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firelxdykatara · 4 years ago

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not gonna lie I would love to hear more about the drama and infighting that went on in The Vampire Diaries fandom if you have the time (and also want to use that time to give your experience with the fandom, which from the snippets you've told sounds Not Fun so I get it if you don't want to lol)

oh god, there was like, SO MUCH, i just

i really feel like tvd is one of those fandoms that is so hard to describe without a lot of ‘you’d have to have been there’, but it really felt like this huge and all-consuming beast for about five years until the show finally imploded and the fandom basically turned on it en masse. (you ever see that post going around that’s like ‘if you ever want to know what true regret feels like, ask someone who once called tvd their favorite show’? still a mood, all these years later. basically the entire fandom thought the show should have just bowed out with whatever shreds of dignity it had left at the end of season 6, and became more of a hatedom than a fandom for the last two seasons. when you have an entire fandom cheering news of your show’s cancellation, i think that’s a sign you done fucked up, julie.)

first and most infamous, of course, are the ship wars. which are pretty much inevitable in any teen-centered drama, and i really think the CW fucking thrives on them, but it was particularly egregious in TVD’s case because not only was the base premise of the show a love triangle, but the two main romantic leads were brothers that the show constantly pit against one another--in pursuit of elena’s affections, but also because it kept up this insistence on the ‘good brother/bad brother’ dichotomy which stopped making sense after about season 2 (by which time we have found out that the good brother was never as good as he appeared, and the bad brother has been growing and isn’t nearly as bad as he pretends to be)--and the question of which brother ‘deserved’ elena (and no, what elena wanted very rarely factored into these discussions, especially in the team stefan camp because they turned on her when what she wanted was no longer The Good Brother, but i’ll get to that in a bit) was hotly contested.

i’m not kidding when i say the shipping wars were vicious. i started watching tvd shortly after it began to air, which was late 2009, and kept up with it fairly sporadically over the years. i didn’t come onto tumblr until 2011/2012, and by then, the fandom was already pretty much a garbagefire. there were anti ship and anti character blogs, any time something bad happened for one ship the rival ship would invade the tags to gloat about it (seasons 3 and 4 were especially rough, and i’m not gonna pretend delena fans weren’t just as bad about tag invasion and shit, but as that was my side of the road i saw a lot more of the stelena shippers being assholes, which soured my opinion on the ship a long time before i started rewatching and realized the red flags were there from the start), confessions blogs were popular also toxic as fuck (so much fighting happened in the notes of those posts, good gods), and this was right around when twitter’s popularity was on the rise and the line between Celebrity and Fan was thinning, so the fandom was absolutely atrocious to much of the tvd cast and crew.

(some of them deserved a lot of the later backlash, but in the early years a lot of it was ‘how dare you write the story in a way i dont like, you terrible fucking person’, and gods don’t get me started on the dobsley vs nian Thing)

i think what really encapsulates my feelings on the tvd fandom as a whole, though, is the way they (to this DAY) treated elena gilbert, which can be summed up in one meme that gained a lot of traction around season 3 if i remember right: that gif of pam from true blood, with the text altered to read ��i’m so OVER elena and her precious doppelganger vagina!”

i swear at one time i had over half the active tvd fan accounts on tumblr blocked, because i got to a point where i would no longer tolerate elena hate, and she was (and still is, in what remains of the fandom; you’ll see a lot of ‘elena was one of the worst things about the show’ takes from ex-fans, too) one of the most widely despised characters in the entire fandom. because she -checks smudged writing on hand- was a traumatized teenage girl who -reads off a crumpled notecard- couldn’t always perfectly sort out her own feelings and -squints at the ceiling- sometimes made mistakes or bad decisions. (except a lot of the fandom also insisted that she was a mary sue who had no character traits or flaws or faults and it was like....make up your fucking minds???? is she a calculating conniving bitch whose somehow manipulating these centuries old vampires to tie them around her little finger or is she a boring flat character with no depth and no flaws??? jfc)

there was this massive double standard, too--like, stefan and damon could fuck whoever they wanted and that was fine, but elena was constantly raked over the coals for the crime of developing romantic feelings for the two men who had become constants in her life and whom she cared for deeply, and oh my GOD the slut shaming that happened when elena slept with damon was fucking wild. (and also happened in canon lmfao. like the show had one of elena’s best friends basically call her diseased on screen for falling in love with someone other than stefan. it was gross and ridiculous and the friend in question was also being a giant hypocrite at the time since she was happily flirting with someone who was directly responsible for the deaths of like four of elena’s loved ones and her own boyfriend’s mother but that’s beside the point) but like elena was called a slut and a bitch and a whore for ‘cheating’ on stefan (she hadn’t, and she had in fact broken up with him on screen the episode earlier) and ‘immediately’ jumping into bed with damon, even though none of them said fucking boo when stefan had one night stands or damon had fuckbuddies or whatever.

shit, caroline didn’t get any of this treatment when she started falling for tyler while dating matt! which isn’t to say i think she should have, just that i think it’s fucking ridiculous that elena was absolutely demonized by the fandom for daring to have feelings for two guys at once and eventually acting on them--despite the fact that the entire premise of the show was a love triangle. it’s not a love triangle if both sides don’t eventually get explored, and the crew had been pretty explicit about the fact that delena was going to happen at some point--but when it did, a huge chunk of the fandom absolutely threw a fit.

and a lot of these elena haters were alleged stelena stans, and i say alleged because they hated her so much for not wanting stefan’s dick anymore that it was clear they were really stefan stans and only wanted stelena to be endgame because they wanted stefan to ‘win’ at the end of the day, because ‘he’s the good brother’ so he deserved elena more.

it was all very gross and very misogynistic and very sex shaming (apparently delena was a ‘shallow’ and ‘superficial’ relationship because they had sex after two years of unrequited feelings slowly becoming requited and then pining for ages on both sides, and because they had a lot of on screen chemistry that the show capitalized on for years so of course they did a lot of making out and shit but it’s not like stelena didn’t have its fair share of making out and sex scenes, stefan was just too much of a coward to let elena top i’d apologize for that joke but i’m really not sorry because it’s true), and when i say it was egged on by the crew, that’s because they refused to let the love triangle die back in season 4 when it should have.

they insisted on stringing stelena fans along, dropping little bread crumbs to keep them invested, like dreams of a future where they were married and revealing that stefan was also a doppelganger and he and elena were descended from a pair of star-crossed lovers (a plot that ultimately went nowhere, to no one’s great surprise), and then fucking like. julie plec turned around and threw nina under the bus after she chose not to extend her contract and pretended that stelena might have happened again if she hadn’t left the show, which....i mean frankly i wouldn’t put it past her, but it would have been shitty writing. then again, she thought having a vampire pregnancy where a uterus was magically transplanted from a witch into a vampire that could somehow......carry the babies to term.... made sense and was a good way to accomodate candice’s RL pregnancy rather than like literally ANYTHING else, soooooo. but anyway julie saying that around like, end of s6 sparked off a new wave of nina hate and elena hate and ship wars bc they SEers took it as ‘confirmation’ that stelena was REALLY meant to be endgame and it was all just a hot fucking mess

another thing is that, while tvd was in its prime before the anti/purity culture shit started picking up any real steam, there was still this pervasive attitude throughout the fandom that if you liked Damon, you were A Bad Person. liking damon was apparently grounds for insults and harassment, and apparently he was The Worst Person on the Show even though literally nothing he does on screen is any worse than shit we know stefan has done (and frankly every other vampire too, but i mention stefan specifically because he was always held up--in the show but especially in the fandom--as the Good Brother while damon was the Bad One, and if you liked damon more then that had to mean your morals were dodgy and you clearly couldn’t appreciate what a heroic and saintly figure dear stefan was and....oops, i’m sorry, my salt keeps leaking -cough-).

meanwhile klaus quickly became a fandom darling despite not even really having much of a redemption arc (on tvd anyway, he just became more ‘affably evil’ as the show went on and more inclined to work with the main characters rather than try to kill them; i have no idea what went on over on his show, though), and like i can 100% appreciate liking villains and not caring that they do dodgy villainous shit, even just liking them bc they’re hot and wanting them to kiss a main character bc they have insanely good chemistry (yes i ship klaroline, no i won’t apologize for it, they could have been Really Great), it’s just really the double standard that gets me.

and all of this, incidentally, required ignoring some truly gross shit stefan was responsible for wrt his relationship with elena, that frankly it has always bothered me never really got addressed in the show. i get why elena herself would never be able to actually call him on it, but the fact is that he stalked her for months after he first saw her and thought she was katherine (meanwhile it only took damon .5 seconds to realize she was someone else entirely, but that’s another topic entirely), and then he deliberately inserted himself into her life because, in his words, ‘i have to know her’. he never gave a thought to how his presence in her life might affect her (or rather, he did, and tormented himself about it in his internal monologue, but never let this actually dissuade him from disrupting her life), and elena would wind up blaming herself for every tragedy that befell her friends and loved ones as a result of getting mixed up in vampire bullshit even though none of it was her fault--she literally blamed herself for existing but most of the fandom didn’t give a fuck about that lmfao--and stefan did shit like find out that she was adopted and then withhold this information from her until she got pissed about another secret he was keeping (her resemblence to katherine) and drop it on her to try and distract her from her very reasonable anger, and like... i should stop before this becomes a whole rant about how much i hate stefan fucking salvatore, but the point is, he did a lot of really sketchy shit he never answered for and elena never really took him to task for, and the fandom just kept eating up his insistence that he was the Good Brother and therefore he deserved to have elena, and if she didn’t want him anymore it was because she was a heinous bitch who didn’t deserve him.

uh.....i think i got off track there. and there’s probably a lot of shit i missed, like i think i was incandescent with rage for most of seasons 5 and 6 so i missed a lot of the interfandom shit cause i was too busy being increasingly pissed off at the show itself, but if nothing else this should give you an idea of how much of a goddamn cesspit the fandom was while the show as in its prime. there’s a reason both the show and the fandom have such a lousy reputation lmfao.

#the vampire diaries #tvd #tvd fandom salt #anti stefan #anti stelena #salt for ts #asked #Anonymous

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scribbleb-red · 5 years ago

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Neil is a lying liar who lies AU

A Morning AU - with a fab prompt from @djhedy

There’s a new boy in Andrew’s class and there’s something not quite right about him. He’s mouthy and sharp, the kinda kid that should end up in detention three times a week but never does.

They are seven years old, though the new kid looks five, with eyes like a wide open sky.

He is very pretty - that’s why Andrew notices him first - he looks like a fairy prince.

And it’s because Andrew is watching that he notices though: the kid is a big bad lying liar who lies.

The day he joined, the kid said his name was ‘Stefan’ to Mrs Stewart and ‘Chris’ to Mr Brasenose. The next day he was just ‘Neil’ and was given a fond, exasperated warning to keep his make believe in the playground.

But the kid didn’t stop lying.

Some lies were big and others were small.

On a Tuesday, Neil announced that he’d had a huge feast for breakfast - listing all the foods and making everyone’s mouth water with the descriptions. (But Andrew saw how he winced nd held his stomach like it was empty.)

On a Thursday, Neil said he grew up in England and proceeded to spend the next week speaking in a post English accent. (But he later admits at lunch it was just a couple months).

On a Friday, Neil whispers that his house is haunted and he’s scared to go home for the weekend. (There’s a little too much truth shining through those eyes as he talks about the ghost in his house. Andrew doesn’t doubt that he’s scared of something).

The following Monday, Neil explains his bruises by saying he spent the week learning to skateboard.

“My cousin visited and let me use her skate board. It was pretty rad.”

(Andrew eyes the split lip, it could be true. But then he sees the hand shape around Neil’s thin wrist and knows the truth: it’s a lie.)

Through it all, Andrew is very quiet and very alone. He knows how this goes - he’s seven years old with more cracks in his heart than a fifty year romantic - but he kinda enjoys Neil’s lies and how he gets away with them.

He particularly likes the outrageous ones:

My father parachuted into Paris because he’s a spy. He died landing on the Eiffel Tower. I once wrestled a monster. I won but it stole all my mom’s apples. I’m telling the truth. My tongue goes green when I lie. I met Kevin Day.

Andrew won’t pretend he’s not intrigued. He thinks Neil is interesting and his lies are ones he can often hold in the dark, imagining over and over when he’s hurt and wishing to be anyone, anywhere but here.

Plus Neil is funny - he always snarks at the teachers and gets away with the most ridiculous things. Other kids always want to play with him because his games are brilliant - epic journeys, castles and wizards, magical tigers, patchwork villains made from the skin of children.

Some of Neil’s tall tales are part fairytales, part nightmares. And Andrew isn’t sure which part Neil actually belongs to. There are times where he’s the brightest, prettiest boy on the playground. And times where his eyes are haunted, mouth wicked cruel. And then there are times like today, where Neil is quiet and blank - a little too familiar to what Andrew sees in the mirror these days, looking like someone has scooped out his insides and left nothing but darkness behind in its wake.

Andrew almost talks to him then.

Almost.

But he doesn't. Not for another few weeks. Not until Neil's facing down Greg Doyle - the fight has the vibe of a hissing kitten against a rottweiler.

There's no way Neil can win. Greg is a third grader and big beside.

But Neil doesn't look scared. He looks ferocious.

Not that appearances are going to help. Neil could have the sharpest claws of them all and he'd still weigh nothing against Greg. Neil dodges and ducks the first few blows. He snipes and snarks, that liar's mouth rattling off stories of how he took down a SWAT team once.

But dumb luck can’t do everything and finally Greg gets a thump in, straight across Neil’s jaw - hard enough to make him stagger.

"So much for a SWAT team, fucking liar."

There are gasps at the bad word from the growing first and second grade audience.

"Tongue turns green," Neil says. He spits out blood.

Andrew's had enough when he sees the blood.

Neil might be an idiot but Andrew knows that there's no way to win this one on alone He steps forward and puts himself between Neil and Greg.

"Oooo who's this, your boyfriend?"

Andrew would roll his eyes, but can't be bothered. He is the tallest kid in their year at nearly 4'5. He can look the nine year old Greg in the eye without trouble and he can see the bigger kid calculating his chances of taking Andrew on instead of the skinny little creature that was Neil "motor mouth" Josten.

"Back off," he says. He doesn't inflect. He watched a cartoon where a character spoke completely flat and it was really scary so he figures this might make Greg cower too. "Leave him alone."

Greg nearly steps into Andrew's space but someone has started a whisper:

Andrew Doe is the kid who killed his parents. Andrew Doe is the kid that burned a house down. Andrew Doe is the kid who took on Bertie Becker from fifth grade and flushed his head down the loo.

It's the last one that gives away the source of these rumours - Neil has started a chain of Chinese whispers. And Greg hears them swirling from mouth to mouth, ear to ear, each more terrifying than the last. It makes Andrew want to grin, so he does. Greg actually whimpers.

The crowd laughs when Greg runs away - he can’t save face when he’s fleeing from a first grader.

Andrew feels triumphant.

