#oh and the tragic backstory of Doll living on her own since both of her parents died

[stormvanari]

anyways: md characters, but they’re in a yuru camp au

Uzi is rin, and N is nadeshiko (no pun intended); V, as aoi, and J, as chiaki, run the outdoor activities club, and CYN (her own self, not affected by the eldritch powers of the Solver in this AU like uzi and doll 👍) is ena

the real Tessa is alive and serves as the club’s advisor

Thad is mei and Lizzy is ema

i could say Doll is ayano...? but she’s way more associated with Uzi than N in this AU

[kingliam-rys]

Forgotten Memories (Liam x MC)

A/N: So Hi, I never write anything (this is my first oneshot/fic/ drabble?), so don’t expect this to be a regular thing but I got this idea from a photo from my childhood (I was dressed as a princess), and my MC head canon, kind of has a tragic backstory and I felt like this was a good way to discuss it with Liam. I just want to preface that there isn’t a ton of dialogue, because as I wrote this, I realized how atrocious I was at writing dialogue…..Oh also,  I mention that they have a VCR, and I’m just gonna need you to pretend that those aren’t obsolete anymore, cause otherwise they wouldn’t be able to watch the tape. so yeah…thanks. ok. enjoy. bye. 🙈🙉🙊

Description: MC(I named her Riley because I’m unoriginal) replays an old tape from her childhood, and shares some memories about her past with Liam. 

Riley sat in one of the spare rooms in her and Liam’s quarters. Dozens of boxes scattered the room as the Queen tried to unpack. It seemed comical that after being married to Liam for the past eight months and living in the Palace, she has just found the time to sort through belongings from her past. Though given the renovations on the royal quarters were only recently completed, and then the extended stay in America for the Beaumont/Walker wedding, it really wasn’t a surprise at all.

Most of the boxes went untouched when Riley came to Cordonia over two years ago, and while she still did not have a need for her old Diesel jeans, or black non-slip waitress shoes, sorting through her old life brought up many nostalgic memories. Besides the clothing that took up most of the boxes, there were a few that held mementos of her childhood. An old barbie, that now had tattered clothes, and frizzy hair, it was one of the only dolls that Riley had when she was little, and she carried it everywhere. Holding the doll in her hand, she could recall the time when she was just a child, she’d bring the doll along with her to the park, where she’d find her older brother shooting a basketball, and her neighbors grouped around watching the young children scattered about.

A small smile played on her face as she placed the doll down, and picked up the next object, another memory forming. It was a coffee mug that had a faded floral print and a chip on the rim. While it didn’t seem like an extraordinary object, it held a significant place in Riley’s heart. It was the coffee cup she saw her mother use every day. The same one that would be held in her Mother’s hand as she woke her for school every morning, the floral scent of her mother’s tea rose perfume, reaching her, before she even opened her eyes. Or the same mug that would be clutched in her mother’s grasp as she called for Riley and her brother to come inside, from the balcony of their small one bedroom apartment.

The things that were in these boxes, told more about Riley’s life than any of her accomplishments could, even more than Maxwell’s memoir would.

Riley sat back from sifting through the box, trying to recall her childhood, beyond what these objects were able to bring about, but that was the problem, there weren’t many more. Whether that was because they were insignificant to her, or whether she subconsciously wanted to forget the bad, there weren’t many. But, obviously, her life went on, and while her mother worked tirelessly to provide her with everything her and her brother could want, Riley couldn’t help but be grateful for what had become over her life. Married to a man who loved and adored her, a little baby on the way. Hell, she was Queen of a country, how could she possibly regret anything about how her life turned out. Well maybe one regret, the pixie cut in middle school that had her mocked for months. That may be the only thing she’d change.

Her hand absentmindedly went to her small bump, ghosting gentle circles over where she felt the tiny flutters of the baby’s movement. A happy reminder that her child would have a childhood filled with happy, loving memories, with both of its parents guiding them through life.  

Her grin was prevalent as she returned to sorting through the remaining contents of the boxes, mostly old papers and projects from when she was in grade school, a few sports item,-most likely keepsakes from her late-brother, and an old high school sweatshirt that had a faint scent of nauseating axe body spray, most likely owned by an ex-boyfriend that she stole it from and never returned, nor threw away. As she lifted the sweatshirt, she spotted the last item remaining, an old VHS tape. It’s content even more of a surprise, since there were not many photographic memories from her childhood. And she could not remember a time when her small family ever had a video camera. The quizzical look returned when she saw the unmistakable scrawl of her mother’s hand writing on the label: Riley’s 4th B-Day

Checking the time on her phone, she noticed that Liam would be arriving home from his last meeting soon. She closed up the last of the boxes, deciding to take time another day to sort through the remainder of her past life. Exiting the spare room, Riley walked through the hall of the royal family’s quarters, holding onto the VHS tape, glancing up when she heard her husband enter through the front door.

“Hello, my love,” He says, removing his suit jacket, placing it on the chair beside the entrance. Riley smiles at him, noticing his tired appearance. Liam had taken on more work, and scheduled even more meetings for himself, to lessen the load of her schedule, but also lessen the load of what would be expected of them in just a few short months.

Riley greeted him and he leaned down to press a kiss to Riley’s lips, while also placing a hand on her growing bump. She reciprocated wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning into his embrace.

