a flash of lightning illuminated the room from behind the curtains, and then Travis sucked in a gasp like the lightning had inspired a light bulb moment.  "We should go camping!"

"Camping?" you asked with a laugh. Truth be told, you'd never been camping in your entire life.  Other than sleepovers in a tent in a backyard.

"Yeah," Travis said, "It'd be fun.  We could go to a lake, get a canoe.  Get this guy one of those little doggie life jackets and he can come with us.  We could even go fishing and then cook it all up over the campfire for dinner." "That sounds like a lot of work."

"But it's fun," he complained, "you wouldn't even have to do anything.  Just sit there and...sun yourself or whatever, and make sure this guy doesn't jump overboard." He said the last part while rubbing Milo's head.

"Why do I feel like you would push me overboard?" you said, laughing, knowing that he'd probably do just that, but end up tipping the whole canoe over, and then you'd all end up in the lake.

"I would never do that," he said, looking offended, "That's what oars are for.  For splashing people." "You're such a jerk sometimes," you laughed.

"I haven't even done anything yet," he protested.  "You know where else I want to go?  Carlsbad."

"Carlsbad?  Like in California?" "Yep." "What's there?"

"Legoland," he answered, not even trying to stop the smile from appearing on his face.

"Legoland," you repeated, "You want to go to Legoland?" "Yes, it looks fucking awesome, there's..."

You held up your hand right there, "Pretty sure you're not allowed to say the F-word in Legoland."

He rolled his eyes. "Freakin' awesome then.  There's that whole Ninjago area, and there's a Starwars section, and you can even dig for dinosaur fossils." "You've really researched this."

"Yeah," he said, "Honestly, I was going to wait until we had kids.  But, we'd probably have to wait until they were, like, two or three, which takes forever.  So, we should really go scope it out first."

You were smiling at the thought of you running around Legoland with a little one of your own one day, when Travis spoke again, "Actually, do you think your sister would let us borrow her kids for day or two?"

"Do I think my sister would allow us to give her a couple of kid-free days to run the energy out of them?" you asked, "Yeah, I somehow think she'd be cool with that." "Awesome," he smiled.

"You know where I've always wanted to go actually?" "Where?"

"Bora Bora," you said.  It was a pipe dream really. But something about sleeping right on the water and getting lost in paradise really appealed to you.  So, you fell asleep, curled up, daydreaming together, and pretending that the sound of the rain falling outside was just crashing waves.

[sicklyscribe]

gather up the thoughts: 4x01 review

So I figured I’d do another one of these, especially since some people (Ashley) are particularly interested (Ashley) in how I feel about it! ( @hopepeaceandblackgirlmagic)

I’m going to try to go through scene-by-scene with cons, then pros, because at the moment I feel like I have to get all the negativity out of me before I even try to see the positive.

Vincent’s speech to the alliance:

Opening lines have always been pretty killer for the premieres. Sometimes they don’t fit seamlessly into the scene or character context, but this one was broad enough and the setting was appropriate enough to match - in all ways but one.

I personally adored the relationship between Camille and Vincent in every episode where it was featured. It was one of those things that just made sense, felt so right, that these two people would become such close friends in such a short amount of time.

But Camille was in no way a sacrifice, in any sense of the word. Flashing back to Camille during the lines “We paid a high price for that peace” is incongruous and insulting. Camille’s death was not a quid pro quo, it did not achieve anything - the whole “point” was that she was chosen to die because she was special to Klaus. She was collateral. How much more clearly can the creators communicate how little they valued this arc in their story, if they don’t bother to reference it accurately? Vincent may have been thinking about how much he misses Camille for that entire speech, but Camille’s death had nothing to do with buying peace. That was Davina.

It would have been so easy to make those flashback dedications only about Davina, or to flash back to Camille during the lines detailing the Mikaelson horrors. There’s no excuse that’ll make that right.

So I have to believe that Camille was considered after the fact, and inserted thoughtlessly. Inserting Camille into the narrative whenever loosely possible is not honoring her memory, it is desperately and obviously attempting to make an apology to viewers that is much too late. If Camille’s final arc was written respectfully, if her death was truly being honored as a significant moment later on, these kinds of insertions would be totally seamless. There would be no need to construct situations to remember Camille, because they would occur naturally as the narrative progressed. The aftermath of poor decisions in a continuing narrative is that you have to build on those decisions - and therefore writing a good story becomes that much harder.

What I did enjoy about this speech is that Vincent has obviously been forging this community with nothing but the sweat of his brow. The witches are weaker, so much weaker now, but he has them beginning to work with vampires instead of against them. He’s not asking them to be friends. He’s just asking for what they all need - peace. And achieving that for five years is... well... Let’s just say I wouldn’t mind if Vincent kept being in charge of things. In fact, put him in charge of more things. Less people die that way.

Now I’m only a minute into the premiere and it’s already pretty long. OOPS.

Setup scenes (Marcel & Sofya, Hayley & Mary, Marcel & Josh & Vincent):

Gotta say, I am still unimpressed with Sofya. That’s nothing against the character, it’s because at the moment she’s being used as a plot engine. There is literally nothing else about her in the narrative. She gets information, she spouts information. Great?