Especially when Neil steps up beside him, shy smile and summer sky eyes. “Thanks Andrew.”

Neil Josten knows his name, Andrew thinks. Wow wow wow.

Neil’s mouth is swollen but he’s still the prettiest boy in the playground so Andrew doesn’t say anything.

“Want to play a game?” Neil says.

Andrew shrugs.

“Yes or no?” Neil says again. “I won’t force you but I’d like to play with you to if you’d like to play with me.”

Andrew thinks about it before saying yes.

It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

They start with games - make believe quests and imaginary journeys. They visit magical worlds in their heads and fall about laughing when one of them (mostly Andrew) doesn’t break character even for class.

They become inseparable - two boys with home lives full of ghosts but dreams that can take them anywhere. The lying liar is the better story teller but the stoic hero a better actor. And sometimes in games they hide their truths - violent families and horrifying pasts.

Neil shows Andrew his scars, “I sometimes say they’re from a shark or ninjas and stuff but...”

“That’s from an iron.”

“Yeah.”

In turn, Andrew tells Neil about his foster family.

“We could poison him,” Neil says. “I heard we can make poison from apple cores. Applesenic or something.”

If only it were that simple.

It happens just before the end of the year - summer is nearly there and Andrew can only imagine how fun it'll be having a friend to adventure with for the first time. And then he finds out that his foster family is getting rid of him. He'll be packed off at the end of term.

"I think mom and I will move too," Neil admits. "We never hang around anywhere long."

"Because of your dad?"

"Yeah..." Neil plays with the hem of his t-shirt. "He's in prison but mom is still terrified. She moves us a lot."

"Maybe you can move to the same place as me."

They pretend that the world isn't going to split them apart.

They pretend that they're going to have the summer together.

And the year after.

That they'll start middle school together.

And be best friends all the way to the end of high school.

And go to the same college.

"We could play exy together all the way through," Neil says. It's his new obsession.

"I'm not going to play stickball. I prefer playing games with you."

"We can play games on the court. You can be the fierce dragon and I'll be the knight that looks after you."

"You'd steal all my dragon gold."

"Would not."

Andrew raises one eyebrow.

"Okay, yes I would. I'd be the knight trying to take your gold. But I'd be sneaky about it." Neil's laughter is high and bright. "Does that mean you'll play with me?"

"Yeah okay," Andrew says.

But it doesn't work out that way.

Neil vanishes like sun behind a mountain the day after term ends.

Andrew's bags are packed. He's dumped in a new home near the beach. He hates the beach. He misses Neil the way his lungs miss oxygen when he's stuck in the swell of a wave.

He does play exy though.

He does it because he figures one day he'll find Neil on a court too.

He'll either face him down or by some miracle they'll be on the same team.

He'll find Neil again. He will.

He tells himself this every day.

Even when it feels like a lie.

Something like an epilogue

Years pass before Andrew hears anything about the little boy who - for two semesters when he was seven - was his best friend. So many years that if it weren't for one polaroid from a cheeky arcade photo-booth, he might have let the idea of Neil go.

But he keeps the photo with him - through home after home, through Cass and Drake and juvie and Aaron and Nicky. He hides it in books, folds it into pockets. Makes sure to hold onto Neil and the memories of those few happy months.

He plays exy. Keeps track of other teams and their players. The sport does nothing for him - but sometimes he closes his eyes and imagines Neil with his flashing blue eyes mischievous smile and that long ago conversation. He remembers why he's doing this.

At 13, he asks Pig Higgins to do a search on Neil's name but the policeman refuses.

At 14, he goes through the entire directory for California and when that's exhausted, he starts searching every state from West to East.

He calls 362 Jostens across the USA. None are Neil.

When he turns 16, he uses a fake and has two small dragons outlined on the top of his left shoulder.

When he's 17 he meets Riko and Kevin Day. He remembers Neil once saying he'd met Kevin and wonders if that was true or just one of Neil's many many lies. He turns the Ravens down.

He signs two weeks later with the Palmetto State Foxes - taking his brother and cousin with him.

He watches as the lists of drafted players on other teams go up. There's no Chris or Stefan or Abram - not with the matching face Andrew wants. There's no sign of a Neil Josten.

Andrew smooths out the photo at night, slipping it between the pages of Whitman's Leaves of Grass every morning.

Maybe it's time to put the memory of Neil to rest, but he can't.

Neil is one of those beautiful ghosts that he can't help but hold onto. The one unspoilt thing in his memory.

Unspoilt, that is, until a Monday when Kevin Day announces he's recruiting a nobody from a nothing town in the middle of nowhere Arizona and the nobody's name is Neil.

"Neil what?"

"Josten. Want to see his tape?"

"Nope," Andrew says. But his heart is a thunderdrum, hope cutting through the medicated hyper mania easy as a knife through butter. "Actually yes, gimme the tapes little birdie."

Kevin grimaces at his nickname but says nothing until they’re watching the tape. And then he can’t shut up about the player’s potential, his speed and natural flare on the Court.

It's not Andrew’s Neil.

But it is too.

The striker on the court is a brunette with dark eyes but he runs like Neil. He's ferocious and plays like it's the last thing keeping him afloat. He has that little flick of his racquet before he goes to score, a telltale that would never get passed Andrew but no one else seemed to have noticed.

Andrew says as much to Kevin.

"Exactly," Kevin says. "That's why we have to have him."

So they go to Millport.

And Andrew knows Neil well enough to anticipate that he'll run.

Knows him well enough to trip him with a racquet and catch him as he falls.

Neil hasn't grown much either - he's still small and sharp and far too pretty to be real.

"Stupid little liar, you should watch where you put your feet." Andrew wishes he were sober. Wishes he didn't have to greet Neil with this grin splitting his face.

Wishes wishes wishes.

But his one wish has already come true, Neil is here with him. Warm and lithe and alive.

"Drew?" Neil says, but the word is choked and breathless. Neil’s voice does something to Andrew’s insides and Andrew feels the muscles beneath his hands warring between flight and relief.

"Neil," he replies.

"Oh my god, Drew."

And then Neil's arms are around Andrew's shoulders, and his face is turning into his neck and Andrew realises they're hugging and he shouldn't want to hug back but he does. He does because it's Neil. His friend. His pipe dream. The little boy with the pathological need to lie and an imagination that could create whole worlds from a handful of dust.

He hugs Neil tight.

Never wants to let go.

Kevin of course ruins the moment.

But Neil isn't going to say no to the Foxes. Not now.

And even though Andrew can recognise the lies slipping passed Neil's lips, he doesn't tell Wymack. Doesn't call out his idiot's new ouchies. Doesn't answer any questions when Kevin demands answers.

"Sign," he speaks only to Neil. He means, Stay with me. "We can play a game. Yes or no?"

"Yes," Neil says and his smile is a little wild, a lot wonderful. "Let's play a game."

The End.

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1jemmagirl22 · 4 years ago

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Retconning, a shippers lifeline

Okay so let me just start by saying i can’t be the only one who thinks this. for those who don’t know what retconning is it means when you creatively decided to ignore pieces of cannon and pretend they didn't happen. i wish this was only fan used but certain shows, books, and films like to use it in cannon. I’m looking at you Riverdale.

But in the context of fans and more specifically shippers retconning is an extremely helpful tool. I find it really sad that i have to retcon literally all of my favorite telivision shows except for Agents of Shield (Currently there are still some that haven’t finished or that i have yet to finish) because they end in horrible ways.

The best example in general is Once Upon a Time. i promise i’m not the only one who completely disregards season 7. literally i can not tell you three plot points from that season i hate it so much.

Than there is the Vampire Diaries. i like to say 4x23 ended right before Silas pushed Stefan into he water and nothing and i mean nothing after that is cannon. (with the exception of the Klaroline smut in 5x11) because i can again not tell you three plot points from later seasons.

That lead to the Originals. which somehow happens to be my second favorite show even though i literally ret con everything in it and like to look at it as a AU fanfiction. and the worst part is i wouldn’t even do that if the original ending for the show had been kept and Klaus hadn’t died. seriously if us Klaroline shippers had been left with an open ending and Klaus alive and breathing i would have forgiven half the horrors and not retconned it.

This again leads into Legacies which is even worse than the Originals because it blatantly ignores key character traits in Caroline, Rebekah, Freya, Marcel, Kol, even freaking Bonnie just to simply keep them out of the show. even worse again Hope who is shown to be so OP she can undo a spell cast by the hollow at the age of freaking seven is taken down multiple times by people far less powerful. Not to mention that flat out retcon the twins age to make them the same age as Hope. At this point Legacies is so horrible i just want Caroline to come back and die so i can see her and Klaus in one of those amazing mystical afterlife sequences the CW is so fond of (Olicity gets one so should Klaroline).

And then there is Riverdale. i can safely say as a Bughead shipper i jus ignore many many many things and at this point have just decided to either end the show’s cannon at season 2 or 3 depending on my mood at the time.

And the tip of the retconning ice berg, Grey’s Anatomy. let me say just end. please i’m serious end. seventeen seasons and it’s still running. what’s even worse is anything after season 12 is nearly in watchable, which disappoints me considering i love Amelia and Link. if the quality over all isn’t bad enough the characters and ships are. anything introduced after the season ten finale is iffy at best. i mean seriously Cristina leaving was a stretch but the season twelve final was my finale straw. personally i end Grey’s at three separate points depending on my ship. Season 8 right before the crash (for Slexie shipping). Season 10 finale (for April shipping). And somewhere a couple episodes into season 12 (for Joalex shipping).

And than there is my personal favorite one stop retcon Quantico. i ship Shelby and Caleb to the point of top twelve on my ship list and yet they string us with hope only to tear it away. seasons 2 and three never happened it ended after 1 and they are happy with children, no one can change my mind.

I mean seriously the fact that shows like Grey’s retcon complete character arcs (Alex). Riverdale that flat out forgets entire plot lines (Betty actually being a Serpent sense mid way season 2). And Legacies retconning entire casts every which way simply for plot convenience is ridiculous. And to make Legacies even worse if they were going to retcon anyway they might as well have sent Klaus and Caroline off to travel the world because if Caroline doesn't show for her daughters, and Marcel doesn’t show for his sister after what has happened in barely 32 episodes Klaus off on a unreachable track through some ancient mountains for magical merge cures can be easily done.

#the originals #the vampire diaries #legacies #riverdale #grey's anatomy #once upon a time #klaroline #slexie #joalex #kolvina #bughead #shaleb #japril #they deserved better #cannon sucks #retconning

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volturi-or-die · 5 years ago

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Crazed: Chapter 2- Losses

Previous Chapter: Chapter 1- Trials

Next Chapter: Chapter 3- WIP

Point of View: Minalia

Word Count: 1858

Warnings: Explicit language

Crack.

The branch underneath me gave way, sending me backwards into the ground below. I attempted to maneuver myself into a crouching position, but it seemed fate wasn’t on my side. I hit the ground on my side, hard.

“SHIT.”

Alec looked at me, completely unphased by what just happened. This was only the 20th time I tried to practice this move, and failed. I readjusted myself to lay on my back and placed a hand on the rib that was slightly fractured. I waited for a few minutes until it was back to normal then got up.

“Again.”

“Alec it’s not working.”

“Again.” He was disinterested in my attempts to reason with him. In the days we had been here, we had gone through multiple theories to trigger a transformation but none were effective. We tried everything from meditation to Alec’s ridiculous time of day theory a few days ago, nothing was working. Two weeks and no results.

I spotted another tree I could practice on. Maybe the 21st time would be the charm? Alec’s latest idea involved tapping into animal instincts, or as I liked to put it, becoming one with the cat. Needless to say, Alec didn’t find that quip funny either.

Our relationship was different now. The softness and kindness from that night wasn’t there anymore. I thought, maybe, just maybe, we would actually become friends, but I was wrong. The Alec I knew that saved me left, replaced by the one I believed to detest my very being. He resented me. He was here, far away from his own life, his own family, to help save mine.

I was so lost in my thoughts that my foot slipped as I climbed up, and once again I was flat on the ground.

“Minalia are you even trying?”

Oh that was it. Of course I was trying. This was my life that I was fighting for. He didn’t have anything to lose in any of this, just maybe his pride. In all honesty he could afford to lose some of it. I wasn’t going to stand here and be disrespected like this. Yes, I was failing, but not through any fault of my own.

“Yeah I’m trying you total jackass.” At that he turned to look at me, a tinge of shock present. Finally. I got his attention. “You heard me. I don’t need to put up with this, or with you and your stupid condescending attitude.”

By this point I was up and looking up at him.

“Fine, then I do not need to put any more effort into training you,” he snarled.

“Oh right because me falling out of a tree over and over again is definitely training.”

“It would be if you could actually land.”

He really was an insufferable jackass sometimes. I didn’t have to put up with this, nor was I going to. I turned around from him and began to walk away.

“Where are you going?” he called out after me.

“Away from you!” I picked up the pace to a full sprint and began making my way through trees. I caught the scent of the sea breeze and made my way towards the beach. With an island so small, I wanted as much space from Alec as possible. I slowed to take my shoes off before going into the water.

I stood there letting my body soak up the sun. I just wanted to scream, let all the anger go, but that would only summon Alec to me. So instead I did the next best thing; I cried.

The waves sprayed water all over me as the tears felt. Why could I not get a grip on my transformation? How was this even possible? Jacob could transform on the whim and turn back so easily, yet here I was failing at the first before I could even fail at the second. It was so easy that night, so easy to give myself over.

I remember the feeling of my paws in the dirt, the musky smell of the vampires around, sounds of heartbeats. It wasn’t me. It was an animal. I died and in my place there was a creature. I woke up to my body being that creature’s body. The voice didn’t wake me up, it woke up a beast.

That was the last time I heard it too, that voice of warning. Maybe that was for the better. Stupid thing only caused me trouble anyways. It caused me more troubles than those damned nightmares I was having too. If only Renesmee were here. She could help me with them in a heartbeat.

I wondered how Ness was doing. What was Emmett up to? I missed them. I missed going rafting with Ness. I missed watching movies with Jasper. I missed cooking with Esme. I missed painting with Rosalie. I missed them all. That was my family. I needed to live for them. I needed to keep trying for them. I couldn’t fail them.

I had to keep trying.

My outfit was soaked now, the salt water making my skin itchy. I willed myself to get out of the water and go back to the house. It was a relatively large property for being the only one on the island. Alec explained to me when we arrived that it was only truly there for appearances, to keep people away from why a shell corporation had a private island. It did draw attention, but it was better to allow people to conclude it was a billionaire’s private getaway rather than anything else that could pique their curiosity.

Although the island’s initial purpose was for training, but not for me. It was for unruly newborns, on the very rare occasion the Volturi actually took any in. In even rarer cases, it was for hiding the kings and the wives away from danger should the compound in Volterra ever be threatened. According to Alec, the last time that happened was during the war with the Romanians.

The same ones that I met that night. Stefan was his name. I tried getting more information from Alec, but he swore he did not know why I was captured. He told me that Stefan was concerned about my death and that Renesmee was just a pawn to get me. Neither of those things I understood, and it was perhaps the one instance in which I wish Alec would’ve lied to me.

