#i KNOW he betrays her eventually because i was spoiled so maybe that's affecting my view of him lol

[fireflaked]

started shadow and bone today and im about halfway through it. i love alina with all my heart. and genya. the darkling is a little bitch

[axwalker]

Creep 2: I don’t care if it hurts

HIGH SCHOOL AU

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC  (Lexie O’Brien) Book TRR

MASTERLIST HERE

Synopsis: Drake and Lexie are star-crossed lovers. Her father hates him and forces Lexie to stop any contact with Drake. Lost and heartbroken, he “bullies” her for two years until he discovers the truth of Lexie’s behavior.

A/N 1 This came up to me after I got an ask from @nestledonthaveone​ to write a fic based on the song CREEP.

I used to hear this song when I was a teenager, so when I read this ask, I immediately wanted to write something angsty but situated in high school.

A/N 2: Because they’re younger than usual, I decided to change my  FC. 

Words: 4,110 

WARNINGS: Parental abuse, domestic violence, toxic love.

THIS IS NOT YOUR USUAL MARSHMALLOW DRAKE. He was abandoned as a boy, he’s tortured and he doesn’t know how to express his love. His behavior is not excusable.

This is a dark love story. If you’re not comfortable with it, PLEASE do not read it.  

ALL MY FICS ARE 18+

TAGS ON THE COMMENTS

As this is darker than usual; I’m only tagging the people who commented in the previous chapter. If you want to get on or off the list for this fic, please do not hesitate to ask!! 

DRAKE

Even if she never looks at me or speaks to me again, she’s mine. Even if I’ve been a horrible jerk to her for two years and she pales every time I pull into the parking lot on my motorcycle, she is mine. Just seeing her with him enrages me, so I walk straight toward my usual seat, directly behind Lexie, and slam my textbook down onto the desk.

Startled, Rys looks up at me, “Hey, Walker. What’s up?” 

It’s not the first time he tries to make a move on Lexie. Last time –two years ago, we almost killed each other. Pretty boy might be an entitled ass, but he knows how to fight. Maybe he thinks Lexie is game again after all this time. He couldn’t be more wrong. 

 “Don’t you have a class this period?” I ask him. Liam cocks his left eyebrow, adjusting the straps of his backpack. 

“I fail to see why that concerns you, Creep.”  

My smile is murderous. “Get the fuck out of here before I break your face, pretty boy.”

I think he has a death wish because he looks at Lexie when he talks, “See you after class, Alexis, when your watchdog will be busy mowing my lawn.” Finally, he just shakes his head and gets out of the classroom. I resume my daily routine. Staring at the back of Lexie’s head, tracing the curve of her perfect neck, my cock getting hard over her perfect cherry scent. 

“So that’s what you like,” I say, leaning forward to speak an inch from her ears. “You like them with blond hair and pink polo shirts. Prospects for Cambridge or shit. A huge trust fund. Don’t you? A brat like you needs someone who can spoil her. I bet you’d introduce him to daddy, wouldn’t you?” 

She doesn’t respond. She never does. Her eyes stay stubbornly on the front of the class where the teacher has started writing today’s lesson on the board—my hands fist in desperation. I’m dying for her to talk to me. To look at me. Anything. “Too bad, Lexie. I’ll scare every single one of those fucking entitled boys off. You’re going to sit alone in your house on prom night, crying into your designer sheets like a baby. And I’m going to enjoy it.” 

The only sign that she hears me at all is the quickening rise and fall of her shoulders. Even that tiny display that I’ve upset her is agonizing, floods me with self-loathing, but I can never stop. She ripped out my fucking heart, and I can’t deal with the consequences of that alone. I can’t let her go. I’ll never let her go. This toxic feeling is the only thing left between us. My hands shake with the urge to take her in my arms, to stop the trembling I caused. To protect her from everything. Even myself. I’d love to move my fingers up into the silky, brown hair that reaches the middle of her graceful neck. I don’t have a lot of money; most of the cash I earn as a handyman goes to food and fixing my dad’s cabin, but I’d give every last cent for her to turn and lock those soft brown eyes on me, just one last time. Sometimes when I jerk off, all it takes is fantasizing about Lexie looking at me, giving me one of those shy smiles, and I lose it. One stroke. Maybe two. Done. I can’t breathe without having her close. And I can’t breathe with her close. It’s a strange condition, this obsession, but she’s an addiction that I just can’t give up. 

How could I? She’s intelligent, strong, and so damned gorgeous. Once upon a time, I thought she had a good heart too. But that was before she broke my pathetic heart only because I’m poor. I’ve been hurting since then, and I need her to hurt too. To know what it feels.

“Do you actually think that dumb rich boy would be a good choice for your first time, Lexie?” I grip my desk so tight it nearly breaks down, just thinking about her being kissed –touched by someone else. “At least that’s one thing us poor motherfuckers have going for us. We know how to fuck. If you went out with Rys for a while, you’d eventually give in and come slumming it one night, wouldn’t you? Knock on my rundown cabin door, begging me to fuck you as we both know you’d like.”

A pretty blush is starting to climb her neck. I have to take a deep breath to keep from kiss her pink cheeks. But I think if I got to touch her skin, my wall of bullshit would crumble. I’ve only fucked one girl. Since seeing Lexie for the first time freshman year, there’s been no one but her. I want no one else. She owns my cock as sure as she owns my heart. How easily she’s forgotten about both leaving me in agony. 

“Stop,” she breathes. I freeze. Did she just speak to me? It’s the first time in two years that she’s even remotely acknowledged my existence. 

“Lexie,” I managed to say. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. That’s all it took. One pleading word out of her mouth, and I’m done. 

“Just stop,” she says again, turning her head slightly. “Please.” 

I fall back in my chair, my heart thundering on my chest. If we weren’t in the middle of class, if I didn’t feel like a monster, I would pull her into my arms right now. I’d hug her until she stopped struggling, then beg her to hit me, bruise me, make me pay for every shitty thing I’ve ever said to her. But before long, the class is over, and she’s leaving the classroom to get out of here. To put distance between us as quickly as possible—and I have no choice but to watch her because I feel physically ill. Still, I manage to get out into the student-packed hallway, my plan to apologize for being crude and a jerk and torturing her for so long. 

My head is telling me not to apologize, though. It’s telling me she deserved it for being such a snob, for breaking me, for valuing money and status like everyone else. My damned heart is telling an entirely different story. It’s insisting there is an explanation for her behavior. Am I going to apologize or not? The decision is taken out of my hands when Lexie opens her locker, and the little gift I left before class falls down. It’s a picture I cut out from our last yearbook. In the photo is a gorgeous smiling Lexie above the caption Most Likely to Succeed. Except I’ve crossed out the caption and added my own. Most Likely to Be a Trophy Wife. Watching her read it, I almost get sick right there in the hallway. Usually, she’s perfectly composed, not betraying a trace of emotion where I’m concerned—a real Ice queen. I’ve always thought she honestly didn’t care. Today, though… she’s not pulling it off. Something is not okay with her, and I don’t like it. She has to bite down on her bottom lip to stop it from quivering as she puts the photo back into her locker, out of sight, her bright eyes finding me briefly, massacring me where I stand. Betraying with one single look how much she has been affected by my actions. Christ. She hasn’t been indifferent at all.

Before I can react, before I can call her name, she’s gone, vanished into the crowd of wild students excited to be leaving for the day. And I know what I have to do. I have to see her. To apologize. To get an explanation for everything. Tonight. I’ll return to her house for the first time in two years.

LEXIE

I’ve known this was coming all day. Sitting on the couch in my living room, trying to make myself as small as possible, I watch my father pace. He rants, gesticulating noisily. This isn’t new, my father’s rage threatening me. But it’s going to be worse than usual. Business has declined for him and it’s put his temper on a trigger. Dad’s new wife, Nancy, hates to be on a budget, and she’s been spending his money like crazy all over Paris --where she’s now. When dad gets home from the office, he’s rarely in anything but a horrible mood. A tornado eating up everything in its path. Completely terrifying. At least dad’s temper makes me forget what Drake told me today, the ugly words he said to me, the boiling anger in his eyes when he looks at me. 

“Are you even listening?” The slap across the face comes as a shock because I’d momentarily disappeared into my thoughts, but the sting quickly brings me back to reality. 

“Yes, sir,” I say, my ears ringing. “I’m listening.” 

“This C on your algebra test is going to drag your whole average down.” He’s waving the test in my face. “What a disappointment you are, Alexis. Your teacher shared my disgust.” I nod solemnly, but I’m listening for the rain outside. “I guess you’re your daughter’s mother after all. A poor Mexican girl who could barely count.” It’s not true. My mom learned English and Greek by herself, and she was a great Spanish teacher in Portavira, but my father would rather die than acknowledge how smart she was. 

“Don’t talk like that about her,” I retort.

My father snorts. “I beg your pardon?” He takes a step towards me, and I can see the threat in his eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” I hate to be such a coward, but I know what he can do to me.” I’ll do extra credit. Something to bring my grade back up to an A.” I wet my lips. “Even if I can’t manage to raise the grade, it’s not going to show up on the college transcripts I sent off with my applications.” That’s the reason I let my focus slip a little in algebra. The finish line is in sight for everyone, and we’re just waiting to find out where we’ll be accepted for college. It’s a wonder I’ve been able to maintain my focus this long in any class, considering Walker sits behind me in every period, brooding making me feel … something. At the reminder of him, I want to close my eyes and dream about him. I replay that night in my garden when he kissed me two years ago, so tenderly and passionately, when he spoke to me so sweetly and honestly before he became the second villain in my story. Someone I dread, as much as I crave the sight of him.  

At least that’s one thing us poor motherfuckers have going for us. We know how to fuck. If you went out with that punk for a while, you’d eventually give in and come slumming it one night, wouldn’t you? Knock on my trailer door, begging me to ride you right. 

Should I be ashamed of the way my body reacted to those words? I grew uncomfortably damp in the hard plastic chair, the center of my body clenching, seeming to beat like a heart. His breath on my neck made me shiver, head to toe. Even the way he scared off Liam Rys did something to me. Aroused me. Deeply. It got so bad that I broke the rules and asked him to stop. I can still hear him saying my name in that tortured way after. That shocked, uneven sound. Lexie. And whether I’m ashamed of myself for it or not, I know I’ll think of it when I touch myself tonight. His voice, his hands, his eyes obsess me. 

“College?” My father snorts, tearing the test in half. “You’re not going to college.” 

This grabs my attention. A horrible feeling is making me cold. “I’m…what? What do you mean? I applied to nine different schools. I have a four-point five GPA.” 

For the first time, I notice his red face is about more than just rage. There’s…humiliation. I’ve never seen him display that emotion. 

“None of the American colleges that accepted you offered scholarships.” 

“I’ve been accepted?” I gasp, sitting forward, heart pounding in my chest. “Where? I didn’t see the letters—” 

“All the mail in this house goes through me, Alexis. I read them. And you failed to get academic scholarships. You failed. Not that I’m surprised.”

 I don’t point out that his refusal to let me participate in any extracurricular activities is more than likely to blame for that. I’m too worried about what he’s saying, what this means. The blood is draining from my head, making the room spin around me. 

“Okay, I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry. But…we have money. We can pay tuition, can’t we? Or colleges in Cordonia are almost for free. I can go to any of them; I don’t have to go to NYU.” I have to get out of here. I have to get out of here. This is my way out. College is the escape route. I counted on going back to New York, but I can stay here and go to college in Cordonia City. 

“Listen to you, so quick to spend my hard-earned money—spoiled brat. And of course, you can’t go to college in Cordonia. What for? To end up being a schoolteacher like your mom? A housewife as Nancy?” He laughs bitterly. “No, you’ll stay here, and I’ll help you find someone suitable to marry.” 

I shake my head. “There’s financial aid, then. Loans or I can get a job and go to college in Portavira…” 

“You want to leave, just like her, don’t you? You’re all the same.”

 I don’t even flinch when he yanks me to my feet, shoving me into the wall. In fact, for the first time, I took him right into his eyes. And I can see the violence burning on them has nothing to do with me. It never had anything to do with how I behave, my choices, how hard I worked in school. How welcome I made Nancy feel or cooked a roast. It’s about him and his self-loathing. It’s his sickness. Not mine. I can also see that he was never going to send me to college. Because he wouldn’t be able to control me from a distance or stop me from sharing what I’ve been subjected to since my mother died. Not like he does now. He wasn’t physically abusive all the time. Especially not when his new wife is around. But she traveled often, and then he’d push me. Shove me. Slapped me several times. I’ll graduate at the top of my class for nothing. He knew I would all along. 

That’s when I realize I’m free. I don’t have money, but college is free in Cordonia. I can work, save a little and go to college in one or two years. I’ll be a writer; it’ll just take more time than I thought. “Go to hell,” I whisper. 

He steps back, giving me the momentary satisfaction of his shock. “What did you say?”

Liberated, I scream it this time. “Go to hell!” From the moment I sat down to have this conversation, I knew tonight would be worse than usual, but I’ve just bought myself a ticket to hell. Usually, I can retreat to the untouchable place inside of me as he unleashes his rage, but not tonight. He doesn’t stop at one or two slaps. He punches and kicks, and I’m present for every punch and kick. Every yelled insult. Finally, I start to get scared. I’m crawling across the carpet on my hands and knees, searching for a weapon I can use in my defense when I glance out the window and see Drake staring back at me, his face a mask of horror.

 Drake

 What I’m seeing just isn’t possible. It can’t be real. My head won’t accept it. Not until her terror-filled eyes meet mine through the window and the truth pounds on my chest, leaves no doubt that this is real life. Lexie’s father is beating her. Her mouth is bloody, one of her eyes beginning to swell, arms and legs visibly weakened. I can barely fucking process it before my body is springing into action, desperate to protect her. To put a stop to the worst thing I have ever seen. What the fuck. Scorching hot rage takes over. I kick in the front door and throw myself between Lexie and her father. His fist is raised, but it pauses when he sees me, his momentary confusion giving me the time I need to knock him out cold. It only takes one right uppercut from someone his own size, and he goes down, his blank, glassy eyes staring at nothing, mouth opened. It’s not satisfying enough.

Nothing will ever be satisfying enough. I want to kill him, destroy him, but my Lexie is struggling for breath behind me, and she’s all I can think about. Turning, I approach her, my heart threatening to jump off my chest. As gently as I can, I catalog all of the cuts and purpling skin. No. No. Who could do this to her? Who could lay a finger on her in anything but reverence? Get her out of here. Calling her name, I reach down to pick her up, but she flinches and hurries back, bringing her body up against the wall. 

“Don’t touch me!” Those words filled with fear rip the soul clean out of my body. My hands drop limply to my sides and two years come rushing back, hitting me in the chest like a hammer. Every word, every action. Everything I did to make her life harder when this is what she’s been dealing with at home? Fuck me. 

“Lexie…” My voice is as kind as I can. I feel broken. “I’m sorry. I came here to apologize. For everything.” 

She puffs a humorless laugh, testing her cut lip with the tip of her tongue. “Bet you weren’t expecting to see this.” 

“If I knew this was happening, I would have been here a long time ago. I would have stopped it. I swear Lex.” 

Her expression can only be described as stunned. Maybe even a little pissed. “You are not my savior, Drake. You are my enemy. You’ve been for two years, and I want nothing else from you now.”

 “I am not your enemy.” Those words barely make it out of me, my chest hurts so fucking bad. “Don’t say that.” 

Unsteadily, she uses the wall to try and stand. I try to help her, but she recoils, and it’s a dagger straight into the center of my throat. Nothing less than I deserve, though, isn’t it? Her distrust of me is entirely my fault. I’ve made her hate me. There has to be some way to fix what I’ve done. Please God, let there be away. But right now, my main concern is her physical safety. Knowing she’s been in danger all along is unbearable. I only decided to come here tonight a few hours ago. What if I didn’t? What if I arrived an hour later? The possibilities are going to haunt me for the rest of my life. From the floor, her father groans, shifting slightly. 

“We need to get you out of here,” I say, anxious to get her free of this place. “Now, Lexie. I need to get you somewhere safe.” 

She’s standing now. Leaning against the wall and cradling one arm to her stomach, regarding me warily. “How do I know I’m safe with you?” It’s so much worse that her question is honest. Not meant to hurt me. She honestly doesn’t know if I pose a threat. It guts me where I stand. 

“You are the safest with me,” I say thickly, cursing myself. Wanting to erase the last two years so badly, my hands shake. “Please believe me. I’d die before hurting you. I’d never, Lexie. I’d never do something like that.” 

Her father rolls over onto his back and slurs a few words before losing consciousness again. Still, the sound of the older man’s voice seems to scare Lexie, “I…maybe you can just give me a ride to…a motel maybe?” She pushes off the wall, her step uneven as she walks toward the stairs. “I need some things from my room.” 

It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her we don’t have time, but I’m just grateful she’s trusting me enough to leave with me, so I don’t argue. I just wait until she’s halfway up the stairs, then tie her father’s hands behind his back with my belt in case he wakes up before we leave. I have no problem knocking him out a second time, but Lexie has seen enough violence for one night. Cautiously, I walk up the stairs toward the light coming from a room halfway down the hall. This place is a far cry from my home. It’s elegant and clean, and tasteful, but it lacks any warmth whatsoever. It’s cold, like a museum. Turning the corner into Lexie’s room, it’s time to hate myself all over again. There is nothing on the walls, none of the expensive furnishings. Just four white walls, a bed, and a dresser that doubles as a desk. Several textbooks. She looks back at me over her shoulder as if judging my reaction, and I keep my features impassive, though I’m dying on the inside. 

“What can I do?” I ask. 

“How long do we have?” 

“As long as you need.” It’s physically painful not to pull her into my arms when I’m standing this close, and she’s hurt. Sad. Yet full of more inner strength than I’ve ever witnessed in another human being. I’m lucky just to be in her presence. I fucked up royally. And if she allows me back in, I’ll never do it again. It’s probably, definitely, too much to hope for. Being allowed back in. She doesn’t even look sure about having me in her room. Let alone her heart. I was trying to protect my own heart, but I lost it instead. 

 “Um…” She closes her eyes to focus, a familiar trait I’ve seen in class countless times. “There is a black bag in the hallway closet. Can you just stuff anything into it from the bathroom that looks useful?” 

Ask me to bring you a unicorn. I’ll find a way to do it. “Sure.” We work in silence, Lexie taking things out of drawers and adding them to the bag, which I’ve left open on the floor. I add toiletries from the bathroom, and once it’s zipped, I wait, watching her hesitate in the doorway. 

“Lexie?” Conflicted chocolate eyes meet mine. 

“I can’t just leave, can I?” 

“You’re not safe here, baby,” I say softly, trying to keep the residual rage at bay because it’s the last thing she needs. Not to mention she’s had her fill with negativity from me. No more. “How long…how long?” 

She shrugs, the saddest expression in her eyes. “My mom died five years ago. Ever since then, it’s gotten worse and worse. Although I never had a chance to talk to anyone about what happened behind closed doors, you know? I don’t think a person can evolve into a monster. It’s inside him.”

 “I don’t know,” I say. “I became one, didn’t I?” 

That gives her pause, forms a line between her delicate brows. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.” 

She starts to walk past me, stops, standing close enough to fill my nose with cherry. “He told me if I ever spoke to you ever again, he would hurt me. Ruin you, have you evicted. Make sure you never got hired again. I didn’t mean to…hurt you. Or hurt your feelings, if that’s what happened.” 

