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mrvdocks · 4 years

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Nightcall P.1

Request/Summary: Kurt is obsessive over a model and kidnaps her, taking her along for the ride of the night.

After

The flurry of phones ringing off the hook and background noise felt foreign to you, it was just a buzzing in your ear. You pulled the safety blanket around you closer, grabbing it in fistfuls. You don’t know how long you’ve been here, but it feels like hours. The fluorescent in the room probably only made you look even worse for wear than you were hours before, but it didn’t matter now. In a span of 24 hours, your life had changed.

The guarded door opened and an officer pulled up a chair in front of you, dropping photos of the gruesome scene you’d seen firsthand. She slides the photos closer, her thumb obscuring the killer’s face. You didn’t need to see it a second time.

“You were found in the residence of Mr. Kunkle, with one Jessie Adams and a John Doe, who seems to have been the victim of Mr. Kunkle’s spree amongst others.”

Even his name brings chills down your spine.

“I already told the police everything.” You say groggily, your throat still sore from the whole ordeal.

“Yes, but there seems to be some doubt on your partnership with Mr. Kunkle. Footage, eyewitness accounts,” she’s studying you no doubt. Any sort of tick or movement you made without thought that could somehow lead her to think you were lying about anything you had explained earlier.

“What was your relationship with Mr. Kunkle?” She pries, bringing multiple photos of Kurt to be splayed out in front of you. Some good, some bad, some….disturbing.

“I - none. He just knew me through the socials.”

“And you were also the target of his mania.” There’s something unsettling in how much she’s liking interrogating you. You ignore it.

“You think it’s my fault he did this.”

It was not your fault. None of this was. Kurt was just too power hungry. Maybe you were too trusting. You didn’t want to see Kurt for what he really was until it was too late.

“I’m not saying it’s your fault, but your compliance does seem suspicious.”

“I-I didn’t know him very well. He was just my Spree driver for a day. But he was always nice to me.”

“He was also your kidnapper.”

“Like I said, he was a nice guy.” Your voice breaks.

They’re all nice guys until they aren’t.

“And you didn’t think to call the authorities when you were alone? Were you helping him lure these people?”

You can feel her eyes burning into you.

“I’m not stupid,” you cry. “I know how this sounds. But I’m telling you, he gave me a ride and then he - all of this. Oh God.”

You bring your shaky hands to run through your worn and tired face, specks of dried blood still prominent even through many washes with soap. It’s another way Kurt managed to stay with you.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” she sits back with her arms folded. “And spare no detail.”

Before

He scrolls through your feed for the millionth time today.

Photos of you on your daily walks, exploring hidden LA gems, posting places you were shooting at, people you were hanging out with, all at the touch of a button for him. The bell notification alerts him, telling him that you’ve posted. He taps the screen in the blink of an eye, meeting your face as you giggle about falling while skating.

You pout as you show the damage, remarking that it was lucky you weren’t shooting that day otherwise you would’ve had to cover up on such a hot day.

In a vain industry, you try to keep yourself humble and that’s what he loves about you. Though he’s never met you, he thinks you could live up to the image he’s created of you. One that matches your optimistic and humorous one.

He re watches your story, pausing at random moments where he screenshots and saves to his photos. His home screen is a shot of you in black and white, seemingly topless from chest down and looking back with an enticing smile. He loves the way your hair frames your face, the way pieces of it were meticulously picked out to give it a sort of messy look.

You could make anything look good, he thinks.

Bobby gives him a hard time about you, bragging about how he knows you and that although you’re more well known than he is, you are the one who should be grateful for his exposure.

Kurt thinks it’s bullshit but he wouldn’t be surprised if it were true, maybe you’d come around to meet him one day.

The vibration of a text brings him out of his daze, seeing Bobby’s name in big bold letters.

He can’t believe his eyes when he opens the text. It’s an off guard video of you behind Bobby, giggling at something on your phone before noticing that he’s recording and flashing a cheeky smile and a peace sign.

“Found your girlfriend.” Bobby mocks before erupting into hysterical laughter.

Kurt replays it until his phone dies, Bobby’s words echoing in his head.

An idea pops into his head, it would be difficult if he didn’t know your exact routine but thanks to your fan accounts and the power of gossip blogs, it’s a definite success.

He calls Bobby immediately, hearing him and his entourage in the background as they talked about a video idea.

“What do you want, Kurt? I’m busy right now.” His annoyance is clear but Kurt is way too focused on you to notice.

“I need a favor.”

It’s amazing what the internet contains about a person. It’s also quite terrifying. Through just a few minutes of research, he’s found out your schedule along with where you went to school, where you live and your closest friends.

In a photo Bobby had taken, the location of the next shoot you had taking place somewhere was barely visible.

He connects the dots, thinking about how your involvement could help him get #TheLesson out and make him a household name.

And it’s exactly what he does the day of. He parks near your neighborhood, foot bouncing and anxiously looking at his phone. He declines the others in hopes of finding you according to the schedule. You almost never use your real name on anything when going out but he recognizes your fake name and location, he puts the car into drive and talks himself up.

He parks across the street, giving him a better view of you.

His heart skitters when he sees you look in his direction, your brows quirk up as you give him an easy smile and cross carefully.

You stop and bend to meet him at the passenger window, “Kurt, right?”

His name coming out of your mouth is something he’s dreamed of since he first saw you. He almost pinches himself to know if this is real.

He knows he’s grinning like an idiot because you laugh at his speechlessness.

“Sorry,” he motions to the backseat, “Hop in!”

“I take it you know who I am.”

You’re not oblivious to your recognition, but with some guys it was just always a hit or miss. They either wanted you to take your top off or asked for some weird things.

“Are you kidding? I’m like your biggest fan.” He beams, going back on the road.

You’re not good at accepting compliments, so all you can manage is a shy smile and a, “Thanks!”

You notice his set up of cameras and ask him about it, to which he says they’re just for protection. Throughout the ride you learn more about him, particularly that he was going something the next day called The Lesson. He had a very particular view about this digital world you both lived in, talking about these odd jobs he’d been doing along with trying to build up his following. In between talking about himself, he mentions Bobby and the events of last night from the video.

“Oh right, Bobby.” You roll your eyes at the mention of his name.

Bobby was a pain in your ass sometimes, acting all high and mighty all the time and just like he was the overall shit.

“Yeah he’s alright. He could just tone it down a little.”

“Oh yeah - definitely, he was the same when he was a kid. Just pure chaotic energy.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

In between other conversations, Kurt brought back the spotlight to you, asking you about different people you hung out with. It was pleasant conversation, you felt like you were talking to an old friend and letting off some steam. The red flags hadn’t gone off just yet.

To let loose and make you live a little, Kurt races past a red light and nearly misses being in a collision.

It startles you but he assures you there’s no danger.

“You trust me right?” He asks, glancing back to you.

“I mean, yeah.”

The confirmation is validation to him. It’s all he needed to begin.

He picks up another passenger, an older man who definitely did not hide the way he was staring at your body. You’re thankful for sitting a little father from him but when Kurt initiates conversation with him, everything goes downhill.

“I know you from somewhere.” The man points out, his obvious staring makes you cringe as you stay silent.

“You’re that model, I’ve seen your stuff around Westwood. Bangin’ body.”

You can feel the anger in your chest rise as Kurt finally notices.

“What’s going on?” He glances to the back, meeting your shifting eyes.

The man ignores him. “Sweetheart when someone compliments you, the nice thing to do is smile.”

That did it.

“Excuse me? I don’t owe you shit!” You grit.

“Whoa! Whoa! Sir you can’t be saying that anymore.” Kurt changes lanes, ready to stop if the situation gets worse.

“She should be proud she doesn’t look like her people. All of ‘em just fat and lazy.”

“Excuse me?! My people?” You’re sure you don’t look the least bit intimidating but it doesn’t matter. You were willing to kick this man’s ass if need be.

Kurt pulls off the the side of the road, “Alright, get out.”

“What? No, I paid for this ride fair and square. I’m not leaving for shit. I can say what I want.” He says adamantly.

“Sir if you make those comments again I’m going to have to cancel the Spree.”

Something clicks in Kurt’s head as he remembers the water bottles.

He motions for you to take the passenger seat which you do without much hesitation.

Kurt waits a minute before merging again, glancing at the man every so often and taking more desolate streets. You don’t notice the absence of cars and you definitely don’t notice when the man takes a bottle and practically chugs it.

Kurt smirks as he slows down. “Hey maybe you should let them know you’re not going to make it.”

Confused, you glance at Kurt and then at the man who’s now starting to grab at his throat and coughing violently.

Your eyes widen as you attempt to get Kurt to stop the car but he doesn’t move, instead he keeps his eyes trained on the road.

“Kurt, stop the car.”

The man’s coughs get worse by the second and he turns a very bright red.

“Kurt! Stop the car!”

You’re frozen, helpless to watch the man as he tries to grab at Kurt from behind but coughs up blood and passes out in the backseat. You slink back in your seat, utterly terrified of what just happened.

Adrenaline and fear course through you. You side eye Kurt who is not as affected by this as you are as he merely readjusts his camera.

You begin to hyperventilate and try the passenger door. When it doesn’t budge you shut your eyes and cry.

“I won’t say anything. I won’t I promise. I promise, Kurt. Please.”

Kurt sighs as he retrieves a piece of cloth from his pocket. Your eyes widen as he comes close and pins you in your seat and smothers you with the cloth. You struggle under him, pushing against his chest to no avail.

The smell of the chloroform inundates your senses and in a matter of seconds you feel your eyes roll back and everything go black.

Once you’re knocked out, Kurt takes both your phone and the other passengers to knock suspicion off of him. He has plans for the racist prick in the back, but for you, he has much bigger plans.

#kurt kunkle #kurt kunkle x reader #spree #haha i'm not dead just suffering from writers block

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charmerquilled-aa · 3 years

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Rakan - From Head to Avian Toes. ...Buckle up buttercups. Gonna be a long post. I’ve been wanting to do this ever since I started to write as Rakan.

Do not reblog!!

Hair:

Never a strand out of place. Quite vain, Rakan strives to look his best all the time, and he is constantly sprucing up his hair when able by using his handy dandy compact mirror. He takes extremely great care of it, and the feathery strands are extremely soft to the touch.

A stranger should ask before touching ( Close friends or S/O’s, touch away!), because he doesn’t want unexpected greasy fingers to mess up his style.

He isn’t limited to blonde hair. He can color coordinate to match his outfits, although that takes a great deal of magic and time if he wanted to color it in its entirety. While wild magic is too limited to carry out such a feat quickly, he settles on styling the red tuft of feathers ‘pon his forehead instead.

When in his true Lhotlan form, those red feathers could spread in a stylish manner down further into his hair AND down to his left brow upon his face, inspired off his concept art.

Ears:

Rakan’s sense of hearing is one of his greatest aspects. It is precise. Sharp. When paying attention, the golden one’s ears are able to swivel at varying angles and can pin point the exact location of a sound, whether nearby or from a distance. He can easily differentiate sounds within the world around him, able to recognize the sounds of different weapons, the notes of music and etc. This spectacular weapon makes it difficult to sneak up on him ( unless he is hyper-focusing on an activity that he gives himself) While he has to concentrate to SEE magic, the golden one can hear the ‘music’ that wild magic produces with ease. Sweet melody to his ears, and it frustrates him that a few others can’t hear it like he does.

Eyes:

Vision is extraordinarily sharp. When magic used to roam wild and free, Lhotlans were able to soar and dance within the clouds. Having incredible eyesight was a must for such an event. They could spot the smallest creature or spirit ‘pon the earth, even if they were miles above.

Rakan’s sight is no different. Although he cannot fly in the air due to the dwindling magic within Ionia, this natural ability to see better than a human still applies whilst grounded.

...But it can be harder due to both manmade and natural objects obscuring his incredible range of vision. It is one of the reasons why he climbs to the tippy top of trees. He is able to SEE and get a better grasp of the surrounding area.

His vision doesn’t END on the physical aspects of reality. If he is able to concentrate hard enough, he’ll be able to see wild magic as beautiful, wispy colors.

Nose:

Rakan has an average sense of smell. His half-human part SHINES strongly within the nose, as birds have little use for scents. He may not be able to pick up a scent from miles away, but he enjoys the pleasant scents of soaps, candles, fragrances, incense, curries/food, chocolate and etc.

When cooking, Rakan is big on the use of traditional lhotlan and common spices. The golden one can pick them out in the wild and is able to differentiate them from each other by smell. Although, to him, it’s easier to buy them from merchants when able.

Mouth

Rakan’s voice is an incredible ASSET of his. Paired with his charisma, extroversion, and charm, he is able to pull a crowd in by simply weaving his words together. Needless to say, flirting with a lady comes easy.

He will never speak over others if they have something to say. Although in a more non-serious conversations, he may get excited and accidently interrupt - though it’s never on purpose to silence another.

In fights, he will grow OBNOXIOUS. He wants to be the fabulous distraction to keep enemy eyes on him. He gets loud. He mocks. He laughs. He talks. Anything to give his allies time to do whatever they need to do. When singing, Rakan practiced hard to have a WIDE vocal range. I always use G.eoff C.astellucci (linked here) as complete inspiration for the high and low tones he can reach ( especially the famous hella low E1 tone!! ). He has many genre styles of music that he likes to sing, but scat singing is something he enjoys making up on the fly. The Lhotlan will also sing specific traditional songs of his tribe in order to cook.

Rakan’s teeth are ALMOST like a normal human, with the exception of two fangs that are sharp and to the point. While they are a part of his charming smile, they will be used for intimidation. He will bare fangs and snarl if angry,

Wings / Plumage

Rakan’s wings are his pride and joy, and will probably capture the attention of any who gazes upon them. As a cape, only one wing is in use. It flows down with grandeur and drags slightly upon the ground. His quills are a magnificent shade of a warm yellows, oranges and reds that can compete with the sun, and although he can change their colors as well, he cannot do so easily with the lack of magic. Bluish-green patterns decorate the bottom quills at the tips and can be viewed from both the front and the back - a minimalistic peacock like design. Warm, long, yellow feathers grow from his elbows, and four, long red feathers grows and droops over butt (2 on the left and 2 on the right side).

He WILL hyperfocus for hours on end to make sure they are nice and clean. Like his hair, they are extremely soft to the touch.

Up close and within the quills of his cape, glowing veins of golden magic can be found. From afar, they give his feathers the appearance as if they are GLOWING, even in the darkest of nights. The trickster can use the magic within his wings to create quills of illusions. Not only that, but if he swings his cape in a particular manner, he will send out a dozen sharp, quill like spikes that lack accuracy. The magic can also fuel energy sapping quills that can replenish himself and allies who are nearby.

Although his cape provide quills, it is a great source to funnel magical energy attacks overall, seen within this piece of concept work. Also, Rakan will not hesitate to use his cape as a way to blind opponents for a blip of time. Hard to see when feathers are engulfing the field of vision.

But when in his true lhotlan form, both of Rakan wings are large and magnificent. He proudly displays them with full splendor. Although his body is heavy and isn’t meant for flight, they are powerful enough to lift himself off the ground and fly if strong magic is present. Sadly, that isn’t often anymore due to wild magic diminishing. To top it off, small, gold and red feathers grow in patches around his body and face.

If stuck in an area for a long period of time that has no magic present, his feathers will start to lose their brilliant glow. Magic is the vastayan’s air, and without it, they can’t support themselves, not even Rakan. Thus, his cape feathers may begin to fall off slowly due to stress.

Muscles:

Fit and athletic, Rakan has the body to prove that he is in amazing shape. He has well defined abs upon his chest and stomach, although he remains lean. Arms are filled out and strong, and his bird-like legs are extremely powerful - built to run.

Hands/Claws:

Strong palms, hardened from constant physical use, but in top condition to remain soft. Long, strong but slender fingers. Nails are grown slightly over the tip, and are pointed.

Nails can be black, red, or any other color that could possibly match with his outfit. Able to simply change them if magic is present.

When his true form is revealed, forearms and hands are dark gray in tone and scales are textured down along it. Fingers appear more bird-like and his nails have grown thick, long, black and curved around like a hook. Much like in my image here.

Tail

Long. Red with an orange gradient at the bottom tips. Slender. Surprisingly strong for something that looks as light as a feather. At the very end of his tail, three large feathers fan out and displays the same bluish-green pattern as seen on his wings.

