#kaleb grant face

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

*emerging from a dark corner* Perhaps… Rhea and Therese just bc they have the same face and/or Kaleb and Rhaella, whichever dynamic vibe you think works best?

I actually reblogged the crackship one, so I was a little confused for a minute but I am totally into this (especially bc I love throwing OCs who have the same face at each other. A friend & I did that with our Skyrim OCs because they're both young Mark Hamill 😂)

Just going off the little bit you have for Therese I honestly think they'd vibe. Granted, things are gonna go quite differently in SOTF than they're gonna go in Soaring Higher, but I am allowed to dream of a world where everything is great & we never leave the gap of time between episodes 6 & 7 lmao.

They're both very "I will do what I want" types & Rhea's gotten pretty good at coexisting with that. I do think there'd be points where they butt heads, especially because for a while Aemond is one of Rhea's best friends (it gets complicated, there's a minor falling out, but we press on & work through it eventually), but if she can get cool with her aunts/the Dragon Twins she can get cool with anyone so long as they prove themself to her in some way lol. Rhea, Therese, & Baela are all going flying together & maybe they'll burn down someone's house if they think that person deserves it because they wronged someone all 3 of them like. Just girly things 💕

They're definitely enabling each other & are in a constant "it's better to ask forgiveness than permission" feedback loop. Saying "exactlyyyyyy" to each other's stupidest ideas. That said, Therese is probably talking Rhea back from some ledges every so often because Rhea's definitely gonna be the more impulsive one who does a lot less deep thinking. She has more important things to do, okay? Like kissing practice with Abby & maybe Baela if she's down.

Ella would like Kaleb by virtue of "he's my brother's Boy™️" & a least a little bit of proximity. Because, like, she was regularly going to King's Landing to visit Yorick (at least until the Stepstones)--I don't think she'd write to him first to keep in touch though. She'd definitely respond to him if/when he started writing to her, but when they're younger it'd be more "that's Yorick's friend." (Kind of like how she was with Borros).

After her hot girl summer I think they'd get closer. She has more of an appreciation for people who can talk her down after that, & he'd definitely be the type to do that (I mean, he's doing it with Rhaenyra so he's capable of it). I do think their relationship would be pretty fraught though, because he'd definitely call out when she's acting like her dad & Ella would lash out & there'd probably be a lot of cycling around with "we fought, we weren't talking for a month, we've made up because I miss having you around."

She is 100% taking it upon herself to try & exposure therapy him into being okay with dragons. "It's okay Kaleb! I got Aerea to be okay with Vermithor, so I can do that with you! You don't have to come flying, you can stay on the ground like she does, just put your hand on his snout. The ground shaking rumbling means he likes it!" LMAO, he didn't ask for it, he doesn't want it, but she's doing it anyway. "He's just like when Yorick was a kid fr"

[sga-owns-my-soul]

wip wednesday: ⛓for miller's crossing au, 💬 for selfish

WIP wednesday!

⛓️ Millers Crossing AU- i interpreted this as john being forever connected to the mckay family, even if the only ones left don't use the mckay name

The first time an email came through, his heart stopped in his chest and it took John 3 days before he was able to open it. He sat alone in Rodney's room at 3 in the morning, staring at the unread email in his inbox before he took a deep breathe and finally opened it.

John,

I hope it's okay if I call you John. It feels... weirdly formal calling you Colonel Sheppard now. I hope you're all doing well.

I wanted to apologize. Our last conversation was... strained, and emotionally driven. I shouldn't have blamed you. I know Meredith well enough to know that he would've found a way to do what he wanted even if you were there. He was always so damn stubborn.

It's been hard here, but we're doing alright. Madison misses her Uncle Meredith. She misses her Uncle John too, she asked if she would stop seeing you now that Mer is gone. I wasn't sure what to tell her.

I've included a few photos, I hope you don't mind. I found them when I was going through some old things, and I thought that maybe they could give you some comfort. There's also a few pictures from Madison, she begged me to send them to you. She said she hopes they make your heart feel better.

I really do hope you're doing well, John. And I hope you know you're always welcome here. You'll always have a home with us. A family.

Much love,

Jeannie, Kaleb, and Madison

💬 Rodney Teaches John To Be Selfish- surely rodney knows what they've been building up to, right? :)

"What do you want Sheppard? You know this is your last lesson, the big finale. I'm your own personal genie granting wishes, and this is your last one."

"The thing I want most?"

"Yes! More than anything, in the entire universe- what do you want, John?"

John hesitated, eyes darting across Rodney's face. This had been building for weeks, Rodney leading up to the most selfish thing John could want. And now he was telling John to just go for it.

Fuck it.

"Sit down," John said, pushing Rodney lightly towards the bed. Rodney gave him a confused look, but obliged. John grabbed a pillow from behind him, dropping it to the floor in front of Rodney's knees.

Rodney looked up at him with wide eyes.

[thechaosmuses]

Below the cut you'll find a list of my MCU muses along with their face claims (more info about each oc muse will be up soon but if you have any questions in the meantime don't be afraid to pm me, I have info on Google Docs for all of them.)

Total Muses; 39 Newest Member; Celeste LivingstonAdded; 5/15/23

Sterling Atlas Ward... portrayed by Ian Somerhalder Kailee Elizabeth Holtz... portrayed by Megan Fox (villain and hero verse) Joaquin Miguel Torres... portrayed by Danny Ramirez Peter Django Maximoff... portrayed by Evan Peters Pietro Django Maximoff... portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson Wanda Marya Maximoff... portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen Camelia Waverly Maximoff... portrayed by Danielle Rose Russell James Buchanan Barnes... portrayed by Sebastian Stan Kaleb Jonas Barnes... portrayed by Logan Lerman Steven Grant Rogers... portrayed by Chris Evans (note: i have both pre-serum and super soldier steve) Maxine Josephine Rogers... portrayed by Kathyrn Newton Michelle Julia Jones-Watson... portrayed by Zendaya Coleman Peter Benjamin Parker... portrayed by Tom Holland Gwendolyn Maxine Stacy... portrayed by Emma Stone Peter Benjamin Parker... portrayed by Andrew Garfield Jonathan Spencer Storm... portrayed by Chris Evans Melody Elizabeth Young... portrayed by Sabrina Carpenter Kate Bishop... portrayed by Hailee Steinfeld Natalia Alianovna Romanova... portrayed by Scarlett Johansson Yelena Fyodorovna Belova... portrayed by Florence Pugh Anastasia Sloane Lenkov... portrayed by Holland Roden Wren Nika Volkov... portrayed by Josephine Langford Wynter Nadia Volkov... portrayed by Lili Reinhart Brunnhilde Valkyrie... portrayed by Tessa Thompson Loki Laufeyson... portrayed by Tom Hiddleston Cordelia Ara Odinsdottir... portrayed by Ashley Benson Amora Delphine Brantley... portrayed by Leighton Meester Celeste Juliet Livingston... portrayed by Brenda Song

Crossover/Genderbent Muses

Nikolai Nathaniel Novak... portrayed by Daniel Sharman (tvdu to mcu) Charmeine Ayla Hanlon... portrayed by Zendaya Coleman (spn to mcu) Kaiden Edward Holtz... portrayed by Ian Somerhalder (genderbent kailee) Petria Delilah Maximoff... portrayed by Alexandra Daddario (genderbent pietro) Stephanie Grace Rogers... portrayed by Dove Cameron (genderbent steve) Jamie Belladonna Barnes... portrayed by Kaya Scodelario (genderbent bucky) Samantha Trinity Wilson... portrayed by Gabrielle Union (genderbent sam) Theodosia Audra Odinsdottir... portrayed by Rachel Taylor (genderbent thor) Lady Loki Laufeyson... portrayed by Katie McGrath (genderbent loki) Calder Ace Odinson... portrayed by Chad Micheal Murray (genderbent cordelia)

[bubblin-through-time]

Something that stuck with me at work today.

I had a co-worker ask me "what defines me as a person or a human?"

At the time I really couldn't answer the question and has had me pondering about it for the remainder of working my shift at disney. It's a question you would think would be a off the fly answer but at that moment I couldn't think of it till now. It's quite humourous how that works.

At the core I am a gamer, father of a 14 year old daughter this point who I am very proud of especially being a theater nerd and gamer. She shokes me in so many ways but enough side tracking, quiet yet can be the life of the party once trust is there, and music enthusiast.

But at the end of the day that's what I share with the public(most social media and in face) but not everyone gets to know the poet that used to write all the time because of my love for Robert frost and Edgar Allen Poe. The guys who has a passion for painting miniatures of D&D ,Warhammer 40k and car models. Then adventurous type who wants to travel to unknown locations I have never heard of and learning the history. Speaking of history, I love learning about the mythos based around our planet like Zeus, Ra and Odin throughout our mythology and lifetime. Very big on American history and the French revolution. The one who is passionate about Mopar, trucks and my love for cars in general and going to car shows. The little kid who still loves chasing the ice cream trucks down whenever there is one now a days just to have a core memory. This question has a lot to it and it really has me deep in thought about the past, present mainly and the future. I have done a lot of dumb shit over the years that at the time I would have regretted but I see them has growing points now given my therapy sessions with my therapist and finding out what I have been coping with all these years. The abuse from bullying, the constantly moving from house to house in Florida because of things that I am still finding out to this day from my parents. I was always trying just to fit in and never be myself cause I never knew how to open up fully. Granted, to this day the only ones that fully know the real me is Josh, Sean, kaleb, V(baby momma) , and Natalie current ex girlfriend. It's something I have never fully opened up about because I am always hiding as a blocking mechanism to not get hurt.

Growing up i used gaming to cope with being made fun of , being caught in dumb lies just fit in , betrayed real friends when I should have just listened( granted I am working on some of those old friendships now ) , and just not giving a shit because of the three bullies I had through out my school school life. I have always said bits and pieces of this story but not in its entirety. I would point out middle school was the roughest for me and our of those days I don't remember much cause how much I blank it out. Even now I have made some dumbass choices that's led to me losing the best women I have ever met in my life ( wife material ). That was a blow I have grown from and hope one days we can rekindle the flame. I have always considered you my country rocker girl kinda like jenny from forest gump. I can't force you to forgive me for the dumb shit that I have done but at the end of the day I just want you happy along with Zoey and it has taken me some time to accept that as much as I would love for us to start over and try again at the end of the day I am just glad to have met you years ago and spend the 2.3 years that we did date as a couple granted the last couple months were rocky and understandable now given the time I have had to process everything. I would give anything to take things slow and at least give us one for shot for the kids us hanging out these last 3 times over the years was some times I cherish most just knowing you were okay and happy but like I had mentioned it's been a bit to realize that and that I do apologize for. Also Zoey I do apologize for any thing that you seen during the dark few months and I hope you can forgive me munchkin 2. Scarlet still calls you munchkin two and her 1. She says she misses her little sister. There are so many things I wanna say but they have to be In person now that I know what I wanna say.

Sorry, for this long rant but it's part of this growth process I am going through and it's been a journey for sure. Between the few posts you should get the gist of everything going on in my head now it's just time to focus on getting a car, saving up for a new house eventually( would love to have my own farm, land and be able to just enjoy life) , going on a road trip to a beach or another state,get my passport to visit my daughter next year around August - September time frame in the UK and just enjoy the time I have with my family, friends and loved ones. We have only so much time with life and most of us just sit in laptops, computers and phones and forget to be in the moment. I would love to go out on dates and do little pinches at the lake don't know why that popped in this but thought I would share. Plus my end goal is getting married and just owning everything I stated before. That's the focus now.

Well, that's was a lot but glad it's off my chest now

[riiseandfall]

~

play nice. if anyone else had told dante that, it would have earned them a few choice words in response. but it wasn't anyone else, and with that hand that gripped his thigh...dante huffs out a quiet chuckle before reclining back, looking as comfortable as he did before. "fine." he would bite his tongue. for now.

a lazy glance is thrown at maxim as he waves to dante, a brow arching, "i seem to recall you not minding when it was your lap i was sitting in, darling. so, yes, speak for yourself." there's no real bite to his words, if anything, there's an almost amused lilt to what dante says. simply watching the back and forth with mild amusement. when maxim takes a seat, it earns a slight roll of dante's eyes as he moves to adjust, there was an entire couch and yet he chose to sit there. there's a lingering irritation, one that spikes for just a moment as max reaches over to pat the back of kaleb's head, a low hum coming from dante as he decides to not be so generous with the space he had granted maxim, moving to rest his feet right in the other's lap. it is what max says next, however, that has something close to hurt registering in dante's expression--something fleeting before it turns guarded as they look at him. "watch yourself, maxim. no need to say something you'll regret."

a warning that he doesn't even get the chance to extend to atlas before he opens his mouth. and while the grin on dante's face grows wider, there's something sharp about it---a flicker of something dark in those blue eyes as the turns his attention back to atlas. play nice. it is rather unfortunate that kaleb hadn't been more specific in his demand. play nice could mean so many things--and so dante feels like what he does next is perfectly in line with the rules.

