#The Real Deal || ic; Bonny

[dsaf-confessions]

[The scene cuts to the pizzeria as the guard is heard screaming offscreen. The text of the production companies involved plays as the camera pans around the pizzeria, stopping & zooming in a drawing with kids holding hands alongside a yellow rabbit, followed by the opening credits. After the logo shows up, an alarm clock starts beeping. Mike sighs, gets up, turns the alarm off, & hides his pills in a drawer, as the camera pans to the Nebraska poster on his ceiling. He then does push-ups, & after that, the camera cuts to Abby's drawings.]

Mike Schmidt: Abs, you ready? (enters his room, ready for work) Abby? (looks around) Abs. (approaches Abby's pillow fort) Come on, I know you're in there. Let's go. (shakes the sheets) Abby, come on.

Abby Schmidt: Okay, okay. You're being a jerk.

Mike Schmidt: You know I have somewhere to be, come on, let's go. Five minutes, I need you dressed. (gets a plushie thrown at him) Five minutes.

[Cut to a mall, where Mike's co-worker, Jeremiah, reads a book called, "Dream Theory" while slurping a drink.]

Jeremiah: "And though the dreamer remains asleep, he walks through memory as if experiencing it for the 1st time anew, no longer a passenger but an active participant." (puts down the book & chuckles) This stuff for real?

Mike Schmidt: Some people think so, guess it depends on what you believe.

Jeremiah: Summer of '82, I traded a mint condition Cal Ripken Jr. rookie for a used copy of "Missile Command". That card's probably worth 800 bucks now. I wish I could participate in that memory & activelykick my own ass. (looks at the book) Can I keep it?

Mike Schmidt: No. (takes the book)

[Mike waits in line at an ice cream shop as he watches an unsupervised child.]

Female Customer: I would like the walnut fudge, but I want the fudge on the side because I don't want it to melt the ice cream; & can I get some whipped cream on top & 3 cherries?

Cindy: Coming right up.

[Mike notices a man seemingly abducting a child & runs after him.]

Mike Schmidt: HEY! (3x)

[He tackles the man & beats him up in a waterfall. This scene is followed by a security camera feed reading 4/6/2000 on the top left, & right below it, 4:13PM. On the top right, it reads CAMERA 02. Mike is seen on a chair, with his right foot slowly shaking.]

Woman: Number 27? (3x)

[In Steve Raglan's office...]

Steve Raglan: What is your deal, Mike? What are you, some kind of... hate case? You beat up a man in broad daylight; infront of his child.

Little Boy: Daddy!

Mike Schmidt: That was a mistake, um... it was a misunderstanding, I-I thought-

Steve Raglan: Just look at your employment record: Tire Zone, sales associate, 2 months, terminated. Media World, custodial staff, 1 week. It's like you're not trying here, yet you sit before me asking for help. I'm just trying to figure out who you are, Mr. Michael Sch-

Mike Schmidt: Hm?

Steve Raglan: Coffee?

Mike Schmidt: Sorry?

Steve Raglan: Uh, would you, would you like some... some coffee? I made some coffee.

Mike Schmidt: No.

Ness: Hey, welcome to Sparky's! Can I set you folks up with some appetizers?

Jane Schmidt: [gives the menu back to Ness] We're not eating.

Ness: Well that's no fun. You do realize that lunch is the most important meal of the day.

Jeff: I thought it was breakfast.

Ness: Some people say that, but... it's just a theory.

Jane Schmidt: Are you being paid by the word or can we have a minute?

[Ness leaves with the menu in hand.]

[Vanessa presses the Showtime buttom as the animatronics start performing "Talking in your Sleep" by the Romantics.]

Mike Schmidt: This is... this is...?

Vanessa Shelly: The best thing you've seen in your entire life? (the animatronics continue performing) Care to dance? (Bonnie's guitar malfunctions, stopping the performance)

(The supply closet opens by itself.)

Jeff: Hank?

[Bonnie the Rabbit comes out from the janitorial closet and slowly turns to Jeff. He drops his crowbar and runs away as the coins falls off from his bag. He rushes to the office and locks the door.]

[Aunt Jane sits on a chair as the camera pans to Golden Freddy right behind her. Abby is seen in her bed, & soon goes outside.]

Abby Schmidt: Freddy?

[Golden Freddy is seen where he was standing before. Abby steps closer as the blonde-haired ghost kid approaches her.]

Ghost Kid (blonde hair): Not Freddy. They’re all waiting for you. It’s time to go play. (Abby prepares to go to the pizzeria when she sees Aunt Jane lying on the floor) Silly Aunt Jane. She fell asleep.

Abby Schmidt: How do we get there?

[A taxi is seen as a taxi driver listens to music. Abby gets in.]

Taxi Driver: Where to, little lady? (notices a heavier object get in the taxi) What the- (turns rear mirror to see Golden Freddy, who freaks him out a little) Oh my goodness!!!

[The camera turns to Golden Freddy & Abby, who is laughing. Golden Freddy looks at her as she does it.]

Taxi Driver: Not cool. Why do I always get the weirdos? (starts up the taxi as they drive off)

[Chica leads Abby to the storage room with the Ella suit, picks her up and nearly puts her in the suit, almost springlocking her.]

[A figure in the Spring Bonnie suit arrives form the darkness. Mike tases him, but he laughs it off & pushes Mike. The scene cuts to Foxy stepping on one of the balls in the ball pit. Foxy inspects the ball pit for Abby, but his eyes widen as mechanical noises are heard. Abby screams as she is soon taken out of the ball pit by Vanessa.]

Abby Schmidt: Vanessa!

Vanessa Afton: It's okay.

Abby Schmidt: (sees Foxy, lying down on the floor, destroyed) Foxy!

[Foxy's eyes dim.]

Vanessa Afton: I need you to get somewhere safe so I can go help your brother, okay?

[The scene cuts back to Mike & the Yellow Rabbit.]

Yellow Rabbit: You couldn't just leave it alone, could you? (chuckles) Lucky me. First I kill your brother, now I kill you. Symmetry, my friend.

Mike Schmidt: Go to hell. (gets kicked unconscious)

Yellow Rabbit: Wake up, children. I have something for you to play with. This is gonna be so much fun. Little ones tell me you have a sister. She will love it here. You, however, are finished. (wipes knife as he says this) Farewell, Michael Schmidt.

Vanessa Afton: That's enough! Drop the knife. (holds out her gun pointing at the costumed man)

Yellow Rabbit: A little old for temper tantrums, aren't we, Vanessa?

Vanessa Afton: I'm not kidding, Dad.

William Afton: You may have forgotten your loyalties, but I assure you, they have not.

Abby Schmidt: Mike! Please wake up.

William Afton: (removes mask) Now, put that thing away & help me clean up the mess that you created!

Abby Schmidt: Please. Please, Mike. Please. No!

William Afton: (chuckles) We both know you're not gonna use a- (gets shot)

Vanessa Afton: The Yellow Rabbit, he controls them.

William Afton: (knocks off Vanessa's gun off her grasp) You had one job. One! Keep him in the dark & kill him if he got too close.

Vanessa Afton: That's 2 jobs.

[William holds her by the neck & pins her near an arcade machine. He then sees Abby finished with her drawing, running to the drawing wall to pin it.]

William Afton: Let go!

Vanessa Afton: I won't let you hurt her, too. (is stabbed by William) Dad.

[Mike runs to the power switch, as William approaches Abby pinning her drawing.]

William Afton: (starts approaching Abby) Hey, hey! (Abby pins her drawing to the wall as the power goes out in the pizzeria) What have you done?

[Mikes turns the power switch on as the spotlight focuses on Abby's drawing. The animatronics look at it & approach Afton.]

Abby Schmidt: They can see you now. They know what you did.

William Afton: (sees Foxy turn to him) Move!

[The spotlights shine on him as the animatronics surround him. Just then, Mike returns to the main area.]

Abby Schmidt: Mike!

William Afton: Look at you... look at the nasty things that you have become! Look at how small you are! How worthless you are! You are wretched, rotten little beasts! I made you!

[Cupcake launches at Afton, biting off part of the suit, trigerring the springlocks. Afton breathes nervously & grabs the Spring Bonnie mask.]

William Afton: (under his breath) I always come back...

[The animatronics look at Afton as he puts on the mask. The eyes light up as he collapses on the floor. A light fixture comes crashing down.]

Abby: What's happening?

Mike: The springlocks.

[More light fixtures start crashing down, too. Mike & Abby see Vanessa, limp & unconsicious. They leave the collapsing pizzeria with a wounded Vanessa in tow as the animatronics drag Afton away.]

[Afton is seen sitting in a closet. Golden Freddy's kid approaches him. Afton reaches out his hand to him, but he locks the door instead.]

("Five Nights at Freddy's" by The Living Tombstone plays)

[Cut to the taxi's headlights. The lights switch from "ON DUTY" to "OFF DUTY". The taxi driver is sleeping with a hat on his head. A knock is heard.]

Taxi Driver: Uh, uh. No, not today, sorry. (the door opens up) I said, read the si- (screams at the sight of the Balloon Boy figure)

("Five Nights at Freddy's" continues playing. Once it ends, the music transitions to "My Grandfather's Clock" by the Newton brothers.)

Voice: C. O. M. E. F. I. N. D. M. E.

-Dave's Left Ingrown Toenail

[steely-eyedmissileman]

The Vampire Diaries, Ep. 1x03

Friday Night Bites

this is the best episode title we've had thus far. i mean, the first episode was essentially untitled, so it's not like we're fighting a real uphill battle on this one. friday night bites is not only my favorite episode title thus far. it's my favorite episode.

there's something about sports in high school supernatural shows that will forever enthrall me. it's the teen wolf of it all. for those not familiar, teen wolf is a show that premiered two years after tvd. it is about a teenage werewolf (not that deep). it is also, for the first twoish seasons, about lacrosse. in late seasons teen wolf, i always wanted to go back to those early seasons. i wanted the major problems in their lives to stop being an increasingly ridiculous series of monsters and implausible scenarios for teenagers and go back to the days where their most pressing problems were, to paraphrase a famous meme, 'the epic highs and lows of high school lacrosse.'

tvd is brushing up against the space that teen wolf occupies here. it is, briefly, setting its sights on those epic highs and lows. and it looks damn good doing it. stefan looks good playing football. he is good at football, i gather. for a moment, this seems like a different show, one where a vampire must avoid the reveal of his identity in increasingly ridiculous farces. i loved this brush at a show. however, we are in a much darker world.

there's blood all over this episode. this should not seem strange, given that's it's a show about vampires, but, as an avid buffy fan, blood always pulls me in. there were strict rules about how much blood buffy could show (see the infamous ice skate decapitation scene—there's very little blood, despite the fact that a man has been decapitated by an ice skate.) tvd is not fighting the same restrictions. instead, we can revel in the blood. we can bathe in it (countess elisabeth bathory!) mr. tanner's death is a spurting of it, followed by a pool. stefan bleeds after the fight. caroline awakens in blood, bites on her neck, the remnants of blood. (she's wearing a baby blue bra now, which is very different from the bright pink of the last episode.) elena cuts herself, almost revealing stefan (vampires have reflections in this universe!) there's blood everywhere, tying the characters together. pulling them apart.

(i found mr. tanner's death somewhat sad, despite the fact that he was an asshole. i was hoping he would be like coach from teen wolf, who was by far the best teen wolf character. and absolutely fucking nuts. in fact, he was the best teen wolf character because he was absolutely fucking nuts.)

in other news, elena organizes a dinner with just her, stefan, and bonnie. because that is the best possible way to make bonnie like stefan. this is what normal people do. the dinner is very awkward until stefan starts talking about how cool he thinks witches are. as he should! and then damon and caroline show up and ruin the party. not caroline's fault though! she is simply being swept along on the tides of damon's desire. damon, meanwhile, is an asshole. he corners elena and tries, again, to cast blame on stefan for past events. he wants her to be uncertain and self-conscious. he wants her to doubt everything stefan says. he wants to poison the waters. he also wants to blatantly flirt with her. he is annoying.

at the end of the episode, stefan resolves to deal with damon, who he now realizes is 'only a monster... who must be stopped.' of course, i disagree. damon is not only a monster. he has emotions. he is trying to find them, but he was clearly affected by what stefan said earlier. he killed mr. tanner because he saw himself through his brother's eyes—a broken man who deserves pity. damon salvatore doesn't want pity, so he made sure he wouldn't get it. however, that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve it or need it. and it sure as hell doesn't mean he's a monster. it means he's a man.

[strawberrystreamfields]

Carolina's Journal Log 4:

Our day started bright and early with reports of a sudden, severe blizzard in the Everwind Fields. It was almost identical to the one in Moorland a few days ago. The snow was, of course, deeper here, though Rosedawn expertly plowed through the cold, white, layers. Seeing as the blizzard was situated relatively close to Marley's farm and to the Baroness' Racetrack, it was worth checking to make sure nobody was trapped. Thankfully, Silverglade Village hadn't been hit in the storm, and, from what I could see, neither had Silverglade Manor. I'd have to check on the Manor later.

Despite the trouble this blizzard was causing, there was no denying that it looked magnificent. My prediction was right since we ran into Idun Goldspur and Landon. We helped Idun find her twins, Alexander and Hannibal, who'd been playing hide and seek in the snow when the blizzard hit. From there, we tracked down Landon's sheep. We figured we might as well take advantage of the snow. Rosedawn seemed to want to give herself a brain freeze, dunking her head into the snow a la ostrich.

We headed up to Silverglade Manor, which thankfully hadn't been hit by the blizzard. The constant snowfall's been keeping the snow fluffy and nice. All of the birch trees dotted around the landscape match perfectly with the snowy ground.

The vineyard is just as snow-covered as everything else, which, in hindsight, was to be expected. The grapes are surprisingly resilient for an island that hasn't seen any real snow for nearly 6 years. I briefly spoke with the Baroness as we walked past. Here's hoping she hasn't locked another girl in a castle. I don't think that's going to be an easy PR scandal to deal with.

Rosedawn and I made our way down to Silverglade Village. We headed past the castle, which doesn't currently appear to be inhabited by an imprisoned teenager. The roads in the village have been paved and smoothed, making the trek easier. Big Bonny is working on some of her inventions outside. Fresh air can be pretty helpful when trying to fix something.

We walked through the village, stopping to view the decorations in the main square. There was a massive, expertly decorated tree acting as a centerpiece. The fountain was mostly the same, though there were garlands and straw goats peppered around the square. Figuring it would be nice to have some fun in an even snowier place, we requested that the Capran there take us to the Winter Village, to which they obliged. I'm starting to hate this as much as Rosedawn.

