#Thirst Bitch Society Founding Member

[ambeauty]

Titans Final Thots & Feelings

Hi Family! We’ve come to that time where I have final processed my journey with Titans. I started Titans in 2020! Thanks to you folks on here giffing the gorgeous Brenton & Anna smiling next to the Jeep at the end of s1! I was trying to figure out what the hell that show was for probably a year and it was finally available on a streamer I had access to! And s1 sucked me in immediately! I watched TTG a bit but other than that I was completely unaware of the depth and beauty of the stories the Titans had. And of course I was deeply smitten with the romantic story blossoming between Dick & Kory. But I also loved the group dynamics of everyone and that continued in s2! I honestly was okay with Kory having her own journey to go on separate from Dick, because that was what they decided to do before “trying it again sometime.” And I loved Slade as the villain! I truly believed he was going to fuck the Titans up and tear them apart. Now the ending with Donna was a mess but otherwise the villain arc was so well done! And then we come to 3! And I had been watching Titans virtually alone up until that point and then I discovered there was a whole community of Titans fans on Tumblr/Twitter and we all got to commiserate together about how bad Jason/Crane were, DickBabs unnecessary romance, and Dick being a total loser! A fun time was had by all. And then after much anticipation we get to s4!

Season 4 opening was damn near perfect! I literally had no notes! Opening scene Kory! Next scene the fam goofing off and Dick and Kory on their own private mini date. Dick was TALKING! FLIRTING! DOING ALL THE THINGS WE EVER WANTED HIM TO DO! He and Kory displayed the perfect balance between co-leaders and tiptoeing around their budding romance. And then Jinx entered the picture and I just wanted to ask why. Not as a character but as Dick’s ex? I reiterate again that it was just another opportunity for DK antis to find another person to ship Dick with. Now it was very obvious how annoyed he was by her but still a completely unnecessary plot and I feel like the tone and momentum shifted in 3&4 that I just did not like in terms of DK’s development.

My main issue with Dick is that he did not allow for Kory to be vulnerable with him in regards to her fears about the prophecy. He stopped being a partner and regressed back into old Dicholas out of fear! I wanted him to listen to her, even if he didn’t believe it or didn’t want to. That would’ve shown growth in his character. That he didn’t have to always be right and that he was emotionally strong enough to be Kory’s strength. It was a complete missed opportunity to have their vulnerability end with the end of 406. That being said 405 was the best episode of the season! THAT WAS A MOMENT I WILL NEVER FORGET! Even though it was a vision, seeing Dick, Kory and Mar’i and the entire family celebrating their baby’s birthday was perfect and what we deserved after everything.

They set part 2 up to be something that was going to be important and the fact of the matter was it just wasn’t. Brother Blood was still crying and throwing up over Mayhem. And he didn’t get his suit or real powers until the literal end. Gar’s episode was really special and I enjoyed it a lot! But it seems like all of his progress in the red went unused after the episode ended. Like they just did not care that he gained so much power after he and Kory got out of the red. And that just fell by the wayside. There was no reason why he didn’t shift to pull those cords or turn into multiple animals in that hallway fight in the finale. Make it make sense.

And then we get to my main gripe! Who was doing the actual writing in the room? Because Dick had the same lines every episode. “Kory” “It won’t happen.” “I thought I lost you.” As much as I love him calling out her name, he had so much more to say to her. Talk about how he wanted the future in the vision. How he was scared to lose her. How he couldn’t say goodbye to her because he didn’t want to do life without her. HOW HE LOVED HER! Y’all they never got to say that but he did get to insinuate he was ready to have that baby (which I loved) but also like where’s my love confession! They deserved that moment at the very least.