"and there it is--that charming personality. i always love it when you can't help but prove my point." he moves, lets his hand brush against the side of kaleb's neck as he moves to stand. "if all i have to fear is whoever you deem to be a threat, i have to say, i'm not that afraid. if you were truly skilled at figuring out just who is and who isn't a threat---you would have thought twice before opening your mouth." fingers tip and tap their way up atlas's chest, "you seem to be under the illusion that i'm scared of you or the games or anyone who is going into that arena this year and you couldn't be further from the truth. so...let me clarify some truths for you--," his hand stops, resting against the side of the other man's neck as dante looks up at him, "one: feel free to keep making your threats and your insults if it makes you feel in control and important, because i guarantee you---you are not. two: spend however much money you wish to put a target on my back in that arena, at the end of the day you're wasting money on the sound of a cannon, and it won't be for me. three: i am nobody's lapdog. i volunteered for that arena when i was twelve and i volunteered again, so if you think you can stand there and intimidate me? you are sorely mistaken." his hand pats atlas's cheek. "you don't know what it is to be a threat--so don't compete where you can't compare, darling."

the second atlas had entered the party there had been a tiny voice inside his mind telling him to leave. it was too boring, with not enough action or drama for his liking and usually when atlas became bored the drama was sure to find him. or he was sure to go hunting for it. he sighed, the overwhelming urge to cause a scene fighting with his urge to remain polite and dignified in public. there were people watching them, there always seemed to be someone watching and the last thing atlas needed was to be a headline. still, never one to be outdone he couldn't help himself. if someone wanted to argue with him atlas would make sure they regretted it by the end.

he turned to dante once again, malice in his eyes as he looked the victor up and down. "ironic for you to speak of people not being wanted when you've been thrown into the game what is it - twice now? maybe eventually we'll all get lucky and somebody will finally take you out. i might pay somebody to make sure it's as painful as possible." he snarled not noticing that several people in the room has started leaving. they were cowards, they would watch children fighting to the death every year but they wouldn't watch one of their own fight. they wouldn't risk being seen as any less than perfect and polite and dignified.

atlas folded his arms across his chest, turning his attention to kaleb. "atlas meant exactly what atlas said. you can speak for your new little lapdog all you wish but you will not speak for me, understand? as for you." he said turning now towards max. "if this is the quality of date to be expected I'm more than happy I don't have a date by my side. besides, some of use have the emotional capability of being able to be alone for more than five seconds without the world imploding." next he turned to ruby. she hadn't done anything to anger him, nothing besides existing next to maxim but with the mood atlas waa in that had been enough to piss him off. it wasn't usually difficult to get on atlas' nerves. sometimes all somebody had to do was breathe wrong in his direction and it would anger him. sometimes all you had to do was exist, dante for example. "ruby my love, go and find something else to do, your presence is no longer needed here. go on off you go. max will be just fine without you I'm sure."

@riiseandfall

[icebluecyanide]

Ten Random Lines

Rules: pick any ten of your fics, scroll to the midpoint, pick a line (or three) and share it. Then tag ten people.

I was tagged by @polarnacht1, thanks!

I just went through my fics from most recent to earlier, excluding the ones that were too pwp, so it’s a mix of AR, TO and rqg:

The Weekend of Our Dreams (AR, yalex, explicit) Yassen stroked down Alex’s arm, pressing a kiss to his neck. He felt Alex’s pulse thrumming beneath his lips, a comforting feeling. They both lived dangerous lives, and Yassen was not one to take for granted the fact that they were still alive. There had been multiple brushes with death for both of them, and they carried the scars to show for it.

A Pirate's Booty (AR, yalex, explicit) Years ago, Yassen’s lips had reminded Alex of a well-carved marble statue, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. While they were undoubtedly well-shaped, Yassen’s lips turned out to be soft and surprisingly warm against his.

Giving Blood (AR, yalex, explicit) Yassen reached out slowly to take the offered wrist, pale fingers curling around Alex's arm, deceptively gentle. Never once breaking eye-contact, Yassen brought the wrist up to his lips. His eyes were quickly turning dark, a crimson glow bleeding through the familiar blue.

All Fogged Up (AR, john/yassen, explicit) Yassen’s eyes flicked up. It was rare that Hunter would use his name rather than his code name, but he liked the way Hunter said it now. There was a slightly breathless quality to his voice, showing that Hunter was far from unaffected by it all.

A Different Kind of Surfing (AR, yalex, explicit) Yassen had always been a beautiful man, in a cold and dangerous sort of way. Seeing him like this, with his eyes closed as he touched himself and kneeling naked above Alex, he was breathtaking.

A Quiet Mind (AR, yalex, explicit) The two of them had an unspoken agreement that while Alex had the collar on, the rest of the world was kept at bay.

A Meeting That Could Have Been (AR, yassen & alex, gen) It took a certain type of mind to plan the deaths of millions of schoolchildren and it was not one particularly susceptible to reason.

A Quiet Tragedy (TO, kaleb westphall) He misses home, he misses the few friends who hadn’t completely forgotten about his existence the moment he was out of their sight. He is looking forward to seeing his mum again.

Complimentary Hotel Items (rqg, bertie & sasha & hamid, gen) “Now, that’s absurd,” said Bertie, “I’ve never had any problems taking whatever I wanted.”

Hold Me Close Tonight (rqg, hamid & azu, gen) “We were attacked by something very awful and horrible, made of knives and weird goo,” Azu’s voice drifts back to him. “And people got murdered by it.” As she’d said it, he recalls now,  her eyes had drifted down for just a moment, moving from his face to the blood still covering his chest.

Tagging @livlepretre, @rirren, @ywhiterain, @ladyculebras, @headphonecables, @sasuke-and-sakura (& if anyone else wants to play, pls message me and i’ll tag you here since I’m blanking on names atm)

[rodeoxqueen]

Limerence

Revenant/Reader 

“Revenant misses what Kaleb took for granted. Some of the smallest things have the largest exit wounds.”

Jumping down the alleyway like a cat in the dark, Revenant stalked the streets of a rather run-down area. Whatever stores weren’t broken into or out of business simply resold stolen items. For some reason, mostly that he had nowhere to go, Revenant decided to stop at a particular window of an antique store. The usual sight of this red-metal shell weakly reflected against the surface of the display window. 

Humans loved to resell items that were meant to have been disposed of, sickeningly emotional over trash. Worldly possessions meant nothing to him yet he entertained the notion of judging what these meatbags had to offer. 

However, something shined in the midnight hour, his yellow eyes close to the glass. Something truly antique.

“Why are you taping me?” Kaleb walked out of frame. You laughed, zooming in on his face. 

The view of just Kaleb had your face added in the corner, the viewfinder focusing on your close-up.  

“My name is (Y/N), this is my new vlog. I’m the same age as my boyfriend, who is….” 

Kaleb sighed, knowing it was a sentence meant for him to finish. 

“Twenty-seven.” 

“Yeah!” You pointed to him in the viewfinder, his expression unimpressed. 

“This is my boyfriend. We’ve been together for a couple of years now. Kaleb, how many years have we been together?” 

He sighed, covering his face and trying to drink his water.  

“Hey, how many years have we been together?” 

“Too many.” 

Although snarky at times, you knew this was banter. 

“Four years.” You boasted to the camera and to the future viewers. 

“What brought this on?” Kaleb asked, hand loosely gesturing to the camera, as you walked about to give a shot of the outside of your shared home. 

“I don’t know, I just think that when we’re older, we’re not going to remember all of these moments in full detail. I thought that if I recorded us, we can save these memories.” 

Kaleb noticed you were wearing his white undershirt again. He was looking for that one in particular. With a stretch of his arm, he tugged you back towards him. The familiar smoothness of his sharp jawline propped against your neck.

The scent of his cologne was something you knew you could never memorialize on simple recordings. He smelled like home. 

“I just want to remember things exactly as they are. That we were around, and that we were having a good time.” 

The red light of the on button reflected against his baby blue eyes, reminiscent of fire arm’s ready-to-fire. 

“Well, isn’t that sweet?” He kissed the side of your cheek. 

You turned your head to peck him in return when he suddenly took the handheld camera out of your hands. Keeping it out of your reach, he switched off the rolling film in your moment of distraction. 

It pays to have the reflexes of a hitman. 

A squawk of indignance left your mouth. Luckily your device saved it, the playback of your shaky camera work filling the empty air.

“What was that for?” 

“I’ll always be around. Ditch the vlogging for now, I’m making breakfast.” 

There wasn’t a lot of need for sentiment in his life. He lived and that was enough, working with no regard for memories. He had enough love from you, this rare luxury of affectionate company. It was enough for him to live in the moment. It was all he needed. 

Centuries later, Revenant could strongly taste the feeling of regret. 

He had abandoned the streets for the roofs instead, not quite in the mood to go back to the King’s Canyon that he haunted. Where he once stood, had a hole been punched through the glass, littering a now-empty display box.  

A slight wind fluttered his cowl, his head lowered. 

In his metal claws, the camcorder had been the same color as yours. Not quite as well-maintained, but used nonetheless. He turned it about in his hands, the viewfinder busted and the lens riddled with slight cracks. This wasn’t yours, god no. You took care of things. 

He doubted yours could ever be found. 

Where you could have gone after his absence, no one of the last few centuries could have known. 

There was a sick sadistic idea in his mind, how your face might have contorted with fear at his new appearance and mentality. Would you scream, his robotic sensors recording everything as you realized Kaleb was no longer Kaleb?

Everyone else of better sense did, letting him be the monster he was programmed to be. This cold man had frozen over as a cadaver, becoming a frigid Simulacrum. 

Time had some blessings. You passed long before you could ever have been tainted by Revenant’s bloodstained touch. The very things, the recorded memories of his old life, he had once mocked became something he wanted ownership of more than before. 

“I’ll always be around, you’ll just be gone.” 

[lupiiifics]

Monster

Fic #20 posted in AO3 on June 18, 2022.

Summary: A conversation at a bar one night leads to some fun. Lots of feelings and pining involved. Mostly just these two being cute while me, The Author, cries over how much I love them.

Word Count: 4036

Warnings: Explicit Content, Brief Descriptions of Violence, NSFW (18+ only please).

"I thought I'd find you here."

Zenigata took a seat beside Jigen at the bar, flagging down the bartender and ordering himself a drink. He lit a cigarette as he sat there, shifting his eyes in the direction of the gunman.

Jigen tipped his fedora at him, his smile wide and all Zenigata was allowed to see. "Oh, hey Pops. Did ya need somethin'?"

Zenigata bit down on the filter and took in a breath of smoke. He let it out through his nose and allowed his gaze to fall from Jigen to the cherrywood countertop before him. "I've got a question for you," he said.

"Oh, yeah?" Jigen raised an eyebrow, leaning toward Zenigata as if he were trying to hear him better. "An' what's that?"

Zenigata slumped his shoulders, hesitating for a moment before he continued speaking. "Were you the one who killed Brandon Mulroy, Kaleb Neufeld, John Strahl, and Rich Demelo?"

"Hm? Where in the world did you hear those names?" Jigen's face dropped. He tried his best to stay casual, but the cigarette in his mouth still seemed to falter. "Truth be told, I didn't think you knew they existed."

"I found them in a sealed file," Zenigata admitted. "And while the description of their deaths was rudimentary, I recognized the style anyway. I need to know, Jigen. Were you the one who killed them?"

Jigen pulled the cigarette from his lips and crushed it between his fingers. He looked away. "Hardly. I wasn't quite Daisuke back then, was I?"

"Jigen, please. Answer the question."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to know? Why should I tell you?"

Zenigata opened his mouth but paused when the bartender arrived to give him his drink. The whiskey burned as it went down, granting him the courage he needed to continue.

"I'm only asking because I need to understand. Before I allow anything to happen between us, Daisuke. I have to know you're not the monster your files make you out to be."

Jigen's face grew shadowed, his expression haunted and distant. He took a sip of his own drink and seemed to slump in on himself, shoulders pulled inward.

"Monster…" he echoed. "I'm afraid I might disappoint ya, Pops."

Zenigata sipped his glass and sighed. "Just explain. Please."

Jigen let out a breath, staring into the amber liquid of his glass. "They killed my brother. I had to get back at them. I had to make them feel the pain I felt when I learned what happened to him."

"They executed him, right?"

Jigen turned his gaze to Zenigata, lacking the energy to hide his eyes or the sadness present within them.

"Yeah," he mumbled, voice ragged. "They took 'em to a field and shot him in the back of the head. Claimed he stole from them. All of it was a mistake. They were just kids."

"So were you," Zenigata laid a careful hand on Jigen's shoulder and pulled him closer. "You were what— seventeen when it happened?"

"Old enough to know what I was doing."

He pulled another cigarette from his jacket and lit it with the flick of his lighter.

Zenigata watched him as he took in the first breath, noting the hard lines of his face and just how old Jigen looked despite his younger age.

This was a man who had lived a hard life. He'd done things and seen things Zenigata couldn't even begin to imagine, and here he was bringing up the worst of it.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel guilty, even if it was important for him to understand.

"Come back with me to my hotel."

Jigen's expression widened. He lifted the cigarette from his mouth and held it in front of his chest. "What?"

"You heard me," Zenigata smiled, trying his best to be reassuring. "Come back with me."

"You sure?" Jigen leaned away, though it was more out of confusion than anything else. "You were just— you're sure?"

Zenigata nodded. "I wouldn't have invited you if I wasn't."

"But I'm a criminal. I've killed people—"

"So has Lupin," Zenigata said. "And that hasn't stopped me yet. You're a good man, Jigen. I know you don't take these things lightly."

Jigen's eyes were alight with something that may have been tears, though he hid them before Zenigata could be sure. His cheeks grew crimson as he tugged on the brim of his hat, yanking it down to better hide his embarrassment.

"Okay."

Zenigata grinned at him and gulped down the rest of his drink, placing the glass on the counter and offering Jigen his hand, beaming. “Let’s get going, then.”

~

Zenigata found Jigen on the bed when he returned, lounging against the headrest like he owned the place.

He had a cigarette pressed between his lips, the tip of it dull and lifeless, like it had yet to be lit. One of his hands sat behind his head, pushing his hat down over his eyes and giving Jigen the appearance of a deadly criminal who had snuck in through the window.

He was surprised when he didn’t smell cigarette smoke, the room freshly cleaned and unmarred by anyone’s touch.

Jigen smiled as Zenigata stepped through the threshold, the scarlet of his blush peeking out from just under the brim of his fedora.

“Hey, Pops. Long time no see.”

Zenigata untied his trench coat and threw it over a nearby chair, his own smile amused and inviting.

“How’d you get in? I thought the plan was for you to sneak in after I got back.”

Jigen shrugged. “I thought this would be more entertaining. Are ya disappointed?”

“Not at all,” Zenigata said truthfully. He approached the bed and looked down at the younger man. “How do you want to do this?”

Jigen flicked the cigarette back into his hand and tucked it into his jacket, sitting up on the bed so he could remove his tie and throw his jacket on the floor by the window. His hat stayed firm over his bangs, shading Jigen’s face and hiding the look of his eyes.

It wasn’t long before he had himself on his knees, pushing his body up within Zenigata’s reach, smirking. He wrapped his arms carefully around his partner’s neck and basked in the expression it earned him. Zenigata’s cheeks were warm and his mouth was hanging wide open, spluttering for something to say.

Jigen’s eyes glinted dangerously. It was the same sneer he carried anytime he pulled his pistol— mysterious and deadly. Like an assassin coming to kill him in the night. Or an Angel of Death swooping in to carry away his soul.

