#i see anything set before the 20th century and freak it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

taechaos · 3 years

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Freaky Idea

Pt. 2 of New Idea

pairing: Stepbrother!Taehyung x Fem!Reader

genre: oneshot, pseudo-incest, smut

synopsis: The last guaranteed day you have with Taehyung is spent with his choice of adventure. You learn a lot of things about the history of freakshows, and how much of a freak your brother is as well.

warnings: mention of murder and somnophilia, riding, manipulation

word count: 3.8k

When Taehyung agreed to being your slave for a month, he wasn’t lying. He was attached to your hip throughout the whole time span, obeying your every command without complaint. You didn’t deem him forgiven, but you can’t say you don’t enjoy his company and compliance. The whole month was a bliss for you.

The first week, the morning after the… event, you had him prepare breakfast for you and your mother walked in on him cooking an omelette for you. She was perplexed, and with her morning drowsiness asked, “You’re home?” before smothering him with a hug. Your father gave him the minimum acknowledgement, and it went by quickly with your mother being surprised every time she saw him in the morning.

The second week, he drove you around and paid for your every need. You don’t know how he has so much money, but you wouldn’t be surprised if he sells drugs or had robbed a bank. You decided to reward him by kissing his cheek every time he bought you clothes and jewelries per your request. He realized he enjoyed spoiling you, and took you shopping in different malls for 7 days straight.

The third week, you met his friend. You had insisted, and he gave in after a short while of you begging because it was difficult to say no to you and rules are rules. His terms were: 1. You're going to act like his girlfriend, and 2. You sit on his lap. Maybe you didn't get it, but his friend Namjoon didn't seem dangerous enough for you to be behaving the way you were forced to. Sitting in front of a burning barrel in the middle of nowhere, Taehyung and Namjoon smoked weed together while you watched them. The conversation was fun, and you wanted to see him again. Taehyung didn’t allow you to question the ordeal. Rest of the week went by a breeze.

Fourth week was relatively calm as well, and now Taehyung is on his final day of slavery. It’s somewhat melancholic for you because you don’t know if he’ll vanish once the clock hits 12. You’re sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging your dangling legs while your step-brother inspects the fridge to find you something for lunch. The two of you woke up late this morning, well, afternoon, and you don’t know why you feel so exhausted and sore. You’ve been feeling this way for a whole month now, but you’re growing somewhat used to it.

“This bitch is empty,” Taehyung grumbles before closing the fridge and standing up straight. When he notices your soft pout, he slithers his way between your legs. “What’s wrong princess? Are you tired?”

“Will you be here tomorrow?” you blurt without beating around the bush and peek at him under your lashes.

His brow ticks as he tilts his head. “Did you want to do something?”

“Well, no,” you drawl, “I just wish… you were here more often.”

"You know I can't stay away from you for long," he counters your worries, "especially if you allowed me to…"

"Stop." You distance yourself by pushing him away; you don't want to think about what he was implying. You made it explicitly clear that anything remotely sexual wasn't allowed to be brought up when you were around, and he’s been sticking to that rule until now - to your knowledge, at least.

“Stop teasing your sister, Taehyung.” your mother enters the kitchen while tying the knot of her robe, now checking the fridge herself.

He rolls his eyes before turning to her and retaliating, “I didn’t even do anything.” You giggle to yourself and bite your fist. “Did I tease you?” he asks innocently with his neck craned in your direction.

“Yes, he doesn’t even make me breakfast,” you joke with a grin.

“The fridge is fucking empty!”

“Language,” your mother warns strictly before taking out a box of frozen pizza. “And it isn’t empty. Could you turn on the oven for me, love?” You nod and arrange the heat to 200 degrees while Taehyung scoffs, “I can’t survive in a house with women.”

“Man up,” your step-father butts in monotonously. “You have to rely on your mother to cook to this day. When will you move out? Act your age Taehyung, you’re 21.”

The light-hearted atmosphere dims with the presence of Taehyung’s father. There’s a distinct contrast between your two parents, and you can understand why your step-brother is so rebellious around them. The only thing holding them together is their dedication to religion.

He only huffs and crosses his arms in response as his dad grabs a carton of juice and a glass from the cupboard. It’s tense in the room until Taehyung leans into your ear and whispers, “I’m only here because of you.”

A light blush tints your cheeks at his sweet confession, although it also makes you guilty. He later convinces you to eat with him in your room, and it’s comfortable in your bed as you chomp on the slices hungrily.

“Is there anything you want to do today?” Taehyung asks as he chews on his pizza.

“Let’s do something you want for a change,” you answer after swallowing.

Though he hasn’t been showing any lack of interest around you, you are aware that you haven’t been doing anything fun by his definition. You’re worried that you’ve bored him throughout this whole timespan of being together.

A smirk grows on his face and there’s that glint of mischief in his eyes that you’ve missed. Fair, the last time you saw it was before he traumatized you, but you try not to think about it much like you ignore the constant ache between your legs.

“There’s this circus,” he begins slowly, “I hear it’s interesting. Would you want to come with?”

You know he’s leaving something out, his cautious tone and aura implicit he knows something you don’t. But you nod anyway, because you still stupidly trust him.

Taehyung’s car is old and retro, but he must have upgraded the engines for how fast he is driving. You like admiring his side profile as he holds the steering wheel, but the view is much more interesting when he catches you looking. It’s a far location, and you’re out of the city by the time he parks his car in the woods. How did he memorize the directions when it took an hour to get there?

“We’re here,” he announces before shifting the manual stick gear with a screech. You exit the car and he is not gentle with the way he slams the door closed, so you do the same. You can see hints of red colors between the cracks of the thin trees.

“Is it open?” you question apprehensively. The sun hasn’t set yet, but it should be getting dark soon in the evening.

“Hasn’t been open for a century. You wouldn’t believe the amount of history this place has.”

He takes the lead in his steps, and you follow behind though your gut doesn’t approve. The path isn’t long, and only then do you see the circus when Taehyung moves aside. It’s run down, worn out colors in the curtains, broken glasses on the ground and the circus barely holding itself up. There’s a huge cannon in the middle of the stage, the tip balancing itself on the ground. It’s kind of creepy, but Taehyung doesn’t leave you in the dark for long.

“A lot of crazy shit happened here, you know,” he piques your curiosity, “the clowns were fucking freaks. Any type of physical disorder landed you in here, whether you liked it or not. Even for babies,” he picks up an idle shard of glass, “these were jars. They had deformed fetuses on display on a stand, but the wind must have fucked it up.”

“Deformed fetuses?”

“Yeah, like, conjoined and some other stuff.” You grimace at his description, although it stirs empathy in you. The 20th century sounds inhumane.

“Are these real stories?”

“Yeah. And the cannon: they rocketed people from this very bad boy,” he points at it before standing under.

Your stomach sinks as you panic, “It could fall on you!” You pull at his hand and the force makes your chests meet. He smiles down at you before pecking your lips. You stammer, a little mad as he chuckles before walking to a wooden wheel. He makes a star pose after stepping on the metal stand, stretching out his limbs to fit the whole circle.