At first I was underwhelmed by the kiss but further investigation with gifs and stills it was really sweet. Their entire arc was sweet. Wholesome, but it wasn’t as intense as I personally expected it and need it to be. Chemistry was wasted on frankly elementary writing. Thank God for Brenton & Anna’s acting skills which allowed us to be able to read between the literally lines, but at this point, I have been so tired of having to interpret every damn glance and brush of the fingers against the face. LIKE GIVE THEM THINGS TO SAY! You could tell that imo the show runner did not want to do a romance between them and literally just did the bare minimum in order to shut the fans up. He says as much in the featurette. And in doing so, he destroyed his favorite characters ability to grow beyond just the muscle and man with the plan of the team. Kory deserved a partner who she could lean on. And Dick wasn’t always that, even when it was literally his only plot point of substance.

Also nobody expects this show to be a romcom or a DK porn. And it abhors me every time I see someone using that as an insult to DK Stans. What we did want to see them do is grow together authentically at a pace that matched what had been shown to us to the prior 3 seasons. We knew that Dick had feelings for Kory in s2. He was so upset that she left him in a vulnerable spot, he sent himself to jail! And in s3 he could barely keep his eyes off of her. Stalking her from high vantage points, completely sabotaging his date with Babs, and visualizing their daughter as a reason to come back to life. So WHY was there a need for them to literally snail drag to the finish line? My only reason is because the show runner wasn’t into it.

And I can say objectively that I enjoyed the fact that Kory was the center of the season. It literally started and ended (Conner scene aside) with her. She was the key to it all and the Titans got to help her, albeit frustratingly so along the way. I wish that Rachel, Gar and Kory all had equal time with a formidable villain like Brother Blood. It really would’ve ratcheted up the stakes for a Dick who remained completely delusional (although he was the manifestation warrior) the entire season. This season had no stakes whatsoever. Our family did the best the could with what they had but they could’ve been given so much more.

I don’t think we’ll see Titans at least in this form, in a very long time. Unfortunately DC is sitting on a goldmine with these characters and if they are done well could probably turn the profits for the company. I think if they touch them again.. they’ll be younger and probably not as diverse, but that’s me being pessimistic. My hope is that the impact our actors made on these characters is a lasting effect and if they choose to reboot the team that it is done by someone who has passion for the actual Titans. Let Batfam be batfam but let the Titans have their own thing. Our show put in the work to build a special fanbase and I want it to continue, but those people in charge, I don’t trust them.

It’s been hella fun with you all for the most part. I definitely got to see the ugly side of fandom, but what I love and take with me in this experience is the beauty. I have met so many wonderful and genuine people and I never thought at my big age that I would be making new friends who I genuinely love and respect. It takes a special type of person to be a titans fan and it’s clear that we all have way more in common than we think and that is the most beautiful thing of all. Never in my life did I think creative writing would come back to me in this way. That I would have supporters and partnership in this way. Just from a little DC show! I am still blown away and thank you all for making this hobby something so worthwhile and fulfilling in my busy life!

I have stories to finish and ideas flowing out of my pores so you guys got me for a long time to come!!!💜💙💜💙💜💙🖤💚🖤💚🖤💚

[triptychexe]

TROMME - PART TWO: DEBUT MINI ALBUM [2015]

PART TWO was released on October 6th, 2015 by TROMME, the second subunit to come from Triptych. TROMME releases an EDM influenced mini album with dance-friendly beats and hype vibes. Despite the upbeat tones, their lyrical ability shines through, tackling subjects like criticism of societal norms in title track “SIMON SAYS”, “REAL MEN” and “SAY IT”, then switching to sentimental feelings in songs “LIPS” and “POLAROID”, never straying from their signature dance and EDM beats.

△ TRACK BY TRACK.

1] SIMON SAYS

Since their trainee days, the boys had a specific message that they wanted to get across from the moment they debuted. They really wanted to challenge society and the concept of masculinity, so they figured their debut song would be about how everyone is controlled, hoping that it would wake people up.

Written by all three boys.

Line distribution can be found here.

2] REAL MEN

The boys really went through a phase of questioning what masculinity really meant. They realized that as they were growing up, they were surrounded by hyper-masculine ideals and standards

SO they decided to use their voice to express what being a real man meant to them in this song. Mocks a lot of gender stereotypes through lyrics. They were criticized pretty heavily for this one.