It made his spine tingle.

Jigen smelled like the rich scent of tobacco smoke and bourbon, musty and earthy like a Spring day after a rainfall. He wanted to memorize that scent. If only to remember this moment — and this night — forever.

“You doin’ okay, Inspector?”

Zenigata coughed and pulled himself out of his thoughts, reminding himself to stay in the moment. He averted his gaze, but was pulled back in just as quickly.

“I’m fine,” he said. “You’re just very… striking. You know that?”

Jigen smirked. “So I’ve been told.”

Something in Jigen’s expression changed, and his grip against Zenigata slackened ever so slightly. His arms hung casually over the top of Zenigata’s shoulders, no longer as noticeable as they once were before. “You’re still… sure you want this to happen, right? You do realize who I am, don’t you?”

“Course I do,” Zenigata assured him. “I told you where I was staying, didn’t I? If I thought you were a threat, neither of us would be here right now. Not like this, anyway.”

“This isn’t some scheme to locate Lupin or arrest me, is it?”

Zenigata shook his head. “My handcuffs are in my jacket,” he said. “I won’t touch them. Not unless you want me to.”

Jigen sighed, nodding. “Okay. I believe you. I just wanted to be sure.”

“I know.” Zenigata smiled. He ran the tips of his fingers along the side of Jigen’s face, staring into his captivating eyes and brushing locks of dark hair to the side of his forehead. “I want you to be comfortable here, okay? You don’t have to worry. Not on nights like this one.”

Jigen snorted, covering his mouth with his fist to try and hide his amusement. “You’re okay with just about anything when you’re off the clock, aren’t you, Pops?”

Zenigata could feel his cheeks burning. He frowned, and Jigen laughed again.

“I wouldn’t say anything,” he murmured. “But I am fine with spending time with you like this. We should do it more often.”

“Sure,” Jigen said. “I’d be okay with that, though finding the time to do this might be difficult, given our general lives.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Zenigata said. “Now, kiss me, you stubborn gunman. It’s all I’ve been thinking about since we left the bar.”

The glint in Jigen’s eyes brightened and he grinned, knuckles caressing the back of Zenigata’s neck lovingly. “I thought you’d never ask.”

He pressed himself tighter against Zenigata’s torso, brushing his nose with his partner’s before finally closing the gap. The smell of cigarettes and alcohol intensified as Jigen pulled them both forward, guiding Zenigata down so they could reach each other better. His beard tickled Zenigata’s chin, pulling a small chuckle from the base of his throat.

Jigen’s hands were warm, his fingers making their way up Zenigata’s chest to his collar. He made quick work of the buttons, sliding the fabric of his shirt backwards to give him a full view of Zenigata’s body.

Zenigata scrambled to catch up, sufficiently distracted due to the man in his arms and the quickly growing erection in his pants.

He broke the kiss once Jigen was exposed, hands pressed against his stomach as he leaned forward and kissed along his neck down to his shoulder.

Jigen hummed as he tipped backwards, enjoying the feel of Zenigata’s lips and the warmth of his arousal as it spread between his legs.

He trailed his hands down the length of Zenigata’s body, admiring the hard-packed muscles of his abs and the intense heat of his skin. He was nearly as broad as Goemon and probably just as strong. He imagined it came with the life Zenigata lived, his arms strong and his chest wide; his muscles built through years of running and games of cat and mouse

“You and Goemon should spar sometime,” Jigen said suddenly. “I wanna know who would win.”

“Goemon would,” Zenigata paused, his hands grasping Jigen’s hips so he could move him further up the bed. “What brought that on?”

Jigen shrugged. “Jus’ thinking out loud. You do realize you’re about his size, right? You have similar builds."

“Doesn’t matter,” Zenigata muttered. “Goemon is a fully trained warrior. I’m not nearly as skilled.”

Jigen furrowed his brow, reaching up to pull Zenigata closer to him. “Don’t sell yourself so short. You’re the only man who can keep up with Lupin, remember?”

Zenigata smirked and allowed himself to be drawn up over Jigen’s lap. He shook his head. “You don’t seem to have any problems keeping up with him.”

“That’s different,” Jigen said. “Comes with the job. Gotta learn to keep up if I want to stay with him.”

“I think he’d slow down for you. If you asked him to.”

“Maybe,” Jigen slipped a finger into one of the belt loops by Zenigata’s hip, working his fingers toward the clasp of his pants. “He’d do the same for you too, you know.”

“I doubt it,” Zenigata smiled sheepishly, imagining a scene where he did exactly that. In his mind, it didn’t go well. “He loves our game too much.”

“You mean you both love it—”

“You do too,” Zenigata leaned down and pressed another kiss to Jigen’s lips, laughing lightly as his fedora hit the bed and fell backwards. “Don’t lie.”

“Never said I didn’t,” Jigen whispered. “You’re a fun man to run from. I get the appeal.”

Zenigata’s smile turned to a smirk. He ran his fingers through Jigen’s hair and felt him purr low in his throat, the look on his face radiant and adoring. “And you’re a fun man to chase.”

“I’m not runnin’ now. Not when I finally have you where I want you.”

Zenigata laughed, leaning back so he could get a better look at the man below him. “I think you mean the opposite. It seems I have you where I want you, Daisuke.”

“Same thing,” Jigen said. “Undress me, Inspector. I want you inside of me.”

“Koichi.” Zenigata said softly. “Call me, Koichi.”

Jigen’s smile reached his eyes and transformed him into the kind hearted man Zenigata believed him to be. His voice was fond as he spoke, his tone light and adoring. “Undress me, Koichi. I’m tired of waiting.”

He popped the button of Zenigata’s slacks and tugged the fabric down his thighs to his shins, beaming at Zenigata’s tented underwear and passing a hand carefully over his dick.

Zenigata shuddered and felt himself twitch, his face as bright as the rubies Lupin had stolen over the years. His mouth was frozen between a smile and a frown, earning a satisfied huff from the gunman on the bed.

“Tease.”

Zenigata finished removing his pants and turned his attention to the button on Jigen’s slacks. He didn’t hesitate as he released it, lifting Jigen’s hips so he could pile them on the floor.

His boxers were purple, the lighter shade complimenting the dark hue of his button-down. It made Zenigata chuckle.

“You match your underwear to your shirt?”

The blush on Jigen’s face darkened and he looked away, but only for a moment. “Shut up.”

“That’s adorable.”

“Shut up.”

“Mine have hearts today. They kind of match my jacket, so we’re not really all that different.”

Jigen burst out laughing, covering his face with his hands like this was all too much for him to handle. “And you call me adorable. This isn’t really the time, Pops.”

“It made you laugh,” Zenigata said. “I like to hear you laugh. It’s nice.”

Jigen peaked at him through his fingers, his face red. “You’re too much. Seriously. It’s gonna kill me.”

“What’s it you and your group like to say? That you’re immortal?”

Jigen's laugh repeated itself, and Zenigata felt his heart stutter, stopping in his chest for the briefest of moments.

“It’s a figure of speech. Or at least, it's supposed to be. Lupin likes to think we are. With how we live and how he pushes us, anyway. Sometimes I even think he believes it.”

Zenigata nodded, knowing exactly what Jigen meant. “Hey, what’s life without a little risk, right?”

Jigen shrugged. He fingered the waistband of his boxers and began moving them down past his hips. “You’re spending too much time with Lupin thinking like that.”

Zenigata saw what he was doing and did the same, finally springing free from the cramped material of his boxers. “You’re one to talk,” he said, taking in the image that was Daisuke Jigen.

He was beautiful; all sharp lines and dark hair, with long limbs and slim features full of life and change. It was an image Zenigata had only ever dreamed of; a fantasy that had finally come to fruition.

There was a glistening wetness between the gunman’s legs. It darkened the hair around his already swollen clit and gave Zenigata a picture he never wanted to forget.

"You're really enjoying this." He said, his expression wide.

"Course I am," Jigen shifted under Zenigata's weight, slightly embarrassed. "You're what Lupin would call 'my type.'"

"Is that right?" Zenigata asked. He smiled, showing his teeth. "You find me attractive?"

Jigen sighed, smirking. "Don't get too full of yourself, Pops. You're just very… alluring. It's distracting."

"But you are enjoying this, right?"

Jigen chuckled, nodding. "Yes, Koichi. You're very handsome."

"Good," Zenigata looked down at Jigen, his hand hovering but not yet moving to act. "Can I…?"

Jigen saw where his hand was hovering and nodded desperately. “Yes,” he breathed. “Please.”

Zenigata trailed his fingers along the inside of Jigen’s thigh, slowly ebbing his way toward what his partner wanted.

Jigen bucked his hips to get closer to Zenigata’s caress, the radiating warmth of his arousal almost too much for him to handle. He whined the moment Zenigata finally touched him, squeezing his eyes shut and leaning into the rough pads of his fingers.

Zenigata stroked along the top and sides of Jigen’s clit, working his way down his labia to the opening beneath.

Jigen bit his lip as he pushed into Zenigata’s touch, silently guiding him on where to go and what to do.

“Is this okay?” Zenigata asked.

Jigen pressed an arm against his eyes and nodded. “Yup. Yes. You’re perfect. Keep… keep that up.”

Zenigata nodded, continuing to run his fingers against Jigen’s eager warmth, growing wetter as Zenigata rubbed and focused in on where he was directed.

Pre-cum dripped down the side of Zenigata’s dick, the organ pulsating and aching for relief.

“Might wanna get yourself ready,” Jigen said. “I don’t think either of us will last too much longer.”

“Actually, would you—”

Zenigata paused, a bit too shy to say it.

Jigen seemed to understand what he meant anyway. “Yeah,” he said. “You want me to do it?”

“Please,” Zenigata begged. “I want you to touch me.”

Jigen’s smile was wide. He nodded happily, and sat up on his elbows to get a better look at his partner's magnetic beauty. “Of course. Where are your supplies?”

“In the bedside table,” Zenigata gestured in the general direction of the drawer beside them, his other hand still working carefully between Jigen’s legs.

Jigen huffed against the feeling of Zenigata’s strokes, his face red and his body moving closer to Zenigata on instinct. He leaned over to pull at the drawer, searching for a condom and a small bottle of lube. When he found them, he broke the condom’s packaging and moved to place it over Zenigata’s cock.

Zenigata moaned through the sensitivity of Jigen’s touch, and leaned forward to press his warm face against the nape of Jigen’s neck. He paused as Jigen opened the bottle and used the lube to run one of his hands up and down the length of Zenigata’s shaft.

Zenigata savored the feeling until it became too much, lifting his hips to provide the gunman better access.

When he felt the heart-racing thrill of an approaching climax, he pulled away, panting.

“Wait,” he said. “You… you should stop. Before I disappoint you.”

“Impossible.” Jigen pressed a kiss against Zenigata’s hairline, one of his hands gently caressing the base of his jaw. He ran his hands through Zenigata’s hair and stared at him affectionately. “You ready?”

Zenigata nodded greedily, his heart pounding so hard it was almost all he could hear. His hands grasped at empty air, hungry and excited to explore Jigen’s body.

Jigen chuckled as he pushed himself backwards, laying back against the pillows so Zenigata had room for what came next.

Zenigata let his torso tip forward, leaning down over Jigen to kiss his lips and grip his pelvis to move it upwards.

His hands clumsily worked their way along Jigen’s frame, supporting him as he leaned forward and prepared them both for the first thrust.

Jigen gasped the moment Zenigata entered him, his hands pressed against the Inspector’s sides as he accepted the momentum and moved with it. It didn’t take long before the both of them were fully pressed together, moaning and whining through their connection.

Zenigata found his rhythm as Jigen wrapped his arms around his shoulders, quietly whispering his directions as they moved steadily toward a climax.

“You’re so warm,” Zenigata breathed, hands finding their purchase against Jigen’s ass. He gave his flesh a good squeeze and took satisfaction in the high-pitched squeak it earned him. “God, Daisuke. I can’t… can’t take it.”

“Getting close, Pops?” Jigen asked, grinning.

Zenigata’s blush darkened and prompted him to hide against his partner's shoulder. He huffed, his voice breathless. “Shut up.”

Jigen’s laugh was like music, interrupted as Zenigata picked up the pace and his moans became increasingly louder.

Jigen was right there with him, angling his hips to hit just the right spot inside of him. The feeling between his legs grew continuously intense, building to what he hoped would be relief and resolution.

Zenigata was the first to lose it, giving one last powerful thrust before he groaned and came with enough force to fill the condom.

Jigen pulled him forward as his body stiffened and finally gave out, twitching and pulsating around Zenigata’s quickly waning erection.

They fell apart on each side of the bed, huffing and breathing through the last of their arousal.

“Fuck…” Jigen sighed. “That was fun.”

Zenigata nodded, running a hand down his face as he processed what just happened.

“Yes it was,” he said. “I'm glad you decided to come along.”

“I'm glad I decided to join you,” Jigen said. “To tell you the truth, I never thought this would happen.”

“Why’s that?” Zenigata asked. He turned his gaze to look at Jigen and swung his legs off the bed to grab supplies from the bathroom.

Jigen lifted his hat off the mattress and plunked it back down against his hair. “‘Cause you’re you and I’m me. I jus’ never thought it was an option.”

Zenigata stood and dipped his head through the nearby bathroom door, running a washcloth under the sink's faucet. “Is that because of what I said at the bar?”

“Maybe. I'm not really sure.”

Zenigata turned back into the room, peeling off the condom and throwing it in the bedside trash can. “You’re not a monster, Jigen. I promise.”

“How can you believe that?” Jigen asked. He sat himself against the headboard behind him and leaned over to snatch his cigarettes and lighter from the pocket of his jacket.

“Because I know you. I know you don’t take death lightly.”

“But I still killed those kids. They didn’t deserve what I did to them.”

“That’s true,” Zenigata said. He sat back down beside Jigen and ran his fingers carefully against the edge of his forehead. “But you were just a kid yourself. I know you wouldn’t make that mistake a second time. Not without proper provocation.”

Jigen’s face contorted and he hid his eyes under the brim of his hat. “I’ve killed people, Koichi. Are you sure you can handle that?”

Zenigata nodded and lifted Jigen’s hat so he could steal a quick, chaste kiss. “I’ve killed people too, you know. It tends to happen in my line of work, so I understand. Believe me.”