That revelation destroys me, sets me on fire. “Jesus, Lexie. You were protecting me? And I…I tortured you for it?” I twist the neck of my T-shirt, trying to calm down, but it doesn’t work. I’ll never be calm again “I’m so fucking sorry.” 

She glances at the doorway, then back at me, eyes closed again in that way that says she’s thinking. “All I want from you now is a ride out of here, okay? And on Monday morning, you’ll stop.” She opens her shining eyes again. “No more bullying, Drake. If you’re really sorry, you’ll do that for me.” 

Fuck. I couldn’t say one more single shitty thing to her if my life depended on it. Put me at gunpoint, and I’d rather get shot at than torture this girl for one more second. But I’m highly, painfully aware that with an end to the bullying comes an end to the possessiveness. No more scaring off guys who show interest in her. No more getting close enough in class to count the hairs on her head, to smell her sweet fragrance. And to tell the truth, I’m pretty fucking worried I don’t know how to give those things up completely. I don’t think I can physically do it. This addiction with Lexie isn’t something I can cut off. A leg would be easier to sever. But my hesitation is causing her eyes to worry. If I don’t agree to, essentially, let her go… she’s not going anywhere with me. And that means her safety won’t be guaranteed. I need it to be. More than anything. 

“No more bullying,” I say, finally. A moment later, I follow her out of the room and down the stairs, trying desperately to count the hairs on her head before I no longer have the chance.

[yandere-daydreams]

darling escapes from atsumu & runs to osamu for help, not knowing that the twins share the same feelings for her

I try to keep my Reader-Inserts gender neutral as often as possible, but I /love/ the idea of escaping from one brother, only to fall into the loving arms of another. At least Osamu’s a little nice, or, he can be, at least. He tries to be. Sometimes. Maybe. If you’re really, really lucky.

Title: Trade Off.

TW: Kidnapping, Captivity, Mentions of Physical Abuse, Dehumanization, and Slight Infantilization.

~

Osamu greeted you with a hug.

From anyone else, it wouldn’t have been surprising. What kind of friend wouldn’t hug you - a missing person, a victim of something awful with the evidence littered all over your skin, in burns and cuts and too many bite-marks to count, but Osamu had always been reserved. A hug from him was like rain in the desert, snowfall in the tropics, and despite everything you’d done to earn something more than just a stiff embrace and a moment of uncharacteristic affection, you’d cherished it. You’d fallen into it. You’d wanted it and you’d loved him for it, if only because it was something Atsumu’d never do. If only because it reminded you how different he was from his twin, despite their identical appearances.

If only because, from that point forward, you’d been sure you made the right choice by running to him, before friends and family and a dozen more reasonable choices. You were still sure.

It’d proved he cared about you, and that was something his brother could never do.

Even now, his protective fondness hung in the air, laying over you and keeping you warm like a blanket of worried glances and soft touches, Osamu taking any excuse to rest his hand on your shoulder or let his fingers brush against yours, little things to reassure himself that you were there and you were real, even if hours had already passed since you turned up on his doorstep. You’d already told him about Atsumu, how he’d turned into a monster overnight and the more palatable parts of your captivity, and he’d sat across from you in the cramped living-room, nodding occasionally and letting you speak, getting you a cup of something hot and herbal when your eyes went cloudy and your hands started to shake. You drank it down, thankful for the excuse to stifle the words you found pouring off of your tongue, despite your best efforts to hold them in.

Osamu took your story in stride. With his chin resting on his fist, he scanned over you, his gaze lingering passively on Atsumu’s shirt, the only piece of clothing you’d been able to grab before you fled, and a particularly bad bruise over your shoulder, dipping down until it reached your collarbone. “Want to use my phone?” He offered, his voice flat, but the question itself full of concern. “Your folks must be worried sick. I wouldn’t blame you for wantin’ to get out of here sooner than later.”

You should call someone, your parents, the police, someone, but a selfish, exhausted part of you just wanted to curl up on Osamu’s couch and spend a few more days in denial, pretending the past few months of your life hadn’t happened or dismissing the fact that they’d continue to take a toll on you. Embracing the idea wouldn’t be a good idea, but it couldn’t hurt to indulge it. Get a few hours of sleep, see if you could find a decent pair of pants. Take in Osamu’s hospitality rather than try to tell yourself you didn’t need it. “I need a little time,” You said, shaking your head idly. “You don’t mind if I hang around for a while, do you? I just… I’d like to get my story straight. Saying ‘my famous boyfriend locked me in his basement because he loved me’ might not go over well with the police.”

That earned an airy chuckle. Osamu stood, taking you by the hand to help you do the same. “C’mon. I have a spare room I’ve been fixin’ up, you can stay there for as long as you need to.”

You smiled up at him, and he smiled back. You weren’t sure whether it was relief, joy or gratitude that flooded into your body before you could remind yourself to be cautious, but you let Osamu guide you through his home without complaint, only letting go of his hand when he came to a white door at the end of a long hall, and Osamu had to fish through his pockets to find its key.

‘Fixing up’ had been an understatement.

You weren’t sure if Osamu and Atsumu had a younger sibling, any cousins they favored, but if they did, those kids must’ve been spoiled rotten. The walls were painted a rich, pastel pink, the desk and the bed both new and trendy and absolutely covered in trinkets and toys, things that fell somewhere between decorative and unnecessary. There weren’t any windows, but with a flip of a switch, a small army of lamps lit the room with a soft glow, making you want to fall onto the plush rug that covered most of the floor and lose yourself in the unadulterated homeyness. You couldn’t say you were difficult to impress - with Atsumu, your ‘room’ was either an empty, darkened closet or a crate, sometimes big enough to accommodate you, sometimes not. This felt… extravagant, in comparison. More than you deserved. More than you could accept without paying a price.

It made sense when you heard the door close behind you, a lock clicking into place and Osamu’s key slipping back into his pocket. Your heart still froze into your chest, your pulse slowing down and racing at the same time, but it made sense.

You swallowed your nerves hastily, forcing yourself to turn around and cross your arms over your chest. A futile gesture, considering Osamu’s height and your blatant frailty, but it was too early to grovel. If he wanted to push you around, you’d prove you could push back. “Let me out, now. I don’t know if you think this is funny, but--”

“I started putting this together the day after ‘tsumu got to you. It was already too late, no one knew what ditch you’d died in, but what the hell, right?” He walked past you swiftly, not bothering to acknowledge your rebellion. He didn’t speak loudly, nor was he any more imposing than he’d been a minute ago, but what he was saying, how casually he was saying it, was enough to render you speechless. Absentmindedly, he slid open the closet’s mirrored panel, rummaging through its contents as he went on. “It wasn’t hurting anyone, and if I was gonna get my hands on you eventually, I’d have a plan. He’s too impulsive, never had to wait for anythin’ in his life. I was worried he was gonna break you, for a few weeks.” He paused, pursing his lips as he found what he was looking for. Clothes were thrown at your feet, a full outfit too sheer and too minimalistic to be for your enjoyment. “Change. I’ve wanted to rip those fucking rags off of you since you got here.”

You didn’t bother responding to that. You had a feeling it would only fuel his smoldering hostility. “This isn’t--” You bit your tongue before you could finish. ‘It’s not fair’ was something a child would say, and you were an adult, a capable, independent adult. Clearly, you’d already done something to make the Miya twins think otherwise. “You have to let me go, Osamu. I just got away from your brother, I just got free, you can’t take that away from me. We’re supposed to be friends. You’re supposed to care about me.”

“I’m doing this because I care about you.” On their own, the words might’ve been kind, empathetic, but whatever warmth his gaze held was balanced out by the way his lips curled back, how his tone turned into a snarl so easily. “What would you do if I opened that door? Run off and tell the cops? Knock on doors until you find someone willing to believe that a celebrity and his twin both tried to kidnap you, back to back? Or, would you go crawling back to ‘tsumu, see if he still wants you after you let his brother put his hands all over you?” He had a way of laughing at his own jokes, the noise so arrogant, so confident, so annoying, it was hard to believe he’d ever found anyone else funny. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he couldn’t. “I’m trying to be nice, but if you make this hard for me, I’ll make it hard for you.”

You grit your teeth, but your body betrayed you, eyes flickering down to the cloth at your feet. “I can manage on my own--”

“Don’t lie to me.” His fingers were in your hair before you noticed he was moving, forcing your head to bow as his blunt nails dug into your scalp. “You’re helpless, and you know you are. If you aren’t in ‘tsumu’s bed, you’re gonna be in mine, and you’re smart enough to make the right choice. Fucking change, before I start to think it’d be easier to throw you out myself.”

You stiffened, going rigid under his palm. Then, you kneeled, taking up the silken fabric and casting him one last glare before retreating to the other side of the room, turning your back to Osamu as you slid Atumu’s shirt over your head. 

 Just exchanging one kidnapper for another.

~

Silently, Osamu watched as you fled and regrouped, facing away from him to hide the way your shoulders trembled, your body shaking so violently, Osamu couldn’t be sure whether or not you were trying to make him pity you. He didn’t mind, though. He’d been waiting months for this. Years, honestly, but Osamu’s teenage daydreams hardly centered around taking in his brother’s wayward brat. If Atsumu had tried to train you, he’d done a piss-poor job. You were as obedient as you would’ve been fresh-off the streets, and now you knew all the tricks and tactics of a well-worn captive.

Still, he’d be lying if he said he was disappointed. Already, a collection of incentives were burning holes in his mattress, tucked under his bed and waiting to be used the first time you acted-up with something more aggressive than words. Luckily, you were too preoccupied to notice his mouth moving in a silent prayer, words of thanks that you’d turned down his offer to use his phone. If you thought to go through his messages, his call history, you wouldn’t have liked what you found. He was already planning for how… distressed you’d be, at the next trade-off.

If you were this fussy to fall into Osamu’s care at all, he couldn’t imagine how you’d act when Atsumu’s next turn came around.

[kasjophe]

okay here we go durmstrang!harry and beauxbatons!draco

so I saw some gorgeous art of this au and obviously I love it- and my brain came up with whole storyline - it's a bit long post, I believe it's interesting so I hope you enjoy

After murder of James and Lily Potter & defeat of Voldemort - while whole Wizarding World were celebrating - baby Harry and Draco were send off abroad.

Dumbledore arranged Harry's departure himself, pulled few strings, contacted old acquaintances in Norway. Far away enough from England but close enough for Albus to just pop up if needed. It's the Chosen One we're talking about (I could elaborate and explain Dumbledore actions basing on the fact that he knew, bc of course he bloody knew, that Sirius didn't betray Potters and traitor was out there, pretty much capable of laying his hands on infant between muggles) And so young Potter found himself in small wizard village, raised by pretty tough-love kinda people (but still not fkn abused like with the Dursleys) /everyone can imagine it differently but I can see him growing up with some woman and her brother? (a bit anne of green gables kinda thing)/ Kids in the village didn't know about the boy who lived, but it's been explained to Harry what happened to his parents. He was taught magic since he was little, trained to be a soldier and just enough affection kept him obedient. /I can see the woman raising him feeling conflicted - she needed to protect this oblivious boy and that meant either toughening him up so he could think for himself and survive or raising him the way albus pleased/

Malfoys knew they couldn't stay in England after fall of the Dark Lord, their image was damaged, wrong moves could ruin them completely, so they moved away to France, where some distant relatives once lived anyway. Draco grew up pretty much the same, just influenced more by the place where he lived. /of course with that come changes in Lucius career path, relationships in the family, social status and Malfoy's fortune/ Draco was a spitting image of Beauxbatons, brilliant and beautiful.

And you could think that alongside with Harry came Voldemort - but how? First, Voldy was after philosopher's stone, which was in hogwarts, far away from where harry was, and let's not pretend, Albus could easily protect the stone himself. Chamber of Secrets? How would it be opened if Malfoys had the diary? 3rd year; Sirius has absolutely no idea where his godson is so his goal instead is to prove to Remus his innocence - and he manages that of course. Lupin demands to know where is Harry from Dumbledore (and he either tells them or refuses to "for Potter's safety") but then comes 4th year - and since there was no incident with werewolf Lupin is still DADA teacher - so there's no Mad Eye and even if, this time Crouch wouldn't take his place - because no-one in England knows where Harry even is (Karkaroff knows but if I remember right only when the tournament started he realised Voldemort might be back so who would he tell lol?), so why set up a trap on Triwizard Tournament?

Of course both Harry and Draco arrive at Hogwarts that year - that's where their history starts. I'm sure Dumbledore and Malfoys were reluctant of letting boys go there but hey- Durmstrang students eventually learned about famous Potter and Harry insisted he wants to see his homeland cause what could go wrong? And Malfoys, well, Draco is spoiled and stubborn of course he's going.

Wormtail obviously run away in 3rd year and he might have found Voldemort so some action could be taking place in goblet of fire after all, so maybe Crouch took over MadEye last minute and put in Harry's name. But honestly that seems very unlikely in my opinion so if there are any creative writers - something else could've happened sure.

Also another quite obvious thing - even if everyone go crazy over Krum and don't notice Harry at first, he is a brilliant seeker after all and I'm sure he's under Victor's wing on the quidditch team. So Hogwarts students quickly add 2 plus 2 and realise that bloody hell it's Harry Potter. Which means Sirius and Remus can meet him. (Somehow)

There's also that particular white haired boy in lightblue cape that seems to be staring at Potter all the time and oh merlin is he coming his way? no way- oh my he's here, oh he's British too but lives abroad? so they have something in common- wow he's so talkative and OH MERLIN HE'S SO TOUCHY- is that a French thing?? oh playing quidditch? that must be why he's even talking to him..

Do with this what you want cause I suck at writing but need more drarry and this au.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Nice! I'm loving how you write, you write really well! 😍 could you write jiggy as a rogue cultivator? His Nie brother was angry enough that he thought it would be a good idea to bail for a little. And something something 😊

“Of course I’ll recognize him,” Jin Guangshan said when the war was won, and those were the words Meng Yao had been waiting for so long to hear. The validation he’d craved, that he’d demanded, that he’d betrayed and killed and schemed for – his mother’s first and last dream for him, the one he’d sworn to her memory that he would honor no matter what the cost.

The man wasn’t even talking to him.

“He’s my son, isn’t he?” Jin Guangshan said, puffing his chest out as all the cultivators around him oohed and ahhed over his generosity. “He’ll be part of the family, with a proper name and everything – you can call him Jin Guangyao.”

“A good name,” one of the sycophant sect leaders that always hovered by Jin Guangshan’s side said, sickening smile on his lips; it was echoed by those like him.

Guang – that was the name of the prior generation. Properly speaking, given his age, it ought to be Jin Ziyao, but that would be too much, wouldn’t it? It might imply that he had anything to do with the next generation, with the line of succession, and Jin Guangshan clearly didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea, least of all him.

This is what I’ve sacrificed so much for?

“He’d already joined the Jin sect, you know,” Jin Guangshan was telling someone now. “Before we sent him off to be a spy – his merits should be counted in the Jin sect’s favor, when we begin to split up the spoils. And since he was the one who brought down Wen Ruohan, that should get us the most…”

Meng Yao instinctively tensed, waiting for Nie Mingjue to give Jin Guangshan the tongue-lashing a shameless statement like that deserved. When it didn’t come, he turned to look at the man.

Nie Mingjue was sitting down, which he hated to do, his eyes blankly gazing out into the distance. His clothing was clean, and his saber was at his back; there was nothing in his bearing or posture that hinted that he’d been in chains less than a full day earlier, forced to kneel before the man he hated most.

He looked tired.

Meng Yao suddenly wanted to go to his side the way he had when he was the man’s deputy. No one would have questioned it, back then; it would have all been simple and straightforward, the way most things were with the Nie sect. They would have all assumed he had some reason, or even just that Nie Mingjue would be happy to have him there – and he had been, consistently, even if Meng Yao really hadn’t had any reason to be there.

Everyone just accepted that his rightful place was at the Sect Leader’s side.

Even if there’d been whispers implying things between them, and of course there’d been whispers, quite a large number of people had actually sounded admiring about it, of all improbable things – he’d limped once because of a rock in his shoe, and half a dozen cultivators had offered him toasts, quite sincerely, for having had the bravery to scale such an imposing mountain.

Nie Mingjue wouldn’t be happy to have him there now.

There wasn’t any reason for him to go there now, anyway. He’d done just as Nie Mingjue had predicted, the bitter words he’d hissed to Lan Xichen when the latter man had proposed they swear brotherhood when the battle had ended: you know he only wants the glory so that he can buy his way into his father’s sect, why should I let him step on me to get there more than he has already –

He’d agreed to swear brotherhood, in the end. Meng Yao didn’t know if it was for Lan Xichen’s sake, or his own, and Nie Mingjue certainly hadn’t looked happy about it, but he’d agreed.

Maybe he’d just been too tired to keep fighting. Before, Meng Yao would have scoffed at the thought - Nie MIngjue? Not fighting?

But now...

Jin Guangshan would be very happy when he found out about their agreement to swear brotherhood whenever an appropriate place and shrine could be found. A direct connection between his sect and two sect leaders? That was even more valuable than the merits of being a war hero, and more lasting – Meng Yao could leverage it into a better position than the one undoubtedly being planned for him. He could use it to win a place at Jin Guangshan’s side, and from there he could determined where to go next - how best to serve his father’s interests, to win his attention, and climb his way to the top.

It was what he’d planned.

It was…pointless.

He’d only promised his mother he’d get the name, hadn’t he? Jin Guangshan’s recognition. That’s what he’d told her as she’d faded away, her hands in his: he’d promised her that he’d make it to Lanling, and one day his father would call him by the name he deserved to have. 

The promise that one day he’d be the one at the top of those stairs, looking down at those he would be able to crush beneath his feet – that’d only been a promise he’d made to himself.

Those were much easier to break.

“You honor me, Father,” Meng Yao said, suddenly full of recklessness, holding his arms up gracefully to salute. “I gladly accept the name you have chosen to bestow upon me.”

Jin Guangshan looked smugly satisfied by his meek obedience. “Yes, well,” he said. “We’ll have to find a place for you, too – something to keep you busy.”

Something to keep you out of the way.

Just as he’d expected.

“No need,” Meng Yao said, and he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Nie Mingjue had turned his head to look at him. He couldn’t see the man’s expression, but he hoped he was surprised. “Your recognition is enough for me. I will of course come to Lanling to pay my filial respects, but I fear I’ve been outside for too long to feel comfortable anywhere. With your permission, I intend to continue to be a rogue cultivator.”

Jin Guangshan looked surprised, but also pleased; the man truly was a short-sighted idiot, thinking about how much trouble it would save him not to have to bring Meng Yao – to bring Jin Guangyao home, and not at all about what he might be giving up by not doing so.

Meng Yao’s brains clearly all came from his mother.

Jin Guangshan would be kicking himself over it when he heard the news of the swearing ceremony – Meng Yao intended to do that much, at least. Abandoning a position he didn’t actually want was one thing, but he’d earned that oath, the backing of two of the most powerful people in the world. Even if Nie Mingjue hated him forever, he wouldn’t allow anyone to look down on someone who called him brother, and his support, along with Lan Xichen’s, would undoubtedly be very handy in the future, no matter what he eventually chose to do with his life.