I’m not really seeing the point of her, for this reason. Josh could easily be the courier of Sofya’s intel, providing some color and personality and actual relationship dynamic on screen for viewers to digest with their information-vegetables. It just comes off as so flat, at the moment. Having more screen time for a female character isn’t worth much if everything she says goes under the ‘things we need viewers to understand so we can get to the Good Parts’ column. Allusions to sex don’t count.

I’d love to be proven wrong, of course, but we knew Sofya a bit in s3 as well, and she served the same purpose then. Clock’s kinda ticking for me.

I do love how much Marcel has thought about what’s going on “behind his back” with Hayley. How much it must frustrate him to know that in order to keep Rebekah alive, he must keep Elijah alive.

As for my BABY! I love. I love. I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE how our very first shot of Hope this season, of Hope at 7 years old, is her drawing. It’s so cheesy it’s so unnecessary it’s so PERFECT all the same. Not only was Klaus’ biological father an artist, his daughter is as well. I’m not crying. Shut up. Shut.

As for Mary, sigh, I still hate her guts but i can acknowledge that she’s probably a great “grandmother” to Hope and a really good resource for Hayley. So I guess she can stay.

Now, something I thought I was going to rage over actually was resolved by a quick google search. When Marcel walks into Rousseau’s, we see him take a sad look over at the picture of Cami and Davina on the wall. In the shot, this picture looks sooooooo fake. At first glance it looked like two headshots smooshed together, and it made me want to vomit. I was outraged by the cheapness. Turns out, it’s an actual picture of Leah and Danielle together, only change being Charles is cropped from Leah’s left side. I still wish they’d chosen a different picture, but it’s not as cheap as I thought. Jumping to conclusions really does a number on my blood pressure.

I feel like Josh’s line “Everything Cami wanted” could have been delivered and framed waaaaaay better, but I feel like having it in the script wasn’t a bad idea. This line is actually referencing values that Camille held while she was alive. Also on that note, is Josh half running the bar and half... DJing at NOLA clubs??? I know the kid needs something to do and he’s kinda not that into being Marcel’s yes-man any more, but... It seems kinda silly to me. And later, when we see him ‘spinning’.... I love Josh, but that kid looks so awkward at the discs. Is all of it just because he said he liked House music in season one? C’mon...

A nice civilized conversation:

The only gripe - the only tiny gripe I have about this is that Marcel is still repeating the same exact line about ‘IT’S MY CITY NOW HAHA’. It’s a tiny gripe because yeah, Marcel still cares about it, but Klaus did officially relinquish power at the end of s2, right? Not that that means he didn’t still have a ton of power in the Quarter after that, but Marcel wasn’t really taking the city back from him last season. Like, it just seems unnecessary for the point it made. We know how Marcel feels about the symbolism of the city. It just wasn’t a big enough point to bring up again, because they are really bordering on broken-record with that line, no matter how it’s worded. It should only be brought up in specific and necessary explorations of that particular part of Marcel, and it was used to frame a much broader sense of personal superiority.

Also, confusion - where is Klaus being kept? It’s implied to be beneath the compound, but I would have thought Marcel would keep him in the Garden? Since we never knew there was a dungeon beneath the compound? Like, it wouldn’t surprise me if there was one, but it’s just strange to me. Marcel already has a place for this.

Other than that, damn. Just...

Joseph Morgan kills every single scene in this episode with his eyes alone. Mad with boredom at first, weak with hunger, unfocused and dull. But the core of all of it is shame. Sadness. The quietness of self-hatred. He’s not proud of staying alive for his family. He’s in a much older, much more familiar place in his mind in that dungeon. So he returns to the oldest, most familiar pattern.

Klaus makes a threat at the first opportunity. Trying to scare Marcel, just a bit, so that he can get that safe feeling of superiority for that small moment. I don’t think he actually wants Marcel to rot in hell - he doesn’t kill those he loves when they hurt him, he just makes them suffer. But saying he wants Marcel to rot in hell is what Klaus needs in this moment to make himself feel strong... like Mikael was strong.

“There’s two ways this can go” Marcel tells him, showing him the stick and the carrot - the Suffer Knife and the Blood Bottle - Klaus can’t help but laugh. Marcel didn’t react to Klaus’ posturing, but the fact that Marcel came down here wanting something from him is enough of a high, enough of a comfort. Marcel has the barrier holding Klaus in, Marcel has the blood and the blade, but Klaus is the one making choices, Klaus is the one that has something Marcel would come all the way down here to get.

But then Marcel does something that lets us know exactly how that shame and sadness became the ghost in Klaus’ eyes. And I’m not sure if he does this because he knows he’s given Klaus a bit of power in this moment, I’m not sure if he knows just how much this hurts Klaus, but he certainly is following a pattern he learned from Klaus - confront others with your power over them before getting what you need.

“You know, once I figured you had suffered enough, I pulled this out. And on that day, I heard a word that I had never heard you say: Mercy.”

The gleam of power in Klaus’ eyes dies in that instant. He can’t look Marcel in the eye, he can’t look at his own bound hands, he can’t think of the people he’s defending. “Why not just kill me?”

When Klaus submits to pain, he is reliving every moment his father ever punished him for. Asking for mercy is like saying he deserves to die. Because that’s what Mikael taught him. That’s how he learned words like weak and strong. For all those lonely years he has been re-affirming all of those “truths” about himself - his weakness, his worthlessness, his inferiority, patheticness. He’s been living with that, and only that, ever since Marcel took that blade out. There’s no power-play in his question to Marcel. There’s no angle. Just sorrow. Self-hate. Disgust. Klaus didn’t believe he deserved death for his crimes against his sireline, but he would welcome it after wallowing in this pain without dignity or endurance. Of course he knows he has to stay alive, but there is that almost wistful note to the question. Just that spark of longing. He’d asked for mercy. How can he ever pretend to be strong? How could he ever pretend to deserve to live?