His tail assists his balance when running at high speeds, and it is strong enough to sweep a full sized human off their feet if given enough force.

Taloned Feet

A common trait of Lhotlan vastayas. Instead of human feet, they are replaced with gray talons and have a scaly appearance up close. He has three toes on each foot, and each toe has a sharp talon that grows sharply at the tip that aids with gripping the ground below him and climbing.

#&& Rakan ( HEADCANONS )#long post ;;#long post #|| in this LITERAL ESSAY I WILL ... .#|| but seriously #|| I wrote this in 4 hours that is quick for...this amount holy shit #|| There may be grammar issues but at this point I don't care I'm going tO SLEEP #|| Again another ramble at 4 am 😂#&& Do not Reblog

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cosmiclatte28 · 4 years

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Fate and Destiny (Kai x you, soulmate au!)

Short fic of KAI X YOU!

soulmate AU!

-- enjoy --

Ever since your seventeenth birthday, you notice something wrong with your body. Now it was not pimple, nor wrinkles, and not any other puberty stuffs. You wake up to random bruises and scratches on your skin. You’re pretty sure you never have a bruise on your knee when you go to bed last night, but oh well you almost broke your cup of cocoa this morning when you saw your reflection on the mirror. You’re not a clumsy person who might stub their knee upon going to bed, nor falling off a stair. That being the reason why you’re always creeped up when you found yet another fresh bruise on your skins.

You decided to shrug it off since there was no pain or bothering sensation there. It’s only annoying to see a fresh new bruise. You shake your head and head to change your clothes to get ready for a class.

The scorching heat in summer makes it impossible for you to wear a training pants just to cover the bruise, no you’ll need a pair of shorts for the sake of your sanity. You prepare your heart as you head out your small rented apartment room, today will be a long day.

Sure enough five minutes into the building, your friends are all questioning you where did you get your bruise.

“Did you fall from the stairs? Again?”

“You must be kidding, that is a nasty bruise… you probably fell when you sleepwalk … you sure you’re okay?”

“Oh admit it.. do you have a rough night with someone?” one of your friend winked

You roll your eyes, you live alone. There was no way someone caused this.

“I live alone okay, and I do not have any abusive boyfriend… let alone a boyfriend. You know I’m single.” You said while taking your favorite seat.

Lecture went well and so is life.

It was not until your 20th birthday when you finally found the answer to your surprising bruises and scars. You discover the truth after meeting a specialist who told you “That is a special sign from your soulmate! Different people have different signs for finding their soulmates. It will begin from your 17th birthday until the day you meet your soulmate!”

You don’t want to believe her at first, thinking this $200 session was a scam, you decided to surf the internet and look for people who have the same symptoms as yours.

Turns out there were many people like you out there who’s looking for their soulmates too. One thing for sure caught your attention that there is a website for you to look for your soulmate. Because he or she might be on the other side of the hemisphere. And that significant others of yours, might have different signs to find you.

You chose to make a move and signed up for an account. Every day you post the pictures of the bruises and scars, with some glint of hope a random clumsy person will finally find you and maybe the two of you can work it out and you’re finally free from the random bruises.

For one and a half year you posted pictures and went to meet several people who thought you’re their soulmates. But until today, you still wake up to more random bruises. Gosh just how abusive is this significant others of yours living with?!

You bare with the situation until one day, you’re attending a concert. A SuperM concert in LA.

You were going through the concert like any other fans and right as you queue yourself to leave the venue, someone actually tapped your shoulder and asked you politely to follow them.

You’re confused but you decided to follow him and he brings you to a room. Feeling nervous, you fiddle with the small tattoo you’ve also had since born! Yeah you also struggle with that small rose tattoo on your inner wrist. Your teachers always thought your parents were crazy in letting their child have a tattoo before her legal age. But truth is you’re born with it. You used to hide it with bandages, watches, bracelets, and long sleeves. However, as you age, you can finally show it to the world like it is a tattoo done in an expensive professional parlor. Why? Because damn those thin lines engraving rose on your skin are very exquisite. A lot of people asked you where did you get such a beautiful job done.

You wait in the room nervously, did they caught you for don’t know maybe you unknowingly threw a glance to the members and they feel violated… or maybe someone reported you of something.

“Sorry to take your time,” A breath-taking man stood in front of you. You shoot your head from your palm to the man across you. He still has his make ups and stage hair on, only that his clothes are changed to a comfortable tee shirt.

“You probably have tons of questions in your head, but please let me just make this quick.” He goes forward to you and suddenly takes your left hand, he softly turns your hand to face up and a big smile appears on his face.

“This!” He wiped his thumb over the glowing tattoo, hey since when did it glow?

Your eyes widen as your brain tries to process the situation.

“No way,” you gasp and you glance one more time to his wrist and yours. There located on the same exact position, the same glowing tattoo.

“Kai?!” you exclaimed in surprise. Is Kai your soulmate!!!!

“You… gosh now that explains all of the bruises!” you raise your hand to make a “mind blown” action with your hands.

Kai giggles, “What did I do to you?”

“You make it hard for me to wake up with random bruises on my body! I almost thought my soulmate lives with someone abusive! Turns out it was you and your hard work…” you giggled.

“Whoop I’m sorry, yes I have a lot of bruises and scars from the dance practices… but I’m glad I finally found you! You did not know how hard was it for me to hide this tattoo when I go to school and the fans! Gosh they all knew about this and made a matching one!” kai frustratedly speaks his heart out.

“Well are you sure I’m the one?” you ask after hearing his reasoning.

Kai smiles softly and reaches for your hands, “Because I’ve met lots of girls who tried to fake the tattoo and whenever I saw that mark during fan signs, I knew it’s different. No one can make this perfect mark! Plus I’ve never seen any unusual thing until tonight. Amidst the darkness and the crowds, when you raise your light stick and I happen to pass by you. That’s when I saw your rose glows and quickly I checked mine,” he turns his wrist over and mine too.

“See, when I meet the true owner the rose will glow. Then there’s this I don’t know tingling sensation … don’t you?” Kai cocks his head

A crisp laugh erupts between you two, “Kai I’m going here to attend a concert of my favorite band … of course I’m nervous and excited. The butterflies in my stomach is crazy right now, moreover you came here and told me I am your soul mate.”

“You know… I’ve traveled around the world, meet different people and finally! Finally I found you!” Kai holds your hands tighter

“So, would you like to know me more or am I going to leave like nothing happened?” You tease him.

“Not so fast miss, Tell me how does wine and cheese sounds to you?” Kai smirks

“That’s an okay from me,” You smile politely

“Great! Wait for me here, what’s your name?” he asked before leaving the door to change his attire.

You raise your head to face him, “(y/n)… nice to finally meet you mr bruises and scars.” You taunt at him

He laughs, knowing he will love you, “Great miss rose. Let me grab my things and I’ll come back here.”

You sit down when the door closes and you let our a small squeal. Your soul mate happens to be Kai… you don’t know you’re this lucky.

After all, fate and destiny did bring the two of you together. He traveled around the world, saw a lot of girls with that artificial rose, but amidst all of that he did find you, the real owner of the rose mark. And you, you’ll finally live in peace without worrying any more bruises!

Life is great and love is magical.

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redhoodssweetheart · 5 years

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The Snake Tattoo

Genre: Soulmate AU

Pairing: Loki x Gender Neutral!Reader

Word Count: 1.3K

Requested: Anon

Warnings: Fluff

Description: You’ve always had the snake tattoo on your leg, you always wondered who your soulmate was. Never in a million years did you think it would be the god of mischief himself, Loki.

*** DO NOT REPOST MY WORK ***

Taglists: Are open, please send an ask and see this post for more information.

The image does not reflect how the Reader looks, only what the snake tattoo that the Reader and Loki share looks like!

You had always had the snake tattoo that crawled up your entire right leg. Most people thought it was hideous and wondered what kind of soulmate you would have if you had that for a tattoo. You had heard it all from friends, family, strangers.

“They’re probably deceitful.”

“They’re probably a bad person.”

“They’ll only hurt you.”

You had learned to quickly drown them out when you heard them start talking badly about your soulmate. You didn’t care what they had to say. The person with the matching snake tattoo was meant to be yours just as you were meant to be theirs. That’s all that mattered.

You knew one day the two of you would meet and the whole world would seem to melt away when your eyes locked. All the soulmates you knew talked about the first time their eyes locked with their soulmate, it was as if the world ceased to exist for the first few minutes that you’re together.

You were in a bookstore one day just perusing the shelves waiting for the rain to let up when you ran into a tall man with long blonde hair. He gave you a bright smile, “Hello.”

You froze in your tracks and stared at the god of thunder himself. “Holy crap, you’re Thor!” You couldn’t help it as the words slipped past your lips. Never in a million years did you think that you would meet an Avenger let alone one of the founding members of the Avengers.

Thor chuckled and said, “It’s nice to meet you…. What’s your name?”

“Y/N,” you stuck out your hand and shook his, he had a firm grip and you were still shocked that you were standing in front of Thor. “This is… wow. I can’t believe I’m actually meeting you, and to think if it hadn’t started raining we would have never actually run into one another.”

“It was almost as if we were meant to meet, the world wanted us to meet each other,” he said as he gently placed the book he had been looking at back on the shelf.

You chuckled, “Totally. So are you here because of the rain or did you actually come in for something?”

He gestured toward the shelves, hundreds of books on soulmates and folklore around how they came to be. “My brother is still new to earth and he wanted to know more about how you all find your soulmates.”

You smiled, “Does Loki not have one yet?”

Thor shook his head, “On Asgard, we had ceremonies where we tried to find our other halves, not everyone had soulmates that were Asgardian. Mine happened to be here on earth.” He lifted his shirt sleeve to reveal what looked like a tattoo of Yggdrasil. “It wasn’t until I met Jane that I realized that my soulmate was here on earth. Loki is wondering the same.”

You knew that there were retreats and things that helped people find their soulmates, but you had never wanted to do that. You didn’t want to be disappointed if your soulmate didn’t come to it. Others had found their soulmates through social media. “There are so many different ways now with technology that I’m sure he could find his other half in no time.”

He looked at you with a curious look in his eyes, “Have you found yours yet?”

You smiled sadly and shook your head. You showed him the snake tattoo on your leg, “No one I’ve ever met has ever had the same tattoo as me.”

The look on Thor’s face changed into one of shock, but he quickly played it off, “That is a big tattoo.”

You nodded your head, “I love it. Everyone always commented on it, and they still do actually, but the size has never been a problem.”

Thor scratched his beard, “Do you want to come back to the tower with me? I actually know someone with this exact tattoo.”

Your face lit up, “You do?!”

He nodded, “Yes, and they’ve been searching for you for a long time now.” He looked toward the front of the store, “And the rain has let up now as well.”

“Let’s go!” You say brightly.

You and Thor headed outside and he hailed a cab telling it where to go. You were vibrating with excitement at the prospect of meeting your soulmate. You wondered who it could be. Was it going to be one of the members? Was it someone that worked with them? You didn’t care who it was you were just excited that you had finally found a possible match to your tattoo.

Thor led you inside and up to the residential floors of the tower where the others would be hanging out. He was nervous because he wasn’t sure how you would react when you found out that your soulmate was Loki. The god hadn’t made the best of first impressions with people on earth since he had tried to take over. But he had hope that you wouldn’t care.

You and Thor entered the common room where everyone was. Loki looked up from the book he had been reading and frowned when he saw Thor empty-handed, “Where are the books I sent you to get for me?” He hadn’t noticed you standing by Thor yet, but you had noticed him and your breath had caught in your throat.

Loki’s pants were lifted slightly and you could see part of the tattoo on his leg, and it looked exactly like yours. “You don’t need those books,” Thor announced proudly.

Loki furrowed his brow, “How am I supposed to find my soulmate without those--” He trailed off as his eyes landed on you, and then down to your leg where his tattoo was located. His gaze shot back to your face and for a moment he stopped hearing anything, it was as if he got tunnel vision.

You were standing in front of him. The person he had spent years looking for, waiting for, wishing for.

“Hi,” you said softly. He was here and he was your soulmate. The god of mischief was the person you were meant to spend the rest of your life with.

“Hello,” he responded just as quietly.

Neither of you noticed as the others slowly got up and left the room to give the two of you some privacy. “Never in a million years did I think the god of mischief would be my soulmate,” you chuckled as you moved closer to him. You took in his appearance and committed it to memory. His long black hair, his blue eyes, and every line of his face.

“Is that a bad thing?” He seemed nervous, now that you were here he wasn’t sure what you would think. Would you yell at him and curse whoever was in charge of matching soulmates for choosing yours to be the god of mischief.

You shook your head, the small smile that you had on your face when you first realized who he was never fading. “No, it’s definitely not a bad thing.” You slowly reached out and took his hand in yours, his eyes darted down to where your hands were entwined. “Would you like to get dinner with me tonight?”

He looked back at you, “I’d love that.”

Many of your loved ones weren’t thrilled that you had found your soulmate because of who he had turned out to be. But you didn’t care and never let them try to ruin what you had. You loved Loki with every bit of your being, and you knew he loved you with every bit of his. He had changed from the person he had been all those years ago. He was trying to be better for you.

The two of you traveled the world together, seeing what earth had to offer. And when the day came that the two of you had seen all you could see on earth he promised to take you to space and show you the worlds beyond earth and all you had ever known.

#Loki x Reader #Loki Laufeyson x Reader #Loki x Gender Neutral!Reader #Loki Laufeyson x Gender Neutral!Reader #Loki x Reader fluff #Loki Laufeyson x Reader fluff #Loki #Loki Laufeyson #Loki fanfic #Loki fanfiction #Loki fluff #Loki Laufeyson fanfic #Loki Laufeyson fanfiction #Loki Laufeyson fluff #Requested

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potter-loves-malfoy · 6 years

Note

you have a few favorites? They don't have to be brand new or anything. Just some that you love?

I have some new and some old! Also some Jeddy cuz I’ve been reading a whole lot of Jeddy lately, but I’ll put those in the end! Also, this is gonna be mostly smut because that's what I mostly read unless I’m in a very wholesome mood. This is gonna be long, like very long, I’m bad at picking favorites there are just too many (34 to be exact, apparently and this is the most I could narrow it down). (I also ran out of things to say because I remember loving those fics SO MUCH but I dont remember enough to give a “review”)

The Magic Cat by dot_the_writer

When Harry sees Draco Malfoy with painted nails and wearing an oversized jumper covered in cat fur, his obsession from school comes back in full force. Featuring supportive friends, cute cats and lots of Harry figuring out what he wants.

This one I read just this morning when my best friend asked me to rec her some hurt/comfort (hi Jess) and it’s my most recent favorite. Sooo cute!

A New Page by bixgirl1

Draco just wanted to find out what was up with Potter’s new attitude. Some light stalking, the discovery of a hidden diary, and a lot of wanking later, and he has some answers.

They’re just not the ones he expected.

(Things have changed since sixth year, folks. …Mostly.)

This one also, I read fairly recently and I mean @bixgirl1 fics, do I even need to say more?

The Tapestry of Kinship by khalulu

Harry is at loose ends, Draco is good with needles, and Draco’s young daughter wants to see a certain tapestry repaired. The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black will never be the same.

Helix by Saras_Girl

Seven months after the end of the war, Harry is feeling lost. Fortunately, he is about to be offered an unexpected and sparkling chance to find himself again. [2014 advent fic]

Sanguis Vita Est by Shiguresan

Whilst Voldemort’s prisoner, Draco is made a vampire and forced to take Harry as his first meal. With Draco managing to resist the temptation to drain him, just barely, in a moment of blind rage at what he has been forced to become, he aids Harry in the destruction of Voldemort. But even with that threat vanquished, once back at Hogwarts, Draco finds himself disturbingly addicted to Harry’s blood. And amongst all this, a dark shadow looms ominously on the outline of the forest, watching them closely. A vampire!Draco story and also an ‘Eighth year’ story.

I read this ages ago but I remember hesitating before I started to read this because it’s 312k+ and I didn’t really read super long fics back then, but I loved this so much, also vampire!Draco is a good

Turn by Saras_Girl

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

My favorite execution of the “character’s life kinda sucks so character magically gets sent to an alternate universe” trope. Oh also, it’s part of a series

dirtynumbangelboy by magpie_fngrl

After Harry’s unfortunate encounter with his ex, Draco Malfoy makes him a proposition. Draco wants his parents to stop matchmaking him and Harry wants to make his ex jealous. All they need to do is simply pretend they’re in love. Problem is… Draco already is.