“Of course, of course,” Jin Guangshan said, and he was saying it in public, too; it would be too late for him to change his mind, later. Not without a loss of face that he wouldn’t be able to bear. “As you see fit, A-Yao. In fact, I think it’s a good idea - don’t all of you? These young men, war heroes, they’re all so flighty, aren’t they? All they think about is glory…it would be a cruelty to tie them down with responsibilities they don’t need. You can always return to Lanling, of course, whenever you need aid, and call upon our resources, within reason –”

Lanling Jin was wealthy enough that Meng Yao could buy everything he’d ever wanted three times over without them even noticing, but Jin Guangshan just had to add in that little ‘within reason’. A sign of the humiliations Meng Yao would have had to endure, if he’d stubbornly stayed the course.

He’d had his fill of humiliation. A lifetime’s worth. 

“– and of course you have the right to wear sparks amid snow if you wish.”

Meng Yao saluted again, murmured a thank you, and retreated.

“Are you sure?” Lan Xichen asked him, looking worried. “I thought you wanted…”

“I changed my mind,” Meng Yao told him. “Maybe I’ll come visit you in Gusu instead.”

Lan Xichen smiled, and Meng Yao’s heart skipped a beat the way it always did. “You’re always welcome.”

“At Qinghe, too,” an unexpected voice said, and Meng Yao glanced over at Nie Mingjue – standing now, but leaning against a wall. His clothing had gaped open a little when he’d moved, revealing a hint of white bandages beneath his robes. He must have been injured much worse than Meng Yao had realized for it to still be affecting him.

Lan Xichen brightened while Meng Yao was still wondering what had happened to Nie Mingjue during that missing time between his capture at Yangquan and his presentation before the throne at the Nightless City. “Does that mean you’ve..?”

“I’m swearing brotherhood with him, of course he can come visit,” Nie Mingjue cut him off, turning his face away in what might even be embarrassment. “There’s nothing more to it than that.”

There was, of course. Meng Yao had turned down something that suited his self-interest, a move atypical of him, entirely contrary to the shallow and ambitious person Nie Mingjue had judged him to be – he’d gotten Nie Mingjue’s curiosity up. It wasn’t forgiveness, not even close, but it was something.

He could use that.

“Qinghe, too,” Meng Yao said, and smiled. “Maybe I’ll build up a collection of fans as I travel and leave them all there for Huaisang’s amusement.”

Nie Mingjue groaned. “Don’t; it’s already bad enough – do you know he’s filled up an entire closet?”

“An entire closet?” Lan Xichen asked, amused. “Surely not –”

“I swear he got one for every day of the war –”

“Surely not. He can’t even use that many!”

“I’m telling you, Xichen –”

Some time alone would be good, Meng Yao decided. He would use the time to think about what he wanted to do with his life – what he wanted, not his mother’s dreams for him.

And when he was done thinking –

Well.

There was always Gusu and Qinghe waiting for him.

[bellemorte180]

If I Die Before I Wake: Chapter Three

Vengeance is defined as punishment or retribution for a wrong committed against another. A single curse could derail and weaken the most powerful being in the world. A single massacre could take the entire world in one go; but it could centuries to execute the perfect vengeance.

Chapter Three

Chicago

October 1922

Klaus was in a foul mood as he sipped on his bourbon. He watched the people in the middle of Gloria's bar and was tired of Chicago. They were only meant to be there for a short stop. Freya had heard of Gloria, a powerful witch who may have connection to the Bennett line. It seem frustrating that those witches were so well hidden. Katerina must have made a deal with someone before the slumber spell was cast or Emily cast a cloaking spell on her bloodline just to hide them all from Klaus. Fifty-eight years without Caroline and Klaus could feel what left of his humanity burn away slowly.

He knew why they were still there. He cast his eyes towards his younger sister and the man who had his arms around her. Ever since Alexander, Klaus had been doubtful of Rebekah's taste in men. They always seemed weak.The only one who seemed to be a descent choice that Klaus didn't have to slaughter had been Marcel; and even then he hated the idea. If it wasn't for Caroline, Klaus would have shoved a dagger in Rebekah's heart and snapped Marcel's neck. However, he didn't. In the end even Rebekah couldn't hold that relationship together either. Although, he didn't know if it was because Caroline was gone or she grew bored.

Either were plausible answers to be honest.

And then there was Stefan. The new boy. Klaus hated to admit but he liked him. He was charismatic and enjoyed a good rip. They had fun just like Klaus and Kol used to. If Kol wasn't banished to the dagger for the rest of eternity, the three of them might have had some fun together; creating a blood bath that Chicago had never seen. He liked Stefan enough to overlook the fact that Katerina was his sire. Most days he could overlook that he was turned the same year that he lost Caroline; or that he was turned in the same place, or that he knew Emily Bennett when she was alive......or that he knew nothing of where the Bennett's where. The only reason he allowed Stefan to live was because Klaus knew Stefan had nothing to do with the curse and the fact that Rebekah liked him.

However, today was not most days.

“Come now Nik, you should enjoy the party.” Stefan said with a wide smile on his baby face. He grabbed a glass full of illegal bourbon and drained it. “It would be a shame to sit here and not enjoy the music. Gloria is really casting a spell tonight isn't she?” Stefan's eyes fluttered over to Rebekah who gave him a coy smile. That only infuriated Klaus further.

“Tonight is not the night to tease my into false brotherly affections.” Klaus snapped at him and Stefan saw his eyes flash yellow. This was the hybrid that people whispered about in the night. While he called Stefan a friend, Klaus wasn't above chopping his head off. “It's Caroline's birthday.”

“Oh. I didn't realize. I'm sorry.” There was that never ending compassion for those he cared about that both infuriated and pleased Klaus. It reminded him the Caroline he first married. The young seventeen year old girl full of light. Even in her bloodiest and darkest moments, Caroline never lost that light. “Maybe you should have another drink?”

“Or maybe he should go back to the penthouse.” Rebekah replied in the only tone she could achieve; bratty and spoiled. She put her hands on her hips, her nails tracing the white lace of her dress. Her hair was done it the flapper style and she was gorgeous, even Klaus acknowledged that. The silver necklace that had once belonged to their mother hung around her neck. Klaus could tell that Rebekah was finally coming into her own and that caused Klaus to want nothing more than to rip her throat out. “Perhaps you should not have come at all.”

“I thought you said that I shouldn't be alone tonight?” Klaus snapped back. His eyes narrowed. In the back of his mind he could hear Caroline's voice, stating that Rebekah cared far more than she lets on. Even in the deepest of slumbers, Caroline was able to keep him from doing something drastic. Her voice just brought to much pain; so he decided to shut it out.

“Why don't you tell me about Caroline? Rebekah's told me what she was like but, I would like to hear it from you.” Stefan chimed in, sensing the escalating tension between the siblings. That was Stefan, always able to calm even Rebekah in her brattiest of moments. “Rebekah said she was full of light. That she lit of a room whenever she walked into it.”

“Thats my Caroline.” Klaus drank more bourbon before falling into memories. “I met Caroline when we were human; before my mother tampered with a very dangerous spell made by a witch centuries before she was born. It was during the Summerfest in our village, we were celebrating the end of summer and welcoming autumn. I saw her across the fire and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. She was singing and I never heard a voice like hers before. I thought I loved someone else but Caroline, she showed me what it really meant to love someone.”

“She sounds amazing.”

“She is. A little neurotic and a controlling but passionate. Oh, you should see us fight.” Klaus laughed, really laughed for the first time. “Centuries ago, when we were first turned and running for our lives, we made a stop in France. A noblewoman, Aurora, took an interest in me.”

“Psychotic tramp.” Rebekah muttered under her breath.

“You cheated on Caroline?”

“Never!” Klaus hissed and his eyes turned yellow. “I would never betray her. I couldn't. I wouldn't. Aurora took a fancy to me, not the other way around. She kissed me and I pushed away; Caroline saw the whole thing. It was the first time I really saw her loose her control. Caroline mastered being a vampire the moment Mikel made me watch him shove a sword through her chest but this, this made her lose complete control. She snapped Aurora's neck so quickly that I could hardly see her do it. The fight we had lasted a fortnight. Brought Mikael right to us. It was the brightest her light ever shined.”

“That is probably the most twisted thing I have ever heard.” Stefan chuckled, looking at Klaus's face. He was lost in that memory. The memory of Caroline's lips savagely devouring his over Aurora's corpse. It was possibly the first moment that they both lost their humanity into each other. “So Caroline killed Aurora.”

“Not quiet. Someone had Rebekah's blood in her system.” Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brother but smirked. Stefan turned to his girlfriend and she just shook her head.

“Aurora was prone to mania. She attempted suicide the night before because she couldn't understand why my brother did not love her. Klaus discovered that our blood was healing when Lucian, a servant boy, was beaten by Aurora's brother Tristen. I forced my blood down her throat to save her. When Caroline snapped her neck, Aurora became the first vampire that was turned after us.”

"You said the fight between you and Caroline brought your father after you?” Stefan asked. It was clear that Rebekah had shared more than Klaus would have preferred. Either way, Mikael was dead so he supposed he could let that go. He hated thinking of his step-father anymore than was reasonable.

“Yes. Our fight turned bloody. Caroline has a tendency to be as jealous as am I. The entire castle was pretty much massacred by the end. If Elijah hadn't learned to compel, we might have not made it out. We turned Lucian, Tristen and another servant girl as well. We compelled them to believe that they were us in order to lead Mikael on a false trail. Worked for a century.”

“A century? What happened?”

“Nothing.” Rebekah snapped, slamming her glass on the table.

“What Bekah? Too painful of a memory? Yet it is perfectly okay for me to relieve the first time I ever saw doubt in Caroline's eyes but you can't relive the memory of Alexander and his betrayal?!” Klaus was growing angry. His eyes flashed to Stefan. “Did she tell you that she allowed a hunter to bed her like a common whore?”

“Stop it Nik! I loved him. You know I did and he broke my heart.” Klaus looked murderous. The room went still. The people in the speakeasy froze, sensing the shift in the air around them. In a slit second, Klaus reached across the table and flung Rebekah across the room. Her mother's necklace hit the floor with a loud thud. People screamed and scattered. Glasses dropped. The alcohol that was worth more than ever-before spilled.

“You know nothing of love. You know nothing of a broken heart.” Stefan moved slightly out of the booth. Klaus saw him out of the corner of his eye. He flashed over and picked up the man he actually liked by the neck. “You loved Alexander. You loved Emil. You loved Marcel and now this one. Your love is fleeting. This one will end eventually. Why not now?”

“Nik, please. Don't. Don't kill him.” Klaus saw it, in her eyes. This one was different. He looked to Stefan and he could see it there too. Seeing the confirmation between the two lovers only made Klaus break even more. Once, he would have wanted his baby sister to feel what is was like to completely give into another person. Now, he was at the point where he wanted to burn the world to the ground. He turned to Stefan and looked him directly in the eye.

“I'm sorry Stefan, but the fun must end here. You must forget Rebekah and me until I say otherwise. You never knew us Stefan. Thank you. I had forgotten what it was like to feel something other pain for such a long time.” He dropped Stefan to the ground and faced Rebekah, who had the most heartbroken expression on her face. Klaus strolled towards her slowly. He opened up his coat, pulling out a silver dagger.

“Why do you have that? Why did you bring that?” She was still on the ground, tears staining her cheeks. She crawled backwards, trying to escape from him but knew that he would always catch her. Klaus crouched down to her level and waved the dagger in front of her. He grabbed her and slid the dagger into her chest; leaning down to whisper in her ear.

“Because I knew you and Stefan were planning on leaving me behind.” He looked at her eyes and watched as her skin turned grey. “Don't worry little sister, I'll bring him back to you when I have Caroline.”

*

Mystic Falls

April 2010

Elena frantically looked around the room. She was locked in a room that was possibly the best furnished room she had ever been in. She ran to the windows and pounded on them; smearing the blood on them as she screamed. Yet, none of the workers below heard her. Her hand went back to her neck, the wound still bleeding from Klaus's assault.

Her body and mind were in shock. Klaus stole her liked she expected but not because he needed or wanted her. No, he wanted Bonnie and that was not something she expected. It had always been her. Hadn't it? She couldn't remember a time that everything didn't revolve around her.

"I apologize.” Elena jumped and turned. In the now open doorway stood a man with impeccable dress. He was tall, brown hair and dressed in a suit. “I didn't mean to scare you. Forgive me.” He saw the injury on her neck. “My brother Niklaus does like to make an entrance. I'm sorry that he hurt you.” The man stepped forward, bit into his wrist and offered her. “Drink. It will heal you.” Elena wanted nothing less than to drink the blood but she could feel the wound wasn't going to heal. She accepted and drank, tasting copper on her tongue. She could feel the wound begin to heal.

“Thank you.” Elena whispered and she stepped away. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “You said 'your brother'? You mean Klaus?”

“Yes. I'm Elijah.” Elena smiled tentatively. “Niklaus was always rash but he is brilliant. He had a good heart once. Long ago. Our father hated him. Beat him furiously but Caroline gave him purpose. Passion. Drive. For eight hundred years their marriage held strong. They fought with the worst of them, but never once did they break. When Katerina had her witch cast that spell, she unleashed pure evil onto this world. He killed and maimed with Caroline. Without her, his moods and anger got worse. Blood flowed in the streets and second chances were never offered. Yet, he still clung to his humanity. If your witch fails I fear nothing in his path will be left standing.”

“Is that a promise?”

“No. A warning.” Elijah cocked his head and looked at her. “Niklaus is a broken man. Our family has been torn apart by what Katerina has done.” There was something behind his eyes that Elena could see but she didn't have a moment to process it before Elijah started speaking again. “There are clothes in the closet for you. Food will be brought at your request. A TV has been set up and the room is connected to a bathroom, right through there.”

“Such a luxurious prison.” Elena snapped, crossing her arms. Elijah chuckled at her as though he found her more than entertaining.

“You all look alike. All three of you. Each of you had a different personality but there was this fire in you.” Elijah studied her and Elena felt uncomfortable. To hear that the man in front of her had met several woman who were identical to her, suddenly made Elena not feel special at all.

“Oh goody, another one.” Elena's eyes snapped toward the doorway. A tall blond woman who looked similar to the witch Klaus had brought with them made her way into the bedroom. “Why do we always find ourselves in the presences of the doppelganger? Why does our fate always seemed to be intertwined with theirs?”

“A curse I blame our mother for.” Elijah replied and the blonde snickered. “It is good to see you Rebekah.” She smiled at him and make her way across the room and throwing her arms around him. He spun her around before setting her down. It was a moment of affection Elena didn't think would be possible for siblings of the man who savagely tore at her throat. “A few days and our entire family will be back together.”

“I'm looking forward to it. I missed having Caroline around. She always did have the best fashion advice for the times.” Rebekah smiled and looked over towards Elena. She didn't really spare to much of a glance, once you've met one doppelganger, you've met them all. However, something caught her eyes and the bored look she wore turned to fury. Before Elena could blink, Rebekah was pinning her to the wall with her hand wrapped around her throat. “Where did you get this?!”

The blonde vampire ripped the necklace Elena was wearing from her neck and dangled it in front of her. Rebekah didn't even flinch as the vervain burned her skin. Black veins appeared under her eyes and Elena felt her heart begin to race. Her vision blurred from the lack of oxygen and she felt herself being slammed back into the wall a second time.

“I won't ask you again, where did you get my necklace!”

“Rebekah, she can't answer you if you're chocking her.” Elijah chimed in and Rebekah tossed a filthy look over her shoulder at her brother but she loosed her grip. Elena took a few deep breaths and remained silent. Rebekah huffed in impatience and looked deeply into Elena's eyes. Without the vervain hanging around her neck, she was vulnerable to compulsion. “Who gave you that necklace?”

“My boyfriend Stefan.” Rebekah dropped Elena and took a step backwards. She could see the complete look of heartbreak on Rebekah's face; the necklace still dangling in her hands. Elijah sighed and stepped forward, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“He gave you my mother's necklace?”

“Niklaus promised that he would make it right.” Elijah stated and Rebekah's eyes glistened. She turned and flashed from the room. The other vampire looked down at the girl and saw that her neck was bruised. He wouldn't blame her if she began to really hate them, having two of his siblings attack her in the same day. He bit into his wrist for a second time and offered it to her; however this time Elena declined. “It appears that you are seeing my siblings on their bad days.”

“I just don't understand what is going on.” Elena croaked out. “Katherine made it sound as though Klaus was coming to Mystic Falls for me because I look like her and it some how would help Klaus get his wife back.” That wasn't exactly what Katherine had said but Damon came flashing into the tomb before she was able to get any further answers. Everyone just assumed that Elena was the target.

“It is true that Niklaus is here in order to wake Caroline from her sleep but you have nothing special to contribute. I don't mean to be indelicate but you're just a means to an end.” It was harsh but Elena appreciated his frankness. “It is true that doppelganger blood is valuable. We discovered in the 1700s that it would be needed to create hybrids, someone who is a vampire and werewolf combined” Elijah added upon seeing Elena's look of confusion “like Niklaus himself. He was willing to wait for another one of Tatia's descendants to make an appearance. However, when Caroline was cursed, the talk of hybrids ended.”

“So he doesn't want my blood?”

“The only thing Niklaus wants is Caroline. Everything else is inconsequential.”

“Sounds like he is obsessed with her.” This caused Elijah to chuckle.

“Trust me. The obsession is mutual.”

*

Cadiz, Spain

June 1702

The forrest was thick and deep. The sun was beating down on her back as Caroline strolled through the trees. The clothing she wore was impractical, what with the tight corset and full skirt. The hems were getting dirty from the ground beneath her feet but she continued onward. She stopped and looked down at the body part below. A sigh escaped her lips. It wasn't as though Caroline was innocent when it came to murder but she preferred not to slaughter for the sure pleasure of it; she wasn't Kol after all. She knew that Klaus was relishing in the the delight of having his wolf back but this was getting out of hand.

“I found a hand and what looks like to be half a torso.” Caroline stated in a bored tone. Elijah was at her side in a second as was Kol. The three of them looked at the body part in annoyance.

“Why is it that when Nik slaughters an entire village in his new found wolf form, we clean up after his messes. When I torment a house full of prominent noble men, I get a dagger in the heart?” Kol stated in a petulant tone. He was none to pleased being forced to chase after his older brother's mess.

“Because Nik has been trying to break this curse for seven hundred years and when you torment innocent victims, you draw way to much attention.” Caroline snapped. She never wanted to admit that Kol had a point because that would go to his head, but unfortunately Kol did have a point. The last thing she needed to was control Kol with an inflated ego. She had enough of a challenge being married to Klaus.

“Although, if Niklaus doesn't shift back soon and stop this rampage, he will draw Mikael's attention.” Elijah joined in. “Although, I am beginning to expect that is his intention, am I wrong?” Caroline turned towards Elijah. She knew it bothered him that Niklaus stopped confiding in him as much after the incident in England. It wasn't that Klaus didn't trust or love his brother, it was just that Elijah's judgment always seemed to be clouded when it came to the doppelgangers. Klaus loved Tatia once but that ended when his affections for Caroline grew. However, Elijah's love for Tatia never ended and he had hoped to recreate that love with Katerina.

“Yes. Nik wants to draw Mikael here and finish this. We have a white oak stake and he broke his curse. He is stronger than Mikael now and with all of our help, we can end this. We can stop running and perhaps create a home somewhere.” Caroline smiled. She knew that Klaus was doing this, not only for himself but for her. She was tried of running. She was tired of looking over her shoulder. She wanted a home and she wanted one with him. He once built her a hut in the dead of winter while he was still human because he knew that he was going to marry her. She still saw that determination in his eyes now when he looked at her. “This rampage is not just him enjoying his inner beast; he is gaining his strength for the fight.”