After he asks it, though, he has to look up at Marcel. He has to look up and see with his own eyes what the answer is going to be, and if he believes it. What he gets in return is more of his own bravado thrown back at him - this speech from Marcel reminds me so much of the one Klaus gave to Mikael in 1918. “I am worthy, I am king, I am STRONG” - Marcel learned this speech, this need, from Klaus. And yet his very first sentence is “Because I’m not like you, Klaus.”

I adore it. Especially since, as I said before, Klaus doesn’t kill those he loves when they hurt him. He does exactly as Marcel is doing now. He isolates them, and makes them suffer alone. It is so perfect.

This speech has given Marcel enough momentum to get to his goal - Alastair. And this is the moment when life returns to Klaus’ eyes. His head rises, like he’s feeling lighter, less tired, less miserable. Because Marcel is not only asking something of him, he’s showing his hand. Which means he’s desperate. And he’s cornered. As soon as Klaus hears ‘Alastair Duquesne’, the wheels are spinning again in his mind. He can use this. He can use this.

He can barely contain that grin.

He’s got to work fast, if Marcel is going to buy it. So he bullshits at an exceptional speed and with commendable skill. I didn’t know if he was telling the truth, the first time I watched through. Because Klaus chooses his words so carefully when he’s like this. It’s impossible to tell if he’s lying. And he knows it, oh, he knows it.

I can’t help but think that when he ends his advice with “You’ll find him quite malleable.” he’s actually talking about Marcel. This is his game, and he’s finally getting to play it again. Marcel can tell that he’s broken Klaus, but he’s underestimated Klaus’ desperation. Even after saying ‘Mercy’, there was still that tiny bit of fire inside him waiting to be fed kindling, to blaze again. To prove superiority. To win the game.

He takes the blood as his prize, Marcel not knowing he’s rewarding his prisoner for setting him up to fail. That, alone, I think, is just as rejuvenating to Klaus as the blood itself.

“and I won’t be alone”:

and also this

Church Scene:

I really have nothing against this scene. I feel like it does so much work in so little time, and it does it while showcasing new and old characters. It flows really well. It just works.

Like I said earlier, the stuff with Josh was pretty awkward/forced to me, but here, he’s spot-on. Put Josh in more scenes with kids, please, it’s perfect. Also, Adam is acted really really well. That kid is talented. Where are all these talented kids coming from?

As a staunch supporter of villainshipping, the idea of Vincent with someone other than Eva is a little sad to me, but honestly the man deserves it. I adore the way Josh was headed to help her when the basket flipped, but Vincent zoomed in there like he had radar for the woman and you can just sort of see Josh scurry out of the shot - I wasn’t here, don’t mind me - wingmanning without uttering a single word.

I also like how Vincent is the practical, stoic leader, but he breaks the mould of the trope and again, it works. When Josh is like ‘The hot mom is into you, you should get on that’ he’s surprised for a moment, or kind of shy about it, but he doesn’t Repress(TM) like so many guys in his character type. He’s like, wait, yeah, I really should get on that. WAIT UP MA’AM I WOULD LIKE TO FLIRT.

It’s refreshing. It’s nice.

Also, I love any scene that gets into the practical mechanics of ‘Leading the Quarter/City’. It’s such a big deal in the show, but we rarely get to see what that actually looks like. For Vincent, it’s keeping his community safe by stocking them up on amenities for the weekend. Vampire Party Night is treated like a hurricane that must be rode out, and he realizes the ramifications of asking people to stay in their homes for days. He prepares for that. And he is appreciated for it.

Vampire Brunch:

They’re partying at like, noon. I love it.

Alastair is perfect. More on him and his glorious accent later.

This scene is so perfectly parallel with Klaus crashing Marcel’s party in what, episode 1? I love seeing Marcel tested in front of a crowd. It’s where he thrives. Whereas I’d say Klaus is slightly better with one-on-one manipulation, his son has got working a crowd down to an absolute science. They’re both unfairly good at both, but there are those tiiiiny advantages that play against each other so well in this show. 

AUSTIN, TEXAS:

IT’S MY CITY! I love that Keelin is an Austin girl. Thank you, Carina. And yeah, I know it was you. Who else would have suggested that the new character be from Austin.

I adore Keelin. She’s everything Sofya isn’t, as a new female cast member. She has plot purpose, but she also has personality. She has fire. She already has a dynamic with Hayley from their first back-and-forth. It’s delicious. And Hayley really gets to shine in these scenes - every premiere Phoebe Tonkin blows me away even more. I’m always like ‘Wow, NOW she’s hit her stride!’ and then the next year she proves that she was only beginning to warm up. So proud and excited. I’ve done nearly a full 180 on Phoebe and Hayley since 1x01.

Civilized Conversation, Part Two: Electric Boogaloo:

Look at Klaus, sitting on the rock that he is chained to like it’s a THRONE. His voice is no longer weak with starvation, it’s deep and merry and sarcastic and reveling and perfect. He is in total control again, and he is thriving. He is smiling openly now at his captor, knowing that he has weakened him without even having to lift a finger, at his own behest. 