Again another amazing fake relationship fic!

Give Me Sweet Oblivion by tryslora

Italy seems like a long way to go to keep a fetish secret. But the club is exclusive, and the far away location, and Muggle nature, promises anonymity from Wizarding Britain. The only problem is that sometimes, great minds think alike.

One of the actual hottest smut fics that I’ve read, recced to me by my friend @the-cellar-spiral Fun fact, we planned and failed to write a kind of sequel to this, we had @tryslora ‘s permission and everything, we just never really had time, but who knows maybe in the future.

Every Me and Every You by bixgirl1

Harry liked his life just fine, thankyouverymuch — so it was bad enough when a sly fairy cursed him to leap into alternate realities. But seeing Malfoy in all of them? Definitely way too much. And worse yet: needing the bastard’s help to figure out how to get out of of it.

It was a disaster waiting to happen, really.

Well… probably.

Another AMAZING alternate universe fic, using @magpiefngrl ‘s tumblr prompt AU’s as said alternate universes that Harry keeps going in and out of, which makes it 974957839 times better! Also Unspeakable!Draco, also the alternate realities are almost always sexual and it’s great

Dating for Dads in Denial by aibidil

In which one wizard designs and another reluctantly patronises a magical matchmaking service, amidst the chaos of children and parenting.

Since You Asked by Magnolia822

Newly retired Draco Malfoy writes an anonymous agony column for the Quibbler, for which he quickly gains a reputation for offering pithy, practical advice. His life is comfortably predictable until he receives a letter from a reader seeking a divorce from his wife of thirty years. The situation seems far too familiar … could the writer be the Savior himself?

Salty Sweet by Aelys_Althea

Draco was a Master. He’d always been one, but having a town of Muggles consider him as close to God’s gift as they would ever receive was certainly validating. Except it wasn’t enough. After years of settling, of conjuring masterpieces with his fingers and his prowess, Draco realised he needed a change.

How hard could it be to find an apprentice pâtissier that did what they were told? As it happened, doing ‘what was told’ was about the last thing on his inevitable prospect’s mind. Trust Harry Potter to be the one to turn Draco’s life upside down.

Moldova’s Magical Tea by aibidil

Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and—to everyone’s surprise—Draco Malfoy are opening a magical tea shop to revive wizarding tea culture and, hopefully, to bring the community together after the war. Harry, who is unemployed and trying to find his way in post-war society, wants to help his friends with their new business—but that means spending a lot of time around Malfoy. Featuring Muggle music from summer 2001, trips to the Muggle cinema, herbology and magical herbal infusions, and Draco trying to convince Harry that, while he’s still a snarky git, he’s no longer a bigot.

The Critiquer by dysonrules

When Harry submits his cock photo to a renowned Cock Critiquer and gets a terrible review, he decides to take a photography class to hopefully improve his skills.

Career Choices: Harry: Shiftless layabout; Draco: Cock Critiquer

But, In Dreams by kedavranox

Harry is a Seer, with a particular affinity for speaking to the dead, but this comes at a price he’s slowly killing himself to pay.

My Name Was Safest in Your Mouth by alpha_exodus

Harry didn’t ask for Malfoy to walk into his shop after so many years. But one event leads to another, and soon they’re scrambling to help Hermione find the solution to one of the most insidious viruses the wizarding world has ever seen. To make matters worse, Malfoy’s hiding something, and Harry really wants to kiss him—except Malfoy doesn’t date. Ever.

I Can’t Take It! by XxTheDarkLordxX

After the war, Draco Malfoy became an author. A best selling author whose books move the hearts of those who read them. Which wouldn’t be a problem for Ron if all of them weren’t about Harry! It was obvious to him that Malfoy was in love with his best friend but why was it that no one else seemed to think so? He was going to get to the bottom of this and get Harry to stop mooning over the blonde idiot at the same time. Perhaps, they just needed someone to come along and get them to fess up. For the safety of his own sanity, Ron was going to help Malfoy ensnare Harry. That is, if they can get along long enough not to kill each other.

The Full Monty by magpie_fngrl

Harry poses for a naked Auror calendar and Draco goes batshit crazy with lust.

Tea and No Sympathy by who_la_hoop

It’s Potter’s fault, of course, that Draco finds himself trapped in the same twenty-four-hour period, repeating itself over and over again. It’s been nearly a year since the unpleasant business at Hogwarts, and Draco’s getting on with his life quite nicely, thank you, until Harry sodding Potter steps in and ruins it all, just like always. At first, though, the time loop seems liberating. For the first time in his life, he can do anything, say anything, be anything, without consequence. But the more Draco repeats the day, the more he realises the uncomfortable truth: he’s falling head over heels for the speccy git. And suddenly, the time loop feels like a trap. For how can he ever get Harry to love him back when time is, quite literally, against him?

Moon-Eyed by loveglowsinthedark

Draco Malfoy, Head of Veela Affairs at the Department of Magical Beings, does not do people favours.

Harry Potter, recently turned werewolf, is not “people” – not to Draco anyway.

Does Draco plan to fall in love with Harry when he decides to help him? No. Does he end up falling in love with him anyway? Pft, what do you think?

Adventures in Solitude (Are You There, Sirius? It’s Me, Draco) by oceaxe

Draco is grateful to have had Sirius’ portrait to confide in all those years ago, about his sexuality and unwanted feelings for a classmate named Harry. But when he gets the portrait out of storage after twenty years, the secrets he has kept from Sirius all along come out. Secrets about Draco’s role in the war… and secrets about Harry Potter.

Proof of the Pudding by gracie137

When Greg’s bakery opens on Diagon Alley, Draco doesn’t expect it to the place he ends up finding love, but then again Harry Potter had always ended up defying Draco’s expectations.

AKA: The One Where Gregory Goyle somehow ends up running both a bakery and a match making service.

The Rules of Matchbreaking by PalenDrome (nerdherderette)

For Prompt #51:When Draco gets fired, he reluctantly agrees to break up a girl’s relationship for her disapproving mother. Through word of mouth, the one-time gig turns him into a professional Matchbreaker, however he winds up falling for one of his clients and must somehow balance his secret job and love life.[excerpt]:“So who is it? The Curse-breaker and the Veela? The head of the Department of Magical Transportation?” Draco’s eyes lit up. “The Dragon-tamer?” Now that particular Weasley could be fun.

“No. It’s Harry,” Hermione said, the name exploding out of her in a rush.

Draco blinked, stunned into silence.

“Harry,” he said, after he recovered his faculties. “You want me to break up Harry and the Weaselette?!“

One Night at the Leaky by birdsofshore

Harry should have known better than to accept a drunken dare. Especially when Malfoy was sitting right there, looking like that and wearing those bloody tight trousers.

This is the very first Drarry fic I read, while trying to research dares for a seungchuchu fic I was writing at the time and it is the fic that made me ship Drarry and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Ligabus Filium by Tessa Crowley (tessacrowley)

It should be careful, deliberate, but it isn’t. Like every other part of their relationship, it happens gradually and then all at once, before they even realize it. And when the little blue threads bind them together, there’s no going back.

The Printed Press by Soupy_George

Draco Malfoy was still slightly amazed that he was standing on the doorstep of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. He never would have thought that Harry Potter’s very public and very … sweary, emotional explosion would have led to him offering Draco, of all people, a job.

All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl

Professor Malfoy’s world is contained, controlled, and as solitary as he can make it, but when an act of petty revenge goes horribly awry, he and his trusty six-legged friend are thrown into Hogwarts life at the deep end and must learn to live, love and let go.

Foundations!verse by Saras_Girl

Reparations by Saras_Girl

Harry is about to discover that the steepest learning curve comes after Healer training, and that second chances can be found in unexpected places.

Foundations by Saras_Girl

When one door closes, another one opens – with a bit of a push. Life, love, and complications. [sequel to Reparations]

So this was included in my healer!Harry rec list but this series is just so good also it has way too many fics in the series for me to link to all of them but once you read the two main fics there’s no way you’re not gonna wanna read the one-shots that come with the series as well.

Are You Mine? by gracerene

A trilogy of fics set in an Epilogue-Compliant Harry Potter ‘Verse, with various accompanying time-stamps and one-shots. Fics are in chronological order.

Not Just When You Want to Be by gracerene

A little over a year after the end of the war, fate seems intent on pushing Harry and Draco together. Staying together is a different matter entirely.

What I’m Waiting to Find by gracerene

James has devoted the past two years to being the best damn Chaser that Puddlemere United has ever seen…and to getting over his teenage crush on Teddy. But when Teddy comes back to England after a long stint abroad, James’s resolve to move on is put to the test.

All of the Time by gracerene

Twenty-five years later, Harry and Draco find their way back to one another.

I read this one fairly recently as well and this is definitely one of my all-time favorite series, the first and third fics are Drarry and the second is Jeddy. I honestly love this so much that I lowkey want to go find @gracerene09 down and thank her for writing such an amazing series. Oh fair warning though, the first fic made me ugly cry and opened a wound that only the third fic could heal so you know, prepare yourself. There are also accompanying oneshots that are also v amazing!

This Must Be the Place by aibidil

When your dad is Harry Potter, your face shows up in Teen Witch, your social media videos go viral, and sometimes your life depends on pretending to date your metamorph godbrother, whom you’ve been over for years, thank you very much. Or, the one where James and Teddy do animal yoga and risqué karaoke and their families could do with seeing fewer videos of them snogging.

I’m a sucker of the fake relationship trope and @aibidil wrote this sooo beautifully

The Hidden Side by gracerene

Twenty years ago today, James Sirius Potter was born into this world. Four years, two months, and six days later, somebody took him.

Oh god this, THIS Auror!Teddy is one of my favorite Teddy’s. Also super intriguing plot and still quite a few unexpected twists even though the biggest revelation you guess/know pretty early on. Oh and background drarry!

#a 'few' favorites #i'm a mess #i got v carried away #favorites #Drarry fluff #drarry smut #drarry fanfic #drarry fic recs #drarry rec list #jeddy #jeddy fanfic #my rec lists

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puffdragongirl · 5 years

Text

Carnelian on Slate

“I’ll say it again, I’m just so glad the post finally made it!” a cheerful voice, buoyed by both joy and drink rises above the general din of the crowd. “I can’t stop looking at the prints – they just make such a lovely couple!”

“Don’t they ever!” another voice, as joyous and slurred as the last, chimes in, and his gaze is drawn towards two women huddled shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar. “Just look at her dress – I don’t think I’ve ever seen an outfit so fine!”

“Fit for a Princess!” the first woman crows, “And a fine match for our Prince Lady Seiran is, isn’t she?” She rises from her chair and thrusts both her tankard and the special wedding issue of “The Clarines Times” into the air, “To our Prince and Princess!”

Wedged in the corner of what was likely the seediest bar he has ever been in, Mitsuhide’s hand tightens almost imperceptibly around his tankard as cheers for the new royal couple ring throughout the bar once more. He thought that two days of hard riding from Wilant would have been far enough to outpace wedding gossip, but he supposes he should have known better than to think an inch of Clarines would not be focused on the marriage of the Prince to the veritable (and now literal) Princess of the North. Every post, every inn he had stopped in to change horses had copies of the commemorative wedding issue available in storefronts or posted in windows.

And who could blame them, he muses as the cheers fade and the women continue to chatter about the details of Kiki’s dress and Zen’s coordinating suit. Their story, for all it was a political move to join the most powerful lines of a still-distinct North and South, seemed a fairytale. A comforting tale of friends turned lovers after years spent together in the crucible of life. A secret courtship, fulfilling the fondest wishes of the bride’s long-departed mother and stirring the hopes of a thousand couples waiting for their own happy ending.

His mind drifts as he recalls the wedding. It had been a truly beautiful ceremony. Illuminated by the golden light of the setting sun, the bride, iced in ivory silk and draped in pearls, seemed to float down the aisle; a perfect match to the regal Prince who awaited her at the dais. Gleaming rings – one plain, the other set with a sparkling Wisteria blue sapphire – exchanged as a sign of devotion. Vows solemnly made, and sealed with a kiss at the very moment the sun slipped behind the clouds…

His stomach twists painfully at the thought, and he brings his drink to his lips to assuage the ache. I should probably eat something, he thinks, taking another drink from his cup. He wasn't exactly feeling hungry – he hadn't felt much of anything since leaving the castle – but he also couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten.

Blinking to clear his bleary eyes, Mitsuhide scans the room for the waitress who had last filled his cup. Although he can’t recall the details of her face, he has a vague recollection of blonde hair swept in a messy bun. His first scan is unsuccessful, so he straightens from his slouch with a wince, craning to get a better view of the crowded room.

Must have been a shift change… he acknowledges after a more diligent search fails to locate a single blonde waitress. He also notes the lanterns scattered through the in the room have been lit to offset the rapidly dwindling sunlight. He hadn’t realized how much time had passed – he had stumbled into this inn sometime before noon, and it couldn’t be more than a quarter hour or so to sunset now – but he can’t bring himself to feel more than momentary concern at the swift, yet crushingly slow passage of time.

He took some solace in knowing he was not the only person to drink the day away. A large party of travelling merchants had claimed several tables in the center of the dining room shortly after Mitsuhide had arrived. They had proudly announced to all and sundry that their firm supplied the wines served during the wedding reception, an honor that had led to a flood of orders from nobles all around Clarines. This blessing had apparently inspired quite a spirit of generosity within them, as they had purchased several rounds of drinks throughout the day, each one accompanied by enthusiastic toasts to the royal couple’s health.

Most of the waitstaff that Mitsuhide could see were flitting in and around the merchants’ table, topping off drinks and ferrying steaming platters of food. Considering the men were now as drunk on ale as they were their successes, it was no wonder the staff were being so attentive. The bolder of the waitresses were taking full advantage of the merchants ever-increasing “generosity”, tittering sweetly in their ears and pressing close as they refill glasses.

As he watches, one of the drunken men raises his mug, sloshing ale over his hand as he calls for yet another toast to the royal couple’s health. He grimaces, stomach twisting once more as the cheers echo through the room, but when another voice rises to call for blessings of fertility to find their way to the royals, he just can’t take it anymore. He lifts his drink, hoping to drown this feeling, to wash away the image of mouths on necks, but nothing remains in his tankard. He stares into the vessel – empty again, like everything else in his life – and tries with some desperation to recall how many times today this exact view had greeted him.

Disgusted by his inaction, Mistuhide sets his tankard down with more force than is strictly necessary. Planting his elbows on the table, he rubs his hands harshly over his face in an attempt to gather himself. If only he could scrub his mind of these useless thoughts as easily as he had cleansed his body of the accumulated dust of his flight away from the capital…

“Needing a refill there, sir?”

Lowering his hands from his face, Mitsuhide looks up to see a tawny-haired waitress approaching with a mug of freshly drawn ale. He feels a bit of heat creep up his neck as he realizes the petulant thunk of his empty tankard striking the table must have attracted her attention.

“Please,” he requests, ducking his head to obscure the blush he hopes is not visible in the mostly lantern-lit room.

She bends close to set his new drink on the table, and catches a glimpse of his face, “You’re a handsome one, aren’t you?” Mitsuhide feels the heat creep up his cheeks as her eyes sweep the length of his body. “Tall too,” she hums appreciatively, shifting her weight to lean across the table.

“Say, are you free tonight?” she purrs, a hand rising to press against his chest, “After all, it’s not every day we get a man like you in these parts…”

He shrinks backwards against the back of his chair, hands raising in supplication as he stutters excuses; but she follows him back, her gaze returning to get a better look at his face. Once she does, she blinks and straightens.

“Hey wait,” her tone shifts, halting the words spilling from his lips, “aren’t you that handsome man that was traveling with Obi?”

“Traveling with Obi…?” he parrots back, arms lowering as he stares at the waitress. He fails to place her at first – clad in the same black dress as the rest of the staff, she looks like every other waitress he had seen today. Memories begin to stir as she preens under his gaze, however, and a sensual smile curves her lips. She flutters her lashes, and he recalls the same brown eyes sparkling with mischief, framed by the long chestnut hair that is now swept in a high tail. She tilts her head, and her earrings jangle, drawing his attention. The heavy gold discs, each set with a sparkling red stone, are unmistakable, and he recalls the press of her body warm against his on that long-ago night, the surprise of finding her with Obi in that abandoned manor, and the press of her lips against his cheek the next morning.