The two brothers were silent and that was a feat for Kol who always had a witty remark. None of them knew how it would end with Mikael but they knew it needed to be done. Each of the Mikaelson siblings grew to hate their father but none more than Klaus. Elijah remembered some sentiment of emotion for the man but the beatings his brother endured took precedent in his mind. Caroline hated him with the entire soul of her being because she was the one who saw the scars on his body that only Mikael could have created.

“Kol, take this and put them with the rest then start a fire.” Kol did as he was told without complaint; something unheard of. Kol flashed away and Elijah just stood there looking at Caroline. He said nothing but Caroline could see the wheels turning behind his eyes.

“What is it Elijah?”

“Why didn't he tell me that he found another doppelganger?” There it was. Caroline and Klaus had gone back and forth from telling Elijah the truth why they came to Spain. At first Elijah just thought it would be a new adventure for them, a new place for them to hide from Mikael. Yet, he saw the calculation going on between Klaus and Caroline; but they let none of the family in.

“Don't take it personally Elijah. We told no one. Not Rebekah, not Kol. No one.” Caroline stated but could see that answer wasn't going to be enough. “It is not that we don't trust you Elijah, it is just that you have a history with the doppelgangers. You loved Tatia. Still do. You loved Katerina and while we know you had nothing to do with her escape, we wanted to ensure that Francesca stayed where she was. It was best if she knew nothing of our coming.”

“I'm amazed I didn't notice her. A noble woman wearing the face of the women I have loved.” Caroline smiled at that. When Francesca was discovered, they were unsure how they were going to hide her from Elijah but the opportunity presented itself.

“It was easy. She was near the end of her confinement.” Caroline added and Elijah nodded. Pregnant woman of nobility rarely go out into society. Which worked perfectly for them when it came to keeping Elijah in the dark. Klaus of course just wanted to snatch her right away, sacrifice her and move on. Yet, Caroline thought it would be best to allow her to birth her child and keep the Petrova line alive.

“She had a son then?” Elijah asked and Caroline nodded. “Do you think how you retrieved her was cruel? The Caroline I knew never would have harmed a pregnant woman and yet you walked right into her home, took her from her birthing bed and brought her to be sacrificed on an alter.”

“You make it sound as though I cut the child from her.” Caroline snapped. “I may have compelled her labor to advance but I did not harm that child Elijah.” He knew she hadn't. No matter how much her love and obsession for Klaus caused her to let go of her humanity, Caroline could never harm a child. “Once the child was born, yes I took her and yes she never held her son but I did what needed to be done. I brought her body back and as far as anyone is concerned, she died in childbirth.”

“It was clean and your compulsion is always sound.” Elijah cocked his head. “But what is really bothering you? Your hatred for the doppelgangers parallels my brothers'. He hated Tatia because of her affair with me. He hated Katerina because she prevented him from breaking the curse. But why do you hate them so?”

“Tatia bedded my husband.”

“Long before you could have called Niklaus you betrothed let alone husband. Aurora kissed him after you were married and I don't see you hunting her down to make her pay for it.” Caroline narrowed her eyes. Elijah knew better than to mention Aurora's name to her because seven hundred years later she still holds a grudge against the wench.

“Let her cross my path and she won't be so lucky with Rebekah's blood this time.” Caroline snapped. She could see that her brother-in-law was not going to let it go. “Tatia had a child. Before Niklaus and I became acquainted I remember thinking that she was blessed.”

“Yes. She had her late husband's child.”

“And Katerina gave birth to Nadia.”

“A child you tracked down and hide in order to prevent her from ever finding.” Elijah replied. It was an odd punishment, especially since Caroline had kept Nadia close for a year before placing her in a village far away from Bulgaria. For a long time, Elijah thought it was just extended punishment for running, as though massacring Katerina's family wasn't enough. “What is it?”

“They just always seem to have what I can't. Tatia had her daughter. Katerina had Nadia and Francesca had her son.” Caroline looked down. “I was pregnant.” Elijah went still and if his heart still beat, it would have skipped one. “When we were human, right before we were turned, I suspected I was with child; and then when Mikael killed me and Esther brought us back, the child was gone.”

“Caroline, I didn't know. I'm sorry.” She didn't reply and her face was stone. Elijah knew her well enough that she was constructing that perfect wall back up around her emotions. If Caroline was a master of anything, it was control and that included her emotions. “Did my brother know?”

“Yes. I told him of my suspicions but I did not feel the quickening yet. We wanted to wait.” They heard a shift, about a mile away and Caroline plastered that smile back on her face. It wasn't completely false but the pain was still there. “It seems my husband as decided to return to his human form.”

[millennium-headquarters]

General relationship headcanons

The Major

takes a long time to actually come to terms with his feelings for you

you probably had to confess first and he needed some time to overthink everything

all his life he only really cared about war but the more he thinks about it he feels weird around you

he knows that you would never betray him so you probably already have a lot of his trust but he can’t figure out if he can trust you with something as delicate as his own feelings

also knows full well that being his s/o would endanger you as a possible target for attacks

so our poor boy just lays awake a few nights and eats even more because it comforts him

Doc most likely has to yell at him tbh or something like that and he finally snaps out of it and finally confronts you

is a caring boyfriend, but very very occupied with his work so some of your dates wont work out because something important came up

I’ve said it once and I will say it again, he will spoil you to no end

doesn’t really like PDA because it could cause problems (Other organisations taking interest in the things you might know about him etc.)

but he loves you so damn much

you better cuddle him when he comes home from his work (or back into his private quarters) and listen to all the stuff he has to tell you or so god help me I shall come for you and avenge him

very warm. Comfy to lay on at night or cuddle

will give you German nicknames and you cannot escape. Schnucki, Schatzi, Zuckerschnecke – be prepared for it all

Doc

knew full well he had feelings for you but tried to deny it, why would you want a relationship with such an old man like him

he thinks about you all the time and ends up cutting his finger with a scalpel will get very mad and stabs whatever he’s working on a few times because how dare

once you confess to him it’s over, he will just stare

thinks you are pulling a joke on him until he sees you blush

is kinda awkward about it, uhhhh the person he likes has feelings for him aswell, he doesn’t know what to say

will pull you into an awkward hug and pat your back while clearing his throat damn why do you smell so good he can’t handle it

finally says that he likes you back

will let you watch him experiment and talk a lot about in in general

wants to do small experiments on you because you are a “perfect specimen”

for the love of god tell him you are not comfortable with it because if you agree he will do some weird shit

will cook with you. Teaches you how to cook if you don’t know how to do it. Talks about it a lot and is very proud of it look at this grandpa and his cabbage garden he can be so cute if he wants to

you two end up as Schrödinger’s parents in some way, it’s just a matter of time until he calls you Mama

doesn’t really what to do in a relationship at first, should he hug you? Cuddles? Should he buy you a gift? Somebody help this man

very concerned about your health. You sneezed? Get into his lab he needs to run a full body check on you or else he wont be able to sleep tonight

The Captain

kinda difficult to confess to because he doesn’t talk

if he already likes you enough to let you into his private room that’s a big advantage because he already grew accustomed to having you close

you probably confessed to him while cuddling and his body just goes rigid for a moment

you kinda start to panic but he just wraps his arms around you and presses his face into your neck and just nods

hug him back pls he loves his cuddles

he loves it when you smell like him, so he will either rub his face all over you or leave his clothes in your room for you to find and hopefully wear

gets very territorial, especially when it comes to Jan

will stare at Jan or step in front of you until he backs of

lotsssss of non-verbal lovey-dovey-gestures. Neck kisses, hugs, back hugs, scenting you, snuggling up, maybe even biting you to mark you as his

werewolf cuddles. He will turn into his wolf form and you can just lay on top of him. You might wake up to him licking your face

loves you with all his heart and thinks he needs to provide for you. Goes out hunting and drags bloody woodland creatures back to you, expecting you to eat them. Tell him that you don’t like it and he will (most likely) stop doing it (for a while)

gentle big husband is the best husband

if you are a werewolf aswell, he might want pups when he’s in rut or you’re in heat, so keep that in mind

Schrödinger

such a mess, he speaks German when he is overwhelmed so good luck

confesses to you by accident most likely and doesn’t even know what he is saying

“Y/N whenever I think about you my stomach feels weird and my face gets hot please stop doing that”

you have to explain love to him and it is so awkward but you can’t blame him, the Majors motto is quite literally “Make war, not love”

looks at you wide-eyed the whole time and doesn’t know what to expect from a relationship

have fun explaining that all to him, especially the spicy parts

at the end he just goes “Oh, so we are a couple now, right? You like me back?”

easy to fluster, touch his ears and he will start to purr but gets embarrassed about it if you point it out

will jump on you every time you enter a room

also appears randomly in your room because he missed you what else is he supposed to do, be patient?

Has to learn a loooot of things first no Schrödinger you cannot just walk in while your s/o is showering because you are a couple stop doing that

obviously demands a lot of affection. That boy is half cat and you are his favourite napping spot. You cannot get up when he lays on you, it is impossible

pure as fuck despite his age, nobody explained any dirty things to him, ever, (Doc didn’t want to and I cannot blame him just imagine all the questions)

just be patient with him, smol child is still learning

his ears are so soft please pet him all the time I beg you

inexperienced, but makes up for it with eagerness

but still, kiss him on the cheek ad his brain stops working for the next couple hours

Doc and the Major are so glad that he is focused on you now because they can finally have some peace

Zorin

confesses to you first because you both are adults and can handle something like that

no “oooooh you are the light of my life, my love, my star” though, something along the lines of “You know Y/N, I don’t mind spending more time with you” or “make sure your ass comes back in one piece Y/N” when you’re about to leave for a mission

gets very protective over you, but will most likely show you off to the other Millennium members

She knows damn well how pretty you think she is, and will grin and call you out when she catches you staring

doesn’t mind PDA at all. She can and will grab your ass in front of everybody because it makes you squeak. Also, what better way to show off that you are hers?

100% uses her mind powers to fuck around with you during meetings. One second you are peacefully minding your own business, and the other you are trapped in a illusion and she will taunt you till no end while purring suggestive things into your ears

the Major also knows what is happening yet he chose to just ignore it for the sake of his own sanity, but he will demand that she leaves you alone during the more important meetings

seems confident but is so awkward when it comes to things like cuddling. She would just turn her back to you whenever the both of you slept in the same bed because she didn’t really know how to handle this level of closeness

does get better as time passes, will spoon you eventually. Doesn’t care if you are bigger then her, you will be the little spoon

10000000% the dominant part in the relationship wow who would’ve guessed no matter who her partner is. A powerful vampire? Nope, no way you’re gonna be on top. A cute, submissive human or artificial vampire? I pray for your soul because she will devour you whole

homegirl is a lesbian, sorry boys. Just look at her, she radiates lesbian top energy and you cannot convince me otherwise also: sword lesbian is out, scythe lesbian is in

has her soft moments aswell, small pecks on the cheeks, smiling while she watches you work, explaining the meaning of her tattoos to you if you’re interested in them

also will make you sit on her lap or carry you around just look at those arms

[dyde21]

Please please please percabeth marching band AU from the prompt list

Boy oh boy, this reminds me of the mechnic!AU prompt I got for Arkos that turned into my longest fanfic and still most successful one Arc’s Metalworks. Hearing about this prompt for some reason murdered me with inspiration. This is just a short one-shot but I’m super tempted to make this into a longer piece as well...

XxXxXxXxX

Hip checking the the band room door to open it, Percy yawned as he held open the door, letting Leo and Jason enter. The band chairs had all been pushed away, forming a big circle to let their friends sit together. Looking around, Percy pouted slightly when he couldn’t see a certain blonde he was particularly attached to. 

“McDonalds, again?” A voice cut in behind him suddenly, making him jump about a foot in the air as he spun around, trying not to spill his coke.

“I didn’t have lunch made today! So I needed something! It was Leo’s idea! It was close by.” Percy took the shotgun approach to excuses, hoping if he said enough of them that one would stick, or his girlfriend wouldn’t care enough to rebuttal all of them. 

“You’re almost an adult. You can make your own food. 2, Leo always wants junk food. That doesn’t mean you need to indulge him. 3, It’s always close by. So is the grocery store that has fresh options.”

She shot him down, making his shoulders droop.

“I wanted fries.” He confessed to the blonde with gray eyes that was in the process of staring him down intently. 

Smiling, satisfied with his honesty, she just patted him on the cheek. “Was that so hard? Tomorrow you’re eating something healthy, or else.” She threatened him. 

The sigh of defeat that left Percy’s mouth was apparently enough of a confirmation for her. 

Kissing his cheek in a peace offering, she leaned down to take a sip of his coke before moving past him to the circle with everyone else. 

Frank and Hazel were already tucked away to a side, Hazel offering Frank one of the cupcakes she had made the night before, before sliding the large bin towards the center for people to take one as they pleased.

Leo was already cracking open his energy drink as he fished out a burger from his bag. 

Jason took a seat next to Piper, giving her an apologetic look as she scrunched up her nose at the meat he was eating. For as much meat as Jason ate, Percy was still surprised he managed to date a vegetarian. 

Reyna was next to Hazel, taking a bite of a homemade sandwich as she flicked through a few pages of sheet music, keeping time with one hand as he memorized the score. 

A soft piano song wafted through the room, and Percy didn’t even need to look up to know what was happening. 

Still, glancing over he saw exactly what he expected. Tyler was tucked away in the corner on the baby grand, playing what sounded like a piano version of a song from Hamilton that Annabeth had been singing recently. 

“I have never been the type to try and grab the spotlight.

We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night” 

Ashe’s voice started singing in a voice that really made Percy wonder why she wasn’t in choir. Annabeth took her seat next to him, humming happily along. 

Ashe swayed in place slightly next to Tyler on the bench as she sang.

“Laughin’ at my sister as she’s dazzling the room” She sang as she looked over at her boyfriend next to her.

“Then you walked in and my heart went” 

*Boom*

The piano stumbled a bit at the sudden loud noise as they looked over to see Leo grinning, having hit the concert bass drum in time with the song. 

Most of the group started laughing as Tyler managed to recover his piano playing, but Ashe was far too amused to sing properly anymore.

Leo rejoined them, going back to his food as he looked proud of himself. 

“Don’t use percussion equipment if you aren’t in the section for a joke.” Reyna warned half-heartedly, her own smile betraying how amused she been at seeing Ashe jump at the noise.

“Yeah, yeah.” Leo offered, not really affected considering it wasn’t the first time he had heard that warning, and he severely doubted it would be the last time. He earned a bit of good will with the band and drum majors considering he was the resident expert on fixing any problems with the instruments.

The song wound down eventually. Precy noticed Ashe leaned over and kissed Tyler’s cheek and looked away, seeing Annabeth smiling as she dipped an apple slice in peanut butter and his gaze lingered on her lips, the little gob of peanut butter stuck on her lip he kinda wanted to kiss off.

“Stop flirting at the piano and make sure you eat properly. We’re marching outside today, it’s hot, and I don’t want to hear you complaining cause you’re hungry.”

Annabeth called out suddenly, making the pair at the piano flinch before they stood up after a moment and made their way over.

Tyler took a seat as Ashe went to her locker, emerging with two containers of food that she heated up in the microwave. Not long she sat next to Tyler, handing him one and laughing as he let out a dramatic sigh of appreciation and started digging in. 

“How come you never cook for me?” Percy teased, nudging Annabeth to get her attention. 

“Cause I don’t believe in spoiling my boyfriend like Ashe does. I prefer to let you learn for yourself.”

She offered, smirking at the girl across the circle. 

Ashe narrowed her eyes. “I’m not spoiling him, he’s a terrible cook and I’m trying to get him to eat healthy. Something your boyfriend could stand to do.” She said, motioning at the array of fast food spread out in front of Percy.

“Why am I being thrown under the bus here.” Tyler complained half-heartedly. 

“Cause you get amazing food hand-delivered to you every day by your girlfriend and we’re jealous.” Piper chimed in. 

“Frank gets sweets though!” Leo chimed in, earning an approving nod from Tyler. 

“I would eat healthy if Annabeth cooked for me.” Percy offered, before glancing at his girlfriend and pausing. “Maybe…” 

Annabeth gave him a dangerous glare. “I’m not that bad of a cook.”

“Most of the time, no. Sometimes…”

Ashe snickered as Annabeth flipped her off. 

“It’s okay to be bad at cooking Annabeth…” Tyler offered trying to reassure her.

“Shut up and eat your girlfriend’s food.”

Tyler just grunted, pouting as he dug into his food. 

“Don’t tell my boyfriend to shut up because you’re jealous.” Ashe countered, raising an eyebrow. 

“I’m not jealous. I just haven’t really tried to learn to cook anything complex really before.” Annabeth defended herself. 

Tyler put down his drink. “I’ve tried cooking lunch for Ashe before! A few times. It just doesn’t really go well…” His voice trailed off.

The group got quiet for a moment as they remembered the last time when Ashe went home because she had actually gotten a mild case of food poisoning when she was determined to finish the food he made even after it was clear it wasn’t done right.

Ashe leaned over and kissed her boyfriend's cheek, rubbing his arm. “You’re really sweet for trying. Besides, you know I love cooking. I’ll count on you for studying instead, deal?”

“Deal.” He offered as they grinned at each other with a look that made Percy roll his eyes at how sweet they were. 

Ashe turned to Annabeth, her expression softer. “For real though, if you ever do want help cooking, I’d be happy to help you.” Her expression one of peace rather than teasing. It wasn’t a secret Ashe was pursuing cooking for a career so no one really tried to compare themselves to her. 

Annabeth glanced at her for a moment longer before nodding and smiling. “That would actually be cool. I can show you some tricks I use for my notes too.” 

Ashe grinned and nodded.

Percy nudged Annabeth’s arm before motioning with his head subtly towards Tyler who was still looking a little off-put. He could see a wave of guilt was over Annabeth’s features. It was no secret that the social butterfly Ashe’s boyfriend was more socially awkward than most.

“Did you ever get the hang of that piano riff in Mirror, Mirror Tyler?” Annabeth asked, a slight apologetic tone in her voice.

Tyler regarded her for a moment, before he offered her a reassuring smile that there were no hard feelings. “Mostly, kinda, yeah. I’m still like 40 BPM short of it the full speed but it’s definitely less clunky. My hands were starting to hurt yesterday though so I had to stop.”

Annabeth grinned at him. “Don’t hurt yourself practicing, but that’s pretty incredible. Make sure you let me hear it when you have it down. Ever since you got me hooked on RWBY that song keeps coming up in my music.”

Ashe was beaming now that people were no longer bickering and soon the rest of their lunch period had passed as they all scrambled to put the room back together, having not realized how late it had gotten. 

Hours later when they were all returning from the marching practice. “It’s so hot out.” Percy muttered as he slipped his snare drum off and collapsed across a few band chairs. “Why do guys have to keep their shirts on?” He moaned, tugging at his to air it out from the heat. 

“Cause if girls have to suck it up, so do you.” Reyna offered, taking a swig from her water bottle. 

“Then let girls take them off too.” Leo added, earning a swat on the back of the head from Piper.

“Shut up Leo.” She said, before tousling his hair affectionately as she walked past. 

“I’m starving.” Tyler complained as he set down his quads. “Quads are too heavy.”

“Told you to eat more earlier.” Annabeth scolded.

“Move, you’re on my folder.” Ashe complained, nudging her boyfriend half-heartedly who didn’t budge.

