#vlad voice: so which red flag was it

[princess-of-the-corner]

CC: So, like, after the Togas are arrested, what happens exactly? Like, U.A. has enough evidence to yoink Himiko into protective custody, but wouldn’t they have to at some point prove in court that Himiko's parents suck? Or did someone go at them with "either you sign her over quietly, or no one finds your body". Like, for Amnesia!Dabi, we said they were a reporter & a lawyer with HC connections, if that’s still true, wouldn’t they have influence to fight the charges?

Some of that needs to be hammered out BUT-

Yeah the UA staff start putting together proper evidence and it's. It's kinda easy given the stuff her parents directly said. Like not knowing where their daughter has been for months is a clear slam dunk for a judge.

But there's also.

So I haven't gone into this because I planned for it to be chapters of Blood is Thicker rather than the main CC fic, but I haven't followed up on that in a WHILE and most of this is said in passing in CC anyway:

There's going to be an incident sometime pre-Sports Festival, possibly pre-USJ? Haven't hammered out that time.

But Himiko is only getting very minimal amounts of blood. Mostly just asking her classmates during training exercises. But it's not enough for her. So while it's better, it's also teasing.

Which leads to a sparring match where she kinda. Does the same thing that happened with Saito. Ofc this time she has a bunch of people who can restrain her so things don't get as bad.

The UA staff know that clearly something is Up. And they debate on who to have talk to her and they land on like. Clearly this is something with her Quirk given the blood drinking, so they have Vlad King talk to her because hey blood Quirk he gets it to an extent on how that Quirk may rub people the wrong way and it might make her more open.

Himiko.... is not having a good time. Because she lost control again and thinks this is proof that she's incapable of being a good person and that the teachers are just going to arrest her now.

So she doesn't have any problem voicing those thoughts about how 'her parents were right about her', and even the whole Saito incident to Vlad King and he's like 'oh that is a whole barrel of red flags about your childhood'.

Vlad King helps her with the whole thing of like. Hey, Quirks with dietary requirements exist. You clearly need blood to be healthy. Denying you of that is a bad thing, and you were quite literally starving when you lashed out so no one can really blame you.

Which. Is probably the first time Himiko has heard someone tell her that her blood consumption is totally normal? So she's just. So confused and caught off guard by that.

They talk more and he tells her that she needs blood, and there's ways to help her with that. They're going to start testing out how much she needs and what all she can handle. Like, does it have to be Human, or will animal blood work? And that if she starts feeling bad then she can come to him and he can handle giving her some of his blood because part of his Quirk involves being able to loose a large volume of blood and be fine.

Himiko asks to leave her parents alone in this because like. They're her parents. They love her, right? But while they agree, the UA staff is now documenting all of the things Himiko says. Especially because while Himiko doesn't want her parents in trouble, she does agree that she wants to get Saito out of trouble. Because in this AU her parents had that incident covered up by claiming that he attacked her and she acted out of self-defense. So they have to do something about that.

Himiko does have a bit of a breakdown when they realize that yeah animal blood does work for her she could've just had that all these years and not been tempted to chomp down on her classmates.

Then yeah Himiko's parents see her in the Sports Festival and using her Quirk and they show up to UA to complain and yell at her about what she's doing and mention not knowing where she's been for the past few months and....

Yeah it's A Lot and the last bit is what gives the Staff proper clearance to arrest them because while the emotional abuse is hard to qualify without Himiko herself opening it up as a case, and the 'she needs blood and they've been starving her' stuff could be claimed as ignorance, something more clear-cut like the neglect is enough.

There's going to be the actual legal stuff on charging them for things, but there's already a lot of evidence stacked against them that it's a lot easier here than it would be in Amnesia!Dabi.

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom season 2, eps 1-5 thoughts! opening the new season with episodes like these kinda blew me away. we had multiple serious episodes INCLUDING a two parter!! also, valerie :)

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-I don't know what I expected s2 to open with. but danny portal incident in more detail was not it. (also, I hate to break it to you, sam, but danny's parent's bigass ghost hunting rv def chugs more gas than those vehicles, lmao. unless it runs on ectoplasm or something...)

-WHY WAS DESIREE IN THE SEWER? HAVING TEA WITH IT DOWN THERE?? Her making the giant cow come alive is a boss move, we've almost had all of my fav animals as ghosts now <3 I also don't like how sam was expecting danny to just, haunt the place so the cars wouldn't get sold? I KNOWWW I know she's 14 (and I had a very annoying phase like this, I think I mentioned in a previous post, I GET IT) but they're HIS powers, and messing with (1) dealership will not really put a dent in sales overall because they can just move the cars to another sales lot, and it certainly wont change the industry anyway, it's more of a minor annoyance for (1) location. Also, usually people who work at car sales places work on commission, so if they dont make a sale, they don't have money to pay bills, or eat. sam baby if u wanna be an activist you need to like, actually look into these things. with as much money as her parents have, she could be doing a lot..more useful things for causes she cares about? it's frustrating to see someone with resources who doesn't know how to use them. but shes 14 so again. cannot be really upset :/

-IS THIS A PREDATOR VS TERMINATOR VS FREDDY KRUEGER MOVIE BUT THEYRE ALL WOMEN?? you know, sam is so right to be excited about this. /I/ want to see this movie. that rules

-paulina inviting danny and friends to her quinceañera, aw! even if it is just to get phantom to show up :') and there'll be a meteor shower, and we KNOW danny wants to be an astronaut!! there's not a meteor shower every night!! the tickets are non-refundable, but..she's rich? like. gotta agree with danny, they never get invited!! I KNOW it's the principle of keeping promises, but if she was that upset, she should've said something. directly. I hated how she was like, passive aggressive about it through the episode, like you SAID IT WAS FINE, THAT YOU'D GO TO THE PARTY TOO. MOVIES SHOW FOR A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS. IF YOU HAD A REAL PROBLEM YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, SAM. YOUR FRIENDS. ARE NOT. MIND READERS.

-MR. LANCER GOING AFTER THE GHOST WITH THE FIRE EXTINGISHER LMAO

-this outfit is everything . anytime the show does an over the top cutesty pink outfit i WANT IT. it looks like shit I wear JKASDHF I HAVE a bow like that and a pink sweater. I need leg warmers </3

-SAMS GOTTA RE-HALF-KILL HIM??? thats fucked up. but also, he finally got his logo!! it took until s2!!! this episode was lowkey very fucked and I felt like it glossed over a lot. does sam have guilt about like. kinda KILLING HIM?? I know, he also agreed and walked into the portal. but. she made the choice to redo it SO quickly (even if it was because someone had to beat desiree) and danny, during their fight, brought up a lot of stuff sam's done in the past, meaning he was holding onto those memories and resentment was building. (I KEEP SAYING HE LOWKEY NEEDS THERAPY, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW KINDA DOES) which...is a red flag? and then they didnt even GO to the party URGH I know she tried to make up for it, but it really felt like Sam fucked up and barely faced any consequences and got everything she wanted in the end. I KNOW it's a kids show obv they aren't going to go too in depth, and she undid the damage, kinda, but...I DUNNO how to articulate it but it rubbed me the wrong way.

-but on a note about desiree, her powers of wishes were STRONG ENOUGH TO ERASE NOT JUST THEIR MEMORIES, BUT DANNY'S POWERS?! fuck, if I was danny I'd be like, trying to make friends with her. I know they always have horrible side effects as most genie-granted wishes do, but...c'mon, I'd at least TRY to be like 'I wish no ghosts would hurt anyone in my town' or 'I wish vlad would lose his ghost powers forever no matter What and also forget about my mom' LIKE. SHIT DESIREE IS SO POWERFUL. rewriting reality powerful, basically!! appreciate her. respect her.

-aww, sam helping tucker pass the nurse's office so he wouldn't see because he's afraid of medical stuff? very sweet. I also don't like medical stuff, I've gotten a lot better at handling it tho. but seeing blood and needles still makes me feel lightheaded x_x

-FOLEY, BY TUCKER FOLEY. I want to make my own perfume, that's so cool. even if his first attempt isn't good, he's pretty consistently shown to have an inventor/entrepreneur streak in the show, so like. I can see him inventing or making something (or several somethings) that make him $$$ when he grows up :) proud of my creative son

-I know the 'creepy abandoned hospital on the edge of town' is a joke and the creepy hospital trope is so Worn Out, but in my town we actually DO have a hospital like that! my dad was born in it, but its not in use and hasn't been for, like, 20 years! it needs to be torn down but I think the city doesn't wanna pay the money. the inside is horrible, spray painted and broken glass and shit everywhere. but there's still like, rusty equipment and fucking DOLLS all over the place. the cops drive by it pretty frequently to make sure no one is like, breaking in. (because of water damage, some of the areas really aren't safe. also, asbestos, but people still go in anyway) but also, some of my town was used in a filming for a stephen king show. So it's lowkey spooky all over. just a fun personal tidbit :) to lead into saying, any hospital abandoned for any period of time is NOT safe to quarantine these kids in JKSAHDKF like I KNOW it's a ghost trying to do this, but NONE of these parents are even like, 'well, why dont we keep them in the regular, working hospital'....YIKES. this hospital looks pretty accurate to the one in town. grungy and spooky.

-fentons are tax evaders confirmed by jack's fear of being audited, lol no one is surprised

-ghost sickness via ghost bugs. horrifying concept. I actually expected it to be a new villain, not dr. spectra again! this is a very elaborate scheme. her new form rules, love the new costume. the way none of the bg kids seem to recognize her as their old school councilor. did we just forget about that completely?

-dash watching romance movies in the fucked up ghost hospital. same.

-'oh please, you're ghosts, do you have any idea what YOU smell like?' no, tucker, what DO ghosts smell like? I genuinely didn't know they would even have a smell, I actually want to know now.

-it feels like a while since we've seen jazz!! i was happy to see her again, even if she was a head in a jar for most the episode. I want another jazz-focused ep!!

-we finally see danny doing space-related stuff!! him and his friends stargazing to open ep 3 of s2. cute :) until, GHOST PIRATES!!!!! ...ghost pirate captain is a small child?? VOICED BY TAYLOR LAUTNER???

-oh, the easy listening is ember's song instrumental slowed. 'vapor drone' THEY VAPORWAVED HER!!! ember in a pirate outfit tho >>>>. and the cruise being called m.bersback JKASDHJK. ember adopting a little pirate brother is also pretty cute. concerning this teen and little kid have such bad opinions of adults, like, who hurt you?? (how did you DIE ALSO?? im always lowkey curious about that. we know desiree died at an old age, but her ghost form is young, probably mid-20s, so I wonder how that sort of thing works...its a more mental thing, isn't it?) but ghost team-ups are always cool to see, even if ember bailed after danny took her guitar. I guess she probably thinks youngblood can handle it (which, he's been owning danny this far in the ep, so...fair)

-tucker got that sponsorship from nasty burger for their radio!!! again, opportunistic money maker king, love to see it!!!