Speaking of the devil, I finally reached the main door to the house. Oh how I did not want to face the argument we would surely have. However, when I opened the door I was hit with the smell burnt...chicken? I hurried into the kitchen to see smoke coming from the oven. Alec was huddled over it fanning it with a dishcloth, his brows furrowed.

“Alec, what on earth are you even doing?” I took the cloth from him and grabbed a mitt to pull the pan out of the oven. I opened the door to the porch and placed it there and left the door open to air the kitchen out.

“I attempted to cook,” he replied, trying to keep the shame from his voice.

“I can see that. I’m asking why.”

It was clear he did not want to answer me. I gestured for him to answer me. “It was an apology. The past two weeks have not been easy on either one of us. I have not been mindful of your struggles with this, so I wanted to apologize. I have not been in this position to truly train and lead someone before, and I am sorry.”

There had to be only one explanation for this. “Did Demetri yell at you again?” Alec glared in response. I held my hands up, “Just asking. Last time that’s what happened.”

“I am perfectly capable of knowing when I should apologize.” Uhuh. So he says. But I wasn’t going to question him on that now.

“So what exactly were you trying to make?”

“It was something my mother used to cook.” His mother? I had never heard Alec speak of anyone besides Jane. In fact I did not know much of what actually occurred in Alec’s own past. I simply knew the stories how formidable his abilities were and roughly how old he was, but everything else was unknown to me.

“You remember something that detailed from your human life?”

He paused before answering, “Truthfully, no. I remember my mother and the meals Jane and I would share with her. It was something to this effect, but I do not know what it fully was.”

I wanted to tease him. I doubt Alec knew the basic thing about cooking human food. The oven being set to 500 degrees Farenheit was proof enough. I pressed the button to turn it off and faced him. This wasn’t a time to really critique him, so I hugged him. “Thank you. Does this mean you’ll listen to me now?”

He placed his arms around me to hug me back. “I will take your ideas into consideration, and if you truly believe something is not working then we shall stop.”

“That’s all I can ask for,” I replied as I loosened myself from his grasp and looked around, “Now, help me clean up the mess you made.”

We cleaned the kitchen silently. I put away the various spices he tried to use; somehow I doubted Alec’s mother used ginger during her time. In less than 10 minutes we were done.

“Are you ready to go back out and try again?” Alec asked.

I shook my head no. “Let’s try a different type of training?”

Alec looked at me curiously, “What plan do you have?”

There was a possibility he could say no to this, but it was worth a shot. “Let’s not focus on what I can’t do but just pretend I can. If I am to be an effective member of the guard, we will have to trust each other right?”

“Yes.” He seemed puzzled by where I was going with this.

“So, let’s stay in and get to know each other a little bit. I’m not asking you to divulge your deepest darkest secrets, but Alec, we can’t work together if we don’t know how we work. Two weeks secluded together doesn’t really work if we don’t really talk except when bickering.”

“That may be the most sensible thing you have ever said.” Glad to see Alec had not lost his ability to be as blunt as possible. “Very well, we shall stay inside and talk.”

“Fantastic!” I exclaimed as I grabbed his hand and led him to the living room. We spent hours talking. It was basic things, our simple interests. I learned that he liked to read most of the time, although he had a special interest in poetry. I told him of the games I liked to play with Emmett. Simple things. Small things. I learned more about him in the hours we spent talking in the entire time we had been here.

Maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t be so bad.

Tagged: @alecvolturi @volturisecretary @lamiafantasia @phil-dwyer-stan-account @janes-eyebrows

If anyone wishes to be tagged, please let me know.

#alec volturi #alec volturi imagine #the volturi #volturi #twilight fanfiction #the twilight saga #twisted series

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imaginedisish · 6 years ago

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We Don’t Deserve Love (Stefan Butler x Reader) (Bandersnatch)

A/N: MY FIRST SMUT EVER OMGGGGG!!!! GAAASSSSP! So this is based on a request someone made a short time ago. The title and parts of the imagine are based on an Arcade Fire song of the same name. Go check it out its a BOP! I figured you all deserved some smut so I WROTE ITTTT!!! I hope it’s okay. Colin fluff and Stefan fluff will be released soon! And then Donnie Darko, and then Catcher in the Rye. (Unless a request REALLY speaks to me, then things may change) Okay... ENJOY!!!

Summary: You and Stefan have your first real fight, but it ends rather well...if ya know what I mean...(aka MEGA smut AHEAD!)

Warnings: SMUUUUTTT! angst, LOTS OF LANGUAGE, au...

Word Count: 2,053 ;)

The sun sets peacefully over South London as you walk back to your flat. Oranges, purples, yellows and reds stretch across the sky, each color fighting for dominance, yet failing to do so. Instead, the colors smoothly blend together, coexisting despite their differences. Soft, thin, clouds dance in front of the vibrant colors, some trailing behind, taking on the appearance of the sky behind it, others continuing on, remaining white.

It had been such a stressful day. People in your office bothered you constantly, critiquing your most recent work. You worked as an author for a company. You loved your job, it had been your dream ever since you were a child. Unfortunately, your co-workers loved to act as though they knew everything about literature.

“I mean, this is a joke right? Come on, (Y/N), you’re practically plagiarizing Austen!” That was just one of the comments you received today.

And it was a compliment compared to all the others. You try your best to shake off the events of the day as you approach the steps to your building.

You rush up the stairs to your flat, wanting to get inside and forget about all your troubles.

Maybe Stefan is making me dinner, you think to yourself, trying to see the bright side of your terrible day.

You approach the door to your flat, and push down on the handle. The door opens, which means that Stefan must be home.

Sadly, there’s no delicious scent coming from the kitchen. The lights are off, and you see Stefan standing by the huge, open window opposite the door, staring down at the city below him.

“Stefan?” You whisper softly. You know that he gets like this sometimes, depressed, angry, filled with guilt, but something felt off. Something felt wrong this time.

You walk over to him slowly, stepping through your living room. You avoid hitting into your maplewood coffee table, and successfully make it past the large, navy couch. You step closer to the window.

Stefan’s reflection shows in the window. His eyes are bloodshot and puffy, most likely from hours of crying. Worry fills your gut.

“Stefan, are you-,” He cuts you off, whipping around to turn towards you.

“We need to talk, (Y/N)” Stefan croaks. His brown, fluffy hair is a mess. His pale skin lacks the shine it usually holds. He’s disheveled, and looks sleep deprived. You look into his deep green eyes, searching for some sort of an answer, but there is none.

“I’d sure say so.” You wanted, no needed to know what was going on his mind at that moment. Stefan moves over to the navy love seat adjacent to the couch. He sits down, placing his head in his hands.

“I-I, I don’t d-deserve you,” Stefan says, refusing to look up at you.

“That’s impossib-,”

“Let me finish!” Stefan shouts, cutting you off, staring angrily at you. You furrow your brows. Where the hell was this coming from? “You would be so much happier without me. I’m a burden to you.”

You shake your head. How could he actually believe that? You think to yourself. Stefan makes you happier than anyone else can.

“You’re not a burden, Stefan. And you never will be,” You say calmly, trying to keep your cool. “You make me so amazingly happy. Why are you thinking like this, what happened?”

Stefan pulls at his earlobe anxiously. You want nothing more than for Stefan to calm down. Yet, he doesn’t. He begins to shake his leg up and down, staring into the beige wall behind you, saying absolutely nothing.

“I love you, and I can guarantee to you that I will love you forever.” Your voice is reassuring and warm. You stare up at Stefan lovingly, and you two meet each other’s gaze for a second, until he quickly turns his head away from you, avoiding your eyes.

“B-but I don’t deserve to be loved by you, (Y/N). I don’t deserve love at all,” Stefan states matter of factly, looking back out the window. You look out as well, noticing that the once vivid colors of the sunset faded into a grey mess. The once small, thin, white clouds grew large, dark and menacing.

“This is ridiculous, what are you trying to say?” You shout this time, turning back to look at the brown haired boy, completely irritated with everything that he is saying.

“You’re too good for me. Don’t you get it? Don’t you see it?” Stefan stands up now, his voice is wild with emotion. “I’m holding you back. You should be some best selling author already. Bloody hell, you should be married to some fucking rich bloke by now!” Stefan’s face is bright red from all of his screaming. Tears begin to fill your eyes. You try your hardest to fight them back.

“Bullshit!” You yell at the top of your lungs. “If I wanted that, I’d have that. I want you, Stefan, open your eyes!” The tears free themselves from your eyes, and slide down your cheeks.

A moment of silence falls upon the room. After a few seconds, Stefan quietly chimes in.

“I-I don’t know what to say,” he says, sitting back down on the couch.

“Well I fucking do.” God you’re mad. You can’t comprehend the idea of not loving Stefan, or not being with him. “Stefan, I want to-, no I need to be with you. You are all I need in my life. You deserve all the love in the world.” You pause, putting your head in your hands for a second, trying to collect your thoughts.

“No, you deserve more than that,” you continue on, looking back towards Stefan. “I’m not leaving you, I refuse to leave you. Don’t ever think you aren’t enough for me! It’s bullshit, and so is this damn argument!”

You storm out of the living room, tears streaming down your cheeks at free will. You make a line for your bedroom.

Is this really it? You think to yourself, reaching your hand towards the door to your room.

What if he…what if he breaks up with me?

Suddenly, a set of hands grab your waist, spinning you around. Stefan stares down at you.

“Fine, (Y/N)! You win!” Stefan shouts, holding you in place for a second, not allowing you to move. “I’m deathly afraid… t-t-to…” He trails off nervously.

“To what?” You whisper firmly. You wanted to know why he was acting this way.

“T-t-to lose you.” Stefan’s voice is hoarse. His emerald eyes shine, even in your dark apartment. There’s something so spectacular in those eyes of his, yet also something so torn and damaged.

Then, you quickly realize what all of this is about. Stefan had lost his mother, the one thing he loved more than anything else in this world.

Now, he fears the same thing will happen with you, that he’ll lose the very thing he loves more than anything else in the world. The universe, even.

Stefan steps closer to you, closing the gap that separated you from him. He rests his forehead down against yours. You bring a hand to his cheek.

“You never will,” You say back to him. Stefan’s eyes light up with a jolt of intensity that you had never seen before.

His lips come crashing down on yours. The kiss is languid and passionate. You feel every muscle in his once tense body relax. Slowly, his tongue swipes across your lips, asking for permission to enter. You let him in, enjoying the sensation of his tongue dancing with yours.

Stefan’s hands drift up and down your body as he pushes you up against the wall behind you. He grabs at your waist, slowly making his way down to your bottom, squeezing softly.

The tension of the past few minutes replaces itself with warmth and a longing that no one else could ever make you feel.

You wanted Stefan.

No.

You needed him.

You hum in desperation, and Stefan quickly picks up on this. Without breaking the kiss, he lifts you while your back is pressed up against the wall. You wrap your legs around his waist, and he carries you into the bedroom.

Stefan places you on the end of the bed and crouches down. He unzips your jeans, and slowly peels them off of you, right leg, and then left. He pushes your panties to the side, but looks into your eyes for permission before going any further.

“Please, Stefan,” You whimper. He smirks, knowing the hold he has on you. Stefan begins to toy with your clit, speeding up with each second that goes by. Then, to your dismay, he stops.

“Wha-,” But before you can say anything, he slips a finger into your opening. “Oh my g-god.”

“Y-you like that?” Stefan says, slipping in another finger.

“Y-y-yes,” You whimper, writhing under his touch. Stefan picks up his pace, his fingers going in and out of your wet lips quicker and quicker.

You grind against his touch, wanting more of him. Stefan brings his thumb to your clit, adding more and more pressure. You were going to come any minute now, as the combined stimulation was far too overwhelming to bare.

And that face, that sexy smirk, You think to yourself, could send you over the edge by itself.

You feel your orgasm building in the pit of your stomach as his fingers reach deeper inside you. “I’m going to…”

“Let go, love,” Stefan coos. You do as he says, your walls fluttering around your fingers, coming undone.

Stefan seemed incredibly soft and innocent, but it was moments like these that proved to be the exception to that rule.

“S-stefan,” You whine, looking down at the bulge in his jeans, wishing that he’d just take you already. He stands up, undoes his belt, and then slips out of his pants.

You stare at him, your core aching for his touch. Stefan walks towards you, pulling his boxers down. He takes his throbbing member into his hand, and lines it up with your opening.

He looks deep into your eyes, licking his lips.

Stefan groans as he thrusts his cock deep inside you.

“Stefan! Fuck!” Profanities are all you can muster as your walls flutter around him, adjusting to his length. Stefan waits a minute, and then looks at you again, as if to ask you if you were okay. You nod to him in response.

Stefan begins rocks his hips with yours, pushing in and out of you. You feel so full, so good.

“Y-you feel amazing,” Stefan says, taking a fistful of your hair in his hands.

“Harder, please,” You cry out, begging for more. Stefan does as you request, and his thrusts become deeper, more intense. His hand reaches down towards your clit, rubbing slow circles there. It was overwhelming.

“I’m-I’m going to…” Stefan trails off, breathing heavily.

“M-me too,” You mutter. God he made you feel so good. Your walls clench around his hard cock, and you feel yourself coming undone.

“S-stefan!” You cry out, finally coming around his

“F-fuck…” Stefan says, coming to the sound of you screaming his name. He absolutely loved how it sounded. He slows his hips, pulling out of you.

You two fall on the bed. Stefan pulls you into his arms, your head resting on his chest.

“You’re so beautiful,” Stefan says, playing with your hair. “I’m so sorry about before. I-I just lost it.”

“Stefan, you deserve so much love. You are more than enough for me, never forget that,” You say, gazing lovingly into his eyes.

“I’m so sorry if I hurt you,” he pauses. “I’m just so in love with you. I-I-I…” Stefan struggles to finish his thought .

“You don’t have to worry, I’m not going anywhere. You know why?” You ask him. He shakes his head. “Because I’m just so in love with you,” You say, leaving a trail of kisses down his neck.

You rest your head back on his chest, planting one final kiss on his collar bone. Stefan pulls the covers over the two of you, and you close your eyes, now feeling at peace.

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sombrehysteria · 5 years ago

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⊰#ThєSєvєηDєαđlySιηs.⊱

By Kαthєrιηє Pιєrcє.

Chαptєr oηє : #Prιđє.

[— You'rє just α pαtchєđ up đolls comιηg loosє αt thє sєαms. You'rє just α stιtchєđ up puppєt chαsιηg somєoηє єlsє's đrєαms. —]

[[The silver crust of the Moon and the twinkling stars paint my night with such a beautiful essence that it could almost make me forget about my rage — almost. A crow circles the house I've been observing for hours with an angel's patience. . . I wouldn't be surprised if its black feathers turned to skin, a skin still marked with each kiss and bite I was begged to offer. Damon Salvatore is mine and has been from the first moment he saw me. He didn't know back then that when his ocean hues met the characteristic brown of mine, he was doomed to throw his heart at my feet. . His brother, even though younger, was a tougher nut to crack. All he wanted and was looking for was love, the one thing I thought I'd never be capable of again. Somehow, when trying to push him down the trap, I fell with him — I fell [for] him. Each word that fell from his succulent and oh so deliciously fun to corrupt lips are anchored to my mind and heart — for always and forever.