Written by all three members.

3] LIPS

This song is really just about staring at your crushes lips and wanting to kiss them. There’s really no deep meaning here. Gender neutral so anyone can relate tho!! And alludes to the power of ~consent~

The first two songs were very heavy and opinionated and the boys are still young. They wanted to just have ONE thirst song okay??? LET THEM LIVE.

Written by Teo and Asa

4] RUN IT

Another song that’s just for fun. About working hard to get where you wanna be in the world. If you wanna be something, work for it. Know that TROMME is in your corner and they believe in you AND your dreams!

Honestly they just wanna be supportive. Like they know what it’s like to have your dreams be criticized by others. They want Artychs to feel like they have the power to take charge of their life.

Written by Teo and Eli.

5] POLAROID

Reflecting on their trainee days and predebut moments, TROMME gets a little sentimental on this chill RnB track. They just wanna remember their roots and where they came from with this song.

The music video featured S.O.T and other old videos from their trainee days. Good times and good memories, you know?

Written by all three members

6] SAY IT

All about learning how to speak your mind. They really want people to start standing up against injustices that they see in everyday life. 

Discuss a lot of things like bullying and harassment, sexism and racism, and about how being silent on something means that you are taking the side of the oppressor. All bottled up in a dance-able track! 

Written by all three members.

△ THIS ERA.

We got center Eli this era, which will lowkey be the last time he’s truly center because he realized that it’s too much being both a leader and a center position.

Despite Eli being center... Teo had a viral fancam which was like... the first time a Triptych member got a ton of attention from a fandom that wasn’t artych.

The fanbase was super prepared for TROMME’s debut, so they were able to pull 8.5 million views in the first 24 hours! Which is! Crazy! Do these fans even sleep??

Because of the dedicated streaming and voting, TROMME won 3 music show awards over the course of their promotional period. 

PART TWO peaked at #5 on Melon, which was huge.

The Triptych TV episode where S.O.T and TROMME were reunited after being debuted idols? Everyone teared up a little.

They got a music video for their B-Side song “POLAROID” which they got to film and direct all on their own in 100 hours (it was on an episode of Triptych TV). 

“POLAROID” became a fan favorite, especially because the boys added footage in from their trainee days and S.O.T was in the video as well. 

This was the era where Eli was outed as a BTS fanboy and the fandom lowkey thought it was so funny because it explained why Eli was bowing at like a 95 degree angle when he interacted with BTS at music shows and stuff.

A ton of memes were birthed from this era because TROMME are reaction KINGS. They all don’t have a poker face, so their facial reactions are relatable and raw. 

Which means it was really obvious to fans that Asa and Teo weren’t getting along. Better known as The InHiko Fight of 2k15.

Basically, they were caught giving each other the stink eye as they walked towards their managers car after a schedule. Asa rushed ahead so he could get into the car before Teo. No one knows why they were fighting... but TROMME does.

Basically, Asa was a little shit this era. He really had no faith in Eli or his leadership skills. Teo defended Eli and Asa was like “damn this bitches are conspiring against me!!” so there was a lot of unnecessary tension. It all got cleared up, just like how S.O.T’s tension cleared up, but towards the end of their promotions, things were a little awkward.

△ ERA FASHION.

Back at it with the color-coded fits!!

Yes, primary colors were still mandatory for stage outfits.

And does HBH have a sponsorship deal with Doc Martens? Because that’s all Triptych seems to wear. 

Their debut outfits were... ugly. They wore them a couple of times and people were like “jesus christ, can they PLEASE stop wearing that!” 

But also they’re iconic in the way that NCT’s Cherry Bomb outfits are iconic. You’ll never get the image of TROMME dancing around like Crayola factory workers out of your brain. 

The boys wore women’s blouses to award shows all the time. They legit don’t care. “Clothing is clothing.” - Eli, 2015.