-danny taking control of the kids SO FAST. he makes a pretty great leader. no one is surprised, im pretty sure I said I think he's the most mature of the trio, once again, correct, because he's taken on so much responsibility already. all the teens suiting up in the jumpsuits to go save the adults and taking the ship over with a BLIMP. OKAY LETS GO. this feels like it should be a mid finale or straight up finale.

-...speaking of finales. why is ep 4-5 of s2 combined into a 50 minute episode? I havent even clicked play and im concerned. weird placement, like, this season JUST started and we're getting a two parter? okay...why are the episodes placed like this? why not put this at episode 10 or something, for a mid-season thing?

-this is also a cute dress. possibly my fav dress so far. can her parents give ME cute dresses, I'LL wear them.

-it turns out the castle fright knight was in is called pariah's keep and there's something worse than fright knight in there! lovely! fuck off vlad wtf are you doing <3 your hubris <3 is going to literally get you killed <3 'ring of rage' and 'crown of fire' are great names tho. ...vlad turning into a super polite guy when he was scared of mr. pariah was hilarious. and fright knight doing the same...I mean, it makes sense, he's a knight, he serves a king? happy to see fright knight again either way :) vlad telling him to call him tho, lmfao. you WISH HE WOULD. (I wish hed call me, too. 😔)

-so...jack being genuinely concerned about vlad...maddie really didn't tell him what happened at the cabin, did she. damn. if I was her id immediately come home and be like 'YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS SHITTTT THIS CREEPY GUY--' like, I feel like that stuff you need to tell your partner!!! I know she didnt want Jack to think she was an irresponsible parent putting danny in danger at that time, but STILLLL. maddie spilling boiling tea on him. get his ass. how is jack this oblivious to his wife's discomfort with vlad!! ughhh

-fenton wipe (tm). trademarked toilet paper.

-DANNY AND VALERIE BEING FRIENDS??? :D that was a cute moment. 'hey val <3' and 'if you like him like him, make a move, or someone else will ;)' at sam...damn!! I love her. valerie go for it girl!!! I hate how sam and tucker treat val also, like I GET IT YOURE PROTECTIVE AND DONT TRUST but if anything him befriending valerie will help when she finds out or he tells her like I feel like she'll be more understanding that they think! ALSO I feel like her reason for not liking ghosts is valid, like you haven't really explained the full story to her anyway! she doesn't seem to have any other friends after being booted from the a-listers so im like :( but seeing them kick butt together again was nice <3

-the ghosts all RUNNING FROM PARIAH DARK IS NOT GOOD, I thought he sent them to attack or something, but no. why doesn't someone just tell desiree 'hey i wish pariah dark would die' lol. once again I think she can solve every problem <3 but seeing all the enemies in one place, being civil and hiding together? love it.

-you just know danny's gonna have to clean up vlad's stupid mess. also, jack being willing to put on the ectoskeleton pants to help maddie, as soon as vlad heard it could kill him, he suggested jack do it instead of helping maddie himself? this is why jack got the girl, my man.

-ghost skeletons. how do you end up as a skeleton ghost in your afterlife instead of a humanoid like most the ones we've seen? lmao

-the ghosts just making new homes in various stores. I'd totally be setting up in an expensive clothing store if I was a ghost.

-valerie's dad is possibly the most useful adult so far, with that ghost shield expansion!!! and valerie saving vlad and danny, even tho shes been thru it already, shes still so good!!! this family rules.

-danny: *gently caresses valerie* :)

-*then he immediately TELLS HER DAD ON HER. and his first response is 'are you okay?' :'( such a good dad...

-*me every time fright knight breathes* youre doing SO great sweetie :)

-the fenton suit thing is so silly looking. does anyone take this thing seriously

-ALL THE GHOSTS FIGHTING WITH DANNY <3 AAAAA. and the fact that pariah isn't perma-defeated, but just locked away again. yikes. he'll probably get out again, won't he? it wasn't too clear, but if vlad DID make a pact with fright knight, I am rabid. I will beat vlad to death with the fenton bat (tm). YOU DONT DESERVE A COOL KNIGHT.

-valerie being direct with sam and challenging her? kinda love that, even tho I normally don't like 'catfight' type situations. because sam has been very passive aggressive about it which is annoying. valerie knows wtf she wants and wasn't even embarrassed to tell sam, but she did tell her, giving sam time to make her own move! and sam denied it and got embarrassed/mad! and sam did have a chance when danny was about to go off and fight, and she hesitated and didn't tell him. I feel like she's hesitating because they're friends and it might make it weird between the trio (poor tucker would be third-wheeling) but if u snooze u lose, u gotta GO after what u WANT girl. smh this is a No Tsundere Zone. 😤

[honeypirate]

I feel you

Pairing: Shouji x y/n

Your quirk: can borrow quirks if you’re touching their skin, also read someone’s mind and feel what they feel if you touch them skin to skin, like you can become an extension of them. You can also turn it around and give them your thoughts and feelings. you can turn it off and on when you have the energy to do so. If you have no energy then you can’t control it and you can only receive.

Background: I was thinking about the summer camp episodes and I wrote this but I don’t remember them perfectly. Also I just made it so Shouji was with just the reader at first and then goes back to do what he does in the episodes after the rescue.

——-

You didn’t expect to be on Shouji’s back for so long, his arms and shoulders pressed skin to skin with you because of the blue fire that burned away most of your shirt and leggings during the capture the flag game.

You were so drained from borrowing quirks to fight the villains in the woods that when you ended up being the last one standing of the your group, you were easily bested. The villian you fought had laughed as he tossed you into the flames and it had consumed your clothes and burned you a little on your arms and legs as you crawled your way out of the flames on the other side. You couldn’t move anymore from exhaustion so you roll yourself into a ball covering your chest with your arms. You were so grateful that it was Shouji who found you, you could have weeped. He quickly and gently lifted you to his back, making sure not to grab your wounds.

Your bare chest was pressed to his back and if you had any more energy you would have loved the feel of his muscles against you. But right now it was all you could do to grit your teeth and fight off your quirk. Your voice is quiet and strained “Shouji I’m so sorry.” “sorry for what?” He asks with one of his arm mouths “I’m sorry because I’m touching your skin so much. I won’t be able to hold off my quirk for much longer. Not a lot of people know this but I’m constantly and actively focusing on my quirk because if I don’t have that control I’ll be able to read the mind of anyone I touch. I knows it’s an invasion and I’ll keep my concentration up for as long as I can”

He was shocked that was part of your quirk but what could he do? It wasnt your fault, you were doing the best you could. He knew that “don’t worry y/n. Just do what you can” he ran harder. To get you back where a teacher could help you. He changed the position of his hands holding you, against the parts of your pants that weren’t burnt, which meant one was incredibly close to having a full palm on your butt. He pushed that thought far from his head in case you heard them too.

His thoughts and feelings would pop into your senses every once in a while when you’d slip into unconsciousness. You’d wake up to thoughts or feelings that weren’t yours. You moved so you were holding on to his tank top in your fists but he had other limbs that were holding your back to keep you in place during the run. There was no way to avoid this.

I need to get her to safety. She’s too kind. Too good to be hurt. Shit. what if she’s listening? I have to think of other things. I don’t want her to think I think of her too much. I mean I do think of her too much but now is not the time. Shit I’m doing it again.

You blushed and pushed his thoughts from your head, you started to draw shapes with your fingers on his back, the same shape over and over, a heart, so you could focus all your attention on that movement and not on the thoughts of this boy.

Is she asleep? I hope she’s not in pain

You smile against his back when you wake up to that thought “I’m here Shouji. I don’t hurt too much” you whisper and you get an embarrassed feeling into you before closing your eyes and laying your forehead against his back focusing on your breathing.

In

Out

In

She’s so strong. So beautiful. I would do anything for her. ... shit. How come when you try to not think of something you just think of it more? No fair?

“You’re right with that one. It isn’t fair. I’m sorry. I’m trying desperately. My mechanisms aren’t working for me. I’m trying to respond to each thing I hear so you don’t have to wonder if or when it happens”

He’s so embarrassed his face under his mask is beet red. “I know y/n. Don’t apologize anymore. I understand. It’s okay” you feel how honest he’s being with you and you relax your struggle a little.

Kittens. Bunnies. Butterflies. Kittens. Bunnies. Butterflies. We’re almost there. Almost there.

His thoughts made you smile. You can’t keep this up much longer and you have at least eight more minutes before you get back to the school. You hear the flames around you and the other students screaming and fighting.

He feels the moment your body gives up, the moment it’s spent it’s last bit of energy, your whole body goes limp in his arms. You’ve stopped drawing in his back and your breathing is all he can feel from you.

“Shouji I can’t hold it anymore. Tell me stories with your thoughts it’s the easiest way. Then you get to control. You can go through your favorite show episodes or funny things that have happened. Favorite memories. If you think it that’s what I see in my mind or hear. It’s what I feel.”

He feels a little bit happy about that idea. He nods and you fully let go, it’s like you seep into him, into his thoughts and feelings you close your eyes and it feels like you’re consumed by him. It’s been a long time since you lost this much control.

I’m going to take you through some of my favorite memories with you.

You get butterflies as his thoughts take you back to the first day of class, when you looked into his eyes and smiled when you sat next to him. It looked so weird seeing yourself from his eyes. You looked beautiful. You don’t remember looking so pretty that day.

Then you were taken to a memory of you taking his hand in yours during the USJ incident to borrow his quirk to help you both fight. That was a scary day for him, but your strength and hand in his he felt like he could do anything.

He went through every moment you showed him kindness or gave him compliments. When you called him handsome after training one day, he was on that high for weeks.

He showed you the first time he walked you home, how he felt when you kissed his cheek over his mask. You guys walked home every day together after that.

He didn’t have to think his feelings. You felt them all in your heart. Admiration, adoration, happiness, and love.

He goes through all his favorite moments with you in school and every time you’d hang out outside of school.

He thinks of a memory where you were wearing a flowy dress, and then as it cuts to you and him dancing, you were extremely confused because this never happened. You felt his embarrassment seep into you sorry that was a dream I had once he says into your head. He feels you laugh against him and a thought about your chest and the way it made him feel pressed against him flashed in your head before being replaced by him singing the opening song to Reading Rainbow loudly in his head causing you to laugh gently “good save” you say weakly.