“I thought so,” she laughs, delighted by her unexpected discovery, and he realizes she must have read the recognition in his eyes, or perhaps from the blush that burned once more across his cheeks. “I could never forget a blush like that.” She leans closer once more, resting her cheek against her shoulder, “So what brings you all the way out here, good sir?”

Her question reminds him of the realities of his life, or more accurately the aching uncertainty of what his life would become moving forward. The blush fades from his cheeks as he considers how he wound up drinking away the day in the seediest inn middle-of-nowhere Clarines could offer.

After stumbling out of the antechamber outside of Zen and Kiki’s chambers, Mitsuhide had attempted to return to his own rooms, but was waylaid by Izana along the way. The King had taken one look at him with those all-seeing eyes and beckoned him to come to his office for a chat.

“You won’t be needed for the next three weeks,” the King informed him, his words blunt but not unkind, “The honor guard for the wedding tour will be made up of local soldiers selected by the council at each of the stops.” He steepled his fingers, gauging Mitsuhide before deciding to deliver the blow cleanly, “When you return from your break, we will discuss your…new duties.”

He couldn’t recall how he had responded to Izana after that, only that the King had stared at him for a few minutes once more before waving him away. Mitsuhide had followed Zen for years, had made protecting him and the interests of the Wisteria family his top priority – his only priority – for so long he couldn’t imagine what a life without that would mean. He had made his way to his room, thrown together a basic pack of supplies and coin, and ridden until he couldn’t stand riding any more.

“You alright?” a voice breaks into his thoughts, and he realizes the waitress – he can’t recall if he knows her name – is still waiting for an answer. She looks at him with a mix of concern and amusement, one brow quirked up in question.

“I’ve been…given leave from my duties for a while,” he settles for a version of the truth, “I- I couldn’t stay, so I picked a direction and rode away.” He reaches out for the tankard of ale, and just resists the urge to drown the entire draught, “This place just happens to be where I stopped.”

“I see,” she hums thoughtfully, not missing the way his hand tightens around his drink, “That explains the clothes.” Mitsuhide glances down at his shirt, a slightly ill-fitting, homespun replacement purchased on his last change of horses since his usual clothes had not survived the days of hard riding unscathed. The material wasn’t dissimilar to what he had worn while in-training at Sereg, but after years of wearing fine linens and silks the slight irregularities of the simple weave felt harsh against his skin.

“But it doesn’t necessarily explain the lack of companions,” she continues, hands flattening on the table in front of him as she leans close once more, “Tell me, where is your lady, good sir?”

“Gone,” he says shortly, remembering the sparkle of Zen’s sapphire against Kiki’s skin a scant few mornings ago. Those dark feelings rise within him again, and although he tries to drown them with another gulp of ale, words twisted with bitterness slip out, “She was never my lady to begin with.”

“Ahh…” she breathes, her smile taking on a sympathetic tint, “Not with Obi, then, right?” He shakes his head, and must pull a face, since she leans back to laugh. “I didn’t think so – as much as she would be his type, she was way out of his league. Plus he seemed to have a thing for that red-headed healer.”

“You could say that,” he admits, thinking of Obi and Shirayuki. He hadn’t seen them in months – since the rumor mill had yet to die down, they had not been able to return for the wedding – but they had sent their well-wishes along with a package overflowing with teas and spices from whatever exotic country Izana had sent them to “negotiate” with. They seemed well, but he still felt a twinge of guilt whenever he thought of his role in the mess that had sent them out of the country to begin with.

“So, with that that elegant man, then?” she asks, breaking his train of thought.

He doesn’t say anything in response, just stiffens and takes another deep draught of his ale, but his silence is apparently answer enough for her. She slides from the table and approaches his chair from behind.

“You never answered my question, you know,” she comments, sliding her arms around his neck, “Are you free tonight, Mister?”

He intends to say no. He’s already said too much, and the last thing he wants to do is to drag someone down with him. But as she presses close, he feels her warmth seeping through his rough cloth of his shirt. He feels the soft puff of her breath against his ear. He feels the press of her chest against his back, sparking a curl of desire, even as color stains his cheeks once more. He feels something with her, after days of feeling nothing but emptiness and pain.

“And if I am?” he rasps, mouth gone dry as he realizes what he’s agreeing to, “What do you have in mind?”

“Oh, Sir,” she purrs, somehow pressing even closer, “That would be telling.”

Man this story. It would not have been possible without moral support, editorial assistance, and a LOT OF COMPLICATED PLOT DISCUSSIONS with my good friend Muselover1901. Many helpful Discord folks also helped me come up with words for Torou’s hair color, because words are hard. Thank you all <3

#*shoves story into the world*#please take this from me #mitsuhide and torou did not want to cooperate during the writing of this #but it is written #OTL #do mitsuhide and torou have a ship name?#heck if I know #mitsutorou #tomitsu?#mitsuhide x torou #background kiki x zen #kikizen #very brief mention of background obiyuki #more angst than you can shake a stick at #ans #puff writes

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ztufs · 6 years

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10 Animations (and games) that made my life a little better

So for my first post I’d like to just share my appreciation for 10 animations I really felt a connection to, whether they were emotional, out of fascination or just pure amazement. I have no “rules” for what kind of animations they’re gonna be, aside from them being animated (Shocker I know).

So yeah, I hope yall enjoy this list, and leave a comment about some of the animations that left you with a smile on your face!

#1- Wall-e

I’m gonna start of this list with my favourite animated movie (or just movie in general): Wall-e. It’s no secret that Pixar makes great animations, and I know I’m not the only one who loves this movie. What really captures my attention is the feeling of soltitude and ambience shown throughout the first act of the movie, until Eve arrives. What I find great about this part is how much “show don’t tell” is used, to describe to us, the viewers, about the post-apocalyptic world.

Being that the main character almost never speaks, repeating alot of words or lines when he actually does, makes it super duper cool how the animators used visual storytelling to show us how the world has gone to shit, as well as Wall-e’s expressions and sounds to pinpoint exactly how he feels.

If you haven’t seen this movie, I highly reccomend it!

#2- Ori and the Blind Forest

For my second pick I chose one of my favourite games, name is in the title.For me, this game has everything: Awesome music, tight gameplay, a flubtastic story, and smooth animation. Playing this game really felt like going on a journey through a MAGICAL world, where anything could happen! Even though this game was the source of alot, and I mean ALOT, of ragequits, it still brought me back every time. The art in this game is fenomenal, and combined with the animation I really feel it when Ori, the game’s main character, flies through the world, up and down walls and through changing environments.

Also Managing those difficult jumps feels really satisfying!

#3- Death Parade

There are alot of animes out there (yes I’m a weeabo), but there’s a few that I’ve really enjoyed, Death parade is one of them. It’s opening might trick you to think you’re gonna watch a friendly, happy-go-lucky show about different people living in purgatory, but you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s dark themes and how it tackles different topics about human pshychology with a touch of humor and warmth really got to me. I felt a connection with the main character in a way I haven’t with any other characters in anime, and the realization about the main characters fate (no spoilers), really worked for me.

#4- Night in the Woods

I really love this game. I don’t know if it’s the overall great stylized aesthetics, the great, great music, the amount of clever, funny voicelines given to the characters, the characters themselves, showing multitudes of different personalities and charisma, the general story of the game, the oh-so-smooth animation or the underlying themes of friendship, anxiety and an existential crisis that grips me. I might have a clue though.

This game really delves into the greater questions about life in a really humorous and philosophical way, and i loved every step of the journey. It has really worked as an inspiration for me when it comes to creativity and life itself.

#5- Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse (trailer)

I’m just gonna throw this out here first to clearify: As of the date I wrote this list, the full movie wasn’t out, so I had just the trailer to go by.

Ok, I’m not gonna lie. The moment I saw the trailer for the spider-verse movie my mind. Was. Blown. The animation in this video is perfect. It’s the amazing mix between cycadelic cartoon meeting animation. The colors are vibrant, the animation is smooth as butter, and the textures really capture the comic-feel of everything. Along with me being a Spider-man fanboy I really love the whole concept of the spider-verse, and I can’t wait for this movie to come out

I hope Spider-pig is in it.

#6- Animator vs. Animation (the whole series)

If you watch alot of animations on youtube, you’re bound to come by one of these videos. Made by Alan Becker, Animator vs Animation is a series about an animator (You don’t say), who has to fight his own animated stickman. The genious about these videos is how it’s animated. The animator uses different tools in the animation program, as well as the computer and even phone, to really make it seem that he’s fighting with a virtual stickman. Getting better and better for each video, you can really see how different principles of animation are applied, to make for a really cool untraditional “stick-man fight”.

The series is pretty funny and shows you how creative and meta you can get with animation. Just don’t come to me if your pc is attacked by a small stickman.

#7- Angry Birds - Piggy Tales (The first two seasons)

NOW BEFORE YOU LEAVE THIS BLOG IN DISAPPOINTMENT AND ANGER, let me just say that there’s a special reason as to why I chose this, out of all things.

There was a period in my life where I was going through some rough things, and I spent a lot of time cooped up in the hospital. As I didn’t have a lot to do, phone games became my rescue, one of them being angry birds. I remember getting 3 stars on every stage (get on my level noobs), and having fun watching the different animations the creators of angrybirds made.

That being said, Piggy Tales is actually a funny short show, made on computer to resemble clay and stop-motion animation, making use of physical humor and slapstick. The animation is pretty smooth and funny, where different kinds of settings are explored each time.

Be aware though, as the third season shifts from clay-like animation to more refined animation. This might be off putting for those who found the clay-style appealing.

Piggy Tales are short but many, so if you wanna kill some time, this might be a good time-assassin.

#8- When Marnie was there

I had to include a Ghibli film here, I mean come on! Which one was the question though, but I was kinda allready set on one in particular. “When Marnie was there” is my favourite Ghibli film. I feel like it really connected with the movie in a weird beautiful way. The themes I saw and experienced throughout the movie, might not have been the same as the ones the writers and producers saw. opr me though, I felt like the movie really showed what it can feel like to be alone. Along with beautiful music and composition of scenery, the movie really grabbed me from the get-go and didn’t release me until the credits started rolling. What I was left with was a feeling of solitude, but at the same time I felt grateful for having friends and family, and for being part of this journey we call life.

Conclusion: Anime makes you feel feelings.

#9- Sly Cooper (trailer)

As with the Spider-verse, this is only a trailer, since the movie has been either cancelled or suspended for a long time.

The Sly Cooper games were the first games I ever played on a home console, so they have a big place in my nerd-soul. So when a movie was announced, I was well on my way to the cinnemas, even before the trailer was released. When I saw the trailer though, I was overwhelmed with just pure good-feels. The character-designs had changed to give them a more natural look, but it worked really well in my opinion.

As for the dialogue, the voiceactors were the same as the ones I grew up with, aside from the main character, Sly, but I let that slide since the new voice actor, Ian James Corlett pulled off Sly’s charcter pretty good! The animation of him jumping, sliding and running through the city also matched the way it felt playing the game, and doing those exact same actions.

If the movie ever comes out, I’ll be the first in line by any sacrifice necessary.

#10- Pooh’s Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin

To finish of this list I thought I’d share a piece of nostalgia! Though It’s been a long time since I last saw it, this movie was a big part of my childhood! Now don’t make fun of me for choosing a kids movie for this list, I still think this movie has a great story and music, along with the animation and background-paintings. Besides, making fun of me makes me sad, and I’m a big boy so I’m not supposed to cry.

This movie really excels at showing how vivid our imagination can be. Every scary location in the movie is shown at the end to be a reimagined version of reality, emphasizing just how much a kids imagination changes the world around them.

So yeah! Thanks for reading through my list of 10 animated things that really made for the raisin in the sausage (It’s a norwegian saying so don’t feel confused).

I don’t know what this list says about me as a person, but it is what it is. I also hope you found some of the stuff on this list intriguing, and that you might wanna check it out.

Welp, that’s it for me!

Ztufs out!

#ztufs #animation #top 10 #top10 #top ten #topten #animator #disney #anime #cartoon #marvel #games #videogames

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bikaelsons · 6 years

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die easy

CHAPTER SIX ∙ 'cause I can't take it

note: yes this is a repost a month late, but what’s important to remember is that while i may be incompetent, i’m also an unmitigated disaster. as it turns out this chapter’s title was a prophecy of what it’d be like trying to post this monstrosity! i’m gonna go take a long bath

warnings: allusions to domestic violence, canon-typical violence, and katherine pierce removing her fake eyelashes (the last one made ... an impact)

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Matt ran red light after red light, screaming through corners and clipping hedges. More than one indignant jogger flipped him off as he tore past. He didn't care.

He pulled up at the Gilbert residence, scraping the wheels against the gutter. He bailed out, not bothering to lock the truck as he took off across the grass. The door was unlocked, but had it been otherwise he felt desperate enough to take it right off its hinges.

Caroline was in the living room, makeup smudged with tears and exhaustion. "Thank god," she breathed, and it was all she got out before Matt tackled her into a hug. When she continued, her voice was muffled against his chest. "I thought you might run over someone on your way here."

"I was careful," he lied, pulling back but keeping Caroline at arm's length. "Where—how—"

"Elena took him upstairs. She—" Caroline lowered her voice, mindful of vampire senses. "She thinks his ring will bring him back."

A spark of hope ignited in Matt's chest, quashed instantly by the subsequent realisation. "It only works on humans that are killed by supernaturals."

"And while Katherine is supernatural—"

"—so is Jer. Fuck." The hollow ache returned to Matt's chest, one he knew all too well. "I'll go talk to her."

Caroline nodded. "I'm gonna try calling Ty again."

Hugging her one last time, Matt left to give her some privacy.

Elijah had never much liked Pennsylvania. A discomforting encounter with Quakers way back when had cured him of any affection for the wretched state. The summers were unbearably humid, somehow worse than any he'd experienced in Louisiana. How many suits had he ruined with sweat in this awful piece of country?

To be fair, though, he'd ruined more with blood.

Setting aside his prejudice, as a learned man was wont to do, Elijah forced himself past the border and deeper into the state. The coordinates Allie had provided took him west to a small, armpit of a town that already festered with the coming summer.

(It was lovely, but he was in no state to acknowledge that.)

The town's hub of activity was a stretch of cafes and antique stores in a short street adjacent to the main one, and it was there that Elijah found himself. He bypassed the juice bar for a more traditional diner with checkered linoleum and a jukebox he was willing to compel them all not to touch. He ordered a black coffee and sat on a stool that creaked beneath him, the entire set-up a mockery of a bar. Even the smooth, plastic countertop beneath his fingers was red and sparkling clean to aid the sliding of milkshake glasses to eager customers.

Elijah accepted his coffee from one of the workers, a pimpled man with a nametag that read RANDY and who'd known every other customer by name, and who drawled at Elijah, "New in town?"

"Is it obvious?" Elijah replied, gesturing to his suit. Everyone else was dressed like they were going to the beach, except for the uniformed workers at table No. 9.

"Yeah, you don't look like the regular folk, unless you're a real estate agent."

Elijah returned the man's smile despite having seen such a real estate agent setting up fliers on his way here, an agent who had been wearing a polo shirt under his suit jacket. "I'm here looking for a friend, actually."

"Who? Maybe it's someone I know."

Elijah pulled his phone from his pocket, first noting the absence of messages from Matthew, then tapping in his code and bringing up the picture of Elena he'd filched from the Mystic Falls High website for this exact purpose. She wasn't who he was looking for, but they were quite literally doppelgangers. "This woman," he said, showing the phone to the worker.

The worker leaned in close, squinting at the picture. "Can't say I've met her. Maybe you could ask around, though?"

"Perhaps. I was told she'd made herself quite a fixture in the town." Actually, Allie's exact words had been She's talking like she's the fucking queen boss, Uncle. "If you see anyone matching her description, do let her know I'm looking for her." It could make her run, but it could also draw her out enough for a conversation. Elijah was willing to take the risk.

"I sure will," the worker affirmed. He leaned back over his shoulder and yelled, "Going on break, boss!" then tossed his dishtowel over one shoulder and disappeared into the kitchen.