Hair:

Eli had curly light brown hair.

Teo had a black undercut sjkdsg this is why bitches be feral.

Asa had black hair that was pretty long, like not to his shoulders but like,,, below his jaw im bad at describing hair  

△ FANDOM BEHAVIORS.

Maybe it’s because a good chunk of the fanbase is made up of straight women, but Artychs started going absolutely feral or maybe it’s because Asa and Zim’s combined feral energy started rubbing off on them

Artychs literally forgot how to act this era. They started being so thirsty it was like “woah, what happened to the sweet artychs that treated S.O.T like queens?” 

They lowkey sexualized TROMME so much it was gross. Like the boys are out here trying to stop toxic masculinity and you’re making thirst trap vine edits of them? 

TROMME stans started beefing with S.O.T stans. The fandom was too busy fighting each other to really have any other outside beef. 

On the bright side, artychs became a very dedicated fanbase during this era and showed other fandoms that they know how to vote.

[albertmasonry]

Susan Grimshaw is not just the old slave driver bitch in camp who can also be the protective mother figure when it suits the narrative. She is a founding member of the gang and so much more.

She is the most loyal. Maybe even more so than Javier who stuck to it to the end. Because while Javier was loyal to Dutch, Susan was loyal to everyone else. And I have no doubt in my mind that she would’ve sided with Arthur in the end if given the chance.

She does actually have a sense of humour. She sings those vulgar songs by the campfire louder than anyone else and unlike some people she knows all the words. And some of the things she says to Arthur to get him to wash makes me smile. 

She’s beautiful. I get it. Society hates women over 35. We’re not conditioned to see them as attractive. But Susan isn’t much older than Dutch and by god is there a lot of thirst for that man. There is even thirst for Hosea and Uncle....... You see where I’m going with this.

She’s beautiful. And I’m not just talking about that old photo of her saying she was beautiful. She is beautiful. And that dress. My favourite of hers. Couldn’t tell you why that is. It’s a mystery. The point is older women can be hot and she’s hot as hell.

She has a burning wrath to rival Sadie’s. I’m being dramatic, we all know Sadie Adler is the resident badass of the gang, but Susan is just as capable. Stabbing that guy in the neck on the mission to save Tilly before going off and shooting on horseback, killing Molly without a second thought when she claimed to have betrayed them all...... epic moments in gaming. Susan can do what Sadie does when she chooses to, and she does it in a skirt.

“I don’t like her. She’s so mean to Tilly and Mary-Beth”

People have said this so many times and every time I agree. There is no excuse for screaming at the girls the way she does or hitting them jfc. But you know who else is a mean abuser at times? Dutch, Bill, Micah, Hosea, John if you want to include neglect— Even the golden boy Arthur Morgan has his moments (from what I can remember only outside of the gang, granted, but when he throws a man to the floor and beats him for money in his own home it’s sexy?), yet such actions are not the be all end all of whether or not you like them. The only character I can think of who is treated similarly in regards to their abuse is Abigail. We see her slap John once(?) and yell at him for being a shit on the regular, and some people think this reason enough to cancel her.......... Just something to think about.

TL;DR Susan Grimshaw deserves more love and her general portrayal is not what it should be.

[displacedprincess]

True Facts About Elena & Avalor

A collection of headcanons about Avalor

Country Facts

Official languages: (Avaloran) Spanish, (Avaloran) Portuguese, Avaloran Sign Language

major announcements from the government are given in Spanish, Portuguese, and AvSL.

88% of Avalorans are bilingual in Spanish and Portuguese

there are pockets of Portuguese-monolingual speakers, mostly along the border with Brazil.

other common minority languages: Amerindian languages such as Quechua, Arabic (tied for fastest growing), Farsi/Dari (tied for fastest growing), Chinese (mainly Cantonese or Hokkien), French, German, English, Russian, others

Arabic and Farsi/Dari, and Pashto are becoming more widely spoken due to Avalor having taken in refugees from the Middle East conflicts

A huge number of asylum seekers from magick-hostile countries come to Avalor as well - hence large pockets of Russian, German, and French speakers.