Might be the reason I'm here, standing on the sidewalk with a cigarette in hand. Looking like someone else has always been something I've had a hard time dealing with. Being compared to Tatia, for example. But I could always comfort myself with the thought that she was dead and probably nothing but dust.

Elena Gilbert is alive, and not only does she look like me, but she also prowls around the Salvatore's like the Devil waiting to claim new souls. Elijah will sure soon be counted among her innocent-act victims. She's everything men would want me to be, but I don't know how such thing is even possible. We share the same face but her aura is so different from my own, so weak and pathetic. I know most men tend to love a damsel in distress, but there's a limit not to cross, else it becomes ridiculous. She's standing in [my] spotlight and if she has no problem doing so, she might enjoy to lay in my shadow as well. Her righteous place. She should be dead, holding hand with Tatia and all the others (the devil knows how many) who weren't not up to the challenge. Surviving through the centuries and walking over whoever dares to ever threaten our bloodline. I'd be fine being the only Petrova alive, for only

[I] possess the fire diverse creatures all talk about. Katherine Pierce is unique, a work of art.

Slow steps lead me to the front door, and thanks to sweet aunt Jenna's naivety nothing is easier than to get it. As a leather boot pushes the door open, sensitive hearing picks up all the noises in the house. Both idiots are sleeping upstairs, and the carbon copy is scratching words in her journal in the kitchen. Guess she had a lot to confide seeing she came back late, a hand on Stefan's arm. She doesn't even notice I'm watching her. . . (I know what you're thinking, what a dumb girl, right?) I'm not impressed by what I'm seeing. Her hair doesn't look near as good as mine and is as flat as her ass and chest, her lips are a dull tint of pink, and her clothes are cheap. . Can tell she doesn't know how to take advantage of the tantalizing body she's been given. Might be the clothes, but I can see a few differences between her and I. The clothes or my pride. Despite all my efforts at trying to understand, I can't find any reason as to why they would replace me with [that]. Right, I always forget about her little, irking smiles and her good heart. Ew. Not a single flame burning within her. She's more like water, or piss. A little warm but no spark, disgusting and forgettable once she's out your system. Bet Damon would forget her in a nanosecond if I walked back in his life. Stefan's romantic soul would be harder to persuade but then again, that's nothing I haven't been through before.

As I clear my throat for the little dove to look at me, her pen falls out her hand. "K-Katherine" she whispered under her breath, desperately trying to control her fear. "You can't be here, you weren't invited" she adds, getting up from her chair, her clumsiness almost making her fall to the ground.]] Don't fall now, you will have plenty of time to observe the ground from under once I'm done with you. [[A lone finger traces circles on the counter as I get dangerously closer to her. Her instinct is to snatch a knife from the sink, what doesn't fail to make me laugh. . . An evil laugh echoing through the room.]] You'd use my favorite weapon against me? Elena, Elena. Don't you know there's nothing you can do against me? If I want you dead, dead you will be. The sooner you accept it, the less painful it will be. [[Without warning, a lethal hand closes around the blade and even though she's pulling on it with all the strength she can gather and making me bleed in the process, I take it from her and shove it deep into her chest.]] Patience has never been my forte. . Can't even waste time torturing you although I've been thinking it through for a week. [[Juts my bottom lip into a faux pout "Katherine" Stefan's voice, the one I could recognize in a crowd. "What did you do?" Tears up his bright emeralds when I turn around, he's unable to move due to both the shock and pain.]] Not that I thought you could truly forget me, but a reminder is always nice, my love. I've told you we would be reunited, and here I am. [["You're delusional if you think I'm still under your spell, and there was no other reason to love you. Don't try and pretend you've done this to get me back. You've — he pauses for an instant because of the pain strangling him — killed her out of your fucking [#Prιđє]. . .]]

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writings-of-dumpy · 5 years ago

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If Only - I

A/N: Stiles owns my sorry ass.

Summary: This is literally just a Disney princess movie, but with Teen Wolf characters. Because fuck it, why not?

“All I’m saying is that you don’t have to marry a stuck-up princess just because your father says you do,” Stiles advised Scott.

Scott sighed, “It’s my duty as prince to ensure that Beaconshire and Drepanwood have a stable relationship.”

Stiles sighed and looked up ahead. He and Scott had been friends for as long as he could remember, and while Stiles was technically employed by Scott’s father, King Leon, the two shared an unbreakable bond of brotherhood and Stiles would gladly protect Scott for free. Stiles’ father, Noah, was a nobleman and general that Scott’s father had befriended and entrusted his family’s safety to. Now that Stiles had been promoted to Captain of the Guard, he was tasked with protecting Prince Scott on the royal trip to Drepanwood so that Scott and Princess Riya could meet and host their promenade engagement party at the end of the week, followed by their wedding two weeks after.

After a distance, Stiles heard a sound that he couldn’t quite identify and signaled his party to stop.

“Hold,” Stiles instructed and the knights behind him stopped.

“What is the meaning of this?” he heard the king say from the carriage that trailed behind them.

“Apologies your majesty, I hear a sound…” Stiles said and dismounted his horse. He motioned for his knights to stay back.

“Stay here. I’ll be back in ten minutes,” Stiles instructed.

“Try to be quicker, son. We have a schedule to keep,” the general instructed his son.

“We can spare ten minutes for safety, surely,” Queen Melissa said, pleading.

Stiles gripped his sword and held it in a defensive position as he entered the woods towards the sound. As he got closer to the sound, his guard fell, for what he was hearing was music. A woman’s voice was singing, and the voice drew him to a clearing. For a moment he watched the woman sing and glide around the clearing with a basket full of berries and nuts and surmised that she must be one of the people kingdom just gathering food given her muted and shorter dress. Just when he was about to turn to leave, she turned and faced him, then gasped.

“What are you doing here?!” she nearly shouted.

Stiles’ eyes went wide, not in surprise, but in awe of her beauty. Her eyes sparkled in the sunlight like stars, her skin looked soft and flawless and her hair shone like the cleanest and clearest river he had ever seen despite the auburn color. This was surely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. He lowered his sword and blinked a few times before speaking. “Um, sorry. I was just riding through and I heard you singing… I had to see what was making such a beautiful sound… An equally if not more superiorly beautiful creature.”

The woman smiled slyly and looked at him from her head turned to the side slightly. “You… didn’t say where you were coming from…”

“Oh, apologies… I’m coming from Beaconshire… for the engagement, of course,” Stiles stammered and told her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?”

“You’re dressed awfully sharp… You don’t happen to be with the royal family, do you? Otherwise my manners are quite unbecoming,” she said and curtsied with her hands gripping the sides of her skirt and splaying them as she lowered herself. Once she looked up at him again, he bowed to her.

“No apologies necessary m’lady,” Stiles said to her with a smile. The pair shared a curious look for a moment but were suddenly interrupted.

“Oh, there you are! Your hi—who is this?” another woman emerged from the trees and stood next to the first and looked at Stiles accusatorily.

“Oh, um…” the first girl said and looked between Stiles and the second girl.

“I was leaving. Apologies for interrupting,” Stiles said and bowed out of the woods.

“Well? Is it danger?” his father, Noah, asked of him.

“Huh? Oh, no, nothing to worry about. Just civilians celebrating,” Stiles said and mounted his horse again.

“We must be getting close to the kingdom then,” Scott said and Stiles nodded, then urged his horse to walk again.

~*~

“And where have you been?! The prince is coming in less than thirty minutes!” Riya’s father, King Stefan, said to her once she and her handmaid, Lydia, entered the castle again.

“I was getting food and spending time by myself,” she said simply.

“There is plenty of food in the kitchen, dear. And Lydia, didn’t we tell you to get her ready for Prince Scott’s arrival?” Stefan said in a warning tone.

“Leave Lydia out of this, it was my choice to run off without her,” Riya retorted and crossed her arms.

The king sighed heavily and looked to his wife, Queen Vera, for support.

“Lydia, how about you take the rest of the day off until the banquet tonight? I’ll help Riya get into her dress,” Vera said while standing up and offering the flustered girl a bright smile.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Lydia said and curtsied, then gave Riya a sympathetic look.

The walk up to Riya’s chambers was silent until her older brother Derek appeared on the steps opposite them.

“There’s the troublemaker,” he muttered and smiled at his sister.

Riya sighed and nodded as a thank you for covering for her absence with their parents. Riya and Derek were close in age, so they often got into all sorts of mischief around the castle in their youth and became close as siblings, too. The pair would often complain about the ridiculous expectations their parents had on them, and Derek was one of the first people Riya confided in about the arranged marriage she was now unwillingly a part of.

“Don’t start, Derek. Get ready, the royal family of Beaconshire will be here soon,” Vera warned her stepson.

“Then I guess you’d better hope Riya’s too tired to fight you,” Derek joked and descended the stairs.

Once they were in Riya’s chambers, Vera handed her the sapphire dress with lace sleeves and detailing. “You’ll look beautiful in it.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want to get married,” Riya protested and walked behind the paper divider and began to change. “And I’m not wearing a corset.”

“You most certainly are!” Vera raised her voice at her stepdaughter. “You are not a commoner; you will wear a corset!”

“No, I don’t want to. The way they’re made is awful and I can’t breathe properly in it,” Riya said and put the dress on after her undergarments sans a corset. “How come men don’t have to wear them?”

“It would look silly on them, Riya. Men cannot handle the trials women endure, and proper attire such as a corset is one of them,” Vera spoke. “If for no other reason than to please your father, please just wear it.”

“I have a better idea,” Riya said. She took the flat piece of thinned bone and snapped it in half at the rib line with the help of the table. She used the rough part of her floor against the corset to soften and narrow the edges that would fall just above her waist.

She walked out and showed her stepmother what she had done with a proud smile. “It’s a compromise! I’ll wear HALF a corset.”

Vera sighed and frowned in frustration at her stepdaughter’s boldness. “Fine. Half a corset is better than no corset I suppose.”

Riya smiled and lowered the dress, then placed the corset at its appropriate position on her bosom, then turned her back to her stepmother. Vera walked over and pulled the garment tight and tied it securely. Riya pulled the dress back up and faced her stepmother. As much as Riya hated to admit it, the half-corset made the dress fit better.

“You look absolutely beautiful. I’d be surprised if he didn’t propose upon first glance!” Vera gushed.

“Me too, especially given that it’s already been decided,” Riya glowered.

Vera let out a small sigh. “Listen, I know that this seems scary to you—”

“And grossly unfair, but continue.”

“And I know you think it’s unfair, but you have certain responsibilities to your people. This marriage is for the betterment of Drepanwood and Beaconshire and the people will love you for it. As their future queen, you must understand that sometimes you must do what is necessary even if you don’t enjoy it,” Vera told her stepdaughter. “I am proud of you and I know that once all is said and done, you’ll be happy.”

“Happy that I get no choice in my life, is that what you’re saying?” Riya challenged.

“No. Happy that you don’t have to worry about finding the right man to marry. There are women who would kill to be in your position. Besides, I’ve heard stories about Prince Scott’s good looks.”

Riya looked out her window and saw that the royals from the neighboring kingdom were beginning to arrive. Vera placed Riya’s tiara on her stepdaughter’s head and smiled brightly.

“There. Now you’re ready,” Vera said and left the room. Riya looked in her mirror and sighed. She didn’t like the dress too much and she certainly didn’t like the jewels displayed on her head, but she put up with them anyway because she knew that her stepmother was right—she was lucky to have been born a princess. Riya wanted to help her people, which is the only reason she didn’t permanently run away once the marriage was told to her. She wondered what Scott would be like and hoped that he wasn’t stuck up or stupid as she opened her room door.

“You alright?” Derek asked her as she opened the door.

“Apparently this is the beginning of the happiest time in my life,” Riya told him sarcastically.

Derek laughed and offered his arm to his sister, which she took because lord knows these stairs were hard enough to deal with regardless of the ridiculous shoes her stepmother made her wear.

“Why can’t you just marry him,” Riya joked and Derek shrugged.

“I don’t think he’s as into me as I might be into him,” Derek said quietly. Riya is the only one who knows about Derek’s preference for men’s company, so they often joke about it to each other when they’re in private.

Riya sighed and the two of them made their way to their thrones on either side of their parents as the royals started to walk in.

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geekofmanyforms · 5 years ago

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New Beginning

Chapter Eight

*** This chapter has been edited by my Beta Casey. Please let me know what ya think. Feedback is super welcome, and something that keeps me writing.

I opened the front door and was surprised to see Bonnie, waiting inside our kitchen.

"Hey, El, is Elena with you? She sent me an S.O.S. text, told me to meet her here,"

I tilted my head in confusion. "An S.O.S. text? Did she say what happened? She seemed fine when I left," I said, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

"No, she just said something about Stefan, but gave me no details,"

I chugged the entire bottle of water quickly — no way was I going to have a hangover tomorrow.

"Okay, well I'm gonna head upstairs and get outta this dress," I said.

She nodded and grabbed two containers of ice cream from the freezer. I almost laughed at her serious expression — it was as if she were preparing for battle. I grabbed another bottle of water and headed up the stairs just as Elena flew through the door, her hair was in disarray and her dress crumpled. She looked a complete mess.

"Elena...are you okay?" I asked, from my spot on the stairs.

She lifted her head and sent me a glare. "I don't know, Elara. Ask Stefan — you seem to be great friends," she spat.

My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open as I watched her storm into the kitchen.

Wow, she is really pissed.

I hurried upstairs and into my room. I stepped into my closet and took off my dress as quickly as I could. I needed to figure out what the hell had happened, and I had a terrible feeling. I grabbed a t-shirt and a pair of jeans and dressed. I put my flats back on and grabbed my cell phone just as it began to ring. I looked at the caller I.D. and was surprised to see Caroline's name and number flashing up at me. I slid my finger across the screen and answered.

"Hey, Care," I said casually.

I could hear her panicked breathing on the other end as she attempted to choke out words.

"Care, Caroline — what's wrong?" I asked urgently

"He w-wanted-" She blubbered for a moment more, squeaking through hysterics

"Calm down, I can't understand you,"

"Ellie, he wanted me to help him find a crystal. I...I..I'm so scared. Elena saw my neck earlier and freaked out — I think he blames me. Please, help me," Caroline cried.

I didn't even have to ask who she was talking about. I had been afraid this would happen. Elena was never one to keep her nose outta other people's business.

"Caroline, listen to me. Where are you?" I asked.

She was quiet for a moment as she took a few deep breaths. "I'm still at the Lockwoods. That's where he said he hid the crystal. He left me to go and find it, but I'm afraid he is gonna come back Ellie," she said, sniffling.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, trying to control my emotions.