“I do,” Jigen said. “I just—”

“You feel guilty. I know. It’s why I’m confident this will work between us.”

“Really?” Jigen sighed, slumping his shoulders. He tugged a cigarette from his pack and placed it between his teeth, throwing open his lighter. He exhaled smoke as Zenigata leaned away, nodding.

“Of course,” he said. “It’s worked so far with Lupin. I don’t see why our relationship would be all that different.”

“I guess so,” Jigen said. “I just don’t want this to hurt you. Or me for that matter.”

“I know,” Zenigata said. “I’m gonna do my best to keep that from happening. You deserve happiness, Daisuke. You know?”

Jigen smiled, chuckling. “You sound like Lup,” he said. “How in the world did I get so goddamn lucky?”

Zenigata shrugged, using the washcloth to clean both of them up. “I tend to ask myself the same thing,” he murmured. “I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot.”

“Even with our game?”

Zenigata giggled. “The game is what led me to this,” he said. He wrapped an arm around Jigen and pulled him into his lap. “It’s part of the reason I love it so much.”

“Me too,” Jigen said. “You okay with continuing it tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” Zenigata said. He tightened his grip around Jigen’s torso and pulled the blanket up firmly over their laps. “But let’s enjoy this moment while we have it, okay?”

Jigen intertwined their fingers and smiled.

"Okay."

[doyelikehaggis]

I just watched Legacies and oh my god, why was this episode actually so much better than the last few ones have been? I like this show again?? Okay, I'll try and coherently list my favourite parts:

• Kaleb and Hope interaction!! I love this duo with my whole heart and their scenes were actually so good. Kaleb putting his hand on Hope when he realized she was about to lose it, and then him trying to ask her what's going on, and understanding when she says she can't lost her home. Give me more of them.

• Cleo. Every single one of Cleo's scenes. Especially with Hope, oh my god, I ship it so much. Their little smiles at each other, the fact that Hope was the only one willing to be honest with Cleo without sugar coating it, and Cleo helping Hope try and break down why she's breaking down. Give me this ship.

• Josie was adorable in that outfit. The jacket actually reminded me a lot of one that Maya wore though which is kinda funny considering she spent most of the episode with Finch, Maya's ex, and Ethan, Maya's brother. But speaking of

• I really enjoy Finch's character so far. She's very different and interesting and I can't wait to see more of her. My mum keeps saying she looks a bit like Freya and now I can't fully unsee that either, by the way. But no, I really wanna see more of her and I'm excited for her and Josie.

• And still on a similar note: Ethan! I'm really liking his scenes so far! I want him and Josie to have a good friendship, and so far, they do! That locker scene at lunch was so sweet. I have a feeling he's going to be introduced to the supernatural world at some point, probably through Josie, and hopefully he finds out what actually happened to his arm!

• DORIAN IS BACK, BABY!! I have missed him so much, god. Headmaster of Mystic Falls High and still with Emma. It's what he deserves.

• MG, oh my god. I love that he's saying no because it's what he deserves after everything. He should be selfish after everyone's taken him for granted. It was nice to see him standing up for himself, but also I had a little ouch at his scene with Wade and Jed, because I love those boys as well and seeing them sad hurts me. And LIZZIE. Oh boy. I mean, it was a necessary conversation, but still! Ouch. And his face was hilarious when he realized that them sleeping together had been an option before he said no, poor boy.

• Gabby!! Or is it Gabbi? Either way, I know I am going to enjoy this little ball of sass. I didn't quite catch how she knows Penelope but I love it, and I love that she and Wade are like best friends??? That's so sweet!!

• Gunter trying to kill Alaric.

• The vague mention of Damon.

• ALARIC STILL TRYING TO PITCH THE SCHOOL TO GUNTER AFTER HE TRIED TO KILL HIM AND HAS HIM TIED UP??? SIR, STOP!

• Lizzie in general to be honest.

• And Hope.

• And finally, my boy, Landon. God, I just loved him so much more than I already do. I get it now when people say they actually like him when he's not with Hope, because something about his scenes in this episode felt so much more interesting than they have recently.

• He and Ted are an iconic duo to begin with anyway, incredibly hilarious, especially because Landon is a smug little dick around him and it's beautiful.

• Just casually sipping the milkshake while Ted has a tantrum. Shaking the tip jar and telling him to sing.

• Their fight to get the key was... hilariously beautiful. But their actual fight, oh my god

• When I tell you, I died. Seeing Landon with so much anger and aggression? The way he looked at his hands when he quickly backed away and fully grasped what he had just done? Honestly, Aria's acting kills me every time. That scene was really powerful and I want more of that Landon.

• ALSO HIM PUTTING HOPE'S NECKLACE ON PROPERLY. HELL YEAH.

• I just enjoyed everything about this episode, like, there wasn't a single scene that I wasn't squealing or wide-eyed in tense shock at. Give us more episodes like this one and I will actually start enjoying this show properly again!!

[insertsexualitypun]

Some things I want from Legacies S3

This is going to be all over the place and pretty long. This’ll start with the general storyline things, then get down into smaller character arcs and whatnot. I’ll try to keep it somewhat organized and grouped by character but I make no promises. Also if you wanna talk about any of these feel free to dm! I’m incredibly bored in quarantine and would love to chat

- An introduction of a greater storyline past Malivore and moving away from the monster of the week thing. I know Legacies is supposed to be something different from TVD and TO, and the monster of the week concept is an interesting way to explore the universe past what we already knew, but with the premise as it exists and has been carried out now, it’s hard to develop the characters and relationships. If the characters are fighting new things every week, that makes it hard to give characters like MG and Kaleb their own stories. With a villain to anchor the season as the Big Bad, we can get characters that haven’t been given much of their own storyline a way to get more screentime as they go try and find someone or something with answers.

- GIVE HOPE HER OWN STORYLINE PAST BEING THE HERO/MARTYR AND BEING IN LOVE WITH LANDON. Hope is supposed to be the main character but this doesn’t feel like her story. As awesome as it is seeing Hope be a badass and fight monsters, I want more development from her as a person.

- Kind of ties back into the last one, but let Hope have more Dark moments like the Death Spell incident. Moments that show that while she isn’t just another Klaus, she still shares some of his tendencies towards violence and lashing out. This could work really well if they decide to keep Landon out of the picture for a few episodes.

- Let Hope and Landon break up amicably (assuming Landon isn’t really dead which let’s be real he probably isn’t) so that, again, they can grow as people. Then, if you want, they can get back together. Or just stay broken up and be friends

-  A resolution to the Necromancer - he’s a fun character and while I think he’d be fun to have around for a bit, I don’t think he’s an anchoring villain for a season. Plus to me I kinda figured that they were gonna wrap up his storyline in the last 3 episodes that they didn’t get to film before the production shutdown so chances are we’re getting this anyway.

- Either bring back Ethan, Maya and Mac more prominently, or don’t bring them back at all. Don’t get me wrong, I like the town normies storyline when it comes up, but it doesn’t come up much. Apparently, they were supposed to be in the last 3 episodes more but who knows. With the show already feeling kinda crowded (because again, the format of the show now doesn’t really allow for a ton of characters since they aren’t significantly developing, especially when these characters are in a setting completely removed from the main action of the show’s narrative), either have the normies for more than just getting caught in a magical crossfire, or put them to the side and focus on who you have at the school.

- The TVDU has progressed past the need for Alaric. That’s all I’ll say.

- The show being a little more self aware at the ridiculousness of it all. Like yeah, it’s not completely without that, but the last thing we need is the show devolving into a Riverdale, where the first season was aware of the ridiculous nature of itself, and then it started to take itself way too seriously.

- MORE LGBTQ+ REP. The show has done fairly well thus far compared to other CW shows but there’s still so much than can be done. The show doesn’t need to have show-stopping coming out storylines or anything - it’s actually the opposite. We get the casual drop of Josie having dated Penelope in the first episode of the show which was great. So let’s have more simple stuff like that. More mentions at crushes and other past romances - for all characters - that just allow for other sexualities to be normalized and not some earth shattering thing. 

- This ties into the last one but I felt like it deserved its own bullet, but also what is V NEEDED is rep of trans, genderfluid and non-binary characters. Again, it doesn’t have to be a huge storyline, but it’d be nice to have some recurring characters who are not cis. The show is meant to be set in a near future, so I think it’d be nice to show a normalized view on differing gender expression and sexuality as sort of a hope that such a future will exist.

- Hope loving beignets, eating/wanting to eat them all the time, and getting powdered sugar all over her dark clothes from them. Chances are, if you’re from/have been to NOLA, you’ve tried beignets and loved them because they’re amazing. SO LET HOPE HAVE HER BEIGNETS DAMN IT.

- More Wolf Hope moments. Let her turn more and just run because it let’s her feel more connected to Hayley :’( also the Crescent birth mark if that was ever a thing for Hope... I can’t remember, I’ve seen different things about it, lmk (politely) if that was ever a thing that Hope had

- Hope painting and sketching. It’s one of the few connections she still has with Klaus, SO LET HER EXPRESS HERSELF DAMN IT. (Yes, any time I say SO in all caps I need to end the sentence with DAMN IT, it’s a Thing now)

- MIKAELSON FAMILY MENTIONS AND APPEARANCES. Granted this one is different because there are real life schedules and whatnot that need to align, but even just more mentions of Mikaelson family members and others like Vincent would be nice. Yeah we’ve had some in the past, but it would still be nice to get some more. Also at least a mention of Rebekah and Kol checking in on Hope (assuming the writers aren’t going to pull something dumb like ‘oh the memory spell doesn’t work long distance like that so they still don’t remember her’)

- Hope also talking more about Hayley, Elijah, and Klaus. Again, feeling connected to her mom every time she’s a wolf. Always and forever, like Elijah always said. Telling stories about her father that put him in a better light than just being “The Great Evil” of storybooks.

- Hope being open with her friends about her past and how TERRIBLE it was a lot of the time like, y’know, people trying to kill her before she was even BORN.

- I’ve said this before in a separate post (which I’ll link at some point so expect an edit to this post) but I’d love for something to happen and for Hope to leave the school and go to NOLA and stay with Freya, Keelin and Nik because she’s tired of having to be the savior and still not saving everyone. (Also in that post it says Alaric comes and gets her and brings her back to the Salvatore School but we’ve progressed past the need for him in the TVDU so instead it’ll be the twins)

- Hizzie moments because whether you like them as romantically or just as friends, they are a DUO and we deserve more iconic sarcasm as well as genuine moments of friendship and caring

- Lizzie being the absolute Queen of Comedy

- But more importantly, Lizzie being more open about her issues and taking steps to have better mental health.

- Lizzie and MG having more open conversations and letting a relationship develop naturally - yes there has been a lot of development since season 1 but I feel like they both have a bit of growth to go before they should enter a relationship, if that’s something that happens

- Lizzie being happily single for a bit and not going for a guy that’s going to try and turn her into a vamp and keep her in a prison world 

- MG and Kaleb getting proper storylines or at least more play than just being the Local Vampires who help depending on the situation. They deserve WAY more than that

- ALSO MG and Kaleb backstories. How did they die and how did they get vampire blood in their system to keep them from dying permanently?

- Josie dealing with what happened pre and post Dark Josie and facing that she has always had some darkness in her. Yeah the dark magic definitely didn’t help, but she was willing to perform a spell that she didn’t know on a human over a football game and ended up breaking his arm. Not to mention, she was setting Penelope on fire as early as the first episode. It seems like we’re getting this since Josie locked away her magic in the last episode, but still, I don’t want this to just be a one episode reflection and then move on like she didn’t cause a lot of harm.

- More Hosie crumbs

- More Jade. OK admittedly this is probably really due to the fact that Giorgia Whigham is a Big Crush for me, but also the show really did start integrating her in a bit more with the black and white episode, which makes me think they’re keeping her around at least for a little bit. And I think she and Josie dating at least for a little while would be good for both of them. Jade was a ripper for 10 years in the prison world, and Josie was just consumed by dark magic and is now coming back from that. I think they’re a good (probably short-term) pairing that will help each other grow, but eventually break up because they just aren’t it for each other. And I saw this elsewhere on here, but someone pointed out that Jade could do what Penelope tried to do, but in a healthier way. Yes, Penelope was trying to put Josie first and show her her power and importance, but there’s a way to do that without gaslighting her sister and being manipulative. Sorry, I did not mean for this one to be so long.

- More Specialty episodes. The black and white episode was really fun in my opinion, and the show doesn’t have to be like that all the time, but stuff like that keeps the show interesting, as long as it makes sense within the context of the episode and storyline.

- Josie wearing the necklace Hope gave her

- I haven’t mentioned Rafael much and that’s because, despite being a main character, he hasn’t really done much besides run away with Landon, and feel guilty about having a crush on Hope. He’s personally not a favorite character of mine, but I think if he got more of a storyline - likely revolving around the fact that he was dead and being used as a pawn, as well as the fact that he possibly (but probably didn’t) kill Landon - it’d help give more to like about him.

- Caroline having a better reason for being away from the school than just researching the Merge. Like, her daughters have been fighting monsters, Josie almost died at the end of season 1, they were trapped in a prison world, Josie succumbed to Dark Magic, THEY LITERALLY HAD A MERGE EVENT and she’s still gone??? That’s not the Caroline we know. If she’s going to be gone (because like I said before, it all depends on Candice’s availability and willingness to come back), at least come up with something different than researching something her daughters have already done by this point.

- Since Landon’s not dead, let him unlock his full Phoenix powers. It’d be cool.

- Let’s have one season where Landon doesn’t run away like we don’t all know that he’s gonna be back within like 2 episodes if that

- More Dorian. I actually really like his character, he’s kind of a breath of fresh air sometimes so I’d like more scenes with him when possible

- A conclusion to Malivore and intro of a new villain. I kinda covered this earlier, but at this point, unless Malivore is going to become a tangible entity to fight instead of some black goo, it’s not a very interesting story thread to keep around for the next however many seasons Legacies goes on for.

Whew.

Ok, that’s all I can think of, but feel free to reblog and add more if there’s other stuff you’d like to see!