Avalor is full of natural resources; gold, nickel, copper, and an abundance of rivers.

The country has a small coastline, where the capital city is located, and mountain regions bordering Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Brazil.

There are also several islands as part of Avalor’s territory

 80% of Avalor’s electricity is hydo or solar powered. Of the remaining twenty percent, 15% is wind-powered, 2% is from tidal energy, and only 3% is from non renewable sources like coal.

Avalor was heavily influenced by Catholicism in its development, but it’s not the dominating religion anymore. Catholicism and Protestantism are about evenly matched in numbers. 

The biggest protestant denominations in Avalor are - Nazarene, Methodist and Presbyterian

The Avaloran nobility tend to practice Catholicism more devoutly than the lower classes; lower classes are more religiously diverse

Avalor has the 4th highest population of Jewish people in Latin America, behind Argentina, Uruguay, and Panama.

Islam and Buddhism are the fastest growing religions in Avalor.

Some Amerindian peoples practice their traditional religions.

Avalor is prone to earthquakes, and occasional volcanic eruptions - there are only ten known active volcanoes in the country. 

In 2008, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck a small city near Avalor City, causing widespread damage throughout most of the small country. Landslides, fires, thousands lost their homes, and almost one hundred people were killed. Then fourteen-year-old Princess Elena criticized foreign governments on social media, and again publicly during a press conference, for being slow to aid her country. Her parents apologized on her behalf, but the princess made it very clear in a Tweet following the apology that she was “not sorry, and that people are dying, they don’t have time for me dance around your feelings while calling the world out for failing us.”

The racial makeup of Avalor is primarily mestizo and white, with sizable Afro-Avaloran (growing fast as well) and Amerindian populations, and growing Asian (East, South, Southeast) and Middle Eastern populations. 

Avalor is often considered a third-world country, but many Avalorans would disagree and they reject the term “developing. ” 

Avalor’s literacy rate is 96.2% of total population

Average life expectancy is 88

Avalor’s birth rate has fallen in recent decades, with higher education becoming much more affordable, birth control methods being covered under the country’s national healthcare program, comprehensive sex-ed being more widespread, and women now marrying later and having babies later.

The birth rate currently sits at 2.33 babies for every one woman

As recently as the 1980s, the birth rate was 4.10 children

Avalorans do tend to have larger families than other industrialized countries - most families want at least two, family is very important in Avaloran society

Average age of first birth in 1975: 20; average age of first birth in 2015: 26

Average age men first marry: 28; Average age women first marry: 24

Women are generally marrying only 3-4 years later than they did in 1975, but they are holding off on having children for a few years.

Despite the drastic plummet in the birth rate, Avalor’s population alternates between stagnant and growing, due to the steady birth rate of 2-3 children per family and the large immigrant population.

Immigrant families to Avalor typically maintain much of their home culture, Avalorans tend to encourage it, and the local governments celebrate cultural holidays celebrated by large minorities in their regions.

A study by the University of Avalor - Avalor City, found that immigrant children marry into native born Avaloran families, other immigrant group families, and families within their own immigrant group about equally

Another study has shown that immigrant groups typically feel welcomed, and that their biggest concern before and after arrival is usually learning Spanish.

Common vectorborne diseases include - dengue fever, malaria, and yellow fever

Common food and waterborne illnesses in poorer, rural areas include - hepatitis A and typhoid fever

King Raul and Queen Lucia signed into law that children must be vaccinated to attend public school

Avalor is relatively easy to become a citizen of

citizen by birth

dual citizenship is recognized

must live in Avalor for 6 years before becoming a naturalized citizen

exceptions can be petitioned for, for parents, children, and spouses to speed the process along by 2 years

Avalor’s Military is comprised of five branches

Avaloran Army

Avaloran Navy

Avaloran Air Force

Avaloran Marine Corps

Avaloran Royal Guard*

*The Royal Guard is not always directly enlisted into, but can be. The Guard pulls many of its members from the AMC Special Forces. Training for the guard is known to be exceptionally rigorous.