“How was the rest of your afternoon, feeling okay?” He asked, holding her close, relishing in their embrace.

“Yes, it was very productive. I got through some of those old boxes, most of it can be donated, old clothes and what not, but I found some things from my childhood, random mementos that I had held on to, nothing too special but,” Riley explained, and her giddy joy took over as she held up the tape she found, “Look what was hidden at the bottom of one! It’s from my childhood, though I don’t remember much from my fourth birthday, but how amazing, I thought there was nothing left, but this just comes out of nowhere.”

Liam returned his wife’s joy, while he knew some of Riley’s upbringing, it was always a painful remembrance for her to talk through, as she reminisced about her late mother and brother. This provided a glimpse into her forgotten childhood, that she could keep and remember forever.

“I know we have dinner with our friends tonight, but do we have time to watch it now?” Riley questioned, Liam taking a glance at the time on his watch, “I believe so. We should be able to watch this in our room.” They grabbed the tape and headed to their bedroom. Once in the living area of the suite, Liam put the VHS in the player and turned on the TV and when they were both comfortable on the couch, Liam pressed play.

“Ok, my little love, are you ready for your big day,” a light voice asked. “Yes, Mama, I ready to be a pwincess.” A little voice replied, bringing into view a baby faced-Riley.  Liam’s eyes widened as he looked at little Riley dressed up as a princess. The sparkly pink dress with matching crown and glitter wand, were perfect.

“And what is today, Princess Riley?” her mother asked. “My bwirthday!”  The eager little girl shouted, showing off a toothy grin, “And how old are you sweetie?” Riley replied holding up four fingers. “How many is that Riley?” Her mother encouraged.  Riley touched each finger counting out, “One, two, three, four. Four, Mama!”

Just then, a little boy, dressed in his own princely garments, appeared on the screen, standing next to Riley, “ah, and there is Prince Nicholas. Are we ready to start the party then?” The voice asked. The picture began to shake and shift over the small apartment, landing on the scene of the kitchen table where it was set for an extravagant tea party. With the two kids seated at the table, a woman passed in view, sitting next to little Riley. That woman, being Riley’s mother, Rose.

At the sight of her mother, Riley’s breath caught in her throat as she watched intently, everything about this forgotten moment making her that much more emotional. She never thought she’d be able to see her mother, or hear her mother’s voice again, it had been years since she’d passed. Riley had almost forgotten how gentle and even toned it was, it was like listening to a peaceful lullaby.

The scene played out before them, young Riley and Nicholas both taking moments to tell extravagant tales of their “life” in the castle, until Riley’s exclamation that when she grows up, she wants to marry a Prince.

Liam squeezed his wife’s hand at that moment, stealing a glance at her, smiling, as she watched the home video play out. Liam kept his gaze to her, as looks of confusion rolled along Riley’s face. She didn’t remember much about this birthday. Sure, she remembered the pink dress, and the tiara, and of course, the claims of wanting to be an actual princess, but what little four year old girl didn’t dream about being a princess.

Riley didn’t have too many memories from when she was younger, very few stuck, and there weren’t many reminders of what her life was like before she was able to recall moments from her childhood. And the moments she could remember, weren’t always filled with her mother smiling so much, or her brother and her laughing until their faces turned red.

Tears began to prick her eyes, damn hormones, Riley thought, trying to hold back all the emotions she was facing watching the reminders of her fourth birthday. Liam tightened the hold on his wife as he sensed her reaction to the video. The memories carried on before them and Riley was almost lost in nostalgia until a knock sounded through the old recording.

In the video, Riley’s mother gave a confused look, as her children voiced who they thought the unexpected visitor may be. Rose moved out of the camera frame as she went to answer the door, where a new voice was heard.

“Hello Princess!”

Little Riley’s face lit up as she saw the source of the voice, and with a grin exclaimed, “Daddy!” Immediately running out of the camera view to greet him.

Though their joyous reunion was only overheard, the look on her young brother’s face remained, as he rolled his eyes and gave an annoyed huff. Rose, returning a moment later, giving Nicholas a pointed look. Riley could practically hear the tone her mother would use, Play nice Nicholas. It’s your sister’s birthday, it makes her happy.

That’s when the man, that Riley never thought she’d have to see again, stepped into view of the camera. Holding on to his four year old, smiling and laughing. And overall what looked like a blissful moment, only pained Riley to see it even more.

Present Riley immediately tensed, reaching over to grab the remote to turn the TV off. Her breath was heavy, as her heart rate increased. She felt like her world was closing in around her as she reacted to the memories the old VHS tape brought about. Riley’s relationship with her father was a bit troublesome. He was only around occasionally during her childhood, showing up maybe once or twice a year-usually around the summer, and if she was lucky again during her birthday. But the man had disappeared all-together when she was eight years old, only sending a sporadic birthday card or Christmas card, if he remembered. Or at least that’s what she thought. She learned the truth, years later, of what kept his life, his actual, real, day-to-day life from hers in New York.

Riley felt Liam’s hands smooth over her cheeks, not even realizing that her tears were falling harder than before. The tightness in her chest subsiding as she could faintly hear her husband’s whispered words, that tried to calm her down. Take a deep Breathe, Riley. It’s okay, my love. I’m right here. Look at me.