[justfangstvdto]

Open Coffin 2 | Chapter 04  “Word travels fast among the Damned”

Disclaimer: This is a sequel! Find Part 1 here. For some context, I´d advise you to watch The Originals to understand some occurrences.

Chapter warnings: typical TO violence and fighting, a dash of ptsd, glimpse into messed up childhood, oh and some new spells and practices, also this took so extremely long so please feel free to wait until more chapter are here

Word count: 6664

Tags & Author Note at the bottom. Feedback is my lifeblood and keeps the writing coming (eventually...lol)

Your name: submit What is this?

At certain times in life, there is this premonition, a sense of knowing that something is coming. It is felt in the air in every passing breeze, and there is nothing one can do to stop it. It blows from the environment to throw its opponent off balance. Could be a monster with sharp claws, a bullet, a virus or bacteria. Or, in your case, a wooden and deadly staff handled with ancient vampire strength. 

The attack came from the left side, poignant and with precision.  The wood colliding with the carved stick in your hands send vibrations through your arms, that travelled to your shoulders. Strike blocked. Another attack came swiftly, this time from below in an upwards angle calculated just right to throw you off balance. Blocked again. You could see it in Mikael´s face; he was growing frustrated by every passing round of attack. He threw his weight behind his next attack, that edged closer to your face. Pain erupted from the point of impact as it sliced through the skin just above your cheekbone. Mikael doubled up again and brought the staff to your knees, swiftly knocking you off balance.  You fell backwards like a sack of wood but caught yourself midair before landing on your stomach. 

He's good. 

He forced you down with the edge of the staff, burying your face in the dirt. He could kill you with a push of his weight, but he relented. You heard his feet cracking the ground beneath him as he turned his back and walked away as the champion. 

Or so he thought. 

You pushed yourself up with your dirt-covered hands, using your vampire speed and the element of surprise to your advantage. Holding the staff in a horizontal line, you went after him. He let out a huffed gurgle when you pulled back on the wood you pressured against his neck, pulling him against your torso. Mikael reacted swiftly and brought his weight forward to overthrow your chokehold like a bull trying to buckle of its rider. You let yourself fall over his back with your hand around the staff, nearing the ground with your backside, only to switch to your front as you easily grasped the staff out if his hands. Swiftly and without hesitation you plunged the staff into his face before you brought it down to his feet to trip him over. He landed into the dirt as you did before, face red with anger. 

“I told Klaus already," You said, pointing the end towards his heart, while the Mikaelson family runic crest buried itself into the flesh of your hands "never turn your back on a Salvatore. Especially not me. ”

He was hurt in his pride, that much was evident, but there was a glimmer of surprise in his eyes that made you proud. You've beaten the vampire that hunts vampires. Granted, he had lost his touch over the years on the other side, but he still had centuries on you. It was a cause for celebration, or at least it was something to hold over him if you needed to. 

Mikael scrambled to his feet, dusting off his dirt-covered clothes tainting the afternoon sun with dust particles "You fight well.“ 

"That's what happens when you grow up with two brothers that constantly had to one-up each other. You learn to fight if you're the one in the middle.” You said, sparing a thought to how you´d find Stefan and Damon in front of your house, fighting each other with their bare hands or loose wood from the barn a few ways down from the front door. You would always see them through the smudged window in the housekeeping room where your mother used to teach you what a girl should learn to become a proper woman. But you never cared for it. Instead, you would run outside your dress dragging in the dirt as you pushed your brothers apart even onto the dirt if you had to. 

You pushed that memory aside, and you bend over to grab the staff on the floor, your fingers gliding over the ornate wood once more “The crest.” You continued “What does it mean?” 

Mikael seemed surprised by your interest, even if it was covered with a loud sigh of contentment. Yet, he complied and drew the crest in the dirt beneath him “Long ago this was the Norse alphabet rune “Gebu”. It´s meaning varied from spear to gift but has been used to refer to Odin's spear Gungnir. It was believed that it had been given to Odin by Loki and is known for always hitting its mark, no matter the obstacle.”

“Always hitting bullseye no matter what? Yeah, that describes your family pretty well.” You shared a quick look with him before you turned away, heading for the cabin. You always wondered if Mikael missed his northern home - his true north so to speak- or if rage consumed him entirely without leaving a trace of the Wikingr he once was. And if the same thing will happen to you if the seething anger you developed over the last 3 years, triumphs over your sanity. Only time and its unrelenting grasp knew. 

Glancing into the window beside the door you stopped to check your phone that was still outside since last night. You turned it over and unlocked it with a click, groaning when you saw the notification. Twenty-eight missed calls. Most of them were Klaus, a few from Marcel and then…

No way. 

Stefan's name glared at you through the screen and with it a little icon next to him. He left a voicemail. What gravely thing had to occur for him to call you after years of silence? Did Mystic Fall finally burn down to ashes? Perhaps someone scarier than Klaus rolled into town and he just needed help? Whatever it was, the feeling of impending doom lingered in the air when you locked your phone and left it on the table outside. There was no time to linger in what-if scenarios. 

No unnecessary attachments. No distractions - That's how you get things done.

Opening the cabin door a swift of charcoaled sage penetrated your senses, pungent with every step you took. Kaleb stood near a table, an unbuttoned shirt hugging his frame as if he was about to embark on a tropical cruise. He had the table decked out in front of him with elongated squares of stone which looked like they were engraved with runic symbols. 

You closed the door behind you, the remnant of your late-night drinking session from the night before, collided together with the door´s vibration against the brittle wood. Last night you sparsely told Kaleb why you brought Mikael back, but your conversation quickly dissolved to more than just small talk. The alcohol loosened your tongue to a comfortable degree. It was strange to be unburdened by the fear of judgment. There wasn't any lasting damage that you had to fear, nothing you had to be ashamed of when looking him in the eyes and nothing you had to live with forever. Maybe the prospect of dying and not be burdened by anything that lasted had its advantages after all. It was easier at least. 

When you stepped further into the room, Kaleb looked up from the bowl he had in his hand. Passing him, you discarded the sheer jacket that was stained with the particles of your meeting with the dirt floor outside. You flipped open the cooler filled with the blood bags, taking inventory of how many remained. Two. Great. Hunger was plaguing you more than it ever had. The cooler was full yesterday. 

You jumped when Kaleb’s fingers gently wrapped when he turned your shoulder towards him to inspect the damage that had already healed, the only reminder of it a sheer layer of red. You pushed his hand away, regretting your action within a second after witnessing the guilty look on his face.

He shuffled back to where he was standing previously and cleared his throat before he spoke: “I don't think sparring with him is a good idea.” 

“What, do you think he'd kill me? I´m a dead vamp walking no matter what, so who cares?” 

“Don't you mean an undead dead vampire?” He joked before his face contorted into a questioning gaze “Wait…” He laughed. When you returned his laughter with a chuckle, he seemed proud, face beaming with a sense of accomplishment. 

So he likes to make people laugh. Noted.

Kalebs gaze lingered for another moment, then he glanced out of the window to watch Mikael train with nothing but the wind as his opponent." You´ve told me how you brought him back, but not why." He continued, a worried tone now coating his voice "I assume it is more than just as a sparring partner?" 

You shook your head “You should know as little as possible. They will come after you if they find out you know something. ”

“You're still not the trusting sort.” He noted, “And I thought we've bonded.”

The truth was you had bonded to a certain degree, and you were wary of the developing attachment.

“Well, do you trust me?” You questioned.

“Are you slicked? Those sad eyes might fool some people, but not me. I know what you're after.” Stoic and calculated he stared you down before his mouth contorted into a lighthearted smile “You've got a lecherous heart, Y/N! I won't be used, not for my body, nor my magic!” 

You turned your head to hide a smile, but he caught on and lid up with pride. "Speaking of magic.” You nodded towards the table next to him “How's all this supposed to work anyway?"

“This-” He stepped closer, pointing with his fingers to the runes surrounded by a salt and ash circle “Is an ancient runic foretelling. Like a, uh, prophecy.”

“So like a fancy version of tarot cards?” You said bluntly, “How is that gonna help?”

“Depending on what runes appear, we will have a vague indication of what's causing the bleeding; Spell, curse, your vampire body rejecting magic… whatever it may be. If we know what it is, we can reverse it. “

You looked at him and wondered how someone like him came across a spell this old and what atrocities he had to commit to get a hold of it. Magic like this was not given out to anybody without affiliating to one of the more eclectic covens. You should know, that's what you´ve been doing for the past years. 

You were about to litter him with questions, but the opening of the screeching cabin door made you pause, and all questions washed away. 

“What have we here?" Mikael said from the doorway before stepping closer to examine Kaleb’s spell. " I have not seen this kind of magic in centuries.“ He looked at him with questioning eyes, observing his reaction as an indication as to end him or not. “How did you come to this knowledge?”

“Well, I've read a lot. You pick up a few things over the years.” He shrugged, and it was clear he had no intention of answering any questions ��For example, this is based on a Viking age foretelling where they cut off a branch and sliced it into strips and marked them with different signs and threw them at random onto a cloth. Whatever stripes they picked up was the works of the gods. This is just a more definitive version.”

“Sounds easy enough. What do you need me to do?”

“I just need your blood” Kaleb replied. 

Ah, blood. The ingredient that was most dangerous in combination with magic. It was used for curses, binding spells and all sorts of nasty spells. Could you say you trusted someone you barely know with an ingredient like this? No. But Shank´s research from two days ago was fruitless besides revealing Kaleb's last name, so you had nothing to go on but your gut feeling. 

You bit into the thick flesh of your hand, and your blood pooled in your palm, ready to be used “Where do you want it?”

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The minutes dragged on with slow intent, waiting for them to die and move on to the next. The spell brewed, Mikael had left to an adjoining back room to rest and prepare for an uncomfortable fight he claimed to feel in the air. One would write off this premonition as ramblings of a crazy old man, but you can feel it too. Eyes somewhere distant, watching your every move. Claws ready to rupture skin. The question was, whose claws would draw blood first. The list of people that want to execute lethal force upon you had gotten embarrassingly long over the years, and guessing who was on top of that list equals a horse race with bets running high at all times. 

You used the waiting time and tried to decode the unlinking spell you had been working on for the last year. But the advanced incantations and spellwork scribbled on the dusty pages were more than you were capable of understanding. Still, you had to try. Not to kill Klaus, but to ensure your brothers and everyone in his sire line was safe if his enemies decide to multiply further. Knowing Klaus, he will trample on everyone's sandcastle like a toddler to prove his point and make enemies out of everyone if he had to. 

You glanced over to where Kaleb was chanting with his eyes closed, entirely concentrated on the whispered spell that´s supposed to reveal what the hell was wrong with you. You´ve been trying to find that out for centuries, so you did not hold out hope for a spell like this to work. 

Out of nowhere, your senses alerted you of a rustle in the bushes, very soft steps were coming from behind. So faint, it was almost mistakable as the wind. Your ears twitched. Two-legged. Not an animal then.

Kaleb picked up on the sudden change of stature and paused the chanting and shared a look of alertness. "You think it's him? The original?”

“Probably. Or about a thousand other people that want me dead, take your pick. You know of all the places to die this didn't make my list. Where is the blaze of glory and a badass backing track?”

Stepping outside into the cooling night air you kept your eyes on the treeline beyond where the sound came from, but it was clear without sparing too many seconds that there was only one person who would chase you here despite all spoken cautions. And that one wouldn't hide in the bushes. He would instead break a window in or kick the door down rather than hide like some common thief. So why was he silent? Something wasn't right. 

"Hey, I'll get some wood for the stove." You stated at high volume, masking your approach to whoever was out there. Wrapping your hands around the axe that penetrated a tree stump, you stepped into the open.

The rustling sound of bushes was persistent, dominating over the deafening sound of crickets near the body of water down the way. They moved from the left to the right, your eyes impulsively trained to pinpoint their movement. 

He watched as you disappeared into the bushes, only to appear seconds later, dragging someone behind you in the dirt. 

“Got him,” You said, hurling the unconscious stranger over your shoulder. 

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Minutes easily passed waiting for the stranger to wake from his scare. But he had no intention of cutting the wait short. His head was hanging low, almost touching his knees. Softly breathing he sat there, while you waited for any sign of movement. 

“How is he still unconscious?” You sighed. 

"You gave him quite the scare, I'm sure." 

"To be fair, that guy looks like he would be scared by a kitten." You said, eying him with pity "I think a nice wakeup call is in order."

"What are you thinking? Fire?" Kaleb chimed in. 

"You do know all of this is made out of wood, right?" You asked, pointing on the wooden interiors. 

"Don't tell me you don't like to set things ablaze." 

"I'm not one for setting anything on fire these days." You muttered, pushing the rush of guilt that enveloped you down where it belonged. Only thinking about the smell of fire, the embers that sprinkle into the air and the blasting heat that melted skin from bones, was enough to wish that you could dig a hole and be swallowed into the earth without abandon. 

But there was no time for it now. Perhaps there never will be. 

"You know let's not go the magic route." You continued "Sometimes all you need is a good slap in the face to get the day started."

"Sure, who needs caffeine if a slap in the face will do." Kaleb chuckled.

You closed in on the stranger and slapped him in the face with gusto, stirring him awake like an unexpected thunder. Realisation dawned on him when he blinked through his tired eyelids and saw your face 

“Oh shit, you're Y/N.” He tried to make a run for the door, but you pushed him back where he came from “Oh God, I'm so dead.”

“See?" You looked over your shoulder gesturing your hands toward the tied up stranger "That is how they usually react. With fear. Not all cocky and all-knowing like you were.”

“Well, I find your intimidation charming.” Kaleb grinned. 

"Sure, because me being scary is such an admirable quality."

"You know numerous ways to kill a man. It's hot." He shrugged unapologetically.

“Uh... "The stranger uttered, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. "You know I´m still here, right? Not that I don't condone this flirting but-”  

"I'm not flirting." You defended adamantly. 

"Maybe. But he is, clearly not successfully.” The stranger let out a chuckle and immediately regretted it by the way Kalebs face delved into anger.  

Was that how people saw your early partnership with Kaleb? Did they assume you'd just fall into the arms of somebody else that quickly? If a stranger saw it, everyone else would too. You could already hear them talk behind your back, laughing at your broken promises and weak composure. What if those rumors were the only thing Kol would hear when he'd walk the earth again when you were dead and gone? You could not are the thought. However useful Kaleb was maybe you had to get rid of him after all. 