Once in the Winter Village, we passed by some large ice crystals. I wonder how they formed in such an elaborate way. Nevertheless, we encountered a friendly deer, who even allowed me to carefully pet him! Gosh, deer are absolutely precious.

We stopped to listen to stories around a warm fire. James told us a story about a straw goat, which was pretty touching. Before returning to our exploration, we stopped so that Rosedawn could get some water and a snack. After the both of us had rested up, we kept exploring. Our next wildlife encounter was discovering an arctic fox den! Some of the young cubs were playing with each other while some adults supervised.

Leaving the Winter Village, we began heading for Valedale Village. The Silversong River is still frozen over, and Rosedawn and I half considered sliding down toward the ocean or to the other side of the riverbank, though, we decided to just take the path today. Maybe tomorrow.

We passed the frozen water mill, its roof covered in snow. Once arriving at the village, we paused to briefly chat with Claire before continuing on our way. We took a leap over a fallen log, landing in the snow gracefully before galloping on. Maybe Rosedawn would be good in cross-country?

We crossed the bridge over to one of the druid cabins where we'd stay the night. Our plan was either to head up to the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur or to Firgrove, and by extension, Mistfall tomorrow. For now, Rosedawn is staying in one of the Druid stables for the night while I stay in one of the rooms. I'd head back to Redwood Point, but it would be fruitless to go all the way to the Wildwoods when I might be headed to Mistfall tomorrow.

[hannahsmusings]

Jackson

*Jackson didn’t really believe in that all consuming, earth shattering, life changing sort of love, figuring that was just for fairytales and stupid romantic movies, nothing like that actually existed in real life, but feeling your hand on his chest and you quietly beg him not to leave, he understood completely* *some emotion rushed over him like a tidal wave, wanting to laugh at your words since it was so insane that you believed he could actually walk away from you, that he could rip himself from you in any capacity, it was hilarious that you couldn’t read it all over his damn face* *his heart was pounding in his chest, his eyes locked on yours, his spare hand that wasn’t still holding the ice pack comes up to rest against your small one on his chest, his large hand completely engulfing your small one, his cold fingers wrapping around the warm skin of your palm* I’m not going anywhere. *he knew kissing you was wrong, he knew he couldn’t cross that line, you had a boyfriend for fucks sake but that boyfriend proved to be a piece of shit and he hurt you, Jackson couldn’t respect him but he respected you, so damn much, and he needed to know that he wasn’t going to scare you or make you leave by being too forward, even though every fiber and nerve ending in his body was screaming at him to claim you, to submit himself to you, to be yours* *he cradles your hand, his eyes never leaving yours as he speaks softly* I’m sorry for everything that happened tonight, Hannah… it should’ve been me. Not you. Never you. *his voice was low, his eyes boring into you, knowing if you gave him the green light he’d kiss you right here right now, but he needed to see it in your eyes, he needed to feel the permission, he also didn’t know what the hell his life would look like after, knowing it would fundamentally change everything; your work relationship, his brain chemistry, his entire view on the world and romance*

____________________________________________

*I felt so vulnerable, never really seeking someone's comfort before because I was so used to dealing with things on my own but there was a part of me that needed you right now and that felt so foreign* *lets my hand relax against your chest as you tell me you weren't going anywhere, eyes softening as I look down at your large hand as it covers my own, feeling so safe in this moment as I look back at you, the warmth in your gaze making my stomach coil with want as I just look at you with wide open eyes, heart racing but feeling it calm as I feel the steady beat of yours under my pal, our pulses synching up as we just look at each other, overwhelmed with the heaviness and emotion in the air* *shakes my head as you apologise, disagreeing with your words but feeling your truth as you look at me* It never should happened. Not for either of us. *whispers, shame and embarrassment clear on my face as I look away for a moment, taking a breath before looking back up at you* You have nothing to apologise for. *whispers, wanting to reach for you and nearly doing that before Bonnie comes into the room quickly to announce the room was ready, eyes widening and stepping back a little as my cheeks colour at being caught in such an intimate position with you*

[abbatoirablaze]

How To Get Away From Murder, Chapter 9

Word Count:  1.8

Warnings:  none

"Alright guys, you can all go home.  My daughter is coming by and it's her birthday," Annalise said with a grin, "We'll get together tomorrow and work on the case." 

"Don't stop working on my account," a voice laughed from the entrance of the living room.  Annalise turned around to see her daughter, grinning ear to ear.  

"Wow," one of the interns said.  Frank turned around and hit the intern upside the head, “Sorry.”

"That's the bosses daughter, show a little respect." 

"I would love to respect every inch of her," the kid smirked, pushing his luck yet again.  Frank shot him a glare, “oh come on…like any man in his right mind wouldn’t?”

This caused Annalise to turn around, a very pissed off expression on her face.  Ever since Cheyanne had the baby she'd stayed in New York.  This was the first time that she decided to come back to Philadelphia.  And of course, it was on her 18th birthday.  

"I got this, mom," Cheyanne said, her mother letting him come forward.  She made her way directly to the young man who was about four years older than her.  The confidence in her walk turned Frank on.  This woman before him was no child, she was a self-assured, independent woman, and the mother of his child, "Do you think it's funny making sexualized comments at a woman?  At the bosses daughter?  Tell me, what is your name?" 

"James!" he said in a nervous tone.  

"James?" she questioned.  The man nodded and she poked his chest, "Are you aware this office deals with all kinds of clientele?  What if I happened to be a potential new client, a victim of sexual harassment, tell me then, JAMES, what would your excuse be?  Because right now, you’re looking like a liability.  So give me a good reason why my mother should keep you around!" 

"Uh..." 

"WHAT, JAMES," she said in a loud voice, "You don't have an excuse?  What kind of lawyer do you think you are going to be, huh?  Sexual harassment?  SIT DOWN, little boy, and don't say another word unless someone directs it to you.  Do you understand me?" 

James nodded and sat down on the couch.  Cheyanne turned around and smiled, going back to her mother, who whispered a 'nicely done,' as they headed into her office.  

"Bonnie, have James go out and get the discovery file from the DA.  I'm going to catch up with my daughter." Annalise said.  She closed the office doors and Bonnie directed the other interns on what to do.  Meanwhile Frank just stood, watching the office doors.  

In just the short amount of time it's been since she'd given birth to his daughter, who was now 1 year and 4 months old, she'd changed so much.  She was working part time with Eve at her law firm.  She'd graduated early, online, and went to NYU where she was majoring in pre-law.  And every day she skyped him so that Frank could talk to Julie.  

It broke his heart every day that he couldn't be closer to Cheyanne and Julie.  Six months ago, she said her first real word.  Ever since then she would excitedly squeal it whenever they skyped.  'Daddy'.  He was extremely proud of that bit.  

"You okay?" Bonnie asked.  He shook himself from his thoughts and went to the kitchen.  Bonnie followed him in, "Frank, you okay?" 

"Yeah." he said with a grin. 

"Does this have anything to do with Cheyanne being back?" 

"Is she here yet?" Sam asked, coming through the kitchen door.  He had an armful of balloons and an ice cream cake.  

"See for yourself," Bonnie grinned.  Sam smiled and put the cake down.  He slid open the doors and Cheyanne squealed in excitement. 

"DAD!" 

That reminded Frank of Julie.  She even squealed just like Cheyanne.  He pulled his cell phone out and texted Eve. 

'She's here.  Don't know if she told you.'

A few moments later his cell buzzed, 'last update was when she left.  Thanks Frank.  and good luck honey.  Hope she says yes.  xoxo'

He smiled and put his phone away, then reached for his car keys.  He walked into Annalise's office, "I'm going to get out of here.  That okay?" 

"Frank wait," Cheyanne said, pulling him into a hug, "You can't leave.  Dad said he made reservations for everyone for dinner." 

"Oh, I don't want to intrude." 

"Shut up Frank," Annalise said with a laugh, "You are part of the family.  You and Bonnie are coming out tonight for dinner." 

"Happy birthday Cheyanne." Bonnie said, coming in from the kitchen to give her a hug.  She hugged her back.  

Then Bonnie pulled away, "Your dad got you an ice cream cake.  Want to spoil dinner?" 

"Oh god yes." she grinned, taking Bonnie's hand.  She opened up the cake as Bonnie grabbed a knife to cut it with. 

"Don't forget the plates!" Annalise smiled, pushing past Sam and Frank. 

"Women." Sam laughed, nudging Frank.  

"Yeah…" Frank laughed.  They made their way into the kitchen before Annalise called in the interns.  Everyone had some cake and smiles.  Then around six Annalise told them to go home for the night.  After that, they all got in their cars and headed to the restaurant.  It was some Japanese hibachi place.  When the meal was over Frank offered to drive Cheyanne to go get coffee.  Everyone else said they wanted to go home, leaving just the two of them.  

"I didn't expect you to show up," he lied, trying to make conversation, “felt like you dodged the question every time I talked about it!

"Yes you did,” she accused, “You knew I wouldn’t miss coming home!”

He looked at her with fake exasperation, "Cheyanne Harkness, are you accusing me of lying?  To you?" 

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she giggled.  She put a hand over his thigh, "I know every inch of you Frank Delfino.  Your body tells me everything I want to know.  And you’re still a horrible liar." 

"What?"

"Like how you offered to take me to the coffee shop.  You knew damn well my parents wouldn't want coffee after dinner," she smiled, "And how earlier, when I put James in his place, you wanted to take me right then and there.  I saw the lust in your eyes." 

"Or maybe I just wanted to take you out for a latte," he said, pulling into the parking spot in front of the cafe.  She gave him a sideways glance before they both started to laugh.  They got out of the car and went in, ordering a latte and an espresso.  When they got their drinks they sat down at the corner table in the back.  

Frank awkwardly scooted his chair closer to Cheyanne.  He looked down at his coffee, avoiding her stare.  

"Frank…" she said.  He looked up and she caught his lips with her own.  It was a small, quick kiss, but Frank wanted more.  They both smiled at one another while drinking the coffee they got, not really saying much.

"Hey Chey," he said.  She looked up at him again, "I want to show you something." 

"Okay," she replied.  They left together and Frank drove for about five minutes before pulling into a house, "What's this?" 

"It's a house." he replied, getting out of the car.  

"Whose house is it, Frank?" 

"Ours, if you say yes to it." 

"What?" 

"I bought a house...and I put our names on it.  Well, I put your name on it." 

"Frank!" she gasped.  

Frank smiled and took her hand, leading her through the fence to the backyard, "It's got a big back yard, and a pool.  I know you said you wanted to teach Julie to swim soon, so I figured this was a good thing to have.  Plus, it has a deck.  A spacious kitchen, with an island and a big dining room.  It’s got a finished basement and four bedrooms on the second floor.  I turned the attic into a loft." 

He led Cheyanne into the house.  Not only was the house sparkling clean, but it was already decorated and furnished.  Her amazement wasn't hidden, "Frank, did you do this?" 

"I want to show you the rest of the house," he smirked.  He led her up the stairs.  They passed the first door and went down to the last room at the end of the hall.  When he opened it, her hand's left his and went up to her mouth.  The decorated room was for Julie.  The main wall had her name across it in a glittery paint.  A toddler bed, rocking chair, dresser, and a toy box completed the room. 

"Oh my god," she whispered.  Frank smiled and pulled her to him, “F-Frank…this is all too much!”

"That's not it," he grinned, taking her hands again.  He turned her around and covered her eyes, "When I take my hands off your eyes, I want you to keep them closed.  Until I say open, okay?" 

She nodded, "Okay."  

"Don't peek," he laughed.  He led her to the first bedroom and opened the door.  He left her at the doorway and went behind the rose petals, lighting the candles around the room.  Then he stopped behind the petals and got down on one knee.

Cheyanne's POV

It felt like an eternity.  I'd heard a door open, and he left me there.  I wanted to just open my eyes, but I didn't.  I heard a lighter go off, and the room started to smell like vanilla. 

"Okay, open them!” his voice called out.  

I opened my eyes, and my hands immediately went to cover my mouth.  In the area before the bed was Frank, on one knee.  Rose petals spelled out 'Marry me,' and candles were all through out the room.  In his hand he had a ring, holding it out to me.

"Oh my god." 

"Will you?" 

"Are you serious?" I asked, taking a step towards him.  He nodded, getting up.  I nodded as I began to cry, "Yes.  Yes, I'll marry you, Frank."  

He smiled and we were both crying as he put the ring on my finger.  Then he pulled me into a kiss.  I held onto him for dear life.  He lifted me up and laid me on the bed.  I flipped us over so that I was straddling him.  For the past almost two years I'd hungered for him, every single day, and tonight, it was okay.  

I ripped at his shirt, separating some of the buttons from the fabric.  He kissed me as I ran my hands down his chest.  He felt so much more ripped than from what I'd remembered, "mmm, Frank." 

"Chey," he moaned, unbuckling his pants.  I smiled and hiked up my dress.  He stopped me, "wait.  Wait.   I need a condom." 

"No need," I smiled, "I'm on the pill now, Frank.  Mom put me on it last year after I told her I wanted to come home on my 18th birthday." 

Chapter 10

[nonestinventus]

Ms. Bonny de Famme! How could you justify forcing your sister to remain in your shadow for so many years? A simple magic act hardly seems worth making your sister practically a non-person completely unallowed to pursue her own interests and develop independently!

Release the journalists!

{🐇}-“I-it wasn’t like that at all… It wasn’t my idea… We were always interested in magic, and our father was a former small time magician before he died, and he wanted us to be big… I… I always tried to make sure Betty was okay with everything, and to do things she would like, too…”

[bonniebird]

Klaus’ True Love (Part Two)

Klaus Mikaelson x Immortal!Fem!Reader

Summary: A thousand years ago Klaus lost her. The only girl he ever truly loved but now he's found her again, he's not letting her go without answers.

Part One

Part Three

Part Four

“So you found the spell, what do you want from me?” Klaus asked furiously. He’d been called to the boarding house, pulled away from his watch over you inspecting his art, to deal with inferior creatures that seemed unable to function without him.

“Bonnie isn’t powerful enough to use the spell.” Elena said defensively, stepping in front of Bonnie when Klaus bared his fangs at her.

“Well I’ll have someone find you a stronger witch.” He snapped before vanishing leaving them to wonder where he was keeping you.

 ***************************

 “You look different now.” Klaus smiled when you jumped and turned away from the painting in front of you.