“It’s too hot.” Tyler moaned.

“You’re too hot.” She countered. 

Making the boy pause, giving her a curious look before he sat up enough for Ashe to grab her folder. 

A minute later and everyone was practically melted into a puddle in various places around the bandroom when Chiron finally walked in. 

“It was a hot day today. Make sure you drink plenty of water, not just now, but as these weeks pass to stay on top of it.”

Everyone groaned some sort of affirmation. 

“Besides, we want you all ready for our competition in a month!”

There was a pause before a wave of cheers erupted as life suddenly rushed back into everyone at the reminder. 

Annabeth and Percy shared a glance as they grinned. They were going to knock it out of the park this time.

XxXxXxXxX

I hope you enjoyed it! I had a LOT of fun writing this. I still am super tempted to turn this into a full fledged multi chapter AU. If there is any interest in continuing this let me know. My time is just so split already. 

As always if you are interested in supporting me, letting me write more check out my art commissions HERE or even my Ko-Fi HERE to get an instant prompt fill!

[thenamesseven]

Warnings: This story will be kind of angsty so if you’re not into that then it will be better to not read it

Today was one of those days when you felt nostalgic. 

Sitting on the couch surrounded by old photos you couldn’t help the smile that crept up to your lips.

The ones in your hand held memories about the first few months of your relationship with Jinyoung, the first time you managed to went together to an amusement park, when he took you to the aquarium, when you went to have a picnic late at night together or that one time he dressed up just to take you shopping. 

The ones on your left captioned the first time you were allowed to hang out with the rest of GOT7. You remember being so nervous, so worried about the guys not liking you that you almost threw up when they opened the door of their dorm to you. You chuckled at the memory of Jackson being truly concerned, really thinking you were sick while the other guys understood that you were just nervous. The guys warmed up to you soon and like Bambam and Yugyeom once said you ended up being GOT7′s eighth member.

The pictures on your right showed the beggining of your new life together by each other's side. There were photos of all GOT7 and you in your new apartment painting the walls, making a huge mess but clearly having fun. There were also pictures of the day of your wedding and the honey moon in which after a lot of convincing conversations with Jackson, Jinyoung decided to take you to Hong Kong.

Dating and marrying an idol was never easy. There has been some fights in the way, a lot of different problems the both of you had to overcome but you never ever have regretted meeting Jinyoung. He always found time to make you feel special, he always made up for the time he was on tour instead of at home cuddling with you and no matter how much stress he was dealing with Jinyoung would always come back home with a smile, talk with you and spoil you with affection. He somehow managed to make you feel like you were still in your first months of dating.

Little did you know what was awaiting for you in the upcoming days.

Suddenly, the door to your apartment opened and a tired Jinyoung made his way inside. He walked slowly, taking his time to close the door without making any noise probably thinking you were asleep. However when he heard the quiet sound you made when you smiled he turned around surprised, kind of shocked to find you sitting on the carpet in your living room at almost 2 am.

“Can’t sleep baby?” He asked with a small smile, taking off his jacket before he walked deeper into the apartment until he was standing right infront of me “What are you doing, hmm?"

Jinyoung joined me on the carpet. He sat down behind me, opening his legs so I could sit between them with his chest against my back. An inevitable smile pulled up my lips when his arms found their way around my body to keep me close to him, his lips leaving a gentle kiss on my cheek before he rested his chin on my shoulder.

“I just found these pictures and ended up taking a look at them” I rested my head against his while he reached out and grabbed some photos from my hand to look at them “Remember when we went to the amusement park? We we got on so many rides…” You chuckled turning your head to look at him. Jinyoung had a small smile on his lips as he stared down at the pictures but you could feel he wasn’t happy, there was a tiny bit of sadness on his face, his eyes brighting with a feeling you couldn’t recognized “And you gave me a Teddy Bear! That was so cute” He nodded quietly, his lips finding their way to your cheek once again.

“I’ll take you there again, I promise” Jinyoung's promises had always been strong, his tone was always determined when he promised you something but tonight he sounded hesitant, like if he didn’t know if you were still going to be there for him in the future. You just assumed he was really tired and that’s why he was acting so weird. “We need to wait nine months though, we can’t have you getting on all those dangerous ride while you’re pregnant”

“But baaabe~ The baby and I would have so much fun in those rides though” You muttered pounting, being silly, teasing him “And we would just have to pay for two tickets instead of three” Jinyoung smiled brightly and smacked the back of your head softly, playfully. Meanwhile you collected the pictures you had spread on the floor and place them back in the box where they were being kept.

“You need to stop hanging around Bambam and Jackson, that’s something one of them would definitely say” He muttered standing up, making you laugh softly. Before you could stand up too Jinyoung picked you up, it was something that has always been pretty easy for him since you were kind of small and started walking down the corridor to the bedroom “Let’s get in bed, we have to wake up early tomorrow”

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow was going to be the first time both of you would see the baby you were expecting. You were two months pregnant and your belly was starting to grow, not too much but enough for people to realize there was life growing up inside of you. When you recieved the news about being pregnant, you had been a little scared about Jinyoung’s reaction since it hadn’t been something the both of you had planned. However, your husband received the news extremely happy, like he seemed pretty excited about being a dad.

Once laying in bed you rolled on your side to watch him change his clothes, how his muscles bulged slightly as he pulled off his white shirt, how his tiredly yet strong arms pulled down his jeans. Smiling you bit your lower lip, still not believing how lucky you were to have a husband like him. You would have never ever imagine a girl like you would end up with somebody as amazing and sweet as him. 

"Come here" With a bigger smile you opened your arms for him as soon as he joined you under the covers, a silent smile on his lips when he leaned in to let you hug him. “Aren’t you excited for tomorrow?” You asked pecking his lips, one of your hands moving up and down on his back.

“I can’t wait for it, I couldn’t stop talking about it today” He admitted with a soft chuckle, moving a little so you could lay down with your head on his chest, one of his arms wrapped around you. Jinyoung yawned, resting his head against yours as he closed his eyes “But you need to get some rest if you don’t want to be falling asleep while they do the ultrasound” He kissed your head, you could feel him breathing in the scent of your hair. Some people would find this creepy but it wasn't for you, in fact, you knew this calmed him down.

“Fine, fine...I’ll try to get some sleep”

You closed your eyes, one of your hands gently wrapped around his body while your head rested on his chest listening to his relaxing heart beats. Now that he was back, laying next to you, it didn’t took too long for you to drift off to sleep.

Jinyoung was the only one awake now. 

His eyes were down on your sleeping figure, the way your face looked so peaceful and calm kind of pierced through his heart. He felt guilty for what he was doing behind your back, it was slowly killing him, why was he doing it then? He didn’t know. Maybe it was because he found the dancer he met a long time ago way more different than you, she was attractive in her own way and there was not a single similarity between the two of you.

The dancer, named, Sun Hee, was the definition of risk, wild and reckless. While you have always been as soft as a marshmallow, always being sweet and adorable for him. You have always kept him sexually satisfied, that didn’t seem to be the answer as to why he was cheating but still, he kept finding himself falling into the temptation, his body betraying him and finding its way back between the other woman's legs. He didn’t have feelings for her, he would never love Sun Hee the way he loved you and he knew he needed to stop but how? Should he tell you what he's been doing? How would the other woman react? Would she tell you? For God’s Sake you were carrying his child in your belly, he really needed to stop before this kept getting worse.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand next to his side of the bed, pulling him away from his train of thoughts. Jinyoung shifted slightly on his place to take it and read the message that a certain somebody had sent him. He felt you snuggling up closer to him, mumbling some sleepy yet incoherent stuff in your sleep as he unlocked his phone.

“Can we meet tomorrow Jinyoungie~? I really need to repeat what happened today”

He looked down at you before looking at the text again. What he was doing to you was absolutely unfair and the sooner this stopped the better. He would find a way to tell you eventually and no matter how much you’ll hit him or insult him, he’ll take it because he knows he deserves it.

“Babe?”

Jinyoung jumped a little, his eyes instantly going down to your sleepy face buried against his chest, his heart pounding with fear. “What is it baby?” He asked in a soft tone, shifting so you wouldn't hear how fast his heart was beating. That could have been the end, you could have perfectly see he was texting another girl if you had opened your eyes.

“I love you” You whispered. The guilt in his body making his heart shatter into thousands of tiny pieces.

“I love you too” He replied in a hoarse tone. Holding back the sad sigh that wanted to escape his lips.

“Meet me after practise, we need to talk and it has to be quick”

And with that, letting the guilt consumed him im the dreadful silence of the room, Jinyoung went to sleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was around 12:00.

You were sitting in the waiting room for the doctor’s appointment, both of your hands pressed together as you tried to distract yourself reading the posters about pregnancy that were on the walls. All of them had little tips about how to deal with small and silly problems that you would sure have with your kid. You took your time reading the one about how to feed babies and some common problems some childs have in their first months, you also read instructions for how to perfectly hold them and there was even a poster that spoke about ways to take care of your skin and body after giving birth.

You glanced back down at your watch, 12:15.

Your appointment was in five minutes and Jinyoung wasn’t there yet. You had the small temptation to call him or Jaebum to beg him to let Jinyoung finish with practise a bit earlier since you really wanted to be there with him to see the baby for the first time but you didn’t want to bother the guys. Work was really important for all of them and you never wanted to be a bother so you just sat back down.

It would really be a shame if Jinyoung didn’t make it to the appointment, you really didn’t want to go in there alone. However, you couldn’t be mad.

You knew he was working hard to take care of you and the baby that was coming.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

With one last thrust Jinyoung took Sun Hee to her second orgasm, the twitch of her body and the moans she quietly let go making him cum inside the condom he had used. He held her against the wall weakly, not moving too much since his pants and undewear were still wrapped around his ankles keeping him still. Sun Hee moved her hands up his scratched back to his neck and leaned in to kiss Jinyoung's lips, however he rejected it and put her back down on the floor.

“Shit, shit, shit….Im late” He whispered once he glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall. He quickly reached down and pulled up his pants and underwear at the same time, Jinyoung ran his hands on his shirt trying to make it look more aceptable and less wrinkled before his hands moved up to fix his hair.

“Let’s have a second round then” The female purred, wrapping her arms around Jinyoung’s body as she left sloppy and wet kisses on his neck. “You’re late already so, who cares?” She asked moving her lips up on his neck to nibble his earlobe.

“I care” Jinyoung answered coldly, he had met her with the intention of ending their thing but it somehow ended getting sexual again. Putting his hoodie, he shoved her gently aside to exit the empty room where they had been having sex after practise. Sun Hee snorted sarcastically as she pulled up her panties, fixing the skirt she had been wearing “What? Jinyoung asked frowning, turning around to look at her.

“You care?” She asked arching an eyebrow “Why do you keep coming back to me then? She obviously doesn’t make you happy”

“She’s my wife and the mother of my child so cut the bullshit, you’re just a mistake” The venom in his frustrated words made the Sun Hee roll her eyes “I love her Sun Hee, you’re never going to mean the same she means to me” He told her.

“Sure, you better hurry up though, you don’t want to miss out the first apointment of your lovely pregnant wife” Sun Hee opened the door of the practise room to leave but not before she had the last word “We’ll talk about how it went when we meet again”

Jingyoung didn’t waste his time arguing with her. He rushed out of the practise room and basically run out of the building and into his car. Thanks to the traffic it almost took him another 15 minutes to get to the hospital and by the time he ran into the waiting room breathless he couldn’t help but sigh relieved when he saw you sitting there, waiting for him.

“(Y/N) I’m sorry, practise-”

“It’s okay” You answered shrugging a little, your voice soft but you still had a sad smile on your lips.

He went to sit by your side to wait for a nurse to call your name but then he realized you were holding the ultrasound pictures on your hands. He had been late and he made you go through the first time seeing your baby absolutely alone just to fuck one more time the girl who wasn’t his wife, the girl who wasn’t going to be the mother of his baby.

You noticed Jinyoung looking down at the pictures and handed him one as he sat down next to you to observe it. 

“Where’s the baby?" He asked, his elbows resting on his knees as he frowned, genuinely confused as he looked down at it.

“Babies” You corrected him “We’re going to have twins”

[elejah-verse]

The Sun and The Moon Curse/7

Fanfiction

Part 7

Elijah Mikaelson x Elena Gilbert

ft other tvd characters - Klaus Mikaelson, Katherine Pierce, Esther Mikaelson

set after tvd 3x14/15

Summary: Elijah asks Elena at the Mikaelson Ball to tell her what his mother wanted from her. Elena divulges Esther’s plan to the Original, and as the ritual fails, Elena goes away from Mystic Falls with Elijah. How will their lives change as Klaus can’t make anymore hybrids...

a/n: There is quite a bit of invented mythology from me. Thanks so much for reading this story, as it was my first tvd story ever. xoxo

tags @rissyrapp20 @dendrite-lover @captainshurley @cassienoble2000 @goddessofthunder112 @elejahforever @hides2000 @idkhaylijah

if anyone wants to be removed from the tag list, please let me know. xoxo

____

In the most elegant tiny attic apartment, Elijah and Elena laid together, eyes lost in a loving gaze. His fingers streamed lovingly over her arms, whispering a small I love you, making Elena’s heart shoot in million stars.

“I love you, too”- Elena said dearly and leaned over to the Original kissing him.

Drawing her closer to him, Elena snuggled up to the Original, laying her head on his chest, making loving circles around his stomach now, listening to his heart.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you after our talk in the Lockwood Mansion”- Elena now admitted. 

Elijah wetted his lips now, a smile danced on his face, sharing the same sentiment-

“Likewise. But I must say that I was taken in the night we negotiated in your bedroom- your feisty, daring nature - was compelling- but - yes - it was then, when you returned to the Mayor’s house - walking through that door - determined to set the whole world on fire - in actual fact - you delving into my soul with a mere look into my eyes - “ 

Elena now beamed her look up at the Original. She clearly remembered that moment, and what she had seen - yes, he had cared about Katherine, but he had expressed that she had moved him, and that she was the one that shook his undead heart then. 

“You - say that you will not make the same mistake again?”

“Oh, please don’t remind me of what I had said then.”- Elijah said brushing his thumb over her cheek lovingly and continued- “I was in love once before - and - “

“Katherine?”

“No. A witch. But it does not compare - not that I wish to compare - because you are unique. Your soul, your heart - does not - could not match any other woman- ever.” 

Elena’s eyes glisten with tears brought up by the Original’s declaration. She thought she was in love before, but this was something that she could not describe. She felt she could touch the moonlight, her heart was shooting stars as he now pulled her to him, kissing her even more tenderly than before. 

*******

Elsewhere

It was obvious to Yizel that Klaus would use all the resources possible to mask his whereabouts as Katherine and her found themselves yet again on a wild goose chase.

"To find a needle in a haystack would be easier."- " let's find Elena.

"If they are hiding so well, something is going on and you haven't told me the whole story."- Yizel said- " I think it's time you told me exactly what had happened."

Katherine rolled her eyes and then started with the rest of the story that took place and the story of her doppelganger and the Mikelsons supposed demise. 

The witch now asked Katherine to pour the blood in a bowl. It wasn’t hard to locate Elena. They soon were on their way to Bucharest.

Katherine smirked with gladness that at least some things were finally going the  way she wanted them to. The hatred she had harboured for the doppelganger couldn't be described. More than five hundred years of survival killed all real emotions in her. She wanted revenge and she didn't care what price she or anyone in her way would pay.

*******

Bucharest, Romania

Having eventually left the bed, Elijah and Elena left the villa as she wanted to see some of the city, do ordinary stuff, as she said. And she loved listening to him telling her his views about things and historical points. She could listen to him for hours. There was something in his voice that was inviting, calming and captures the listener fully. He told her about the time when the merchants and craftsmen established their stores in the early 1400s in the old district. She then asked about the infamous count Dracula, as they came to the place where the remains of the Old Princely Court was, and Elijah told the true gruesome story of the count Vlad Tepes, his victorious yet bloody battles against Turkish invasion, which was far different from the folklore built around him, and the fact that his younger brother had betrayed him, after which his decline was imminent. Elena could notice that Elijah's tone changed as he spoke about the count's brother.  

"You agreed to Lia's deal-and it's not easy, you feel like you have betrayed him!"

"Elena, we had this conversation, not once. Klaus and I-you see- I failed him in so many ways. I have treated him like a spoiled child. Father used to beat him because he was not his son- and I tried to compensate somehow for all that time- I am very much to blame for who he is now,and I made a promise once a long time ago 'family above all-"

Elena could see that he was in great pain and he didn't hide it.

"You wished there was another way?!!"- she said empathically, understanding the complexity of it all.

"We both know that there is no other way. Lia offering him a human life. Maybe he can find some redemption in it- I just- let's continue walking shall we?!"- he said suddenly composing himself again.

"Elijah?! "- Elena laid her hand on the Original’s arm- " this is not your fault, nothing that Klaus does is your fault!"

There it was, her compassion trying to balance it all out. Her eyes truthfully believing in him and his redemption. She had the love he needed to see him through. He smiled a little and said- "Shall we?!" She nodded and they proceeded in silence.

As they came up to the Old Court Church. Elena wanted to go in.

"I will be waiting here for you."- Elijah said. She understood that he could not go in and then felt badly for a moment, but he urged her to go.

"I- well-I kind of want to light a candle for Damon. I don't know if it is right him being what he was."

"You should."- the Original nodded a little. 

"Yes. I was so mad at him -cuz of the compulsions and - but he was there for me and when I left we didn't leave things in a good place, and I just-"

"Elena, he was human once and he had a soul.It doesn't matter where you do it! I'll wait here for you." - Elijah said dearly.

"Thank you"- she said and walked into the church. It was a small, but magnificently beautiful. She felt a tad bit strange to do this as he was a vampire, yet Elijah's words reminded him that once he was a human.

Elena came to the part where many yellow candles were burning for the souls of the loved ones. She lit a candle and placed it among the others. She needed to say goodbye to the vampire and thank him for having cared for her. 

"I hope you are at peace now, Damon."

She looked around a little bit, and then walked slowly back to the entrance. Seeing Elijah patiently waiting for her to exercise something private made her heart flutter.

"Everything all right?!"- the Original asked politely, stating the obvious as she nodded with a little smile.

"I am a bit hungry." - Elena then said.

"Of course. You didn't have any breakfast. I am sorry."- and it seemed like they were back on with their plan to take time to themselves and indulge in being nothing else but tourists, a couple visiting and simply enjoying each other's company.

"I bet you know a good place?!"

Elijah nodded with a small smirk dancing on his face. They walked away from the church/ She took him by the hand and the Original couldn’t help but glance at his hand in hers. It felt unusual as he wasn't accustomed to those kind of public displays of affection. 

“Everything ok?”- Elena asked.

“Perfectly.”- Elijah confirmed squeezing her hand lightly - “this way”

And they walked in the direction he pointed, hand in hand, followed by the sunshine behind them.

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

In the Old Town, not far from the Church Elena and Elijah walked out of

Lia looked at her watch. It was nearly five in the afternoon. She drank her tea and enjoyed the buzzing café full of people.Then a woman in her late fifties came to her.

"Esther Mikaelson."- Lia said- "nice to finally meet you. I am Lia Vladu. Please sit down. I'd  like to discuss with you something that would be of great interest to both of us."

******

Meanwhile in another part of Europe

Klaus wasn't very kind to the young witch, and there was no business deal to discuss. The poor woman laid in the bath tub as he'd overpowered her and mercilessly killed her.