“If you would want, it takes just a bit of energy, and since I’ve been resting it’s no big deal, i can turn it around. Give you my thoughts and feelings” your voice wasn’t more than a whisper. “Uhh okay..” he says so you begin to push your thoughts slowly “woah” he says quietly and you now can think speak to him “i know right? It’s weird. But this is easier for me to talk to you right now. We’re almost there but I want to repay you in memories” you begin to give him your favorite memories with him.

The time you met him was your first one as well. The moment you walked in and saw him, the way your heart beat then. When you sat down next to him and saw his eyes as you introduced yourself, he was gorgeous. You show him the time you talked to Tsu about how strong you thought he was.

You showed him the USJ incident as well, how it made you feel special when threw his hand out to you to take with no hesitation. How sweet you thought he was for being so gentle and kind with you.

You gave him the memory of the time you made him laugh so hard and how shocked you were when it came from the mouth under his mask. You loved the sound of his laugh and you gave him the feelings of how much. You gave him the memory of when you went shopping for summer camp and he held your hand so you wouldn’t get lost in crowd. How it made you nervous and gave you butterflies. How you didn’t stop thinking about it for days.

Then to finish it, when you feel him slow down and stop and you hear the sound of the other students and Vlad King, you give him the memory of him finding you, the relief you felt that it was him. How you trusted him with your whole heart and didn’t mind that he saw your chest. It excited you even. How it feels to be carried on his strong back, how the hand close to your butt you had liked a lot more than you’d admit out loud. You think to him “It isn’t fair that I can get memories and thoughts by just touch. But I hope this makes it close. And I hope that we can talk about this later” you look into his eyes when he pulls your body from his back and covered you with blanket, you reach up and cup his cheek over his mask, a move so gentle it made his breath hitch. Your hand falls down and you pass out.

[darksunrising]

Sola Gratia (9/?)

Masterlist

Rating / Warnings : General audiences, no particular warnings.

Fandom : Bram Stoker’s Dracula, BBC’s Dracula, various Dracula and vampire lore.

Part 9/? (2000 words)

Author’s notes : I’m trying to get the chapters a more consistent length, I think 2000-2500 is good ! Means I’ll be able to work more consistently, but please don’t hesitate to tell me what you think about it ! Also, sorry for all the build-up, but a girl’s gotta set the decor a bit !

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

During the following weeks, the presence of the Count became almost familiar. Every day, he waited for me with a different kind of pastry. I tried to protest at first, but quickly had to make my peace with it. At some point, seeing me wince at my terrible coffee, he forbade me to drink it anymore, and added that to my daily breakfast. I asked him exactly once why he insisted on feeding me, to which he replied that he liked my blood healthy, with a toothy grin. I hit him over the arm, he laughed. Other than that, he was careful not to step over my boundaries, and seemed to find the way to only be there at the appropriate time.

That was not the case for Leah, however, who was delighted to see Vlad was going to be a recurring presence in our lives. The two of them got along far better than I would have wanted. Vlad especially enjoyed playing along with her when she started asking probing questions about the both of us, although I had to admit he was an expert at deviating any question that could have revealed his true nature.

It took me some time to fully realize how much he had actually seen, and lived. He died around the 1470s, which meant he had all the time in the world to see the Sistine Chapel being painted, the construction of the Eiffel Tower, or the damn french Revolution. He could have just been a very polyvalent historian, which is what I told Leah. She interpreted that as a challenge, considering he and I were, as she put it, “introverted nerds who need to see the light of the sun once in a goddamn while”. She started dragging us along in random activities. There was a pottery class, to which I was barely able to make the Leaning Flower Pot Of Pisa, while she somehow made an incredible owl sculpture, and Vlad had made a delicate greek-inspired vase. Seeing him, sleeves rolled up over his elbows, hair tied up in a ponytail, his long fingers working in precise, expert gestures, probably had noting to do with my absolute failure to make anything correct. I decided then that manual activities were a no-go for me in the car ride, where I sulked on the backseat, while Leah and Vlad were still crying-laughing about my sorry excuse for a pot.

After the rousing success of that experience, she wasn't about to stop. We did a haunted castle themed escape game, which Vlad curiously sucked at. That would explain some stuff. Leah then found out that a Renaissance faire was taking place in a small town, about an hour or two outside the city, and decided we definitely had to go. I tried to pretend I had too much work and wouldn't be able to make it, but Vlad and her insisting, I caved, and marked down my calendar with the red pen of defeat.

Being stuck in period costumes with the both of them wasn't the only reason I tried protesting. Laurent really did throw a ton of work on my shoulders, and that wasn't considering the whole Stephan Helder situation. The kid was highly motivated, sure, but he started making me feel uneasy, for some reason. After all my classes, he came to chat, and always found a way to ask questions about Vlad. Strangely phrased questions, or about how he couldn't find publications under his name. Legitimate questions, to be fair, but his insistence was bugging me.

“I'm telling you, that is weird. Those are weird questions”, I told Vlad, sitting on my windowsill. He didn't react. “I am serious, what if he knew ?”

“How would he know ?”, he sighed. “Why would he even want to know ?”

“Well, that's a fair question. Which needs an answer, don't you think ?”

He tilted his head, softly smiling. “I think you are being a bit paranoid.”

“I spend most of my free time hanging out with an immortal murder-machine, I think I deserve the right to be a bit paranoid”, I snapped.

“Fair enough”, he laughed.

Being immortal had to have dulled his sense of danger. Although, I could see how a skinny 20-year-old medieval history student wouldn't spontaneously raise red flags.

“By the way, I am going back to Romania”, he told me.

I felt a small pinch to my heart. “Oh.”

“Only for a few days”, he completed with a smirk. “I have to pick up some things, and oversee the moving company. I do not trust them with half my things.”

I furrowed my brow. “Moving company ?”

“Oh, did I not mention it ?”, he innocently replied. “Before I even arrived, I bought a little something a little ways outside the city. The renovations are done, and you of all people understand I cannot live there without a decent library.”

I took a second to process it. He had a smug look, obviously enjoying my confusion. I had to say I didn't even think about where he spent his nights. I figured he either turned into a bat and hanged somewhere upside down, or simply didn't sleep. Did he even need to rest ? Gods, so many questions I didn't even think to ask. Every day, I felt like I discovered a puddle, only to realize it was part of a lake.

“When I come back, would you come visit ?”, he asked, sounding a bit hesitant.

“Sure. I mean, as long as I don't have to wear heels if you decide to go feral on me.”

He took a dead-serious expression. “I promise you, Eris Cetero, that as long as you live, I will never, ever, make you wear heels again.”

I threw my head back with a groan of agony. Was it so bad that this kind of humor was actually funny to me now ? Was having a six century old bloodthirsty creature imply he might try to murder me again really that hilarious ? Apparently so, as I was unable to contain a giggle. Maybe it was because the look he had was all but threatening. Maybe because every time I was near him, even with all that happened, I felt... Safe. For a few weeks, I had been able to decide staying over at the University library until ungodly hours. I didn't have to thing about what time I had to leave at before it became too risky for a woman with very limited knowledge of martial arts, alone.

I mean, he was arguably more dangerous than any encounter I might have had, but still... I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Maybe it was wishful thinking. Then again, he had plenty of occasions to lose it. Last week, for instance, I had no idea what to expect when I left my apartment, dosed with painkillers, as Mother Nature, that ruthless bitch, decided to drop by for her monthly visit.  He was simply waiting for me at the usual spot, looking a bit off, but holding a large box of chocolates along with my breakfast. He made himself scarce for the following three days, but I could tell he tried to act natural.

“I should let you get some rest”, Vlad told me, dragging me out of my thoughts.

I nodded, slowly. “When are you leaving ?”

“Some time tomorrow. I will still pick you up, if that is what worries you.”

He smiled, teasing. “Yeah, that's... That's it. I'd miss my personal chauffeur.” I looked away a second. “Now, get off my window, I need to sleep.”

“Of course, my Lady”, he replied, and backed away with an overly low bow. “I bid you good night.”

Once again, with a fluttering sound, the usual bat replaced the tall man. I called out to him, offering my hand as a perch. The tiny black creature gripped a finger. I would have expected a Vampire Bat, to be fair, and almost laughed when I realized it was a common little brown bat, only changing in the darker color.

“Well, don't you look adorable”, I told him.

I could take a more frightening appearance, if you want me to.

“Telepathy, huh ? That's new”, I commented. Nothing surprised me that much anymore, to be honest.

I try not to pry, it's usually considered rude.

“You don't say.”

He stretched out his wings. They were so thin I could see the tiny veins running across the membrane. I had to use all my will not to just scoop him up and pet his tiny head, or scratch his belly. Now, that would have been rude. Probably. Those kind of reflexions were a bit new to me.

I would stay here all night if I could, but I am starting to feel a bit hungry.

“Oh, by all means. I won't keep you.”

I heard a small squeaky sound I interpreted as a laugh, and he left. I closed the window, and the quiet made me rethink the situation. If he was gone, that would leave me some time to look into the Helder situation without him interfering. Now, I just needed the help of my favorite professional stalker. With a little smile, I slipped under my covers, and almost instantly faded into sleep.

~ ~ ~

After Vlad let me off at the University, he only came over to say hi to Leah, and announce his departure. He left right after, with a kiss for her hand, and one for my forehead.

“Do you need some ice ? You look pretty hot”, she snarked at me once he was gone. “A cold shower, perhaps ?”

“Oh, shut up, will you ?”, I groaned, placing the back of my hands onto my cheeks.

She snickered. She was the best friend I could ever hope to have, but man, as soon as someone was involved, she became absolutely unbearable.

“By the way, I need your help with something”, I told her, lowering my voice a little.

“Oooh, sneaky voice, I like it already. Tell me.”

I brought her inside, and we went straight to my office, a small, cluttered room in the old building. I dragged a folding chair next to mine, behind the heavy wooden desk.

“I'm having a weird feeling about a transfer student”, I told her. “I wondered if you could-”

Before I could even finish my sentence, she had already taken out her laptop, her glasses sitting on her nose. She turned on a bunch of apps she left running in the background, and turned to me.

“Name ?”

“Stephan Helder, with 'ph'”, I told her.

I kind of felt bad about it. If it was nothing, I was just prying into his personal life – or having Leah pry, anyway. She began typing away, and in less than three minutes, she had results. Stephan Jonathan Helder, 18, your typical genius type. Skipped a few middle-school classes, finished high-school at 15, with straight-As. Spotless criminal record, less so for the medical one, with a few bad cases of pulmonary infections. Didn't have one in years, though. Seemed like he was from a good family, but then again, no information on them showed up. Huh. I asked Leah to look into them.

“That's crazy”, she said after a good five minutes. “I mean, there's barely anything.”

“You mean he's an orphan, or something ?”

“No, it's just blacked out. I mean, most of the stuff has been scraped, erased.”

She sounded annoyed, but also excited. I knew she loved a challenge.