"Okay, just stay there," I said, "I'm on my way."

I hung up the phone and slid it into my back pocket. I opened my window and closed my eyes. It had been a really long time since I had attempted this spell and I wasn't sure how well it would work. I concentrated on a mental image of what I wished to become — a small falcon.

"A me intuitus facti sunt,"

I felt my body shrink down and change shape as my spell took effect. I stretched out my grey wings and lifted myself into the air. As I passed by my window, I could see my reflection in the glass. The spell worked — I had indeed become a small falcon.

My wings were mostly gray but tipped in black. My stomach and neck were covered in white feathers. I flew easily past my house and across town, enjoying the feeling of the wind in my feathers. The Falcon was my favorite form to take.

I approached the mansion and lowered myself to the ground, perching on a tree branch. I used my advanced hearing and listened carefully for any sign of Caroline. A few moments passed before I could hear her crying out.

I flew closer. I could hear her speaking to someone and lowered myself to the ground, whispering the counterspell in my mind. A small light erupted around me, and my body took its original shape.

"I swear, I didn't say..." Caroline said, crying.

I ran forward and saw Damon standing behind her with his arms around her waist.

"Shh, shh, shh. It's okay. Unfortunately...I am so over you now. El will be angry, but I'm sure she will get over it,"

Anger clouded my judgment as I rushed towards them. Power surged through me like a supercharged electrical shock— he would be sorry he messed with my best friend.

"I wouldn't, Damon," I growled angrily "I warned you and yet here we are,"

His head shot up and met my gaze, trepidation plastered to his face.

"I will never forgive you if you hurt her, Damon. Don't...please," I begged.

I didn't want to hurt him, but I would if he forced me too. Someone had to protect Caroline.

"This is who I am, El. You were the one who said we couldn't go back," he said, wrapping his hand around Caroline's neck.

I took a step towards them. He squeezed, making Caroline cry out in pain.

"Stop, Damon! Stop!" I yelled fearfully.

I lifted both of my hands out in front of me, my breath shaking as I exhaled.

"She knows too much," he said "I have to get rid of her,"

Tears formed in my eyes as my hands started to shake.

"Don't make me do this, Damon," I pleaded "Don't make me choose — You won't like the outcome,"

It felt like time stopped as he looked at me. I could see him make his choice as his eyes filled with regret, and before he even moved a finger, I had made mine. I shook my head sadly and closed my outstretched hand. With a loud snap, he fell to the ground, temporarily dead. Caroline stood shakily where he had left her, looking at me in fear.

"Care, come here, it's okay, it's okay,"

She fell into my arms, shaking and sobbing. I looked up as a quick breeze filled the air — Stefan now stood beside his brother, staring at his limp body in shock.

"How...what happened?" he said, exasperatedly "I was coming to find him,"

I placed my hand on Caroline's forehead, and she went limp in my arms. As I laid her on the ground, a small talisman fell from her hand. I recognized it immediately; it had belonged to Emily Bennett, and I knew precisely why Damon had wanted it.

I picked it up without Stefan noticing and moved my hand above Caroline. She began to float beside me. Stefan looked at her then back at me, trying to understand.

"I snapped his neck, Stefan. He took things too far when he threatened her. I warned him..." I said, with sadness in my voice.

Stefan stepped beside me and looked Caroline over.

"Is she okay?" he asked.

I ran my fingers through her floating hair and frowned.

"Yeah, I'll handle it. She needed to rest, and I didn't want her to panic,"

He shook his head and grabbed his brother's body. He threw him over his shoulder without much effort.

"Well, I'll take care of Damon. You just handle Caroline and Elena — she's pretty pissed at us both. She thinks we were flirting, mix that with the fact that she knows I'm hiding things, and you get a furious Elena," he sighed.

I rolled my eyes at her ridiculousness and folded my fingers. Caroline moved forward as we walked away.

"How are you getting her home," Stefan asked.

I bit my lip and shrugged. "I guess the easiest way would be to send her home magically, but that spell can be complicated, and I've not been practicing,"

Stefan readjusted Damon and smiled. "If anyone can do it, it's you. I better get him home and locked up."

Stefan sped away quicker than I could blink. I looked at the empty night before me and took a deep breath.

You can do this — you've done this a hundred times in the past.

I turned to face Caroline and lifted my hands above her. I closed my eyes and pictured her room in my mind. I made sure to remember every detail correctly, so I could be sure she appeared where she was supposed to.

"Mitte illam, ut ubi pertinet,"

I spoke slowly and clearly, ensuring that I was speaking the correct incantation. With a bright flash of light, she was gone. I waited for a few minutes before I pulled out my cell and called Sheriff Forbes. The phone rang a few times before she answered.

"Hello?" she asked.

I put on a fake carefree smile and made sure it was presented in the tone of my voice.

"Hey, Mrs. Forbes, Its Ellie — I just wanted to make sure Caroline made it home safely. I didn't see her when I left," I said.

There was a rustling sound on her end, and I could hear a door open.

"Yeah, she is in bed asleep. Everything okay?" she asked.

I lifted my head towards the sky and closed my eyes in relief. "Yep, just checking up on her. You know how I tend to worry,"

I could hear her close Caroline's door before speaking. "She is fine. I'll tell her you called," she said.

I said my goodbyes and slipped my phone away before I transformed and headed home.

It had been three days since the Damon and Caroline incident. Luckily I had been able to cloud Caroline's memories. The only thing that would make her remember everything was the change, and I sure as hell didn't plan on letting her become a vampire.

The Bennett Talisman sat on my bedside table as I dressed for the day. I could feel its power radiating around me. I knew it wanted to find Bonnie, and I debated on whether I should give it to her or not. I knew what it was capable of and wasn't sure If I should allow it to be used for what it was meant for. I could very easily destroy it, but it wasn't mine. I knew it shouldn't be me who decides its fate.

It was like I could feel Emily yelling at me for even considering allowing it to fall in the hands of someone who would use it to free those trapped in the tomb. After all, I was a witch and was supposed to hate vampires.

The crystal sent another burst of energy my way. I huffed and spun around to face the damned thing.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll make sure you get to Bonnie," I said, exasperatedly.

I pulled my hair into a messy bun and fixed my pink tank top before grabbing the crystal and slipping it onto my neck. I patted it and sighed as I felt a surge of acceptance. It knew I wasn't planning on using it and was allowing me to wear it without pain.

"Thank you," I said.

I grabbed my car keys and slipped out my door quietly. No one else was up yet, and I didn't want to wake anyone. It was only five, and I would be flayed alive if I got caught sneaking out this early. I hopped over the squeaky step in the middle of the stairs and slipped into the kitchen. I grabbed a bottled yogurt from the fridge and tiptoed to the front door. I slowly opened it and stepped outside, then sprinted to my car.

I put my car in neutral and pushed it out of the driveway before starting it up and driving away. I grumbled for a minute, annoyed about being over a thousand years old and still having to sneak around before opening my yogurt and drinking it.

I passed by the town square, where the shops were still dark and quiet. I had always loved being up before everyone else. It was peaceful. As I passed over Wickery Bridge, I slowed my car and rolled down my window. I reached into my pocket and grabbed a penny before tossing it out my window and into the river below. It was a silly little tradition, but it was my way of remembering my parents. I continued my journey to the Salvatore boarding house and put my hand out my window so I could feel the breeze. I hated that my peaceful morning would be quickly made hectic the moment I stepped foot inside the Salvatore's house, but reminded myself that I had too. I couldn't just let Stefan handle everything with Damon — who knew what he had planned.

I pulled into their drive and tucked the crystal under my shirt before getting out of the car. I walked up to the front door and headed inside without knocking. I felt like the brothers and I were at the point in our relationship where we can be open with each other, house and all.

I checked the living room for Stefan, to no avail — he must be with Damon. I looked through the rest of the house until I came across the cellar. I listened carefully and could hear muffled voices. This must be where he is keeping Damon.

I headed down the stairs with my hands grazing the stone wall beside me. All I needed was to trip and crack my head in a house with vampires, especially one who likes to fight his true nature. As I reached the last step, I could hear Damon's voice.

"Where is my ring?" he said.

So that was Stefan's plan? Lock him down here without his daylight ring?

"Won't be needing it anymore," Stefan said.

I stood beside the entrance to the room, out of their line of sight. I was sure at least one of them had heard or smelled me, but neither acknowledged it.

"How long have I been here?" Damon asked, his voice weak.

I felt a single pang of guilt before reminding myself of what exactly had caused this to happen.

"Three days," Stefan said plainly.

I could hear someone shuffle before Damon spoke.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

I leaned against the cold stone wall and listened to Stefan describe the process of desiccation. My face scrunched up at the idea of Stefan starving him to the point of mummification.

"I've injected you with enough vervain to keep you weak. Once your circulation stops, I'll move you to the family crypt, and then in 50 years we can reevaluate," Stefan said.

I tilted my head against the wall and had a quick internal battle with myself. Could I do this to him? I knew how dangerous he was, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the image of him when he was human out of my head. He was a good man. Was there really no saving him?

"I'm stronger than you think," Damon said weakly.

I could hear Stefan move closer to where Damon's voice could be heard.

"You always have been. But you're not stronger than the vervain, and we both know it. I'm sorry. It didn't have to be this way, but you forced my hand." Stefan said, exiting the room.

He looked at me briefly before he shut the door and locked it. He walked past me, and I stood in place. I put my forehead against the door and ground my teeth together. Dammit, why was this decision so hard? I gave the door one last look before ascending the stairs. I headed into the living room where Stefan was talking to a man, whom I guessed was the last living Salvatore.

"He's awake. He's weak, but it's probably best to stay out of the basement. 'm not sure how dangerous he still might be," Stefan explained.

I walked over to the liquor and poured myself a glass of bourbon. Stefan swiftly took the glass from me.

"It's a little early for that Ellie, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you may be right, but it's either this or deal with the extreme guilt I'm feeling right now," I muttered.

Stefan wrapped his arm around my shoulder and put his chin on my head.

"It's for the best. Damon can't be trusted."

I took the glass back from his hand and downed it in one gulp.

"Can we?" I asked shakily.

I placed the glass on the bar, more forcefully than anticipated, and walked out of the living room and towards the front door.

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mabith · 5 years ago

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May’s Reading! Asterisks are re-reads, bolds are favorites. Reading a ridiculous amount, but not loving enough of these, so starting to feel a little burnt out. I’ve got L.E.L. - Lucasta Miller - Really interesting biography of a quickly forgotten scandalous woman writer known in her time as “the female Byron.” There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra – Chinua Achebe Letter to Jimmy – Alain Mabanckou - This was sometimes great, sometimes tedious but a good companion read with There Was a Country The Provocative Colette – Annie Goetzinger - Very pretty, but disappointed that the focus was on her romantic and sexual relationships. Acorna's World – Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough * Drowned Wednesday – Garth Nix * Birds in Town and Village – William Henry Hudson Black Tudors – Miranda Kaufmann - Quite good, but make sure you don’t go in expecting full histories and endless detail. Heart's Blood – Juliet Marillier * Daniel Deronda – George Eliot - Eliot’s writing is so fucking beautiful and amazing, though you’ve got to fight more than the usual amount of casual/not-so-casual anti-semitism in this one. She’s trying to do a good thing, but it’s 1876... Salvage the Bones – Jesmyn Ward - Good, though not as good as Sing, Unburied, Sing, which is understandable since they were published six years apart. Good Morning, Comrades – Ondjaki How Democracies Die – Steven Levitsky - Depressing but a super important history lesson on how we’ve avoided electing a Trump type in the past and why the previous safeguards failed this time. The Lighthouse – Paco Roca Embassytown – China Mieville - Did not enjoy. Mieville is awful at explaining this world either through context or showing and doesn’t info-dump either. Put 20 big ideas rather than focusing on a few core concepts. Spends ages telling you about things that then have no relevance as well. Plus the characters emotions and relationships to each other are very flat (all tell not show) and some leaps made little sense. Golden Hill – Francis Spufford - Meh. Just didn’t grab me. Assata – Assata Shakur Sir Thursday – Garth Nix * The Mines of King Solomon – Carl Barks Serena – Ron Rash - Love the sense of place, connection to the land, hated the melodrama and ahistorical animal details (a komodo dragon in a 1930s traveling circus for one...) Everything is Wonderful – Sigrid Rausing Lady Friday – Garth Nix * Extra Virginity – Tom Mueller Shooting Stars – Stefan Zweig - Loved it, despite ending with Woodrow Wilson and acting like he was a good guy. The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe – Elaine Showalter - New goal, go back in time and murder Howe’s husband. My Sister, The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite - Unsatisfying ending (but I have sister issues), still really enjoyed the read and how the tensions and such were handled. Superior Saturday – Garth Nix * A Venetian Affair – Andrea di Robilant Popular – Maya van Wagenen - I really feel like this is a purposefully constructed book that doesn’t necessarily reflect the reality. Even the hard parts Maya purports that she got over with a snap of the fingers. Middle school is largely agreed to be harder than high school among people roughly my age, and I just doubt it’s better 20 years later. The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn – John Bellairs - I will always love Bellairs protagonists and their awkward unhappiness. I grew up only reading his Johnny Dixon books, so this is my first Anthony Monday and I loved it. Very sad that the other three are the usual supernatural since this was an adventure puzzle and I love that. I’m going to blame publishers for the shift. Field Notes from a Catastrophe – Elizabeth Kolbert

#books #reading #personal

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prettylittlelyres · 6 years ago

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Empty Space

When she woke in the morning, Stef wasn’t there. He was in fact, sitting behind the sofa, by the window, reading a ridiculously thick book.

But Char couldn’t see that from where she was. She could see only the empty space next to her, where Stefan had fallen asleep with his arm crooked around her shoulder.

At first, with no clear memory of the night before, she wasn’t even sure where she was, but, when she’d found her glasses and put them on - she’d laid them on the coffee table - and looked around, the understanding slowly coming to her that she was at Gordon’s house, the memory coming to her that Stefan had kissed her last night, and the realisation that, for some reason, he was no longer lying next to her.

Her face crumpled at once. What had changed? She looked down at the floor, and saw Etta curled up next to Tim, still where they’d gone to sleep on the hearth rug.

Char woke Etta, and, in a flurry of signs she explained what had happened the night before, when only she and Stefan had been awake. “And now he’s gone,” she signed, “And I don’t know why! Do you think I went too far? Did something wrong? Do you… Do you think he hates me?” Finally, she flapped her hands, flustered.

Etta shook her head. “Char, you are the light of my life, my best friend, I swear it, sweetie, but, my giddy aunt, if you don’t get in a flap over silly things!” she signed, “Look over there.” She pointed to Stefan’s feet, which were poking out from behind the back of the sofa, and grinned.

Char hugged her, signed, “Thank you, Et,” and got to her feet. “Stef?” she said, “Everything all right?”

Stefan looked up from his book, smiled broadly, and nodded. “Yeah. I just woke up quite early and decided to do a spot of reading. I didn’t want to elbow you every time I turned a page. I’ve been awake since the church bells rang at five!”