“Listen," You continued "If you tell me who sent you, I might let you live. Spoiler alert, probably not.”

"He said to look out for any sign of trouble, that's it. I'm- I don't want any trouble.”

“Who sent you. I want a name.” You asked again, all the while trying to think of who would send an amateur like him after you. These days everyone knew that he'd be gutted if he crossed your path. 

Following his continued silence you lowered yourself to his seated level, and with your fingers grazing his clothed chest you said “I wonder if you´ve ever had your chest opened before? Or do you prefer something more magical like boiling from the inside? I don't have much time to spare. So If you don´t talk, you´ll find out.” 

“Marcel, okay?!”The stranger spoke with hurry, “He was worried about you hanging out with this guy.” He nodded towards the door. You looked over your shoulder where Kaleb rolled his eyes so hard you swore they'd pop out any second. Eying the stranger again you took notice of his swooped dark hair, overly nervous yet intrigued inquisitive nature and his questionable taste in overly printed dress shirts. It dawned on you that this must be Marcel's friend he had been talking about endlessly. 

“Oh, you're his buddy. Josh!” You retreated your hand from his chest and stepped out of his personal space “Sorry for the well, unwelcoming welcome.”

"Yeah, it's becoming kind of a thing with everyone that hangs out with Count Dracula."

You grimaced at his words. "Do I look like I hang out with Klaus in my free time?" 

Josh considered for a moment, then shook his head "Yeah… probably not. From what I've heard you're more the stabbing him in the back type." His face fell when you raised an eyebrow and he added "Not that he didn't deserve it." 

Ah, that word again. Deserve. Nobody deserves anything. Often neither happiness nor grievances come to those who truly deserve them. It comes to those who consume them if they're entitled to them or not. The ones that persevere and push themselves up by kneeling others into the dirt. Those are the ones that take the good parts while the ones that truly deserve it shoulder the rest. That's the way of the world. Especially the supernatural one. And Klaus was both kneeling in the dirt and pushing others in it. You were unsure if he truly deserved what failed assassination attempt you brought upon him. You were not so sure you were worthy of being the judge, jury and executioner all on your own. Not anymore, and you had no idea if that was a good or bad thing.

“So uh.” Josh looked around the room awkwardly, an unspoken question written over his face. It was nothing new, they all had one if they dared to speak it out loud. 

“Ask what you want to ask.” You sighed.  

“The stories about you. Are they true?” He asked. Kaleb was interested too as his head snapped towards you in interest 

“Most of them.” You shrugged as you leaned against the table's edge behind you. You're not really in the mood to play interview with a vampire "And I think the worst is yet to come so better hurry back and tell Marcel to call off his protectors. I can handle myself. ”

“Yeah, I'd say. You're scary.” Josh headed for the door and dipped to the right only to appear a second later  “Uh, I have no idea where I am. "

“I assume you left your car near the church?” You asked and Josh nodded “It's about 20 miles northeast from here. Cell service is fickle, so just follow the trodden path.” 

"North East. Yeah right okay." He turned on his heels and headed outside again looking left and right to determine where to go. 

"That way." You pointed in the right direction and he thanked you with a round of finger gun before he disappeared. How Marcel has not gotten rid of him yet was beyond you. 

“Why does everybody keep saying that?" You returned to Kaleb side "Am I that scary?”

“Terrifying. In the best way.” He smiled and his gaze drifted to the floor before snapping back to your face. There was an intensity in his stare, unwavering and unrelenting in a way that kept your focus longer than it should have. 

When Kaleb's fingers drifted over your hand his breath hitched and grew still, and you had no intention of moving away. His calloused fingers grazed over your skin and had it not been for the immortal-ish aspects of you, your hands would be as callused, if not worse. 

When you slowly lifted your head to look at him he was so focused on his hand on yours that he did not seem to notice your shifted gaze. Your eyes drifted over his shadowed face, trying to pinpoint what about him it was that kept your attention. There was something familiar about him. The way he held himself, this unwavering confidence and charm that revelled in his authenticity. Perhaps you've met him before when grief had its hold on you, or during one of the anger engulfed moments or perhaps just passed by him on the streets. 

He felt familiar in a way that was comforting. Like a song you heard in passing that resurfaced with questionable intention and you´re left wondering why it felt as if you´ve heard it before.  He felt like bonding on public transport travelling with the same people day in and day out, only to miss them when they take a different route. Or the passing by someone on the streets wondering if it was a ghost of the past or someone that's just bearing a similar face. 

Reality hit soon after your wondering thought and unwavering guilt crushed you under its weight. You drew your hand away and Kaleb jumped at your sudden movement. 

Get a grip. What the fuck are you doing? 

No attachments. No distractions. 

“So, uh... “You cleared your throat, putting some distance between you. “The rune thing. You find anything?” 

“Let´s see.” He burdened a smile and returned to the table to find that etched lines have appeared on the bare stone tablets. 

“Interesting. These two are next to each other, almost connecting."He said, pointing at the first two stones. The first one symbolises strength. You're bound to an unmatched power, yet no that can't be right.”

“What is it?”

“This rune," He said and pointed to the second one "It symbolises power but as an outside force. You´re not tied to your own power."

"What the fuck does that mean?" 

"You're bound to something powerful and that power depletes your own when it is being used. Like a battery of sorts." 

"Too much power for me to handle, huh? Explains the nosebleeds, I guess. But what is it?" 

"Whatever it is it's unlike anything I've seen." Kaleb's further words drifted out of focus when a shower of calculated noises drenched the room. There was someone outside yet again. 

You interrupted his foretelling, holding a finger to your lips "We have another visitor. Stay here and don't come out."

Kaleb reached for your upper arm when you turned away from him and said "Don't go out there." 

You snapped out of his grasp swiftly glaring at him as you said; "You don't tell me what to do." It was a low blow, sure, but perhaps he would keep his distance or disappear before things got even more complicated. Perhaps acting like this will cast him away.

Turning the corner on the far side of the cabin you were met with a suave demeanour full of torment and rage and a newly found hopelessness you had yet to pinpoint its location.

“Oh good, you're here. Want a drink?” You offered a swig of the bottle on the table outside. 

“I'm in no mood to socialize,” Klaus declined sternly, the darkness parting for his body as he stepped onto the splintering wooden walkway.

“When are you ever?" You deadpanned, but Klaus was far from being amused. You tried to lighten the mood, but it was of no use. He was furious. No doubt Esther or her bootlicker of a son spilt the beans about the white oak. Handling matters delicately was never their strong suit. 

"I can tell by the look on your face that you're here to kill me.” You said, trying to soothe the oncoming onslaught of judgement that was heading your way  “I assume I deserve it, but can you tell me why this time? Just so I can keep track. ” 

Klaus dragged his tongue over his parsed lips letting out a pitiful hushed laugh before he sat next to you, staring ahead. “I was simply minding my own business - ruling, killing my enemies and what not - and low and behold what do I hear? The white oak stake has resurfaced in the hands of my mother. My my, word does travel fast among the damned, now doesn't it?“

“Well, I'm sorry the world isn't arranging itself for your schedule.”  You peered back at his expectant face. Anger was flaring through your blood, an amplified sensation whenever Klaus was near. “But I don't see why this is my problem?”

“Don´t be coy with me. This has your name written all over. Disruption the order of long-established rules of battle for your twisted little schemes." He trickled his fingers against the wind as if he was holding strings attached to a marionette to control at his will. No doubt, he viewed you as a puppeteer master these days. High praise indeed, especially coming from someone as wicked as him.  

“I want to know why." His voice was quieter, soft almost, as he spoke into the wind "Why did you defy me when I gave you nothing but trust?” The way he stared holes in the floor uttering these words rattled a rush of guilt that you never expected to be directed at Klaus of all people. Klaus was confident with threats and violence, but bearing himself open was something he barely had the courage for. 

“Let's not pretend that we trust each other just because we shared a sentimental moment. Once.” 

“You know, I find it fascinating that you believe you are invincible to my wrath.” He continued harsher, covering his vulnerability “Our agreement has been made null and void by your actions, and you don't seem to care. More so you seem to enjoy it. Why is that?”

“You´re the master schemer here, tell me, what do you think I'm doing?” You leaned forward, eager to know what he had to say. No doubt he´d see right through the parts you wanted him to see. The question was if he had any idea beyond that. He was the mighty Klaus after all, and more so he was smart.

“I'd say you're playing both sides, though the recent events convinced me of something else entirely. You're bold, fearless; striking without weighing the consequences. Suspicious, isn't it? Unless you have the upper hand.” He turned his head again, observing your reaction like a hawk. “Is this charade your grand plan? Aiding my mother in her endeavors by handing over the only weapon that could kill my family? I must say, I'm not impressed.”

“You think that's the only part? Just another revenge fantasy? And here I thought you finally learned not to underestimate me.”

“It is because I do not underestimate you that I came here.” He said. It was high praise indeed coming from him, even if it came with a trickle of insult to be compared to the likes of the big bad Klaus.

“Good call, not sending Elijah then. He'd kill me just for ruining his shoes in this terrain. But if this is the only reason you came then you can go right back to your castle and rule your kingdom because Esther doesn't have the real white oak. It's s copy.” 

Klaus cocked his head to the side, the lamps fire now perfectly reflecting in his eyes. The look of distrust was written over his face, yet there was no doubt that he was intrigued by the information you laid out.

“See? I´m not trying to play games here. I give you my word.” You added with the hope that at least your word had not lost its ´s value when everything else had. 

He paused, dragging his tongue over his bottom lips swiftly, weighing his responses. “Your word means nothing until you live up to it.” You nodded, a silent promise you had no idea if you could uphold. Who were you kidding, of course, there wasn’t any way you would not place his head on the chopping block if it came to it. This whole thing was nothing but polite stakeouts as a way to keep up with the other´s schemes. Problem was, Klaus would offer you up just the same without blinking. 

The old Klaus anyway. 

If you would listen to the things circulating about him as of late, you'd think he had lost his old tyrannic ways. Found some way to soothe his grudge with the world and became a better person. It was laughable. People don´t change, you found that they mask themselves, sculpting a new life out what the fires left behind. They don´t change, they overpaint. And it was time that the ones whispering about Klaus alleged newly-found compassion, learned that lesson too or they´d head for disappointment. Either way, they'd wake up.

Shuffling from inside averted your attention to the cabin where Mikael and Kaleb were still hidden. Klaus' interest was peaked when your eyes slanted over to the side and remained there for a moment. 

“What is it?” He questioned.

You forced your eyes forward, despite the impending doom running through your veins. “Thought I heard something. Probably just an animal somewhere. Or someone who wants to kill me. Take your guess. These days I'm almost as unpopular as you.” You laughed, quickly glancing through the window again.

Klaus followed your gaze again but saw nothing but an empty cabin. He turned and walked across the porch to look into the other window and although he could not see anything, Mikael was inside with his hands around Kaleb´s throat demanding him to grant his release from your boundary spell. Klaus knew that dealing with witches- even a half witch like you- did not mean that what was in front of your eyes was necessarily what was truly there.

“Well here's to living up to my promises.” You said as you made your way to the door. I guess I'll see you back in town, yeah?” You tried to get rid of him, but it was too late. Klaus' paranoia had already sounded the alarm in his head and snapped the door closed with a push of his hand. 

"Who is with you?" His voice was dangerously low and calm, which only predicted the worst.

"No one. You know I don't do well in team scenarios." You waved him off. You had to get rid of him or this whole plan will go to hell. Plus your new friend in there would suffocate if kept fighting Mikael. 

Without being aware, you took a step back on the brittle flooring denting it enough to let the staff that was still leaning near the door fall from his resting place. It rolled on the angled flooring right towards Klaus’ feet. At first, he glanced at it, but at the second look, his eyes grew wide. He'd recognize the bearing crest anywhere. Within the next heartbeat, he dragged his eyes from the floor and you were granted a look that put hellfire to shame. 

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

 Your heartbeat beat so loudly it seemed to want to escape your chest, to flee the oncoming slaughter. You were not one to run, to hide and cower in fear. But this was different. Klaus knew you brought his hateful father back to life and he was right outside a spelt door, ready to burn this place down if he had to. There was no reprieve. You knew that the beating of your heart was numbered, counting down to your own demise.

You could´ve made him bleed, unconscious or writhe in pain, but it would not hold him down forever. Nothing could. So you headed for the door which gave you the luxury of a few more minutes before he would skin you alive. Distance was all that mattered, even if that distance was a brittle door that if not for the magic seal would break in two by the way Klaus was hammering against it.  

“If you want to fight me, why are you running?” Klaus yelled and paraded on the porch like a lion in a cage that was ready to end his captors. You turned your back towards the rattling door, your attention now focused on Mikael who still had Kaleb in his grasp.

“Release me or I will end him!” Mikael said, his fingers digging into Kaleb´s neck, cutting off his air supply, ready to snap his neck like a twig if he had to. 

You balled your hand to a fist forcing Mikael to his knees to bear the pain of your magic “You think you're in any position to make demands?” You shared a look with a heavy breathing Kaleb and he nodded while grasping his neck, signalling he was fine, though hurt in his pride. 

“Enough games, Y/N!” You jumped at Klaus´s voice which invaded through the cracks in the walls. “Let's finish this. Is this not why you brought him for? I'm not afraid.” 

You opened the door with a flick of your free hand while Mikael was kept in place with the other. 

If you cannot fight them on your own, let them fight each other. 

There you stood between the devil and the deep blue sea, one decision worse than the next, one would bring hellfire while the other would leave you stranded on the bottom of the ocean. There was- without a doubt- no silver lining at the crossroads you arrived at. If you released Mikael and held up your end of the bargain Mikael would slay Klaus and with him his entire line. Your brothers would die. You would die sooner than expected and thousands of vampires would die by your hand. Your chance of getting Kol his life back would slip through your hands like sand in an hourglass.

However letting Klaus in to fight his father would either result in the same outcome or he'd kill Mikael and with it every bargaining chip - and if necessary threat- you had hidden in your hold. Either way, you were backed into a corner, and an animal in a corner always fought back.