“This was the Wheel of Death; they threw knives at targets on this. I think they only targeted females actually...” He nods at you to replace him as he hops off. You go along with his idea and climb on the stand, though it creaks weakly. He takes out a pocket knife from his pocket and you’re about to yell before he hurls it at you. It lands above your shoulder and you immediately scold, “What the fuck, Tae?! Why would you do that! I could’ve died.”

He shrugs with a bright grin, clearly unbothered by your stressing. “My aim isn’t too bad.” He walks over to you and collects his floating knife. “Besides, when have I ever hurt you?”

You bite your tongue and purse your lips with a glare.

“See?” he whispers. “You can’t even name one time…”

He’s teasing your silence, how you can’t even dare to voice the specific night. You haven’t even told your parents and slept with him right after, and he finds that so interesting: that you trust him with your life.

“You actually can’t? Wow, I didn’t realize I was such a good brother,” he grins lopsidedly before snapping his fingers. “On with the tour.” He is enthusiastic as he struts past the circus. You shake your head with a sigh but follow him regardless. “So there were sword swallowers, acrobats, strongmen, anything that drew attention. They had a shit ton of accidents and deaths, but you would die if you got boring as well.” Taehyung holds back a bush to let you pass; the place he’s leading you to is a lot more crowded with sages and trees than the previous path. “Once the initial attraction wears off, you’re a goner. They couldn’t survive in that society with those deformities, so it was suicide either way.”

“That is so cruel,” you mumble sympathetically. “This place was like a fractured fantasy.”

“At least they lived for a bit… up until someone ended it.” When he pushes away the woodruffs, you’re met with another rundown site with a few… cages? “This is the trailer. Where they stayed and got ready for their shows. Some were held against their will, and slept with the animals in those cages.”

You gape at your surroundings in shock. The trailer is missing one side of the wall, and the rest have been vandalized with random phrases written in spray paint. You don’t give much attention to the torture cages, because the trailer has a lot more to show. It still has couches on the incomplete hardwood flooring, and Taehyung plops on one. The fabric is torn and dust rises the moment he’s on the seat. “That’s so dirty, Tae,” you pull a displeased face.

“Don’t be rude to the past occupants. Their ghosts might still be around.” He wiggles his fingers as if imitating a monster. He then pats his thighs, beckoning you to sit on his lap. You begrudgingly do so, and he wraps his arms around your waist before pulling you flush against him. “Any theories on how this shitshow ended?”

“Police intervention?”

“Something like that, I guess. One of the acrobats went nuts and shot everyone, so the place was shut down.”

“What?” you widen your eyes at him. “Why did they do that?”

“He was going to be replaced, so he got rid of the competition. Very chilling,” he casually states. “There must be some bullet holes in the walls, but we can check that out later.” His head snuggles into your neck while you’re still processing his words, but you go blank when he starts leaving feather light kisses on your neck. “Right now,” he murmurs, “I just want you to ride me.”

“Ride you?”

“Don’t act innocent, you know what I mean. You said I could choose what we did today… and I want to fuck here.”

“Taehyung… I specifically told you we aren’t allowed to do anything sexual. You hurt me last time as well,” you frown at the mention.

“I asked you if I ever hurt you earlier. Did you say anything?” he asks condescendingly.

“No…”

“Why are you saying I hurt you now? Don’t tell lies, baby. Besides,” his hand slides down to your thigh as he speaks in a low, sultry voice, “I’ve been loosening up your cunt. You don’t even wake up at night anymore. It won’t hurt this time, I promise.”

You had an inkling, the stupid inkling that you tried so damn hard to brush aside. “You fucked me in my sleep?” you force out, your mouth suddenly feeling dry. “And you brought me here just to–”

“Christ, no,” he cuts you off offendedly, “I’m not that sick in the head. I didn’t plan it, but I can’t say I wasn’t hoping. It’s not like I’m going to rape you.”

“You did it once!”

“I was on a lot of drugs then! I’m clean now,” he huffs in irritation. “I’m sorry about that, and I know my apology is long overdue or whatever, but give me a break. I’ve been into you since I was like 16.”

You turn to look at him - really look at him. There’s not a trace of guilt on his face; the roots of his messy teal hair have grown out; the beauty of his naturally downward lip corners; you don’t know what to think. Your mind is a mess because you don’t know what to make of his confession. He has manipulated you countless times, coerced you into doing things you would never do, and for once you reflect on his personality. This could be one of his schemes in order to get you to do what he wants, and ironically, he was supposed to be doing that for you. Through all of your scrambled thoughts, you only muster a meek “really?”

“Yes,” he affirms, “that’s why I want to be intimate with you.”

Lies, lies, lies, you think before gently pressing your lips against his. Despite your attempt at kissing him softly, he doesn’t cooperate by instantly sucking on your nether lip with vigor, his hands immediately meeting at your hips to gently rock them against his crotch. He bites your lip before swiping his tongue against it, coaxing, “Suck on my tongue.” The awkward angle from where you’re kissing him makes him turn your body to completely face him, your knees landing on either side of him on the uncomfortable chair. It doesn’t matter, because you’re starting to forget the whole setting, just about everything except for him as arousal begins to seep in. Heat pools in your stomach at the switch in mood, and he’s enjoying your compliance as he quietly moans into your mouth.

While you’re busy relishing in his swirling tongue, he starts tugging down your pants and you help him without looking. You sit up to push it down your ankles and throw it on the floor along with your panties. “What’s gotten into you?” he chuckles breathlessly before leaving wet kisses on your lips and pulling away to take off his wrinkled shirt.

“What do you mean?” you ask, equally breathless.

“I don’t know, you’re just… so hot when you’re horny.” His boyish smile grows on your flustered face as he says, “Take off your shirt. Wanna see those pretty tits again.”

You bite your lip to suppress your insecurities, but it doesn’t help when you’re left in your bra as you cover your chest. “Don’t be shy now,” he teases knowingly and removes your arms before unclasping the garment. “Take out my cock now.” His tone is gentle with encouragement. You unzip his jeans timidly, but your eyes grow in wonder at the outline of his erection. “I’m so hard for you,” he assures you in a whisper and takes your hand in his to rub himself. “You’re so pretty, and sexy. I fucked you every night because you’re just so irresistible. You understand, don’t you, baby?”

“I… Yes,” you agree and finally push down his briefs. His throbbing cock stands proudly and you’re intimidated by the size until he murmurs, “I won’t hurt you.” He lightly touches your bare pussy, slick with your arousal as you shudder. He coats your vulva with all of it, giving special attention to your clenching hole as he inserts a single finger. “Does it hurt?”

You shake your head, and you’re confused by the lack of pain and the desire for more. It feels good and that is a surprise for you as you sink down lower on his finger. He curls it, adds another finger and stretches your walls, emitting a moan out of you. You’re liking it, and you don’t know why; he was so cruel the last time that you were convinced something would go wrong now. Nothing does, and if anything, his fingers make you feel the best you have ever felt though it is not enough. “More,” you beg and he replaces his fingers by pulling you to the head of his cock. He’s staring right at you with hooded lids as he rubs it up and down, making you release a needy whimper. “Please, Taehyung.”