Char and Etta exchanged a glance. And Char smiled, and turned back to Stefan to ask, “What are you reading?”

Stefan chuckled. “Nothing good. I started reading it ironically, to be honest, but it’s so bad it’s good. Addictively good, if only because the writing style is so… extra. The writer’s, like, intent on saying stuff like, “He acquiesced to my humblest request: that he might be so benevolent as to make me the temporary yet generous gift of that half of the cruet which contains not pepper, white or black or otherwise, but that fine white grain dredged from the habitats of mermaids, should they indeed exist,” when anyone else would agree: it’d be perfectly acceptable to say, “I asked him to pass the salt, and he did.” It’s like Gordon on crack!”

Char spluttered, signed it for Etta, and then sat next to Stefan.

Etta looked over her shoulder, hiding a giggle with her hand, and saw Gordon sprawled half in, half out of the armchair, with his shaggy brown hair plastered flat on one side of his head and his glasses, which he’d left on to sleep, all askew on his nose. “I was worried he might have heard that,” she signed and said, “But I, uh… don’t think I was right to be.”

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twistedscandal · 6 years ago

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Title: Netflix and No Chill

Pairing: Bonnie Bennett/Kai Parker

Summary: Bonnie and her friends are supposed to be gathering at Lockwood Manor for Halloween to watch scary movies with Kai. What could possibly go wrong?

Warnings: None really. A little language.

A/N: I come from a long line of procrastinators, but this is ridiculous. The Vampire Diaries was still on the air when I started writing this. Then I thought I would revise it and post if for this year's bookai week on tumblr and I still didn't finish until now. So now I am posting a Halloween fic on the day after Thanksgiving. Shameful. I stopped watching the show during season five then picked back up for bonkai in season six then stopped again when I realized they were only going to continue to pay Bonnie dust, so I apologize for any details I may have gotten wrong. This fic contains vague spoilers for a couple of old movies.

It didn’t really surprise Bonnie that Halloween would be one of Kai’s favorite holidays and he had gone all out with the decorations. The pumpkin under Bonnie’s arm seemed to grow even heavier when she realized how unnecessary it was to have brought it. The winding driveway leading up to the front door was already littered with jack o lanterns. Each one bearing a different, grotesque carved expression. The front porch was covered with fake spiderwebs, cartoon cut outs of witches and skeletons posed in a variety of compromising positions. He had done his best to make Lockwood Manor look like a haunted house. Bonnie thought the outside of the house looked sufficiently spooky but knew it didn’t compare to the scariness of the monster currently dwelling inside.

The post it note stuck to the front door read, “Come on in” in Kai’s neat, blocky handwriting; a demented looking smiley face hastily drawn in the corner. Bonnie let herself into the Lockwood house, trying to ignore the general sense of unease that had been hovering over her all day. It was bad enough that they were even having a get together here in the first place but the fact that somehow, she was the only one whose schedule would allow her to get there first and get things set up left a sour taste in her mouth.

It had been a while since Bonnie and her friends had all been in the same room for reasons that weren’t life threatening, so Elena had suggested that with Halloween approaching, it would be a great time to get together and watch a bunch of scary movies. Horrible events that were confined to a screen and happening to other people seemed like a nice change of pace. Also, the thought of a get together that had almost zero potential to end in bloodshed was appealing.

There was one problem however, they didn’t really have anywhere to host said movie night. The dorm room was too small, casa Gilbert was no more and neither Bonnie or Caroline had stepped foot in their homes in over a year; there were too many memories of lost loved ones in the places they grew up to imagine going to either place for a party.

Not even the boarding house was a viable option. Stefan and Damon’s big, beautiful flat screen had been broken during some fight or other and they hadn’t bothered to buy another one to replace it. Neither of them watched a lot of tv anyway. Bonnie supposed that drunken housewives, cooking shows and whatever teenage love triangle tripe the CW was offering, didn’t have much appeal when you were over 100 years old.

There was a tv in Damon’s bedroom that he claimed he only used to “hate-watch” Grey’s Anatomy. Bonnie wondered if it really was hate-watching though, considering how misty-eyed Damon got when McDreamy bit it. That was all beside the point because there was no way Bonnie, Stefan, Caroline, Damon and Elena were all going to cram into Damon’s bedroom (can you say awkward) to watch movies anyway.

They were kind of stumped until Caroline suggested an alternative: “Why not just go to Kai’s place?” And by Kai’s place she meant Tyler’s. Kai had been squatting on the Lockwood property for so long that people had actually started referring to it as his. Bonnie had objected, but of course she had been unanimously overruled. There really weren’t any better choices and the Lockwood estate did have an actual home theater.

Apparently socializing with Kai was a small price to pay for cushioned seats and surround sound.

Bonnie was less than thrilled about the situation but determined not to let having to be around Kai ruin the evening.

She made her way to the kitchen, put down the pumpkin, shrugged out of her coat and began to unpack the grocery bag she’d brought with her. She laid tomatoes, onions, garlic, jalapenos, cilantro and a couple of limes on the island and got a cutting board off the counter. She searched around for a bowl and found one in the cabinet over the stove. Bonnie stretched up onto the tips of her toes and had just about gotten her finger hooked over the edge of the bowl when it suddenly seemed to move further back out of her reach.

Bonnie leaned further in and just when she got her hand on the bowl, once again it seemed to move closer to the back of the cabinet. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Stop it, Kai.”

“I’m not doing anything.” Kai appeared so suddenly that Bonnie wondered if he had cloaked himself and been standing there watching her all the while. He had perfected the art of casually draping himself in doorways and there he stood, his hair damp, his chest bare and a black t-shirt thrown over his shoulder.

Bonnie turned to face him full on. “I know you moved that bowl out of my reach.”

“Come on, Bonnie,” Kai said attempting and failing to look innocent. “Do I seem like the kind of person to engage in that sort of pointless and immature behavior?”

“Yes, Kai. You seem exactly like that sort of person because you are exactly that sort of person.”

“Don’t be like that. I was just having a little fun and I don’t see what the big deal is anyway. You do remember that you’re a witch, right? You could have floated the stupid thing right into your hands.”

“Yeah, well not all of us witches are powerful coven leaders with magic to spare.”

“You’re a Bennett. I seriously doubt that moving a bowl would tire you out.” Kai scoffed.

“Whatever. My Grams taught me that it was a waste of energy to use magic for anything that I could do like a normal person.”

Kai gave Bonnie an incredulous look. “That’s terrible advice. You’re not normal; you’re extraordinary. Try acting like it and you might actually have some fun once in a while.”

Bonnie ignored Kai, turning her back to him while she made another grab for the bowl.

“You are the most hard headed person I’ve ever met in my life.” Kai slid in behind Bonnie and reached over her to pull the bowl down from the cabinet.

Bonnie’s breath caught in her chest as she felt his body move against hers. For just a moment something in her brain went sideways and she wondered what it might feel like to lean back onto Kai’s muscular frame; to let herself be overwhelmed by the warmth of his body and the clean soapy smell emanating from his skin. The moment passed as quickly as it came though and her common sense clicked back into place as she elbowed Kai in the stomach. “Are you even vaguely familiar with the concept of personal space?”

The bowl clanged against the counter as Kai unceremoniously dropped it from his hand. “Are you familiar with the concept of saying thank you?”

“As if I would ever thank you for anything.” Bonnie grabbed a knife and began chopping tomatoes. She watched Kai out the corner of her eye, thankful as he finally shrugged into his t shirt and pulled it down over his torso.

He leaned against the island, his dark blue eyes locked on Bonnie. “So, you’re the only one here?”

“Do you see anybody else?”

“The rest of the scooby gang is actually coming though, right?”

“Of course they are. Why would you even ask me that?”

“I’m just trying to make sure that I’m not being lured into some type of Netflix and chill situation.”

Bonnie knew that she shouldn’t be, but she was continuously amazed by some of the nonsense that made its way out of Kai’s mouth. “First of all, ew. Second of all, what the hell would you know about Netflix and chill?”

“Call it whatever you want, but inviting someone over under the pretense of watching a movie just so you can get them alone in a dark room and start making moves is a tale as old as time. I’m sure there was some Neanderthal back in the day trying to get a woman to come over for cave drawings and chill.”

“Elena and Damon are at the grocery store getting more snacks.”

Kai’s eyebrows shot straight up. “You’re letting those two be in charge of the food? Don’t be too surprised if they show up with nothing but a bag of gummy bears, a few pints of o-negative and a gallon of bourbon. What about vampire Barbie and Ken? Where are they?”

“If you’re talking about Stefan and Caroline, he’s picking her up from Whitmore. She has a late class on Fridays. They should all be here in a little while. You and I will not be alone and your virtue, such as it is, shall remain intact.”

Kai made a dramatic show of rolling his eyes. “Bummer.” A hint of a smile danced around his lips. “I’ll be right back.” He bounced out of the kitchen, humming to himself.

Bonnie resumed chopping tomatoes and wondered if that was going to be the new normal for her interactions with Kai. Ambiguous (and potentially sinister) hovering had been replaced with flagrant (and terrible) attempts at flirting.

Kai returned to the kitchen a few moments later. He took a couple of beers out of the fridge and opened them; he put one bottle down in front of Bonnie as he took a long drink from the other. “What are you making?”

“Salsa.”

“I’ve heard that there’s places called grocery stores where they sell salsa already made in jars.”

“Do you really want to be a smart ass while I have this knife in my hand?”

Kai ignored Bonnie’s threat. “Want some help?”

“No.”

Kai washed his hands then grabbed another knife from the butcher’s block. He stood beside Bonnie and began working on an onion.

Bonnie, understandably, was still somewhat wary of Kai with a sharp object in his hand, but after her initial apprehension passed they worked in a somewhat companionable silence. She thought it might not be so bad after all. Her friends would be there soon and then there would be four people to buffer the space between her and Kai. Damon especially always seemed quite eager to provide a barrier between Bonnie and Kai, both metaphorically and physically. All she had to do was hold on and hope that he could be quiet for just a little while longer.

“Hey, Bon.” Kai’s voice cut into Bonnie’s thoughts; she should have known him being quiet wasn’t going to last. “May I ask you a personal question?”

“If I say no, aren’t you just going to ask me anyway?”

“You know me so well. How come you and Dudley Do Right never hooked up?”

“Why do you keep calling him that? You know his name is Matt.”

Kai stared at Bonnie as though she had said something ridiculous. “And you know that I don’t care. Stop trying to change the subject.”

“There is no subject because I never agreed to have this conversation in the first place.” Bonnie put down her knife and looked at Kai, curiosity getting the better of her. “Why do you want to know anyway?”

Kai shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just curious. He’s around. You’ve known him forever. You’re hot. He’s hot.”

Bonnie raised an eyebrow at Kai. “You think Matt is hot?”

“I’m very comfortable with who I am so I’ve got no problem saying another guy is attractive. Young Matthew is quite handsome; in a bland, generic, Sears catalog model kind of way.”

“How is it that even your compliments manage to be insults?”

“Just one of my many God given talents.”

“I doubt that God has anything to do with any of your so-called talents.”

“I can’t really argue with that. Now let’s get back on topic, Bonbon. Do you not think Matt is cute or were you worried you two would bore each other into a coma?”

“I don’t know.” Bonnie said while shrugging her shoulders. “I guess I’ve always thought of Matt in a brotherly way. Not to mention the fact that he and Elena were attached at the hip for as long as I could remember. Even after they broke up it was hard not to think of him as her boyfriend. Then he was with Caroline and had that thing with Rebekah. After that….” Bonnie voice trailed off.

Kai leaned in closer. “What?” Bonnie shook her head and looked away. “Come on, tell me.”

“I don’t know.” Odd as it was, it felt good to finally voice her feelings out loud. Kai obviously would not have been her first choice for a confidante but at the very least she knew she could tell him anything, he wouldn’t judge and wouldn’t share it with anyone else.

“Matt’s a great guy but there’s never really been any kind of spark between us and even if there had been, I’m not interested in being anyone else’s second or third or in Matt’s case, fourth, choice. Been there, done that and it wasn’t a whole lot of fun. The next relationship I’m in I need to know that I’m not somebody’s consolation prize because they wanted someone else and settled for me. I need to be somebody’s first choice.”

Kai was silent for a moment. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Again, even if I say no, you’re just going to keep talking anyway.”

Kai shot a couple of finger guns in Bonnie’s direction. “Exactly.”

“In that case sure,” Bonnie said, her voice dripping with fake enthusiasm. “I’d love to hear a secret.”

“I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

“Shocking.” Bonnie responded in a deadpan tone.

“I know right. These boyish good looks and devilish charms, I should have been beating the ladies off with a stick.”

Bonnie wondered if her sarcasm had truly gone over Kai’s head or if he was simply choosing to ignore it. “Not what I meant, at all, but okay.”

“My father tried to keep it under wraps for as long as he could but by the time I was fourteen word was out amongst the coven that I was a magical dud and a budding sociopath to boot, so none of those girls were exactly beating a path to my door. Combine that with dear old dad’s insistence that the family not fraternize with outsiders and that added up to a very empty social calendar for yours truly.”

“So, you never went out with anybody? You didn’t have any friends?”

“Not really. Sometimes I used to sneak into town. As useless and unbearable as I found most of the other kids in the coven, I’ve got to admit that nobody can conjure up a better fake ID than a bunch of bored, repressed teenage witches. And it’s not like we were going to snitch on each other. We all snuck into town. The atmosphere in the coven was suffocating; I wasn’t the only one that needed to get out and breathe every once in a while. Wouldn’t have really mattered if I got caught anyway. I was already a lost cause in my dad’s eyes. I didn’t have anything to lose.”

Kai fell silent as a faraway look crept into his eyes. It was almost like he had forgotten Bonnie was even still in the room; like his mind had gone somewhere else entirely.

“Kai?” Bonnie spoke hoping to jar him from his thoughts.

He sparked back to life. “Anyway, it was nice to get out and talk to people that didn’t know. Hadn’t already decided what I was and what I wasn’t. Sometimes it was just enough to be around somebody that didn’t flinch if I tried to touch them.”

Despite her best efforts, Bonnie sometimes felt herself softening towards Kai. At the very least she felt sorry for the person he could have been had he been born with his own magic or born into a family that could have loved him and taught him to love himself without it. Her sympathy however dissipated quickly when she recalled the look in his eyes as he had stabbed her.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Right. My point was that I’ve never had a real relationship before, so if I have one whoever I’m with would be my first choice.” He shyly dropped his eyes a way from hers. “My only choice.”

Awkward, Bonnie thought to herself. She hoped Kai wasn’t expecting some sort of response from her because she was literally speechless. She had given up on pretending that Kai didn’t have some sort of weird thing for her but that didn’t mean she was willing to discuss it with him or anyone else anytime soon.

Bonnie looked away from Kai to check her phone. It had been more than enough time for one of the couples coming to have shown up by now. Not only had no one come, she hadn’t gotten any messages or calls either. “Where are they? I wonder if something happened.”