“I don’t want this spell lifted, I don’t want to lose Elena and Jer… Aunt Judith.” Your fingers reached out to brush the paint and he gently caught your hand.

“You never could keep those hands to yourself.” You looked up at him as he swallowed and twisted his fingers into yours, before you got uncomfortable enough to pull away, he dropped your hand and hurried over to the corner of the room. 

“I managed to save your flower for you… when we first settled in Fell’s church you said you’d never seen something that could rival the beauty of the sun setting over the sea.” He pulled back the panel that had stood against one wall, revealing a large pot of dirt with the same flowers that grew around your window pane at home,

“Aunt Judith thinks it’s odd the flower seems to grow just for me.” You muttered, forgetting to fill in the vampire on what it was you meant but he seemed more engrossed in watching you finger the delicate purple petals.

“I named it after you, it has become very popular.” He smiled at you and moved away, leaving you with the plant.

 ********************

“Thank you.” you whispered. Despite the kidnapping and threats against your siblings Klaus seemed… oddly indifferent to upsetting you, unlike Damon who almost tore your throat out the first time you met.

“A small gesture for a love I lost.” He muttered. You ran your fingers across one of the many sculptures and pulled your hand back, he was right, you learnt by touch and the desire to hold everything you saw was almost a hidden need.

“How did I get like this, clearly what you have told me is true enough for my sister and her brood of vampires to believe you.” You ask, settling down on the end of your bed as you waited for his answer.

“It is a very long story (Y/N) one that I will not know all of until you remember yourself.” He hesitated for a moment before beginning to speak.

 ********************

“What have you done, she had no part of this… have you become so blinded by your need for power that innocent people must die?” Klaus hissed at his father hysterically as you didn’t resurface from the lake beneath him.

“You are a savage animal, what I did was mercy compared to a life with you.” Mikael spat back. He didn’t notice the flower you’d dropped being crushed beneath his boot but the desperate hybrid’s fingers plucked it from the ground and cradled it in his hands.

“Father, how could you do it?” Rebekah yelled bravely as she tore through the woods, following the sounds of her brother’s despair. He raised a hand to slap her but Elijah appeared just in time to take the blow.

“I will not be questioned by my own children.” He hissed, storming away, leaving the siblings to comfort one another.

Your gasp for air was sad and desperate, drawing the attention of the Mikaelson patriarch. He watched you pull yourself from the lake, sitting for a moment to take stock of what happened to you, before making his presence known. 

“I never thought we ourselves could create another.” His ramblings made no sense to you as he held your chin up so he could look at your face closely.

“What have you done to me?” You sobbed. He frowned before lifting you to your feet by your arm.

“You must eat; do not worry I will find a witch to keep you safe from my wife’s bastard.” His voice attempted to be soft and comforting but made your skin crawl. You didn’t dare cry out for help, assuming he would have killed Niklaus for attacking him and showing such defiance.

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

 “So he used compulsion to keep me under his control, why didn’t it wear off when he died?” You asked. Before you could panic Klaus was on his feet gently placing his hands on your shoulder. 

“The witches, he forced the Gilbert’s, Lockwood’s and Bennet’s to protect you and the tradition was passed down, I have no doubt your Aunt knows something of your secret but hasn’t the heart to say anything… admittedly from me but not only did that guarantee your obedience, it erased any oddity of your ageing.” He took his hands away as you shook your head and pushed his arms.

“Aging oddity, I remember my birthdays and Elena’s birth… we fought over who could hold Jeremy first, my mother told me off on my sixth birthday for pushing Elena off a chair.” You yell at him frantically, pacing the room. He reached to comfort you but you shoved him away as tears fell down your cheeks.

“They are not real memory’s, the power in the land here keeps everyone human from seeing the truth.” You let Klaus wrap you in his arms as your legs gave out underneath you.

“But… No, I… you’re not taking those memories from me by undoing that spell.” You say firmly pounding your fists against the vampire’s chest.

“They will still remain (Y/N), if they didn’t everyone in Fell’s Church would know that you haven’t aged for a thousand years… all it will mean is, you will remember me and your real parents.” His voice cracked a little as he felt you give into the longing to rest yourself against him.

“But what if they don’t?” You whispered. He didn’t reply as he kissed your forehead and sat you back on the end of your bed.

“I will find a witch powerful enough to make sure they do.” He beckoned you to follow him and led you to a car with blacked out windows, indicating for the man in the front to take you wherever you wanted to go and shut the door without another word to you.

 **********************

 “Elena!” You ran up the Boarding house drive, wrapping your arms around your sister and began sobbing into her shoulder.

“Listen to me even if you forget… we forget, we love you, when Mom and Dad died you were with us and you lost them to and everything with Jer… you’ll always be our sister.” You smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks before embracing Bonnie. 

“I’m sorry if I’d have known what Grams was doing…” You hugged your best friend and smiled.

“You always do what’s right Bonnie; you can’t fix something you don’t know is broken.” She grinned at you.

“Well this is all very touching lady’s but I have to prepare my home for an invasion of narcissistic immortals so if we could move it inside.” Damon snapped from behind you. you shared a silent smile with Stefan as you fell in step with him.

Three hours later Klaus and two other vampires appeared in the doorway dragging a woman they claimed to be causing trouble for several vampires. You reluctantly agreed to sit where they told you and Bonnie began hovering over the witch’s shoulder to make sure she was doing the spell correctly.

She began chanting something over and over, the room seemed to heave and shrink around you until it vanished entirely and there was just a plain door with a bolt in front of you. without hesitation you opened the door and let what was behind it wash over you.

 *****************************

 “(Y/N) …. Oh god please be ok, please… don’t leave us.” Elena’s tears felt like cold droplets of ice on your skin and for a moment you couldn’t move.

“Drink this.” The blond woman that Klaus had come with was kneeling on the other side of you, holding a slightly warm baggie of blood.

“Rebekah.” You muttered, taking the bag and tearing it open drinking whatever you hadn’t split.

“Drink the witch, she’s no use for anything else.” Damon muttered when your hungry gaze fixed on your sister.

“What happened to her?” You asked as Rebekah helped you away from Elena and over to the now dead witch.

“Some spells kill us if we’re too weak.” Bonnie’s voice was wavering, no doubt the whole dead witch and vampire subject was hitting her a little harder than she liked to let on.

“Well as long as she’s dead and it stops me from devouring you all.” You muttered. You went to sink your new fangs into her neck only to have Klaus stop you.

“You drink from her like that we’ll have a town with no blood supply.” He stepped between you and the witch, sinking his teeth into her neck, before pulling away and indicating for you to feed from the marks he’d left.

Your gaze on Klaus lasted longer than needed and it wasn’t until he sat next to the witch and pulled you into his lap that you noticed everyone else had moved to the next room. His lips found yours in a kiss that held a deep longing and need that you felt your heart would explode if it lasted much longer.

“I hope you know I will never be without you again.” He whispered, brushing tendrils of hair from your face as he looked up at you. you placed a gentle kiss on his lips, smiling to yourself when he moaned and curled his hands into the chair to stop himself from touching you.

“I feel horrible.” You muttered, ruining the moment when your fangs extended and refused to vanish again.

“You haven’t eaten properly for a long time; magic supplementing is a form of witchly torture so you’re going to be starving.” He shifted so you could feed without leaving his embrace and without much prompting you sank your teeth into the witch’s neck.

He moved your hair out of his way and had to sink his fangs into his lip to stop himself from moaning at the sight of you feeding, feeling the rush of power the blood was giving you.

[aereres]

Still Into You - Mitch Marner

Summary: When Y/N agreed to join her older brother at the Marners' for Christmas, she didn't expect to find herself infatuated with her brother's best friend all over again.

A/N: I am so excited to post this ngl... Anons, here’s the Mitch fic!

Word Count: 3,4k

Warnings: drinking, maybe some swear words, lots of teasing and flirting, maybe some angst?

"God, this is bringing back High School memories," Andrew mumbled under his breath, a smile on his lips as he drove through the snowy streets. The landscape was a mixture of tall trees and mountains, some clouds blocking the view of their peaks.

"You guys came here often?" You asked your brother, noticing a rather large house just a few miles away.

"Every summer," Andrew said, taking another turn as he gave you a quick look. "We used to throw the biggest parties ever, before Marner left,"

"And you didn't even invite me," you tsked, pushing your beanie on the top of your head when he pulled up inside a driveway, your eyes scanning the fancy mountain house before you.

"Try to be nice, okay?" Andrew warned you, pointing a finger your way as he left the car. You lifted up your middle finger when he turned your back to you to knock on the front door, and you finally left the car to grab your bags.

"Oh my God, Andy! Hi!" You recognized Bonnie's voice, a smile forming on your lips as you looked at your long-time family friend hugging your brother tightly. "I haven't seen you in ages,"

"Hi, Bonnie," your brother chuckled, gently pulling back to hug her husband. His smile grew even larger when Mitch appeared, the two best friends finding themselves in a tight embrace as they laughed in chorus.

"Oh, Y/N," Bonnie sighed happily, pulling you in a hug and kissing the top of your head lightly. "I'm so happy you could make it, honey,"

"Thank you for having me," you smiled, hugging Paul when he greeted you. You met Mitch's eyes, a smile forming on your lips as you found yourself in front of the old friend. His features had changed from the last time you'd seen him, he was built, and he definitely looked taller. His smile was still the same, though. The one you had loved so much.

"Hi," he said lightly, opening his arms for you, letting you go after a couple of seconds. You took in the insides of the house: the tall Christmas tree, the fireplace in the living room, the large windows, and the soft lights that illuminated the various rooms. It felt... cozy.

"Anyone wants hot chocolate?"

-----

Mitch was trying to keep his eyes off of you. The light of the fireplace was hitting your body just right, and he could have sworn you were the prettiest sight on earth. It had been years since he had last seen you, leaving you with a quick 'goodbye' and an excited smile on his face.

It had been the night before the draft, he could still remember it. He said goodbye to all his friends, left the girl he was seeing with a kiss, and came to see Andrew one last time. You had happened to stand by the doorway, catching the last few glimpses of their bone-crushing hug as they laughed. Mitch had walked past you, ruffling your hair with a chuckle before walking towards the front door of your door to go back home, ready for his new start.

Since then, he had barely spent time home, missing not only the growth of his entire family, but also of his closest friends which, in some ways, involved you, too.

The braces you had once worn were gone, your short hair had become long, framing your face in the best possible way, and your younger version had left to let the new you take over. You were a sight to see.

"Marner, eyes on the game," Andrew snapped him out of his trance, tapping his thigh with his controller and pointing at the TV. His best friend had beaten him another time, making him scoff softly.

"Man, and I thought I got better at videogames," Mitch joked, slipping his phone out of his pocket to check some messages. Andrew stood up, stretched for a couple of seconds, and looked at his sister.

"I'm going to bed," he stated, running a hand through his dark hair. "We gotta throw a party, man, like the old times,"

"Sure," Mitch mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck as he saw the little smile that formed on your lips. "I'll try to find a way to get my parents out of here,"

"Cool," Andrew said, ruffling your hair and making you scoff softly before leaving the room with a small 'goodnight'. Silence grew between you and Mitch as you kept your eyes trained on your book, your heart beating out of your chest.

"It's been a while," he admitted, running a hand through his hair as his eyes found the fireplace. "I've missed you,"

You smiled softly, looking up at him as you shut the book. "Everyone missed you, around here," you chuckled. "How's the big NHL life going?"

"Busy," he sighed, letting his neck lean against the back of the couch and close his eyes. "Just constantly training and having games, but it's rewarding. School?"

"Dropped out of college," you chuckled. "I mean, now I got a job, so it's not that big of a deal,"

"Oh wow," Mitch teased, stealing your book and smirking your way. "So, nerdy Y/N is telling me she dropped out of college?"

"I wasn't nerdy," you mumbled as you tried to reach for your novel, stepping on the tip of your toes and following him around the living room. He let you get your book, his hands placing themselves against the wall behind you, caging you between his arms and the nearest wall.

"Oh really?" He whispered in your ear, your body so close to his you could feel his warmth. His nose touched yours, the smirk still painting his lips as his hazel orbs stared deep into yours. "Your glasses were cute, back then,"

The noise of a door opening made him scramble away from you, your brother's heavy steps making their way down the stairs. "God, I am thirsty," Andrew mumbled under his breath, totally not realizing what had been happening just seconds prior.

"I-I'm going to bed," you stuttered, gathering your things and letting your adrenaline-filled body lift itself up from the couch. "Goodnight,"

You didn't register their answers as you made your way to the guest bedroom as quickly as you could, shutting the door and sliding your back against it. Your breathing was heavy, hands shaking as the events replayed in your head. Mitch was just so close, his words just so teasing, he had you wrapped around his fingers.

But you were so sure you had moved on, you were so sure that your tiny, stupid crush on him had been over when he'd left, when many other girls had started to gain his attention. You were sure that you had been over what once was a teenage crush on your brother's best friend.

You clearly were not.

-----

The lights of the lampposts outside the mountain house reflected inside Mitch's room. He had been lying awake for what felt like hours, his thoughts making it impossible for him to sleep. Three days into the Christmas getaway and things were already going messy for him.

The vacation was supposed to bring him out of the chaos and anxiety that filled his head, to make him relax, to let all the stress that was his normal life aside for a couple of weeks. Yet, his love life had decided to make an appearance, turning his plans into old, stupid thoughts.

You had left his mind when he got drafted, he was going to be honest. He didn't expect to feel the exact way about you as he felt when he was a teen, he didn't expect his old crush to come back when he saw you after all those years.

The feelings inside his body were foreign, from the way his heart would start beating loudly when he'd see you around the house, to the way his fingers would tingle after he'd touch your skin. He couldn't understand his own body, and it frustrated him.

He felt as if he was standing in the middle of an empty, dark room, where he couldn't understand what was happening around him and to him. He was confused, and he needed to know what he was feeling for you, what his heart needed.

He closed his eyes, fisting the bedsheets as he clenched his jaw.

Mitchell Marner hated being confused.

-----

Mitch skated slowly on top of the iced lake, puffs of warmth leaving his mouth as he and your brother passed each other a puck, just like the old times. Mitch was laughing loudly, throwing his head back at something Andrew had said, his rosy cheeks looking as adorable as you remembered them.

Bonnie handed you a cup of warm tea before going back to the living room, leaving you to stand by the backdoor to look at the boys. Mitch's eyes caught yours as he skated around, a small smile never leaving his lips as he got off the ice, Andrew following right in tow.