“Nothing I can't break”, she commented, and went back to it.

After a few more minutes, she finally had a triumphal shout.

“Got 'em”, she told me. “Stephan Jonathan Helder, the father is Thomas Mark Helder, and the mother is Mary... Huh. That's a cool name.”

“What is ?”, I asked, leaning over her shoulder to read.

My blood froze in my veins instantly.

Mary Van Helsing.

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Taglist : @carydorse @angelicdestieldemon @bloodhon3yx @thewondernanazombie @battocar @moony691 @mjlock @thebeautyofdisorder @festering-queen @paracosmfantasy

[darks-ink]

Unveiled

Prompt: Jack was just trying to plan a surprise for his good ol' friend Vladdy. He...did not expect to discover a secret lab in Vlad's mansion--or a second portal or weaponry to rival theirs or-- Was that a hologram of his wife? Prompt by: @ladylynse Word count: 3,836

[AO3][FFnet][more Phic Phight fics]

The door creaked as Jack opened it, arms full with birthday decorations. He kicked it closed behind him, the key already put into a pocket in his jumpsuit. Sure, Vlad might not have handed it to him, but the man hadn’t changed in the years since they had met. He still hid it exactly where Jack would’ve expected him to.

Which was useful, because now Jack could decorate the mansion for the surprise birthday party he was going to throw for his best friend! He knew for a fact that Vlad would be out for several hours – mayoral duties and all that. And while he normally did his best to attend… This was a golden opportunity. He was sure that Vlad would forgive his absence once he saw the party.

He dumped his armful of decorations (carefully) in the entry hall. It would be the most convenient place to access it – he could return to this spot and decorate the separate wings of the mansion. Pleased with this plan, Jack picked up some of his goods and set off.

A few hours of decorating later, Jack had reached a cozy-looking study. He was just hanging up some flags when he accidentally knocked over a small statue. Worried that he had broken one of Vlad’s precious items, he approached to inspect it.

And then, with a grinding noise, the wall behind the statue started to open. Jack paused, watching how the wall opened into… a staircase?

Curiosity peaked, Jack crept closer. Why would Vlad have a hidden staircase like this? But just imagine what kind of cool things could be hidden down there?

He eagerly bustled down the stairs, and ended up in an enormous lab. It was much more neatly organized than theirs – a clear sign that Vlad was in control of this one.

Jack had to admit that he was a little confused by the fact that it was hidden. As exciting as this discovery was – his best friend was still into (ghost) science! – he didn’t understand why Vlad had kept it a secret. Why hadn’t he mentioned it to his friends? To him or Maddie?

Were mayors not allowed to have interests like these? Or was it something to do with his image, as mayor or as billionaire? Jack knew that the town tended to look askew to him and his wife because of their interest. Did Vlad hide it because of that? Was he afraid of being scorned like that?

He walked further into the lab, curious to see what Vlad worked on. What kind of inventions had he stowed down here? Could they work together, perhaps? Secretly, so he didn’t have to worry about his reputation?

Now that Jack was away from the staircase, he could see the entire lab. It was far larger than the one underneath FentonWorks. Not entirely surprising, that was.

What was surprising was the invention set in the back wall. It was a familiar sight. A giant metal arch, the insides filled with swirling green; a Ghost Portal. Set in the steel beside it was an Ecto-Filtrator. It… was the exact same as their Ecto-Filtrator.

And, sure. Maybe Vlad had based it on the old design for the Proto-Portal they had made back in college. But the one he and his wife had built for the new Portal was entirely different in design. And somehow, Vlad had made his exactly like theirs. How? He shouldn’t have had access to the blueprints. Right?

All along the walls, carefully stored and labeled, was ecto-weaponry. Jack would’ve been excited about that, except that these seemed to be very much like the FentonWorks weaponry as well. The designs seemed eerily similar. Most guns could’ve been theirs, except that they were detailed with red instead of green. Seemed to be powered by pink ectoplasm instead of the green they used.

Was this why Vlad had hidden his lab? Because he borrowed their designs – Jack didn’t want to think of it as stealing, because surely his best friend didn’t so such things – and didn’t want them to know? Didn’t Vlad realize that they would’ve forgiven him for such a thing? If he had asked, Jack would’ve gladly shared the blueprints, even!

Everything in the lab seemed to be directly inspired from the FentonWorks lab, except bigger and more expensive. Everything, except for the giant machines in the back.

They resembled enormous pods – and Jack had no idea what they could’ve been for. They weren’t connected to anything, and were littered with shattered glass and broken machinery and snapped cables. They were clearly salvaged from somewhere, but from where and why, he didn’t know. Was Vlad researching the machines for something? And if so, for what?

In his curiosity, his feet had been carrying him ever closer without him noticing. Apparently he passed too close by the main computer, because it turned on. Startled by the sudden activation, Jack backed away a step or two.

And in the empty space he had just cleared, a hologram appeared. See-through and glitchy along the edges, but still clearly recognizable. The auburn hair and violet eyes were a clear giveaway – as was the teal jumpsuit.

Vlad had a hologram made to resemble Maddie. Jack’s wife. What the hell?

“Hello darling,” the fake Maddie said, her voice so staticky that it was barely recognizable as Maddie’s. “How can I help you today?”

“Go away,” he commanded, disgusted and confused and so many other emotions that he couldn’t discern. “Leave me alone.”

“Of course sweetcheeks,” the hologram replied, before flickering out of sight. Jack sighed, relieved, and sank down into the chair sitting in front of the computer. Maybe… maybe he should take a look. Something was going on here.

The cool hidden underground lab suddenly wasn’t as exciting anymore.

On the computer, the files were neatly organized. Another sign that good old Vladdie hadn’t changed as much as one might think. Unfortunately, this didn’t make the information presented to Jack make any more sense.

A bunch of files were dedicated to Maddie. And another few specifically to the AI version of Maddie he had seen just now – which implied that most of the files were about the real Maddie. Jack briefly wondered what on Earth his friend could’ve hidden in these – but he skipped past them, nonetheless.

Disgust curled in his stomach. Maybe Vlad wasn’t the friend Jack thought he was. To him, or to Maddie.

There are also a lot of files about Phantom. These, at least, should be safe for Jack to explore. The ghost was an interesting one, after all. And had no link to him or his family, besides the fact that they hunted it.

Initially, the files make perfect sense. They were studies – far more in-depth than anything Jack and his wife had ever managed. Phantom was notoriously elusive, and he wondered how Vlad might’ve acquired the more advanced data.

Phantom’s power levels, its abilities and skills, weaknesses and strengths. These were all perfectly normal – they kept the same things logged. The ghost was a powerful one, and knowing one’s prey was important for hunters. And while Vlad wasn’t a hunter, he might’ve been compiling the information for other hunters to use.

More curious were the anatomical pointers. Some of the notes were fine – location and strength of the core, ectoplasm density, such things – but others… were not. Skeletal structure, which ghosts shouldn’t have, and even organs? Was Vlad somehow ahead of them in research?

Jack did seriously wonder how Vlad had acquired all this information, then. He wasn’t a hunter – and he certainly couldn’t have caught Phantom. Right?

More curiously, however, was that he kept referring to the ghost as ‘Daniel’ instead of Phantom. This, Jack definitely didn’t get.

Until he reached the part of the file dedicated to Phantom’s origin.

From the start, it was a confusing mess of data. It listed all kinds of information about Phantom which Jack couldn’t fathom Vlad accessing – and which he highly doubted were true. Additionally, it was all presented in a way which made it seem all the more sketchy.

Even the first note, cause of death, was highly dubious. “Electrocution via Ghost Portal,” it stated, which was clear enough – if a little worrying, because it meant that not only was someone trying to mimic their grand invention, they had gotten a kid killed in the process. More confusingly, however, the sentence didn’t end there. No, instead, “much like myself” was tacked on. Like Vlad himself had died – or like the files had come from a ghost.

Jack wasn’t sure which was better. He ignored it in favor of reading on, hoping to find less confusing information.

Apparently Phantom had only become a ghost a year or two ago. By the time they first encountered him, he would’ve been barely formed. Supposedly, he had formed immediately upon death – he had died early August that year.

Instead of getting hung up on this, Jack’s eye caught on the details on the ghost’s identity. Because there, in plain text, it read, “Daniel Fenton”. Like his son had died two years ago, and had somehow become Phantom. As if he wouldn’t have noticed if his own son had died!

But the file provided picture proof as well. A lot of picture proof. Comparative photos between Danny and Phantom, taken at regular intervals. They did look like perfect mirror images – identical copies, if one ignored the difference in hair and eye color. In the pictures, one could even see them growing up in perfect sync.

And the file continued on. It listed Phantom (Danny?) as a halfa – a half-ghost. A special type of ghost caught in the split between life and death. Not entirely a ghost, but not quite human either.

It was… It was all too much. None of this could be true. Jack refused to believe it.

Something… Something must be wrong with Vlad – clearly had been for a while. He was sorry that he hadn’t noticed it before, but for now the best would be to help. He didn’t know what had caused it, or how to fix it, but he owed it to his friend. All these files were a clear sign of some mental problem – Jazz’s constant rants about psychology had taught him that much, at least.

Because, as convincing as all this was… As much as all of it held up to Vlad’s old standards, rigorously collected and sorted information…

Danny could not be Phantom. It was impossible. No matter how similar their appearances were, it simply wasn’t physically possible for one to be both ghost and human at the same time.

Still, morbid curiosity drove him to scroll just that little bit further down.

Logs. So many logs. Detailed breakdowns of Danny’s DNA – or parts of it, at least. Some clearly human. Other bits seemed otherworldly – tainted by ectoplasm, or so the file said.

More concerning, however, were the carefully kept notes on the various clones that Vlad had made. Of Danny – or Phantom, that wasn’t entirely clear. Maybe a mixture of both, which would’ve explained his faulty belief that the two were one and the same.

Jack would’ve considered that the reason why they were all listed as destabilized. All had broken down over their contrary existence – an existence not physically possible.

Except that, apparently, a single clone had survived. Slightly younger than Danny, and female. There was no name listed for her – just like there had been no names for the others. And somehow, she had survived.

Jack would’ve scoffed, laughed it off… but there were, once again, photos. Of a girl who looked so much like Danny that it was scary. And of a girl who looked just like Phantom, but younger. Different in the same way she was different from Danny.

And a video, which showed her shifting from one into the other in a sharp burst of light. Bright rings which swept away one girl and replaced her with the other.

So maybe there was some sort of truth to Danny being Phantom. Or Vlad had become incredibly competent with video editing – which Jack highly doubted. If he had gone this crazy, surely he couldn’t fake such convincing footage?