Elijah checked once more for notifications, then switched his phone off and returned it to his pocket. He shouldn't be this anxious really—Matthew had told him to leave, and he'd been right. It was time for Elijah to stop hanging onto his brother's apron strings. The solution to this was, of course, to track down the woman that had ruined his relationship with his brother to begin with.

By the time Elijah finished his (annoyingly decent) coffee he'd well and truly talked himself into a mood. So it wasn't really his fault he didn't notice someone was following him out of the diner until he was three streets away from the main action and their heels kept clicking on the sidewalk in a syncopated rhythm to compliment his.

He glanced over his shoulder quickly, finding no one there and the sound gone. Attuning his senses, Elijah froze. The scent wasn't like Katherine's—he knew that too well to be mistaken—but it was female and vampiric.

"I know you're there," Elijah announced in a cool tone. "Playing games will not end well for you."

“You're looking for Katherine," said the woman, her accent a crisp, almost too-perfect British.

Elijah tried to attune his hearing, to seek out a heartbeat, some whisper of breath in lungs, but found nothing. "And you can help me."

"Perhaps."

"If you could show yourself, I'd appreciate it."

"Why? Can't you find my heart, Elijah Mikaelson?"

He'd already been irritated; now he was what the Americans so aptly referred to as pissed. Which didn't help, because the roaring of blood in his ears only made it harder to pick out her location. Even her scent was difficult to negotiate among the alley they'd found themselves in, all sorts of unsavoury scents occupying his olfactory senses.

"Is she here?"

"So what if she is?"

It took conscious effort to un-grit his teeth. "I am not one to be run around by childish games. Either tell me where to find Katerina or I will leave."

Silence. Then, a heartbeat. It began slowly, quickening to a more normal rate and coming with breaths and the sound of heels on a brick rooftop. Elijah looked up to see a vampire loom above him, short and round in stature and with short, pin-straight hair. She stepped from the rooftop as though she were descending a staircase, landing on the ground in front of him like the jump had been nothing at all.

"You stopped your heart," Elijah said, stepping back to survey her.

She dusted off her dusky pink cardigan with a few stiff, practiced movements, then turned her gaze on him. Something about it was unnerving, exacting. "I did."

"And you are?"

"Juliana Porter. I work with Miss Pierce."

With, not for. An interesting word choice, and a deliberate one, too, if her meticulous nature so far had been any indication.

"She's here, then?"

"Not presently, but she sends her apologies. She has been waiting for you, but other matters took her away."

"Why has she been waiting for me?" And how did she know I would come?

"I think you know the answer to that, Mr Mikaelson. Now, would you like me to show you to your room?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow. "I have a room?"

"But of course." Juliana's grin was large enough to show the place in her gums where her fangs laid in wait, just barely pressing against the pink. "Like I said: Katherine has been waiting for you."

Matt had seen too many dead bodies.

One could argue that one dead body was too many, but Matt did feel like he could almost have handled that. Maybe.

Who was he kidding? He could barely handle seeing undead bodies.

Now he was seeing both dead and undead: Elena, undead and perched beside Jeremy, dead and laid out on his bed as though he were only sleeping after all.

"I know what they're saying," Elena said, breaking the silence. "I'm not crazy."

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat. "No one's saying you're crazy."

"Just that I'm wrong." Elena's thumb brushed over the Gilbert ring on Jeremy's hand, fingernail catching on the blue stone.

"He's not human anymore, Elena. He stopped being human as soon as we activated his Hunter's curse." Just like werewolves, it was the first kill that brought a hunter out to play. The first vampire Jeremy had slain sealed his fate.

Elena shook her head. "Just—shut up, okay? He's gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine."

And though Matt knew otherwise, he sat beside Elena and tucked an arm around her.

Maybe things would be better once the Salvatores got back.

The room Juliana took Elijah to was exactly to his taste, from the plush, navy rug to the mahogany end table to the precise threadcount on the Egyptian cotton sheets splashed over the memory foam mattress.

"Miss Katherine designed it for you especially," Juliana contributed from the doorway. "She said you'd come to find her."

Katherine always had been one step ahead of them. Elijah had long since given up on figuring out how she managed it. And though part of him wanted to run contrary to her assumptions, to not be kept waiting like some insect in amber until Katherine saw fit to fetch him ... this was what he'd come here for.

"Shall I ask the kitchens to draw you some tea?"

Elijah turned back to face Juliana. For someone that had been so adamant about working with Katherine, not for her, she was sure behaving like a maidservant. "No," said Elijah. "I think some rum will suit me better."

Juliana raised an eyebrow. "Right you are, then. I'll leave you to it."

She departed, shutting the door behind her and leaving Elijah alone in the space his oldest love had carved for him.

Matt set the coffee cup down beside Caroline and slid into the booth across from her. "Still nothing from Ty?"

Caroline shook her head, setting her phone down. "Radio silence. I guess Klaus really got to him."

"He'll come around."

"Nope," said Caroline, popping the 'p' and bringing her coffee up under her nose. "I think the point of leaving was that he's never coming around again."

"He won't abandon you."

"I told him to go. We agreed it was for the best. Said goodbye and everything."

Funny, since Ty hadn't seen fit to show Matt the same courtesy. A dead best friend and one that might as well be dead, too. Fitting.

"I'm sorry," said Caroline, catching sight of Matt's face. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Matt bit out. I just picked a hell of a time to get rid of Elijah. Would he even care that Katherine had killed Jeremy? He had a history with her, Matt remembered. Then again, he had a history with Jeremy, the guy that killed Kol.

Once, just once, Matt would like to feel an uncomplicated emotion.

"You can talk to me." Caroline reached across the table to grab onto Matt's hand. "Jeremy meant a lot to you. And losing Ty, too ..."

Matt withdrew a little. "I'm fine."

Caroline seemed about to argue when her phone started ringing. She said, "Stefan," and picked it up hurriedly. "Is everything okay?"

Matt couldn't make out the voice on the other ended, but it didn't sound particularly thrilled. Not that it should.

"Oh. Oh." Tears welled up in Caroline's eyes like they belonged there, though she fought them valiantly, biting her lip and tensing her frame in an attempt to gain control. She met Matt's gaze as she told Stefan, "We'll be right there."

The Gilbert house was burning.

Caroline had to get creative in driving through the amassed crowd, and even then they could hardly get onto the street before they were stopped by a ring of firetrucks forming a barrier. A few hoses were going, trying to douse the flames, but it was too late for the house. Half of it had crumbled before Matt even got out of the car.

The house he'd spent his entire childhood in was becoming a husk before his eyes.

Caroline grabbed his wrist and pulled him past the firetrucks, breathing, "Elena." They pushed forward to get to the Salvatores and Elena, who stood on a neighbouring lawn. Damon was blank-faced, Stefan was grim, and Elena ...

Matt stepped forward, trying to get her attention. She watched the fire with a neutral expression, her tears long since dried by the warmth. "He's inside," she said. "They're fighting because they think he's still alive."

Jeremy. They had to find a cover for his death. It was smart, if not horrible. "Are you ... okay?" Matt asked, hating how it sounded.

Elena looked away from the fire easily, turning on him with a blank expression. "I'm fine." She flicked her gaze to Damon. "Let's go."

To Matt's shock, Elena strode away, Damon trailing after her. He looked back over his shoulder to exchange a look with Stefan and was gone.

"What the hell was that?" Caroline demanded.

"That was Elena," Stefan answered. "Without her humanity."

The shower was just as luxurious as the bedroom had been, multiple nozzles and enough room for ten men to stand in. Elijah took more time than he needed, glad for the reprieve from motel showers.

The moment he turned the water off, Elijah knew she was back. Her scent reached him even through the steam, even as he heard her unmistakable heart beating outside.

He took his time drying off, shaving meticulously, and slipping on silk pyjama pants and one of the bathrobes provided. Katherine also seemed to be stalling, only just crossing the threshold as Elijah finished in the bathroom. He heard her farewell Juliana, who she seemed on good terms with. He heard her curse under her breath as she removed her heels halfway up the stairs, stockinged toes sinking into the lush carpet.

He did love her. Each reminder of the affliction was another punch to the gut.

Katherine slowed as she passed his bedroom door but didn't quite stop. She picked up her pace and headed into her own room down the hall, leaving her door open. An invitation.

You've come this far, Elijah reasoned, tying his robe a little tighter, tucking his phone into the pocket. He headed down the hall and rapped his knuckles against the doorframe that thresholded her room, hoping the pattern of knocks sounded sufficiently bored and entirely undesperate.

He didn't wait for her invitation to enter—her bedroom was many things, but a human residence, it was not. He had no need for permission, and he knew for a fact that she would never give it. A verbal invitation sounded too much like a question, and a question permitted a response in the negative. Katerina Petrova was never denied.

She wasn't laid on the bed, as one might expect. Instead, she'd planted herself on the heavy leather chest at the foot of her bed, rubbing her now bare feet. Her shoes and stockings were in a pile at her feet, her trench coat draped beneath her like a skin easily shed. All she wore was a dress of the brightest blue, the kind that almost pulsed in the dim light.

"Hello, Katerina."

Her smile was guileless. "Elijah. So nice of you to join me."

Elijah leaned against the bed frame, ignoring the way her fingers dug into the arch of her foot, relieving a phantom ache that she didn't feel. She was a vampire, after all. The illusion of relaxation was just that—false. He wouldn't let it ease him. "Since you've had me waiting on you this past day, I'd say it is you that has joined me."

Katherine stood without warning, almost nose-to-nose with him in an instant. "We can join each other." She stepped away just as quickly, dissipating like a mist as she sat at her boudoir, shedding her dress on the way. She sat before it in a black slip only, facing her own reflection yet peering at him through the mirror.

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting," she said, tone nothing in the vicinity of apology. She pulled one string of false eyelashes off, slowly, tossing it aside. As she moved to give the other one the same treatment, she locked eyes with Elijah. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Your own foresight, if my room is any indication."

"Oh, do you like it?" she asked, voice muffled by the tissue she was wiping her lipstick off with.

"It's precisely my taste, as you know."

She turned over her shoulder to gift him a smile. There were flecks of lipstick staining her teeth, pink and sparkling where she'd pressed them there with the tissue. He doubted that was an accident, nor how swollen her lips looked after cleaning them. "How are you, Elijah?"

"Well enough."

"I heard you and Klaus had a falling out."

"One hears many things if they listen. Not all of them are true."

Katherine opened a drawer and retrieved a packet of what appeared to be wipes. She pulled one out and began rubbing it over her eyelids, the shimmering powder come off like a dusting of sand under a saltwater spray. "I lied," she admitted. "I didn't hear it. But I could see it in your eyes when you walked in, and I guessed it when I prepared your room for you. I've always known you, Elijah."

And there it was: the reason he'd come. The one thing he loathed her for was the one thing he needed her for the most. Even Matthew hadn't been able to see how scarcely Elijah was holding on.

"Am I to guess the nature of this falling out, or will you save me the trouble and regale me with another tale of Mikaelson woe?"

Elijah broke her gaze in the mirror, looking around the room instead. "It was the usual. Lack of cooperation, plotting without our knowledge. He faked his death this time, though. That hasn't happened before."

"It's not exactly beneath him, though, is it?"

Opting not to reply, Elijah scooped up the discarded dress and stockings, placing them in the laundry hamper just beside the bathroom door. He fetched the coat and heels and wandered into the adjoining walk-in wardrobe, finding their places easily: the coat among its sisters, the shoes in the only spare place along the floor. By the time he returned to the room, Katherine was finished, beaming at him with a youthfulness that was almost hard to look at.

She looked like Katerina. Sometimes, she was.

"Always cleaning up after me, Elijah," said Katerina, not budging an inch. "After all of us. You must be so exhausted." Where once her tone had been mocking, now it was only sincere.

Left with nothing else, Elijah had only the truth. "Why else would I come?"

"The same reason you always do."

Katerina extended her hand. Elijah took it.

Matt sunk into the sofa, the same place he'd always sat. He knew the Lockwood mansion better than his own home—had likely spent more time in it, most of his best memories either here or the Gilbert house. He was almost certain that the reason the sofa in the den molded so well to him was the impression his ass had left in its surface during thousands of hours of Call of Duty with Ty.

All that time, he'd never thought he'd own the place. But he did—in his name and everything.

Honestly, if you asked Matt, Ty could go fuck himself. Acting like the mansion was a substitute for friendship. It was almost 3am and Matt was alone, all alone, in a house that had never embraced a single owner in its entire span. Everyone here was lonely eventually; Matt had watched Ty's parents grow colder every year in it. He was convinced it was cursed.

But it was also all he had left.

Pulling out his phone, Matt scrolled through his contacts for a while, just watching the names spin by like the world's saddest slot machine. He'd really fucked up when he let Jeremy go to that island alone, when he'd accepted his non-invitation without a fight. For what? Time with Elijah and some useless memories he didn't know how to deal with?

Maybe there were some things you just weren't supposed to know. Maybe the fact that your ex-girlfriend fed on you and compelled you to forget multiple times, that your other ex-girlfriend almost killed you and let her current maybe-boyfriend compel away your memories and leave you for dead, that your friend had compelled you to forget your own sister's death ... maybe these were things Matt could have gone without knowing.

He did know he'd trade them in a second if he had half the chance.

Anger burning through him, Matt scrolled back through the names until he got to E. Pulling up his and Elijah's text messages, he found himself faced with the last few. All business, making plans to meet up, to get his memories fixed. Checking in on each other through drama after drama.

He wondered if Elijah knew that Jeremy was dead. Wondered if he cared.

Not giving himself a chance to think, Matt tapped out, Hey, where are you? He only barely stopped himself from sending it. What right did he have to ask? He'd sent Elijah away.

He'd sent everyone away.

Elijah stared at the bright rectangle of his screen in the dark.

No new messages.

Beside him in the bed, Katerina stirred. "'Lijah?" she whined, shielding her eyes from the light. "Something wrong?"

"No." Elijah clicked his phone off and set it on the nightstand. "Everything's fine. Go back to sleep."

Katerina hummed, reaching out to pull him to her. He went willingly, resting his cheek against her collarbone. He matched his breathing to hers until sleep took him.

Three days later, Elijah woke to his phone ringing. It was 3am and Katerina, who'd already shown her distaste for phones in the bedroom, groaned beside him.

"Sleep," Elijah told her, kissing her jaw and pulling the covers up. He swept up his phone, slipped on some pants and sped away, ending up down the street where the conversation wouldn't disturb his sleeping lover. And then he looked at the caller ID.

Answering in confusion, Elijah said, "Tam?"

"It's Lex."

"Lex? What are you doing with your mother's phone? Is everything all right?"

"Mom needs help. She won't call Grandma June, but she said I could call you."

"What happened?"

"She got hurt at work. Some guys came to the bar and stuff. She's in the hospital, and there's a lady here to take Dylan and me away."

"What lady?"

"She's a social worker. She says it's just to look after us while Mom's in the hospital, but she also asked a lot of questions about us being there when it happened."

"You were at the bar?" Of course they were. If childcare fell through, Tam couldn't just abandon her shift. Goddamit.

"Yeah. Can you please come? Dylan won't stop crying and Mom can't talk. I don't wanna go with the lady but she says we have to."

Elijah ran a hand over his face. "All right, Lex. I need you to tell the lady that I'm your uncle. Say I'm coming to look after you, so she won't need to."

"What if she doesn't believe me?"

"You can put me on the phone to her now, if you like. But you have to keep up the story, make sure she doesn't think we're lying. Can you do that?"

"Yes, Uncle Eli." Shuffling on the end of the phone. "My uncle wants to talk to you."

More shuffling, then a woman's voice. "Hello? This is Janet. Who is this?"

"I'm Elijah, the boys' uncle."

"I was unaware Tamara had a brother."

"Uncle on their father's side. I'll be by to take care of them soon. I'm in Pennsylvania at the moment, but I'm packing as we speak." A lie. He was standing shirtless in the middle of the street. "I appreciate you looking after the boys while I make my way there."

"Yes, well, anything to help. It's been a rather traumatic situation for them both, and I'm sure Tamara will appreciate your help. You can pick the boys up from the child protective services office on the main street."

"Thank you so much. Would you mind putting Lex back on the phone?"

"Of course.” More shuffling.

"Uncle Eli?"