She was able to calm her breathing, realizing her panic wasn’t just affecting her, but the little life inside her. Hesitantly, she lifted her gaze, meeting the bright blue eyes of her husband. They were filled with worry as they began to search her face.

“Hey there, talk to me.” Liam’s thumbs wiped the remaining tears from Riley’s cheeks. She hiccuped at the fetal attempt she made to calm down. “I-I’m fine.” She whispered, fearing her voice would give away the true heartbreak she still felt. She didn’t want Liam to worry, he always worried enough about her. “I just need a moment,” she asked, settling against him as Liam returned the embrace, his hands landing on her bump.

Even eighteen years later, Riley didn’t realize the hurt that she still held onto. How the man who lied to her, and left her, could still continue to break her heart. The memory on the VHS tape wasn’t even a bad one, it actually seemed like a normal jovial moment between her and her father. But maybe that was the issue, of all the memories Riley had with her father, they were always happy. Her second grade graduation where he surprised her with red roses and a trip to an ice cream shop for a giant chocolate sundae, or her sixth birthday where he bought her an American Girl doll and a visit to Manhattan where they ate tiny sandwiches and drank tea.

Yes, the little time she spent with her father was some of the most resounding in her mind, and that broke her heart even more. She couldn’t remember the joyous times with her mother, no shopping trips or grabbing coffees, gossiping over a boy Riley had a crush on, nor could she recall special moments with her older brother, him comforting her over a boy who broke her heart or cheering for her at her high school graduation. No, instead, the materialistic recollections of her absentee father filled her thoughts.

Liam soothingly ran his hand along her back, her head tucked under his chin. Riley was no longer crying, just staring at the space ahead of her. “Do-Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, lowering his gaze to hers.

“It was hard to see them. My mom, my brother.” She paused, shaking her head in a bit of disbelief, “my dad.. it was a bit surreal. I don’t think I’ve ever remembered a time when we were all so happy.” Riley took the time to let it sink in. “I mean, my childhood wasn’t horrible, my mom made sure we never went without, but she worked long hours, and my brother and I shared a cramped bedroom, while my mom slept in the living room. It wasn’t ideal but considering our circumstances, that’s just how it was.”

Liam nodded in understanding, knowing this instance of her life, while it wasn’t a traditional home, it was Riley’s, and he believed that her family’s struggles helped build her into the woman he loved so much. The strong, compassionate, loving, woman.

“But to see my father,” She continued, shaking her head at the thought of him, “My face lit up like someone plugged-in a strand of Christmas lights, I don’t know why I believed that man held the world in his hands, but that’s how I saw him at the time.”

Riley’s voice began to shake near the end, knowing she had to stop. To take a breath, let her husband provide her with a pearl of wisdom that he always could offer to her.

“He was-he is your father, no matter what he decided to do later in your life. I think in the moments he did spend with you, are true and honest to how much he cared for you.” He remarked, not knowing the entirety of Riley’s reality, “Parent’s do crazy things sometimes, some meddle in your life when they think they know what’s best, other’s just leave when they feel like they can’t be their best. And the one’s like your mom, will do everything in their power to make sure that you can become the best.”

He always has a way with words, That was what she needed, Riley knew that Liam always could talk through her jumbled thoughts, to help sort the mess and hurt in her mind, that she couldn’t quite articulate as eloquently.

“Thank you, it helps calm my mind to hear that, and even though I don’t think I can ever forgive him for leaving or for what he did to my mom… thank you.” She tilted her head, capturing his lips. Trying to convey the love she felt for him. He eagerly returned the kiss, only to pull back to rest his forehead against hers, his hand cupping around the side of her neck.

“Anything for you, my love.” He reminded her, placing a kiss to her forehead. Riley leaned into his embrace, wrapping an arm around his neck and she shifted to rest her legs across his lap.

“Can I know what happened? I mean, other than the fact that he disappeared when you were a child, I don’t really know much more about him.- Like what is his name?” He asked, running his thumb along her knuckles. She smirked at his caring nature, feeling herself calm in the hurt she felt towards the man.

“His name is Andrew, Andrew Pierce.” She revealed, sorting through the account of her father’s life “I’ve mentioned before how the last time I saw him was when I was eight years old, but I only discovered the truth about him when I was fifteen, right before my mom passed away.” Riley continued on, to explain how her father had another family in some fly-over state, the traditional white picket fence family, and Rose only discovered the truth when she attempted to serve Andrew with child-support papers. Learning that not only did he not live in New York, he had a wife and child living as a happy family in some upper middle class neighborhood. The nice house, with fancy cars, the extravagant vacations and family parties, while her mother worked 18 hour days, sacrificing time with her kids to make sure they had a roof over their heads and food on the table.

The extravagant gifts that Riley received from her father would be things she would trash later on, knowing how much more he could have provided for her. Not even in materialistic items, but in her school tuition, or school uniforms or lunch cards. Andrew Pierce couldn’t even make sure that his daughter survived on the streets of New York City, his decorum wouldn’t allow for it.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to talk about this before. I thought that, that part of my life was over, that it held no baring over who I am right now. But it does, subconsciously, I think that it has always been a motivation to who I am, and who I wanted to become. Thinking that if I was good enough, he would want to be a part of my life.

“No need to apologize, love. I figured whenever you felt ready to share, that you would.”