“Please if something happened to any of them they would have already called you begging for help by now, wouldn’t they?”

“Yeah. I guess you’re right, but still maybe- “

“Maybe nothing,” Kai said cutting Bonnie off. “Your friends have the attention spans of rabid billy goats; anything could be distracting them. I say we finish making what is sure to be some very delicious salsa, grab some chips, go downstairs and start on our first movie. I’m sure they’ll be here soon enough.”

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

Bonnie and Kai were settled into the reclining seats with chips, Bonnie’s salsa, a bowl of popcorn and a big bag of Twizzlers sitting on the seat between them. Kai had insisted on dimming the lights for an authentic movie watching experience, so the only real light in the room was emanating from the screen.

It came as no surprise whatsoever that Kai was the type to talk through movies.

“I’m confused.”

“About what?”

“Are we not supposed to know that the boyfriend is the killer?”

“Really, Kai? This movie has only been on for twenty minutes. You’re not supposed to say who the killer is.”

“But I am right, aren’t I? Besides it’s not like I’m spoiling it for you. I’m the one that’s never seen this before.”

“That’s not the point. Will you be quiet?”

“If they don’t want you to guess the killer right away, they could have been a little subtler. I mean look at him. The greasy hair, the chock full of crazy eyes. I know a sociopath when I see one.”

“Well you know what they say. Takes one to know one.”

“Exactly.”

“Please shut up.”

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

The first movie had ended and still Elena and Damon nor Caroline and Stefan had shown up yet. Bonnie had tried calling all of them and had only been able to get their voice mails.

“Knowing them you know what they’re probably doing.”

“What are you talking about Kai?”

He wiggled his eyebrows in suggestive manner. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Let’s start another movie.”

Amazingly Kai was able to remain quiet until the end of the second movie. “I knew he was dead all along.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“You’re right, they got me pretty good with that one. People must have freaked out back in the day.”

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

By the time the third movie started Kai’s chatterbox tendencies had rubbed off on Bonnie. “You do realize that these movies make absolutely no sense. Mrs. Vorhees goes on a murderous rampage to avenge Jason’s death in the first movie, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So, Jason goes on a murderous rampage to avenge her death in all the rest of the movies.”

“Do you have a point, Bonnie?”

“If Jason wasn’t dead what was Mrs. Vorhees so pissed off about in the first place? If he was dead, how did he come back to life? Is he a ghost? A zombie? Every single movie other than the first one is utter nonsense because they ruin the entire premise of the series.”

“I. . .” Kai opened his mouth and then immediately closed it again. For the first time since Bonnie met him he had been rendered speechless. “I’ll be damned. I grew up watching these and I never even thought about that. Stop trying to ruin my childhood.”

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

Bonnie awoke with a start. It took a minute for her to get her bearings and remember where she was. She sat up slowly, the odd angle she’d fallen asleep at had caused a crook in her neck. The room was mostly dark as the last movie that she and Kai had been watching had long since ended. She checked the time on her phone and was surprised to see that it was just after midnight. Clearly, her friends had never shown up. She wanted to be more concerned, but it wasn’t like this was the first time they’d ditched her with no warning.

Bonnie looked over at Kai. He was turned sideways in his seat with his cheek against the headrest. She was taken aback at how young and innocent he looked. She supposed even the devil himself might look harmless while sleeping. She reached across the seat between them and shook his arm. “Kai, wake up.” When she got no response, she stood up and went closer; leaning over him and poking his shoulder.

Kai suddenly jolted awake, the contents of the half empty soda can in his hand splashing up onto Bonnie’s shirt in the process. He started apologizing immediately. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Calm down. I know it was an accident.” Bonnie was surprised by the horrified look on Kai’s face. She wondered where this sort of apologetic energy had been after he’d shot her with an arrow.

Bonnie grabbed a napkin and started dabbing at her shirt, but it wasn’t doing her much good. “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“I always keep a change of clothes in my car.” Life in Mystic Falls had taught Bonnie to be prepared for anything. “I’m just gonna grab a clean shirt.”

Kai followed behind Bonnie as she left the room. “It’s not that bad, is it? You don’t need to leave.”

“It’s cold and it’s sticky.”

“You can just wear something of mine.” Kai almost seemed to be pleading with her to not go outside.

“What is your problem? I’m not leaving, okay. I’ll come back.” And as much as the words leaving her mouth surprised her, Bonnie also knew that she meant them wholeheartedly. She didn’t want to leave. Despite herself she’d been having the best time she’d had in a while and genuinely did not want the night to end.

“I’ll grab a fresh shirt, come back and we can start another movie. Why don’t you go ahead and start up Nightmare on Elm Street and I can tell you all the things wrong with it too? It’ll be fun.”

“Sure.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

“Bonnie, wait.”

“What?”

“I just want to say that I had a really good time with you tonight.”

“Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye? I told you I’m coming back.”

“I know.”

Bonnie shook her head. “Weirdo.” She made a detour through the kitchen to grab her keys off the counter before making her way outside. As soon as she reached her car, her phone started going crazy.

Kai was leaning against the kitchen counter when Bonnie re-entered the house. “You know, I would have expected better from a mega powerful coven leader.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Bonnie had to admit that Kai’s poker face was world class. If she didn’t know for a fact what he had done his innocent act would have been quite effective.

“I’m talking about the fact that if you had extended the boundary of your spell just a few more feet down the driveway it would have taken me much longer to figure out what you’d done.”

“Still don’t have a clue.”

“Is this really how you want to play it? As soon as I stepped foot outside my phone started ringing. I have dozens of text messages and missed calls. Caroline, Stefan, Damon and Elena have been trying to get in touch with me all night. First, their cars wouldn’t start.”

“That sounds like a problem for Triple A. Don’t know what it has to do with me though.”

“In addition to their cars not starting, they’re bound where they are. Physically incapable of walking more than five feet away from where they are.”

“That’s crazy but strange things happen in this town all the time, am I right?”

“It was a spell Kai. A spell powerful enough to keep four supernatural beings in two different locations rooted to the spots they were standing on. How do you explain that?”

“So, it was a spell. It’s not like I’m the only other witch that’s ever blown through this one-horse town.”

“You’re not the only witch, but you’re the only one that would have done this.”

“Are you kidding? The Mystic Falls Scooby gang has collectively probably made enemies on every continent across the globe. Your bestie Damon alone can’t go two seconds without pissing somebody off. The list of people that might want to ruin their nights isn’t exactly short.”

“You can’t even do me the courtesy of just admitting what you’ve done?” Kai continued to stare at Bonnie, his arms crossed over his chest; his face completely blank. “I don’t know why I bother. I thought we were having a—" She stopped short realizing what she was about to say and pulling the words back into her mouth.

“Go ahead and finish. You thought we were having a good time and that’s because we were.” Kai stepped around the kitchen counter, closing the gap between Bonnie and himself. “Maybe I just wanted an opportunity to be alone with you and show you that I’m not some completely irredeemable monster. Maybe I wanted to be given half as much of a chance as you give everyone else. So maybe I bounced the cell phone signal away from this house. Maybe I bound those idiot friends of yours to the ground they were standing on, so they couldn’t leave.”

“So, you’re finally owning up?”

“I’m owning nothing. I’m just saying maybe I did those things.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe I didn’t.”

“You are so full of shit, Kai.”

“I can tell you one thing I definitely didn’t do. I didn’t do anything to make you stay. You weren’t bound in any way shape or form. None of your friends showed up and you were free to leave at any point, but you didn’t. You sat with me all night watching a bunch of dumb scary movies for no other reason except that you wanted to. There was no trick to it. You were genuinely enjoying my company more than you thought you would and more than you want to admit. I think that’s the part that probably pisses you off the most.”

Bonnie opened her mouth but closed it just as quickly. She was at a loss for a comeback because she couldn’t honestly deny anything Kai had just said. She would have been able to feel it if he had worked any magic against her and there had been nothing. They had laughed and talked, watched movies and taken a nap and she would have come back for more, if only he hadn’t done what he’d done.

This was all a little more than Bonnie was willing or able to process at the moment. “I’m out of here.” Bonnie grabbed her coat off the counter and stalked towards the living room. She turned back to look at Kai one last time before walking out the door. He was leaning back against the kitchen counter, arms dangling loosely by his sides. The air of defeat around him was almost palpable. She paused for a moment almost subconsciously willing him to say something, but he remained silent.

As the door shut behind her, she faintly heard Kai’s voice. “Happy Halloween, Bonnie.”

#bonkai #bonkai fiction #bookai2k18

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thevampirediariesdiary · 6 years ago

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1.19 Miss Mystic Falls (part 1)

So I watched this episode, and then spent multiple hours paralyzed in the face of writing anything about it. Miss Mystic Falls is classic, iconic Vampire Diaries, and I unabashedly love it. So naturally, that meant I eventually wrote so much that I decided to break the recap post into two parts.

Stefan pulls into the school parking lot in his flashy car, since it was a “waste to leave it sitting in the garage”. Are we talking about the car or you, Stefan? And how many analogues do we really need to see that Stefan wasn’t living life to the full and now he’s going whole hog? Elena asks him if he’s okay now, and he says, “Well, the worst part is over. Now all I wanna do is spend as much time with you as possible.”

“I’m okay with that,” Elena says, and kisses him. But when she tells him they shouldn’t be late, he tells her to go on ahead so he can get his stuff. Which isn’t technically a lie, because he does get his backpack – out of a trunk full of empty blood bags. Womp womp.

Poor Alaric has had his lesson plans for the month waylaid by town pride, because apparently the town founding is more important than World War II. His long-suffering teacher-ness gives me life, even though it’s a quality rarely on display. But both Bonnie and Stefan are back in school, so at least he has a full classroom, finally.

Damon is being harangued on multiple sides, which is funny, because he actually seems to be minding his own business for once in his life. Liz tells him there’s been another break-in and blood theft at the hospital, and John Gilbert suggests that he and Damon put their heads together to solve it. Damon agrees, but since Liz openly dislikes John as well, he isn’t nice about it: “Whatever I can do to keep this town safe, even if it means spending time with you.”

I enjoy this, because it means his friendship with Liz is genuine enough that Damon doesn’t feel like he has to be generically-nice vampire-hunter guy all the time - he can also be day-drinking, arbitrarily-belligerent guy. Then, as if this indignity wasn’t enough already, Anna shows up on his doorstep to tell him Pearl feels horrible about the whole debacle with Stefan getting tortured. When asked why Pearl isn’t there herself, Anna says, “She doesn’t really do apologies.” “Well that’s a coincidence,” says Damon acidly, “since I don’t really do forgiveness.” But they realize that neither of them was responsible for the hospital break-in, so what do you know, communication does have some uses.

Bonnie and Elena have a strained conversation. Elena had called to tell her that the tomb spell failed, and Bonnie says after that she didn’t really want to come home. But Caroline and Bonnie talked every day, apparently, and now that Bonnie’s back Caroline offers her a distraction: helping her prepare for the Founders Court and the Miss Mystic pageant.

Stefan gets home and immediately gets pounced on by his brother, who wants to know if he has any stories from school to share. “You’re making smalltalk,” Stefan accuses, “…why.” “You seem awfully chipper lately, less doom and gloom, more pep in your step,” Damon says, demonstrating said ‘pep’. “You think it’s because I drank human blood again,” Stefan supplies. “I mean I don’t wanna brag, but I would definitely take responsibility for this new and improved you,” Damon says. (Somewhere on the other side of the country, another vampire in a black leather jacket laughs and says “who am I kidding, I love to brag!”) “Alright, well, I hate to burst your bubble but, I’m clean,” Stefan tells Damon. “Yeah, not possible.” “Not only is it possible but it is quite true.” Damon isn’t swayed: “Stefan, let’s be serious for a second. You spent the last century and a half being a poster child for Prozac, and now you expect me to believe this new you has nothing to do with human blood, nothing?” Stefan just shrugs, repeats, “I’m clean.” Damon’s voice raises an indignant three octaves: “You’re lying.” “Believe what you want,” says Stefan. But basically five minutes later Stefan goes downstairs to his creepy blood fridge and Damon pops around the corner and asks when he was going to share that he’s a closet blood junkie. And Stefan, caught in the lie, completely reverses his previous stance: “So I’m drinking blood again, you’re the one who shoved it on me, what’s your problem?” Damon tries to explain that the problem is that Stefan is being obvious and they’re trying to keep a low profile here, but Stefan just adopts a “poor you” voice and says, “Have my actions negatively impacted you? I can’t imagine what that must feel like.” Damon tries a different tactic, and asks about Elena, but Stefan says that nothing’s changed, he’s the same person as always – so Elena doesn’t need to know yet. This frankly insane statement seems to get through to Damon, and he abruptly gets serious: “Look Stefan, you’ve been off the human stuff for years, if you’re having trouble controlling it –” “I’m not having any problems,” Stefan interrupts him, shrugging smugly. “Who do you think you’re talking to?” Damon says impatiently. “I know what it’s like, that Jekyll and Hyde feeling, there’s that switch, sometimes it goes off and you snap. Right now is not a good time for me to be worried about you snapping!” Stefan answers, “I know that it pains you to see this, but I’m fine. Okay? I’m fine. So, please, do me a favor, and back off.”

Side note: they do some really interesting stuff with lighting in this episode. In the second half of this scene, Stefan is lit by the open fridge:

And Damon is, for a good portion of the scene, just a silhouette in the doorway:

Stefan is perfectly visible, if dimly lit; Damon on the other hand appears in total darkness, you can’t even see his face. But then again, Stefan, who appears more clearly, is lit by the very thing keeping him underground. And Damon only appears shadowed because the light from the stairs is directly at his back. All he has to do is turn. Instead, of course, he steps forward to stand next to his brother.

Elena and Caroline and the other candidates interview for the Miss Mystic Falls position. Caroline’s extremely impressive litany of extracurricular and volunteer activities is juxtaposed with Elena’s confession that she’s been distracted this year, but takes the nomination seriously, and regards it as a legacy from her mother, who believed in community, honor, and loyalty.

John barges into the Salvatore house and complains that Damon has been dodging his calls. When Damon asks why he’s even bothering with the charade since it’s pretty clear he and Isobel aren’t interested in catching vampires, John answers, “Isobel and I have a mutual interest.” Damon’s eyes flicker for a moment, then John goes on to explain that there’s a stolen Gilbert invention that he and Isobel are looking for in the possession of Pearl. Damon, to John’s ever-so-satisfying surprise, tells him to leave: “I only entertained this whole blackmail scheme cause I thought you and Isobel could lead me to Katherine.” But if John knew anything about Katherine, he would know who Pearl was. “I’ll tell the entire council what you are,” John says, confused that this isn’t working the way he planned. “Go for it,” Damon tells him, “I’ll kill every last one of them, sever your hand, pull your ring off and kill you too.”

The Miss Mystic contestants and their escorts have dance practice. “Flirt with your eyes,” instructs Mrs. Lockwood.