I’m just gonna bask in the glow of that awful smile for a bit, guys. I’ve missed Klaus’ manipulation almost as much as I’ve missed his development as a father. 

“You think I don’t know?” At this Klaus is a bit intrigued - what is Marcel’s next card going to be? And it turns out it’s the only card that can wipe that smirk off of Klaus’ face. 

When Klaus realizes what Marcel is saying, what Marcel knows, the smile on his face goes from being genuine to being a facade. Marcel showed his hand and was hurt for it, so now he’s gonna reveal that he’s known Klaus’ ace in the hole this entire time. It really wasn’t something Klaus or Hayley could have expected to keep secret, not with Elijah’s sireline running around, but it stings Klaus to hear it from Marcel’s lips. To have it out in the open. 

But Rebekah saves him, saves all of them, with the very thing Klaus can’t stand about her - her love for people other than Klaus. The Rebel romance has been a nuisance to Klaus from the start, and the wound its left on Marcel and his sister is never left to fully heal. Now that it’s saving his life, and the lives of his siblings, Klaus has a bit of a soft spot for it. Like I’ve always said, Klaus loves to be around lovers. They’re so easily manipulated. And this time, even in the romance he didn’t want to have around him, it’s working to his advantage without a single move on his part. Good old lovers, always so soft and sentimental. So weak. 

“You may have no choice but to kill poor Alastair. Aw well, heavy head, heavy crown, et cetera, et cetera...” 

I LOVE THIS MAN SO MUCH Y’ALL. 

HE IS SO KLAUS.

I mean, there are cool things going on here power-dynamic-wise. Klaus is light on his feet, so to speak, switching subjects and smoothly offering advice without addressing his vulnerable family or the fact that he lied to Marcel to put him in this exact situation. 

He knows he can’t make Marcel believe him any more, but that’s the beautiful thing - Marcel doesn’t have a choice now. He’s got to get rid of the problem, and that will inspire more insurrection in the future - the more he protects Klaus, the more unstable his rule becomes. All because he can’t kill Klaus (and Klaus would definitely like to believe it has less to do with Rebekah and more to do with their father-son relationship, but he’ll take what he can get).

But Klaus, in dodging the subject of his linked siblings, doesn’t realize that he hurts himself as well. What Klaus wants out of this Alastair affair is for Marcel to be challenged, and eventually bested. He is banking on the new leadership being incapable of restraining him or killing him, but he doesn’t consider how easy it would be for them to get a drop of his blood. 

And find Hope. 

Klaus’ face falls. He realizes his mistake. I’m reminded of that beautifully ironic scene between Klaus and Davina in season two - “How does that feel, to be one of us? Someone with something to lose?”

It feels beautiful. And it’s the most horrifying thing Klaus has ever faced. 

“But hey, I guess that’s my problem, right?” Marcel is the perfect amount of callous in this line. Throwing back all of Klaus’ plotting and sabotaging in his face. And it’s exactly what spurs Klaus to a sudden declaration of a plan B. 

It’s a spectacular proposition, really. Klaus offers to be the bad guy, because he is the bad guy. All Marcel has to do is let him. Marcel stays on the throne, and Hope can stay hidden away. Klaus can put on a show. 

And Marcel knows first-hand how well Klaus can put on a show. 

“Creatures such as they respect only one language, and I speak it fluently.”

Again, Klaus is using what Mikael taught him to protect his daughter. He’s fluent in this language. He suffered in this language. And he can deal out suffering in kind. It’s incredible. It’s everything I wanted out of the scenes of Klaus in captivity. 

Witch stuff: 

I would have really appreciated Marcel saying please. Just fyi. 

I love those two men in power together. It obviously works. Just. Love it. 

NOW FOR MY FREYBABY! Or, sleeping beauty, as a certain gorgeous new werewolf would say ;) ;) ;) ;)

She is so ready, as soon as she wakes. Quick hug, then right to business. I had a conversation with Ashley earlier about how this spell works, and I can totally understand why people would be questioning how it all works. If the siblings’ sleep is linked, then waking one instantly should wake the others instantly. 

The way I see it, Freya cast the spell on all of them, but not before concocting that syringe for herself. I don’t think it was just a shot of adrenaline - it was an additional spell that would not transfer down the sleep-link. That spell allowed Freya to wake instantly, and delay the chain reaction that would wake the others as a result. The reason she’s rushing is because that delay is not going to be a long one. 

The reason something like this is necessary gets to the start of an unfortunate issue with this episode that is nobody’s fault - Nate and Claire couldn’t be in this episode. There wouldn’t need to be a special wake-up spell like this if they could just have all the Mikaelsons in the scene where they wake all the Mikaelsons. So it’s a bit of a work-around, yeah, but there’s a reason for it and it’s pretty well-thought-out, considering. More on this issue later.

Puttin’ on the NOLA Ritz:

In other words, “Klaus puts everyone in their place and there’s a lot of gore involved”

The look in Klaus’ eyes initially, as he’s dragged in and put before Alastair, is partially fabricated. He’s not as weak as he lets on. But in my opinion, a bit of that despair is very genuine. He’s the very image of weakness, from his perspective, and even if it’s not entirely as pathetic as he lets on, he still hates himself for the display.

“Do you suffer, Niklaus? As my wife suffered? As my CHILD suffered?”