More concerning, however, was what Vlad apparently thought of this clone. She was the only survivor of an act he shouldn’t have tried – creating new life was morally wrong, and he highly doubted that either his son or Phantom (or were they one and the same?) had consented to it.

But Vlad seemed intent on figuring out why this one clone had survived. And to do so, he wanted to catch her.

He wanted to kill her, just to find out why she hadn’t died sooner.

It was… It was disgusting. No matter what had gone wrong with Vlad, no matter how much of this was real or fake or imagined – the intent was still there. Even if the girl– ghost– halfa wasn’t real, Vlad still wanted to kill her. Wanted to kill a living being he had created, because of what? Because she wasn’t a perfect copy of Danny? Because she had somehow survived when his ‘good’ clones hadn’t?

Why did he even want to clone Danny? Phantom or not, what could Vlad possibly achieve from having a clone of Jack’s son?

He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know what the truth was – behind Phantom, behind Vlad, behind the lab and all its contents and–

Pushing himself away from the desk, Jack stood up. He wanted to get away from it all. Wanted to deny it – but at the same time, he wanted to help. Wanted to figure it out.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, intending to leave, trying to decide what to do–

A sound like shattering glass snapped him out of his reverie. He whipped around to see Phantom – the ghost was hovering next to one of the tables in the lab. Its – his – eyes were wide with shock. At his feet laid broken glass, like he had accidentally knocked a beaker over.

“D– Jack,” he said. Now that Jack was listening for it, he could clearly hear the hesitation, the correction. Phantom had been about to call him Dad.

God, this really was his son. Or derived from him somehow, but… that didn’t seem right. His gut said that the first was correct – and Vlad’s files seemed to imply the same.

“Danny,” he greeted back. Phantom – Danny – seemed confused by the words. And, perhaps, also by his non-violent approach. And how sad was that, that his own son looked at him with genuine fear?

He took his eyes off of the ghost of his son. Or half-ghost, if Vlad’s notes were to be believed. He doesn’t know anymore. Some of them seemed to be right, but others… they were too disgusting and scary to imagine.

“What are you doing here?” Danny asked him, cautiously. Jack continued to look around the lab, eyes roving over the entire room. Scanning it for any signs of the horrible things Vlad might’ve done. The ways he might’ve hurt Jack’s son.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he countered, shooting Danny a glance over his shoulder. The half-ghost fidgeted, unsure.

Then Jack’s eyes land on the broken down pods. Knowing what he did now, he could figure out what they were for. Cloning pods. One used to grow the clones – there had surely been more, but only one had been brought here by Vlad.

The other had been used to torture Danny, to somehow obtain the missing DNA samples.

And now that he had started thinking about it, he couldn’t help but worry… What had happened to the female clone? Because if Vlad was right about Danny being Phantom, and the pods were real enough… did that mean that the girl was also real?

Did Jack have a daughter out there, illegally cloned from his son? A baby girl, who had grown up in a lab without a name, watching her siblings melt and die?

“Is she safe?” he burst out, startling Danny – and himself, a little.

The sudden question seemed to confuse the half-ghost, since he frowned at Jack. “Who?”

“The female clone.” He turned to face his son properly. “The notes said that Vlad tried to hurt her, melt her down. What happened to her? Is she safe?”

“Oh, uh. I stabilized her fully, and then she left to travel the world.” Then the ghost fidgeted even more, slowly approaching him. “What, um. What else did the notes say?”

“A lot.” Jack scratched his cheek, offering a hopefully soothing smile. “Most of them bad things. Terrible things that Vlad has done, or wanted to do. He has a hologram of Maddie, can you believe that? Your mother!”

Danny stiffened, eyes widening even further. The glow from his green eyes cast flickering lights on the shiny surfaces of the lab. For once, Phantom’s eyes seemed kind and lively – Jack wondered how he had never noticed it before.

“You know?” he stuttered, looking at Jack. “And you… don’t mind?”

“Of course not,” he soothed, stepping closer to his son. He went slow, careful not to startle the boy. “You’re my son, Danny. Ghost, boy, or something in-between.”

Then suddenly Danny launched himself at Jack. Chilly cold arms wrapped around him, and in turn his big arms folded around his son. His son, who fit into his arms like he had always done.

A scoff interrupted the moment before they could truly cherish it. They broke apart to see the villainous Wisconsin Ghost hovering in the lab, in front of the Portal. Its arms were crossed, red eyes empty yet somehow still conveying a glare.

“Vlad,” Danny snapped at the ghost, and suddenly all the dots connected for Jack. This was his best friend?

But it made perfect sense. If Vlad’s files were to be believed, Danny had become a halfa thanks to his accident with the Ghost Portal. Vlad, too, had had an accident with a Portal – even if his had been the Proto-Portal. The larger amount of ectoplasm must account for the sickness, for the more… ghostly appearance.

And it explained Vlad’s behavior. The ectoplasm made him more volatile, more ghostly. It must’ve brought down hell upon his mind – and that was without the outside influence of people hating ghosts. It didn’t excuse his behavior, but, well. If they knew the problem, they could help Vlad. Could fix this – could fix him.

He realized that he had missed part of the conversation between Vlad and Danny. But it was impossible to miss the impending fight between the two, so he stepped forward to break it up.

“Wait,” Jack said, holding up his hands. And miraculously, both half-ghosts halted. He turned to face Vlad – his best friend, whom he had hurt beyond words.

“Vlad. I’m… I’m so sorry for what I’ve done to you.” He saw Vlad’s eyes widen, but he wasn’t sure with what emotion. His face was surprisingly hard to read like this. “I’m sorry for the accident with the Portal, and I’m sorry for unintentionally threatening you with my hatred of ghosts. I’m sorry for all the time we – I – made you feel unsafe, or unwelcome, or hated because of something you can’t control.”

Then his eyes hardened, and he made sure to keep his eyes locked with his best friend – or the man that once was his best friend. “But that doesn’t excuse anything you have done. It doesn’t excuse what you’ve done to me, or to my family. It doesn’t excuse what you continue to do.”

Vlad snarled in response, baring his pointed fangs. “What makes you think that I care at all about what you think of me!” Pink ectoplasm sparked around his hands, forming into coiling clouds of active ectoplasm. “What makes you think that I care about your opinion?!”

The ghost shot off, launching himself at Jack with startling speeds. He flinched back a step, throwing up his arms in a feeble attempt to defend himself–

But Danny collided with Vlad before the man reached him, and he was thrown into a wall instead. A fight broke out between the two half-ghosts, Vlad immediately ignoring Jack in favor of the bigger threat.

It made feel Jack feel sick, but he didn’t focus on it. He might not have brought any weaponry, but he didn't need to – the lab was well-stocked with ecto-weaponry. And as much as he hated their similarity with the FentonWorks weapons, it was a boon for the moment. They all seemed to work exactly like the guns he was used to.

His eye caught on Vlad as he charged another ball of volatile ectoplasm. Below him, Danny was picking himself off of the floor. He was unable to defend himself.

Jack blindly reached for a weapon, aimed, and shot.

The explosion blew Vlad back, and his attack dissipated. He hit the wall with a dull thud, head banging against it. Then he collapsed on the floor, his head bent down. A black ring formed around his waist, then split in two and swept over him.

Vlad Masters remained where the Wisconsin Ghost had sat, moments before. A perfect mimicry of the transformation Jack had seen on the screen, an eternity ago.

He stepped closer, bending down over his former best friend. Danny, who had finally picked himself off of the ground, hovered close to him.

“Don’t hurt my son,” he hissed, inches away from Vlad’s face.

“Stay away from my family,” he warned. “From me, from my wife. From my beautiful daughter Jazz and my wonderful son Danny. And from my newest daughter,” he paused, scrambling for a name.

Quietly, Danny added, “Danielle.” Jack didn’t question the name – he trusted his son’s judgment.

“And from my newest daughter, Danielle, whom I haven’t met yet but who I will protect anyway.”

His enormous hands curled around Vlad’s shoulders as he shook the man, driving the point home. “And if you even dare to hurt any of them, I will make the remainder of your life hell. Remember that, Vlad Masters.”

Then he straightened up, nodding once at Danny. The boys eyes flitted between him and Vlad, uncertain.

Jack strode towards the staircase. After a short moment of hesitation, Danny followed him.

“So,” Jack said as they climbed the stairs. Or as he climbed the stairs while Danny floated over them. “Do you have any way of contacting this Danielle?”

Danny remained silent for a moment longer. Then, quietly, he asked, “Why?”

Shooting him a grin, Jack offered, “Well, she’s a Fenton. And us Fentons, we stick together. No matter what.”

[cyberneticlagomorph]

The Hunter King

Its getting worse. Strips and stripes of blue crystal breaking the smooth brown sea of your synthetic skin and the semiflexible plating beneath, glowing with your biolume, that still runs through visible veins in the rigid facets marring your body. For now.

What started out as an oddity has become an affliction. The crystal forming the pulsating phylactery was that once your heart has begun to spread and consume your other systems, yesterday it was just your organs and bones. Now its your skin. You can see the patches visibly growing before your eyes and yet you cannot summon the fear appropriate for this situation. Only calm as you disentangle yourself from your wives, shower, get dressed, and leave the Warren before the sun has a chance to rise. No one stops you, and you aren't surprised. With the new babies everyone's understandably worn out, you are too, but with your issue progressing like it is you can't afford what paltry moments of sleep you can manage to scrape together.

You make your way to the Main Street Library, in the dark snowy silence. Nights like these remind you of gunfire and red stains on white, the scar on your chest burns with traumas still fresh in your mind. Distantly you taste butterscotch, but make no motion to stop. Your progress towards the library is wholly uneventful, the streets deserted and cold, buried in ankle deep snow with only the automated snow plows to play sentry to the sleeping city. You watch one rumble past, amber and black in the streetlights, leaving a trail of exhaust as ghostly as your breath. It beats you to the crosswalk and sits there, the blade of its plow hovering almost uncertainly over the barely visible lines. It beeps at you, softly, encouraging you to cross. It waits for you quietly, politely, and you wave at it the moment you get to the other curb. It lifts its ice-encrusted plow and waves back as best it can, beeping at you again before resuming its intended function, rumbling off into the fading night.