Liam’s hold on his wife tightened, placing a kiss to her hair, as he heard the recounts of the man who is her father. It easily rivaled and bested his own, surprisingly. He silently wished there was a way he could take away the pain his wife had felt for so many years.

“I wish  I could offer more, but I know that we learn from our parent’s mistakes. I know that as much as I admired my father as a King, I wish to not repeat how he was as a father to me.” Liam remarked, trying to soothe Riley.

“I know Liam, you are going to be an amazing father to our little cub, they couldn’t ask for anyone better. That’s one thing I know for sure, I never have to worry that you will leave our child or that you will pass them along to a nanny just because you can” Riley smiled, picturing Liam holding their little cub, her dark curls with his expressive ocean eyes. Running a hand through his hair she tentatively thought of herself as a parent. As a mom. It terrified her.

“I’m scared,” she paused, “I’m scared that I’m going to turn out like him, that I’m not cut out to be a mom, to be a parent.” Liam’s arm tightened around her, “I don’t believe that for one instant, you care for our baby so much, you are loving and compassionate and strong, and I know you, Riley, you are meant to do whatever you set your mind to. You are not Andrew Pierce, you are Riley Brooks-Rys.”

A smile tugged at her lips as she rested her head against his shoulder, her fear subsiding at his words, “ Thank you Liam, Thank you for being you,” She whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“And hey, four year old Riley got her wish, she married a Prince- well a King, but same thing.”

Riley laughed at her husband’s antics, a swell of love filling her heart. “Yes she did, and that’s the best thing that’s ever happened to her.”  She remarked, planting a kiss on Liam’s lips.

[kaibutsushidousha]

hey, you mentioned kohaku being your favourite character ever! i'd be super curious to hear why (also, thoughts on rin tohsaka?)

That’s a kinda intimidating question because I really don’t write about Kohaku as much as I should. Just a heads-up, I might be misremembering things, as I haven’t read Tsukihime since 2014 and absolutely dread the thought of the revisiting Hisui’s ending precisely because I’m afraid of the idea me being misremembering Kohaku as someone better than she actually is.

Spoilers for both Tsukihime and Fate/stay Night.

Back when all the route girls were introduced, Kohaku quickly became my favorite for her great humor, the narration’s focus on her smile and by her avoiding all of the bad maid tropes. The last one of these was very reinforced by putting her in contrast with Hisui, who embodied all of them. Back at the time I still had no clue to how much I would like Kohaku, but quite sure she would be the best by the end (although Ciel really made me doubt that in her route), specially with some great jokes she had in Arcueid’s route (”Shiki-san, how can you do something so cruel to Akiha-sama? Next time you’re going to bring your lover home, please bring someone more normal!”).

Then comes Hisui’s route, where we slowly start getting hints of Kohaku’s past, with the reveal that she doesn’t feel pain, Shiki’s memories about the girl in the window and whatnot. This all leads to shocking reveal of the Fujou twin’s past, their assigned role as Makihisa’s Empath, how Kohaku took the responsibility all to herself in order to protect Hisui, how Kohaku learned to how make the magic drugs to stop feeling pain and how the twins “swapped faces”.

It was really heavy, tragic and character-defining defining, so I thought the best I would get was seeing this from Kohaku’s own perspective, specially since this was as far as Hisui’s character went, but oh boy, how wrong I was. Kohaku is much, much more than that.

Hisui route ends with the reveal that Kohaku masterminded the demise of the Toono family and her motives are pretty obvious but I never expect the way she felt about it. Kohaku describes herself as not as a human, but as Makihisa’s emotionless doll. Kohaku had to constantly intake pain-removing drugs in order to endure Makihisa’s (and latter SHIKI’s) abuse and this state of not feeling anything disconnected her from her emotions. Kohaku admits that, to some extent, she did all of this because it made her feel human a little.

What you would expect from this premise? Kohaku channelling her remnants of humanity into hatred for the Toono family and orchestrating her revenge. Was that what really was on her mind? Nope, Kohaku (and Kinoko himself, as Fate/Grand Order is a great evidence of) has a much more positive definition of what it means to be human. Kohaku expresses her humanity through fairness, empathy and a desire to make the situation better.

Even though, Makihisa singlehandedly completely ruined her life, she acknowledges that he didn’t do it out of sadism or perversion, he did because he really had no other choice in order to keep himself from inverting and causing even bigger harm to everyone. Kohaku sees Makihisa as much of a victim of this tragedy as herself. And this makes sense with her backstory in mind. After some point, she stopped feeling anything and she could see during her sessions was Makihisa’s pained expression of being forced to do that to a 9-years-old. SHIKI had it worse, having to wrestle for his will with his inversion, Roa and Kohaku’s drugs all at the same time. And then there’s Akiha. At some point, Akiha figured the entire plan out but still went along with everything Kohaku said because she honestly believed her family deserved Kohaku’s punishment for everything they did to Kohaku. Being Toono truly is suffering.

Despite everything they did to her, she insist couldn’t bring herself to hate them because she fully understood their circunstances and they respect her wishes of protecting Hisui. She never did what she did out of hatred, but as an attempt to make everyone happier. The Toono blood brought unavoidable tragedy not only to the Fujous, but also to themselves. The Fujous could never find happiness in contact with the Toonos and the Toonos themselves can never be happy. Therefore eliminating the Toonos was a course of action who would benefit everyone. Then the plan would end with Kohaku offing herself, leaving Shiki and Hisui to live happily together. It was all a perfectly rational decision for the sake of everyone involved.