"You do not play with me!"- he hissed as he got out of the hotel room.

Feride felt the demise of the young witch as if something had stabbed her right in the stomach. Lia felt the same. Just before Lia was to enter the villa with Esther, she stood as if she couldn't get any breath.

"Are you all right?"-Esther asked.

"Fine"- Lia said, although she knew that something was seriously wrong.

The women entered the house.

"This is a beautiful house"- Esther complimented her.

"Well, thank you. Please, if you would come through here"- Lia lead Esther into the living room.

The witch then murmured words in the old Dacian language sealing the room closed.

"What is this?"- Esther could feel a strange surge of magic enveloped her.

"Unfortunately, I had to contain you. I didn't really think that you were so strong minded."

"You brought me here on false pretences?!"- Esther said openly showing that she wasn't happy about what had occurred.

"I have no choice. I have to protect Elena and your son. You are unfortunatelly in my  way."

"My children will bring you nothing but misery!"- Esther said agitated a bit, continuing- "I don't understand why you cannot see what abomination they are!"

"It is too late for being regretful about what you have done a thousand years ago. We have to fight the hybrids and I will need all your children on my side-at least those who want to go against them!"

Lia then heard Elijah and Elena enter the Villa. She excused herself and went out to meet them in the Hall.

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

In Germany

Feride felt that the power of five reincarnated witches break as one of the witches was now dead.

With her eyes full of tears she slammed down on the floor. She took time to mourn the passing. It was a harsh world, she knew that, and all she knew about the deadly soul of the most notorious vampire, now hybrid, came true.

"He will kill -and he would not think twice about it"- she remembered the lines she read about Niklaus Mikaelson.

With a heavy heart she got up and went to call Lia.

In Bucharest, both Elena and Elijah met Esther once again face to face. The Original witch couldn't get to them as she was now held captive, but they could converse. Elena wanted to leave mother and son on their own, but Elijah said that whatever was to be said could be done in her presence too.

"I wanted to mend my mistake!"- Esther started.

Elijah was serious. It was now time to finally speak with all cards openly laid down on the table.

"I can understand that."- Elijah said sincerely - "but you knew what was going to  happen-you were a witch, and not just any!"

"You know of survival-I have been motivated to save my family-and after Henrik was killed-"

"Yes"- Elijah muttered, his face getting grim. He understood that part as he also would do anything to save his family.

"But-I have to carry this burden, I guess...like you have to carry yours!"- Esther said.

Elijah knew what she was talking about, as he had a great share of trespasses to live with himself.

She turned to Elena now.

"I see that you and Elijah share more than just a friendly understanding. Maybe for some reason he does deserve some light in his life! Still, never forget what he is!"

Elena's sombre face indicated that she understood what Esther meant. Without saying anything to it Elena just walked out of the room. Her heart felt like it was hit with dark magic. She felt an unsual pain in her gut.

Elijah went after the doppelganger rushly.

In the library, Lia finished her conversation with Feride. She brushed the tears off of her face as she put the phone down.

There was more carnage to follow and the witches knew that.

She now took a moment to reconsider what would be the next step. Time could not be wasted. Once again she read about the ritual that was to take place. She calculated out the moon and the sun conjunction that was to happen before she had planned it, and what the implications it would bring if brought forward.

In the attic apartment Elena nervously undid her coat and tossed it on the bed.

"Elena"- Elijah said concerned as he walked in after her.

She looked at him worried.

"I don't like her being here!"- Elena said- "with all that happened last time- I mean-I know we brought her back-but-huh!!! "

"Lia needs Esther for the ritual!"- Elijah said seriously.

Elena could see the transformation in Elijah. He seemed to have closed himself off again.

"Demons and darkness"- Elena thought. She sighed.

He now turned away from the window-

"You will have to be stronger than you have ever been!"- he said to her.

"Why are you saying this!?"

"I just got a message from Niklaus! He knows what we are up to!" 

Elena felt like the blood in her veins froze. They were both quiet for a moment.

"What now?"- Elena uttered.

"Well-we still have a powerful witch on our side...she must come up with something."

And, indeed it was so. Lia called them to the library not long after. She told them what had happened, and that now they were in a dangerous limbo. But the very resourceful witch had a solution.

"We know now the cause of the mutation"-Lia said- "but that is the least of my worries. We have lost a witch that was necessary to complete the ritual to close the circle to end the hybrid gene. But we are looking for a witch that is born with the mark of Earth so we can complete the ritual when the time comes. Now to more pressing matters- before the first dark red 'blood moon' appears we have to complete the Sun and the Moon conjunction ritual, so we have two that can fight against the hybrids holding the same powers as once the witch-slayers had.

The scrolls say that Elena is the bearer of the Sun and you Elijah the Moon."

What does that mean?"- Elena inquired.

"You are speeding thing up!? Would you care to explain?!" - Elijah looked at her poignantly.

"Because the Tetrad is about to set in and it gives the hybrids great power-when the sun, the moon and Mars are aligned -they create a passage of six full moons. You know what full moons enable the werewolf to do. You will be able to fight them when they are either vampire or werewolf. You two drawing power from the doppelganger and vampire will  have equal power against them. Although you are an Original you are still so much weaker than you brother, or isn't it so?! This conjuction will enable Elena and you to be as strong as a hybrid, and she will not anymore be merely a human."

"Will I become a vampire?"- Elena then asked.

"No. You will still remain human, but you will be Immortal nevertheless, as you will become the reincarnation of the sidhe-spirit, the first, Zana, from whom the first vampires were created."

"That is not what you were suggesting earlier?"- Elijah wanted to know.

"No. I received some more disturbing news, namely, the hybrids have made covenant with witches and warlocks who practice dark magic- and that your brother is meeting them!"

"What proof do you have?"- Elijah said.

"This" and Lia put her hand on Elijah's forehead and what Feride had teleported to Lia she now did to him. It showed Klaus with the mutated hybrid called Julius.

As she finished Elijah moved away from her as if stung by a wasp.

"Elijah"- Elena said as she saw that his facial expression got darker. All he told Elena before the ritual in Mystic Falls now was coming to be.  

"I couldn't kill him-he is my brother!"- the Original muttered.

"I know!"- Lia sympathized with him- "but you knew what would come to pass!"

"Yes"- he said faintly- "if I agree to all this-we still have a deal-you turn him into human!"- he demanded.

"I can sign it in my own blood if you want!"- Lia said coolly.

Elena's mind was racing now. She felt exactly the same as the day when she found out Klaus had arrived in Mystic Falls and the only clear thing was to undagger Elijah.

"I am willing to do it!"- Elena said resolved- "I want to fight them." 

Elena looked Elijah wanting him to declare the same.

He knew that she wouldn't take anything less than a straight answer.

"We do this!"- Elijah said looking at Elena and then at Lia.

"I will make the preparations. We need to depart for Cluj-Napoca as soon as possible!"

"And Esther?"

"She remains here. She will be safe!"- Lia confirmed.

Not long after, the trio made their way to Transylvania.

***************** 

Elsewhere

Klaus sat down with Julius, who was the leader of the twelve hybrid packs.

"I know  that you have stolen the precious doppelganger blood bags!"- Klaus said calmly, but the blood in him was boiling.

"Unlike you, we only need now a few drops for the werewolf to change into the hybrid thanks to my mother, the hybrid witch!"

"Your mother?"- Klaus asked.

"Yes. she is a hybrid and yet she kept all her witchcraft-"- Julius said.

Klaus was quiet. He was there to collect information, and didn't like what he was hearing.

"I am listening"- Klaus said cleverly playing the game of someone who had thousand years of cunningness.

"I hear that the doppelganger has escaped!" - Julius remarked.

"She is with my brother! We are out of blood bags, aren't we?! Guess what - I don't negotiate with thieves!"- and Klaus vamped out, attacking Julius who fought back with the same strength that Klaus had. Everyone present watched how the two bit one another and charged at each other over and over again as rabid dogs.

"Enough!"- the witch waved and the magic separate them. They parted for a moment and stood still, not changing back into the human form just yet.

"Yes, he stole from you, as I have instructed him so. You don't negotiate with an Original. And we needed the blood to work the spell. I apologize, but it is in our best interest! You may think that your brother is on your side- but we know of his alliance with witches who try to kill all hybrids even you!"

"You think that I don't know that the witches are on my case. I have killed one of them! And as for your information. I have received fresh blood bags. You see, we are a close family, and my brother is only keeping the doppelganger safe from the likes of you!"

"Calm down. This is exactly what they want- to divide and make us weak!"- Julius now said.

"My son is right. Join us, Niklaus Mikaelson, and our power will be infinite!"- the witch said.

Klaus retreated to reconsider the offer. He didn't like what he had heard and that there was now a witch that was also a hybrid werewolf/vampire. He didn't believe it could ever happen.

**********

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Elena, Elijah and Lia arrived in the north-western city of Cluj- Napoca, Transylvania, sometime before midnight.  

Lia told Elena a bit more about the history of Dacians. Elena wanted to know more about Zana, whose spirit she would be assuming in the ritual that was about to take place the following night.  

"She was the spirit of nature, which you are too, because you are the doppelganger-you will know once it is done, as you are a reincarnation as well."- Lia said.

When they arrived in the apartments Lia had organized for them, Elijah asked to see the text in the scrolls that talks about them.

Elena made herself comfortable in one of the bedrooms. She took a shower, needing time to herself. He heart felt like it separated into million pieces. She felt she grew more mature in the past few months. Curiously, she felt a strange calm envelope her.

As she got dressed, she decided not to join Elijah and the witch in the lounge. She laid down on the bed. Her thoughts were with her friends and her brother, and the life that now was so far away. At one point she fell asleep.

When Elijah got in, Elena woke up. He sat on the bed next to her. She could see in his look that he was still very worried. She sat up.

"We will be bonded for all eternity."- the Original then said.

"I know. I understood all what Lia was saying. Sometimes it feels like I dreamed this moment- all of this. Like I have always known but it wasn't clear, now it kind of is-I used to lay down in my bed in Mystic Falls and thought about the future, and- I dreamed of this guy, wondering who he was, where he was. In my heart -you know when it all fits and you know it but you can't understand how that is. Where you go, I go. It's so clear to me. Give me your hand" - Elena said.

He put her hand out to her and she took it.

"I love you. And I know now that it was always you!"

"I love you so- more. I never could have imagined how real love can be!"- he uttered- then looked deep into her eyes, which responded with warmth and love, he then said -

"I would be honoured if you would enter into this as my betrothed?!"

"Yes."- Elena nodded smiling a little- and then embraced him dearly.

In the apartment next door Lia wrote a message to her fellow witch Feride.

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

At the same time in Germany, Feride opened the door of her flat to a woman in her thirties, who introduced herself as Adelheid Friedrich. She showed the witch the mark of caduceus and Feride smiled relieved that she found a fellow reincarnated witch. She invited her in and the two women commenced  exchanging all that is to do with the strange occurrences that were taking place.

____

[causeimalady-thatswhy]

Is this room getting smaller?  It feels like its getting smaller.  I hear the sound of footsteps in the apartment above.  Our window is open to try to circulate the suffocating air and I hear cars driving past, going well over the speed limit.  Our TV is on, the portable dishwasher is going, and I hear two unfamiliar voices enter the building.  Which is like sitting on your bed in the house you live in and hearing someone walk down the hallway right past the door to your bedroom, only you have no idea who the fuck they are.  We hear everything here.  All of the noise is polarizing.  And then I hear my kids.  I get lost in the noises of our musty cave.  My children find me and bring me out.  They ask for a snack.  I smile, say no.  They continue playing.  They don’t know, because this is all they know.  I continue sitting, lost in thought, dreaming of anywhere to take them that isn’t here.  

We almost rented a house. A few times.  But things came up, we decided not to, we decided to wait. Four years later we’re still where we were.  Everything is more expensive, so we fucked up. We’re trapped.  In this small apartment.  With the small rooms, that feel smaller with four people living in them. Four people.  900 square feet.  That’s not even that bad.  I hear stories of people close by and far away that have it way worse.  My mind wanders to that place, and then the guilt sets in.  I should be so lucky to live where I do.  There are people in the world who are suffering.  I don’t deserve pity.  But as much as I try to pull myself out, I am suffering.

We almost bought a house. That just happened.  We got so close to freedom.  We were denied our loan.  The details make sense now, but we were told it was a go.  We were pre-approved, our offer accepted, all inspections passed, title work done, closing costs covered.  Nope, just kidding.  A week before closing.  The closing of our hardest chapter, by far.  A week before we could get the keys to a real home, with a real yard, and a real fucking laundry room.  With neighbors far enough that if they lit a bong the smoke wouldn’t damage our mattresses and couch cushions and my innocent babies wouldn’t wake up with black boogers.  Neighbors far enough where I don’t have to explain to my young children what they’re smelling in the hallway as were walking down to do laundry.  Neighbors far enough where when there are domestic disputes until 6 am, loud enough where it sounds like they’re going to spill through our cave door, our kids wont wake up confused.  Neighbors where if the drunk idiots next to us decided to throw a fucking party, the bass from their stereos woudn’t scare my kids into thinking there are loud monsters in their room.  Privacy.  Peace. Fresh fucking air.

I live in a safe place. Safety, to me though, is relative to your mind and your thoughts.  My sister basically lived in the ghetto and mentally, was totally fucking fine.  She wasn’t scared.  My apartment has “security”.  The security guards couldn’t do anything about the drug problem but hey at least I have a number to call.  I live in a safe city.  Full of tourists in the summer, rich or poor people in the winter, but pretty much safe. This city, like most others, is completely unaffordable for people trying to start their lives.  Low paying jobs galore, expensive homes galore. Middle class?  Gone.  There are people in the world who are dieing.  I am selfish to think I deserve more than them, more than those mothers who, like me, so deeply crave a better life for their children.  But their better life is across the country, continent, ocean, world.  Mine can be almost anywhere in my county.  I am blessed and lucky to be born in America.  But am I really safe? Never.

My husband is a veteran. He went to war instead of college. When it came time for reenlistment, I was pregnant and he decided to take me home and try college again.  He does everything for me.  I say he doesn’t show me affection but everything he does, he does for me.  As I’m writing this he is talking to me more than usual, and touching me more than usual, because he knows.  I want out of here. I want my kids out of here. And hes the only one who can do that for us.  Really I should be fine, the pressure is on him.  But my mind betrays me.  He works hard. He deserves a house more than me, but my kids deserve a house the most.

Theres a park down the street with a playscape and a cute beach on the bay.  My kids basically grew up there.  No backyard, remember?  Once when we were at this beach, my kids were playing on the playscape.  Two men were sitting on a bench looking out at the water. They both got up and walked towards the parking lot, towards us.  One man was holding his phone, and as he got close I saw that his camera was on.  He smiles at me, looks up at my son, takes a fucking picture of him, and says “cute kid”.  Safe my fucking ass.  No where is safe.  I could kill myself for not ripping the fucking phone out of his hand, and shoving it up his weird old fucking ass.  I called the police, because I am who I am.  And the person on the phone seemed concerned, but my husband said everything was probably fine.  Except I read about pedophilia and weird fucking people on the internet all the time. In my mind, one of those people might now have a picture of my son. Because we don’t have a backyard.

Theres a splash pad downtown where I live.  It was shut off and my kids were too little but I try to get them outside when its sunny. I try to take them places and give us all some fresh air, a break from our cave.  So I got the double-jogging-stroller and we walked.  I have a stroller for every occasion, my parents think that’s weird.  But when you live in an apartment its necessary.  I always have to pack, and plan, and prepare when I want to go outside. We were walking back to the car from this splash pad, looking out at the water.  A man starts walking toward me.  He has a phone in his hand but I didn’t notice until he took a picture of us.  He told me “You belong in Hollywood”.  I smile and quickly walk toward my car.  He gets into a green truck with branding on the side.  At least this time the kids were bundled in hats and blankets.  They probably weren’t visible in the picture.  Safe.

Once I was at my friends house. She owns her house all by herself.  She is not afraid, ever.  At least I don’t think.  We got out of the car and started walking to her front door when a man on a bicycle rode by really slowly, and stared into our eyes the entire time without saying hi or anything.  When he got to far and had to break the stare, he turned his head around the other way to keep staring as he kept riding his bike.  Eventually he stopped looking.  My friend told me, “Ive never seen anything like that here before”.  I know….its me.  But I digress.

I packed a lot of stuff already.  Each box is labeled with it’s contents and what room of the house the stuff was going to go.  I printed out the dimensions of the house so I could have them with me if I decided to go into home depot and plan.  I planned how I would arrange every room.  I thought about where I would put a Christmas tree, how the tree in the front yard would be perfect for a tire swing. I thought about how cute it would be to put pumpkins outside and what it would be like to take my kids trick or treating without driving them somewhere else.  I thought it would be fun to build a teepee in the backyard for the kids to play in, and what it would be like to actually be able to have bonfires.  Once I dreamt that we pulled up the carpet to reveal hardwood floors, just like in Fixer Upper.  Now that we’re staying I might as well throw away the stuff in the boxes.  I packed almost half of our apartment and we still don’t have any space.

My family could have stayed with us.  There were two rooms in the basement.  One for a guest room and the other for a playroom.  Perfect.  We live 4 hours from our families.  My husband and I both work.  He works a lot more, so im home a lot more.  He has always been good at making friends.  I guess its probably me...I think im nice, friendworthy?  Maybe im too nice.  Either way, I was going to try to convince my mom to live with us in the summer.  Then I would be safe, and have company.

I grew up in a suburban middle-class subdivision.  I played outside with kids in my neighborhood all the time.  I was born in 91, so I am one of the last generations that remembers a time before the internet.  We didn’t even get a VCR until DVD players were a thing.  I loved my childhood.  I had fun. I had a happy and healthy childhood with parents who loved me and a safe, happy home.  I was spoiled for that.  I know now, that is rare.  And that is to be treasured.  And I must do that for my children, as soon as I possibly can.  They are loved, and we laugh, but only inside.

I have to mourn the loss of this home, the memories never to be made.  Painting my kids rooms.  Watching them play in the leaves. Watching them ride their bikes.  Reading books by the fireplace. Picnicking in the backyard.  My kids playing with our neighbors, who are the same age.  Planting a garden.  Going on adventures without going somewhere unfamiliar.  Opening the back door and letting them run.  Just run and run.  I want to let them out and let them run until their little legs get tired.  And then bring them inside for a sandwich.  I feel like Sandra Bullock in Birdbox.  I don’t want to have to tell them to slow down, that they will die because cars are driving by too fast, or people are doing drugs on their balconies, or to tell them they cant play on the sidewalk because the creepy guy above us will linger out there too long.  I have to mourn the loss of my kid’s almost first childhood home. And pray, pray, pray it will come sooner than later.  But hey, at least we have somewhere to live, and to everyone else it’s probably safe.

[hannahrobey]

I hope this kills you.

Earlier, I read this post by a man who shared his life story. God bless. And I hope this kills you.

"I was married, had been with my wife for 15 years. Then I left her 2 months short of our 10 year wedding anniversary.

We were parents to two beautiful children, who are in their late teens now, but were only seven and nine years old when I walked out.

I travelled for work, stayed in a different hotel at least three nights a week. That’s how I met Eve*.

We got to know each other over time. We became Facebook friends. We sent messages to each other all day and night. She was also married, also had two kids. We had so much in common, we soon fell in love. I felt like she 'got' me.

This was all during a very trying time in my marriage. I wasn’t happy, I didn’t look forward to going home. My wife had put on weight, we hardly ever spoke, she always looked so miserable.