The Spark's Crossing Main Street Library looms behind you like some ancient petrified godbeast that still deserves the worship of lowly mortals like you. You've long since lost track of all the hours devoured by the library and all the wondrous knowledge it contains, you're certain it remembers you and your days as a librarian within its walls. Sometimes you miss those days, but only sometimes. Its closed right now, it being as early as it is, but that doesn't diminish its grand stature in the slightest. You walk up to one of the two massive stone snakes that coil protectively around the Greco-Roman-esque columns that decorate the front of the building. It’s recycled glass scales shimmer iridescent in the gathering dawn, you stick a hand into it’s gaping mouth and ignore the subtle warmth of it’s breath against your fingers. You find a button behind one of it’s fangs and press it, watching as it’s milky, glass globe eyes flicker with life for less than a heartbeat. You ascend the library’s grand stairs without a word, skin prickling as a barrier of ancient magic flickers to life around the building, casting a glamour around it with the echoes of a thousand whispers. You keep walking, ignoring the locked front doors in favor of the vividly glowing portal that yawns intimidatingly on the landing, hidden from mundane eyes by the whispering wall of magic. You step into the portal and continue down the slowly spiraling stairs into the smoky murk beyond.

A simple wooden door, green with cracked and peeling paint that shows the weathered grain beneath it, stands at the bottom of the stairs, embedded in a wall that just might not exist exactly in the way you think it really ought to. It swings wide as you approach bathing the stairwell in shifting light, the room beyond is improbably huge, an impossible sprawling maze of shelves and books illuminated by winged lanterns lit with the souls of Library patrons long dead. The floor beneath your paws is made of earth, covered in a thick blanket of moss and grass, the shelves and furniture are living things, the trunks of trees grown into fantastic shapes to serve a simple purpose. The ceiling above you is a moving map of the cosmos, studded with planets and constellations you do not recognize. Automatically you pause and breathe in the smell of old books, raw magic, and churned earth. The scent of Fairytales and wild adventures.

No matter how many times you visit the Grand Library, it never ceases to amaze you. You can remember your first visit clearly, but you aren't here to fall victim to nostalgia. Not now, not today. You wander through the forest of shelves, pursued by a very helpful Soul-Lantern that seems intent on lighting your path. It flutters after you on batlike wings, roosting on shelves whenever you pause, giving off a stubborn hot pink glow that goes much farther than you thought it would given how small the Lantern is.

Librarians stalk the shelves, towering inhuman things with legs like birds and feathers like ink stained paper. They watch you with calm black eyes, shelving books and pushing carts, attended by swarms of Lanterns and scuttling groups of hobgoblins. Despite their wicked claws and snapping teeth they seem docile, it'd be hard to guess that the feral, screeching things in Night Vale and these gentle giantesses were the same species. Night Vale librarians are stunted in their growth, gone mad with captivity and proximity to iron. You weep for them whenever you visit. You aren't here to weep for their forgotten sisters today, you need help and you need it now. The growing crystal claims your right eye and everything becomes a glorious fractal, time is off the essence.

You flag down a librarian with the help of the Lantern and ask her to take you to the Bookwyrm. You trail after the long spindly legs of the creature as she leads you to the heart of the labyrinth, Special Collections. There in a nest made from the pages of books that could not be saved, lives the Bookwyrm, a magnificent dragoness with scales covered in mile after mile of shifting black text in a thousand languages near lost to time. She has lived here as long as there has been a Grand Library to live in and as such had made herself the Grand Librarian, married to the Library itself. Paige, the Spirit of the Grand Library, lays curled around her wife's neck like an odd scarf, eyes shut in contentment even as you approach. You tell the Bookwyrm of your problem, show her the crystal in your skin and feel her flinch. You ask her for the whereabouts of the Hunter King and watch even Paige frown, you beg, you offer your soul, your kingdom, every book in your library but they refuse them all. Literal sapphire tears roll down your face and clatter to the mossy floor beneath you. The Bookwyrm tilts your head up with a claw and hushes you.

The Bookwyrm regards you with eyes the color of well thumbed pages, lowering her great snout to speak in a whisper only meant for you. She gives you an address in the outskirts of the city, where the Ruins just barely begin and the crows speak in tongues not heard for a thousand years. There you find the shell of a once magnificent mansion, gray and covered in snow. The weeds grip your ankles and the crows shriek curses, you ignore them all and ring the doorbell. It echoes through the house like a solemn banshee's cry, heralding nothing but suffering. But you don't flee, you stay on the front stair, shivering in the cold, and you wait. The moments tick by, your paws grow numb, the front door creaks open and two red eyes glare from the gloom beyond.

"I've never known a rabbit to deliver itself so readily into the jaws of a hungry wolf, nor have I ever seen a witch so eager to meet her death," said a voice as old as old could be, one that rumbles like a smoker's but purrs like a fine gentlemen's. It holds several accents blended into something pleasant but unnerving that makes the fur along your spine lift. "Do you know who I am young one?" the stranger inquires

"Vlad Dracula Tepes, the Hunter King," you whisper, flinching as he snarls

"The Hunter King, you say it as if that's a thing to be proud of. The King of bastards, murderers and thieves, the King of Witch killers." he growls, sharp teeth glinting in what milky sunlight manages to filter its way through the persistent clouds. He sneers at you, seeming to grow in the darkness,  but not yet daring to take a step into the light, "Why have you come, Witch?"

You tremble, dropping the tentative glamour around you, and tip your head back to let the crystal catch the light. You watch Dracula's eyes widen in surprise and feel his claws close around your forearm, dragging you into his home. Inside, the mansion is warm and ornate, well kept and clean. The door slams behind the both of you and for the first time today you feel afraid.

"What have you done to yourself?" he asks, demeanor changing entirely as if you were no longer an arrogant, strange Witch on his doorstep, but his child with a skinned knee. You remove your coat and watch him recoil as more patches of crystal come into view, he sweeps you into the den as you try to explain the situation. Try to explain the Red Queen, the quest for the Looking Glass, her return, the phylactery and everything in as few words as possible. He listens intently, lighting a fire in the hearth with a single word. You watch him retreat into another room but don't dare follow,

"Sit," he tells you, gesturing at a great highbacked arm chair in front of the fireplace. You do as you're told and sink into the massive seat. "Your heart isn't made of crystal, its a soulstone."

He calls from the other room over the clinking of metal on glass, "You,  being half fae, produce more magic than it is capable of containing and as such it is trying to compensate by growing." he swishes out of the other room, through the den to another room from which he retrieves a book, "if this isn't taken care of immediately the stone will continue to grow and grow until it consumes you entirely." he snaps the book shut, "you'll be nothing but an expensive lawn ornament."

You open your mouth to speak but Mr. Tepes has already returned to the other room and resumed his clinking and clattering. You sit there for awhile, slowly warming up in front of the fire, unaware of how heavy your eyelids are getting until you've already fallen asleep. You wake up sometime later, wrapped in a thick brown fur with a steaming cup of tea perched precariously on the arm of the chair. You sip it politely until Mr. Tepes shows himself again, armed with an eye dropper full of dark liquid. You let him put two of the bitter drops on your tongue and feel your stomach turn immediately. He's there with a bin before you can be sick on his pristine floors. All that comes out of you is crystal shards and raw magic that sparkles like something out of a cartoon. "you need to purge the crystal and excess magic from your system as quickly as possible so that I may properly quarantine your heart. This emetic will do just that, I apologize for the inevitable discomfort."

He leaves you be after that, returning to what's probably his lab to resume his clinking and clattering once again.

Every so often he leans into the den, red eyes glowing in the dimness as you quietly sip your tea and sink further beneath the blanket, listening to the fire crackle in front of you. Exhaustion tugs at your eyelids, dragging you back under as you remember your promise to sleep. You don't fight the dreams that threaten to take you and burrow beneath the fur throw as if you were back home. Mr. Tepes wakes you sometime later, offering another cup of tea and some chocolate cookies, he tells you that the medicine is almost complete and that puts your fitful mind at ease. You send a selfie to your favorite group chat and hope it calms whatever panic you might have left in your wake. Ada, your mother, insists on thanking him for his kindness, something you'll do before you leave. Dracula suddenly looms behind the great arm chair, a paper bag rustling in his grip. He wordlessly reads the chat over your shoulder before handing you the bag,

"I am not grumpy." he says, a hint of a pout leaking into his voice as you rise from the chair and stretch. You snort, but don't say anything, stowing the bag in your chest for safe keeping. Dracula sweeps you towards the door to his mansion, "Two drops on the tongue every morning before breakfast, do not flush or discard any shards you expel, see me again the moment that the bottle is empty," he stoops a bit so that you're both eye to eye, his teeth flash in his mouth like daggers sliding from hidden sheaths, "Understand?"

You nod, you thank him, you put on your coat and you leave, feeling the air behind you fold in on itself as the grand estate once again becomes dilapidated and overgrown in the gathering night. When you get home and get settled, tangled in the arms of two worried witches, you open the bag and find your medicine, a tin of spiced tea, and a box of chocolate cookies.

[eloisemarieedmunds]

Obscurity: Eloise & Vlad

Hearing the distinctive Skype ringtone from her computer, Eloise ignored it as she had been for the past week. Talking to her friends was the absolute last thing she wanted right now. They had questions and wanted answers that she didn’t have to give them. No doubt, Allison had spread the false story she'd been fed. What could Eloise say to that? Not the truth obviously. If she said the words 'vampire prostitute' they'd stage intervention again and she could not be put through another one of those. She couldn't carry the lie on either because then they'd want to vet him themselves.

And that can't happen because he's not around, she thought bitterly as she blotted away her excess lipstick with a tissue. Of course, as soon as it occurred to her, she cursed herself. She'd decided the morning after the car incident that she wasn't going to acknowledge his existence anymore. He'd gotten what he needed from her and that was that. Which, what the fuck ever, right? She was fine. Just fucking perfect.

Forcing her mind back into the present, she checked her look one more time to make sure everything was precise. The burgundy cowl neck bodycon dress reached only her mid-thigh and fit her like a glove. It accentuated every curve and distracted from her rather lackluster chest, lengthening her legs and most importantly displaying her neck. She turned, examining the look from the rear. The cross-back strappy design slimmed her waist while also showing off ample skin and the fabric made her ass look more enticing. It was rather obvious why this had been Chad's favorite dress of hers. Yeah. He maybe a total shithead, but he certainly has an eye.

Turning once more to face the mirror, Eloise examined her loosely waved hair, using her freshly painted gold nails to secure the front strands on either side of her face behind her ears. With lips coated in a color to match her dress and eyes shadowed in a glittering gold with mascara and eyeliner, Eloise figured she was as ready as she would ever be.

Padding out into her bedroom on bare feet, she checked all the items she'd laid out on her bed. Her clutch, still containing the condom and breath mints from the last time she'd ventured into the club scene, was soon additionally stuffed with her identification and apartment key.

"What am I forgetting?" She mused allowed, letting her green eyes roam the room. The small plastic bag on her dresser top caught her attention and she hurried over to grab it. Once the expensive treat was secured in her bag, she headed for the door to her apartment. She stopped for only a moment to ensure that her cellphone was indeed charging where she'd left it and grabbed her kitten heels before walking out the door. On the stoop of her building she slid her feet into her shoes prior to going to the curb to hail a regular old yellow taxi; that was one major downside of unplugging for the night, she couldn't use any applications. It was epically old school.