And like the slave he was meant to be, he shoves it in with a grunt. Your scream catches in your throat at the initial sting, but it’s worth it when he screws his eyes shut in pleasure and bites his lip to hold back a groan. He looks angelic under you, although he is anything but. You realize he is waiting for your cue to move, and it flutters your hearts because he is more attentive to you this time. Rather than letting him take the lead, you act on your instincts as you roll your hips. It’s unsteady at first, the foreign position making it difficult for you to adapt to so fast. His audible quick breaths encourage you to take your time in angling your pelvis comfortably, and when an involuntary moan leaves you, you place your hands on his shoulders before sticking to the current stance and going up and down on him.

“Oh shit, you’re doing so well,” he praises you between gasps, supporting your body with his hands, “feels so fucking good. My good girl.”

It gets to your head, how much he’s enjoying your motions. He meets them with thrusts of his own, perfectly hitting your cervix and blinding you with pleasure. What is it that makes you feel so wonderful in this situation? Is it the touch, or the complimentary fact that you’re the only person Taehyung wouldn’t get bored of?

Could it be that you’re two of the same?

Maybe he’s the one desperate to please you, you think as he massages your breasts, flicking your hard nipples with his thumbs so graciously. The eerie silence is broken by both of your loud moans, ecstasy sensually building up in knots in your stomachs. Sweat accumulates on your forehead, your hair sticking to your face but not hiding the sight of his erotic expression. You arch your back and grind down on him, and he’s limp on the loveseat as he takes all that you give him so submissively.

It’s your turn to use him, and you actually start understanding what makes him so rash and impulsive in hopes of receiving this amount of serotonin. It’s worth it, the release of control and morals to be with him. “Taehyung, h-how did you do it?” you moan. “Every night, what did you do?”

“I,” he tries to catch his breath, “I used my fingers to stretch you out. One finger, then two, then three.” He groans and thrusts into you fast and hard, “I fisted you at some point, and you came in your sleep, and then on my cock. Moaning and whining every fucking night, like some filthy whore.” You mewl at his crude words. He’s so obscene with you, and you clench your walls in response. “You like being my whore, hm? Little freak.”

“Yes, yes,” you confirm in a whimper, nodding your head as you pass the dominance onto him. He’s fucking into you while you stand on your knees, eyes rolled back with drool about to drip from the corner of your mouth. He starts to rub your clit and kisses your neck for you to tighten around him over and over again; it’s heaven in an empty graveyard. It’s so fucked up, yet he can’t stop. You’re panting as he manipulates your body to mold with his. “I’m close.”

His hands fall on your ass, greedily kneading it as your hips begin to stutter, your orgasm climbing up just as your energy is falling down. It hits you like a truck: the peak of pleasure, accompanied by a silent scream, nails digging into his skin as your muscles tense. “Fuck,” you breathe once his thrusts begin overstimulating you, but it’s not for long as he shoots his load inside you with a groan. He’s twitching as his erection becomes flaccid, and you feel it as he pulls out.

“Bet it didn’t hurt,” he jokes while you recover from your climax. You’re leaking with his cum and he uses his shirt to wipe you clean, making you shake from how sensitive you are. “I’ll buy you the pill on the way home.”

“Thanks,” you plainly say and stand up to pick up your clothes. You’re trembling slightly and a little achy, but it’s nothing compared to losing your virginity.

“What? You gonna give me the cold shoulder now?” He’s only in his loose pants and has his shirt thrown over his shoulder. He buckles his belt while you put on your bra.

“Why did you make us act like a couple in front of Namjoon?” After hearing his confession, the interaction before bugs you.

“What do you mean?”

“Is it because you didn’t want him to think I was single? Because you like me?”

“No, he’s a convicted felon. Crazy motherfucker killed his ex’s new boyfriend,” he reveals with a scoff. “Besides, if you like me, you’d like him as well.”

Putting your shock aside, you realize one thing: Taehyung doesn’t want to be replaced. Does that mean you hold power over him? Or will he do anything at any cost to be in your life? Regardless of your internal monologue, you only reply with, “who says I like you?”

It’s a joke, and he knows it. As promised, he buys you an emergency pill and another shirt for himself on the way home. His days of slavery are over, and you wonder: where will he be tomorrow? Maybe take his father’s advice…

#bts imagines #bts x reader #bts scenarios #bts smut #kim taehyung #taehyung x reader #taehyung smut #bts fic #taehyung fic #kth smut #bts #thekpopnetwork

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porcupine-girl · 3 years

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This is long and contains more theater history than you probably want in a meta post but here it is anyhow!

Okay, here is my totally insane out-there theory that I shouldn’t be typing up, I should be editing and posting my lectures for tomorrow but here we are.

The pie scene that’s been released (see here) has a few things going on besides Dean being weirdly okay with Cas gone, more okay than Sam:

In the background we’ve got a truck that says Dabb’s Pies. Could just be a cute shoutout. Could be more.

Dean’s very first lines are “Oh, I don’t have a choice. This is my destiny.” This is the man who literally just spent an entire season freaking the fuck out over his lack of free will. Sure, Dean might make a joke about this, but the writers chose this to be (most likely) the very first thing he says one episode after finally shaking off destiny to get real free will?

Sam acts like Dean is crying and Dean responds as if he is trying to hide the fact that he’s crying when... he’s clearly not? At all? We’ve seen Dean cry so many times and it is not happening here?

(I say it’s probably the first thing Dean says in the episode because a) the scenes they release are almost always very very early in the episode and b) the music sounds like what they play when we come out of the cold open into a goofy Sam & Dean scene.)

Also do not forget that between the promo pics and the actual promo they seem to at some point deal with people who are very plainly dressed up as monsters but may or may not be monsters underneath. The initial photo took me to very meta places to start with, and it’s only gotten worse.

Okay so like, here are my crazy fucking thoughts that probably have nothing to do with what will actually happen:

Sam and Dean, of course, don’t actually have free will. They are still characters in a TV show written by other people. Dabb, in this case.

It’s Dabb’s Pies! Dabb is the one who caused the pie festival, and who is causing Sam and Dean to go there and eat pie!

My initial thought when I saw that photo, as it says, was “Did Brecht direct this episode?” Brecht was a playwright in the first half of the 20th century whose whole thing was breaking down the 4th wall. At the time theater tried to be as realistic as possible - hiding lights with set pieces, all sorts of stuff - in an attempt to make the audience forget they’re watching a play and get full immersion.

Brecht said “but what if we did not that?” and worked to make it explicitly clear to the audience that they are definitely watching a play and not real life. The movement was called “epic theater” or “dialectical theater” and the goal was to make the audience aware of their place as the audience and think critically about the thing they are watching as a play that was written and is being produced with the intention of communicating with them.

Brecht and others used a lot of techniques for this, from writing narrators and other 4th-wall-breaks into the plays to making it obvious that what you’re seeing are set pieces and props and not real things. Having what is obviously a man in a black costume with a skull mask play a monster (possibly a floating skull) would be right up his alley.

@shinychimera had a great comment on that post saying “They could squeeze a bit more meta in if it’s a real crew member playing something like a kuroko stagehand (from kabuki) who’s been pulled into the story…“

Kabuki is another theater tradition that explicitly does not try for anything like realism. You probably know it for its elaborate costumes and makeup, but yes, one part of it is that stagehands regularly come onstage to move things etc, dressed all in black and you’re supposed to pretend they’re invisible.