Enlistment for active duty service begins at 18 years old

Until 2007, there was a compulsory enlistment written into law for men and women 18-24 for a period lasting eighteen months. King Raul and Queen Lucia ratified an amendment to the Constitution eliminating the draft.

Voting rights are given to all citizens at age 18. Felons are permitted to vote in most of the country, as of 2013. This was a social change supported by the late King and Queen and signed into law by Princess Elena.

There is no legal minimum age to smoke cigarettes, but purchasing, you have to be nineteen.

The minimum purchasing age of alcohol is eighteen, but in the presence of a parent or guardian, teenagers are often permitted a beer, a glass of wine, or a cocktail in restaurants. The alcohol culture in Avalor is similar to parts of Europe, where it’s introduced in controlled environments at an early age.

Most of the population doesn’t own a car. City dwellers take trains, buses, bikes, or walk. Townspeople bike or walk to the nearest bus or train station.

Horses aren’t commonly owned outside of the upper class.

Avalor is a popular study abroad destination for magick and mundus alike.

Pop Culture

Princess Elena is a style icon in her country and surrounding South American countries. Anything she’s spotted wearing sells out the next day, and designers were always asking if they could design a dress for her for X event.

Gabe is in the background and occasionally foreground of a lot of pictures of Elena that come up on Google Images. If you type in “Hot Avaloran Guard”, pictures of Gabe come up.

There’s a collection of thirst tweets out there about Gabe, Elena used to read them out loud to him.

American late night comedy shows are popular in Avalor, and Avalor has several of their own. The most popular is Avalor Esta Noche con Andre Esquivel. Andre Esquivel is often called the Jon Stewart of Avalor.

Avalor has a version of SNL, and Princess Elena is often parodied on the program. Her parents were too, and Esteban also is. All four had hosted the program at least once - Elena, twice. Once when she was 15, shortly before her parents were killed, and the second time when she was nineteen.

The Avaloran royal family, since SNL Avalor’s debut in the late 90s, has always supported the show for its satire - even when it was about them. They’re known for laughing at themselves and encouraging political satire because, in the words of the late King Raul Castillo, “A good leader welcomes criticism, both satirical and serious, because a good leader doesn’t attack journalists and comedians for doing their jobs.”

SNL Avalor liked to parody Elena for sneaking out of the palace to go dancing, often portraying her as a ditzy party girl.

Conversely, whenever Princess Elena told off another world leader via Twitter or Instagram, in a press conference, or told off an Avaloran politician that the Avaloran public also disliked, she was portrayed as a boss bitch on SNL Avalor. It depended on what they wanted to go for at the moment.

The actress who usually plays Elena on SNL Avalor is named Lana Basa; however, actor Pepe de Castro often dons a wig and a dress to portray the princess.

Avaloran telenovelas are known in several other countries, but they also have a following for their romantic comedy dramas, shot in a similar style to Korean and Chinese TV dramas.

Avaloran cinema is relatively well-known throughout Latin America.

A handful of Avaloran actors have broken into bigger industries. Juan Añonuevo is the Avaloran actor even Americans know, and Felisa Mondragón is the Avaloran actress most known.

[honestgrins]

Inhuman || Klaroline

Klaroline Infinity Day 6 - Other Supernatural

Klaus is almost ready to break his curse, but he refuses to do so without Katerina finally doing her part. She has managed to elude him so far with the help of various allies, but the latest distraction proves to be far more interesting to Klaus.

"Funny," Klaus noted with a smirk. "Katerina usually prefers to employ male cannon fodder."

The little blonde merely stood before him, unafraid. She didn't even bother to reply. Her head canted to the side as she watched the Original draw closer to the door of his hotel room, where she had been waiting.