Having scoped out her various possibilities and having ruled out Nite Life immediately, Eloise knew exactly where she was heading. She gave the driver, a middle-aged man who seemed remarkably well-kept for a taxi driver out doing rounds at such a late hour, the address and they were off. Determined not to let her mind wander, Eloise reached into her clutch and took out the tiny zip lock bag containing her four special pills: two lavender & two seafoam green. It was a new designer drug called Heartsome, that supposedly made the world ‘colorful’ and relaxed you all at once. Ellie wasn’t exactly clear on what her dealer meant by ‘colorful,’ but she wasn’t sticking around to ask. He would have started teasing her for thinking she was done with his drugs just because her friends said so and she was in no mood for his shit. She tucked the baggie back into her purse as the vehicle slowed down.

The car came to rumbling stop outside Obscurity, a sleek, modern building that gleamed like black onyx against the night sky. With sincere thanks and handing over cash to the driver, Eloise climbed out, straightening the fabric of her tight dress before confidently approaching the two bouncers guarding the entrance. They requested her identification and shown both their flashlights upon the lamented surface. Convinced that she was indeed twenty-six-years-old, the bulky men moved aside to allow her entrance to the upscale club.

The interior of the club was just as sleek as the exterior, all the surfaces a shiny material reflected the color lights that descended from the ceiling. People milled about everywhere, human and vampire alike, but there was a touch more decorum in Obscurity then there had been in Nite Life. With a soft smile molded to her lips, Eloise made her way to the bar and almost immediately one of the bartenders was there to take her order. After inquiring what he’d suggest for a human seeking to have a thrilling night, he made her a trio of flaming shots.

“Remember to blow them out before downing them,” the bartender warned before darting off to attend another customer.

Lifting the shots up one by one, blowing them out and downing them was an interesting experience. The liquids were warm as they slide down her throat before settling in her stomach, like she swallowed a simmering glow.

“How did you like the Earth, Wind, & Fire?” It was clearly a line, but the young woman no longer gave a shit. She was here for one thing and one thing only: to forget he-who-shall-not-be-thought-of and to feel uncomplicated pleasure. With her goal in mind, Eloise turned and found herself staring at a man’s broad chest, covered by a black dress. Tilting her head upwards, Ellie met soulful brown eyes.

“Yes,” she answered easily enough, “it was a shot experience. I’d recommend it if you’re thinking of trying it.”

He laughed, a full body sound that shook his broad shoulders and light up his handsome face, “I’m glad to hear it. I invented the trio, you see.

“You did?” she assumed this was just the puffing typical of the bar atmosphere.

“Mhmm,” he said, smiling brightly, his fangs appearing in an instant, “My cousin owns this place and he gave him all my good drink ideas.”

“What about all your bad drink ideas? Did you give him them too?”

“I did,” he agreed with a light wink, “What’s your name, tiny human?”

“Eloise.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand with the speed of his kind, “My name is Clifton.” His index finger came to rest upon the inside of her wrist, the opposite of the one that Vlad had bitten, “It’s a true pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Eloise.”

Miss Eloise? So formal. A small smile tilted the corners of her lips upwards, “You too, Clifton.”

“Can I get you a more substantial drink?”

She shook her head softly, “I get my own drinks for safety reasons. No offense.”

Again, he chuckled lightly, “No offense is taken. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders; it’s…appealing.”

Turning back to the bar for just a moment, Eloise flagged down a bartender and ordered a dirty martini. Clifton fitted himself between her and the next bar patron, his chest mere inches from Eloise. His left hip rested upon the bar’s solid structure. “After you get your drink, would you care to dance?”

“Are you a good dancer?” She asked teasingly, “I don’t want my feet trampled upon. Not in these shoes.”

He looked down at her feet, eyeing the golden kitten heels, before looking up again, “It would be travesty to step upon such cute feet. You’re in luck though, Eloise, I’m a marvelous dancer. “

The sound of a glass being set down upon the bar’s top drew Eloise’s attention from the charming vampire. She thanked the bar tender and handed off the necessary money. She tugged the tiny baggy from her clutch again and took out two of the tablets, one lavender and one seafoam green and popped them into her mouth. Taking a sip of the alcohol to chase the pills down her throat, Eloise returned her focus to Clifton. He was still gazing down on her, a wicked gleam in his eye.

“Has anyone told you tonight that dress looks fabulous on you?”

“No.” Eloise said with a small smile over the wide rim of her glass.

“Well, it does,” he assured her,” he reached and grasped her elbow to steer her away from the crowded bar and onto the dance floor, “You look quite…delectable. Red is a very tempting color on you.”

Among the crush of the bodies upon the dance floor, the colored lights playing upon the various individuals and surfaces as Clifton pulled her close. His right hand rested on her lower back, his cool hand standing out against her heated skin, bringing her pelvis against his own. There was no mistaking his interest or intent. He spun her away with the music before pulling her back into him, this time with her back to his chest.

An arm encircled her waist, securing her to his larger frame. He nosed at her throat, bringing up memories of Vlad that she didn’t wish to recall. Luckily for her the Heartsome was beginning to kick, chasing away her unwanted thoughts and concerns. Indeed, all the colors, that had once been dulled by her weak human eyes, were bright, vivid, magical.

“You smell fantastic, tiny human.” Clifton’s voice sounded slightly distant, but she could still feel the press of his solid body behind her so she knew that he hadn’t moved. “Have you ever been bitten, Eloise?”

“Yes once.”

“Mmm,” He mumbled, the vibrations of the sound against her skin, lighting up her nerve-endings. “Were you being fucked at the time, princess?”

“N-no.” His hand slid up her stomach slowly. The music was fading away to nothing, the other people melting away into nothingness. Her fingers relaxed unconsciously around the stem of the martini glass, sending the item crashing to the ground and shattering.

His fangs scraped over her tender neck teasingly, making her shiver, “You missed out, Eloise….” He paused, his lower lip dragging slightly on her skin, “Maybe we should rectify that tonight. Let’s go outside, yes?”

Clifton was directing her towards a backdoor, but Eloise barely noticed. Her eyes felt too wide and the rainbow of colors that encompassed the club were very distracting. “O-okay.”

The bracing cold of outside was a shock to her system for only a moment before the buzz of the pills came back full-force. The darkened alley was a great deal less interesting for the drugged young woman, but before she could complain, Clifton was pressing her back against the sleek wall of the club. Her eyes rolled in her head as he hands pinned her hips to the walls. There was so much happening in her drugged-out state that Eloise failed to notice when the door, they’d just come out of, banged open and another person exited Obscurity.

[athedemonsqueen]

Vladimir #1 (A vampire story)

Hi guys, so here is the first chapter of my first actual vampire story based off Vladimir and Stefan from Twilight, now before you turn away from this, this is only based off Vladimir and Stefan and you (Y/N) there will be no Edward or Bella no Cullens, only the Volturi and the Romanian coven. I’m changing up some vampire rules for the story to make sense so I hope you like my ideas. The reason why I want to write a story based off Vladimir and Stefan is because they are believe it or not, are the original vampires mostly Vladimir, (hence the name Vlad the Impler) also because the original vampire resides in Romania that was a big red flag in Breaking Dawn. Second reason why, I think Vladimir and Stefan have an awesome back story it something I think every vampire lover can get into! So sit back relax an enjoy #1.

An update on I Found You, I will not be updating probably until next Monday since it’s the last Monday before Wrestlmania and just like Wrestlmania this chapter will be BIG! This will be the second to last chapter before we come to a close. I will do a second novel within due time (probably around the middle of April) I just want to focus on Vladimir before I start balancing two stories. :) Don’t worry, I haven’t forgot my loving blue eyed Irishmen! 

Romania- one thousand years after the Volturi had destroyed the Romanian vampire coven, throwing them into darkness and myth of the original vampire. Now, centuries later, peace must be made between the Italian coven and the Romanian coven. This must be made for hope of peace between the two different worlds.

“(Y/N)! (Y/N)!” Cristolf yelled, coming into my chamber. I scoffed as I continued packing my clothes. Usually Cristolf voice is calming and inviting, he was angry, I could tell by the gruffness of his voice. It is to be expected from a vampire.

I’m packing to go to Romania to settle a treaty with the Romanian coven. This was a big debate and it was talk about everywhere, the Romanians hate the Italians. This is because of Aro, leader of the Volturi that destroyed the Romanian coven forcing them into darkness.  Aro feared of Vladimir's rule and that he might overthrow the Volturi. Although Vladimir had no intention in overthrowing the covens. We are not the Volturi, we are a small coven on the outskirts of Rome. If we make peace with the Romanians we can form an alliance and we can depend on each other.

Cristolf is my biological brother. He is a full blooded vampire. I on the other hand a half vampire and half human. My mother was seduced by a vampire and became pregnant with me. She died giving birth and I never knew our father. Cristolf only describes him as kind and yet stubborn.  He turned Cristolf once my mother died, so that he could take care of himself. Cristolf was only seventeen. That was more over three and fifty years ago.

“You cannot go!” Cristolf protested.

“It’s too late, I’m already pack!” I said, simply. “You are an Italian and a immortal child what makes you think Vladimir will listen to you!” Cristolf cried.

“What makes you think he’ll listen to you!” I protested, turning swiftly. My eyes bolted from my sockets. Cristolf took a step back as my voice carried over the castle walls, making them vibrate.

Cristolf sighed, smiling slightly, “You are mama!” I sighed sharply. I turned closing my suitcase.

“I just don’t understand why you won’t allow me to send Marcus…” Cristolf commented.

“Marcus is not a good negotiator and he’ll be torn in half...then what will you do for a mate?” I said, turning my neck.

“I still have my sister…” I scoffed, lifting my suit case up.

I took one good look at Cristolf and said, “I’ll be back before the next blood moon…” I kissed his cheek.

Before you know it, I was gone, off to Romania and to the wild darkness that the Volturi casted in. Although despite the eeriness of the country, it was beautiful. I could smell the forest air and the blood of the creatures that it infested it.

I also could feel a presence a very godly presence, a menacing presence. I sniff the air a little to find that I was near the Romanian castle. I have never seen a castle before and I was nervous to approach one. Over the horizon I saw the castle that resided the Romanian vampires. I trembled slightly as my eyes cast upon it.

A menacing laugh came over my ears and I began to scout the area. A swift glide of air ran past me and I knew right away I was no longer alone.

“Italian scum!” I heard a voice in a distance, although it sounded quiet clear.

“Who’s there?” I asked nervously. A dark shadow came out between two trees. He was dressed in old Romanian clothes, slightly dark skin, and dull red eyes. The sign of a human feeder. He smells my blood, I know it. I have a beating heart; a pulse, and fresh blood.