Again, Morgan’s eyes blow me away. He is literally face to face with the man whose child died a violent, pointless death for Klaus’ gain. This is by far not the first time he’s stared down a man furious at having lost his family, his children, because of Klaus. But this is the first time Klaus looks into a father’s eyes and see’s a father’s pain as a father himself. This rage, this protective impulse, this near-mad expression of loss... Klaus felt something like this when the witches tried to kill Hope, when Esther tried to kill Hope, when Dahlia tried to take her. But he sees in Alastair a sorrow and a madness that he knows is deeper than anything he’s ever felt as a father. And he’s floored by it.

He knows he’s responsible for it. And I think he knows that if someone forced him to kill his daughter, he would burn nations to the ground, not just get his revenge from the guilty party. This is true, shocked guilt in his eyes. Klaus is intimidated by the force of his own sympathy - terrified, even. Connecting his experience as a father with the universal fatherhood experience hasn’t really been applicable to him lately, not with an example like Mikael and so little time with Ansel. But here Alastair is. And their faces are inches away from each other. And Klaus can see the horror in his crimes, he can see the agony in his collateral damage. He can glimpse the death and the rage and the sorrow as something that is real, and not just tools for manipulation.

“I want the last words you ever hear to be my solemn vow -”

Klaus’ gaze settles a bit, back to the superior glare that he knows will provoke Alastair into striking (he needs him to swing so that he can use the momentum catch him off balance) with just a bit of that guilt residing at the edges.

“I will find your daughter-”

His eyes widen. These worlds are not supposed to collide, his evils are not ever supposed to reach Hope...

And they never fucking will.

You can see it. You can see it. Klaus kills a lot of people, it’s kind of just what he does. But sometimes you can see the decision in his eyes, clear as if he’d shouted it from the rooftops. We saw it when he decided to kill Ansel, but it was softer, pained, mournful. This time it’s worlds different, and much more apparent. This entire display was always supposed to end in Alastair’s death. Klaus’ motivation in helping Marcel with the killing was always motivated by a desire to protect Hope. But a threat had not been made at that point, only inferred. When it actually happens... When Alastair has the gall to say it...

It’s like a switch is flipped in Klaus’ eyes, they narrow to a vicious, predatory gleam that honestly shakes me to my bones. As Alastair continues, “- and when I do, I will eradicate your malignant bloodline from this earth.” the look deepens. Klaus is seeing the kill. He’s relishing it. He’s craving it. It’s not a display anymore. It’s as personal as personal can be.

No one threatens the Alpha’s cub.

It goes quickly after that.

He smiles as his eyes gleam black and yellow, vampire and werewolf, speaking that language he speaks so fluently. One last look at the Scot before he bites a lethal chunk into the vampire’s neck. A few more bodies for show. One or two for Marcel to heal, to make his argument concrete.

“WELL WHO’S NEXT?”

Power. Klaus has it, they don’t. “Aw, come on. Meet. Your. Maker.”

I love this character more than air.

Marcel’s speech is fantastic, of course, he hits all the right beats and makes all the right points, but it’s so hard to focus on it after that powerhouse display by Joseph Morgan. I can’t even express how perfectly it was executed (ha, puns) and framed and filmed. The guest actor for Alastair, bless him, was such a good foil and such a good way to showcase Klaus in the first episode this season. I wish we’d seen more of him, but I’d trade a hundred of him for the sake of this scene at the drop of a hat.

THE LADIES KICK ALL KINDS OF ASS:

Freya melting a vampire brain mid-incantation was such a nice touch, even if it does kind of invalidate her ‘this ritual will take all my strength’ claim from earlier. I don’t even care. It’s such a good throwback to her intro, and she gets to show off in front of the hot Texan werewolf, so I have 0% nitpick because I am totally and blissfully biased. 

I cannot express how excited I was when the promo of Hayley’s wolf form dropped. I was on the floor, yelping, for maybe fifteen minutes. Evidence from my twitter:

WOLF.

I kind of really like wolves.

I know a lot of people think that we won’t see Klaus’ wolf form, that this was just for Hayley for this episode, but I will die on this hill, and I will hear no argument. I will never let this go.

The CGI is so gorgeous. The fur looked a bit thin and clean for realism’s sake, but that is such a tiny factor considering how often wolf CGI gets basic things slightly off, like body type, tail length, fur length & volume, and facial structure. Hayley was built perfectly from that standpoint, it’s easy to see even in the shadow. (The lighting was also a factor on what made the fur so difficult to get spot-on, because it had to have some glow and translucency - it would be damn hard to even attempt that kind of effect, and they pulled it off really well with minimal reduction in realism in my opinion)

Just gorgeous. Gorgeous.

This also supports a headcanon, now turned justified-theory, that Klaus hasn’t used his full strength since breaking the Hybrid curse. Hayley chooses to transform because she is stronger in her transformed state - that’s kind of obvious given the context, it’s not just for intimidation. She needs to kill and kill quickly, not put on a show. She chooses to do this as a wolf.

So when Klaus has been tested physically since season 3 of TVD, he has never chosen to use this form. Ever. It speaks, I think, to a lingering shame learned since childhood - werewolves are the vicious monsters. The beasts. And he cannot be “strong” as a beast, not in the way his inferiority complex desperately needs. Even though he is literally at his strongest when he embraces who he really is, it is that identity itself that haunts him and reinforces the idea that he is Other in the worst of ways, he is unworthy of family and love, he is nothing but a brutal animal.