So anyhow what I’m saying is that what that photo SCREAMS at me is fourth-wall-breaking, meta, theatrical traditions that do those things.

I think the episode starts with what we’ve got here - Sam and Dean are moving on with their lives, probably on a pretty standard MOTW hunt, blissfully unaware that they are still not 100% free.

Somehow, this is going to start breaking down, Truman Show-style. I don’t know exactly how. A crew member wanders into the shot? Whatever.

From there it devolves into something super-meta and SUPER-trippy.

They realize that Cas is only in the Empty because the writers put him there, but somehow the fact that in real life Cas actually has affected the narrative in ways the writers didn’t expect is addressed. Cas loving Dean literally is something the writers never intended to be there but that grew organically because of who he is. Maybe same for Dean loving him back? Or maybe that doesn’t get addressed til later.

So now Dean knows that Cas really is the only real thing in his life and they gotta get him back.

However they get him back is gonna be, again, super trippy. They have to fight monsters like these, that are clearly not their-world-monsters but are people from our world dressed up as monsters.

They probably have to go through either Cas or Dean’s memories or both.

Dabb himself likely appears on-camera to talk to them at some point.

The one barn that that photo looks the most like to me is the one in On the Head of a Pin, which is one place where Cas could’ve died but didn’t (unclear whether it’s where they initially intended for him to die, sources conflict).

So maybe we’ll get a tour of the places where Cas’s love for Dean changed the narrative. Maybe Dabb himself will even explain them to us.

At some point, whether by Dabb himself or not, it will be explicitly mentioned that fans helped shape this, that we saw what was happening in Cas before they did.

IDK how this mindfuck ends but there is definitely kissing and Dean realizing that he’s been pushing down his feelings and denying them to fit a mold that the writers created for him years ago that doesn’t fit anymore.

So, uh, there you go. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#spn speculation #spn 15x20 #andrew dabb #why lamp #long post

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motherfingtitan · 3 years

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Counter Clock Incident Redux

When the Senior Crew comes back from an away mission, they mysteriously start to become younger. It’s up to Mariner, Boimler, Rutherford, Tendi, and Westlake to figure out what’s going on before it’s too late.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Crying rang through Medbay, piercing anybody's ears that happened to walk in. Chang had a baby Ransom in one arm and T'ana in the other, trying to hush them to sleep. Minimum medical personnel was allowed to interact with the senior crew, as seeing your captain as a baby isn't the best for leadership. As a result, Westlake, Tendi, and Chang worked non-stop researching cures and running a mini nursery.

"Come on, Commander, hush-hush! Go to sleep. Please, for the love of God, go to sleep!" She spun and bobbed around, trying to keep herself awake.

Kitty T'ana stretched her paws out, and her retractable claws came into view. "Oh no no, you don't want to scratch the person holding you," Chang panicked, as T’ana had already scratched up half her body. It was her boss's idea of 'playing.’

Across the small room, Tendi played on the floor with Freeman. Large, colorful wooden blocks were scattered around them as they stacked the blocks as high as possible. Every few minutes or so, one of them would tip the tower over, and both would burst out in laughter. Chang walked over to Tendi with the two babies in tow.

"Tendi, please take over. They haven't stopped crying for 30 minutes, and I have so many scratches from T'ana that I don't even think the dermal regenerator is going to fix it." Tendi always had a way with kids. She knew how to play with them, feed them, put them to sleep, and she loved them. She would have fit in perfectly as a pediatric nurse on a Galaxy-class ship where there were families, but she was on the Cerritos, with no children on board. This was a small blessing to her.

Tendi got up from her spot and carefully took both babies. "Just watch over the captain for a moment" just then, Mariner walked into Medbay. "Oh, look, Mariner can help you!"

Tendi pushed Mariner with her hips over to where Chang sat. She plopped down in front of her mother, taking one of the many blocks and handing it to the baby.

"So, where are Boimler and Rutherford, and how is the ship?"

Mariner spoke as all three of them stacked blocks. "Rutherford is researching how to get these guys back to their normal age along with running engineering. Lieutenant Nieli has the bridge. God, he’s awkward at giving orders. And Boimler, well, I think he's in his hidey closet doing a captain’s log."

"How are you doing with" Chang motioned over to baby freeman.

Mariner thought for a moment, "I mean, it's weird, but I'm sure Rutherford can get them back to normal."

At this point, Carol had stacked the small blocks five high. When leaning over to grab more, she accidentally knocked the tower down. Sniffles came from her before the full-blown crying started.

"Oh god, not again" Chang grabbed Freeman and rocked her slowly in her arms. "The crying is nonstop with them," she explained to Mariner.

Beckett started to undo the top of her uniform jacket, causing Chang to raise an eyebrow. From her bra, she pulled out a small bottle of blue liquid.

"Romulan whiskey," Beckett answered before Chang could ask a question.

"But why in your-?"

"I always keep it on me in case I have to deal with extra bullsh*t. And it's in my bra because these uniforms don't have any pockets."

Mariner moved closer to her mother and opened the cap on the small bottle. Chang stepped away from Mariner.

"What are you doing?" Chang asked

"Back in the 20th century, parents used to put whiskey on their kids' pacifiers to help them relax. Maybe Romulan whiskey will help calm my mother down."

"But, we don't even have a pacifier?"

"It's cool, man; I’ll just put a couple of drops in her mouth, not enough to get drunk off of"

If the nurse wasn't so sleep-deprived, she probably would have argued against it. However, Chang wasn't exactly against having the babies fall asleep, even if that meant giving them alcohol. Beckett walked over to her mother again and positioned the little glass bottle over her mother's open mouth. The blue liquid was just about to drop into Freeman's mouth as Tendi glanced over and realized what was happening.

"Mariner!" She ran over and snatched the glass away from Beckett, "What do you think you're doing giving a child Romulan whiskey!"

"What the? Tendi, it was to calm her down! They used to do it all the time in the 20th century!"

"20th-century medicine?" Tendi continued as she grabbed the baby from Chang, "that's barbaric."

The two followed Tendi over to the replicator, where she requested baby formula at 37°c.

"Babies need milk, not outlawed whiskey" she started to feed Freeman and make baby noises to her.

Mariner rolled her eyes as Chang added, "Says the person who uses ketchup in her milkshakes."

Rutherford burst in at that point, waving his PADD around and shouting, "I figured it out!"

Mariner walked up to him as Tendi assigned Chang to change Billups' diaper.

Rutherford started to explain, "so I was doing some research on what happened on the Enterprise over 100 years ago, and apparently after they were able to stop the aging, they placed the crew in the transporter pad. The transporter pad saved the original cellular layout of the Enterprise crew, so when they were beamed just a fraction of an inch, they were able to revert to the normal ages."

He was panting from excitement and running all the way to Sick Bay from engineering.

"We still need to figure out how to stop the cellular de-aging, or else the crew will just become babies again," Tendi pointed out.

"That is where I come in!" Westlake walked over in his tired, disheveled state.

He held up a hypospray with a gray liquid inside. "This will freeze the cells in place, so they don't keep dying. Once Rutherford uses the transporting beam on them, their cells should reset."