That’s a much more deeply layered motive and that alone was enough to cement Kohaku’s first place in my character ranking. But the Kohaku ride is still not ever yet. Kohaku’s character is even more layered than all of that. I would never expect it to have even because all of that so perfectly convincing, but that’s exactly the point. The lie had to be perfectly convincing because the one Kohaku was decieving with it was herself.

The moment Shiki gave Kohaku her ribbon back was the moment was the moment she crumbled. Her bursting emotions crushed her mask of rationality. And, oh dear,  did that destroy my heart. There she is forced to admit that she always hated him. When she was young, she was just jealous of how Shiki was adopted to live a happy life with the siblings, but when he had to leave, Kohaku, fair as she is, decided to give him the ribbon as a parting gift so they can get along better if he ever comes back. Years later, after she had already forgot him, Shiki comes back and she grows to hate him again for much deeper reason. That is because Shiki is happy to be with Akiha and Shiki would be sad if she was gone. His presence contradicts her idea that “everyone will be better off with the Toonos dead” and is a constant reminder for her that she is lying to herself about being righteous instead of just investing in personal revenge.

Kohaku deeply empathizes with the Toonos suffering, the entire process of her revenge was deeply painful to her, specially the part concerning Akiha, who was kind enough to completely let Kohaku destroy her due to her own empathy with Kohaku. But despite all that, Kohaku was still able to push through due to her belief that what she was doing was right, but Shiki, by just unawarely being there, took that away from her. That’s why she made that bet with herself to stop everything she was doing if Shiki returned her ribbon. Then, when Shiki finally did it after everything was over, all that did that amplify Kohaku’s guilt and self-loathing even more, to the point she really couldn’t take it anymore. Kohaku’s tragedy really, really hurt.

I really can’t think of any scene that came even close to have the same levels of layered characterization and emotional impact as Hisui’s route’s ending. That hit me extremely hard.

After a while to recompose after thinking too much about Kohaku, let’s go the next subject: Rin Toosaka.

I really like her overall personality and her relationship with Shirou (both of them). I’m not a big fan of tsunderes, but I do believe it’s relatively easy to make them good and Toosaka is my go-to example of how. First of all, her tsun is expressed not by distasteful aggressiveness, but by elegant dry-witted snark, which replaces what I dislike about the archetype with something I like. The other part of what makes it great is the person she is tsun towards: Shirou (both of them). Pairing the tsundere with a nice or oblivious guy is real waste, but pairing her with someone who is just as tsundere towards makes for a really fun dynamic, always great to watch. It works wonders and I can really tell because my best irl friendship is exactly like that.

Another thing I like about her relationship with Shirou (the master) is how equal they feel. Saber feels above Shirou in their relationship because she is the ideal hero he aspires to be and Sakura feels below Shirou due to how emotionally dependant she is, but with Toosaka it feels like they are on the same level, growing each other together. I still prefer Shirou with Sakura though.

As for her character on her own, she is kinda underwhelming. As the most standard mage on Fate/stay Night, her motivations are the ones that the least personal and she is kinda out of focus even in her own route, where she completely loses the spotlight to Shirou (both of them).

But, like most of F/sN’s characters, she gets much better in Heaven’s Feel. With Sakura involved, her motivations get a lot more personal, she gets a great fight scene with the jewel sword and has by far her best scene at the end of it. After completely defeating Sakura, she raises her sword to finish her and just… stops there. After spending the entire route berating Shirou for being too soft to kill and letting his personal feelings get in the way of his responsibilities, she realizes she also can’t do it and admits with a pained smile that she has no right to criticize Shirou anymore. It was an excellent moment.

[onceandalwaysenglishmajor]

We could totally be the Avengers

@espritneo, you said you’d be down for a snippet of the superhero/ alien fae story, so I decided to share this. Thoughts welcome! (Not really any plot relevant bits, but it does a good job introducing the characters.)

“Dude, we’re totally the Avengers!” Chad said excitedly. Lucy rolled her eyes.

           “No, hear me out,” Chad started in his explanation voice. Lucy sighed loudly, hoping to discourage Chad, but it didn’t do any good.

           “First, you have myself and Allen. Genius level intellect. And that’s being modest. The funding is somewhat lacking for actually being Ironman or Batman, though we hit Spiderman’s level of creativity quite nicely, though without the power-providing radioactive spider bite that gave Peter Parker his motivation…But overall we do ok. Especially without the comic book catalysts. Those tend to be pretty nasty, tragic backstories to provide motivation and depth and all that.” Chad drew in a deep breath before continuing. Lucy fixed Chad with a pained look, hoping to guilt him into stopping. Chad smiled at her cheekily, proceeding with his explanation full tilt.

           “Then there’s you, Lucy.” The glint in Lucy’s eyes told him that he was treading on dangerous ground, but that was half of the thrill. “You’re a very intelligent girl, though not on the same level as Allen and me, obviously…”

           “Obviously?” Lucy said dangerously.

           “Don’t be snippy about it. It’s a fact, nobody’s judging, we all love you just as much,” Chad replied saucily. “And you’ve got that whole super secret spy thing going on. I’m pretty sure you could kill me and not break a sweat. I greatly respect that, and it scares me a fair bit.”