I pray that we get to see him use this form to protect Hope. He’s used Hybrid power before to overcome enemies, for sure, he knows the effect his yellow eyes has on his prey - it’s the threat of venom and death, and he loves it. But actually transforming must feel way too real, way too expressive of ‘beastliness’. I want him to be put in a situation where he isn’t strong enough unless he goes full Wolf, because Hope is in danger. I want a full fuckin’ Bigby scene, for those who have played The Wolf Among Us. I want it so bad. And I won’t listen to anyone who tells me it ain’t gonna happen. I don’t care. Doesn’t change how much I want it and no amount of logic is going to make me give up hope.

Enter Elijah Mikaelson:

I know I’ve said I don’t ship H/E, but the performance from Phoebe as the bodies hit the floor around her, as she felt a presence behind her, smelled his scent in the air - it was incredible. Like I said, she just keeps getting better and in season one all I could say I hoped for was that she could improve enough to hold her own. My standards were way too low, in retrospect. I can’t wait to see more of her.

I am obsessed with the look on Elijah’s face. Unlike the last time he did this in 2x09, this time the stoicism really works for me. (While I definitely have come to terms with and agree with a very good interpretation of the scene from Map of Moments, I can’t help but still wish we had gotten a single freaking flash of a smile) I can’t say I really know what’s going on with him yet, but it isn’t that he doesn’t love Hayley (as much of a weight of my back as that would be, I just don’t see it. Doesn’t make sense)

It’s gotta be guilt.

Elijah has never been guilty for something like this, ever, in his long life. He nearly killed them all. He took Klaus from his baby for five. years. This man puts everything on his shoulders, and he’s recently opened his eyes to repressed acts of horror he’s committed. But every single one of them pales in comparison to nearly destroying everything he’s ever wanted for his brother, and causing the deaths of all of them in one fell swoop.

Every time Elijah gets an emotional arc, it’s brushed away with the excuse of his repressive tendencies, because the story needed to focus on other things. His repression should not and never should have been used as a story crutch to leave loose ends because there wasn’t time to finish the development - repression is a challenge that has to be respected in moments of development like the ones Elijah has been through. While I doubt this time will be any different, I’m choosing to give it a chance before I say anything more.

Waking the Sleeping Giant:

This really could have been one of my top scenes for this episode. The dynamic between Vincent and Klaus is killer. Better than its ever been. I want more of it. I need more of it.

But this is another case where Camille was inserted in such a lazy way. It puts such a bad taste in my mouth.

If they wanted Vincent to remind Klaus about Camille’s hope in him, they could have set it up with an actually appropriate topic of conversation.

When someone literally chains you up and tortures you for five years in a dungeon, threatening vengeance isn’t a particularly evil thing to do, no matter how evil you actually are. Talk about the cycle of violence, yeah, started by Klaus, yeah, but Marcel is the one who is literally torturing him. No one’s innocent in this situation. And I really fucking doubt Camille would have wanted Klaus to let this go. Reconcile with Marcel? Hell yes. Try to understand Marcel’s side? Absolutely. But Klaus can’t make that happen without Marcel’s cooperation. This is not his responsibility alone to be a better person in this scenario. Would she want Klaus to threaten new violence? I mean, yeah, probably not, but again, that’s not exactly an evil impulse in Klaus. It’s a pretty standard human one. Vincent is holding Klaus to a higher standard and it’s just off. It just is. “Be grateful we gave you a chance to live in a life or death situation, then put you back in a dungeon.”

I know my argument here isn’t super strong, but I’m just too pissed to really get into it and make it clearer and better. I’m so done. I’m so done. Camille doesn’t deserve any of this bullshit, and she hasn’t since season three. Nothing Vincent said about her is wrong or bad, it just does. not. fit. here. And it wouldn’t have been hard to make it fit.

“You had a deal with Hayley, not me.”

ho. ly. hot. damn.

(freylin seems too close to freyinn. What’s the consensus? Keelya? Keela?

I am not prepared for how good this is gonna be. I am. already. shook.)

“Let’s go get ‘im”

Scenes like this are really frustrating for me. They work in every sense except for the fact that I feel these characters should never have been placed in a serious relationship with each other.

I’ll put it this way - every line from Hayley in this situation is perfect, every line from Elijah in this situation is perfect - I just don’t like that they’re in this situation. So, basically, this is one of the very very rare times where I think the ship has actually been written very very well with respect to the characters.

“How is my niece” and Hayley answer just warm my heart so much. The glow in Hayley’s face and voice when she describes her. The tenderness and neediness with which Elijah asks the question. “A girl after my own heart”

I melt.

And ‘let’s go get him?’

Klelijah is a potent drug, even in small condensed doses it can easily render one Amy totally speechless and send her into an alternate state of euphoria and fanaticism.

Pair that with Elijah running to Klaus’ cell in the promo for tonight’s episode... my heart can’t take it.

“All the time down here is rotting your brain.”

Seeing Klaus tugging at his chain does things to my soul. Yeah, he’s awful, he’s a villain, but he’s my villain, dammit. He had a power kick, he heard someone threaten to kill his daughter to his face, and now he’s back down here. Helpless. Alone.