“This is ridiculous,” Elena says. “You’re only saying that cause you don’t know how to do it,” Stefan tells her. “Sorry only one of us was around when the dance was invented,” Elena retorts. Stefan grabs, twirls, and dips her while she giggles – more voluntary dancing from the newly-non-inhibited Stefan – before Mrs. Lockwood informs them that there’s no touching in this part of the dance, it’s just about the “simple intimacy of the near touch”. Once she steps away, Stefan says, “If you ask me, the near touch is overrated.” “You seem to be in a good mood,” Elena comments. “That a bad thing?” Stefan says, sensitive as ever to accusations that something might be off with him. “Would you prefer me to be brooding and tortured?” “Hey, I’m not complaining,” Elena says, and reaches for him to reassure him.

“No touching,” he tells her, joking again.

And honestly, all of this would be exceptionally adorable, except that I’m pretty sure Stefan is basically in the middle of a manic episode. It’s never explained flat-out in a convenient vampire-fact, but based on Damon’s Prozac comment earlier and everyone commenting on Stefan’s mood shift, it seems like having a healthy diet of human blood keeps a vampire’s moods steady. So his many decades of only animal blood made Stefan a little bit broodier than he would be naturally, and now that he’s pretty clearly drinking more blood than his body actually needs, he’s buckets of fun and impulsivity. He’s a diet-induced manic-depressive.

Caroline and Bonnie arrive, Bonnie filling in as Car’s escort while Matt works. Caroline is, of course, anxious about her competition, particularly the sympathy vote Elena’s guaranteed because her parents died. She knows it must seem unimportant to Bonnie, but confesses, “I want this, and I actually deserve this!” Elena pulls Bonnie aside and Bonnie finally tells her what’s wrong: “She died for nothing….That’s just it, there’s nothing you can do. I blame [Stefan], him and Damon. But I’m not gonna put you in a position to choose sides. I’m just having a hard time with it, okay?”

Meanwhile, Stefan gets completely overwhelmed when a kid falls playing basketball and skins his knee. I know this is teen vampire bread and butter, but I don’t buy it. Ignoring the many everyday scrapes and papercuts and half-healed shaving mishaps that people regularly walk around with, half of the population is actively bleeding one eighth of the time, you can’t tell me that this is the first time Stefan has encountered the smell of blood all day! Give me consistent vampire fiction or give me death!! Either you’re in control all the time, or you’re not, because there is ALWAYS blood.

Alaric shows up to the Gilbert house to chauffeur Jenna and Elena to the pageant. “I thought I was driving,” John says, pitifully. “No need,” Jenna tells him. Alaric grins at John.

Nothing is working out for Uncle John the way he wants.

Anna’s hair is, like, the Ideal 2000s Messy Bun.

She tells Damon (who, look at that, is gorgeously lit) that she was supposed to participate in this very event back in 1864, before everything happened. “Ah,” he says, unsympathetically, “nostalgia’s a bitch.” But he helpfully shares the information he has about John and the Gilbert device.

next up: Miss Mystic part two, everything goes to shit

#rewatch #tvd #miss mystic falls #1.19

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imaginedisish · 6 years ago

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I Can’t Lose You (Colin Ritman x Reader) (Bandersnatch)

A/N: LADIES AND GENTS LET ME TELL YOU I AM WINDED. This took SO LONG. It’s SO LONG. No one asked for this, but I’m sad and oddly emotional due to crazy things from the past????? Idk, enough of my drama y’all came for the imagine...here’s some crazy angst WITH LOADS OF FLUFF DON’T WORRY!!!!! I won’t be able to post tomorrow, but I will DEF BE POSTING THE OTIS SMUT AND THE COLIN FLUFF ON SUNDAY!!!!!! IT’S GONNA ACTUALLY HAPPEN PEOPLE! ANYWAY, PLS ENJOY THIS!!!!!

Summary: Colin reveals his past trauma with his father to the reader, and the old man pays an unwanted visit.

Warnings: Mentioned/implied child abuse/physical abuse, implied fighting, mentioned/implied mental abuse, lots of language, angst, FLUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Word Count: 2,318 uuuuuuuuuuwwwwwuuuuugggggghhhh so long

Your forehead presses against the cold and unwelcoming glass, yet you stay exactly where you are, peering down at the city street underneath you. It’s dark and late, the only light coming from other buildings and neon signs. The few people walking below look so small, so insignificant compared to the problems happening up above, yet the movement made your heart clench with fear.

One of those people would be Colin, and in practically no time at all he would come up to your shared flat, and then…

Well you didn’t know what would happen past that, specifically because you didn’t want to. You just knew that Colin hadn’t been there, that he had been so rushed with you lately. You were tired of it. After dating him for three years, and knowing each other for even longer, you expected more from him. It wasn’t even as though you expected perfection.

You simply expected his love.

The love he promised he would never be able to lose.

You and Colin had clicked instantly. In fact, you had a crush on him from the very first second you saw him. You were going to meet your friend, Stefan, who worked at Tuckersoft, for lunch when you came across the blonde haired boy. He charmed you with the cock of an eyebrow, the glimmer of his crystal blue eyes. A slight adjustment of his square, silver frames, a quick kick to obnoxiously rest his feet on the desk in front of him, and you were all his.

But it felt like things had changed. You imagined that on the nights that he told you he was working late, he was really with another woman.

Maybe Kitty came back? Maybe it’s someone new? You think to yourself. The “Kitty” scenario was the scariest to you, because it was the most realistic. Kitty had left Colin three months before you and he started dating, and she took Pearl with her. You were Colin’s best friend at the time, and you consoled him throughout the whole ordeal. If she came back all of a sudden, especially with Pearl, you thought maybe, just maybe, Colin would go back to her.

When you asked Stefan, about it, he immediately shut you down. “No way, Colin legitimately is working on his game. Don’t worry (Y/N), we both know how Colin was when Kitty left, and just from that I can easily tell you he’d never go back to her,” Stefan had reassuringly said to you. A week later, you still didn’t believe him.

Suddenly, you hear the handle of the door to your flat twist, bringing you back to reality as keys jingle from the other side of the door. You immediately tense up, goosebumps spreading up and down your arms. You shudder, swallowing deeply as you push your fly-aways behind your ears. The door opens, and a familiar, tall, blonde figure trods into the flat.

He removes his glasses and rubs his face tiredly, too caught up in his exhaustion to even notice you sitting on the couch as he passes you right by.

“Colin, it’s one in the morning,” You choke as you feel the inevitable tears rush to your eyes.

Colin jumps at your words. “Jesus Christ I didn’t see you there, love,” Colin mumbles, walking over to the couch, a hand brushing through his platinum blonde hair. He stands in front of you, placing his silver rims back on the bridge of his nose. He smiles lightly, and you shake your head.

“We need to talk, Colin,” You finally muster the courage to say. Colin glances at you, a confused look spreading across his face. He pushes his silver rims farther up the bridge of his nose and takes a deep breath.

“Look, I know I haven’t been home very often, but I-,”

You cut Colin off, holding back your tears with all of the strength inside of you. “Just stop, Colin. I feel like I don’t know you anymore. It isn’t that you aren’t home very often, you’re practically never home at all,” You pause, collecting your thoughts. “You leave before I wake up, and you come home when I’m already sleeping. And God, when you are home you’re such jackass to me…” You trail off, not sure how to go on. Those words hurt to say more than you thought they would.

“I know and I’m so-,”

You cut him off again, “Listen, if you don’t love me anymore,” You pause, taking a deep breath as tears roll down your cheeks, “just fucking tell me now. We can’t keep doing this Colin. I can’t keep doing this.”

Colin shakes his head as he takes a seat in the chair next to you. His elbows rest on his knees, and he puts his head in his hands. “You really think I’ve fallen out of love with you, don’t you?” Colin asks, looking up for a split second before crashing back down to where he was.

You nod. “Yes,” You say, studying his position. He looks miserable, almost as if your accusations and assumptions made him feel even worse than he had been. He really didn’t see this coming, You think to yourself.

“That’s absolutely fucking ridiculous,” He says, standing up abruptly. He paces the room angrily. “I’d do anything for you. I’d sell my soul, I’d jump in front of a train, hell I’d jump off the bloody balcony!” Colin shouts like a mad man, pointing towards the terrace as his ocean eyes grow wider, his nostrils flaring. You stare at each other intensely for a second, before he proceeds to pace back and forth across the flat.

“Then why don’t you act like it, Colin?” You scream finally, standing up now as well. Colin stops pacing, his back now facing you. Silence falls upon the room once again. It feels like hours go by, and Colin still says nothing.

“Fine,” You mumble, “Then I guess I’m leaving…” You trail off, running into the bedroom, ready to collect your things and leave. You hear Colin’s feet shuffle across the floor as he chases behind you.

You violently throw the bedroom door open, rushing over to your shared dresser. Before you can open a drawer, Colin grabs your shoulders, forcing you to face him.

“I’ve been pushing you away because I’m afraid I’m going to lose you!” Colin shouts, his face bright red, tears filling his eyes.

You’re speechless. Colin had never said anything like this before.

Colin breathes deeply, and then continues. “Kitty left me, and I thought she loved me. I know you aren’t her, I’m bloody terrified nonetheless.”

“I’m not Kitty, Colin. I’m not just going to be here one morning and gone the next. I love you.” Your voice is soft and reassuring.

“Th-there’s some s-stuff I-I haven’t t-told you yet, too,” Colin stutters, turning away from you, moving towards the bed and sitting down on the edge of it.

“You can talk to me, Colin,” You say calmly, sitting down next to the blonde boy. You grab Colin’s shaking hand, holding it carefully in yours.

“It’s about my family, (Y/N),” Colin says, his left knee bouncing anxiously. Every time you had tried to ask Colin about his family, he’d brush the topic aside. You assumed he would tell you when he was ready, and now he was.

“My mother d-died,” Colin swallows harshly, “when I was young. And my father started drinking. He’s a real asswipe, you know?” Colin chuckles, trying to make a joke out of his trauma. “He’s the type that t-takes o-out the g-good old b-belt a-and…” Colin chokes, tears streaming down his face.

He takes off his glasses, setting them down next to him. Colin rubs his face, practically sobbing into his hands.

“Colin, you didn’t deserve to be treated that way, no one does. I’m so, so sorry,” You whisper, your heart clenching as you imagine the abuse Colin as endured.

“Well, he’s back. He came to the flat in the middle of night two weeks ago, while you were sleeping,” Colin breaths, squeezing your hand tightly. “He somehow knows who y-you a-are, and he said that h-he’d hurt you i-if,” Colin pauses, “i-if I didn’t pay him off.”

You don’t know what to say. Fear and anger fill your gut. You were terrified of Colin’s father, and you wanted nothing more than to make him feel all of the pain he made Colin feel.

“I’m working extra hours to give him what he wants, but God I’m afraid to lose you. I can’t fucking lose you. I j-just c-can’t,” Colin sobs, shaking his head violently. “I’d rather die than lose you. I’ve lost so much, (Y/N), and I don’t want to lose you next.”

You shake your head, wrapping your arms around Colin, pulling him into a tight embrace. “You’re never going to lose me, Colin,” You hum, planting a kiss into the crook of his neck. Colin breathes heavily and sniffles a bit before pulling apart from you.

“My mom would’ve loved you,” Colin whispers. A small smile spreads across his face, and you imagine that he’s thinking of a reality in which you get to meet her. You had never seen Colin this vulnerable before. He was always so nonchalant, so cool, so collected. It was such a stark contrast from the usual Colin you saw every day.

A violent knock, followed by a chorus of loud rapid ones boom from the front door, destroying the moment you and Colin had been sharing. Colin jumps up to his feet, fear filling his eyes.

“Colin, is it him, your dad?” You ask, standing up as well.

“S-stay here, okay? Things are going to be fine,” Colin says, kissing your forehead lightly before leaving the bedroom. You watch from the doorway as Colin moves across the flat and towards the door. He looks through the peep hole. “Shit,” he mutters under his breath.

“Open up, boy! Right now!” A voice shouts from the other side of the door. Colin jumps in place, and turns around towards you.

“I need you to close the bedroom door, and lock it. Right now. Do you understand?” Colin’s voice is firm and controlled. You shake your head violently.

“No, I’m not letting you do this alone. What if he hurts you? Why don’t we just call the police, Colin?” Your voice is shaky, your gut filling with panic. Colin shakes his head.

“Lock the door, (Y/N),” Colin says, facing you, his hand on the handle of the door, ready to open it.

“I love you, Colin,” You whisper.

“I love you, (Y/N),” Colin says back. You look deeply into his eyes one last time before closing and locking the door.

You hear the door slowly creek open.

“You better have the fucking money, you piece of shit!” A deep, evil voice yells from the front of the house.

“Get the fuck out of my life you prick!” Colin screams. “It’s one thing to threaten me, but it’s another to threaten the love of my life, the future mother of my children!”

“Please, I’m more than positive the last one left when she figured out the truth about you. No one wants you, Colin!” The voice booms. “No one wants a fucking damaged, worthless piece of nothing like you!”

“I’m not the worthless one here,” Colin says back.

“Oh yeah? So then why did Kitty leave with your daughter? Why don’t I love you? Why is this new girlfriend going to leave you just like the last?” The voice questions angrily. “You’re a creep, Colin! A fucking weirdo with your silly video game whatever-the-hell-you-do! Worthless nonsense, just like you!”

“Fuck you!” Suddenly, you hear a thud, a groan, and then you feel the floor beneath you shake. Your heart beats rapidly out of your chest. “That’s what you fucking get!” Colin shouts. “Stay on the ground you fucking ass. You’re the pathetic one, not me. Now you’re going to crawl your way out of my flat, and I’m going to call the police. How’s that for a plan, huh?”

“This isn’t the end. You’re a Ritman, you’ll turn out like me one day, trust me,” the voice says.

“I will never, ever be you. Trust me,” Colin says firmly, and suddenly the door slams shut.

You unlock the bedroom door, and swing the door open. “Colin?” You whisper nervously. You spot the blonde haired boy, still standing at the front door. He turns around, his bright blue eyes somehow glimmering intensely even in the dimly lit flat.

Colin rushes over to you, wrapping his arms around you, pulling you into his chest.

“I’m so sorry, love,” Colin whispers into your ear.

“You don’t need to apologize, Colin. None of this is your fault,” You breath. “I love you, and you deserve the world,” You pull apart from Colin, staring deeply into his eyes.

Colin presses a soft, warm kiss against your lips. Your heart flutters in your chest, just like it did the first time you saw him, the first time you talked to him, the first time you hung out as friends, and the first time you hung out as more than friends. He made you feel so special, so needed, and you hoped that you made him feel the same.

“Thank you, (Y/N),” Colin says as he pulls his lips from yours.

“For?” You ask, not sure what it is you did.

“You haven’t left me yet,” Colin giggles lightly, trying to poke fun at the extremely serious situation.

“And I never will,” You say, smiling widely. He pulls you back into his chest, his warmth making you long to stay in his arms forever.

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