           “You can’t prove anything,” Lucy said calmly. Chad nodded, giving her the point.

           “That’s very true. It just adds to the level of your mysteriousness. Very good for a superhero. Unknown backstories are intriguing. And unlike Allen and myself, you have actual talents, we just make cool stuff to compensate for the lack.”

           “Are you going to spend this whole meal monolouging?” Lucy asked.

           “Yes,” answered Chad. “Just listen and eat your spaghetti.” He shoveled in a couple quick bites for emphasis. “Now, moving on the more exotic members of our Avengers team. Jeb. As an actual alien, I’ll address his position on our team first.”

           “You do realize we just live together, that we’re not an actual crime or evil fighting team?” Lucy asked acidly. Chad ignored her.

           “Jeb is a real life alien. Real. Life. Alien. Like Thor! Jeb is totally our Thor! Position of authority on an alien planet, super buff, probably has all kinds of cool skills we don’t even know about yet, but will be slowly revealed as the plot advances!

           “Not in a comic book,” Lucy reminded him. “or a movie. There is no ‘plot’. Just our average lives…”

           “Lucy, darling, have you not been listening? Our lives are totally not average, we are on our way to being Avengers! We’re just one national disaster and passing our midterm exams away from our destiny!”

           “Have you even started studying?” Lucy asked.

           “Do I need to study?” Chad retorted. “Don’t change the subject. Where was I? Oh yes, Jeb and the crazy powers he may or may not possess! Do you have any crazy powers you haven’t told us about yet, Jeb?” The broad-shouldered brunette just shrugged. Chad seemed to accept this as a reasonable response and continued with his assessment of how they were totally the Avengers.

           “Then we have Vinn. You, dear Vinn, are our reformed villain.”

           “I’m the villain?” Vinn asked, disgruntled.

           “You did help an alien race try to invade the planet,” Allen reminded him gently. Vinn hung his head and pushed his spaghetti around with his fork. Jeb clapped a reassuring hand on the younger man’s shoulder. Frankie shot Chad a dirty look.

           “Hey!” Chad protested. “I said reformed! Vinn, buddy, you’re part of our team. You and I kind of butt heads, but hey, that’s family. That’s just how it works. And, you’re half alien, which is real cool, have you reconsidered giving me that blood sample yet? No? Fine… Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is, you actually have a power. Like, a legit power! You can shape shift! Do you even know how cool that is? Are you absolutely sure about the blood? Frankie, don’t look at me like that. It was worth a shot. Could you imagine how cool it would be if I could figure out how to shape shift?”

           “The world might very well end,” Lucy said drily.

           “It would not!” Chad protested. Then he thought about it for a moment. “Well, you might have a little bit of a point. I’m much better with tech, anyway.”

           “So you’ve described us,” Lucy said. “Big whoop. Even if we’re all a little bit… special, if you will, that doesn’t make us the Avengers.”

           “Luce, you’re missing the point. I’m totally Tony Stark, but without the money and arrogance.” Lucy made a sound of disbelief, which Chad pointedly ignored.

           “Allen is Bruce Banner. Mild-mannered, super sweet, but man, do not get on his bad side. It won’t end well for you. Lucy, my dearest, you are the Black Widow herself, Natasha Romanoff. You can argue and deny all you want, but you’ll never convince me that you’re not some kind of super spy. So don’t interrupt. We’ve already established that Jeb is Thor. That’s an easy one. I suppose that would make Vinn our Loki, but with a redemption arc. Vinn, don’t get all depressed again, do you know how much of a fan favorite Loki is? Especially with the ladies…” Chad informed Vinn with a cheeky wink. Vinn stared at Chad with his mouth slightly open. Chad viewed this as an invitation to break down the appeal of Loki to the ladies.

           “There has to be a reason all these girls are into Loki, right? So here’s what I think. First of all, he’s got that bad boy appeal. Girls love a bad boy. Usually because they think they can change him. Apparently chicks dig that. ‘He’s damaged, but I can fix him’ type of thing. I think that’s mostly it. That and being attractive. Did I hit it, ladies?” He looked back and forth between Frankie and Lucy, who were both just staring at him. Chad shrugged and returned his attention to Vinn, who was also staring at him somewhat blankly.

           “Not that you need fixing, or anything, Vinn, but, there are a lot worse things in life than being compared to Marvel’s most attractive villain.”

           “Then who would I be?” Frankie asked. “Since I’m not super smart, or a spy, if that’s true, or an alien, or a sexy ex-villain… Where does that leave me?”

           “Do I have to answer the question, or can I jump on the fact that you pretty much just called Vinn sexy?” Chad asked.

           “What, what, what!” Frankie spluttered, her face turning bright red. “I did no such thing! I was just going with your character explanations!”

           “Mmm, whatever you want to believe, Frankie-doll. But I’ll leave it alone for the moment in favor of addressing your question. You can be our Phil Coulson! Adored by Avengers and fandom alike!”

           “So I’m going to die a horrible, tragic death?” Frankie asked, more to needle Chad than anything else.

           “Perhaps, but the fandom will bring you back by the sheer power of their denial. And then you can have your own spin off tv show!”

Allen tapped Chad on the shoulder.