You took a breath that was loaded with thought. The men in the room picked up on your hesitation and Klaus was the first that dared to speak. “Let him go. I can't wait to stand over his burning corpse. Only this time, I intend to enjoy it more. ” 

He knew what was on the line for you if you let them fight. He knew. And something in his face told of nothing but victory. So you let them go and chase each other to death. Hatred was useful in a fight and Klaus had more than anyone. He will win. He had to. 

Right? 

Kaleb watched from behind as you drew the curtain open to and surely enough there in the distance, beyond the scarce line of trees you saw them fight. They managed to disrupt each of their blows but even from afar you saw Mikael had the upper hand. He kicked Klaus onto the ground and knocked him flat on his back towering over him. 

"And you're going storm after them right about…" Kaleb counted on his wrist as if checking an imaginary clock.   Now." 

You shot him a glare with the doorknob already in your grasp. You exited with Kaleb only a few steps behind. You were already vamp speeding away when Kaleb collided with the boundary spell

"Of course." He sighed and took in the room he was now trapped in "I guess it's time to set this thing on fire."

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

A/N: I know it has been....months. 2020 y´all. Shit´s crazy. In all seriousness, my life did a 360 this year - as it did with everyone- so please excuse my absolute snail speed with writing these days.But thank you to everyone that´s here right now at the end of yet another chapter. Please let me know if you have any thoughts!! 

Also I was proud of my little sneak sentence when she talks about Klaus being hopeless. Because you know, he´s without Hope. I rather liked that.

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[jamiedc-they-them]

Recovering what was once lost (Platonic)

hey, can i ask for a josie x reader where reader had a fight with jed and josie takes care of him? B

AN/ Hope you like it :)

“Hope!” Josie yelled as she stormed into her friend’s room; Hope looked at the girl in worry. Josie would’ve normally knocked; she would’ve then waited for a reply only to then open the door. However, from the look on her face to her tone, Hope could tell this was an emergency.

“It’s Y/N.” If this was any other situation, she’d be more hesitant with bringing up your name and the current situation you were in. The state you were in. As said before, however, this as an emergency. So, dire situations and the measures to overcome those situations and all that.

It was had had led her here, visiting your twin (not by blood; but it wasn’t like either cared) to ask her for help as a last resort. Although, if she was honest, she had no other options.

“Where is he? What happened?” She asked, almost diving off the bed as she asked the question. Worry coated her gaze, her mind not exactly helping her guilt complex; the thoughts darkening by the second as the blame she placed on herself building more and more and more –

“Hope, hey…” Josie had softened her voice as she grabbed her friend’s hand in hers; despite the crush she used to have on her, it had turned into a sisterly bond in the end, “He needs you right now. He won’t make it without your blood.” She reminded Hope of the stakes. Or, thought she was.

If anything, she only increased them.

“Why does he need my blood?” Hope’s voice shook more as she finally processed Josie’s words, “Josie, what the hell happened?” She asked, tears starting to pool at her eyes.

She could lose one of the only remaining family members she had left. She gulped at the thought of that playing out; of her being the only Mikaelson in the school.

“He’s in my room, he’s resting. I had to pretty much drag him out of there, Hope. You know how some people are here.” Hope nodded, knowing that tragic truth; that some people just wanted to pretend that there weren’t issues here.

Granted, Hope could see the appeal to that, to get away from your chaotic life in the normal world and enter this school this a get-a-way. Sadly, with the way their lives had gone, that wouldn’t come to pass.

“Take me to him.” She asked of her friend; Josie easily complied with that want.

 You were sweating, and clearly in pain. You tried not to show it, but you failed ultimately in that part. She ran to your side, biting into her wrist and shoving into your mouth without a second thought, “Come on, Y/N, drink. You need to.” Your sister begged you, you did as she asked.

She let out a sigh of relief as you stopped, laying back to take a breath; Hope looked to Josie, “He’ll be fine.” She assured her friend; Josie nodded, but fiddled with her fingers a little.

It took Hope a moment to understand her friend’s anxious behaviour around you. But she soon remembered, the way you both seemed to just drift from one another. While Hope and her hand resurrected their friendship; yourself and Josie weren’t quite there yet.

“It’s ok, I have somewhere to be anyway.” Hope said as she started to leave the room. That, however, made Josie’s eyes widen.

“Wait, wait, wait.” She called out to Hope; the girl turned around, “What…what if –”

“Josie,” Hope said, stopping her friend’s rambling as she grabbed her hands in her own and gave them a squeeze, “I have to pay Jed a visit; you can get your dad involved, I won’t hold it against you. But I think he’d get the point better.”

“And that point is…?”

“That he’s an idiot for going after Jed on his own.” With that, Hope walked away, again. This time, however, Josie let her friend go.

She looked back at your door, where you awaited some help with recovery. Someone to talk to you to distract you from your pain and help you sort this thing out (Hope, being the older twin, had instructed the super squad to keep an ear out for you and let her know when any issues arose); but, the one who was best at that was now leading the charge against the man who had hurt you.

Lizzie was busy with her own demons, MG was too sweet for this, Kaleb was warming up to you, Rafael she wasn’t sure what his reaction would be.

That left her…. Just her luck.

It wasn’t that you weren’t friends, as that was further from the truth; you were friends, but as said before, you had fallen apart from each other.

Then Josie remembered Hope’s look and words, maybe this would be good for the two of you.

So, with a breath, she entered the room. She was at least going to try and salvage your friendship and keep you alive as best she could.

 Hope Mikaelson had been angry before, both pre-and post- hollow. But, this, this was something else. This rage involved her family, adopted or otherwise. You were her younger brother; nothing, nothing changed that.

So, when she saw Jed, without even thinking she punched him. The alpha stumbled backwards, holding his now bloody mouth.

He turned back to Hope, but she was ready for it escalate. No spells, she’d do this the old fashion way.

No one fucked with her family.

 You were one of the quiet students; despite your name, you didn’t use it in anyway. Despite being in a supernatural school, you wanted to be semi-normal; being a student was your best bet at that. So far, you had been apart from a few stares and whispers about you as you went through the halls.

You weren’t some special tribrid like your sister; no, you were just a simple vampire who happened to be adopted by the most powerful family in vampire and a lot of supernatural lore. Meaning you got held up to see if you actually fit that name.

Jed was one of those people. He was an asshole since like day one. But he seemed to have a thing for getting under your skin; whether it be mentioning your sister or your now deceased father and uncle.

“Look who it I,” The arrogant shit said as he shadowed you down the hallway, his regular band of kissasses following just behind him.

You knew there a hierarchy to this whole wolf thing; you got it and made your peace with it, but you still rolled your eyes at it. They followed him fucking everywhere. At least Raphael was somewhat different in that he stood up for himself and stated his own wants and needs.

“Pretty ironic if you’re going to call me a freak like always, we live in a school where we’d all be called that by the people out there.” You pointed at the door to get your point across.

“Still, surprised you aren’t hiding behind your sister, seems that you practically live in her shadow after all.” Those words seemed to flip something within you. Jed noticed, his eyes having a sort of shine to them at the thought of a fight.

“You leave her out of this.” You growled, but the man only laughed.

 “Hey.” You said softly as Josie came back in the room, you had become more aware of where you were. You knew you’d now make it, but the pain was still there; you were still too tired to do almost anything.

“Hey,” She said back, before clearing her throat at the awkward pause in the room, “Are you feeling any better?” She cringed a little at the words as they left her mouth, knowing the answer.

“Bit better, thanks for asking. But, uh, not my best.” You admitted fully; Josie nodded as she held up a blood bag for you. Your veins darkened instantly as you saw it, throat begging for the blood.

“We’ll have to do this slow,” She advised as she opened the bag and walked towards you, “Don’t want you to lose control.”

“Oh, like I don’t remember what I almost did last time.” She held eyes holding both pity and guilt as she too remembered back to what had almost happened the last time you had almost lost control.

If it hadn’t been for her, Lizzie and Hope, you may have been dead by now. It was a memory they’d rather forget.

Losing your father and uncle made Hope pull away from her friends at the school; the incident just mentioned, though, was what made you pull away from (almost) everyone.

“Easy, easy.” She whispered as you drank a little too fast and greedily; at her words, you took a moment to breath and stopped.

“You don’t have to do this, you know? I can take care of it from here.” You told her, both of you seemingly having the awkwardness of your dynamic at the forefront of the conversation; you did appreciate it, she could tell that. But you both just didn’t really know how to interact with each other.

“Hope’s gone to see Jed,” You let out a groan of frustration as you leaned back and hit your head against the pillow, “She wouldn’t of done it if she didn’t have a reason.” She said in a voice that rose in volume a little to get the point across.

“…Fuck.” You muttered as you drank the blood at a slower pace; but now the mood had shifted into one of guilt from both parties.

 “Really, Mikaelson? You just going to stand there and not attack me? Not continue the assault?” Jed asked as he put his hand to his bloody nose.

“You hurt my brother, I hurt you.” She barked at him; doing everything she could to keep herself from making the first move.

“Oh, the kid started it.” He snapped back at her.

“By doing what? Walking around?” She guessed, anger in herself rising.

“Pretty much.” He admitted; Hope scoffed; how low could he possibly stoop?

 “Anything else?” You asked as Josie had twisted the rag again; she sighed as she did so. You both hadn’t really spoken since you had the conversation before.

“I don’t know, nothing else without me bringing my dad in.” She admitted.

“That won’t end well.” You said, in a dry tone; but Josie smiled a little at your humour.

 You were pretty decent at fighting; but right now, you weren’t. Right now, you had been kicked down to the floor, getting your assed absolutely kicked.

Every kick hurt, your back felt like it would snap, your lungs burned, your face was bleeding.

That was when you felt the teeth sink into your leg.

“HEY!” You heard Josie scream out as she held out her hand, the wolves all backed away from you and then ran. But, through your blurred vision, Jed gave you a warning look.

 “We’ve got a problem,” Hope said as she entered the room, with no blood or injuries, Josie noted, “Jed wants round two.”

Her words sparked some protective mode in Josie; sure, she hadn’t made the best amount of progress with your bond. However, it did make her remember how close you both used to be; about how you both would be protective of the other.

She’d found that fire once again.

 “Alright, we’re clear.” Hope said as she looked out at the hallway; when she said those words, Josie had your arm looped around her shoulder as she shouldered your weight and carried you across the hallway to a new room.

Now that Jed was trying to track you down, the two had the idea to get you from A to B; one room to another all-in order to keep you safe.

You were better, but not a 100% just yet. You were still weak, and probably wouldn’t survive another encounter.

“Are you ok?” You asked Hope as she led you, but kept her eyes search the area like a hawk; looking for any threat that she would need to protect you both from.

“It didn’t come to blows, if that’s what you’re worried about.” She assured you but kept her tone flat. You knew what she was going, trying to hide her feelings of worry and paranoia. You once tried that too, but it was Hope that had broken you out of that.

Now, everyone else was doing that for her. You were included in that list, obviously; but the time when you lost control damaged those odds further. All your dynamics were a little fragile at this moment. But, all three knew that things were starting to go back to some sort of normal. Some sort of equal footing.

“Come on, come on, keep going.” Josie said as you slipped a little, but she picked you back up and you continued on your way.

“I got you, I got you.” She said in a quiet voice that (if Hope hadn’t had her hearing) only you’d hear. It was soft and encouraging. It was how your friendship was; soft and nice…it was safe.

 “Hey, hey, hey, hey. Come on, come on. Y/N! Hey, come one, wake up.” Josie said in a panic as she tapped her hand on your face, but you did nothing but stir and groan.

She furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, before she looked down at your leg. Her eyes widened as she pulled up your leg, seeing the bite.

“No, no, no, no.” She said in more panic as she looked back at your face as you slowly started to drift off, “Y/N, come on! Stay with me. Hey!”

You tried; you really did. You tried your hardest, but you were just too weak at this moment. You were drifting in and out; coming back to see a door, then a bed.

Josie got you into the bed, then looked at you as you struggled. She was almost having a panic attack at this point; she was tearful as she watched you groan in pain and struggle to breath.

“Hope.” She said in remembrance and left to find your sister.

 “Locked, damn it.” Hope said as she pulled and pulled on the door. She looked back at you two, knowing that you both wouldn’t be great in a fight right now.

“Look who it is.” They didn’t have time to think about it, as Jed had shown up one more time with his friends at his back.

Hope had moved from behind you to in front of you.

“You’re not touching them, Jed.” She said, firmly.

You, however, pushed past her and stood in front of them, “I do this, you leave them alone.” You bargained with him, seeing no other way out.

“I’m not just leaving you –” Hope started to say.

“Yes, you will. This is my fight, Hope. Not yours.” You said to her, just tired at this point and wanting this to be over.

“No,” She said as she planted herself firmly beside you, “I’m not leaving you; I’m not letting you push me away, not again. I’m not letting you push us away, again.” She said, you looked at your sister, seeing the conviction in her eyes.

“…Ok.” You said, softly.

Hope turned to Josie, “Go get your dad, we’ll deal with this.” She said to her friend. The next moment, Josie was gone.

You both turned to Jed and his guys, sharing a look, “You ready, little brother?” She asked you.

“Ready.” You told her.

 Josie was running, heart racing as she did so. She ran, ran as fast as she could do. AS she turned the corner, she bumped into her own twin.

“Josie, what’s going on?” Lizzie asked her as she held her twin’s arms.

“It’s Hope and Y/N, we need to find Dad.” She said in almost one breath. Lizzie, however, caught onto the words. Despite how she was, she did appreciate you and Hope; you were her friends, she couldn’t deny that now.

“Ok, ok.” She said, taking her twin’s hand and dragging her to their father’s office. The man had been away lately on a recruiting mission, but he was back now. So, the two knew he’d be able to help you both in your efforts.

The two bursts through Alaric’s office door, startling the man himself. He jumped as they entered; but, instead of reprimanding them, he saw the fear and concern on their faces.

“Girls, what’s going on?” He asked, his own worry growing.

“Hope and Y/N need your help.” That was all he needed to know.

 Hope was at maximum efficiency, and then some. It was anger she had been storing for pretty much all day that was finally coming out when she threw a punch or muttered a spell to throw a wolf away. She wouldn’t kill them, obviously. But, as she had been told in therapy, letting out that anger every now and then was good for her.

Granted, Emma probably didn’t mean it in this way; but, as of right now, it was the only way.