"And we get our senior crew back," Tendi bounced from excitement, "though I will miss having babies around."

The four officers jump at the sound of Chang screeching from the other side of the room.

"He freaking peed on me!" She yelled as she tried to dab the urine off her uniform jacket!

"I might be the only one who misses it, though"

…

"Ok, the coordinates are put in, go ahead and place the crew members on the transporter pad," Rutherford instructed.

Westlake, Tendi, and Chang set the babies on the pad, and Chang muttered something along the lines of good riddance. Westlake administered the hypospray to each of them. Boimler walked in carrying a stack of uniforms and Mariner followed him with a large blanket.

"The Senior Crews uniform are all pressed to regulation with Combadges and Pips nice and polished."

Mariner mumbled about how brad was a kiss ass, and she unfolded the blanket and threw it over the babies.

"Mariner! You're gonna smother them!" Tendi pointed out

"And they're not going to fit into their Starfleet issued onesies once they revert back to their original ages. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like seeing Ransom's photon torpedo today!"

"And I'm officially sick," Chang deadpanned before her eyes widened in realization. "Also today? Do you mean that-"

"Rutherford hit it!" Mariner cut Chang off.

Rutherford pressed a button and slid his hand across the screen. Transporting sounds filled the room as the babies disappeared in white light. Moments later, they reappeared a few millimeters to the left. In the baby's place, we're five larger lumps rolling around under the blanket.

"T'ana," Shax spoke, "You should at least take me out to dinner first."

"Are we doing some sort of-'' Ransom was cut off by Westlake clearing his throat. Slowly, Jack pulled the blanket off from over his head and let it rest in his lap. Craning his head up, he saw three nurses intently looking at him, along with Boimler avoiding eye contact and Mariner gagging.

"Good afternoon, Commander," Westlake spoke, and he walked over, tricorder in hand. "It's good to have you back."

"Gah," Freeman sat up, clutching her part of the blanket to her chest, "I feel like I got hit by a shuttlecraft."

The rest of the crew slowly adjusted.

"Do you remember anything?" Tendi started to scan the captain.

"No? Not really." She pulled the blanket higher on her. "I would like to know where our clothes are, though."

"Oh, would you fu*king relax!" T'ana snatched a tricorder from Chang and started scanning herself. "I just did physicals on all of you last week! There was nothing that I, nor the nurses, hadn't seen before."

Billups was the last to emerge, face red from embarrassment. He pointed to Boimler, Mariner, and Rutherford. Rutherford waved back.

"Not to worry, sirs, I have fresh uniforms for you, all pressed-" he was cut off by Mariner, who started digging through the clothing stack. She pulled out an operations jacket.

"Ohhh, lieutenant commander pips! Headshot!" she balled the jacket up and threw it to Billups, hitting him in the face and knocking him to his back. "That's what you get for almost phasering me!"

Mariner continued to toss uniforms to the crew, much to Brad's protests. "You're creasing them, Mariner! I spent 30 minutes pressing the pants!"

"Kid," Ransom started, "I really don't care if they're creased. I just want some freaking clothes!"

Boimler defeated look faded into the background as Westlake ordered the crew to report to sickbay. All of them shuffled out as the Ensigns stayed behind.

"I'm gonna miss them being babies! They were so cute!" Tendi stood next to Rutherford.

"I'm not" Chang rubbed her eyes, "I need sleep, a hot shower, and to never see a baby again."

"All I know is I saw way too much of the crew today" Mariner reached into her bra, pulling up a glass of Romulan whiskey. "Want some?"

And things were back to normal.

Well, as normal as the Cerritos can get.

...

Wow, my first multichapter fic is finished! Thanks for the support everyone

#star trek lower decks #star trek #lower decks

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marsalimackimmie · 3 years

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Another Outlander Fic Idea

This is set in an AU where Jamie came through the stones to the 20th century soon after Claire returned, and they raised Brianna in the future together.

(I wrote this whole thing out at once and didn’t proof read it so please forgive any typos. It’s a mostly stream of consciousness outline.)

Bree always knew there was something different about her family-- in that they had none. All her friends had grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins… but the Fraser's were an orphaned family. Her Mama and Da had plenty of stories, but always said the people they discussed had died a long time ago. As a kid it made her sad in a detached sort of way, but as she grew older she began having more questions her parents couldn’t answer.

Growing up, Bree had developed an interest in history with her father. He was always reading books, watching documentaries, and always seemed fascinated by everything he learned-- even the things everyone knew, and the things he supposedly lived through himself. It became something they bonded over, and it led Bree to her secret hobby of genealogy.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Brianna one day organized a day trip with her friends up to Broch Morda, the place her parents always claimed Jamie was from. She searched their historical archives and church records, but could find no mention of Jenny, Brian, or Ellen Fraser born in the last few centuries. At one point a librarian said she HAD found people by those names, but perhaps it was a more distant ancestor(?) as they were all from the 18th century.

With this being the only lead Bree had, she dug all in. Every detail that matched up with her parents’ stories (as few details as there were) made her confusion increase. Her first thought was “oh no, my parents are crazy”. Clearly, Jamie had become so lonely as an orphan that he constructed an entire backstory based on the lives of people who shared his last name 200 years ago, who he found through his weird fascination with history. Or was James Fraser even his real name? Oh god, is Fraser even HER real last name?

Freaked out, Bree decides to visit Broch Tuarach’s graveyard to make sure there weren’t just typos or mistakes in the records (it’s not like they’re very valuable or well preserved). The newest graves are full of Murray's, McTavishes, Mackenzies… wow a lot of M’s for a place built by the Fraser clan. She pushes through and finds many faded graves from the early 1800s… quite a few match the names from her supposed family history as well. Brianna is now certain her parents have been lying to her this whole time.

Roger, one of the friends Bree came to Broch Morda with, suggests that maybe they should try some archives in the larger Inverness instead, that maybe this whole Lallybroch business is just a weird coincidence, or a matter of family names repeating themselves. It’s not like Jenny and Ian are uncommon, after all, or James and Katherine for that matter. Brianna is skeptical but agrees.

Back in Inverness, they dig through the library and find articles about Claire’s disappearance through the stones. Surprised, Brianna does the math and realizes her parents must have met when Claire ran away from this ‘Frank Randall’. The lies piling up, Brianna decides to call Frank and ask for any information he has. Frank is reluctant to speak to her when she ambushes him at his office, and she leaves.

Later she returns late at night hoping to break into his files (she’s really mad and not thinking straight, alright?) and instead finds Frank still there, drinking at his desk. In his drunken state, he tells her everything Claire had claimed about time travel, and stones, and that “bloody Scot bastard” who had taken everything from him. Bree is disturbed to find him so bitter and drunk, and honestly can’t fault her mother for leaving the guy-- he seemed awful. And how seriously could she take his story about magic stones when he’s three sheets to the wind?

Still, Bree can’t help but think. Her vacation is over and she goes back home to Claire and Jamie (they live in Edinburgh maybe, or a remote farming village away from modern hustle idk). Despite dropping many subtle hints, she can’t get her parents to crack. She does start writing down small details they mention about the family though-- for comparison to the historic family, out of curiosity, etc-- and trying to suss out whether her father is delusional or just lying. But he seems as sincere as ever, and never contradicts his stories like someone making it up might.