Little did I realise that I was the reason she was so down and depressed. I didn’t pay her any attention. I took her for granted. I was too busy wishing my life was more exciting, being romanced online, spending all of my free time thinking how I could get out.

I believed she didn’t love me. I convinced myself she never cared about me or my needs and wants and wishes, that all I was was a paycheck.

She spent her free time taking care of us -- our kids, making our suppers, doing out washing, making lunches, doing homework, projects, shuttling kids to sport, taking care of the pets they loved so much, their friends, and had a job of her own on top of it all.

Every time she spoke to me, all I heard was nagging and whining. But she was actually begging for my attention: a weekend away, a date night, a movie -- everything I ended up doing with Eve behind her back and after I left my family.

We argued and fought because we felt unheard by the other. And yet that was all we actually had to do – LISTEN – to each other!

I moved to another province with Eve. My now ex-wife got custody of our kids. I saw them every second weekend, the usual 'Dad' set up.

New beginnings

Life was sweet!

Eve and I had an amazing sex life. A connection I believed I never had with my ex. We had a large circle of friends. My family loved her. My kids liked her.

But my ex could never bring herself to meet Eve – she felt betrayed. I hated her even more! She was childish. She was mean. She never cared about me or my happiness. I didn’t care about my ex’s feelings when I posted photos of us on Facebook… I had Eve and a whole new life and it was fantastic!

We were together for about six or seven years but never married – we believed marriage was not our thing.

I believed that after 15 years with my ex, we’d given it all we could and our time together was up, there was nothing we could do to salvage our relationship or marriage. Eve was my future, Eve was who I should have been with all along.

Eventually, no matter how well we got along in the beginning; no matter how well I thought she “got” me; no matter how good the sex was; the “honeymoon” came to an end.

Eve and I started snapping at each other. Little fights here and there. I had a moment of pure realisation one night, at about 2am.

I realised that I missed the woman who created my first home and family. I realised that if I'd treated my ex-wife the way I’d treated Eve, used the hours I spend woo-ing Eve on my ex, she’d have bloomed.

If I’d stopped being negative about her and our relationship to my family and friends they wouldn’t have been so negative to her and she wouldn’t have pulled into herself and shied away.

She became someone I convinced myself I no longer knew or got along with because I never gave her the time and affection and attention she craved and deserved.

I thought I had, but when I got down and really thought about it I never really did. I never really let her in. I had ended my marriage years before with the simple decision that she was no longer who or what I wanted. And I’d convinced my family and friends the same – that she was no good for me!

Regret sets in

But I was wrong. I missed the best years of my kids lives. Missed being a family with them. I let their mother battle with raising them alone. Yes I helped financially, but a man living outside his family has no real idea what the costs are on the single mother. While Eve and I ate steaks on the weekends, my ex-wife was living on egg and toast.

And do you know that she never complained? She never demanded more money out of me. She never stopped me from seeing the kids. Never said no if I changed plans on her at the last minute. She gave up her weekends so that my mother could spend time with her grandchildren. She left me to get on with my life with Eve, even though it must have killed her.

Like any relationship, it had started out good – great in fact – but when it go bad I decided to leave… I walked out and divorced a woman who – and I can only see this now – would have done anything for me. But I’d told myself she wouldn’t or couldn’t.

My ex-wife stayed single for 8 years. She dated but never got involved. Her being single was also a kind of affirmation for me – that no one wanted her – that everything I’d decided she lacked, so did other men… She actually stayed single to focus on our children.

Too late

And then came the day she met Craig. I never thought it would bug me in any way if she got a boyfriend. I thought it would be great! But I was very wrong. I felt hurt. I felt jealous. I even felt angry and maybe betrayed.

She moved in with Craig, along with my kids. She set up a new home. A new family, with my kids… it was a very bitter pill to swallow.

I finally understood how she’d felt all these years. And it felt rotten.

I watched via Facebook and through conversations with our old mutual friends how Craig spoiled her and the kids. Their weekends were spent on the beach – he surfed with my son. They went hiking in the Burg. They went to Mauritius where he proposed on a kayak and she said yes -- they got married.

My daughter was a bridesmaid. My son was a groomsman. Craig’s parents and brother welcomed my ex-wife and children into their family. They told everyone how blessed they were to be gaining them as family.

She glowed with happiness. She radiated love and none of it was for me! My heart felt like it had been ripped out.

It should have been me.

Don’t be me. You think you will never be happy when you are in a rut. It is when you are there at your darkest that you need to grip down and try your hardest.

Today I live alone and still only see my kids occasionally. They are big now and harbour anger towards me for leaving them and their mother. Who can blame them?

Of all the things Eve was, she was never the mother of my children – my original true love."

"HOPE this helps a few marriages, Love and appreciate a Good woman".

#Allos_of_Mr_Lakusu"

[rosheendubh]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltharius

The strange paths this journey takes me on...I'd forgotten all about this gem of Medieval Saga-hood. In uniting Gwen's unique segment to my most beloved of Germanic myths, a clash of two adored heroines I've always dreamt of uniting has finally taken form. Gwen as a young woman, coming of age, educated in a 460-470s era decaying Rome, convent and hospital style, beneath the tutelage of an Alexandrian or Byzantine physician (still need to pump Arthurian Romance for an adequate prototype to borrow on that--and found it. See the Gold Boobs post...and the Lycurgius Cup), and an abbess...who happens to be the retired, incognito version of Gudrun.

~

A Queen Like No Other...

We’re guiessing, maybe some time frame from about 465 to 475 or 480AD...

The last surviving daughter of the Gepids, exhausted of the world, had sought her peace, retiring to a nunnery in the waning decades of Rome’s twilight,  The massacre of her brothers, Gundahar and Hagano, to the combined forces of Atila and Aetius, was a tragedy instigated first by Brunhilde's vengeance, betrayed by Sigfrid, the only man Gudrun had ever loved, and who hadn’t the honor to stand up to her mother on the night Gudrun had been presented to him, and claim his love for wild Brynhilde. The closure had been all Gudrun’s though, serving her butchered sons by Atila, to their own father, lighting his hall on fire, and watching his men roast, drunken in their excess, celebrating the demise of the Burgundi, retching and choking as Gudrun regaled them the  ingredients of their foul feast while they suffocated on smoke and flame. It wasn’t till some years later, when her tears left her dry, no more grief to spare.  Beloved Swanhild, her only daughter by Sigfrid, convulsed, dying in her arms, trampled to death because of a weak husband’s faithlessness. Her daughter’s broken body was a sack of shattered shells. For all the sorrow Gudrun sustained, it was then her heart had turned to a hard, bitter stone.

Harsh and cynical, she’s always attuned to Old Grim, his One-Eyed Shadow following her, even into the cloisters of the convent, the retreat of the Christian God by which she sought to elude Wotan.  Duty still goads though, meaningless distractions the women find to occupy themselves, like taking in the daughters of barbarian nobles. Providing some means of trade, education, or dowry to unfortunate girl-children of widows and orphans, left bereft in the tumult of a dying Empire.

Gwenafyr ferch Edern of the Cawnr.  Aeternus, her father styles himself here, in these old weathered palaces where men still cling to archaic Latin, trying to dilute the jarring utterances of tribal chieftains who now retain titles of legate and prefect. The young girl put into her charge is a tribulation.. Spoiled, barbarian royalty, her people inhabit a rock sitting in gray waters at the end of the earth. She tasks Gwen with the most menial of novice chores in the convent, enforcing a lifestyle the strictest of ascetics would have found withering. And Gwen, lonely, angry, resentful of her father abandoning her to such mistreatment, lashes out.  Which impresses Gudrun, who approves of the girl's spirit and determination.  Her inherent recalcitrance, it seems. She'll need it one day, to face the world she will eventually inherit. For Gudrun--god's rune--can See.

The gifts her Lord of mead, madness, brilliance, and Vision endowed long ago, before she knelt in obeisance beneath a cross, a broken and sorrowing soul back then. What she sees upon this girl is the shadow of her One Eyed Keeper, a fate of darkness, and a hope so bright, of something into the future Gudrun thinks even Old Grim shies back from, just a little. Courage of mind and heart burning from young Gwenafyr's eyes. Gudrun, in her final, parting defiance to the curse Wotan holds upon her days, steals her nights in a deluge of rotten memory, intends, against all odds in this failing chaotic time, to raise this child, just on the verge of her adolescence, a few years short yet, into a queen such as the world will never forget. A woman to leave her mark upon a future. Where others have failed, she might, just might, open up something of hope, a path leading out of the thorns bleeding these dark times.

Where better, than Britannia, when she returns to her island at the edge of the world. "But first...first, girl," Gudrun explains into the furious gaze of this hoyden, "before you learn to serve a land, you must learn what it is to serve beggars."

And so commences Gwen's education in the halls of Rome's old crumbling libraries, and the stench filled corridors of the charity hospitals. Reciting Latin, Greek, the Gothic parlance of Gudrun's tongue, Gwen ministers remedies from the texts of classical physicians long turned to dust, their words and knowledge leap from scrolls crusted and protesting the sun of a world much different than the one once gracing the mirages still glimpsed amid decaying plazas, toppled pillars, and bramble thick fields.

Hours drag, roll away into months. Months turn with the seasons into years. One, then five. A decade. And finally...finally she may just be ready. To return. Claim a king. Claim a nation.

Gudrun mourns her parting--Gwen, transformed into the daughter fate cheated her when Swanhild was trampled by Eomer's men, rage wrought upon charges of adultery never born truth. Wotan has marked her. A presence Gudrun never hesitated to speak of as their affection deepened in the years. Gwenafyr never seemed bothered. Upon her island, women are goddesses, mortal embodiment of immortal dream. What has she to fear from a shade skulking at the edge of vision?

Merely curious, Gwen's irony and ruefulness have become her defense into maturity, education of reason and science shaping how her student views the foibles of humanity. There's nothing of the virgin philosopher though, Gwenafyr all too aware of the world's temptations and luxuries, and perfectly obliging to hedonism. In moderation. But she would have made a terrible nun. Because there's also nothing of fear in her. What traditions steeped her childhood in that far north country before she'd entered Gudrun's convent, they left an indelible mark, as deep cloven as Wotan's shadow upon Gwen's wyrd. A child of queens before queens--gods and men alike, heroes all of them, to be molded by the guidance of their women. Gwen knows her worth. And she will not be restrained by warlord, priest, bard. Or God. Unless the word of God, a god, rings with truth and compassion.

Gudrun's heart warms with pride, and something she has long denied. That minuscule softening deep inside, where she buried many years ago, the raging grief of so many deaths. Sorrow again, loss, as the ship leavens, creak of oar and plank, its hull buoyed by the current of the Tiber. The price of love.

Gwen approaches the rails, reaching for a final glimpse of her world these last 10 years. Sadness, inevitable at their parting, hangs heavy in Gudrun’s mind. The uncertainty breaking through the excitement animating Gwen’s clean lined face when she seeks Gudrun across the distance of the widening waters eases some of the weight of her sorrow, realizing just then, how much she has meant to her young charge. Gudrun nods to her farewell as the ship glides further from the dock.  Her blessing and confidence in that bow of her head.

It's enough. Her breath catches, the shade about Gwen hovering, cast back by the brightness, not only in the sudden joy shining in the younger woman's eyes, but her spirit. Blazing. To Gudrun's Sight it's a corona that washes out the image of the ship, passengers milling around Gwen--so bright, Gudrun feels the world sway.

She catches herself, shaking her head to clear it, swallow air to still the gallop of her pulse. A small wave of her hand reassures the concerned glance of a food vendor from his stall. So bright, into the threads of the future sometimes illuminated by this curse. Gwenafyr's spirit shimmers, dew drops along spider-silk lit by the sun, her strand dancing with the warp and weft of time. And always, around her, shadow of Grim's talons trying to grasp her light. Until another ray, lancing brilliance, tangles the dark claws away. That second soul always with her, hearts vowed in every life.

Her laugh is purely internal. *Plug it, Old Man. She's never been yours, and never will be.*

His voice isn't sound so much as as sensation. The draft of heat from flame. A wash of fire in the air, heaviness like a brewing storm, pressing thick in the wind. *No. But I am hers, when she wants. And want,* the voice a sigh in the dark, *she will.* Sensuous, it wraps around her, shivering caress down her spine.

Curse the bastard. This ecstasy he commands, how longing not felt for years can awaken her dried husk of flesh, sagging breasts and wrinkled thighs warming with forgotten urge.

*Soon daughter. Soon.* Gudrun hopes whatever passes for his incorporeal eye, the one observing the world, he can see her scowl, plain across her brow.

*Easily. That's why I always favored you over Brynhilde. She worshiped until she hated. You...you hated from the first. My mead deepened your bitterness, Gudrun. But recall, you never denied my gifts. Neither will she.*

*No,* Gudrun finds herself humoring him like they're a pair of old lovers. *But she may take your gifts and turn them into something even you never anticipated, Old Man. She cast Andarvi's Horde from curse to blessing, easing the lives of our poor. And his ring, when finally melted down, became...* At this she does let her dry chuckle escape, hearing, feeling a flabbergasted god's very mortal consternation.

*...became her set of surgical instruments.* Gudrun isn't certain, but she thinks Wotan might not be a little pleased. *Walkryian.*

"She's no harvester of the dead, Old Man. Let her be." Her pointed defense rings sharp in the silence of a deserted square lying along the route she’s chosen. A reluctant fountain bubbles from an eroded sculpture of Venus cuddling Eros in her lap.

*Change, chaos, wrecker of order, I am. Even gods can be no other than what our nature dictates, Gudrun. Her line has always drawn me, at these crossroads of fate. Darkness. Light. She possesses both destruction and rebirth.*

"And she fears neither, Old Man. Nor does she believe in your wyrd."

*Enlightenment,* his utterance, a breeze stirring, sweeping the detritus of the streets in her wake.

"I believe the word she used was...*wealwian*," Gudrun counters.

Silence. So profound, for a moment, she thinks she's actually offended old One Eye. Until, faint at first, a building crescendo of laughter, thunder, waves, and wind in her mind, fills her sense with his joy.

*You’ve done well, Gudrun.* A father, proud of his daughter. She abides his praise, burying her annoyance.  He accommodates the capriciousness of human nature with the ease of a child, even when his acolytes deliberately stray, denouncing him, evading his sight.

*A queen like no other. She will invite the end of an age. And seed a new dawn. Where hovers hope, her dream still waits. But it will take shape, in time.*

The air ripples, waves breaking upon the shore of  mind. Ebbing, a veil thins between universes. Ghostly, coalescing from a fog. A man, lean of limb, hair like russet leaves in autumn sunset, elegant in height, dressed in foreign garb. Shirt and vest, trousers cut to the knee--strange to an eye accustomed still, to the swathes of robes donned by Latin magistrates,   But the trappings of the desk at which he’s hunched, intent upon his writing, a candle burning against shadows, are recognizable luxuries, despite the span of time between Gudrun’s present, and this future she into which she peers. 

His hand, furious as the speed of a river flowing from restless thought. *The tree of Liberty...*  The syllables a garble of incomprehension. She recognizes their rhythm if not their sound. It’s the magic of poetry. Wotan’s gift. Gudrun has known bards in her lifetime. Gundahar crafted verse of such beauty, hearts broke, and serpents sighed in slumber. She knows well, this passion bleeding into ink, soaked into a parchment she’s never witnessed, fine white sheaves, smooth, blank medium where his vision pours from his crippled hand. His ravenous mind.

A door latch releases. Gudrun,  peering into dream, sees a woman, young, slight-built, her apparel too, strange, curves of bust and waist fitted into drab gray, but the trappings accentuate feminine proportions of limb and torso, while skirts, floor-length and layered, conceal the line of leg. What odd tastes must dictate fashion in that foreign time. The woman turns from hanging her outer-wear upon a coat hook.  A cloud of black waves crowns her head, tresses bound into a careless chignon. Her eyes, dark, deepened by her sharp-boned, vivid features, linger upon the man.  Full of a suffering even Gudrun, in her cynicism, far removed from this moment yet to come, finds hard to bear.

The man’s hand slows in its frenzied scribbles. Stills. He leans back in his chair, stealing himself, it seems, to meet the young woman’s gaze.  The look, passing between them, long in its silence, conveys what Gudrun has lived, of yearning, tenderness, and despair.  And she knows, sure in her bones, certain as Sigfrid’s love once filling her lost youth, it’s the woman’s strength and courage which embody everything blooming of hope and truth, testimony from this conflicted scribe. Every bard and poet harbors some tortured secret. Even the intellectuals. That’s the only pearl which Gudrun ponders as the scene dissolves, froth of waves merging back into the vast sea.  Her present, this mundane world, dusk descending upon the abandoned plaza, tucked away in its maze of streets in a city fallen into ruin. Rome. Once the Queen of the World. 

And Gwenafyr ferch Edern--destined to become a queen like no other other. Whose progeny, whether they thrive or perish, will leave their mark upon dreams undiscovered.

*There once was a dream that was Rome...*

[star-trekkin-across-theuniverse]

Shieldmaiden, pt5

Word Count: 2496 Tags:

Eira awoke to sunlight streaming across her, and knew without question that she was alone. She could hear Leif cooing and singing from the nursery, and rose to attend him. She pulled her tunic off the floor and pulled it over her head as she padded across the room. Loki had been frantic with need as they made love, and her clothes were scattered across the room, where he’d tossed them as he’d undressed her. She rubbed her face and yawned before picking up Leif and giving him a kiss. He squealed and pressed his own lips against her face in a messy display of affection.

“Come. Let us go find some food.” Eira changed his wet diaper and scooped him back up in her arms.

“Mmmmmm.” Leif’s response was appropriate, but Eira wasn’t sure if he actually knew that. She sat him on her lap and waited as they were served breakfast. It was quiet, no one else was out for the meal yet, and Leif’s giggles as he ate filled the room, echoing off the walls. Frigga entered and Eira struggled to her feet to bow.

“I have told you over and over Eira, there is no need for you to offer reverence to me. We are family,” Frigga chastised gently.

“Those closest to you should offer you the most respect, to ensure the rest understand the regard you are held in,” Eira argued. Frigga kissed her forehead and lifted Leif from her arms.

“For a woman who grew up away from court, you certainly have some strong opinions about courtly life,” Frigga commented.

“Mother chose to stay away from court to focus on serving your populace, but she knew that at some point I would need to attend court, and ensured I was properly educated,” Eira acknowledged.

“Your mother has always been a woman of strong principles. And a blessing to every Aesir. You ride out to her daily, do you not?” Frigga asked. Eira nodded.

“She loves Leif greatly. And had never anticipated being a grandmother.” Eira had no qualms about spoiling Leif with her mother’s affection. He would eventually know the story of his conception, and she wanted him to be able to look back on his childhood and never doubt how much he was loved. Frigga waved away the attendants and sat, gesturing that Eira should as well. She placed her free hand on Eira’s knee and leaned close.

“Loki has gone, hasn’t he?”

“Yes, he left sometime in the night,” Eira admitted, her eyes filling with tears.

“And you are hurt,” Frigga concluded.

“How can I not be? Leif and I are not enough to make him happy. He seeks comfort elsewhere.” Eira dashed the tears from her cheeks in embarrassment. Frigga brought a hand up and still Eira’s.