           “Chad, I think you’ve traumatized them with your opinion enough for one night, don’t you? And don’t we have a time-sensitive project going on down in the lab? Let’s go check on that and let everyone finish their supper in peace, ok?” Allen said.

           “Oh! Right! I almost forgot! What would I do without you keeping me on track?” Chad asked, obviously not offended by the implication he was overwhelming his roommates.

           “Blow things up more often,” Allen supplied helpfully. The rest of the table winced, very aware of the truth of that statement. Chad caused explosions on an almost weekly basis even with Allen to keep him in check.

           “Probably true,” Chad agreed cheerfully, taking his plate with him as he disappeared into the basement. Allen stood up to follow him.

           “Thank you all for your patience,” he said to everyone in general. “Chad does care for you all very much,” Allen explained. “This is how he expresses it, in case you were wondering.” With that, he followed Chad to the basement, hopefully to prevent any explosions. The slightly shell-shocked group at the table sat in silence for several minutes.

           “That really just happened,” Lucy said slowly. “Like, it really happened. Are we sure his IQ is as high as he says it is?”

           “I’m going to have to go with yes,” Vinn said slowly. “Whatever else that was, it was very well thought out. You have to give him that.”

           “Yeah,” Frankie agreed, “You’re not wrong…”

           “He’s so set on this superhero thing,” Lucy sighed.

           “And you’re so against it?” Vinn asked.

           “Not on principle,” Lucy admitted. “I just like playing devil’s advocate to pretty much anything Chad suggests. He needs someone to keep him humble, or that ego of his is going to explode.”

           “So… you do think we could be the Avengers?” Jeb asked.

           “I didn’t say that,” Lucy corrected quickly. “All my arguments are still valid. I just don’t disagree with it quite as much as I let Chad think I do. Someone has to keep that boy in line.”

           “Isn’t that Allen’s job?” Vinn asked. Frankie snorted.

           “Ish. You should have seen the two of them before the rest of you moved in. At least Chad is straight forward. Allen is devious. He scares me more than Chad, honestly. Chad, I always know where he’s coming from. I don’t always understand it, but his very nature is brutally honest. Allen is… sneaky. I never quite know what his angle is, what he wants to get out of a situation. Not that Allen’s not a good kid,” Frankie finished lamely. “You guys know what I’m trying to say?” she asked. Lucy rubbed her shoulder gently.

           “We know what you mean, sweetie,” Lucy reassured her. “We know how much you care for all of us. You wouldn’t tolerate this level of crazy in your house if you didn’t.” She paused. “Huh. Maybe you are our Phil Coulson. Moral support, anchor, and borderline babysitter all in one.”

[jergilbrt]

rebekah’s rager:  at the end of a long night, jeremy and nicola catch up  //  @sunnysxrcasm

Tonight had been a mess. After her breakdown in the bathroom with Isaac and the subsequent clean up she had to do to her face, she wasn't feeling the party mood of those who stayed oblivious to the horrors of the night. She didn't need to go outside to know what had happened - just like Lydia, she had seen it. So, she took a break in the living room, sitting in a slightly quieter area than most and simply people watching, as peacefully as she could. Until someone sat beside her. 

while this hadn't been his first rodeo at a mikaelson mcmansion party, tonight had been wildly different than any of the others.  silver lining?  no one would yell at him for drinking now that jeremy was an adult.  when he saw nicola sitting by herself, he grabbed a drink for himself and one for her and decided to join her.  "you look like you could use this?"  jer passed it to her.  "having a rough night?"

"Oh... thank you." Nicola accepted the drink readily, pausing before downing at least half of it - crying apparently made you thirsty. She held the cup in both her hands, shuffling in the seat to angle her body towards Jeremy, so she was at least facing him and not the crowd of people. "You could say that. I've been to calmer raves than this." Even though she tried for a joke, her usual 'sunshine' (as Liam liked to call it) didn't quite shine through.

"didn't turn out like prom at all, did it?"  he assumed regular kids' prom nights didn't involve near-death experiences or actual deaths, but jeremy wasn't sure he'd ever been to a dance where someone's life wasn't on the line.  "do you wanna talk about it?"

She couldn't help the small giggle at his call back to their conversation. Somehow, she wasn't nervously stuttering this time, no doubt because her nerves had been fried. "No, it's nothing like the prom. And to think I got all dolled up for hell to break loose." She had been staring at the drink in her hand most of the time, but upon his question she looked up. "I'm... not really sure you want to hear it."

"honestly, i wouldn't know.  i didn't go to my prom."  hard to attend prom when you're dead.  jer gave a small smile.  "i don't know about where you're from, but getting dolled up just for hell to break loose is pretty standard for me."  he took a quick drink and met her gaze.  "only if you're comfortable talking about it."

"Oh... If it makes you feel better, prom's aren't all that interesting. I went alone to mine, which was frowned upon by literally everyone, and I was so bored I left. Suppose no one wants to dance with the lonely girl though..." She cleared her throat quickly to dispel the memories. "Well, Ohio isn't exactly this exciting so I'd say it's unusual for me." She finished the drink, ignoring the burning of her throat. "Buckle up, Pretty Boy, as I tell you the tale of how my night out went to shit."

"must have just been your school.  any of my other dances were always killer."  he hated himself for the awful joke, but it brought jeremy a little bit of solace in this otherwise terrible night.  "hm.  virginia was a nonstop party for me, but please do continue."