Now Bree is starting to feel like the crazy one. Is there even anything here to uncover? So her parents are orphans; so her mom left a drunkard and married a Scot instead. Everything truly suspicious is just circumstantial, paranoid even. Why is she so fixated on it? In the end, Bree finally decides to drop it.

She still had another visit to Inverness planned however, and Roger suggests they go to the Culloden heritage reenactment festival instead of getting stuck in dusty archives. Bree agrees, and Claire helps her assemble a period costume. Claire seems oddly knowledgeable and nostalgic about it, but Bree brushes it aside. In the end she has a costume that looks great, but isn’t totally accurate. It’s cheaper. It has zippers. She never said she was committed to accuracy ok? Still, making and wearing it seem to make her parents’ lips loosen a bit, and they all bond talking about Scotland and history and family the night before she leaves. As she’s going to sleep, she thinks she hears her parents discuss how they think “Jenny and Ian” are faring at Lallybroch, but that’s probably her imagination-- why would they speak in the present tense? And she knows for a fact Lallybroch is empty.

Flash forward-- Bree and Roger have a great time at the festival. (To insert my own headcanon agenda, I should mention Roger and Bree are not romantic, just good friends. Roger knows Bree is secretly gay, and sometimes even tries to be her wingman. Bree is out to her parents after they caught her and Sally McGinnis making out when she was 17; that’s why they trust her to stay at Roger’s during trips without too much shovel talk.) When they get back to the manse, they run into Fiona (who had been dancing at the stones at sunrise and gone all day). She awkwardly lets them know she brought a man back with her, who seems like he just needs some help. Confused, they ask why he wasn’t brought to the hospital, and she says he doesn’t need it. Fiona claims this man was at the reenactment (to explain his clothes) but dodges most of their questions. Still, Roger is very hospitable as a Reverend’s son and lets him stay.

The man, who introduces himself simply as Claudel, seems very friendly if a bit baffled. Still, Roger doesn’t love the idea of Bree staying in the building with a stranger and asks if she’d rather go home. Bree is resistant because she’s not some damsel who has to be protected, but Fiona pipes up and agrees with Roger. Especially since the trains aren’t running right now and the inn is full-- could she call Mr. & Mrs. Fraser to come pick you up, Bree?

Outnumbered, Brianna angrily agrees. She then sulks in the living room until Claudel comes in and they talk for a while. Brianna complains that everyone treats her like she’s less capable, and the man commiserates, pointing out what she had missed earlier-- his missing hand. She asks what happened, and he vaguely says “the war”. (Fiona had briefed him on what happened to him, where/when he is now, and how he should be as vague as possible when he couldn’t give the truth or a good lie.) Brianna decides she doesn’t mind this guy, even though his presence is inadvertently forcing her to be picked up by her parents like a misbehaving child from a slumber party.

About an hour or whatever later, there’s a knock at the door. Bree gets up, long suffering, and jokes with Claudel that it must be ‘her time’. They say goodbye amicably and he offers to walk her to the door like a gentleman.

Bree answers the door to see Claire on the other side, looking equal parts ruffled and concerned, and almost doesn’t notice Claudel freeze behind her. She hears him ask, “Milady?” under his breath, and now her mother is freezing in place too. Do they recognize each other? she wonders.

Bree gets her answer almost instantly, when a smile stretches on her mother’s face and Claire goes to hug the man, saying “oh my god, Fergus. Oh my son.” Cue record scratch noise-- did Mama just call this man her son??? Bree has more questions than ever before.

#outlander #outlander fic #outlander fanfic #fraser family #fergus fraser #brianna fraser #claire fraser #fix it #jamie fraser #outlander au #jamie x claire #to be clear 'claudel' never heard that brianna's last name was fraser #but fiona kinda put it all together and set up this reunion on purpose #she's pretty sly #my writing #plot bunny #mine

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starr-fall-knight-rise · 4 years

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Humans are Space Orcs, “Cage Canary.”

Was a bit rushed this morning. Sorry in advance. Also I updated the master post yesterday, finally.... sorry about that lol :)

Adam leaned his head against the bars. His stomach growled horribly and his head ached. It was almost like having a really bad hangover accept without the memories of having fun or doing stupid shit the night before. Instead he was suspended in a cage high in the air, watching as the ugly ass prodigum galumphed around the room preparing it for his next ‘guests’.

He would have used a more normal word to describe how the creature moved, except for this thing was nasty Jaba the Hutt level ugly.. Sort of made him feel like Han Solo though he supposed that was supposed to make Sunny princess Leia. The only problem is they didn’t have a Luke Skywalker or an R2D2 to come and rescue them.

He sighed as his stomach groaned.

He glanced over at the other cages making a face at the bleached white skeleton which hung in one, and at the two humans sitting in the other.

They looked horrific.

His stomach growled again.

“Don’t worry.” His cage neighbor said, ‘You get used to it after a while.” “What.”

“The hunger.:

“Do they not feed you?”

The other human shook their head, “No, that’s how it works here. They put us in these cages and then use us for entertainment while we slowly starve to death, and then, once we are dead, they feed on our decomposing corpses..”

The commander made a face, “Shit, that is really, really disgusting.”

She shrugged, “You don’t seem so worried.”

He held up his hands, “I can start crying if that would make you more convinced, but otherwise I don’t see much use in freaking out.”

“I suppose that is a good way to do things. Who knows, the clients might actually like you, and they might bother to feed you longer.”

“How do you make the clients like you?”

She waved a hand, “ignore what the prodigum said, they know a good singer when they hear one.” She patted her throat, “That’s why I’m not going to last long.”

“Tone def?”

“No, I’m actually a voice coach, but due to extenuating circumstances, I’m not supposed to be singing for my own health.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” He groaned and leaned back against the cage, “I’m gone in that case.”

She leaned up against the cage, “Why, you tone def too?”

He snorted, “not hardly. I can carry a tune, but I’m not a solo act. I’m sort of just average.”

“For fear of sounding too much like a voice coach. Most people are only average because they weren’t trained to be good. It’s all about breath control, than anyone can be pretty good.”

“Well then I'll just have to-”

He was cut off in that moment as the lights over his head began to flash. He looked towards the door and watched as the doors were thrown open. The prodigum opened his huge, ugly arms wide as his guests entered the room.

Adam stood inside his cage to get a better look displeased when he watched more of the prodigum, burg and a couple of Tesraki. He thought he even saw an Iotin or two somewhere in there, or was that a Gromm. They filtered into the room as the ‘slaves’ were dragged onto the floor.

He pressed up against the bars as he saw sunny being dragged onto the floor.

Both sets of her hands, her feet and her neck had all been chained together. She could barely move, though she was still being forced to carry a tray of drinks.

“Welcome my friends, welcome please come in, we have something new for you today and-” His voice was mostly drowned out by the intervening voices.

He tried leaning closer to hear, and was only able to tell what was going on when the prodigum turned towards him and held out a hand, “Behold, the long reaching arm of my empire.”

There was a sudden muttering around the room as so many impressed clients recognized Adam.

He made a point of flipping them all the bird and spitting out the bars towards one of the burg, who leaped away with a hiss. He laughed, “And there’s more where that came from assholes.”