“Loki has always been mischief personified, Eira. He makes a show of taking little in life seriously, but I know my son, and he takes everything to heart deeply. He bottles his emotions and buries his wounds until he not longer can sleep, eat, function. And then he goes away, usually only for a few weeks, and he slays whatever demons haunt him. He comes home happy, strong, well-rested. And the cycle begins again,” Frigga offered. “And it is fair that you feel hurt. And he will be distraught for having caused it. But this is not something that Loki will ever seek for you to comfort because he fears harming you. Just as he’s never sought me to comfort him.”

Eira nodded. “I know part of his struggle has been making the transition to fatherhood. And I am the guilty party there, as I took Leif away.”

“No, Eira. You cannot blame yourself for doing exactly what you needed to do to make Loki recognize his responsibility to you. I love my son, but I am not sure that he would have even tried to be a good father and husband had you not gone to Vanaheim. You must not fell guilt for an action that has wrought good.” Frigga smoothed Leif’s hair out of his face and kissed his rosy cheeks.

“Frigga, you are a healer too,” Eira started. Frigga nodded. “What ails him that he is so constantly cold? I can find no way to heal him, but I worry for his well being when his whole body is always well below normal temperature. When I look into his body, he is like no being I’ve ever tried to heal before.”

Frigga’s lips set in a thin line and she let out a low huff air. “What I am about to share with you, even Loki does not know. And I would have you swear a blood oath to not repeat it.” She pulled out a dagger and pricked her finger before holding the dagger out to Eira. Eira repeated the motion and offered her hand to Frigga. Frigga pressed her finger against Eira’s, and Eira felt a sting of power at the contact. Frigga blinked and her eyes widened. “You are more powerful than I’d expected.”

“I am a healer.” Eira thought back to the enchantment on the scale from her armour. Frigga shook her head slowly.

“You are so much more, Eira. Untapped, raw potential,” Frigga breathed. “Swear your oath, child. Understand that the strength of your magic will bind it tightly, and should you break it the consequence could be death.”

“My magic is not that strong,” Eira protested.

“It is, Eira,” Frigga countered. Eira swallowed thickly, and looked at Leif. Whatever it was, it was worth the binding oath that would help her understand her husband better.

“I swear that I will not betray your trust, Allmother. And let the consequence of betrayal be the loss of my magic and ability,” Eira promised. Frigga blanched.

“That will kill you, Eira,” she argued.

“Then I offer it and seal it. This is my guarantee that I will not betray your trust, Frigga.” Eira could feel the surge of power through her body as the oath bound itself to her, right into her bones. Frigga released her hand and took a deep breath.

“Little more than a thousand years ago, Asgard was at war with Jotunheim. It was long, drawn out, bloody. Many were lost on both sides. But finally, Odin and the forces of Asgard gained the upper hand in battle, and soon, Jotunheim fell. While Odin surveyed what was left of the ice realm, he heard a babe cry. He followed the sound, sword at the ready, sure it was a trap. Instead, he found a Jotun babe. Small. Too small to be accepted by his parents. They had abandoned him at the temple, for the cold to take him. As Odin looked at him, he changed, and took on the appearance of the Aesir. Odin was so amazed by this tiny babe, that he gathered him up and brought him home to me. Thor was still in diapers, not much older than Leif. We decided that we would raise the boys as brothers, and not tell them of Loki’s heritage until it was necessary.” Frigga spoke slowly, as though each word bore a weight that made it hard to speak. Eira blinked in confusion.

“Loki is not Aesir?” She was unsure she’d understood what Frigga had told her.

“Loki is Jotun,” Frigga confirmed.

“Leif is half Jotun then?” Eira looked at her son’s blonde curls, light eyes. He looked every inch an Aesir child. Eira reached for him and took him back to her lap. She felt his skin, but it was just as warm as hers.

“You do not seem as troubled as I feared.” Frigga admired Eira’s composure. Eira shrugged.

“Should I be bothered? I have seen the inner workings of his body. I should have recognized that there were elements to him that were not Aesir. I’ve never held to the stories that the Jotun are nothing more than monsters.” Eira pressed a hand to Leif’s chest and let her magic flow through him. He looked like any other Aesir, with none of the peculiar markings she’d noted in Loki’s body. “My only question is why there is no sign of mixed blood in Leif.”

Frigga tilted her head and laid her hand atop Eira’s, doubling the force of the magic flowing through the baby. He giggled and tried to pull away, as though he was being tickled. Even with the amplified power, she couldn’t see anything to suggest Leif wasn’t completely Aesir.

“The night you conceived, Loki came to you in Thor’s form?” Frigga asked.

“I’ve long wondered if Leif will look more like Thor than Loki because of it,” Eira nodded.

“I think it’s possible that while in disguise, Loki may have suppressed his Jotun nature. Or it may be that Leif’s Jotun characteristics will not manifest until he is older.” Frigga seemed as confused as Eira was.

“Tis no bother, Frigga. My love for both my boys remains unchanged with this revelation. And it may help me to understand Loki more in years to come.” Eira had healed enough non-Aesir to know that each person on each realm bleed just as any other did. And if they bled the same, they likely carried the same hopes and dreams, fears and sorrows with them as well.

Loki stumbled through the Ironwood of Jotunheim, lost and beginning to feel the cold. It had taken all his will to slip from his marriage bed and leave Eira and his son behind, but he feared he would fade into nothingness if he did not. The Ironwood had been a place of refuge ever since he had first discovered the secret paths between the realms. There were few Jotun who lived in the wood, and Loki had always managed to steer clear of most of them. Except for one, who always seemed to sense when he had arrived, and would find him within his first few hours.

But today, Angrboda had not tracked him on arrival, and it had been long enough that the woods had become unfamiliar between visits. He found himself in an area of the woods that was unfamiliar. He decided that he needed to at least stop and build a fire. He was warming his hands over the flames when he sensed someone watching him, and spun around.

She was taller than he remembered, but maybe it was because she had grown. The rough pelts she wore as clothing hid a rather more womanly figure than he remembered. Her blue skin and stark red eyes always startled him the first time he saw her after being absent from the wood, but even now, he saw her jaw had changed, and her cheekbones had become more prominent. If it were possible for a Jotun woman to be beautiful, Angrboda had become just that.

“Stupid Aesir. Are you trying to call down all the wolves to let them know there is a fresh meal waiting?” She hissed at him, and kicked snow across the fire, smothering it.

“I am cold!” Loki protested.

“Then come warm yourself at my hearth, idiot,” she snapped, and turned away. Loki knew better than to argue and followed behind her, chastised. He could not help but notice the swing of her hips, or the gentle curve to her waist. He shook his head and tried to banish the appreciation of her figure, feeling traitorous to Eira. He watched her feet for the rest of the walk to her hut. She held the door open and bowed mockingly as he crossed the threshold.

“Your Highness, you are once again welcome in my home,” she sneered. Loki wondered what is was about him that drew her out. She certainly didn’t like him much, and spent most of her time mocking his manners, appearance and lineage. Loki looked around the spare cabin and noted the absence of the rest of her family. The last time he’d been, there had been scattered evidence of a busy life, well lived. Spare boots, extra bows, arrows on the fletching jig.

“Where have your parents gone? Are they well?” Loki inquired, determined to honour the etiquette he was raised with.

“It was a cold winter,” Angrboda answered.

“Is it not always winter here?” Loki laughed. “Did they find a warmer clime, then?” He couldn’t imagine what would qualify as warmer on Jotunheim, but maybe there was somewhere not quite as cold.

“When supplies are scarce and the winters are cold, the old sacrifice for the young, so that the Jotun may remain strong, Loki.” Angrboda’s words were a riddle.

“They went without so you would survive? I am sorry for your loss, Angrboda,” Loki offered. He hadn’t realized like was quite so harsh on Jotunheim, and instantly regretted his earlier jest. The circumstance of Angrboda’s family had never seemed particularly desperate when he’d previously visited, and she’d always insisted that they share meals with him. He felt a wave of guilt for taking from the less fortunate.

“It is no great loss. I carry their strength and spirit within me now, and we will forever be one,” she shrugged. “And they were delicious.”

Loki started at the comment, and then gagged. Surely she was not admitting to having eaten her parents. He stared at her, and she smiled. Her sharp, pointed teeth had seemed a curiosity before, but now they seemed more sinister, and he felt himself shrinking into his long leather coat.

“I had no idea life was so hard on Jotunheim,” he admitted finally.

“And why would you, pretty prince of Asgard? You come and go as you please, never stopping to consider that the worlds you play in are filled with people living real lives.” Angrboda rolled her eyes, and stepped close to Loki. She leaned in and took a deep breath, smelling him. “You smell weak. There would be shame in feasting on your bones, and no health would come to me. You are safe, boy prince.” She sniffed him again, and her eyes narrowed. She leaned in close to his neck and pressed her nose to the vein running beside his Adam’s apple and closed her eyes as she scented him.

Loki tried to step away, but Angrboda grabbed his arm and held him in place. She smiled, and then dragged her tongue up his neck, along the vein. 

“Angrboda, stop.”

“You may not be good eating, Loki, but I can think of other things to do with you. Tonight you rest. You are exhausted. It had been too long since you have run in the Ironwood. Tomorrow we will make plans.” She ran a finger along his jawline, and Loki flinched, and then flushed, embarrassed at the response of his body. The giantess just smiled and gestured to a bed on the far side of the cabin. “I will even give you your own bed, since you’ve come up shy since your last visit.”

[kimmysfandomblog]

So Nae/giri, Kamu/koma, Toukomaru and Kii/ruma for the ship meme ? :P You can do all of them or pick the ones you want to talk about, I just wanted to give you one ship per game ~

Thank you so much for the ask Serahne!!! :D I’d be more than happy to do them all!!!

From here: https://kimmysfandomblog.tumblr.com/post/168063250112/send-me-a-ship-and-ill-give-you-my-brutally

Since there’s 4, I’m gonna have to put it under the cut! And they got very long, sorry ^^;

obviously, V3 spoilers for the last one!

Nae/giri (+)

So, funny thing about me: I actually started DR with the Animation (I hadn’t even known a game existed at the time). Anyways, because it’s an anime, you don’t get those free time events, and everything is much, much faster. Basically…. I’m a real dunce when it comes to romance, so I hadn’t even realized Nae/giri was pretty heavily hinted at ^^; I spent most of the time thinking Kirigiri was gonna betray Naegi (which… I mean I wasn’t completely wrong, kinda? XD She didn’t mean to throw him under the bus at all, of course).

Now, I didn’t ship anyone in DR by the time I finished the anime. I’d seen it mostly as friendships, and that Naegi and Kirigiri’s was the strongest one. I don’t know when exactly it sprung on me that, hey, this is a ship!!!, but my best guess is that it wasn’t until I stumbled across DR again when it came out on Steam. A let’s player I kind of visit occasionally was playing the game and I got sucked into nostalgia, and he did Kirigiri’s FTEs. It was probably during that time that I recognized this was definitely a ship, one that was practically canon, and that actually, I’m okay with it, and even like it! If two characters like each other, and can support each other this well, then why not?

I’m not the biggest Naeg/iri fan (that spot for favorite DR1 ship belongs to another pairing, but admittedly it’s more of a pre-canon ship). I’ll admit, a part of me still thinks Naegi forgives Kirigiri too easily after all he’d been through, but if he gave her a hard time, he wouldn’t be Naegi! And I was a little salty she threw him under the bus, but Kirigiri made a mistake, acknowledges it, and even returns the favor back to him! It wasn’t even really her fault (she clearly didn’t know what would happen or she would have definitely let herself be sacrificed), so I forgive her, too!

If DR3 proved anything about Naeg/iri, it’s that Naegi and Kirigiri very clearly care for one another, and are able to balance each other out. They understand each other so well, and I’d say they definitely like, probably even love, each other. So, given canon events throughout the series, I ship it! It’s been good for both of them, the way I see it! I sincerely hope they continue to care and love each other post canon, too. They both deserve happiness after all they’ve been through together!

Kamu/Koma (-)

Okay, this one… this one actually irks me, I’m sorry to say. I know Kamukura is Hinata, and I definitely ship Koma/Hina, but Kamu/Koma…. it’s very different. I’ve read Kamu/Koma fics, and seen the fanart, (and sometimes I actually like the fanwork). I get why people like it. However, to me, it’s a very unbalanced ship.

Ko’s obsession with Hope and Talent, with Kamukura being the embodiment of Talent, and of the Hope Ko originally fixates on, makes it much too unbalanced because Kamukura is given all the power in this relationship. Not only that, but it would be Ko constantly trying to be useful to Kamukura, or trying to make things interesting for Kamukura. And Kamukura, well, I can’t see him reciprocating or giving back much. Kamukura’s kinda weird, as in he’s pretty selfish in a way. Maybe he’d do things back for Ko, but would he mean it? Would Ko even know if Kamukura cared? It doesn’t help that the majority of the fanworks don’t really do anything to disprove how I feel their relationship would work. People write/draw fanart for Kamu/Koma using this power play: Ko revering Kamukura like a god, doing demeaning things for him, or being like his housewife or maid or something, and Kamukura kind of staring blankly back, or barely reciprocating or acknowledging any of it. It’s also portrayed very sexually (?), with no amount of fluff, and I end up feeling sorry for Ko. I really can’t ship something this one-sided where only one person has affection for the other, or at the very least, where it’s difficult to see how affectionate one is for the other.

And, I suppose, another thing is just the fact that I like Haji way more than Kamukura. Sometimes Kamu/Koma shippers portray Haji as the one losing out, the third wheel left behind, or even saying Kamukura should have fully returned. I’m glad, in the end, Haji is seemingly acting like he’s mostly Haji to his friends.

However, I admit that besides how I see the Kamu/Koma dynamic playing out… the really extreme shippers were the reason I can’t stand it most of the time. More than a year ago now, there was this huge shipping war, and at least to me, with the people I was following at the time, it seemed like it was mostly between extreme Kamu/Koma shippers against the extreme Hina/Nami shippers. The sheer hatred and pride at being so hateful disgusted me. I unfollowed a few people that I used to like because of all these scathing remarks against Nami (by that I mean DR2 Nami) and basically mocking the fans for liking and defending her, and then being proud of it, even celebrating it in a congratulating post to themselves. I mean, I know now it was aimed at the Nami lovers that were just as bad as they were being, but it still hurts either way. I wasn’t following anyone that was strictly Hina/Nami at the time, but I did see a lot of Ko discourse flying around, too (and heavily disagreed with them of course). Even after that, people were tagging their hate for Nami and Ko, and the ships. I couldn’t escape it. Maybe I’m over-imagining it, but that’s how I feel about it. I’m glad it’s settled down now that V3 is mostly distracting people from it these days.

As for how I feel about Kamu/Koma today, sometimes seeing Kamu/Koma (or Hina/Nami) makes me cringe, and other times, I find it okay (though it’s mostly the former. I always felt weird about Kamu/Koma because of the power dynamic).

Unrelated: Weirdly enough, even though I don’t like Hina/Nami, I ended up liking Kamu/Nami, but only because AI Kamukura exists ^^; I actually participated in Kamu/Nami week, too, and… yeah I actually like it. My guilty pleasure ship, lol. Just... not so much for Hina/Nami. DR3 Hina/Nami was that bad.

Sorry that answer was very negative, but brutal honesty right? I know I have followers that ship it, and I don’t really mind as long as no one is trying to force me to like it or see it!

Toko/maru (+)

Well, I didn’t like Another Episode as a whole that much, but I did like the interactions between Toko and Komaru a lot. Their friendship was just so good! They were able to help each other, see the faults in each other, and call them out. Komaru helps Toko learn to trust her through her genuine kindness and loyalty, and Toko helps Komaru find solutions and helps break Komaru’s habit of seeing herself as just a normal girl with no way to change what happens around her.

And the ending, where Toko decides to stay with Komaru instead of leaving with Togami? It makes me feel a lot of joy, honestly. Nothing against ToFu, but her choosing Komaru over Togami was great! Like, from what I remember of her FTE’s Toko has had trouble trusting people. Neither of her moms wanted her, and she was even dated as a part of a dare. Her moms and that boy both treated her nicely, but they actually didn’t like her (actually I wonder about the moms, but I’ll have to revisit those FTEs eventually). The reason she is so infatuated with Togami probably has to do with how rudely he treats her, on top of being the SHSL Heir. If he got with her, it would be like a romance novel come to life, and he wouldn’t be pretending to like her. However, it’s unrealistic the way it is in canon. Togami may be getting better, but at least at the point canon left off, he still needs some work.

I’m very glad Toko has Komaru. Komaru treats her normally instead of being scared off or angry at Toko’s accusations and jokes, and she openly shows how much she cares about Toko. I can see Tokomaru both as a strong friendship, or a future romantic relationship, given time. And, based on the one DR3 episode, it seems like their bond has done nothing but grow! They trust in each other and work really well together. May they remain this close or more post-canon!

Kii/ruma (+)

I don’t know if anyone was expecting this to be appealing? I usually don’t like the characters that spew vulgarities, so I thought I’d never like Miu. I was so wrong! And, knowing what I did, I never thought I’d ship her with Kiibo, who’s just… so pure??? I remember, back when I was trying to avoid spoilers, that one CG where Miu was apparently performing maintenance came up, and I totally misjudged it. 

However, this game… it subverted my expectations. The CG was not as uncomfortable as I thought! Miu got a bit too close, and I’m 99% sure she knew what she was saying and how it could sound, and Kiibo just came for maintenance, and he doesn’t really get the double meanings to her words, but somehow ends up saying things that could be suggestive too XD It was so funny! I honestly thought, upon getting spoiled that CG before playing, that he wasn’t consenting to whatever was going on, but while I can’t say it was “innocent,” it was clearly not that bad. And after that, Miu is introduced to the Neo World Program and Kiibo gets jealous of the computer XD To try to get the most out of my V3 experience, I actually went up to every character each FT to get their “FTE starter,” so I know he’s always been either in the hall right before the computer room, or (not much farther away from there) next to the three empty rooms. I’m pretty sure the first FTE of that chapter, he even gets defensive over his not-jealousy of a computer, lol!!! There was also that part in Chapter 4, before going to the Virtual World, Monotaro calls Kiibo “Daddy” and Miu “Mommy” XD and even after her death, he was so sad he wished he could cry for her, which just punches me in the feels… and from what I remember in Trial 4, Kiibo was pretty much trying to defend her as the others pretty much admitted to not caring that much about her? I’d need to replay that trial, but that’s what I took from it in regards to Miu. Also, I guess another reason I like it is because Ouma bullies both of them, so they are similar in that regard haha.

I guess, maybe as the sole complaint, I wonder how Miu felt about Kiibo? I mean, clearly, she was interested in him because he’s a robot, but I wonder how she felt about Kiibo as a person? I think she respected Kiibo, but I can’t gauge how much she liked him from what I remember of the game. She was certainly proud and happy to give him upgrades, and Kiibo doesn’t seem to mind so much when she does, even though he hates sci-fi things, or generally any reminder he’s not as human as he’d like to be. She always kept her upgrades rather simple, and he was always so proud to have them! Maybe she wanted to add all that fancy gear from his Ultimate Lab, but didn’t push him when he said no. Maybe that’s why he was fond of her?

Kii/ruma’s a really cute ship to me! It’s probably more funny, than cute (but the fanart is so very cute...), but either way, I still really like it! And well, it’s about one of the only ships I care about in V3 as well, hahaha. It didn’t seem forced, I didn’t really feel like it was necessarily one-sided, and their dynamic was great and interesting!!! I should really check out those anthologies sometime to see if there’s any more Kii/ruma in it, hahaha.