"Damn, it's cold out there," Andrew mumbled while they got rid of their skates. Your brother walked past you to reach the fireplace, your eyes finding Mitch before you moved towards the kitchen.

You grabbed the sugar container and a spoon, turning your back to the entryway and getting deep inside your thoughts. A hand on your hip brought you back to real life, the feeling of a firm chest against your back making chills run up your spine. You spun around to face Mitch, your hands flattening against his chest.

"What are you doing, Mitch?!" You whisper yelled.

"Just, you know, reaching for a mug," he said, the smirk you knew too well adorning his features. "What are you doing, princess?"

You fluttered at the name, biting on your bottom lip as he kept his body close to yours. Your mind went into overdrive, thoughts filling your head as you got lost in his pretty eyes. You needed to understand.

He pushed a stray hair behind your ear, smiling at you when you blushed lightly. "Mitch, what are we doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's-" you motioned between your bodies. "What's this? You leave me hanging, tease me,"

"Ever heard of flirting, Y/N? Or is Andrew that protective?" Mitch smirked, watching you bite on your bottom lip as you looked at him. "I could tell you had a crush on me when we were kids, and maybe now it's slowly getting mutual,"

You looked at him in shock as he moved around the kitchen, filling up his mug with tea, adding some sugar to it, grabbing a snack. "You-"

"I mean, I saw you as a little sister back then just because I didn't want to fuck things up with Andy," he said, leaning against the counter to look your way, his smirk replaced with a small, soft smile. "But now we grew up, Andrew has more important things to focus on, and you can't stop leaving my mind,"

He leaned down to place a lingering kiss on your cheek, making you heat up and gasp softly as he grabbed his mug. "Gotta go, now," he smirked your way. "Oh, and we're throwing that party on Thursday,"

Thursday. Christmas Eve.

"Alright," you sighed out, your heart beating out of your chest. He sent you a wink as he left the kitchen, your body still buzzing from his contact. You took some time to get yourself back together, biting on your lip before you made your way towards the living room, joining your brother and the Marners.

'Home Alone' was playing on the TV when you took place next to Andrew on the couch, picking at the skin around your nails as your long-forgotten tea sat in front of you.

"You okay?" Andrew asked, his eyes scanning your features before settling back on the TV. "You've been weird these past few days,"

"I'm fine. Just missing home, I guess," you mumbled, feeling Mitch's eyes on you, already knowing he was smirking. You almost groaned out loud at the thought of him having you wrapped around his fingers, at the thought of being so at his mercy.

"You'll be fine, you just need to relax," Andrew sighed. "The party this Thursday will probably make you feel better,"

You nodded your head absentmindedly, not noticing your brother's worried glare as you silently kept your eyes on the TV. You zoned out, the laughter from your companions becoming background noise as you fell back into your train of thoughts.

The trip was supposed to be a way to relax, and yet, there you were: panicking over Mitchell Marner. Your brother's best friend. Everything about what was happening was wrong, starting off with the fact that Andrew and Mitch had been friends since day one.

"You just need to relax," were Andrew's words, the ones that were playing on repeat in your mind. And what better way to relax than to join the party? Cute guys, drinks, music. It would have been enough to calm you down and figure things out with Mitch.

There was no way you'd miss the party.

-----

Mitch was deep in his thoughts, his phone pressed against his ear as he looked out of the window. Auston was talking about something that had happened to his sister the day prior, laughter coming from his side as Mitch looked at the snow.

"Man, you're never this silent," Auston sighed, making Mitch shut his eyes and bite back a groan. "I know something's happening, so spill,"

"You better not tell a soul," Mitch said, biting his nails. Auston tsked from the other side of the line, urging his best friend to finally start talking. "Alright, you remember Andrew? My friend from home?"

"Yeah,"

"He's with us for Christmas, and-" Mitch sighed softly, getting ready for his teammate's endless teasing. "And his sister is over, too,"

"Oh, God. You like her, don't you?" Auston whisper-yelled. Mitch was silent, which brought his best friend to conclusions. "Mitch, your best friend's little sister?!"

"I've liked her for years, but I've settled for other girls because of her brother," Mitch explained, rubbing his forehead as he tried to explain the situation better. "But now she's back, looking as pretty as ever, and I just can't help it,"

Silence came from Auston's line, making Mitch's heart beat a little faster than usual. "Aus?"

"I mean, I know you like her, and I know you wouldn't try to break her heart or mess your friendship up," Auston sighed. "Just- be careful, Marner,"

"Uh- yeah," Mitch mumbled.

There was a beat, silence being the only thing coming from both lines. "I gotta go now, man," Auston sighed. "I'll see you soon, okay? Don't fuck things up and ask her out,"

"Alright, bye," Mitch said, ending the call and letting his body fall on his bed. Surely, catching feelings for his best friend's younger sister had been a problem from the start, but he was sure. He was sure that, that time, it wasn't going to be just a game.

-----

The loud bass was enough to snap you out of your thoughts, making you take one last look at yourself in the mirror before leaving your room. People were already crowding the living room, the smell of sweat and alcohol reaching your nostrils and making you wince softly.

You took in some of the familiar faces while you slowly made your way towards the kitchen, your only goal being getting yourself a drink.

The countertop had been transformed into a makeshift bar, different types of alcohol sitting on top of it, waiting to be used. You poured yourself something heavy, just the right mixture that could make you forget about the events of the previous week.

Your eyes fell on the people in the living room, especially on Andrew, who was dancing with a random girl. Next to him stood Mitch, his arms wrapped around two different girls, his large smile on his lips.

Your stomach churned, jealousy taking over you as you stumbled across the house and reached the improvised dance floor. You swayed your hips to the music mindlessly, hoping you'd catch someone's attention and, hopefully, give Mitch a taste of his own medicine.

A pair of hands settled on your hips soon after, resting against the soft material of your skirt and pulling you to a warm body. The stranger's lips were close to your neck, his breath fanning against your shoulder as you moved against him. Wrapping your arms around him, you kept your movements sensual and teasing, your own hands running over your curves and feeling yourself up.

What was supposed to be just one song turned into two, another body taking its place behind you and dancing with you as you lost the concept of time. When you looked around and noticed that Mitch had gone missing, you fell back into your senses, throwing your empty cup inside the closest bin.

As you wandered around the house, you took notice of the people surrounding you, from the beautiful girls, to the boys you swore everyone had a crush on in High School. In the corner stood your brother, a shorter girl wrapped in his arms as the two made out, his hands dangerously close to her ass.

You shook your head, chuckling to yourself as you grabbed your coat, ready to head out to take a breather and chill down. As you stepped outside, you noticed the sound of the hot tub, a long sigh leaving your lips as your heated face met the cold air.

"Hot inside, huh?"

You snapped your head around, noticing Mitch's body inside the warm water, his eyes closed as he talked to you.

"Uh- yeah," you mumbled, biting on your lip as your eyes ran over his tattoos, his strong chest, his muscled thighs.

"You should come in, it feels great after dancing,"

"I'll die of hypothermia, Marner," you scoffed, turning back around to face the view of the mountains, the snow already making your feet cold. "And I don't have a swimming suit with me,"

"I'll keep you warm, Y/N," he smirked, running a hand through his hair. "Just- sit on the edge, I know you're starting to freeze,"

You rolled your eyes, awkwardly walking towards the tub and taking place on the warm edge. You took off your shoes and let your feet fall inside the warm water, a sigh of relief leaving your lips.

"See? I told you you would be just fine," he said, his hand toying with the hem of your skirt absentmindedly.

"What are you doing here, Mitch? This is your party,"

"Got bored, I guess," he mumbled. "And I didn't want to see you with those douches all over you,"

You chuckled coldly, wrapping your arms around your middle to keep yourself warm. "You were all over those girls, I had to give you a taste of your own medicine,"

He laughed under his breath, his hazel eyes finally meeting yours. "There's nothing holding us back, why are we playing hard to get?"

"I don't know," you whispered, your toes grazing the skin of his thigh as you moved around. "I don't understand if you're doing this for fun or if you want me for good, I can't have my heart broken again,"

Mitch looked in front of himself for a second, facing the mountains and the snow that surrounded him before looking back at you. "There has always been something about you, ever since we were kids. I've always tried to push it back because of Andrew, but now, after all these years, I can't just help it anymore,"

You looked at him, squealing when his hands found your smaller back and brought you inside the water, positioning your body on his lap. "I know that you deserve better than me, that you deserve someone who's always present and there for you, but maybe things will finally work out for us,"

"Mitch, just-" you whispered, closing your eyes as you took in his words. "Don't break my heart,"

He leaned in, his promise embedded in his kiss as he let his body lean into yours. Your hands found his cheeks, holding him close to you as you melted into his arms, the whole world around you disappearing. The music that was playing inside the house vanished, and so did the people, leaving only Mitch and you in your own universe.

You pulled away only when your lungs started to hurt, screaming at you to breathe in some air. Your eyes stayed closed as your forehead rested against Mitch's, his hands soft against your skin. "I won't," he whispered, his swollen lips brushing against yours.

"I promise I won't,"

Taglist: @thirsthy-bitch​ @bellaguarneri​ @celestialblae​

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 5 Character Deaths That Made Me Side-Eye the Writers

There are a lot of character deaths in TWDG... obviously. It a series about the literal dead walkin’ around and eating people, so as you’re playing, one of your favorite characters is bound to meet such a fate. To give this series credit, it does have quite a few well-executed deaths that, while I hate them, they have a purpose in the story that works. 

The best example of this is Lee’s death-- we all hate that Lee dies, but it’s well-done. It serves its purpose, it acted as both a shock and a slow-burn for the player, and left us all an emotional mess. 

However, we’re not talking about the “good” deaths today. No, we’re talking about the character deaths that are poorly executed, cheap, lazy, and just plain dumb... they’re the deaths that make me side-eye the writing team and wonder what the fuck happened there. 

By the way, it was reeeeeeal fun narrowing it down to only five deaths, because it seems like for every great death, there’s at least two bad ones.

5. Mariana and her death that ruined ANF’s potential story

I’ve talked at length about Mariana’s death and how much I hate it. Like, I get it TWDG... you love your sudden deaths and you’re so edgy for killing off a child character because you’ve never done that before... but maybe consider things a little further before pulling the trigger?

Yeah, killing off Mariana the way they did got a reaction outta people when it happened, and we got the burial scene if you stayed with Clementine... but you didn’t consider the future of this storyline? You pretend you did by name dropping Mari when it’s convenient, but then throw it out the window when it comes to characters like David or Gabe.

Listen, I know that ANF is a mess and what’s the point in telling the mess that it’s a mess? Well, I’m still annoyed at the writers for wasting the biggest opportunity for this game’s story, something that could’ve saved it from being a mess.

And I get it, you gotta make a death quota, so instead of killing Mariana off... why not kill Kate off instead? Oh no? We don’t get the stupid love triangle that no one actually enjoys or is engaged in?

Instead of this dumb story about Javi falling in love with his sister-in-law but oh no David’s back.... we could’ve had a story about Javi losing Kate and being left to care for two children by himself. Mariana and Gabe are all he has left, and he going to do whatever he can to keep them safe all while the three of them are mourning Kate.

Then David comes back, and he immediately takes these kids away from Javi.

There is no stupid storyline with Kate, but an actual conflict between two brothers who were never on the same page and two kids caught in the middle.

Plus, Mariana herself as a character really could’ve brought something to the table. She could’ve brought out a lot in David’s character since she seems to be more like Javi.

Her death is just... annoying. It’s frustrating when you know they could’ve told a better story with her alive, something ANF desperately needed.

My side-eye is one of disappointment and annoyance.

4.Luke and his easily preventable drowning

Ugh.... where to even begin? 

Luke really just gets butchered as a character throughout the second half of S2, and the writers end up demolishing the set up they placed at the beginning of the season for a Luke vs Kenny thing. 

Why? Well, Luke vs Kenny was the initial ending they were gonna go with, but because this season went through all kinds of bullshit, they scrapped that and replaced Luke with Jane... and it’s so dumb.

Hell, it kind of ruins a lot. Not only did it ruin Luke, a character that many players loved, but it forces the new character of Jane, who we only get two episodes to get to know, so they can fade Luke out. 

But that’s not all. 

His death is so... ugh. It’s stupid, okay? Stupid and easily preventable, but noooo... we gotta kill Luke off for reasons because all we know is that S1 killed off a lot of characters and we’re gonna do that again but worse because we failed to understand what made those deaths impactful in the first place. 

Lots of character death and despair = good game. 

Yep, uh-huh. Okay. 

So we all know that Luke’s leg is hurt, yeah? Great, so you’d think that the group that has an injured man and a new born baby would be extra cautious and go around the frozen lake. Yeah, Arvo says that it’s safe but let’s not take any chances. 

But no. We gotta go across like a group of dingdongs and whattya know-- the ice begins to crack beneath Luke’s feet. Now, even here, we coulda got him outta there safely... if Bonnie wasn’t a dingus. 

Think about it. If we shot the walkers who were coming towards Luke with all their weight, he could’ve slowly scooted away, even if he’s already fallen through. BUT NO. Bonnie either guilts Clementine into going towards him, adding more weight to the already fragile ice as Luke tells her to stop, or Bonnie will go over there herself... and she’s a full grown woman soooo her weight breaks the ice. 

Good job, you dipsticks. 

When you have to make your characters into morons in order to move the plot along and kill off characters....maybe do some rethinking, yeah? 

 3. Mitch and his shock-value death

This death is so dumb... so incredibly, dumb. Even now, I can’t help but give full side-eye to the writers every time one of them tries to justify this death. 

I’m sorry, but this death didn’t have the impact you wanted it to have. And because there’s always someone who says, “Mitch didn’t die for shock value, you just can’t tell the difference between a good and bad death” lemme tell you a thing. 

What was the point of killing of Mitch? Well, according to those who worked on TFS, it was to show that Lilly and the delta are serious. This is when shit gets real, and when Lilly is established as a bad bitch who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. We should be scared of her now. 

Except no. 

This scene doesn’t tell me that Lilly is a bad bitch. It tells me that she has good reflexes, and going off her reaction after killing Mitch.... I’m not fucking scared of this dumbass. If anything, this scene says more about Mitch than it does Lilly. It says that Mitch is also a dumbass for running at her like he did. 

Y’know what would’ve been more impactful? If Mitch didn’t immediately get stabbed in the throat, but instead, actually got her on the ground and struggled with Lilly. Then, Lilly gets the upper hand and when you think she’s about to send Mitch to the cart, she fucking murders him in front of everyone to prove a point. 