The prodigum gurgled in amusement the little breathing tubes on the side of its neck opening and closing with a wet sort of slapping noise. The commander grimaced, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, commander. He motioned with one hand towards Sunny, and at that moment he watched as a group of others moved forward grabbing her by the chains and throwing her to the floor.

She choked against the chain around her neck.

“SUNNY!”

“This really is simple, Commander. Behave or she dies. These are the rules. You sing, and when we want the song changed we will throw something at you. Don’t do what we want and your friend here gets it.”

He grinned his floppy bulbous cheeks dangling down towards the ground as the little face tentacles wriggled about in the air, “Now, get to work.”

He glanced over at sunny his first instinct to tell the guy to screw off, but when he looked over at Sunny, and saw her pinned against the ground. Well, he knew he couldn’t do anything. He licke dhis dry lips and took a deep breath.

Perhaps his first song shouldn’t have been an adlipped ditty that began with the line.

Suck a dick

Sung with great gusto and feeling, and definitely shouldn't have been followed up with the line

You big ugly cock sucker

He was stopped a moment later when some random object was launched at his head.

He fell back against the cage, suddenly alerted by sunny’s cries of pain.

He turned over to see the prodigum pressing his hand spike into her back.

He grimaced, “Alright, alright! Stop, just let me think of a song ok.”

Off in the other cage, the two other humans were chuckling to themselves, “Nice On that last line. I really enjoyed the use of vibrato, you know especially on the cocksucker part. Try to get a deeper breath next time though”

“You gonna teach me to sing before we all die.”

The crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the bars, “I’m going to try and keep you alive for as long as I can. For your sake and for your friend down there. I am also hoping, that since you are the commander, you have some sort of panic transponder on you, and that helping you will help me survive long enough to get out of here.”

“Fair.”

“Hurry up human! I don’t have all day.”

Close to panic he began to sing the only thing he could think of in the moment.

The ABC song.

Yeah sure it wasn’t one of his greatest moments, but he was under pressure.

That didn’t go over so well, and he had to duck out of the way as a can came soaring up towards his head.

The party was almost in full swing now.

At a time like this, he had to go back to his roots. When he was a kid, his mother had always been a fan of music from the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He had carried her love onto his adult life, so that’s all he could think of on such short notice.

He went for a little Journey to start off with though he knew he wasn’t nearly good enough to do any of the songs justice. Unfortunately he did not have a nine octave range to work with.

He honestly couldn't help throwing in a few songs with lines like.

I hate everything about you assuming that the context would be enough that he wouldn’t get something chucked at his head, but apparently he wasn’t fooling anyone.

Across from him, the Vocal coach was leaning against her bars prompting him with comments when she could be heard over the conversation from below.

Wake Me Up

Numb

Creep

Iris

It’s Not My Time

“Shoulders back, try breathing from your belly and not your chest, make it deeper, Open your mouth a little more. Try using an O and not an A on that line next time.”

They were somewhere in between Sweet Dreams and Boulevard of Broken Dreams When his voice began to falter. The coach insisted that he needed to breathe better to last longer.

But he was so tired.

His voice was beginning to crack and he was growing light headed.

Below him on the floor he caught eyes with Sunny who was being dragged behind the prodigum.

Unwell

You and Me

Drops of Jupiter

He was dying. Did he even remember what songs were? He was pretty sure he didn’t even listen to some of these, but songs he heard when he was a kid were mostly sustaining him. Most of the songs he knew he wouldn’t be able to pull off.

Kryptonite

One Last breath

My Immortal

He was ninety percent sure if any of these long dead artists could hear him singing from rock n’ roll heaven whey were getting to rock and roll him straight into hell for his egregious sins.

The sound of Silence.

He broke into a coughing fit.

Something hit him through the bars and he tried to control his breathing as he choked back into life.

What now?

Disney songs.

Um hold on? Which ones?

He was going to die here singing Let It Go in the voice impression of a dying toad, and that would be his legacy.

heaven or hell, whichever, was going to be awkward.

He barely noticed when the doors were opened again and people began to trickle out. He only noticed when the vocal coach yelled his name, and he looked up from his state of misery finally allowed to break into a horrendous coughing fit.

“That was pretty good for someone who doesn't sing, but I think we can work on your breathing and your technique, otherwise you are going to destroy yourself. Plus if you keep singing rock songs we are going to have to teach you how to use distortion properly.”

He groaned, falling onto his side one hand clutched onto one of the bars as the cage gently swayed back and forth.

Beneath him, sunny looked up with an expression of worry, though she was dragged away and out of the room before he could do or say anything. He held his hand out, but she vanished out the door.

This was a really shit day.

Krill had been right when he had complained that the commander needed a panic button.

Honestly he hadn’t thought he would be kidnapped again, but it turns out he was pretty wrong about that .

He wondered where the rest of the crew was, and what they were thinking.

Where did they assume he and sunny had gone. Did they even know something was off.

He was so thirsty.

He was definitely expecting to die here.

Because he had no good plans this time.

“You know why they like humans singing so much right?” He groggily turned his head to the side where the vocal coach was sitting her hands clasped in her lap before her.

He shook his head.

“It can affect the emotion of the Prodigum. I know it sounds weird , but I have been watching. The better the singing is, the better it works. Happy songs make them happy angry songs piss them off etc. etc. Even more so than humans.”

“And?”

She shrugged, “I don’t know, just an interesting thought.”

He rested his head back on the cage floor.

Sure, being a siren was kind of cool, but being a siren in a cage very much was not cool.

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mhdiaries · 4 years

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Wave 2 Spectra Vondergeist Diary

The 18th of September

I finally get my own column in the school paper. I already have THE blog that’s on every gossip ghouls must read list but anybody can get a blog these days. Being in print gives me instant credibility however, not that I didn’t have it before... so obvious. Anyway the column is an anonymous advice/MH insider feature called Oh My Oracle. Why anonymous? Well if I used my real name I would never get anything done in class because monster would constantly be asking my advice and if I’m pursuing a bigger story I might need some monster to cover the column and I wouldn’t want my name associated with any bad advice that might be given in my absence. My suggestion box is already full of questions from monsters who need a little help negotiating teen monster life. It’s also overrun with spam. Apparently some monster thought it would be funny to sign me up for information on time share crypts and no I do not want to vacation in a “lovely little mausoleum overlooking the Great Dismal Swamp” DELETE! My first real question was this one:

Dear OMO

I’ve been seeing this really cute troll for a while now but he only wants to hang out under his bridge. How can I convince him that there are other places we could go that would be just as much fun?

Signed,

A Ghoulfriend Gruff

Dear Ghoulfriend Gruff

I’m glad to know that he’s cute cause you’re going to be spending a lot of time underneath that bridge. It’s like my grandmother used to say, “Don’t date trolls.” Hope this helps.

All the best,

OMO

The 26th of September

Sometimes I think the only creature in the world who really understands me at all is Rhuen. She’s so clever at finding the secret places that other monsters don’t notice or have forgotten; especially at Monster High. She can be a bit mischievous at times and doesn’t always come when I call, but I absolutely reject the notion that every trail of chaos leads to Rhuen.

