#and sometimes that is not great

[averseunhinged]

more of the follow-up series to 24/7 sylvia plath this week! this is a snippet from a few installments later than the previous two, but i wanted to share some caroline pov.

eta: have you ever realized you've written 80k words of something, but you need to write at least another 50K at the beginning or the canon changes won't make sense? NO ME NEITHER WHY DO YOU ASK.

anyway, this was private for a couple of weeks while i had a minor breakdown and almost scrapped the whole thing in a rage blackout. but i didn't. it's fine. it's totally fine that i can't stop writing things backwards.

"Henry Ngo said he met your new boyfriend. Said he was very polite and seemed like he respected you." Liz paused and then, with no small amount of irony, continued, "Henry thinks he might be a little old for you."

It took a moment for that conversational gambit to penetrate Caroline's sleep-sodden brain. She hoisted herself upright off the island, her mascara-smeared, squinting eyes gone wide and alarmed. "No, no, no. Absolutely not! I did not tell Henry...that."

Liz leaned back against the counter, crossed her arms over her chest and nodded her chin over Caroline's shoulder. "Interesting blanket you have there."

She craned her head around to look at the fabric draped over her shoulders. Leaping up and back from her stool, she shrugged it off with a little shriek of outrage.

Caroline stared at the jacket.

Liz stared at Caroline.

"I threw bespoke menswear on the floor."

"How do you know it was bespoke?"

"It's really well-tailored." And he should have taken it with him, but Klaus had a talent for doing something irritating and sweetening her reaction with an outer layer of good intentions. "He always looks great in a suit."

The only noise in the kitchen was the coffee pot's sudden loud end-gurgles. It broke her out of her trance. She snatched up the jacket and straightened with a dramatic flounce.

"You did that on purpose!" she gasped and pointed at her mother. "Pre-coffee interrogation! Sanctions!"

"There are no sanctions in motherhood." Liz moved deftly around the room, microwaving a half-full mug of blood while she doctored her own coffee, and then topping the blood off from the pot. "It's no-holds-barred when it comes to daughters with questionable taste in dates."

Caroline picked up her bloody coffee when Liz slid it across the island and sipped at it, sighing in relief. She glanced up through her lashes.

"He moved to New Orleans."

"I know." Liz went from mom-mode to sheriff face again. "I came home after a very long day at work to what I hoped was going to be Cá Kho Tộ and a little time with my grown-up baby. What I found was my only child fast asleep on my couch with the formerly local psychopath."

"Did he...was he--" Caroline shifted forward, rocking uncomfortably on her stool, shoulders hunching forward and up. "He promised he'd try to be nice if he ran into you."

Liz coughed, choking a bit on the mouthful of coffee she'd just taken. "Nice? Sure, if his usual vague threats and scathing criticism of my parenting are how he defines nice."

"That might actually be true." She winced, squinting. "You can't really apply normal people logic to him. Believe me, everything gets all turned around if you try."

The early morning outside was so quiet, post-grad quiet melding with post-war stupor. The closest sounds were so distant, like they weren't on the same planet as this one comfortable room in the house she'd lived in for most of her life and the uncomfortable conversation Klaus had triggered.

"I don't like the way you make excuses for his behavior," Liz finally said. "It's not like you and that makes me very nervous."

"I'm not making excuses, Mom," Caroline snapped. "It actually took me a long time to start trying to understand why he reacts the way he does and what he really means. It's not like--"

She snapped her mouth shut, teeth clicking together before she could finish what was going to be an undeniably nasty jab at her parents' marriage. But what words could make her mother understand something Caroline herself was still working out?

Klaus was a personality so enormous, it was difficult to look away from him. When they first met, he ate up all the oxygen in any space he occupied until she was lightheaded and nothing made sense. He was overwhelming and frightening, and there were touch-and-go moments when his dubious modernity slipped, and the decaying warlord took control.

But then he tried to kill her, because she hurt his feelings—crushed them, really. She didn't like remembering that part. She'd been so certain he was playing some sick game of cat-and-mouse with her, never realizing she was cracking his ribs open, wrapping her spidery-fingered fist around the ancient, groaning machinery of his heart and mashing it into paste.