She turned to you, to see you be punched and hit the floor, but you carried yourself and vamp-speeded him into a wall.

 “Stop!” The two of you did so, instantly; panting heavily as you both regrouped. The wolves still wanted a fight, but one look from Alaric had them reconsidering that fact.

They scattered, leaving two tired siblings and three concerned friends of those kids.

“Are you two oks?” He asked as he put a hand on both of your shoulders.

You shared a look, “Better with her help.” She smiled at your words and nudged you lightly.

 It was later, nighttime. You were laying on your bed staring at the ceiling, this time, though, with no pain in your shoulder. You just had silence, and your thoughts for you.

A knock at your door made you look up; Josie was there looking in and checking to see if you were still awake. When you sat up, she came into the room.

She silently moved to your bed, laying herself next to you, “Hi.” She whispered, both of you facing the other as you laid on your side.

“Hey.” You echoed the greeting back to her.

“Are you ok?” She asked; you let out a sigh at her question.

“Better now.” You said, she smiled lightly.

“Good, I’m glad.” She meant the words.

“Thank you,” You said, “Thank you for having my back.”

“Of course, we’re friends. Friends have each other’s back.” She meant those words too.

You believed them now.

[galahdanblade]

She was still new to this and not very sure of how things worked. So she just followed the other hunters towards the main hut of in Prairie and fidgeted with her dogtags; they were still shiny and new. This was the area for new hunters to earn their first few ranks after all. Seeing a vaguely face she knocked on the timber door frame; Jeanne had seen this guy in the city with Dave Auburnbrie. "Hi there, I'm one of the new recruits from Lestallum, name's Jeanne. I ... not to sound like a city-slicker, but I don't really know where I'm supposed to go, or what I'm meant to do. Help a girl out?"

note to self - next time just flat out refuse. don’t try and pick the diplomatic approach about it not being suited to his skill-set. it wasn’t that kaleb didn’t like prairie, not at all. all hunters cut their teeth at this place, it held a nostalgic feeling for most of them.

from the rusted skeletons of cars and trucks that had long-since been cannabilised to save other vehicles, to the dartboard on the back of the barn and the rope strung up as a make-shift washing line by its side ... there was always a sense of coming home when you went to prairie.

things were laid back there - most of the hunters knew the varmints were low-levelled dualhorns, sabertusks, anaks and the odd few reapertails prowling the rolling scrub between formouth garrison and the roadway.

it was just ... still a bit uncomfortable for kaleb. prairie held a hell of a lot of good memories from his earlier days hunting and learning the ropes, but it held a few he was none too keen to delve back into again - just steer clear of keycatrich trench.

sitting down at the small table out by the back of prairie’s barn, kaleb blinked and tore his attention away from the dirt road that led up the slope to the ruins. instead, he leafed through the intel the different tipsters had sent their way, the hunter sorted through them, setting the reapertails to one side ... no way he was sending a party of newbies on that one, didn’t need to go tell dave he’d managed to get one of the recruits speared with a barbed tail. 

another one and kaleb had to do a double-take on the report - fucking cactuars? hadn’t seen those round these parts in a hell of a long time, save for that fabled ‘night of 1000,000 needles’ but that had been a pure fluke of nature, that many cactuars in one place. and it had been in duscae, not leide. another no for the newbie pile.

another few pages and he’d found some hunts for sabertusk packs prowling around out by the three valleys parking spot. and if things went south or the hunt took longer than expected, merioth haven was close enough to make camp at.

okay, sabertusks it was then.

looking at the sound of someone knocking their knuckles against wood, kaleb gave the woman a quick glance over; short, sandy-blonde hair, bright hazel eyes ... jeanne labreigh, wasn’t it? the sole reason that name had stuck in his head was because she’d been the only woman in this group of newbies. that and it was unusual to get a female recruit hailing from lestallum - most the girls and women there tended to head straight for the exiniris plant.

there were another four or five recruits though? furrowing his brows, kaleb held onto the edge of the table and leaned back until he could catch sight of the gap between the barn and the remnants of the house that stood next to it ... yep, there they were. fawning over the shiny new weapons in the culless truck.

great, he had a magpies for recruits it seemed.

‘ information is knowledge, and knowledge might end up saving your ass some day - lesson one. and one you’ll hear about three hundred more times, but i promise you it’s a motto for a reason. ’

rolling his eyes to the clear sky above, he shoved his chair away from the table and stood up, holding out the intel they had on the sabertusks for the woman to take and read over.

‘ lesson two, relax, alright? you’re not gonna be put out of your depth. right now, give the intel a read-through, decide what you need to bring with you and we’ll see if knowledge is your friend yet? ’

‘ i’ll be back soon ... need to go frighten your buddies first. i’ve been granted explicit permission to do so from the head hunter. ’

@meldaciomartyr

[aaternum-a]

@tyraunt​​ said, “ You're home. You're safe. “

She prayed to any star that would listen to keep her unsteady hands firm in his eyes when they'd returned to the estate. Hoped that he'd ignore the way she hesitated to open the door to her room, digits trembling around the golden-brass knob for a moment as she weighed her next words. But all she manages is a muted wish goodnight, rushed along by the ceaseless pounding in her chest and swallowed up by halls much too large for two. Its walls held secrets she'd barely scratched the surface of. Her own a newly acquired addition to an untouched and bleak mystery. Perhaps they'd whisper that when she stepped into her room she'd lost hours of the night, searching the palms of her hands for stains she'd mercilessly scrubbed away. Or how she curled up, sheltered beneath her sheets and squeezing her eyes shut; softly pleading 'don't think about it' until dawn. The next morning lit up far too bright, her reflection against the vanity mirror fatigued and dazed. Every muscle in her limbs ached as she peeled herself from the sheets, ready to prepare for the day as she had mornings before. But, this time, she had no plan. Her purpose had been fulfilled and the asset she'd played was no longer a necessity. There was nothing to bind her to this place. But she'd forced herself to swallow the thought and tuck it away for later. After all, there was breakfast to be had. 

It took a while to get ready, and every time she made her way to the door to head for the dining area, she'd find herself retreating back to the bed or drawers for something she'd forgotten. A complete scatter-brained mess she'd become it seemed, but eventually she makes it out the door. But strangely enough her feet don't carry her anywhere near food. Not that she'd been particularly hungry. Instead, she finds herself in front of Kaleb's quarters. Normally she was eager to spill the contents of her mind, but she found herself drawing blanks. Reluctantly lifting her closed fist to the door and gently tapping her knuckles against the wood. She can't recall a single instance in which she's ever waited to be allowed, usually apologetically scrambling out the room after sharing her piece when she realizes he's busy. It feels foreign. But once she hears his voice from the other side, she turns the lock and pokes her head inside, "   Good morning!   " The corners of her lips turn to smile, but it hasn't quite reached her eyes as she shuffles inside. She watches him sit at his desk; it seemed he had an infinite amount of papers to work on.  Did he have to write about anything regarding Ei — no, don't. She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment, tearing her curious gaze away from his work and towards him. Breakfast. You're here for breakfast. With a tilt of her head, she strolls over beside him, hands laced together behind her back. And although the thought of eating right now makes her stomach churn, she grins as she offers, "   Are you ready to eat?  " She questions, "   After all, it may be .. one of our .. last meals together, no?   " There's a thread of silence to follow, just before he stands up and extends a sheet of parchment from his desk into her unexpecting hands.

A slender brow raises in his direction — there's a hideous amount of dread building up as she glances between the paper and his face. Gods, she hopes he doesn't notice it. Upon first glance, she notices that his script lines the page, perfectly printed letters very unlike her own messy scrawl. She squints, briefly noting her name in the center of the page as she begins to read. And she swears her thunderous heartbeat could be heard throughout the entire estate as it echoes against her ear drums. She imagines the worst. That this very page was confirmation of every horrible thought that weaved its way in her every thought for the majority of the night. It'd tell her the blood on her hands was rightfully there. That her clock had run out; no matter how right she'd felt here, her time would always meet an end. Because what's an expended resource to a king? She could make hundreds of excuses for herself to prove her own worth, but would that ever make her worthy?  Her lips quiver, she wants to tell him she doesn't want to read it, but that's a cowardly way to go. And so she continues on. It isn't until she catches glimpse of the word 'citizenship' that she quiets her apprehensions to properly pay attention. " .. Wh .. what is this, Kaleb?   " The words begin to blur, droplets smudging the ink as she read it over again, teal hues widening. He was granting her citizenship? 

She looks to him again, uncertainty behind her teary gaze. But his response is assured. It shields her from every dark thought that plagues her for just a moment. It's something terribly hopeful in a reality that has left her so very dejected. She holds the paper tightly to her chest; digits trembling as his words echo in her head. Home. Home. It isn't this paper that has elicited this warmth within her. He's a king, his word is law. If he said then it would come to be, he didn't need to waste his ink or his precious time. And yet he did.  Her arms find its way around him, warm tears spilling into his jacket as she quietly sobs in response, 

"   I'm home .. I - I'm home ...  "

[housetummelt]

@proxnotxaxfool

@galahdanblade :

things should have been easier since leaving meldacio, and they had been for a while. but between another sighting of micah - an impossible one, by two individuals - coupled with baldur’s boy going off the deep end, tensions were rising and kaleb could feel that unsettling fear seeping into his bones again. the one he’d pushed back down and excused away as irrational.

until sarah had woken him from his sleep, a gash on her palm and terror alight in her eyes.

there were no knives in their dorm. he knew that for a fact. his kukris were there alright, but he hadn’t told her where he’d hidden them - a quick check and the hunter knew his wife hadn’t found his stowed blades either. grabbing one of the towels from the bathroom and wiping away the worst of the blood, the hunter was relieved to see the wound wasn’t too deep. wrapping the towel around her hand and telling her to hold it tight to keep pressure on the wound. he took a few moments to grab his own blades and secure them to his belt before taking a hold of sarah’s wrist and heading out the door of the dorm.

no ifs and buts about it. if she mentioned reno, then that meant reno was involved, for better or worse. they’d lost seconds in the confusion back in meldacio when sarah had appeared at ezma’s porch, hands stained in blood and panic clear on her face. it was just down to sheer dumb luck that those lost seconds hadn’t proven crucial. he couldn’t take that risk again though.

down through the identical hallways, using the small marks or old signs on the walls to get his bearings, the galahdan made straight for baldur and ida’s quarters, hammering on the door loud enough to wake the dead. the door opened on his fourth thump and kaleb stepped in through the door when baldur pulled it open.

’ forgive my intrusion, but something’s happened and i don’t know how much of a shit fest this is — sarah woke me, her hand is cut and she doesn’t remember how or why, she said i needed to check on your boy. you ordered for no one to go into that cell without your clearance. ’

Baldur had already been beyond his limits that evening. In more than one way and at several different times. He could feel that he craved sleep more than anything – and yet his mind went wild and wouldn’t grant him that. There was all this worry about Reno and the doubts about this Micah. About how to go on from here.

So it was easy to startle him at the dead of the night, the few knocks being enough to have Baldur on his feet. Ida followed a few paces behind, though her eyes were more questioning.

Kaleb with Sarah – and a message that echoed in Baldur’s head for a moment.

Sarah was injured. They hadn’t been present at Meldacio when she had hurt Pelna – but they had heard the story. And it was exactly that that shot through both their minds, Baldur and Ida exchanging a quick glance.

They didn’t need to talk at all. Baldur was already past Kaleb and sprinting down the corridors, as Ida could only offer a small thanks and excuse before following after her husband. The worry for their son surpassed all else.

But he was nowhere to be found. The cell was empty. Unlocked and empty. No sign of any fight or struggle. No sign of someone breaking open the lock’s mechanism. Reno was just gone.

A flurry of whispered curses before there was a message out to every corner of Formouth. Most were asleep, but some still awake. Some must have seen something, some must know what happened.

The minutes of uncertainty stretched long. And they had Baldur and Ida more tense with each passing moment. What could they do? Where was Reno? What happened? Was he hurt? Did he need help? Or…?

Someone reported having heard screaming from the hangar.

And Baldur found himself standing in the gate of the hangar, fervently blinking into the darkness as the brightness of the headlights poured into the halls. Nothing, nothing… a hand. A body. Blood. And then a second one, leaning against the walls.

“Reno.”

He breathed out the name of his son the same as Ida gasped silently. The Nifen who had accompanied them went to check upon the woman in the puddle of blood, but Baldur and Ida immediately were at the sides of their son.

Grapsing for his shoulders, his face, hands checking over his body. There was blood on his arms, gashes across them. Baldur could recognize them as cuts from defending oneself against a knife. The one that stuck in the woman’s gut. But they were harmless compared to the darkness seeping down Reno’s side.

“Rend…” 

Baldur pressed his hand against Reno’s side, Ida was quick to discard her shawl and hand it to her husband so he could keep more blood from flowing out. 

“Vi er nødt til at bringe ham til sygeplejestuen … nu. Reno, kan du høre mig, hjerte? Vi er her, okay? Mor og far er her.”

Ida caressed his pale face, waiting for Reno do blink at her. Lazily. Sleepy. He was exhausted, his body giving in.

There was of course the slight horror of what must have happened here. The notice from the others that the woman was off a lot worse. But Baldur could only give the order s to bring both of them to the infirmary, immediately. Someone else was sent off to get the physicians they had at hand. Another to gather supplies and prepare the infirmary.

But not a second was wasted thinking of that Reno should be locked up right now.

Baldur pulled Ida’s shawl around Reno’s side, tightening it as fats as he could, before he hoisted his son up in his arms. Reno wasn’t the little boy he used to be anymore, and Baldur wasn’t as strong as he had been. But he barely felt the weight of his son in that moment. Everything that counted was to get him to help. As fast as they could – as fast as his boots echoed across the hollow corridors to the infirmary.

Glancing down at Reno, Baldur felt his stomach wounding itself in knots.

“Du vil være okay, min søn, hører du mig?”

It was a helpless whisper, but the tone of his voice deep and rumbling in his throat. It didn’t matter what Reno did. Or what he thought. How he acted. What he had done. How he had freed himself. That all didn’t matter right now. Baldur prayed, pleaded to whatever speck of fate was listening, to save his son as he laid him down onto the cot and had to lay his trust into the doctors gathering around their boy.

@proxnotxaxfool