"Lex. Janet is going to take you to her office, all right? I'll come by and pick you up before it's even light outside."

"What about Mom?"

"I'll make sure she's okay just as soon as I get you and Dylan sorted. She'd want you to take care of yourselves first. Do you understand?"

"I guess."

"Keep your mother's phone on you so you can call me if anything changes. I'll see you soon, all right?"

"All right."

With a beep, Lex hung up.

"Sounds like an interesting kid."

Elijah forced himself not to jump. "Hello, Juliana."

She emerged from the dark, heart resuming its beating. He'd have to ask her how she managed that. "So, you're leaving, then?"

"I have matters to attend to. I'll leave a note for Katherine."

"Don't bother." Juliana smirked. "I'll be sure to give her the full story. Have fun on your little trip."

She flashed away without a word, leaving Elijah alone in the cobblestone street.

Elijah did, in fact, leave a note for Katerina. It was simple and without flowery sentiment—just the way they both preferred. He drove the entire way to Maryland in silence, hands clenching and unclenching on the wheel.

The Child Protective Services Office was a squat, brown-bricked building with a gravel parking lot inserted out back. It was empty but for one vehicle, presumably Janet's, and most of the lights inside were off.

The doors were locked, as was probably sensible, so Elijah rapped on the frame until a middle-aged woman appeared, her blue eyes watery—perhaps from crying, perhaps because they were just always like that. She unlocked the door quickly and offered him her hand to shake. The wall of warm air and peach-scented perfume hit Elijah like a physical force, almost knocking him back a step.

"Janet Payne," she introduced herself. "You must be Elijah?"

Elijah shook her hand and nodded.

"Please, come on in. I'll take you to the boys."

She led him in past the front desk, one with a perspex barrier and only a slot to pass paper back in forth through. Elijah imagined one would come in handy if he ever reconciled with his family. The 'TAKE A NUMBER AND WAIT YOUR TURN' sign had its own appeal as well.

The boys were in a room brimming with toys that looked like they'd seen better days. Then again, so did the boys. Lex's hair was sticking up at all sides and Dylan's mouth was ringed with something white and foamy, perhaps ... ice cream? They were both in desperate need of baths, fresh clothes, and haircuts. Only two of those were an easy fix.

"Elijah!" said Lex, standing up upon spotting him. He seemed unsure of how to react, whether to go for a hug or what. Knowing that Janet watched on, Elijah stooped down to embrace Lex himself. The assertion that they needed baths was confirmed by closer proximity.

"Come on," said Elijah. "Pack up your things and let's get going."

"I'll need you to sign some paperwork first," said Janet.

Elijah turned to her, catching her eye carefully. "If you check again, I'm sure you'll find that everything is in order."

She blinked heavily, compulsion falling over her mind like a soft blanket, and said, "Of course."

"Come now, boys," Elijah directed over his shoulder. "Let's get going."

As it turned out, Lex and Dylan were very well-behaved for relative strangers. Lex wasn't entirely trusting, but he seemed to have gauged Elijah as their only viable option while Tam was still in hospital.

Dylan crashed in his bed just after Lex gave him a bath. Elijah didn't interfere; young children were particularly difficult when they deviated from routine, and Elijah had no intention of triggering a tantrum. The only child he'd interacted with in recent memory was Allie, and they'd been a nightmare to deal with at times.

With Dylan in bed, Lex sought Elijah for more food and company. Elijah had pulled together what he could from the kitchen—some eggs on toast, as it was almost breakfast time. Lex didn't seem all that tired, though.

"When are we going to go see Mom?" he asked through his egg.

"Once your brother wakes. I called the hospital to make sure they told her you're with me."

Lex nodded and set his cutlery down to pick up his toast and start chewing on it. "Where did you go?"

"I had family business to attend to."

"What kind of business?"

"The difficult kind."

Lex considered him. "Do you have kids?"

"No. I have siblings, though." And that's sometimes the same thing. "Why weren't you with your babysitter last night?" Tam should have had the money for it. Elijah had compelled her a raise, after all.

"Mom caught the sitter stealing some of her clothes last week. She hasn't found a new one yet."

People really were heathens sometimes, Elijah concluded.

"Are you gonna leave again?" Lex asked. There was nothing in his tone to indicate how he felt about it—he certainly wasn't upset, in any case. And why should he be? He barely knew Elijah.

"Not until I know everything's all right."

"Why can't you just stay?"

"Because I have things to do, Lex."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm ... a writer." The lie came easily; he'd used it most recently, when trying to worm his way into the Gilberts' lives. Just a writer researching Mystic Falls history, he'd told Jenna. He wondered if his lie hurried her death at his brother's hand.

"That's cool, I guess," Lex said boredly, playing with his now soggy toast.

Elijah stifled a laugh. Children were always good for the ego.

"You should get some rest," said Elijah. "Your mother will want to know you're doing well when she sees you."

"I'm not tired, though."

"Don't lie. I know you yawned when you were coming down the hallway. Finish your toast and get some sleep."

Lex didn't complain, but Elijah could tell he wanted to. "I'm not hungry," he said instead.

"Good. Brush your teeth. I'll wake you in a few hours."

"What if it's not visiting hours at the hospital?"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out. Go on, now."

Lex shot him one last look before wandering off down the hall, leaving Elijah with the half-eaten toast and an uncomfortable silence.

The hours passed slowly, Elijah monitoring the boys in the back of his mind. Dylan stayed right out until mid-morning, but Lex tossed and turned for the better part of three hours before he drifted off.

Entertaining Dylan wasn't difficult, much to Elijah's relief. He mostly drank from juice boxes and watched TV; neither of these things were strictly healthy, but Elijah didn't know enough about Tam's rules to enforce them. He allowed it, listening closely from the next room in case he was needed.

Lex didn't need waking. He rolled out of bed after a meagre two hours of rest, as grouchy as the teenager he would be in a few short years. He dressed both Dylan and himself, barely stopping to eat before insisting on going to see his mother.

Elijah drove with the radio on, something he rarely did. The music was annoying, but Dylan knew one or two songs and Lex seemed content to just be.

The hospital wasn't busy, thank god. It was a small-town one with barely enough room for two ambulances in the bay. There was only one nurse working the front desk—an older woman in purple, flowery scrubs. Her breath smelled like the egg she'd had for breakfast.

"Well, hi, there," she cooed, looking down at Dylan and Lex. "Everything all right, folks?"

"We're here to see Tamara Knight. She was brought in last night, injured in a bar fight."

"You a relative?"

"Her brother."

The nurse clicked at her computer for a moment. "Yep, here she is. Room 204. Go down the hall, turn left, then right, then left again. You should find her easy enough."

"Thank you."

Elijah led the boys down the way the nurse had said, but he didn't need the directions. He could hear Tam's breathing, her heartbeat—he could smell her scent. They arrived at her door, 204, and Lex knocked without being asked.

"Come in!"

Lex opened the door, making way for Dylan to dart in toward his mother. She reached over the edge of her bed and took him into her arms.

"Careful," Elijah cautioned, drawing Tam's gaze to him. Her eyes caught Elijah's, sharp, then turned to Lex as she motioned him closer. The three of them embraced, and Elijah ducked out, closing the door behind him.

Half an hour later, Lex poked his head out to find Elijah standing in the hall. "Mom wants to talk to you. I'm s'posed to take Dylan to the vending machine for some food."

"Do you have money?"

"Duh. Come on, Dylan." Lex pulled Dylan along down the hall in search of food, leaving the door wide open for Elijah to step through.

Inside, Tam was sitting up in her bed. She looked brighter than she had when he caught a glimpse of her earlier, some more colour in her cheeks, brighter light behind her eyes. She wasn't hooked up to any machines or drips, though there was a band aid over the back of her left hand.

"How are you feeling?" Elijah asked, sitting down beside her.

"Fine. I had a slight concussion, but they said I should be out by tonight."

Elijah could smell the blood on her, so he kept staring until she continued, "And there's a cut on the back of my shoulder. Not too deep, but they stitched it up." She motioned to her shoulder, the bandages rustling as she moved. They were mostly out of sight but made her hospital gown look bulky.

"What happened last night? Lex said you were attacked by some man."

"Yeah, just a regular patron."

Elijah stared at her, unimpressed.

"What?" asked Tam, raising her arms innocently. "It's true. He's in there all the time." She sighed. "But we also dated."

"And was his anger at you related to his patronage or your relationship?"

"The latter."

"I trust he's in custody?"

"Yeah, but he won't stay that way. His brother's one of the deputies. Gets him off for everything—DUIs, drunken disorderlies, all of it."

"He won't be this time."

"You sound so certain."

"I am. What else can I do for you?"

"Nothing, really. You already took the boys."

"You don't sound entirely comfortable with that."

Tam shook her head. "Lex was right to call you. There wasn't another option. I just didn't sleep well knowing my kids were in the care of a relative stranger."

"Would you have preferred I leave them with social services?" Elijah intended it as a genuine question. "If so, I apologise, but the situation as it was communicated to me—"

“No, it's fine. They would've looked the kids up, called their grandmother."

"Yes, the famed 'Grandma June'. Your mother or their father's?"

"Mine."

"You were seriously injured in a bar fight. Your mother has no place in this?"

"If she set foot in this town, she'd be reporting me to social services."

"She'd incite a custody battle?"

"She'd win it, too. She's got money, a nice house, a good name, a college education. I've got a record for solicitation and I just got glassed in a fight with an ex-boyfriend while my children cowered under the bar I work at." Tam laughed bitterly. "Maybe they'd be better off with her."

"Do you believe that?"

"I hated living with her, but I might've hated living like this, too."

"You love your sons more than she ever will."

"Love isn't always enough."

"Not always, no." Elijah thought of Niklaus, begging him to free him from his chains with their father beat him, while their mother cursed him. He thought of Rebekah suffering at Niklaus' hand again and again while Elijah watched on. He thought of Marcel, the boy they rescued and left to Niklaus to ruin. "You have to choose whether you allow yourself to be their mother or a spectator in their upbringing. Choose wisely, and choose quickly, because there are two police officers sixty seconds away from arriving at this door to question you over last night's events."

Tam's eyes widened. "How do you—"

"I just know. Choose, Tam. They have your police records, they know who you are, and they have the power to report you to the relevant bodies. Choose what you want me to help you achieve."

"I can't." Tears welled up in her eyes. "I can't stop this from going wrong."

"Do you want me to? I can make this all go away."

"I ... I don't know. What would you do?"

"This isn't up to me, Tam. Now, tell me—what do you want?"

The door opened, revealing Lex and Dylan. Dylan wandered right in to show his mother the bag of cheetos from the vending machine, but Lex stayed rooted in place, looking down the hall at the approaching police officers.

"That looks yum, baby," Tam told Dylan absently. "How about you go and get some real food with Elijah and your brother, huh?"

"Tam, I can stay—"

"No, Elijah." Tam met his gaze. "I have some things to take care of."

The officers arrived at the door, Lex still staring up at them.

"Tamara Knight?" asked one of them, fingers hooked into his belt.

Lex stepped away from them, back into the room. "Mom?"

"It's fine, sweetie. You're going to lunch with Uncle Elijah while I talk to the officers about last night, okay?"

"Can't I stay?"

"We'll come right back," Elijah assured him. "I swear."

Lex didn't repeat his protests, eyeing the police officers with trepidation as Elijah led him out.

Lunch was awkward. Dylan picked an ice cream shop that Elijah didn't have the presence of mind to argue against. Lunch became sundaes and being babysat by "Uncle Elijah" turned into an hour long sugar high that Elijah didn't dare bring back to the hospital.

It was Lex's suggestion, going to the park. He seemed to have inferred the need to fill in time, and having Dylan burn off the high was only a positive. Elijah sat on a bench beside a breastfeeding woman while he watched the boys. Dylan raced around the equipment, Lex following him with a watchful eye.

Elijah's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, finding himself facing a raunchy selfie of Katerina. He had no idea when she'd had a chance to enter her new number and add a contact photo, and he didn't have the presence of mind to wonder. The woman on the bench beside him must have seen the image, too, as she slid away from him a fraction and tightened her grip on the baby.

So, really, Elijah could hardly be blamed for answering the phone with a curt, "Hello."

"You don't sound as happy about my new contact photo as I thought you would."

"You don't ask for permission as much as I think you should."

"Because it's boring. Where are you?"

"Did Juliana not fill you in?"

"She said something about Maryland, some kid calling you. Care to fill me in? Oh, thank you, Randy,” Katerina cooed, taking a long sip of something.

"You're at the diner."

"And you travelled interstate. Spill."

Elijah hesitated. Trusting Katerina had never ended well for anyone, and he had no intention of falling back into old habits. Had he known Juliana was listening to his conversation the night before, he'd have found somewhere else to talk. As it was, Katerina had caught a scent and she had no intention of letting it slip away. "Can we discuss it when I get back?"

"When will that be?"

"Soon." Elijah got the sense that Tam didn't like having him watch the boys, and if she was doing what he thought she was then how she felt wouldn't matter much longer anyway. "I'll update you when I know more. Things are ... complicated."

"Then tell me. Maybe I can help."

"Not to doubt your skills, Katerina, but I doubt there's anything here that you can handle that I cannot. It's all rather ..." Elijah watched Lex help Dylan onto the see-saw. "Mundane."

Katerina chuckled. "I'll steer clear, then." There was a pause, only the sound of chatter in the diner and wind in the park between them. "You were gone when I woke up."

"I left a note."

"You could've woken me and told me yourself."

"You travelled far enough. You needed your rest."

"How do you know how far I travelled?"

"Your hair smelled like dirt when you first returned. I assumed you wouldn't allow yourself to be sullied unless it was in a remote location, lest someone capture the incident on film."

"The worst of all human inventions.” Another pause. "I hope I don't have to wake up alone for long."

"I'll be back soon." Back. Not home. He didn't say that anymore.

"Promise?"

"Of course. And if you miss me, you can just call."

"Mm. I guess my photo should entice you back on its own."

"That it should," Elijah replied, as though he had no intention of changing it as soon as the call ended. The last thing he needed was one of the boys picking up his phone while Katerina called it. "I look forward to seeing you again."

"You'd better. See you soon."

The indistinct chatter cut off, leaving Elijah with a dead line.

Walking into the hospital felt more like walking into a morgue. The police cruiser was absent from the parking lot as he pulled on, but the moment Elijah opened his car door he caught a waft of peach perfume and knew exactly what was coming.

Janet was there.

Lex helped Dylan out of his car seat. The toddler's eyes were droopy, his hair slick with cooling sweat at the temples. He was certainly past his sugar high.

"Let's go see your mother," Elijah said, trying (and failing) to get a reaction from one of them. As when they first came by, it was Lex who held Dylan's hand when they crossed the road. Elijah was more of a spectator than anything else as Lex followed the path they'd originally taken, arriving at his mother's hospital room door. It was ajar, both Tam and Janet inside.

"What's she doing here?" asked Lex, eyeing Janet with disdain.

"She's here to talk to us about a few things," Tam replied. She spotted Dylan and opened her arms wide. "C'mere, baby!"

Dylan wandered over to his mother, climbing up onto her bed and settling in along her side. She ran a hand through his damp hair, then looked back at Lex, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Come in, Lex. We need to talk."

"I'll ... give you all a moment," said Elijah, excusing himself. He shut the door behind him and avoided Lex's gaze through the glass as he walked away.

Two hours later, Elijah was still studiously ignoring the loud conversation he could easily eavesdrop on—Lex was currently accusing his mother of abandonment, and Elijah had no intention of intruding on that difficult moment. He'd visited the billing department to see to things, but that had been irritatingly free of bureaucratic nonsense and concluded in half an hour. Elijah soon concluded that there was only so much time a person could spend in the cafeteria before they lost track of any world that existed beyond it, which was how he found himself staring down at the mimicry of a sandwich before him while the argument on the other side of the hospital reached fever pitch.

"I promise I'll visit you there, Lexi,” Tam was saying. "It's not forever—just for now."

"But you hate Grandma June! You never want to see her—"

"I don't hate her, Lex. She's my mother. We don't always get along, but that doesn't mean you won't."

"We don't even know her."

"You knew her when you were a baby and you loved her. She used to sing you songs and play all kinds of games; you thought she hung the moon. Trust me, Lex. This will be good for you."

"But this is our home ..."