“Hello, (Y/N)!” His whimsical voice came. His Romanian accent coming through clearly to my ears. I stood nervously, before I said,

“Hello, Stefan.” I bowed slightly at the accent legend.

“Why so nervous?” He tilted his head slightly.

“Forgive me, I’ve heard so much of you. I never thought I would be standing in your presents.”

“Oh, flattery?” Stefan commented. I gulped slightly.

He suddenly was by my side, inches away from my ear, so close I could smell is breathe. He circled me not taking his eyes off me.

“(Y/N) the half breed, your story itself is legend…”

“Funny…” “Cristolf sending his sister to negotiate peace…”

“How is that funny?” I asked.

“Peace could never be reinsure between the Romanians and Italians...especially with a filthy half breed!” His tone changed as his fangs flared out, but I did not run or hide, despite my fear of him.

“I’m here to negotiate with Vladimir not you!”

“Of course you are...good luck trying, Vladimir is not one to listen so easily he enjoys a good fight, but a woman, now...that is a challenge he will accept!” Stefan said.

“With a half-breed, woman…” he chuckled in his throat.

“I know you and Vladimir have been through a lot and I’m sorry, but that was not my family’s doing.” I said, glaring down at him. He growled under his breath before disappearing before I began descending to the castle.

The castle was desolate and void of life of any sorts. Maybe a few bats here and there hung from the ceiling, but mostly the hallway in which I was walking down had not a soul in sight. Vladimir had kept the coven small, only allowing a few vampires to reside here. He feared the Volturi, if they knew Vladimir was growing in numbers, there would be another war. And we don’t want that, for the Volturi would involve us as well.

Through the corridor came Vladimir. He surprised me as I gasped in his sight. He stood still and stared at me for what seemed a long time.

“Did I scare you?” He asked, his accent coming through just as thick as Stefan’s. He glared down slightly at me.

“No, maybe startled, Stefan did the scaring.” I said. He nodded up to me.

“(Y/N) I haven’t since you were a baby, which was what? Maybe two years ago.” Vladimir said.

“Although this is my first time I’m meeting you…” I said.

“Yes, I’m surprised, Cristolf didn’t send Marcus...why would he send his half-breed sister?” Vladimir commented, glaring up at me, his eyes glowed red.

“I came on my own accord for the negotiations…” I said.

Vladimir slowly pulled his head down, his eyes now glowing black, “I can smell fresh blood, I can see your veins…” He hissed. Vladimir didn’t seem as scary compare to Stefan, but now I can see why Cristolf didn’t want me to come. Vladimir chuckled,

“No one will harm you here…” Vladimir said, “I give you my word for as long as you remain here…” He reached out his hand; covered in a black glove.

I licked my lips softly, as I nodded going pass him, I did not take his hand fearing he might feel my pulse. He looks vulnerable, he can’t be hungry, over one thousand years, Vladimir has to have some sense of control now. I could feel his eyes studying me as if he has never seen a woman before.

I stopped and scoffed, “I’m sorry for staring, I’m just curious...What do you do for substance?”

I sighed, “I can live off human food or blood, but I prefer blood.” Vladimir was satisfied with the answer as he showed me to my room.

It was simple, a bed, one window and that’s it. “A bed?” I asked.

“We figured if Marcus back out you would come, so we covered all ends.” Vladimir said, I smiled taking a step into the room

“Thank you, Vla-” I turned to find Vladimir was gone. He is good, he has plenty experience with being a vampire, I turned to the bed and sat down. I plopped on the bed, closing my eyes and drifted to sleep.

@mylittlepartofthegalaxy @igobypoet @finnabonthesinnabon @finnbealor @devitts-girl @soulofaravenheartofawolf @calwitch @tina679 @meremaidqueen @echelonfam-30 @2sweetqueen

Authors note: If you are not into the whole vampire thing and you wish not to be tagged, let me know I will not be offended by all means. :) 

[laurasinele]

Thanks, Taika of my dreams

Couple of nights ago I had a weird dream. I am on four different psycoactive meds and my dreams have always been colourful to begin with, so weird dreams are not something extraordinary in this household of ours and our mornings usually begin like: “hey, husband, I had this crazy dream today in which Vlad Putin was an aquatic monster and we were seventies cops with horrible staches and fur coats and he tried to kill us by a river and we shot him but he didn’t died so I panicked and just switched to another tv channel and there was a riot in a fancy old theatre on our kitchen table because Jennifer Lawrence and David Tennant had stopped performing a live episode of Doctor Who to elope and live to the fullest their secret romance” (I actually dreamt that and I don’t even watch Dr. Who). But this dream I am talking about now was awfully dull. Yeah weird, but dull. Until...

Before I get to the details of my dream let me introduce you to the man on this picture. This is Taika “I do whatever the fuck I want because I don’t need your validation to know I am cool as fudge” Waititi, better known lately for directing the last instalment to Thor’s plot arch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the colourful joy and delight full of flag waving and redemption that is Thor: Ragnarok. We, my husband and I, love Taika Waititi since we first met him a couple of years ago in What We Do In The Shadows, co directed with Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Conchords (and they both star in the movie with hilarious results). What?! You haven’t seen it?! One of the greatest fantasy comedies of our times?! Go now, I’ll wait.  

(Now that you’ve seen the movie you now that’s Taika in it as Viago, waiting for you to fulfil your task) No, but seriously, we love him. If we were tu bump into him on the street we would invite him home and feed him and make sure he is all warm and cozy and tell him what a talented, lovable huge dork he is and that we love almost anything he does. Proof is, I only got interest in Ragnarok because of him because i hated so much the other two that I couldn’t finish them and that is not something that happens to me easily, not being able to finish a movie. AND I LAUGHED MY ASS OF AND I HAD THE GREATEST TIME WATCHING THOR: RAGNAROK EVEN ON HEAVY MEDS AND WITH A DEPRESSION. Because this man knows his shit when it comes to comedy and that ain’t easy.

Well, you are now acquainted with one of the most charismatic directors, writers and actors, with one of the most original and unapologetic public personas of this days. You’re welcome. 

Look at that, a happy family with the mischievous son conveniently locked away LOL

Back to my dream!

I was at the cinema and my husband and I had set up one of my friends for a date without her knowing. It was weird because the three of us were sitting apart in little clusters of movie theatre seats, four seats for each, and from where we were sitting none of use could see the screen at all but somehow (dream logic) we still were catching every detail of the movie. All the lights were on and people was talking, it was kind of a special event in which you were welcome to bring your own food and sit wherever you pleased. We were bored and my friend wanted to finish the food and leave because the movie was stressing us out. Apparently, it was about kidnapping children but I didn’t know that until that moment (the me on my dream seemed to know, though). Then, Haley Joel Osment does his entrance in a nerdy outfit and produces a blanket and a picnic basket from a backpack. Yeah, I know, dream logic, ok? Haley Joel Osment was the guy me and my husband had set my friend up with. 

So by then, the me inside the dream is ok with everything, it’s her plan after all, but the dreaming me is done with this shit and is bored af. So I decide I’m leaving and I accidentally end up inside the movie I DON’T KNOW HOW. 

And there’s my husband and my friend and Haley Joel Osment and they’re all like “this movie is bad karma we out” and suddenly I’m alone and poor Naomi Watts tells me she’s done making the freaked out mom and she begs for me to take her role so she can be the evil mom that wants my kid because her daughter died. I don’t even have kids irl life and I don’t belong in the movie and now I want to know whats happens with my friend and HJO because against all odds it looked like they liked each other?? But Naomi is so beautiful and talented and she looks so done that I say ok and I do the freaked out mom followed around the big ass suburb house full of broken toys by the evil mom aka Naomi Watts. And I was really terrified and exhausted but every now and thens we would stop and OOC chat for a while and she would compliment me on my performance, thank me for the chance or complain about sandwiches in the catering today  and I would say “But Nay, I’m only here because some psycomagical shit I didn’t event get to see the set” and she would apologise so much as if she had been unwillingly racist or something. And the we’d resume the chasing.  So, apparently, the plot of the movie was that Naomi and her husband had lost a daughter and now wanted mine (that wasn’t there at all), but during the chasing around the house two things were discovered: a skeletal child that ran away from us, thankfully, and a live one, a seven-year-old boy, naked, locked in a closet. I took the boy in my arms an resumed my race around the house but this time I was pissed because why did they wanted to steal a child if they already had one that they were neglecting? I was so pissed that I forgot to run and started walking. I heard I siren downstairs and thought it was the cops but it was an ambulance toy. it was broken and I was afraid it would catch fire, so I picked it up and switched it off, all the while carrying a sobbing, naked kid. But then the sirens resumed and there were blue and red colour in the entrance hall so I ran there and the door stormed opened and there were the Andes fro Hot Fuzz in SWAT gear and... MOTHER FLIPPIN TAIKA WAITITI IN A SIXTIES SPY POSE POINTING WITH HIS HANDS TOGETHER AND NO GUN AT ALL

He is sporting a black suit with satin lapels that looks very expensive, but he wears white tennis slippers, a black cotton t-shirt and an ugly felt pin of a flower over his chest pocket, with ridiculously small deep blue petals. I am staring at the pin when he breaks his ridiculous pose and says IN HIS VIAGO VOICE: 

“I’m the Goldblum’s daughter godfather, what happened?” (yeah, the dreaming me was also like whaaaaaaat lolololol)

“They tried to steal my daughter. I found him in a closet. The other is dead”

He took the boy while saying “I always suspected them” and he hugged him while whispering “It’s ok now” to his ear. Still in his Viago voice. Then he looked at me and he realised I’d been through hell and (dream logic) he hugged me simultaneously and told me everything was going to be alright. And I woke up. 

Now hear me out, babies, hear me out. I’ve been through a lot for this past few years and when I had that dream, I was on all day in bed 5 day streak after a faint hint of recovery that lasted barely a week and was preceded of months and months of oversleeping and only showering once in two months, medication with undesirable side effects, and well... your average depressive state. 

When I woke up from that dream after running up and down the stairs of a house full of broken but never discarded toys, protecting a daughter that wasn’t there, in a role that wasn’t mine, in a place I had no idea how I had ended up in, after saving a naked, terrified kid, after seeing another one go, Taika hugged me and told me it was alright. The very personification of Comedy and Humor came to save me and held me and told me that it was all over now. And I felt such relief when I woke up...

Thanks, Taika of my dreams. Thank you for telling me that things are starting to work like they are supposed to inside my head because I couldn’t tell. 

Also, this is very important, if someone could please draw Taika in The Pose from the end? That would be the greatest service ever done for the human race. It’s not personal. Thanks.