There’s no remorse, it’s slow enough for Lilly to actually process what’s happening and show that she does know what she’s doing. That would scare me. That would show me that these people aren’t fucking around and they’re willing to kill some of them if that means getting the rest for their army. 

You still get your shock value death but it actually does something other than kill a character off. 

I’m really supposed to believe this is the same Lilly who can order to have Louis’ tongue cut off? 

But it doesn’t end there. No, no... there’s another part to Mitch’s death that annoys me, and it’s how insistent everyone was that his death is going to have a greater impact on the second half of the story. It had a purpose within the story, we did it for a reason.

...I mean, it has an impact on Willy and his arc for the second half. 

But that’s it. 

Oh... oh, what’s that? Oh, you were referring to those throwaway lines about Tenn? “He was screwing up again, just like when he got Mitch killed.”

OOOOOH.... I see, that’s what Mitch’s death was really amounting to... some lines dealing with whether or not AJ shot Tenn. Well, I guess I was wrong. Mitch’s death wasn’t just shock value. It really had a big purpose. In fact, Mitch’s death has the biggest impact on the series. Fuck Marlon and Brody’s deaths, and Lilly and James, and hell, fuck Tenn’s death, too. They’re meaningless compared to Mitch’s death. You did it, guys. You really did it. 

....Okay, I’m done. I’m just... salty, I fully admit. 

Being serious again, Mitch’s death is probably the worst in TFS as far as unpreventable deaths go and the real reason I side-eye the writers is because they tried to tell us it was going to have this huge impact in the future and it just... didn’t. 

2. Nick and his offscreen death.

I’m sorry, but what the fuck happened here? Why- what are you- how the hell did this happen??

I’m actually baffled. 

Someone wrote this. 

They set up at the end of ep3 that Nick is shot.... then ep4 comes and we find him like this. I just... did someone on the writing staff not wanna do their job that day? Someone was working on the story and at the last minute forgot Nick was a character, so they were like “Eh, he’s not important anyway, and it adds to the shittiness of everything so we’ll pretend this was 100% intentional.” 

Nick was one of your more interesting characters and you really thought killing him off like this was the way to go, huh? 

Like, his first death is shitty, but in the very least it kind of makes sense. 

But this? 

This is horrible. If I wrote this, I’d be embarrassed. 

I just... I’m so tired of S2 right now. 

This is at #2 because it’s just lazy, bad writing. At least with Luke, Mitch, and Mariana, we got to see their deaths and they had some, even if just a little, impact on the story afterward. 

But Nick? 

Nothin’.

Even Luke, who is the closest person to Nick, name drops him maybe twice? It’s just.... nothing. 

And yeah, you can come at me with the “oh well not every death has to have meaning!” 

This is a story, okay? This is a story crafted with characters who have arcs by people who wanted it to be a success, and usually that means having satisfying conclusions.... or, intentionally unsatisfying if that acts as a natural conclusion to their story or is a reoccurring theme. 

Nick’s death is just the writers falling flat on their faces and hoping no one would notice. 

1. Sarah and both of her shitty deaths. 

Ugh. UGH.

Okay. 

I’m not even side-eyeing anymore-- I’m fully glaring.

I don’t have to tell you how shitty both of Sarah’s deaths are. We all played S2, we all know that no matter what you do, Sarah dies in ep4. You can try to save her, she lives a little bit longer, and then falls to her death... and both deaths have her being devoured alive by walkers. 

Now, this is enough to annoy me. First off, I guess my choices don’t really matter. Sure, you can justify this as one of those “sometimes you can’t save someone, no matter how hard you try” ...and fine. Sure, if they had bothered to execute that point well, then great. 

But I disagree that the writers had that in mind when they were killing Sarah off. 

In fact, I know what what going on in their brains-- “God, can’t wait to kill Sarah off! Give us any reason to do it! She’s so damn annoying!”

The writers have openly admitted that a lot of the team were just waiting to kill Sarah off, waiting for any reason, so when the major part of the community who take everything at surface level because why think? kept complaining about Sarah, they jumped on the opportunity to kill her off.... but the deaths are dumb.

Listen, this isn’t like when the writers planned on killing Lee off. You can plan a death and even be excited about it because you’re excited about the story and execution of it all. You can be excited to see the heartbreaking end of this character’s story that you crafted because you know you put everything you had into it.

These deaths were lazy and the product of a team who didn’t care about the character. Sarah dies and no one cares. 

Sure, you leave her to die the first time and Jane does her thing about how you can’t save everyone, she talks about Jaime, and then Luke exposes himself as the fake Luke by agreeing that leaving Sarah behind was probably the right thing. Like what?

Now as much as I hate that first one, the second one is even worse. 

For some reason, Sarah is standing in the corner while they’re trying to fight off the walkers instead of being inside with Rebecca... y’know, where she would be if this was logical. 

Then the deck breaks and Sarah falls, trapped under a pile of wood. Jane, despite being the one who sees Sarah as a liability, goes down there to try and help her after Clementine begs her to. 

But because the writers don’t know what they’re doing, Jane gets hit by a random piece of wood and can’t get Sarah out in time, leaving her to be eaten alive by walkers. 

Then AJ is born and no one cares about Sarah ever again. 

I just.... 

Could’ve had an interesting story arc with a character who just lost her father in such a gruesome way, a character that already deals with anxiety and other problems that you never bothered to explain other than “she isn’t like Clementine” and you could’ve had her grow. 

But I guess that would’ve taken effort.... and screen time away from Kenny, and god forbid we ever do that. 

---

Honorable Mentions

-Ava falling to her death in the most comedic way possible, made even more hilarious by David’s two seconds of mourning. -Omid.... because hope is dead. Do you get it? Hope? is dead? Because Omid means hope? Do you get it?? -Honestly you could put most of S2′s deaths on this list because oh my god. -Ben because I’m still a salty bitch.  -I also wanna add Louis and Violet’s deaths on the bridge mostly because they die, Clem is sad for two seconds, Tenn says sorry, and then no one cares. Yeah, yeah, they mourned off screen and I call that lazy bullshit. -Hell, throw Tenn’s death on here, too, for similar reasons-- no one but Louis/Violet and AJ seem to care. Even Clementine is like “whatever” after it happens. 

---

Y’know, picking this one seemed like a good idea at the time, but by now I’m just annoyed by all these dumb deaths. So, what are your thoughts? Are there any deaths that make you question the writers that didn’t end up on the list? Do you agree or disagree with my list? Lemme know, we can have a friendly discussion about it. 

Have any suggestions for future T5F’s? Feel free to send ‘em in! :D

---

Next week’s T5F Top 5 Favorite Louis Moments

[galvanizedfriend]

Summary: The Guerreras' threat still looms over the Mikaelson house as Caroline tries to adapt to life as a vampire, away from her daughter. But an unexpected family reunion makes everything worse, taking away the little peace Klaus, Caroline and Elijah managed to find after the war that nearly broke them. [It's The Originals Season 2, but Caroline was a witch, had Klaus' baby and  now she's a vampire. Klaroline, obviously.]

S02E28 Because ✨

"I actually brought this with me from 1994 to give to Damon," she explains. "I found this map he made while he was still there on how to get to it. But... Now that I'm here, I think you deserve it more."

Bonnie pushes the box into Caroline's hands. She gets a strange chill as her fingers close around the cool metal. Something that Damon wanted from 1994? She looks up at her friend with a jittery question, but Bonnie remains tight-lipped, prodding her to open it.

Inside the box, a small, translucent, incredibly fragile-looking vial, with a crimson viscous liquid, rests on a bed of velvet. The fuzzy warmth inside of Caroline freezes to ice, her heart going into overdrive before tripping over a beat. She'd never really seen this with her own two eyes, not until now, but somehow she knows exactly what it is, can almost feel the powerful magic that emanates from it, calling out to her.

This little vial... It caused such destruction around Mystic Falls. It took over everyone's lives even before they knew it was real. Caroline was already settled in New Orleans, heavily pregnant, and they were still dealing with the aftermath of that whole messy affair. And in the end, it was all for nothing.

Such a tiny thing, with barely a dose inside, but holding so much power over so many people.

"You found the cure in 1994," she breathes out, not really as a question, fingers hovering over the vial, afraid of touching. "How do you even know it works?"

"The prison world is a cut of our world that got trapped in an eternal loop. Just like magic works, this will, too. It’s real."

Read the full chapter on AO3!

_____

For the first time in a long time, I have no major-angst and character death warnings to make! 🥳 This chapter is also 100% original. I hope I didn’t mess up! 😂 Your feedback and comments and messages are very welcome and mean the world to me! So please, drope me a note if you enjoy it. :)

Hope you guys enjoy it! 💖

[fycarmensandiego]

A chat with author Melissa Wiley

In 1996, HarperCollins published six Carmen Sandiego chapter books, featuring VILE villains from the then-current "Deluxe"/"CD-ROM"/"Classic" generation of computer games and a new lineup of Acme agents, headed by a Black female Chief (Lynne Thigpen ha impact), and focusing on kid detectives Maya and Ben.

The series included two books each by two writing teams and one solo act, Melissa Peterson. I got in touch with Melissa, who now uses the pen name Melissa Wiley, and she graciously answered some questions about writing the Carmen books and beyond.

To get you caught up to my knowledge before the interview, here's Melissa's website, and here's her bio as printed in the two Carmen books (accompanied by the caricature above):

Melissa Peterson is the author of several books for young readers. Born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, she has lived in eight different states and visited Germany and France. She has never ridden a dolphin, but she did eat a great deal of sour cherry ice cream outside the cathedral in Cologne. [Note: These are both references to plot points in Hasta la Vista, Blarney.] Her research for Hasta la Vista, Blarney included many hours playing Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? An official ACME Master Detective, she lives in New York City with her husband and young daughter.

FYCS: Thanks so much for agreeing to this interview.

Melissa Wiley: What a fun blast from the past! The Carmen books were my first professional writing gig and I had so much fun working on them.

That's so exciting to hear! With that being the case, how did you get involved with the books?

I was an assistant editor at HarperCollins, working for the wonderful Stephanie Spinner. I started out as her editorial assistant at Random House right after grad school and moved to Harper with her a year later, shortly after [my husband] Scott and I got married. Stephanie knew that I wanted to be a writer, and she often sent in-house writing assignments my way (lots of cover copy). When I left Harper in 1995 to have a baby, Stephanie recommended me for several book assignments, including the two Carmen Sandiego novels. That project had been underway for several months—Harper was doing a tie-in with the game and TV show. There were six books in total; two were assigned to me and four went to other writing teams [Ellen Weiss and Mel Friedman, and Bonnie Bader and Tracey West]. I often joke that I got my first modem, my first baby, and my first book deal in the same month!

I loved working with my Carmen Sandiego editor, Kris Gilson. The two books were a blast to write and a great learning opportunity for me. Ellen Weiss remains a good friend of mine. She's a true gem of a person!

Have your experiences writing the Carmen books influenced your work since then?

With Carmen, I discovered how much I love writing humor. Before that (in grad school), my poems and stories were on the serious side. I had so much fun with the playful, sometimes goofy tone of the Carmen Sandiego books that I definitely shifted afterward to more of a focus on humor in my books. I still find writing from a place of playfulness to be my most satisfying kind of work.

Were you familiar with Carmen Sandiego before writing the books?

I loved the computer game! I'd seen several episodes of the show—it's all a bit blurry now and hard to say which I encountered first—and really enjoyed it, but I especially loved the game. Instant classic!

How much guidance did you receive from HarperCollins / Brøderbund? Were the plots your own, or were you given plot outlines?

We were given the basic descriptions for the two kid detectives, and I had a couple of meetings with the editors and the other writers to flesh out the characters a bit more—give them personalities. I don't think Mel was in the meetings, but Ellen was there, and Tracey and Bonnie.

Then I wrote outlines for my two books and the other writers outlined theirs. I was assigned one "Where in the World" mystery and one "Where in Time" mystery. I think I submitted several plot ideas for each—the big challenge was thinking up interesting objects for Carmen and her henchmen to steal. The Blarney Stone and cocoa beans were my favorite ideas and I was thrilled that they got picked!

How did you research the books?

Those were AOL days, and the web wasn't yet a place for intensive research, so I spent a lot of time in the library. For The Cocoa Commotion, I conducted phone interviews with staff members at the Hershey chocolate factory—lots of fun. But I never did get to visit the Blarney Stone!

What was your favorite part of working on the books?

Researching the history of chocolate! Naturally I had to do a lot of sampling in order to describe it properly. ;)

Your author bio in the books mentions that the scene in which Maya and Ben eat sour cherry ice cream in Cologne, Germany was inspired by an actual experience of yours. Did any other experiences of yours make it into the books? Have you had any other travel experiences that notable? (Note: I'm originally from Northern Michigan, so travel experiences involving tart cherries are a high bar to clear for me.)

Ohhh, that sour cherry ice cream! I hope I get to taste it again someday. Apart from eating a lot of chocolate, I can't remember any other personal experiences that informed the books. If I were to write one today, I'd make sure to set a scene in Barcelona. My husband and I spent a week there in 2008 and it was an incredible trip. The paella! The Gaudí buildings! Art on every corner! I'd love to go back someday.

The bio also features a caricature of you with your baby daughter...

That drawing was made by the brilliant comic book artist Rick Burchett, who was working with Scott on Batman comics at the time. Scott was an editor at DC Comics and Rick was one of his favorite artists to work with. When I needed a bio illustration for the Carmen Sandiego books, we commissioned Rick to draw it. I love that piece so much! The baby is my oldest, Kate, who was born right around the time I started working on the books. We still have the original art!

You've written over 20 children's books for a variety of ages, in a variety of genres. Do you have any favorites among them?

That's so hard to say—I'm fond of all of them and I dearly loved creating worlds and adventures for Charlotte and Martha in my Little House prequels—but The Prairie Thief and The Nerviest Girl in the World are extra-special to me. I grew up in Aurora, Colorado and had a summer job at a wildlife refuge on the prairie, a landscape that served as the setting for Prairie Thief. I loved getting to weave secrets into the prairie setting that means so much to me.

Your most recent book, The Nerviest Girl in the World, was published last August. Can you tell us a bit about why you wrote it?

I lived for 11 years in La Mesa, California, a small town just outside San Diego. While I was there, I learned that in the very early days of silent film, there had been a film studio in town. Eventually the studio moved to Santa Barbara, but it was exciting to discover that before Hollywood was the center of the American film industry, little old La Mesa was a moviemaking place. I began reading everything I could find about the studio, and when I learned that many of the cowboys in those early Westerns were real cowboys and ranchers, an idea for a book began to take shape—the story of an adventurous girl who stumbled into work as a daredevil film actress along with her cowboy brothers.