When Marcel comes, probably also seeking a little superiority high, the two desperations clash inevitably. Klaus saw the power that Marcel was able to wield after his brutal display, and he’s jealous of it. He knows he’s the one who handed it to Marcel, and he can’t stand it. So he has to make it all about him - he has to tell himself and Marcel that he’s the center of Marcel’s world.

“You NEED me, Marcellus, because deep down inside, YOU ARE WEAK.”

This is Klaus using two things Mikael gave him - pain and abuse. It’s a refraction of every speech we’ve ever heard from Mikael, with a few key differences - Klaus knows what it’s like to break under the weight of these words, he knows exactly how much they hurt, and he knows how alike Marcel is to him. It has that edge of mutual need because of this shared pain. Mikael comforted himself by pushing Klaus away with his abuse, but Klaus needs to pull Marcel in for him to get what he needs out of the inflicted pain. It’s what Klaus saw in Marcel from the very first moment, the reason he took him in - he saw himself in the boy. An opportunity to feel less lonely, first in his need for family, but now in his need to feel less alone in his monstrousness.

I love the little flashes of love in their eyes as Klaus is stabbed, and as Marcel sees his body hit the floor. Another difference between this abuse and Mikael’s - these two love each other despite it all. The language of power and hate can only disguise that so much.

Ouroboros:

I honestly have no expectations when it comes to this season’s plot, since last season the plot seemed to steamroll lots of development for terrible reasons. I don’t really care if it’s good or if it’s bad, I can’t let myself care. I just can’t invest that, I have to focus on my Mikaelsons, really, unless I get a really really good reason to trust again.

When it comes to analysis, though, I can definitely do that. Just bear in mind that I don’t have much motivation to go too deep at the moment.

Exploring the ramifications of the severed link with the ancestors, and possibly the origin of ancestral magic in New Orleans, looks to be the focus of the witch/Hope plot for the first arc of season four. What’s intriguing about the Ouroboros in particular is probably unintentional - the Ouroboros is the symbol for Mikael in the season two portrait promos (let’s all take a moment to remember how good the season two promotional art was. It was a gift the likes of which I’ll never get again.)

The Ouroboros is showing up everywhere in TV dramas, not just supernatural ones. It’s kind of like a fad, if you will, of the metaphor cycle in the industry. So I kind of have the feeling they used it for Mikael, then got an idea they were really excited about this season and wanted to use it again.

I say this mostly because Mikael had nothing to do with New Orleans until his children settled there. Basically all he did was burn it down and then come back later to trash some witches.

But was always partial to his parallel to Chronos, and I know it’s mixing mythologies but the focus on NOLA’s children also has that kind of vibe to me. Nice how they’re both framed with the Ouroboros.

And especially nice how Hope is going to be central to the plot again, or even just freaking mentioned in relation to the plot at all *stares at s3 judgingly*

We’ll see how all of this develops tonight.

@klausmikelsons @drbobbimorse and I forget who else was interested in this... here y’are

[tvserieshub]

  This was a magnificently written episode by Michael Narducci and co-written by Michael Russo. We get a little bit of everything in this episode, vampires rising! (Elijah) We got amazing team-ups! (Freya, Hayley and Keelin too). The story told thru flashbacks of Marcel and Vincent and “What happened in NOLA in the last 5 years?” Klaus in captivity! (Not for long!) Oh, yeah the greenish-blue hoodoo on the walls scaring the beegezus out of poor little Hope! Where does one begin?

  Vincent’s Speech.

I found it quite contrived, histrionic and distributing, at this point in the game. He is giving a speech at the church to his coven. (Church and Witches never mixed to me?? How do you feel???) The Vampires have been around over thousands of years! “We will loose it forever.” The witches deserve respect but “Original Vampires and Original Hybrids” triumph witches. (SCORE TEAM OG!) Just as Vincent speaks of “Monsters” — the camera zooms in on Klaus, REALLY NOW? They never give up!

  Marcel and Sofya.

We then move over to Marcel and his new witch. What’s her face? Whatever. “Hayley Marshall is a problem?” Really Marcel? Alastair is wondering about Elijah’s sire line? (BEWARE Alastair! Elijah is “Alive and Kicking”. Just slumbering in a coffin! You’ve been put on notice!) Hayley is searching for Elijah. #TeamFreeElijah! A bit later on, Sofya tells her boo. “There is graffiti popping up all over town, you need to handle that.” (Picture of ouroboros) I say: Signs, Signs, everywhere there are signs! When are they going to take heed to Vincent’s warnings?

  Hayley, Hope and Mary.

Hayley and Hope are a revelation together. SO ADORABLE! Mary needs to give it up on Hayley. She is a Mikaelson!!! Not only is she a Mikaelson, what would possess this woman to tell her “Did you ever wonder if you be better off not waking him (As in Klaus) up?” Seriously Mary you still holding a grudge? “YOU NEED TO LET IT GO”. (Like the Disney song says!) Of course, she thinks Hayley is looking to  wake Elijah up too! What does she think? Only wake up Klaus and not the other 4? (As I RME HARD and LAUGH REALLY HARD HYSTERICALLY). Mary gives Hayley the 411. She needs to look for one more wolf line to have the cure. AND you know like Donkey Kong, Hayley is on it!

Klaus and Marcel.