Elijah forced himself to tune out once more, taking a bite of his sandwich. He promptly spat it out, but at least it was distracting enough from the matter at hand to give him a temporary reprieve.

Tam was discharged by 4pm, as sworn by the medical staff. She enquired about the bills and was informed of their status as paid; something in the way she looked at Elijah told him she wasn't thrilled by his interference. She had bigger things to worry about.

Elijah drove the three of them home after Janet departed. Tam was forbidden from driving while she was on pain meds, though Elijah could tell she hadn't taken any yet. Her shoulder bothered her, but she put on a good show as she tried to get Lex to talk to her.

He wouldn't.

With the boys home and unpacked from their day, Elijah was left at rather a loose end. He quickly got the impression he was an unwelcome hoverer in what was Tam's last few hours with her boys before her mother arrived the next morning, so he made himself scarce.

Surprisingly, the old man running the motel recognised Elijah from his visit several weeks previously. Unsurprisingly, the same room was free, the ice machine was still broken, and Elijah wished desperately he were anywhere else.

Dropping down onto the bed, Elijah checked his phone for messages, finding nothing. He told himself he was waiting to hear from Katerina. He knew it wasn't true.

Once the blood started flowing, Tam's ex-boyfriend was a screamer. Elijah kept him silent enough.

Elijah stayed clear of the Knight house the next morning. Tam had his number; she'd call if she needed him. She didn't until late that afternoon, when the sun's light filtered through the motel window and lit up the dust motes Elijah was trying desperately not to see.

"They're gone,” was the first thing she said. "CPS wasn't even involved. I just let her take them."

Elijah paused, waiting for more information. She didn't speak, just breathed heavy on the line. "I'll be there in five minutes," he said, ending the call.

Elijah arrived in three minutes, wasting no time in letting himself in by the unlocked front door. He flicked it locked behind him and continued, finding Tam at the kitchen table with the remains of what looked like a very depressing lunch in front of her.

"Are you all right?"

Tam didn't speak, just met his gaze with an exasperated look—or as exasperated as it could be while her eyes were so unfocused. Elijah scented the air for alcohol, finding nothing. She must have finally taken her meds.

"You should get some rest," he suggested. "I can find some dinner for when you wake up—"

"I need you to leave."

"Pardon?"

"Leave town," she clarified, struggling up from her chair. "I can't rebuild my life with you looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you can fix it. It's not yours to fix, and I don't want you here while I do it myself."

"Tam, please, let me help you."

"Why?" asked Tam, words slurring together. "Why d'you care? You drove all the way here from another state to watch my kids. I let you b'cause of what you did f' me, b'cause I trusted you, b'cause I thought nothing could be worse and that anything was better than my mother and you'd just be helpful for a little bit then you go and pay my bills and you're just here all the time and it's ... what do you want from me?" She drew in a breath, stepping back from him a little until her back hit the wall. She hissed at the pain. "Why did you have to kill him?"

"Tamara, what—"

"I know Benny is dead. They found his body in the river. Said it looks like a suicide, but I know better." Her gaze was accusatory, her stance defensive. Perhaps not quite enough for someone accusing another of murder, but still, the judgment was there.

"Tamara, he—he hurt you. He would've hurt your sons."

"You don't know that!"

"I ASKED HIM, Tamara!" Elijah snapped. "I asked him, and he told me everything he did and everything he was going to do. Why would I let him live?"

"His brother's a deputy," said Tam, breathless and wide-eyed. "I could turn you in. You'd never see the light of day again."

"You won't." Elijah tried to sound certain. He could always compel her, but he didn't want to. She'd do what she did, and he would face the consequences.

"Why not? Why shouldn't I? You're a killer, Elijah. I let you watch my children and then you killed a man."

"A man that tried to hurt you."

"That doesn't mean you can kill him!" Tam kicked the back of her foot against the wall, eyes screwed shut. "Just ... leave, Elijah. Please."

"You've been through a lot, Tam. You're angry now, so get some rest. I'll come by in the morning with breakfast—"

"Oh, my god, no. This isn't some trauma response, Elijah. I need you to go."

Elijah drew back, calculating. "I'll be in town until tomorrow morning," he said, deciding as he said it aloud. "If you ask me to stay, I will. But if I don't have a message from you by nine tomorrow, I'll know you want me gone for real."

"Are you always this smothering?" Tam scoffed. "No wonder you don't have a family."

"You're lashing out," Elijah said, rationalising. "I'll take my leave. Please—call me if you need to."

Tam didn't respond, just watched him carefully as he retreated. He could've sworn he still felt her eyes on his back, all the way down the street.

No call came through from Tam by morning. Elijah didn't know what he'd expected, but the feeling was familiar. First Klaus, then Matthew, now Tam—all making it perfectly clear just how unnecessary he was.

It's unbecoming to pout, he warned himself, schooling his features as he stopped by the front office of the motel to check out.

"Good day for travel," said the old man, taking the key back from Elijah and hanging it on its hook. "You drive safe now, friend."

"Thank you for your hospitality." Elijah swept up his suitcase, not one for wheeling it—there was something plebeian about the movement that he abhorred—and made his way out, stepping lightly over the cracks in the concrete before arriving at his car.

Inside, Elijah paused. His phone burned a hole in his pocket (almost literally, as he'd been informed there was a slight overheating issue he needed to have seen to). Pulling it out, he found the conversation with Katerina and tapped out a message.

Heading back to town.

It took Katerina all of ten seconds to reply. I've always wanted to have a picnic at the gazebo in town.

I know the one. Should be there about 1PM.

Make it 2. You have to stop for food for us.

Elijah snorted. Katerina Petrova did not fill baskets with pastries for outdoors picnics. 2PM it is. I'll see you soon.

And with that, Elijah got on the road.

#the originals #tvd #elijah mikaelson #matt donovan #malijah #can i tag it as that if we're still in the match-striking phase of this slowburn?#idk i make the rules i guess #fuck #die easy #fanfic #mine

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sufficiently-advanced · 6 years

Note

Do you think Mulberry or Buckeye woods would make good wands?

What a fun question! This is such an interesting question that I am going to neglect my analyses still further to answer it.

What makes a ‘good’ wandwood must at some level consist of the power and reliability of the wands it creates, themselves hugely variable depending on core, rigidity, length and other less heavily weighted factors, and of how commonly and well the wands it creates match well with magic users, a factor that is extremely difficult to determine. While wand cores’ effects on the power and overall nature of a wand are almost always immediately evident, wandwoods’ effects are, as a very general rule, both subtler and potentially more complex. Perhaps this is partially because the variability in effect between individual silver birches is less than the variability between individual phoenixes, so we find the subtleties of silver birch use easier to study.

Nevertheless! I’ll discuss the viability of these woods as wand materials (assuming, of course, that you could find some that bowtruckles have willingly settled in), and give some predictions as to their characters as wandwoods. BUCKEYE

‘Buckeye’ is a broad term, spanning at least six hardwood North American species in the genus Aesculus (lit. ‘edible acorn’). As far as I can tell, two of these species are used at all for lumber, and then only rarely, as it’s one of the weakest, softest hardwoods native to the US. It’s prized for specially and individually made objects, though, due to the striking dark-on-light discolourations that can be seen in its burls. A buckeye wand might be unique in appearance, if taken from the burl, but it would need careful upkeep to resist rot and everyday wear; wand polish would be more or less compulsory to avoid a fuzzy surface and a lifetime of only a few years, and it would incidentally very likely smell very unpleasant during processing, though once dried this scent is barely perceptible.

What could justify going to the trouble of making a fragile, unpredictable buckeye wand? Intellectual curiosity aside, buckeyes are trees with a rich and peculiarly recent folkloric history, and their peculiarities when used for wandwood would be well worth further study – the more I read the more interesting a wood it seems. As an overview, I’d say this is not a wandwood to pick on a whim, or because of its appearance, but rather that its best results might be gleaned locally on the basis of a pre-existing connection to the tree, and such results could only be meaningfully assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Now, I am British and not American, so bear with me if I say anything that seems very obvious! My first instinct regarding Aesculus-genus woods would be that they might have some minor aptitude for forceful or blunt duelling spells, just because of their long association with the practice of conkers, that traditional autumnal entertainment, but as it turns out that’s really a British thing outside of Nova Scotia, a few other areas in Canada, some parts of New York and one specific town in Massachusetts, in which one large horse chestnut tree in the town common provided all the necessary conkers for the town. The tendency of this tree to link to a specific location, though, seems like a common trait, with buckeye species tending to be restricted geographically - the yellow woolly buckeye, for example, is narrowly endemic to Texas (and, beyond the moniker ‘buckeye’ but within the same genus, the Japanese horse chestnut is endemic to Japan); Ohio is known as the ‘Buckeye State’, for their association with luck, wood cabins and several local historical and folk figures. If that horse chestnut from Leicester, Massachusetts was viable as a wandwood source, I can confidently predict that its magic would be intrinsically linked to that particular tree and its location in the physical and social landscape of the town. This… makes its characteristics even less predictable. But the implications of a strongly location-specific wand, as can be seen to a lesser extent with some English Oak wands, are very interesting. I would doubt such a tree would give wands anything less than a sociable outlook, possibly influenced by the generations of children playing with it to something of a dogwood-like mischievousness, or to a parental investment in community and familial duty. But then I’ve never met the tree! Certainly the fact that every part of the tree is mildly toxic could be indicative of something of a resistance to an unsuited wielder’s will, and possibly of a knack for low-level jinxes.

Buckeye’s seeds (sometimes erroneously called ‘nuts’) give it its name and are also the locus of much of the folklore associated with it – generally used as a good luck charm in games and gambling, and to stave off more everyday, persistent aches and pains. Again, not indicative of quick outbursts of power, but more of a steady, earthy, beneficent power, gained by long use and familiarity. The more I read about this wood the more it seems associated with very local tradition, often down to the family level, and used as a link between generations – from good luck charms to conker traditions to ash soap. I’d expect spells and charms connected to the everyday rituals and rhythms of the community to come particularly naturally to this wand, possibly even to the point of tacit casting as a common feature, under these specific conditions. For a magic user with a strong connection to a home, family or community in a buckeye area, and without huge ambitions, this could be an excellent wand.

Here’s an excellent post I stumbled on while researching this: https://newworldwitchery.com/2012/04/11/blog-post-154-buckeyes/ MULBERRY

I would love to see a mulberry wand! Wands from fruit trees are always very interesting to me. The history of mulberries, as far as I can tell, is one of secrecy and dispute, and there is no way I will be able to do it justice with the amount of time I have to research trees. Mulberries were brought to Britain by the Romans, and, like most fruit trees, have been used to treat ludicrous numbers of ailments over the years – in this case, particularly stomach problems, especially tapeworm ('it purgeth the belly and driveth forth worms’, says a British book of herbal remedies, 1597). Black mulberries have been cultivated so long in southwestern Asia that their exact origin is unknown, red mulberries are native to North America and white mulberries are native to northern China, but true to the tree’s tendency to spread individually each of these have been grown and cultivated widely throughout America, Asia and Europe, with the white mulberry now considered invasive in North America.

Mulberries, with their strange, crooked, writhing shape and their delicate, bloody fruit, can live for hundreds of years in rare cases, and have had more of a political role than many trees can aspire to, representing as they did the lucrative silk industry. James I attempted to wrest away the French silk monopoly in the 1600s, but planted the bloody black mulberry rather than the sweeter, blander white mulberry, which grows better in the British climate, and the British struggle to compete with the Chinese silk market continued through the 1800s. What strange, fertile imagery this tree provides! Merely for that I’d be tempted to recommend it. It really only gets more interesting. A white sap sometimes present in unripe fruit and green parts of the tree may be 'toxic, stimulating, or mildly hallucenogenic’. The story of Pyramus and Thisbe accounts for mulberries’ colour by claiming the fruits are stained with the star-crossed lovers’ blood, a tale possibly dating back to ancient Babylonia. It has considerable potency as an antidote to some snake venom, especially the venom of Russell’s viper. Ancient German folklore says the devil used its roots to blacken his boots. In some Chinese tradition mulberry is strongly associated with the rising sun, as the perch of the Sun Bird. All these suggest possible wand characteristics and strengths – an aptitude for illusion or brewing antidotes, perhaps a preoccupation with romance or tragedy – but in the interest of keeping this at a length I can fool myself into thinking somebody might read I won’t go too far into it. Suffice to say, mulberry is certainly a serviceable wandwood, with good workability and durability to wear and weather, and its (many, varied) particular abilities will likely unfold themselves to a wielder in the same gradual, unexpected way the tree grows. Might have to come back to this one!

Thank you for the question and sorry for the rambling. I hope this helps, and if you want something more specific let me know!

#general #wand analysis #wandwoods #buckeye #horse chestnut #mulberry #theory

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casualarsonist · 6 years

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Until Dawn review (PS4)

David Cage: Frenchman, Legion of Honour recipient, and a video game visionary, he would consider himself a storyteller first and foremost and ostensibly popularised the ‘interactive drama’ genre with the narrative-heavy ‘Fahrenheit’, ‘Heavy Rain’, and ‘Beyond: Two Souls’. However, as well-known as he is for his artistic vision, his other claim to dubious fame is the fact that his abilities can never quite match his ambition. Make no mistake, Cage is no Peter Molyneux and doesn’t exactly misrepresent his games beyond overstating their importance, but they are as synonymous with their clunky gameplay as they are with powerful drama – an important discord in a genre in which the whole point is to tell a story with depth and resonance that players can immerse themselves in when the technical side of these products works against this very goal. However, a good interactive drama game can, like a good film, stand the test of time as a whole work, even if one of its component parts doesn’t. And this too is important because as players we expect older games to be ungainly and less refined than modern releases, so I suppose that if games like this were to have a flaw, clunky gameplay would be a far better one to have than an unengaging story or poor acting.

And thus we come to 2015’s ‘Until Dawn’ - not a David Cage game (and probably better for it), but one that draws from his work in the genre. A pastiche of teen-horror films, Until Dawn follows eight teenagers – the so-called ‘friends’ of twin sisters Hannah and Beth (Ella Lentini) who vanished into the woods surrounding their father’s isolated cabin after a cruel prank played on them the year before. On the first anniversary of their disappearance, the remaining gang are urged by the twins’ brother Josh (Rami Malek) to return to the cabin, ostensibly to commemorate the lives of the missing sisters with ‘the party of a lifetime’. But not all is what it seems, and on top of the creepy and desolate location, the teens will come face-to-face with everything in the encyclopaedia of horror-tropes but the cursed kitchen sink as they try to make it to dawn the next day.

Until Dawn is, for all intents and purposes, a straight-forward success when it comes to achieving its mission statement, which is to say that it’s a faithful recreation of a tried-and-true horror formula with enough twists and turns to keep you engaged in the unfolding story, characters with enough depth and likability to largely transcend the archetypes within which they are cast, and a conceit that makes the best use of the simplistic gameplay. It is possibly the only game I’ve ever played in which I’ve enjoyed and seen as appropriate the inclusion of QTEs – so long has the mechanic been a refuge for lazy designers that I forgot that testing the players reflexes under threat of permadeath can actually be a tense and thrilling experience. It’s also, despite the shoulders upon which it so clearly stands, a unique enough experience that I find myself thinking about it long after it’s over (which is months ago now). You will find yourself becoming attached to the people you’re playing as along the way, feeling appropriately horrified should they fall prey to the many traps the game has to offer. You may also find yourself despising some of them, at which point the full potential of the genre comes to bear as you coax them into a brutal and cathartic death.

But I suspect that my assessment above will divide an audience that has played this game, for as solid as I feel the core of Until Dawn is it cannot escape the fact that, like the genre of film it tries to emulate, the game is a constant balancing act between engaging the audience and repelling them with silliness. Some may indeed find the characters vapid and hollow and I would understand that, because despite the effort to reinforce the importance of player choice in the unfolding narrative there are plenty of times in which you can feel the game take the reins and steer the characters toward a different path from which you took them simply to manufacture drama and keep the story moving. Likewise, I could understand it if you found the constant sexual innuendo unbearable, or the fact that the characters will simply wander around in their underwear during a Rocky Mountain winter, or that for the entirety of the night not once does anyone seek to turn the fucking lights on.