How did she explain that to her Mystic Falls mother? Born and raised in Virginia, never had much desire to leave. Put aside softer interests, a gentler life, because her husband didn't want to be a cop (or a politician or a salesman or a husband or a dad or present in general), but a Forbes was always sheriff. Liz might have married into the name, but if there was one thing Caroline inherited from her mother, it was the immovable belief that there was a correct way to do things, and that way was their way.

She could never explain how nerdy he could be. Hesitant and sweet and desperate for her approval. How observant he was of her minute flinches and little joys, determinedly navigating everything she tried to hide. The way he congratulated her petty accomplishments, the things she worked hard for, and was so careful when he complimented her appearance, because he knew Caroline, you’re beautiful, but if you don’t stop talking, I will kill you still skittered across her nerves. He fed her expensive chocolate and the most delicious honey-tongue Malbec, bullied her out of her accidental vampire starvation diet, and made sure she didn't have to rely on the Salvatores for blood bags. Always knew when she wasn’t sleeping well and learned to defuse the resulting emotional outbursts.

Liz would never see him huddled and terrified, slick with sick sweat and hallucinating. The way he clung to Caroline to steady himself through the panic and pain, even when they were screaming at each other. Her mother would never understand what a gift his honesty was, even when he was old-old-old-fashioned and more than a little creepy. That he saw kindness and mercy as debasement, but he subjected himself to showing it, let it leave pockmarks in his pride. For her. All for her.

How could she explain that this man who terrorized and manipulated and destroyed sometimes felt so small when she wrapped her arms around him?

"He murdered twelve witches, even though he knew it would trigger the apocalypse, because he didn't want me to be sad," was what came out of her mouth.

Of course.

[cartoonsinthemorning]

Since you guys liked Marcille as Kermit that much, it seems fitting to thank you for my 12k milestone with MORE Kercille. And this time, Miss Falin is also here.

Thank you so much again everybody! MWAH 💗

[anna-scribbles]

so this summer i am nannying a 5 year old who loves miraculous ladybug (my dream) & every day she asks if we can play ladybug and chat noir at the park. these are some comics based on our various games<3

[boltlightning]

when a brit is playing an american and it's getting really emotional and the actor is holding onto those hard r sounds by their fuckin fingernails

[elodieunderglass]

hi. what do you mean

[erabu-san]

Rizz fail

[kenobihater]

after literal years i finally got around to downloading a pdf of the wipers times, an unsancitioned satitical british trench magazine circulated among the troops in france from 1916-1918 after the fortuitous discovery of a printing press. i have approximately five million other things i need to read so idk when i'll be able to devote much time to it, and i gotta pick up a proper copy bc it's missing at least salient no 4 vol 2. that said? i'm genuinely laughing at what i've skimmed so far

[writeouswriter]

People sorting ao3 solely by stats and only clicking on fics with a certain amount of kudos or comments, you will not survive the winter, nor the summer, nor at all, *brings out knife,* run

[bet-on-me-13]

Amity is a Dimensional Dump

So! Amity Park is a hub of weirdness of all sorts, mostly undead, but there are also a bunch of Multiversal oddities connected to the small town.

There are the minor anomalies. 5th Street has a bad habit of slipping into the Backrooms, Old Lady Jenkin's House sometimes has snow in summer, and of course the Night Sky had a 20% chance of swapping views to another Galaxy. Danny likes that one a lot.

But the biggest Anomaly is how many Multiversal Travellers get lost there.

They are always finding somebody wandering the streets with no idea where they are, and have to help them find their reality of origin. Other times they decide to stay for various reasons, ranging from a bad home life to being the only survivors of a Dead Universe. Half of the population if Amity was made up of the descendants of Lost Travelers, so their DNA was really a mixed bag.

Danny was flying over town when he spotted a Blur on the ground below.

He flew down to intercept, and found a boy in red and yellow panicking over his situation.

"Hey! Can I help you?" He called out.

The boy looked up, and gasped "Are you a Hero? I need help getting back to the Justice League!"

Danny chuckled, "Which one?"

The boy looked confused, "The Adult One? I guess?"