Klaus never is one to mince his words. “What I’d most enjoy is for you to rot in HELL.” -Klaus (Score 1 #TeamKlaus) Not to be outdone, Marcel has to throw salt on an old wound. “Alistair Duquesne is in town. How do you want this to go?” I have to say I really enjoy Klaus’ quick turn around, “He was a vane aristocrat.” If you can translate KLAUS SPEAK: “I’M GOING TO KILL HIM.” Marcel comes back from his “Alastair endgame party” AND he found something out. WOO HOO. “Elijah and your siblings are all linked to you.” Marcel tells Klaus (REVELATION!) This only gets worse because he tells Klaus about the vampires tracking him and getting his blood. They will no doubtfully find his family then Hope! We cannot have that. You know Klaus will burn the world and kill all of them! We then go to the Original Vampire Death match round 1: Klaus vs. Alastair! Ding. Ding. Ding. I have to say Marcel is very Machiavellian at playing both sides. He tells Alastair “The sword you gave me would give me an agonizing death.” HUGE TWIST! Marcel cuts Klaus free! Alastair is deader then dead in a NY minute. It’s not before Marcel recaptures Klaus again? What is this? I’m getting dizzy. He brings Klaus back down to the dungeon where he proceeds to stab him again with the Papa Tunde blade. Marcel, you are no friend of mine.

Hayley/Freya/Keelin:

We think it’s a casual night at the bar, or so it seems.  Hayley and Keelin knocking back drinks. Keelin tells Hayley she finished her ER residence. (You know like gals do!) Hold up wait! These guys came to the bar to try and kill her. Hayley wolfs out on them. We fast forward to curing Elijah! (Yay!!!! Finally!!!) The only thing they were missing was Keelin’s venom. She was the missing piece of the puzzle! TADA. After this is done, Keelin wants to be set free. Why do you suspect a “NO DEAL” on this? I DO TOO! Company arrives and not the good kind… “That’s what been tracking me.” – Keelin “It took a long time and now we caught you.” – Vampire (OR SO YOU THINK FOOL!) “Keelin gave her venom and wants to be free. Again, Freya does not want to let her go. I’m seeing a pattern here. “If any of my family is ever bitten again, I will need your venom.” – Freya (Maybe you want her around too? Admit it, Freya. *wink* *wink* *hint*) Freya is doing the spell.  All Keelin wants to know is did it work? Hayley’s in wolf form killing the vamps. BUT something is snapping necks and killing the vampires. OMG, who can it, be now? Elijah???

(Elijah and Hayley) Haylijah Scene:

Hayley in disbelief grabs Elijah and holds him tighter than she ever could. It’s like she never wants to let him go. Elijah is holding her back with so many feelings. It was indescribable. You could feel the intensity and love between them in that moment.  It was like they never separated.

“And they say romance is dead.” Elijah

“I’ll take it.”-  Hayley

“You saved us, all of us.” – Hayley

“I guess Kol and Rebekah couldn’t contain there hunger.”- Elijah

“After all this time.”- Hayley

“Me too.” – Elijah

“How is Hope?”- Elijah

“She made me promise that I would get all her family back.” – Hayley

“Let’s go get him. “– Elijah

It was such an emotional filled reunion and so beautifully done. The words really couldn’t describe all the emotions they were feeling that moment. The first person he asks about after knowing Hayley was alright was Hope! He acknowledged “Me too.” (A subliminal “I Love you.”) I sure knew the fans were over the moon with anticipation of what’s to come and ahead for these two.

  Josh Sighting!

I’m so glad Josh is back, he brings so much comic relief to the show. Welcome back Josh! It’s long overdue!

  Vincent getting his groove back:

“Everyone has to stay in the quarter the next week.” – Vincent

I love how Vincent was looking out for his new witch girlfriend. Everyone needs companionship and love, you know! Josh’s one liners are always killers too.

“Maxine” Vincent

“She is into you.” – Josh

    Vincent/Klaus Anvil:

“Beware of the sleeping giant, when he wakes, the earth will shake.” – Vincent says to Klaus

It was the next scene that really hits you over the head. “Marcel fed you blood, I kept you in chains.” – Vincent (Confucius say: Another words even though he was a prisoner, Klaus shouldn’t be mad, eh, I don’t think so Vincent…) KLAUS SPEAK AGAIN: “I will escape and seek my own justice.” (I will hunt you down and murder you all!) OH BOY! Vincent went there. He played the Camille card! “I had a friend once, Cami, she was hell bent on proving me wrong.” (OH NO YOU DIDN’T! NO ONE BRINGS UP Klaus’ beloved Camille, NO ONE!)

  What Bad Dreams and Stephen King Movies are made of?

“Vincent, its Adam he never came home!” – Maxine

We see Adam walking down a long hall. He opens the door… He sees the ouroboros sign! (We see the bluish green lights in the circular motion moving!) Run Adam Run! Hope screams! We flash over to Mary. Who tells Hope “You’re safe, I’m not going anywhere.” (We’ve heard that in every horror movie EVER MADE!)

  I hope you enjoyed my recap. Until next time.

SOURCE/MANY THANKS: @DanielGilliesSource for Haylijah picture!

SOURCE/MANY THANKS: Klaus in chains, Freelin and Marcel and Klaus pic @CW!

SOURCE/MANY THANKS: Freelin picture @CW!

  The Originals (S04E01): “Gather Up The Killers” This was a magnificently written episode by Michael Narducci and co-written by Michael Russo. We get a little bit of everything in this episode, vampires rising!