And while I think it was a wise thing to pair this genre of film with this type of game, it’s simply a fact that a good part of the enjoyment of teen horror comes from laughing at a film’s loose ends and frayed seams. The idea that a group of people should come together to commemorate the presumed death of two of their friends with a fucking party in the exact same location from which they went missing is retarded, as is the idea that anyone would crack a joke mere minutes after seeing a friend get minced in front of them, or that you’d prance around in their undies in an unlit, unheated wooden cabin buried in the deep, dark forest. Teen horror films are ridiculous by nature, the choices their characters make are borderline braindead, and so to attempt to recreate this experience for better and worse whilst simultaneously asking a player to engage and invest in the fate of the people making these dumb-ass decisions is a simply an irreconcilable goal. More than once I found myself groaning in genuine annoyance as characters did and said things that were deeply at odds with the things I had asked them to do and say up until that point, in a transparent effort to artificially extend the playtime. The most infuriating moment came with the only character death I experienced, which occurred not as a direct result of my choices but through an incidental and unpredictable series of events that the game told me related to a decision I had made 10 minutes before – a dialogue choice, to be specific, in which I agreed with another character’s plan of action, a plan that takes place regardless of your response. So the choice that kicked off the series of events that lead to the character’s death wasn’t actually a choice at all, it was simply an inconsequential piece of dialogue that the game decided to make a pivotal moment.

These moments of unfortunate incongruity do occur more than once throughout, although they’re rarely as egregious as this. Other missteps include bizarre, truncated conclusions for a couple of the eight characters, who disappear for almost the entire game with only a small epilogue of sorts in which the end of their stories are sorted out, as well as more than one Big Bad revealing itself to be a red herring. In any case, I wasn’t dissatisfied with the narrative overall, but it’s quite clear just how much the writers struggled to balance the need to provide content with the need to keep the player invested in the story.

That said, Until Dawn is easily the highest quality interactive drama I’ve ever played: the cast, led by Hayden Panettiere, perform superbly and manage to tease far more depth out of the characters than one might otherwise expect. Their performances single-handedly elevate the game as a whole, and form one of the crucial pillars upon which Until Dawn manages to stand above its flaws. The story is, for all my momentary criticisms, quite fun and interesting - the sheer amount of clichés within the horror genre offers a deep well from which Until Dawn can and does draw. From the moment you get your hands on the controls you’re left with a sense of dread and foreboding that doesn’t abate, and although your evolving understanding of the circumstances that haunt the characters does result in diminishing returns for the scares as the game winds on, there are still new and interesting plot elements revealed right up until the very final moments of play. An overabundance of jump-scares is mitigated by the fact that, despite how cheap they are, they do still manage to keep you on edge, and there are plenty of moments of genuine suspense provided equally by unsettlingly quiet moments, as well as the terrifying sequences in which you are chased by an unstoppable threat.

And it’s primarily through this quality and its single-minded dedication to providing a genre experience that Until Dawn comes out on top. Like all games of its ilk, it isn’t perfect, and ultimately one could reasonably accuse the ‘interactive drama’ genre of being one giant, coalescent gimmick, but the truly inspired decision here that separates Until Dawn from the others is that the creators chose a wonderfully gimmicky type of film to marry to this type of game. And while two gimmicks together don’t necessarily cancel each other out, in this case they certainly compliment each other to provide what is, in the end, a rather singular and unforgettable experience.

Good

7/10 P.S.

It has taken me fucking months to write this review. I got a new job and lost a lot of writing time, and thus lost my mojo, so please excuse the gap and any perceived dip in quality. I’ve played a lot of games lately, so I hope to post something for Titanfall 2, the Uncharted series, Far Cry Primal, Horizon: Zero Dawn, as well as a few films. Hopefully it shouldn’t take me quite as long to get around to that as it has this. Love, peace, and chicken grease.

#until dawn #video games #review #ps4 #2015 #teen horror #hayden panettiere #rami malek #david cage #interactive drama

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onlinemarketinghelp · 5 years

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10 Interesting Ways You Can Make Money Driving https://ift.tt/2km1Sat

If you have access to a reasonably reliable car, then congratulations! A decent car is the biggest asset most Americans own, other than their houses. I've seen some people try to raise fast cash by selling their cars, in fact.

But what you might not realize is that there are a lot of other ways to make money using your car. If you have a car and don't mind driving it around, then you're well on your way to earning hundreds of dollars on the side every month.

This has been true for decades — a paper route or a pizza delivery job has always meant using your own wheels — but the app-based gig economy and the Internet generally has vastly expanded the ease of getting paid to drive your own car. Without further ado, here are some of the best ways to start making money driving your car today.

Quick Navigation

1. Ridesharing

2. App-Based Delivery

3. Renting Your Car

4. Advertising

5. Help People Move

6. Be a Safe Driver

7. Deliver for Amazon

8. Elder Transit

9. Nannying and Babysitting

10. Use Your Car as a Boost on Job Applications

Final Thoughts

1. Ridesharing

Uber isn't a new company anymore — around since 2009, it's still the dominant player in ridesharing. Its competitor, Lyft, which has been operating since 2012, has a reputation for being a little friendlier to prospective drivers. Many people keep both apps open, though, as a way to make more money more reliably.

Uber and Lyft have their downsides — you might put a lot of wear and tear on your car, for example, and there's some disturbing evidence that safe drivers earn less on the apps than people who speed — but there's no doubt that if you have the right kind of car and a clean driving record, they're very easy, reliable ways to make money driving your car.

They might be especially good if you're willing to work Friday and Saturday nights in busy areas of major cities, or during rush hour. You get paid per minute and per mile, but exactly how much can depend on what time of day it is because of "surge pricing," which charges riders more during busy times of day.

Uber and Lyft both have fairly stringent requirements for what kind of car you can have; it needs to be a newer car and have four doors, for starters, in addition to state-by-state standards. (Don't have a car that meets the requirements? Try HyreCar.)

To see Lyft's state-by-state requirements check here.

To see Uber's check here.

If you only have a two-door car, you can't use it for passengers — but may still be able to use it for deliveries.

Get Started:

Become an Uber partner here >>

Become a Lyft partner here >>

2. App-Based Delivery

These days, everyone wants food and other items delivered directly to their door! If you're willing to put the work in instead, you can spend your time listening to music while you drive food from restaurant to house. Most people who work for these services seem to make around $10 to $20 an hour, and of course scheduling is flexible — you choose when you sign up to work, rather than being assigned by a manager.

One of the most popular delivery services is Uber Eats. You can deliver food instead of people!

DoorDash is another good app for people whose cars can't meet Uber's and Lyft's requirements. You just have to be 18 with a clean driving record. You deliver food but also other items from area stores. With DoorDash, you get paid per delivery and also keep tips.

One great thing about DoorDash: you are guaranteed a minimum of $10 per hour even if business is slow enough that you wouldn't otherwise make that! Average pay is anywhere from $10 to $20, and up to $25 per hour. Plus, as a consumer, DoorDash is my current favorite food delivery service.

If you're a college student you might try Tapingo, which focuses on campus delivery. Otherwise your options are pretty much legion! Seamless and Grubhub (if you drive for one, you drive for both!) are restaurant delivery services. All you have to do is schedule a block of time, then follow the app's directions to pick up food from various restaurants and drop it off. You get paid per delivery, and can also keep any tips from customers.

If you're willing to do a bit more than just pick up pre-packaged orders and drop them off, Instacart could be a great choice. You go grocery shopping for people using their list, then drop their groceries off at their house using your car. You can make $10 to $25 an hour depending on how busy the service is when you want to work.

Finally, Postmates has become very popular recently. The service gives you a prepaid card you can use to buy whatever people have ordered, at which point you deliver it to them. People might order food, but might also want garden tools, clothes, cleaning supplies, jewelry, or almost anything you could imagine! You get paid quickly — by direct deposit within a week.

To Get Started:

Get started with UberEats here >>

Get stated with DoorDash here >>

Get started with Instacart here >>

Get started with Postmates here >>

3. Renting Your Car

One of the annoying things about tying up money in major assets like a house or a car is that often they "just sit there" while you're not actively using them. Airbnb helps you take advantage of unused bedrooms, and you can do the same thing with your car.

Turo is another service that lets you rent your car Airbnb-style. The car has to be from 2005 or newer, have a clean title, and have less than 130,000 miles on it. There's a cool calculator on the site that lets you plug in some basics and find out how much you could earn.

Getaround, for example, allows you to rent your car out while it would otherwise be parked — so you can not only avoid parking lot fees but even make some money! Getaround covers insurance, vets renters, and installs a device that lets people get into your car without the key. How much you can make depends on how nice your car is, but it could be thousands of dollars a year. (Getaround takes 40% of rental fees, and you get 60%, paid out once a month.)

Funnily enough, if you have a nice car you can rent it to rideshare drivers without driving it yourself! HyreCar lets you rent your car out to Uber/Lyft drivers. The service says you can make up to $1,100 a month, though as usual the exact amount depends on where you are and what kind of car you have, in addition to how often you want to make it available.

To Get Started:

Get started with Turo here >>

Get started with Getaround here >>

4. Advertising

What if you don't want to put any "extra" miles on your car? With the options we've talked about so far, you need to be willing to drive more than you normally would.

But what if you could make money just by driving your car around normally? If you're willing to put advertising on your car, it turns out you can make a considerable amount.

Wrapify is an app-based service that lets you connect with potential advertisers. Once you sign up and download the app, the service logs where you go for a while. Then it matches you with a campaign for local or national companies, and partially or fully "wraps" your car (don't worry — the wraps are removable and won't damage the car). Depending on your car, your location, and how much of your car is covered, you could make 100 to $450 a month without doing anything you don't normally do.

To Get Started:

Try Wrapify here >>

5. Help People Move

I lived in New York City for a long time, where I didn't have a car and almost none of my friends did either. So when I needed to move something I couldn't carry in my backpack, I usually hired a "man with a van" (who was sometimes a woman with a hatchback car!) from Craigslist. You don't necessarily have to help people carry their items, or have a huge car, although it might help you get hired more often. You can make $20 to $50 an hour depending on your location and what services you can offer.

If you do have a cargo van or a box truck, in addition to Craigslist you could try apps like GoShare.

Check out the new app Dolly, which allows you to connect with people who are looking to have stuff moved. Everything from moving a house, to picking up items from a garage sale.

To Get Started:

Get started with Dolly here >>

6. Be a Safe Driver

Mostly, you pay your insurance company. But some companies will pay you to be a safe driver.

Allstate, for example, will cut you a $50 check every six months you don't have an accident. Nothing to do but drive safely!

Other insurance companies will give you discounts (which is a lot like free money!) for safe driving. State Farm discounts insurance up to 50% if its smartphone app says you're driving safely (in other words, the app tracks some things about the way you're driving, like how fast you go and whether you come to a complete stop, and tells State Farm whether you're a good driver or not; you get discounts based on that info).

7. Deliver for Amazon

Amazon Flex is Amazon's solution to one of its biggest problems: its customers want delivery faster and faster, and the post office, UPS, and FedEx aren't necessarily able to get things to customers within an hour or two of orders coming in!

You can use your own car to be a courier for Amazon using Amazon Flex. You can make $18 to $25 an hour. Like with many delivery services, you schedule a block of availability. Then you pick packages up from an Amazon warehouse and the app gives you directions for delivering them.

Amazon only hires in certain markets, on a rolling basis. Right now, in mid-August 2018, it's hiring in New York City, northern Virginia, Rochester, Pittsburgh, and a few other cities. If you don't live in one of those locations, you'll need to put your information in and Amazon will contact you when they're hiring in your area.

8. Elder Transit

There are a lot of people who need to get around, but who are too young or too old to drive themselves. Some elderly people use ridesharing services "normally," using their own smartphones, but others need more help.

ElderCare.com and other local services in your community might help you find jobs that include transporting senior citizens in your own car. (Some cities also have partnerships with Uber or Lyft to connect seniors to rides.)

9. Nannying and Babysitting

If you live on a college campus you may have a lot of access to childcare jobs — you can advertise yourself, or answer ads on your college's network. A lot of childcare jobs involve transporting kids — dropping them off or picking them up at summer camp, school, daycare, and so on.

HopSkipDrive is a service that transports kids ages six and up. Right now it operates in California and Colorado (Denver area.) As you might imagine, there are fairly stringent requirements for potential drivers. You need to be at least 23 years old, not 18 (as with most driving services), and have 5 years of childcare experience. You also need a clean driving record and need to pass a background check which includes fingerprints and an in-person interview. And you'll need a 2008 (or newer) car with four doors.

However, if you can meet these requirements, you can make more money per hour than you do with traditional rideshare services — up to $30 per hour.

10. Use Your Car as a Boost on Job Applications

There are hundreds of jobs that aren't app-based that nevertheless give a boost to people who have reliable cars. Some examples include:

Delivery driver for a specific restaurant

Working on a film, a music show, or something else where you can transport equipment

Social worker (travel to clients' houses)

Nurse or occupational therapist (travel to clients' houses)

Event photography, catering, decorating, working for party or wedding venues

In-home hairdressing, cleaning, and any other service occupation where people might like you to come to them rather than coming to meet you in an office or shop

Some of these jobs require specialized skills, like occupational therapy. But others are gigs you can pick up on Craigslist or other local job boards.

Final Thoughts

Overall, if you already own a car, you're in a great position to pick up an easy side gig that involves driving a few hours a week. But car ownership can also give you access to other jobs that aren't "driving" jobs but do depend on reliable transportation.

Cars aren't "investments" in the way that stocks are, or even houses — they always decrease in value over time. But if you can make money using your car in the meantime, you can offset some of that depreciation and pick up extra cash along the way.

The post 10 Interesting Ways You Can Make Money Driving appeared first on The College Investor.

from The College Investor

Quick Navigation

1. Ridesharing

2. App-Based Delivery

3. Renting Your Car

4. Advertising

5. Help People Move

6. Be a Safe Driver

7. Deliver for Amazon

8. Elder Transit

9. Nannying and Babysitting

10. Use Your Car as a Boost on Job Applications

Final Thoughts

1. Ridesharing

To see Lyft's state-by-state requirements check here.

To see Uber's check here.

If you only have a two-door car, you can't use it for passengers — but may still be able to use it for deliveries.

Get Started:

Become an Uber partner here >>

Become a Lyft partner here >>

2. App-Based Delivery

One of the most popular delivery services is Uber Eats. You can deliver food instead of people!

To Get Started:

Get started with UberEats here >>

Get stated with DoorDash here >>

Get started with Instacart here >>

Get started with Postmates here >>

3. Renting Your Car

To Get Started:

Get started with Turo here >>

Get started with Getaround here >>

4. Advertising

What if you don't want to put any "extra" miles on your car? With the options we've talked about so far, you need to be willing to drive more than you normally would.

But what if you could make money just by driving your car around normally? If you're willing to put advertising on your car, it turns out you can make a considerable amount.

To Get Started:

Try Wrapify here >>

5. Help People Move

If you do have a cargo van or a box truck, in addition to Craigslist you could try apps like GoShare.

Check out the new app Dolly, which allows you to connect with people who are looking to have stuff moved. Everything from moving a house, to picking up items from a garage sale.

To Get Started:

Get started with Dolly here >>

6. Be a Safe Driver

Mostly, you pay your insurance company. But some companies will pay you to be a safe driver.

Allstate, for example, will cut you a $50 check every six months you don't have an accident. Nothing to do but drive safely!

7. Deliver for Amazon

8. Elder Transit

9. Nannying and Babysitting

However, if you can meet these requirements, you can make more money per hour than you do with traditional rideshare services — up to $30 per hour.

10. Use Your Car as a Boost on Job Applications

There are hundreds of jobs that aren't app-based that nevertheless give a boost to people who have reliable cars. Some examples include:

Delivery driver for a specific restaurant

Working on a film, a music show, or something else where you can transport equipment

Social worker (travel to clients' houses)

Nurse or occupational therapist (travel to clients' houses)

Event photography, catering, decorating, working for party or wedding venues

In-home hairdressing, cleaning, and any other service occupation where people might like you to come to them rather than coming to meet you in an office or shop

Some of these jobs require specialized skills, like occupational therapy. But others are gigs you can pick up on Craigslist or other local job boards.

Final Thoughts

The post 10 Interesting Ways You Can Make Money Driving appeared first on The College Investor.

https://ift.tt/2lKUGoJ September 02, 2019 at 10:15AM https://ift.tt/2NwABvz

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