It was something of a game for Klaus in his hunt to break the curse restraining his wolf, to allow Katerina Petrova's various pets enough of a fight to be fun for him. The werewolf from whom she had stolen the moonstone lacked the strategy of battle; the vampire brothers she bounced between were too busy competing for her favor to put up a decent showing. Even Elijah was easily a pawn to the wily doppelganger, though at least daggering him was an actual challenge.

This girl, however, smelled young. Klaus couldn't sense any power, as he could on a vampire, wolf, or witch. Humans were often too stupid to realize the danger he posed, but they could still feel a frisson of unease in his sheer presence. She seemed almost serene.

But he had gone to great trouble in collecting the necessary ingredients to break his curse. Not using Katerina as his vampire sacrifice would be such a waste. He had followed her trail to a small college campus where blood and sex were easy to come by - her favorite habitat. Unable to draw her out from hiding, Klaus left hints of his arrival through well placed rumors and the occasional murder of a curly-haired brunette.

Katerina sent a message of her own: bleeding sorority girls appearing twice a day at his hotel room door, none of whom held any recollection of the bitch. Compulsion was a favorite of hers, he supposed. Well fed, he had no problem playing the long game as long as she stayed in town.

Then he found her witch.

"Did you know the Bennett girl?" Klaus asked teasingly, daring to brush the blonde curls from the strange woman's face. "I figured the grandmother was the draw for Katerina, all that knowledge and disdain for us Originals, but the girl… Oh, she had power." He gave a wicked smirk at the twitch in her otherwise impassive expression. "To die so young."

"At least it was quick," she replied hoarsely. "I won't thank you for snapping her neck, but I can be grateful she didn't suffer."

It was a small mercy, one of expedience rather than any real remorse. Klaus needed Katerina to retaliate, giving her an opportunity to make the mistake he needed to finally capture her.

The blonde waiting for him in front of his door as he returned from killing the Bennetts had been an odd form of retaliation, but he wasn't complaining.

Letting his fingernail drag down the skin of her neck, Klaus watched her curiously. "You don't seem like the type to have seen much suffering, love." He dug his nail in deeper, bringing her blood to the surface. When he expected to feel hunger at the scent on her skin, however, he frowned at the utter lack of desire to rip open the pulsing vein. Even after a thousand years, Klaus had never felt such apathy at the sight of human blood.

Human blood.

"What are you?" he hissed, pushing her up against the wall. Mikael-induced paranoia aside, it was the unknown threat that kept Klaus ever vigilant to his status in the supernatural world. He always knew the enemy he was up against, and he didn't like that Katerina had managed to find a weapon he never knew existed. Shoving the girl back harder, he yelled it in her face. "What are you?!"

His fingers pressed into her flesh, only to feel her shoulders expand with sharp spines biting into his hands. He let go immediately to jump back, and he watched in confusion as her skin slowly receded back to her bare shoulders. For a moment, he would have sworn her shoulders had puffed like a blowfish. "What are you?" he repeated more softly.

Standing straight, she walked toward him proudly to poke a sharp talon in his chest - literally, a bird's talon right where her index finger should be. "I'm not a what, I'm a who," she snapped. "My name is Caroline Forbes, and you don't scare me."

"But Katerina must if you do her bidding," he countered.

Caroline rolled her eyes and gestured for him to open the door to his hotel room. "Are you going to let me in, or what?"

"Why are you here? I don't negotiate with the help."

"I hear you don't negotiate at all," she pointed out humorlessly. "Look, you killed my friend. I think that buys me a frank conversation about what the hell you're doing on my campus and chasing after the one person left in the world who cares about me."

Just curious enough not to kill her outright, Klaus nodded as he swiped the key card to his door and led her inside. "Katerina Petrova cares for no one but herself."

"Katherine Pierce saved me," Caroline answered hotly. "Hate her all you want, but I don't want to see her dead for some shit that happened five hundred years ago. God, get a grip."

Anger flared within Klaus, and he clenched his fists in rage. "For the last time," he gritted out, "what are you, and why are you here?"