"Well, it started when I picked this stupid dress in a bid to get someone's attention, which didn't work. Then I had a fall out with a friend. Then somebody died in the garden and I had a breakdown in a bathroom over it... And now I'm sat here in wonderful company trying to recover from it all." She fiddled with the cup in her hand before placing it down. "So there."

jeremy gilbert was an observant man as far as the supernatural was concerned.  but romance?  not even a little bit.  "i don't think your dress is stupid at all.  and, uh, sorry about the fall — somebody died?"  what the hell had happened when he was fighting with rebekah?  holy shit.  "okay, you win for shittier night."  silently he passed off his own cup to her, nearly full.

She glanced down at herself, huffing. "You don't? Because the longer I wear it the more ridiculous I feel for trying." She gladly accepted his drink, finishing it off as well before placing the cup next to her own. "Oh yeah. It's a mess out there, I'm sure." Nicola sighed, trying for a smile. "But hey, I'm enjoying this a bit more now."

"no.  i mean, i'm just some guy who knows shockingly little about fashion, but it looks like a really nice dress to me.  and you look really nice in it."  she was hitting on him, right?  he wasn't out of line for saying that?  "did you — did you see it?  did you know the person?  are you okay?"  why was she so calm about someone dying?  like he was one to talk, but there were reasons for that.  "you are?"

"...Thank you. You don't look to bad yourself." She smiled, genuinely smiled, for the first time in an hour. At least something good might happen at this party, even if it was just a decent conversation with a guy. "I didn't see it happen but all you have to do is look out of a window." She didn't feel like explaining the banshee thing. "I didn't know them, I'm okay... well, now I'm okay." Nicola hesitated for a second before nodding. "Yeah. I really am."

"thanks.  i call this look:  the one suit i own.  took me hours to put together."  jer laughed, and it was the closest thing to a genuine laugh he'd felt all night.  "don't take this the wrong way, but you sound super chill about seeing someone die."  and he was super chill about hearing about it.  "well i'm glad you're okay.  and that you're enjoying yourself now."

Nicola burst into a fit of giggles before putting on her best fake posh accent. "Well I say, Mr Gilbert, it's fabulous." The smile dropped, however, at the mention of her calmness. "Well... Part of it is shock. The other is because I'm used to uh... seeing death." She wasn't going to bore him with her tragic backstory - no one wants that. "And the latter is all down to you, so thank you."

"much appreciated."  jeremy nodded.  he understood.  more than almost everyone at this party, except maybe its host, he understood.  "i know what you mean.  and not just in a  "oh i understand what you're going through"  bullshit way.  i mean it."  he felt like there was something she wasn't telling him, but he was also guilty of that, so he wasn't going to push it.  "oh.  wait, really?"June 13, 2020

“It sucks, doesn’t it? Losing time and time again...” Hers was a lonely existence, she had known that since she was sixteen but it didn’t make it hurt any less. Still, Nicola felt bad for lingering on something so negative at a party, especially after seemingly unloading a bunch of emotions already. “Yes, really. Is it really so shocking to you that someone would enjoy talking to you?”

"everyone i've ever loved dies."  he wasn't saying it for pity.  it was just a fact of his life.  and maybe a little bit of a warning.  "so i get it."  dead parents.  dead aunt.  dead sister.  no less than three dead girlfriends.  and alaric, status unknown.  "honestly?  a little bit."

“Everyone I’ve ever loved either died or abandoned me. Mom left, grandmother died, a loads of my friends died and then my dad kicked me out... so I guess we get each other.” Her smile was more of a soft one this time, different to the usual grin she had. “Why?”

"yeah.  i guess we do."  tentatively, he reached his hand out towards hers.  "i've been going it alone for the past few years, so regular old conversation's a bit foreign these days."

She glanced down at his hand before gently taking it in hers. “Well, unluckily for you, I am probably the chattiest person in town... as you embarrassingly saw earlier.” After she had calmed down from the insane night, she’d be back to her old giggly self and she knew it, so she was taking full advantage of her weird confidence.

"listen, nobody does embarrassing like me.  i'm sure i'll figure out a way to top it."  jeremy's entire human life was an embarrassment as far as he was concerned, so it probably wouldn't take long.  "you're just chatty because i look good in a suit."

“Mhm, sure, is like to see you try to be more embarrassing than ranting about how attractive someone is to their face.” She laughed, so easily and carefree the first time through the whole party. “I’m chatty anyway. I’m extra talkative to guys who can pull off a suit this well.”

"okay, yeah, fine.  that's definitely up there.  gimme time, i bet i can think of something.  i was such a stereotype annoying little brother to my sister and her friends growing up.  i'm not sure there's one standout moment as it is fourteen years of cringe."  jer hoped the lighting was bad enough to hide the little bit of red that had appeared on his cheeks.  jesus, he was rusty.  "right.  and i'm sure the alcohol has nothing to do with it?"

“Fourteen years and you can’t think of a single moment, right now, that beats me blabbing on to you about how you’re cute? Oh my god, how dumb am I?” She shook her head in disdain at herself, but a smile remained. “I’m not drunk, if that’s what you’re implying. I’m hardly even tipsy, but I have enough liquid courage to say you’re hot all the time, not just in a suit and not completely regret it.”