Of course, I'm legally compelled to ask the question that literally every interview currently includes: how has the pandemic changed your job?

LOL! Yes, it's the question right now, isn't it! Well, I've worked at home since the Carmen Sandiego days, and I homeschool my kids, so in the biggest ways our lives weren't hugely affected by the shutdown. But I used to do a lot of my writing in cafés, and I miss that like crazy! I had to think up all sorts of new strategies for staying focused at home this past year. I'm hoping to get back to the coffee shops this summer!

Something I found really interesting is that you have a Patreon, which you explain you started to help pay for medical bills. How has that experience affected your work as an author?

I've played with lots of kinds of content on Patreon and really enjoy having a space to share behind-the-scenes stories. It's a more intimate and personal space than social media, so I feel free to let my hair down and be really frank.

Thanks so much for these fantastic questions! I had so much fun reminiscing about the Carmen Sandiego adventure!

[malereader-inserts]

Mask of Timidness

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries  Pairing: Elijah Mikaelson x Male!Reader Summary: You hide behind a mask that Elijah wants to see the real you Word Count:  1,196 Request: @marc-isthename​ “ Also like, lowkey, i wanna request a kinda shy(?) reader keeps distance with Elijah to avoid being rejected but He notices it and stuff happens. This is a request that fully and completely depends on whether you want to or not cuz that’s what I can think of at the top of my head “

It’s not you were deathly afraid of Elijah because he was a vampire and you were merely just a human being. 

You were deathly afraid of Elijah due to rejection.

Of course, you were naturally, at heart, a shy person. So, it really goes against your nature to act upon something that takes a lot of mental preparation. You prefer to be a background character, really. You couldn’t handle being the main character, sometimes, not even in your own story. If any of the Mikaelson ask Caroline, Bonnie or even one of the Salvatore brothers about you; they usually say something along the lines of:

“Oh, he’s just shy, that’s who he is.”

“(Y/n)? Shy, little, harmless (Y/n)? Just leave him be, that’s how he likes it.”

Elijah had noticed that you weren’t afraid of him or his family due to their vampirism. In fact, surpassing the getting to know stage, you were very comfortable around Klaus and Rebekah. Even, Kol, which Elijah had heard you were the most intimidated by him as well. So, Elijah doesn’t get why you’re avoiding him.

Elijah enters Mystic Grills, next thing you’re leaving because you have things to do. You’re in the Salvatore house and the Mikaelsons enters, Elijah has never seen a human move with such pace. He wonders what he has done because it’s obviously him at fault. After all, you’re not like this with his other siblings, you’re not like this with your friends who are also vampires, even Bonnie who has proven time after time that she can be a terrifying witch.

You weren’t afraid of danger, Elijah had concluded, but afraid of him.

He wanted to talk to you, without terrifying you deeply. But, there wasn’t a way to get you alone and talk to you without it seem like he was going to murder you. Elijah found his opportunity when he had found you studying at the Grill, you were by yourself - not even Matt was on shift to save you. You seem to be engrossed in what you were doing.

Elijah approached you, knocking on your table causing you to look up. Your eyes widen, you almost froze on the spot but Elijah’s warm smile melted the ice that was beginning to freeze you.

“Is this seat taken?” He asked, motioning towards the empty seat in front of you.

You shook your head, “By all means...”

You had no way in escaping without being rude, and you didn’t want to come off as rude. He sat in front of you, his smile trying to calm you down - but you know he can hear your heart racing as you looked back to your laptop screen, hoping he’ll just get up and leave.

“What are you working on?”

“Oh,” you mumbled, timid, “Just work for college, that’s all.”

You shrugged it off as if it was no big deal, that was a thing that Elijah liked about you - the shy boy of Mystic Falls. It was the fact that despite you being terrified of messing up just the simplest things and rather keep to yourself - you have a personality not many people get to see.

After the layers of shyness, Elijah is welcomed to see a boy who was very intelligent and very passionate in his works, his learning, his hobbies. There’s a fire in your eyes and tornado in your heart, begging for a destruction of art. It’s why Klaus likes you a lot, you can understand art, you understand the beauty of things. It’s Elijah loves you a lot, because whilst his brother focused on the beauty of the bigger picture, you, on the other hand, was satisfied in seeing the beauty of the simple things. 

“I often forget that you’re older than Elena and such,” Elijah nodded, listening to you, watching you tense up.

“Not that much older, just a year,” You replied, you cleared your throat and sat up straight. 

“May I ask, what do you major?” Elijah asked, his head tilting to the side. 

“Classics, I’ve always favoured the mythology - lets me escape the reality we face,” You replied, a small smile on your face appeared, “Plus, I get to learn about the arts and literature of Greeks and Romans - What’s not to love about it?”

Elijah beams further as you spoke, you realised you were about to ramble as you felt a blush within your cheeks, sinking into your seat. Hoping maybe if you sink enough, Elijah will stop talking to you.

“(Y/n)?” He says, slowly and there was a calming tone within the way he had spoken your name, “I am...”

There are a dozen words you could describe. Handsome, caring, compassionate, drop dread gorgeous, intelligent, but the word he had said took you back.

“...scary?” Elijah finished, he had never seen someone shoot up in the seat so quickly before, “I was just thinking since you have always seemed to avoid me.”

“No!” You exclaimed, “No, of course not, in fact - as much as you are an original vampire who shall be feared, you are the least of the family that scares me.”

“Then why do you avoid me?” Elijah finally came asking.

You should have known this question was coming, you had spent a week before fantasying about your life with Elijah if you have any courage to ask him out then another week, hiding away and avoiding Elijah at all cost to save you the lasting embarrassment when he inevitably says no.

“I’m not avoiding you,” way to go (Y/n), nice one in lying straight to a Mikaelsons’ face, “I have no reason to avoid you.”

“Oh, I just simply curious that’s all, as to why my siblings often talk so highly of you when I barely see you,” Elijah commented, “I’d like to know you more, (Y/n), you are simply extraordinary in what you are - I hope you are aware.”

“That’s where you’re wrong Elijah... I’m just me, simple.”

“No, you’re more than that. And I think you’re worth knowing, so please tell me why you have been avoiding me. Have I done something to upset you?”

Your shoulders slump in defeat, “I like you, Elijah-”

“And I like you as well.”

“No, I mean, in child’s terms. Like like you, Elijah.”

“Oh-” Elijah had not realised that escaped his mouth as you looked at him with tightly closed lips, looking anywhere but him as you made an attempt into making yourself small, “Well, I also, like like you.”

You snapped your head at him to look at him, Elijah was concerned you were going to give yourself whiplash, “You do?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I? I’ve said it before, you’re simply extraordinary. I see the passion in you, you’re handsome, you’re intelligent. There is a person behind the mask of timidness that I’m dying to know, to love, to cherish. Please allow me to do so...”

“Are you sure?” You asked, in a small voice, “What if you don’t want me anymore?”

“Absolutely not, my dear,” Elijah reassures you, “There’s a fire in you that keeps me warm. It would be a mistake to let that go.”

[lokigodofaces]

thoughts on loki ep 2: the variant (spoilers)

under cut to not disturb your scrolling

Overall I enjoyed so that's good

Uh frick my mind blanked so sorry if things are completely out of order

I don't know, I expected the renaissance fair to be 2012 or 2021 or 2024 (Loki's time, our time, current time in the "sacred timeline"). So I was genuinely surprised when it was in 1985.

Ok, i really like the title card thing. And how the year scrolls around. It's a nice aesthetic touch there.

I wonder why the female Loki variant chooses her locations? Does she have a thing for renaissance fairs, French cathedrals, and Oklahoma?

1985 is when Back to the Future came out. And it's y'know, one of the most popular time travel movies ever. So I think they chose that year as a reference.

Again, not liking that the minutemen only have numbers, not names. It is giving me lots of Clone Wars vibes. If you don't know anything about Clone Wars, the clones are given number identifiers by the Kaminoans. Things like CT-7567. The clones would give themselves names (CT-7567, for example, names himself Rex). A really good sign throughout the series that someone is a sketchy person is if they call the clones by their numbers. The clones don't want to be known as numbers. They are people too, they deserve names, so they come up with all sorts of creative names (Rex, Fives, Cody, Tup, Hevy, Hardcase, Echo, Waxer, Boil, Wolffe, Jesse, Kix, Fox, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega, Tech, Matchstick, etc). The jedi respect this, and the only jedi that i can think of that called clones by their numbers is Krell, who fell to the dark side. the Kaminoans and other sketchy people all call them by their numbers and the clones don't like it. A big focus of the show is on the clone's agency (at the end, they all have brain chips that take away their agency and force them to kill jedi), and how the clones need to be respected. So for me to see in another series that people are only given numbers is bad. What's worse is that the minutemen are fine with this. They don't see it as dehumanizing or belittling. They are brainwashed into being okay with it. Which says a thing or two about the Time Keepers.

did. did the renaissance fair really have Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" for their renaissance themed fight? Is this normal? Was it normal in the '80's? We saw later that the female Loki can do electronic stuff. Did she rig it to play it? For the vibes?

Also the stuff before the song was about fighting for a princess, and in the end she kidnaps C-20.

Okay, btw, I'm just gonna say Lady Loki for a while because no one has explicitly said Sylvie yet, so I'm going to refer to di Martino as Loki until she or another calls her Sylvie. Cool? Cool.

I was thinking the "Holding Out for a Hero" fight would be the roomba fight or something. It is such a good song that has huge potential for this genre. Why did they use it in a lame fight as that one?

When Lady Loki did the spell on C-20, it looked similar to what Wanda and Agatha can do. As in, it had similar visuals.

Loki reading a random magazine he finds while sitting with his feet on the desk bored out of his mind because he has to learn sh*t is a MOOD.

What is Miss Minutes? She can jump around anywhere, and pop into computers. But she can't be just a projection. She took the effort to dodge Loki swatting at her, so that may mean she was corporeal. She also could be something similar to the Kree's Supreme Intelligence?

So, did Mobius give Loki the shirt, tie, and slacks, but really didn't give him the jacket until they had to call him in? What? That makes no sense? Did the TVA not have any jackets with the variant label? Did someone have to custom design a jacket for Loki?

What is up with this show giving me things I wanted to see only in holographic form? First we saw Coulson's death, and now Loki in his Jotun form in a holograph of another variant.

Okay, Loki being someone the TVA has to constantly deal with is very on brand. Loki is a creature of chaos, of course he's going to unknowingly rebel against the sacred timeline.

Also, headcanon that the Jotun Loki we see is king of Jotunheim because that would be epic.

Also, for personal reasons I choose to believe there is a Loki variant that defeated the Avengers and immediately went queer rights.

Loki's reaction to there being many Loki variants. He's seen what his life is supposed to be. I think he is even more upset that the TVA often deals with him, that there are so many things that could have been instead if it weren't for the TVA and the "sacred timeline."

Also, I totally think Mobius was waiting for another Loki to show up to help him defeat Lady Loki. They get them so often, it makes sense.

Loki explaining the difference between illusion projection and duplication was great. And very helpful to me personally understanding lore. Also, Mobius, get your crap together. If you're a Loki expert, figure this stuff out.

Loki calling the TVA out on propaganda, we love that.

The wolf quote is actually very nice, I quite like it.

Okay, the TVA doesn't even bury or cremate or do any sort of ritual for their fallen minutemen, they just reset the timeline. Which to me seems like another way to show how little the TVA actually care for their workers.

There are statues of the Time Keepers in Ravonna's office. The camera pays extra attention to it. Keep reading for more about Time Keepers and cinematography choices.

What. What sort of relationship does Ravonna and Mobius have? What is going on there? I am really confused.

Who is this "analyst on the side?" What is going on there?

Ravonna is MEGA SUS. Along with that, the Time Keepers are mega sus.

She signs R. Slayer. Yeah. Slayer. Not at all subtle, Marvel. Letting us know that she'll do the deed if needed.

Mobius you are sending me mixed signals. What do you want?

Okay, Mobius saying Loki was a "cold, scared boy" and an "ice runt" and stuff was totally a jab at Loki being Jotun.

Mobius saying Loki is insecure because of Lady Loki is...probably true.

With the elevator, the camera stops and focuses on the Time Keepers.

The Creation of the TVA, the beginning of time, the end of time, all classified. That is sus.

Loki almost crying over Ragnarok was good. Let him cry over the destruction of his home.

Loki being the one to discover something the TVA had no idea about after a day is on brand for Loki. And it shows how the TVA really are vulnerable.

Mobius: Really? In front of my salad?

No but the object lesson was well done and actually did help me understand what Loki was talking about.

Casey! Casey drinks grape juice! Imagine how confusing this is for Casey though. Loki is captured, threatens to gut you like a fish (whatever that means), and now he's dressed like an analysist, stealing your juice box. Does Loki get Casey more juice?

Honestly, Loki looking at everything logically and scientifically is fantastic. Adds to the science = magic thing Marvel's got going on, since Loki is a sorcerer.

Loki saying volcanoes are cool is fun. I agree. Volcanoes mean the planet is geologically active, which means we won't die. Also, there is a volcano named Loki on one of Jupiter's moons. I wonder if the creators knew that and put Loki in Pompeii because he is already linked with volcanoes.

Mobius telling Loki to start off small and Loki completely disregarding that felt very personal to me.

Loki being absolutely chaotic and telling everyone they were going to die while speaking perfect Latin was iconic. I want more of that content. Let the man be buckwild.

Again, Loki finding something out after a day that the TVA never knew about is on brand.

"Be free, my horned friends, be free!" I love that way too much.

Mobius being obsessed with jet skis wasn't something I expected, but I'm down for it. Heck, even Loki admitted they were cool.

The discussion on beliefs is going to lead to saying the Time Keepers are bullcrap. Hopefully.

Grapes and nuts are "candy" on Asgard. So, when Loki was eating grapes in Ragnarok, we can interpret that as him eating M&Ms. Second, this might add to something I've seen around here. I've seen things about a book somewhere with Loki saying chocolate fountains are mythical (which is really funny to me). So, I guess Asgard really doesn't have chocolate.

Oh my gosh, so many apocalypses between 2047 and 2051...hopefully none of those happen in real life.

Roxxcart is probably part of Roxxon, something that has been around in Iron Man movies.

Lady Loki got the shovel thing from Roxxcart that she left in Oklahoma! The minutemen said it was from the early third millenia, which is where we are now! 2050 also fits that category!