Curious or not, his patience had its limits.

Caroline scoffed as she made herself comfortable on the couch. "You're like a billion years old, right? Surely, you've heard of mutants from time to time."

"I have," Klaus nodded in realization. "But as witches and werewolves pass down their genetic traits to manifest in predictable ways, mutants seem to defy logic and reason of current science."

With an almost imperceptible shudder, Caroline met his eyes with hers blazing. "Yep, we're all just freaks for people to write off or use for science. Geez, no wonder Kat hates you."

"Someone's projecting," Klaus commented, shrewdly noting her aversion to the scientific aspect of her situation. "I assume Katerina rescued you from some dreadful experimentation."

Caroline hardened, her skin almost turning into stone as he watched. "I'm what they call a 'survivor,' practically immortal because my cells can somehow mimic animal adaptations. My father trained me to use this power at will, since I was a young child who scared the local swimming hole by staying underwater for too long. Instead of drowning like they feared, I just grew gills. I thought Dad was teaching me to protect myself from a world that would only love me if I could fit in."

Though he didn't want to, Klaus felt an odd kinship with the young woman lost in her memories.

"But he didn't want to protect me, he just wanted me to be strong enough." Klaus could hear her teeth grinding. "I needed to be strong enough to withstand the real work performed by the Augustine Society. He was a founding member of this 'scientific research group' meant to extort genetic abnormalities for whatever findings could improve life for the 'normal' people, only to find out he had a mutant freak for a daughter himself. All my life, and he just wanted me as a test subject."

Klaus knew what it meant to be held against his will, even by his own mind when the hunter's curse had taken hold of him. "Were you alone?" He didn't like the thought of that.

"Not even in my abilities." Caroline chuckled, though it sounded sad. "Armando Munoz," she said reverently. "He was my friend. He tried to save me, and they annihilated every cell in his body just to prove that they could. Even at absolute zero, our bodies were able to survive like we were in a deep hibernation. The last time they put him in the freezer, they tested his ability to adapt without molecular movement. He couldn't."

Standing, Caroline began to pace the room and Klaus tracked her movements carefully. "I was going to be next, but Kat swooped in killed them all in a blink. I didn't even know vampires existed, let alone all the cool tricks you get."

"Some would call your abilities 'cool tricks,'" Klaus said, considering what she had shared. "Absolute zero. It's not very sporting to tell me how to kill you."

"They did it in the name of bettering the human condition, despite the inhuman depravity their science required," Caroline spat. "Even you're not that cruel."

With a dark smile, Klaus stood to crowd her space, though she didn't cower to him. He liked that. "You'd be surprised, love. I did kill your friend, after all."

"In a mostly painless way," she countered. "You still had shit reasons to do it, but you don't pretend you're anything less than the evil you are. The Augustine Society thought they were the good guys."

Klaus leaned forward, mere inches from her face as he regarded her cool expression. "If your enemy is already dead, then why are you here fighting Katerina's battle? Surely, you've earned a bit of rest. Travel, perhaps? Rome or Paris; Tokyo is nice this time of year."

Scoffing, Caroline pushed away from him. "My bag is already packed," she admitted. Klaus frowned as her legs seemed to disappear into the decorations of his room. "I'm not here to fight you, Klaus. I just had to keep you occupied long enough for Kat to leave the country. Did you know the cuttlefish can blend almost perfectly with its surroundings in the ocean, the camouflage is unmatched in the animal kingdom."

He gripped her arms, even as they too disappeared within his firm hold. Klaus could feel her flesh and the pumping of her blood, but even his vampiric senses could barely see her. "Do you really think I'll just let you go?"

"Do you really think you have a choice?" she challenged before a second set of arms suddenly appeared from behind her still visible torso and snapped his neck.

When Klaus awoke, he found himself utterly alone and thirsting for something even greater than his vengeance against Katerina.

He wanted Caroline Forbes and the challenge she presented.