"Not what I meant, sorry. I mean, which Dimension are you from?" He clarified.

"Dimensions? What is going on!?" He shouted.

"Okay, let's calm down and restart. My name is Danny, who are you?" He introduced himself.

The boy took a deep breath, calming himself, before saying, "Okay, my name is Kid Flash, but you can just call me Wally."

[damian-lil-babybat]

They're judging their sibling's life decisions, and they are not impressed.

(And to think Jason and Dami have pit-madness in their system)

[blluespirit]

there are so many amazing and powerful benders in atla but what i love about zuko is that whether or not he can use his bending in that moment has zero (0) bearing on how much he’s going to absolutely kick your ass. no bending? that’s fine - he’s got swords. no swords or bending? that’s fine - he’s literally just going to beat you up. if you’re REALLY unlucky then you get all three. as a treat.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 271

“Grandmother is visiting,” Damian suddenly said with no warning and with his usual not-quite demanding tone. 

“Who?” Tim wasn’t the only one to startle, seeing as Bruce had practically froze, a downturn to his lips in a silent show of confusion. 

Damian scowled. “Are you deaf Drake? Grandmother is coming to Gotham to, quote, make sure I am being properly cared for.” None of them had known that Ras was with anyone actually. At least Tim was pretty sure that would have been in the files. 

“Oh?” Dick didn’t quite crouch to Damian’s height but it was a near thing. “She-” “He,” Damian corrected, interrupting him. They all exchanged a glance before Dick continued. 

“Is he coming to the Manor or…” 

Damian scoffed again, a tiny bit of a flush against his face. “No, Grandmother will most likely be staying with Akhi-”

Now wait one moment-

“YOU HAVE ANOTHER BROTHER?!” 

[art-is-kayos]

I see why people do MS paint rage doodles this is really great

[lucabyte]

i feel like people are sleeping on the occam's razor situation of how buckwild it is to outright accuse a guy of being a clone of your friend even if you DO have a lot of circumstantial evidence. there's other options is what im saying. they could just be like. a guy. that's a sensible deduction. you should explore that deduction. ignore my shirt that reads I <3 RED HERRINGS.

i still think odile has the correct theory on lock but she's smart enough to know it needs like... a real smoking gun to be able to bring it up without sounding insane.

anyway. (mirabelle voice) i know its rude to speculate but has anyone else noticed the grieving? they seem to be grieving. does anyone have any thoughts on the grieving? i have some thoughts on the grieving.

[massive-isopod]

I don't think we talk enough about Ryunosukes cunty little hip when he's pacing in front of the jury. Utterly bewitching.

[shinynewmemories]

Listen to me Suzanne Collins did not have to give Katniss and Peeta a history before the games. She did NOT have to do that. She could have just had their story begin when Peeta's name was called. She could have had them be total strangers until the moment of the reaping.

Like: "And the boy tribute is... Peeta Mellark!" Katniss: Who's that? Or she could have made them vaguely familiar with each other! Peeta's name is called and Katniss just thinks, Oh, I know that name! He's in my class, actually. Poor boy... Anyway!

Either way, SC could have written the rest of the story exactly the same! I think many authors would have done that! Because if Peeta's purpose in the book was to be Gale's competition, to be one of the 3 corners of a love triangle, THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE WAY TO DO IT!! But that's NOT how she did it because that's NOT what Peeta is.

And who is he? To Katniss, Peeta's someone who saved her and her family and received nothing in return except a beating. Peeta's someone she has had her eye on but has never worked up the courage to talk to. Peeta's someone she associates with kindness and hope. And all this before the start of the events of the book! Just because WE, the READERS, met Gale before Peeta and immediately felt a connection with him does NOT mean that was Katniss's experience! And that's what SC is trying to tell us!

To dismiss Katniss and Peeta's past as unimportant or inconsequential compared to whatever Katniss and Gale have in the present is to fundamentally misunderstand Katniss as a character and, as a result, condemn oneself to never fully understand the choices she makes in the future.

Suzanne Collins wrote it that way on purpose because she had something to say. And no one will ever be able to convince me that something wasn't "It was always going to be Peeta".