I saw something about the file saying Class 8 hurricane...there are only 5 classes...which means this is a crazy storm.

Does B-15 want Loki dead? This is a legitimate question, because I think she does. Dead or pruned.

Loki looking around at the storm, I love it. This could be him loving science, or him missing Thor, since Thor creates storms. Also, at this point Loki probably things Thor dies shortly after him in the sacred timeline, so Loki would be particularly sentimental about Thor.

I love Loki drying himself off and not anyone else. And B-15 yelling about his magic. And Loki's motions are so fluid, it's so aesthetically pleasing, I love it.

Dudes, I thought B-15 was going to try to prune Loki when they were alone.

Okay, was Lady Loki bsing about the azalea sale, or does Roxxcart actually do that? I want to know.

Wunmi Mosaku did a really good job as Lady Loki, I loved it.

Loki being annoyed at Lady Loki and saying he understood how Thor felt, does that insinuate Loki can do what Lady Loki was doing?

B-15 and C-20 were both very shaken after being possessed by Lady Loki. I wonder how that felt for them? We've had different explanations of mind control/brainwashing/similar from Clint, Bucky, Daisy, Mack, Fitz, and Monica in the MCU (including AoS). I wonder what is specific to Lady Loki's possession.

C-20 kept going on about something being real. What was that about?

C-20 revealed the location of the Time Keepers to Lady Loki!

Lady Loki not wanting to be called Loki could be a sign she is Sylvie.

There's something weird where Loki's voice echoed around while the camera focused on Lady Loki. Maybe she's telepathic?

Someone needs to keep a tracker on people telling Loki this isn't his story in a show literally about him.

But, that does add to themes for his life, and how everything was always about someone else in his life. He was always a supporting character for Thor, for Odin, for Thanos. Now, even in his own story, everyone insists he doesn't matter.

I was wondering what the reset charges would be used for. I wasn't expecting a massive bombing of the sacred timeline! Wow! That was unexpected and I loved it!

Okay, this isn't from me, this is from New Rockstars. But to list all the places mentioned on chronomonitors, either bombed or not: Knowhere, Barcelona, Niflheim, Dartford, Phong Nha, Lisbon, Vormir, Thorton, Cookeville, Asgard, Rome, Sakaar, Barichara, Porvoo, Ego, Titan, New York City, Tokyo, Hala, Kingsport, Xandar, Beijing, Madrid, Portland, Jotunheim. Bolded are other planets. Those are almost all the planets visited in the MCU. So fun easter eggs there!

I like Lady Loki's aesthetic. The fingerless gloves, the cloak, I love it. And YES SHE ISN'T SEXUALIZED. So many genderbent characters are excuses to sexualize women. But Lady Loki is just as covered as the male Lokis.

Lady Loki just...left the time door open for Loki to follow...for a really long time...I'm worried he's running into a trap.

What is Loki going to do now?

Theory time y'alls: Lady Loki bombed the sacred timeline to flush the minutemen out of the TVA, leaving it defenseless. And she's gonna go after the Time Keepers themselves. We know she gets into the TVA from trailer footage, and that's what I think we're gonna see next episode. I think she (like the Loki we are following) is upset over the lack of free will, and she plans to change that. That's why she wasn't interested in helping Loki "take over" the TVA, because she doesn't want to become the leader of a new TVA, she wants it destroyed.

Alright, back to the Time Keepers stuff. They keep focusing on the middle Time Keeper. Even in the end credits they have a weird cut to focus directly on his face. I'm not 100% on this, but I like this theory. That face is similar to Jonathan Major's, the actor confirmed to be Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang is a well known time travelling villain in Marvel. Maybe he is Kang, and is using variant versions of himself (that's a Kang thing in the comics) to mess with the timeline, and no one expects that from him. Also, Renslayer was his S/O for a bit in the comics, and they keep framing her in front of that one Time Keeper's face. I feel like this would be a good way to set up Quantumania and to show how sus the Time Keepers are.

Also, Loki was absolutely adorable the entire episode. And he got to sleep! Yay for him!

Again, I enjoyed, and can't wait for next week!

[bonnie-barstow-of-flag]

Knight of The Bombshells:

@spacerat1 Plotted thread

Isn't it eerie how certain words or strangled webs of phrases linger unblunted and undisturbed by the jagged edges of time? Austin Templeton's honey-laced words echo, repeatedly washing over her like frigid ice-water. “Tonight I’m going to change your life. You will never trust that which allows you to perceive this world, your very senses.” Barstow could still recollect the haplessly whimsical enchantment that the promise once cast over her.

It was true. Templeton had made good on his vow. Bonnie could no longer trust her own senses or her own judgements. She had, on more than one occasion, been proven a fool when it came to him. He managed to strike true with a hit to her blind side. Her experience with Templeton rattled her resolute belief that all people are inherently good, and kind, until circumstances make them otherwise.

If she deigned to reflect further upon that night, she could vividly remember the first woman who gleefully volunteered for his act. Templeton deployed his smooth, butter-like, words to assuage the woman's boyfriend's fears. There was a deliberate stab of coyness in the lilt of his voice. "Have no fear, sir. The lady is in no danger. I may even return her to you." Oh, how innocent those words felt then. Worse still, how tainted and adulterated they've become now that Bonnie knows the wicked intent laying within their undercurrent.

Templeton used his stage to weasel his way into her affections. He deliberately cast venomous aspersions towards Michael. He spared no efforts in vilifying Michael and making him seem overly skeptical of everyone. Skillfully, Templeton planted seeds of doubt in her mind about the soundness of Knight’s reasoning and logic. She’d fallen for his every expertly told lie; hook, line, and sinker. Bonnie had even defended him multiple times to her family at FLAG before he attempted to assassinate Devon and Michael.

His carefully built illusion was now shattered. It lay in a trillion pieces upon the floor like an utterly decimated window. He did change her life, but not in the capacity she hoped for. Instead of facing a blissful future, she now finds herself embroiled in dread. In the creases of her weathered palms, Bonnie is left cradling the fallout that Templeton left behind in the wake of his arrest.

She’d been feeling lousy, dealing with a sensation a hundred times worse than general embarrassment. There was more to her upset stomachs, her inability to be around Michael or Kitt with the scent of certain foods left wafting in the air. Discretely, she went to a doctor to uncover the truth. She knows that she is probably pregnant, and it’s probably Austin Templeton’s.

That night had felt so whimsical. He’d allowed her to have a glimpse behind the tricks, behind the illusions. He whispered countless sweet-nothings against the shell of her ears, kissed her in a way that made her feel alive. He claimed he loved her, but it was all pieces of an ugly charade for him. There was no real feeling on his part.

Because of the mistake with Templeton, Bonnie resigned from her position at the Foundation and accepted one with the University. The administration there had been hounding her for years to take Dr. Halston’s place. Until months ago, she gave them many polite refusals and countless excuses. It was never the right time. She was never really ready to leave behind her favorite people. With the new developments, she determined she had no other choice but to leave. She vanished to preserve some modicum of Michael Knight’s happiness as well as her own.

With the hurried closing of one chapter, she seized the next best one. One that would protect Michael from ever discovering the horrible truth. The truth of what he could not prevent with his sharp, scrutinizing words.

While Bonnie had only been working at the University for a series of months, she managed to call off today. Instead of donning her typical university appropriate attire, she’s still enrobed in her nightgown. The nausea combined with the dull ache collected in the marrow of her bones were almost too terrible to endure with spells of waking. She entrenched herself in her covers.

Bleary-eyed Bonnie nearly dozed off to the hollow utterances of the television boasting some cheesy soap opera. Until a sudden, very pronounced wrapping erupts across her door.

She assumes that the thunderous racket would let up if she gave it a few minutes, so she doesn’t immediately rise from her place. It doesn’t. With only mild grumbling, the brunette crawls out of bed. Her heavy footsteps shuffle all the way to the door. “If you’re selling Avon, I’m…” The words ‘not interested’ hinge mid-air as she finally looks up through the crack she created with the opened door, to see none other than Michael Knight. Her heart plummets downwards towards the soles of her feet. Shock prickles down every inch of her skin.

Unable to conceal her mounting alarm, Bonnie rumbles. “I... I don’t understand.” She really didn’t. She took every measure to expertly cover her tracks since she had left the Foundation. She hadn’t even left a forwarding address for her mail or a contact number. Then again, perhaps, she had simply underestimated Michael’s tracking abilities. When he wanted to find someone who deliberately disappeared, he miraculously could; in spite of nearly nonexistent odds.

Swallowing down every emotion, she’s been actively avoiding, Bonnie realized she had to speak again. But what? She couldn’t prevent herself from asking, “Michael? What brings you here?” There is an insertion of an unintentional pause before her next pertinent inquiry. “How on earth did you find me?”

Vaguely comprehending that it was rude not to let an old friend in, she hesitantly ushers him in. Her arm deliberately dropping to bar around her middle, as if it gave her any hopes of hiding the bump there.

Bonnie’s apartment is still filled with scattered cardboard boxes in various stages of being unpacked. Truth be told, she hasn’t felt well enough to deal with everything. Hurrying towards the table, Bonnie gathers some things to give him an unimpeded place to sit.

[nonestinventus]

@bindingties liked for a magical prosecutor!

{🐇}- The quick clicking of high heels against polished tiles echoed throughout the office as Bonny raced towards her destination, a small stack of files clutched tightly to her chest. When she skidded to a halt outside of the chief prosecutor’s door, the former magician took a silent, deep breath to calm her pounding heart, and knocked on the door.

“M-mr. Edgeworth, I have all the files for the new case! I-I’m sorry it took so long, but I ran as fast as I could from the police department once I got the evidence reports!”

[themangledsans0508]

Entering the Dungeon because Bonnie said so

Read on Ao3

Summary: Marceline came to Bonnie's aide when she called for Finn and Jake. She didn't expect to be going down a hundred floors while dealing with a shady princess.

Basically, I played Enter the Dungeon over the past two weeks and I have been writing this since the second night of playtime. Trying to write things before I forget them and it is following the canon of the game with some creative liabilities taken.

Words: 3616, Oneshot

Warnings: General Depictions of Violence

Characters: Bonnibel Bubblegum, Marceline Abadeer, Flame Princess

Ships: bubbline

Additional Tags: quests, dungeons, childhood trauma, swearing, adventure, conflict, kind of resolved kind of not, I feel like marcy and phoebe would have a neat dynamic, I've never seen them interact so, some of these scenes were legit my reaction, see: screaming

"Well, it looks like Ice King will be hanging around the Candy Kingdom now," Bonnie sighed. Marceline glanced at the dark entrance to the dungeon and shrugged.

"It's better than down there. At least up here, he can't get hurt," she decided. Bonnie looked at the hole as well and then back to Marceline.

"Marcy, I think you should let the boys handle this one," she stated seriously. Marceline shifted the umbrella in her grip and unfolded her legs to touch the ground.

"Why? I'll be fine."

"Well, asides from the fact that you have been returning up here frequently covered in wounds and the fact that Death is seemingly hunting you down, those aren't just any ancient ruins down there."

"How bad can it be?"

"Mushroom war. If my associations are correct from the information you've given me, then the same city you used to live in” Marceline stiffened. "Finn and Jake can deal with this, you just take a breather, okay?"

"No," Marceline shook her head. "I can take care of it. Just some old relics, nothing a woman like me can't face." Bonnie eyed her warily.

"If you're sure," she said slowly. "Please be careful."

"Send me down, Bonnibel."

~

"What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck!" Marceline shrieked.

"Marcy are you okay?" Bonnie's crackly voice asked, her projection appearing from the holo-pendant. Marceline leaned against the stone wall, her breathing heavy staring at her punctured legs that were bleeding.

"Just fine," she said sarcastically. "Almost got staked by some rusty metal pipes. Bonnie, this is post-war technology. What did you do?"

"I have important research down there, I had to defend it at least a little bit."

"The thousands of lost souls weren't enough?"

“It’s to protect it from them,” Bonnie snapped. “If these criminals got their hands on it, the Candy Kingdom would be in danger.”

“Oh, yeah, if the political prisoners found evidence you were a corrupt leader then you’d be overthrown.”

“It’s a real threat!” Marceline rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. I wished my healing worked down here.”

“Bodily magic doesn’t work because some of those creatures down there have natural magical prowess.”

“Too bad that there are tons of magic weapons down here.” The spikes retreated and Marceline pushed herself up, floating slowly around with her axe prone and ready. “What about the plants?”

“They’ve mutated to become immune to the limitation,” Bonnie explained.

“Speaking of plants, there’s one now.”

~

Marceline felt the wind leave her body as she was knocked against the wall, the deer’s antlers puncturing her legs and it licked her.

“Gross! Back off!” She kicked the deer’s underbelly and pushed it off her, slamming her axe down on the deer’s neck. She shakily stood up and was grabbed, a muzzle rubbing against her neck. She hissed as she felt new instincts override her other ones. She pushed herself up and slid under the wolf, standing up to hit it with the neck of her bass causing it to recoil. She slashed across its chest and took a deep breath, stumbling towards the stairwell.

She watched as a green portal opened and Death stepped out, a brown satchel on his waist and he tipped his cap towards her.

“I see you,” he said and Marceline braced herself, taking in the area and how much space she had. She dashed to the left and hugged the wall, growling when she felt skeletal fingers wrap around her forearm. She was jerked backwards and she felt Death’s skull touch her cheek. She could practically feel the energy drained from her as she struggled before she finally got her arm out of his grasp.

She dived for the stairs and fell down them, at the bottom turning back to look. Death stood at the top and made finger guns towards her.

“Kiss of Death, baby.”

“Fuck you,” Marceline hissed.

~

“Bonnibel, how did you get lava down there,” Marceline asked as she watched the wounds heal. Bonnie handed her a vial of a purple liquid that she drank, whatever cursed her fading away.

“Various tunnels and educated usage of pressure and-”

“It was more rhetorical. But I did get burned. And stabbed. And shot. And kissed without my consent.”

“What? Who kissed you?” Bonnie exclaimed.

“Death. He was blocking the stairs so I tried to duke him but he caught me. I did manage to get down the stairs though.” Marceline tapped her cheek in the spot that Bonnie assumed she was kissed. “Good thing I’m already dead.”

“Death shouldn’t be hanging around in the dungeon,” Bonnie muttered. “It’s interfering with the mortal realm and not allowing the natural flow to keep order.”

“Well, you’re throwing people in a dungeon and barring magic. That messes with the natural flow,” Marceline pointed out.

“Shut up,” Bonnie snapped. “Have you found any signs of the hoomans?”

“None. I’m going to head back down though, I’ll find them.” Bonnie grabbed her wrist and locked eyes with her.

“Marceline, you’re getting close to a bad place. A place that you were nine-hundred ninety-nine years ago. I really think you should stay up here this time."

"Bonnibel, it will be fine. Send me down."

~

Marceline stared at the ruined food truck, a flood of emotions overwhelming her. She listened to the sea of growling and heard a soft humming mixed in. She picked up a rock and threw it at the truck, the old voice box still working. The red siren turned on, illuminating the maze in red light. Her breathing became unsteady and rapid when the oozers began to glow, and she spotted a hooman among them. The hooman saw her as well and started happily skipping towards her.

She took out her axe and started swinging at the oozers, their green insides spilling out onto the ground. When the hooman was close enough, she grabbed her wrist and bolted, bringing her to the fence and kicking open the gate. She looked over at Susan’s grateful face and to the entrance of the maze and sighed.

“I’m booked for this, aren’t I?”

~

“Marceline! Marceline are you okay?” Bonnie grabbed her arm and started looking over her body, circling her and checking over the exposed skin and where the clothes were ripped.

“Bonnie, I’m fine. I can’t believe they’re still down there.” Bonnie stopped and stepped back.

“I couldn’t get rid of them. If that green goop even touches you that’s it. I just thought if I buried them then that would be the end of it. How the hoomans even got down there I don’t know.”

“Probably something to do with that buff cat chick,” Marceline jabbed her thumb towards Susan.

“Maybe. I’ll ask her later. But Marcy, that one got really dicey. Everyone made it out safely, but you almost didn’t. That swarm could have easily overwhelmed you. Can you please let Finn and Jake take care of this? I really don’t want you to get hurt.”

“And I don’t want them to get hurt,” Marceline mumbled. “I’m the best choice for this. I can teleport back to the surface, I know how to fight, I’ve been in all these places before. Plus I can literally eat the red bullets.”

“If you insist,” Bonnie sighed. She pulled her necklace and started fiddling with it. “What floor?”

~

“Marce, that one was close. This is the seventh time,” Bonnie scolded. Marceline shrugged and leaned on her.

“I’m exhausted,” she complained. “Magic Man hit me with some bullshit.”

“A strength-sapping spell,” Bonnie murmured. She pulled a herb out of her bag and placed it on top of Marceline’s head. “Stand still,” she instructed and counted under her breath before removing it. “You need to rest for at least three hours.”

“No,” she slurred, backing up and swaying on her feet. “I can keep going. I just…” She started falling forward and Bonnie caught her, sighing.

“Will you just go take a nap or something?” she asked. Marceline groaned.

“Don’t let anyone else go in there. I can deal with this myself,” she ordered and Bonnie pushed her back, keeping one hand on Marceline’s shoulder and crossing over her chest.

“Cross my heart,” Bonnie smiled. Marceline raised her umbrella in the air.

“I am going to the corner,” she announced and wandered off towards Choose Goose.

~

“Marceline, things are looking really dangerous. You keep having to retreat back up here,” Bonnie said softly. Marceline shrugged.

“Whatever, I’m still making it out,” she stated. Bonnie crossed her arms.

“You almost aren’t,” Bonnie scolded. “Do you want some help?”

“Bonnibel Bubblegum fighting in a dungeon? I don’t know.” Bonnie rolled her eyes.

“No, a token per se. Something that’ll protect you.” Marceline shook her head aggressively.

“No. I don’t need any help. None! Send me down!”

“If you say so,” Bonnie sighed.

~

“Will you accept my offer now?” Bonnie asked, placing her hands on her hips. Marceline put a hand on her forehead and clenched her jaw.

“Fine. Yes. What do you have.”

“Pep-but! Grab the sweater!” Bonnie called. Peppermint Butler came running with a knitted pink sweater folded in his arms. “Thanks, Peps. Marcy, arms up.” She took the sweater from his arms and held it. Marceline used her free hand to motion towards herself.

“Umbrella.”

“You have telekinesis.”

“Oh, yeah.” She let the umbrella float above her slightly higher and she raised her arms. Bonnie slid it carefully over her head and adjusted her collar. Marceline scratched at it.

“This is tight, Bons,” Marceline complained. Bonnie smiled shyly.

“It’s made of the strongest magic out there,” she said quietly. Marceline quirked an eyebrow.

“O-kay. I thought you thought magic was a sham.” She tugged at the hem of it and frowned, her eyes narrowing at Bonnie. “Why can’t I take it off?”

“Well, you see, I had a feeling you might try to take it off, and for your own safety, I may have had it engineered so that you couldn’t take it off until you were in a sound state. Since you’re going back in, it recognizes that you are going to be in harm’s way.”

“I should have known there’d be a catch,” Marceline grumbled.

“It’s in your best interest,” Bonnie stated.

“That doesn’t make it right. Look, I’m just going back down. I’m getting to the bottom of this.”

~

Marceline carefully pulled the pink sweater over her head and slid it over the umbrella handle.

“I’m not putting that back on,” she growled and sighed. “Everything is covered in your gum down there, you’ve been having fun without me? And since when did you have a giant pink cat thing and a huge gryphon eagle thing?”

“Goliad and Stormo? I’m glad they’re still balancing each other out.”

“I’m not getting an explanation? I should’ve expected that.”

“Also, I’m sorry but your corner is occupied now. I thought you could all use a break from the dungeon and while you may not enjoy the opportunity, the Nightosphere offered a challenge for anyone who felt so inclined. Maybe while everyone does that you can rest?”

“Why are you pushing me to slow down? I’m in my groove right now. You’re not my mom,” Marceline snapped.

“I’m not trying to be your mom! I care about you and I’m worried you’re pushing yourself too hard!”

“Well geez, it’s nice of you to care after all this time! I know my limits! I’ll show you! I’m going to the Nightosphere!”

“Marceline!”

“Don’t come after me,” she snapped and stalked off. Bonnie hugged herself and grimaced.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

~

“Are you going to calm down now?” Bonnie asked. Marceline kicked the dirt angrily.

“No. But I think I give up for now. That whole jam is ridiculous. There’s so much going on at once. I think the normal chaos is what I prefer right now. You know, I think it’d be cool if you came down too.” Bonnie shifted uncomfortably.

“Someone needs to stand guard here.” Marceline motioned towards the banana guards to either side.

“Found two,” she pointed out.

“It has to be me,” Bonnie insisted. She leaned over and whispered so only Marceline could hear. “You know how incompetent these guys can be.”

“Whatever you say P-Bubs.”

~

“So, how’d Flame Princess get locked down there, in the lab that belongs to you trapped in a machine you made.” Bonnie shrugged.

“No idea.”

“You can’t keep trying to ruin Finn’s relationship, girl. It’s an unhealthy obsession.”

“It’s not an obsession, it’s a coincidence! It’s a coincidence that she got trapped in my machinery

“You aren’t confirming it or denying it.”

"I don't need to. I'm not that cruel a woman that I would trap a child for a science experiment."

"Actually-"

"Don't." Bonnie held a finger out to stop Marceline from continuing. "There's no reason for me to lock Flame Princess up, especially when she herself is the biggest threat to the Candy Kingdom. It isn't wise to poke the bear with a stick, you know what I mean?"

“Yeah, I guess. She really wants to join the travel party now, so she might still be gunning to destroy the kingdom.” Bonnie placed a nervous hand on her cheek and glanced warily towards Flame Princess, who appeared to be trying to explain something to Finn.

“Could you keep an eye on her?” Bonnie asked.

“I’m not a babysitter,” Marceline snapped and sighed, “but yeah, I guess. I’d rather all of Ooo not be lit on fire. I’ll take her with me.” Bonnie smiled gratefully. “Anything I need?”

“I recommend a fire-resistance charm, in case you get caught in the crossfire.” Marceline nodded and dropped some gold in her hand. “I’ll use the charm, and that armour Finn hates too. Also, let Flame Princess use whatever token she wants, I don’t care.”

“Flame Princess! Marceline wants you to come with her!” Bubblegum shouted and the teen came running, small fires dotting her every step.

~

“That was exhilarating! So many things happening at once, so many creatures and questions! I knew that Bubblegum was no good!” Phoebe exclaimed.

“Hey, cut her some slack. She’s been at this for a long time,” Marceline growled. Flame Princess looked at her in confusion.

“You can’t honestly look at all this and tell me she’s not evil or at least bad. Look at all this stuff! Living beings forced to stay down here to the rest of their lives. Why? Is what they did really bad enough to deserve this?”

“Yes!” Marceline snapped. “And you don’t know Bonnie like I do.”

“Well, how do you know her so well?”

“I know her so well because-”

“You have done well to come this far,” A voice echoed, startling both girls. Marceline and Phoebe both looked to the speaker.

“Bonnie? What are you doing all the way down here?” Marceline asked.

“Something evil I bet,” Phoebe spat and Marceline whacked the back of her head, ignoring the burning sensation. Bonnibel frowned.

“This is my dungeon,” she said plainly. “And this room is the bottom of it. So, great job! You can go home now, back to the surface or whatever.”

“I don’t think so. There’s probably something in here that you’re hiding,” Phoebe hissed. Marceline raised an eyebrow.

“This doesn’t make sense. What’s down here, Peebs?” Bonnie chuckled nervously.

“Nothing! This is the bottom. That’s it. But just to be safe,” she glared discreetly at Phoebe “I need you to promise me you will not touch my desk back there. It has important research on it that you could mess up. This could be your final quest in this adventure, just promise me. Royal promise. No touchies.”

“I’m not promising anything,” Marceline insisted. Bonnie shook her head.

“You have to.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Fine! Whatever!” Marceline threw up her arms in defeat. Bonnie smiled. It wasn’t one of her normal smiles, not one of the ones Marceline was used to. It was empty and cold. Her eyes were unreadable.

“I think we’re done here then. Thank you for solving the mystery.” Marceline looked her up and down and walked past her, looking down at the table. Phoebe walked up beside her and glanced at Marceline.

“These papers are unreadable,” she whispered. Marceline absentmindedly picked up one of the papers, seeing the words were faded and the pictures were half-erased. Then the wall in front of them opened, showing a dark pink gum tunnel.

“Are you serious? What the fuck is wrong with you! Where does this even go?” Marceline shouted. She spun around to face Bonnibel and scowled at the expression on her face. An expression she hadn’t seen in centuries, since they had broken up. Her eyes were narrowed and she had a slight frown. Her hands were folded neatly in front of her and she straightened her back to look at them like she was above them.

You’ll never know where it goes,” she said slowly, “you broke a royal promise. And you know what that means. I’m sorry girls, it’s business.” Marceline saw out of the corner of her eye a fireball that Phoebe had thrown before they both teleported above the kingdom, standing on a cotton candy cloud and looking up at the Gumball Guardians.

“I told you,” Phoebe shouted. Marceline growled and readied her axe.

~

“Well, at least I’ll get a metal song out of this,” Marceline mumbled. Phoebe scoffed.

“You’re thinking about music? I’m thinking about revolution!” Her hands lit up and she prepared to attack before Bonnibel ran out in front of them.

“Wait! You don’t understand! I know this thing looks like a monster, but you have to listen to me! It doesn’t want to hurt you! It just-” A gum tentacle swung out and grabbed her, causing both Marceline and Phoebe to jump back.

“Bonnie! You’re not getting out of this that easily!” She lunged forward only to get hit in the face with a metal ball, knocking her back. Phoebe dragged her to her feet.

“Think smart!” She barked.

~

Marceline was angry at Bubblegum, but seeing everyone else rail on her for something she herself had done as well, made her get a bit protective. She’d deal with the lying later.

“Wouldn’t you lie to protect your weird old parents too?” Marceline snapped. She floated down and wrapped her arms around Bonnie’s shoulders, glaring at the entire crew. She glanced at Bonnie for a split second and saw her small smile and she flashed one back. She was still holding her when the mass of gum began to separate.

~

“Thanks for helping me out, I do wish you could’ve done it without killing my parents though,” Bonnie said. Marceline raised an eyebrow.

“They aren’t dead. We can go catch them if you want.”

“No, no. They’ll come back if they want,” Bonnie sighed. “Marceline, come inside. I want to speak with you privately.”

“Okay, sure.” Marceline followed her up the candy steps and through the winding halls, ending in Bonnie’s room. She motioned towards the bed.

“Sit down,” she ordered and Marceline obliged, sitting down with her arms crossed. “I want to apologise to you.”

“For what? For sending me on a wild goose chase? For trying to get your gumball guardians to murder me? For lying to me and tricking me? For literally putting all of us in mortal danger? Which one is it?” Marceline snarled. Bonnie winced.

“All of that, listen, Marceline, I didn’t want to do all that! But responsibility demands sacrifice and the cost kept escalating. I didn’t expect it to get so out of hand before it was already there. I was running out of ways to stop you.”

“Maybe the best way to have stopped me would have been to tell the truth? Did you ever consider that?” Marceline snapped. “Everyone could have died, get that through your thick skull! All of us could have died!” She stood up and sat back down, pinching the bridge of her nose and taking deep breaths. “I don’t even know how long it’s been, all I know is you haven’t changed a bit. You put your own pride over the actual lives of other people.”

“Marceline-”

“No, Bonnie, listen. It’s been like this for centuries. It’s exhausting. I had thought you were different now. I really did. But I guess old habits die hard.”

“I’m trying to change. I really am Marcy. I just- I was scared. You know what it’s like to have to face the potential of losing your parents. You know what it’s like to lose them. I don’t. I just had to come head-to-head with it today. It’s not okay that I did all that, but I panicked,” Bonnie rambled. Marceline stood up and shook her head.

“I’m going home. I have a killer headache and I’m tired. I got up to come help and I did, so my job’s done.” She rubbed her temple and walked to the door, reaching for the handle only for her hand to be grabbed.

“I’m sorry. I want you to know that. I really am sorry.” She hesitated. She looked to Bonnie and inhaled sharply. She did look remorseful, but sometimes remorse was not enough.

“Sorry doesn’t fix this,” she mumbled. Bonnie looked away.

“I understand.” She quickly hugged Marceline and backed away, walking to filter through her closet. “It’s okay if you never forgive me. I wouldn’t blame you.”

“I’ve forgiven you for worse,” Marceline stated. “But this one will take me a bit. I’ll text you eventually.” She strolled out and narrowly avoided Peppermint Butler who was coming into the room, getting called some harsh words as she opened her umbrella to make her way home.