The 7th of October

I was just floating along today minding my own business, like I normally do, when I happened to see Deuce and Lady Twangs-a-lot... I mean Operetta... furtively slip into the empty band room. As a reporter I was intrigued, as a student I need to get to class that happened to be on the other side of band room and as a ghost, a door is not required to enter a room. As I passed through the wall into the room I heard sir hiss reading love poetry. The part I happened to hear sounded sincere... sincerely terrible. Not wanting to be late I didn’t stay for the whole conversation, just long enough to realize I had the scoop of the year! DEUCE DUMPS CLEO FOR OPERETTA!!! Naturally I went straight to Cleo to get her take on the story since that’s what a responsible reporter should do in situation of this gravity. I asked her if she felt such a betrayal was a long time in coming after what she had done to Clawd and if she would be willing to sit down and give me an exclusive interview regarding the situation. I had trouble understanding her response since she reverted to Ancient Egyptian, which I am a bit shaky in, but I think I caught the word “kiss” followed by “cobra”, “adder”, or some other type of poisonous snake, followed by what might have been “depart” “hammer”, and or “sand”. I was immediately persecuted for my investigation efforts and was set upon by that ruffian Clawd. I don’t know what his problem was since it’s obvious he and Cleo are getting back together. Fortunately, the whole school rallied to my side and our Headmistress called into question the leadership skills of our “BMOC”.

I am going to address this incident in tomorrow’s column.

The 8th of October

Oh My Oracle!

News item!

The big bad wolf was out huffing and puffing yesterday. What prompted this full moon freak out? It would be improper to speculate but could it be possible that ll that tall, dark and intermittently furry is still smarting over being dumped by his little wrapped riding hood? It’s a known fact he’s been chasing his tail for some time over that mark on his alpha status. Maybe. He. Just. Snapped. Monster High may never know but “you know who” will, as always, keep digging for the story even if it’s supposed to be dead and buried.

The 12th of October

Our esteemed Headmistress wants every student to write an essay on their monster heritage... right. She obviously doesn’t want to know the real stories behind the students at Monster High or she would have just asked me since I have the real scoop on all of them. I offered to compile all my notes for publishing but she told me that each monster should have a chance to tell their own story. Whatever. I’ve already read through most of the essays that have been turned in - they were on her desk in plain sight so it was obvious, to me at least, that she had left them there for me to find. They run the gamut from boring to deadly boring. I suppose that I shall have to do mine now or it’s unlikely that any monster will want to read what is sure to be a wretchedly long haunt down monster memory lane. I come from royalty of course, my father was next in line for the throne of a large and powerful kingdom but my jealous uncle plotted against him and we had to go into exile. Sadly my father and mother were forced to take jobs far below their station in life to support us. It’s all quite tragic of course and I’m still debating if I should add in the part about my long lost love who still haunts our ancestral castle awaiting my return; or my family’s daring escape across enemy territory in the dead of night during the storm of the century.

The 20th of October

I never understood why so many monsters held Ghoulia in such high esteem I mean she’s a zombie for groaning out loud. Hello? Can you say lowest rung on the monster ladder? What is it about her? Does she have some kind of special power? Has she cast some spell over everyone? I needed to know. So today I followed her because as an investigative journalist it’s part of my job to find the real truth. You’d think it would be easy seeing as how she’s so slow but several times she managed to give me the slip. Other than studying and hanging out with Cleo and the Fear Squad posers I couldn’t find anything remotely remarkable about her. I thought about just giving up until she wandered down a back passage in the library to a room that I thought only I knew about. It’s where they keep the really old reference books and stuff. I was sure she was just hiding out so she could read that stupid Dead Fast comic book she’s always carrying around but she wasn’t. She was looking through old newspapers. I don’t know how she knew I was there since I was hiding in the shadows but she pulled out the chair next to her, looked straight at me and patted the seat for me to sit down. I was so startled that I just floated over and sat down. The headline of the paper in front of her read “The Real Vondergeists” It was my family’s story... I had forgotten... Oh my soul. I must have broken down because the next thing I knew Ghoulia was patting me on the back and I was soaking on her shoulder with ectoplasmic tears. I couldn’t stop for a while and when I did Ghoulia just looked me in they eye and said in zombie, “Your secret is safe with me.” I guess now I understand.

#monster high #monster high diary #spectra vondergeist #wave 2

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saiilorstars · 4 years

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The Girl in the Forest

Chapter 4: The Curse

// Story Masterlist //

Pairings: Klaus Mikaelson x Original Female Character

Summary: Maleny learns (or relearns) a few most important events in her original body, the ones that led to a closer relationship with Klaus.

Pronunciation of OC: Ma-leh-nee

No real warnings for now!

Requested tag: @queenmj10

Hayley walked down the corridors of the compound holding the sheets of sketches Davina had made. She had the intention of looking at the them a little more since she couldn't leave the stupid place. She stopped however at the sound of cursing in one of the guest rooms, and so she decided to go see what was wrong. She was a bit surprised to find Maleny pacing back and forth in the room she'd originally been left with after the warehouse. Hayley would've figured Maleny left a long time ago seeing neither Klaus nor Rebekah was around.

"Hey, are you alright?" Hayley decided to ask but judging by the look Maleny wore she could guess things were certainly not alright.

"I suppose," was Maleny's response in the end after she'd stopped her pacing. She noticed Hayley's large sheets of papers and grew curious, "What are you up to?"

"Hm?" Hayley blinked as Maleny gestured to the sheets she held, "Oh, these are some drawings Davina did..."

"Are you going to frame them...?"

Hayley caught the confused tone thrown at her and smiled, "No, I'm going to study them," Maleny raised an eyebrow at the answer, "It's a long story but I'll cut straight to the chase: Davina drew one of Elijah's old loves and I'm going to look more into it."

Maleny looked around as she thought and ended up smiling, "That sounds exciting."

Hayley laughed lightly, "Oh it is," she entered the room and accidentally dropped a couple of the sheets.

When she tried bending down for it, Maleny shooed her to stop and went ahead to pick them up herself, "It's alright," she gathered the sheets.

"Thanks, but I'm not entirely useless you know," Hayley looked down at the brunette woman, "and I would appreciate if at least one person living here would treat me fairly."

"Oh I don't live here," Maleny scoffed, "and I'm not going to let a pregnant woman do stuff that can harm her baby," she stood up and shuffled through the papers, noticing some of the details, "Oh wow, these are pretty..."

'Weird? Yeah, I know," Hayley nodded, "I've been looking at them all day and I can't put those together."

"I wonder why those," Maleny pointed at the sheets Hayley held, "are far larger than these," she gestured to the ones she held.

"I think there was something different with those," Hayley eyed the sheets Maleny held, "Something about magic being owned..." she shrugged, "...I'm not sure."

Maleny studied the sketches she held then looked up at the brunette in front of her, "Do you mind if I help you?"

"Sure, I mean, if you want to spend your day looking at papers," Hayley gave a small smile.

"Well since a certain murderous hybrid compelled me to stay in this room," Maleny gestured to the place, "Really, you'd be doing me a favor by keeping me occupied."

Hayley blinked with a slight surprise, "Wow, now we're both on lockdown?"

"Well that bastard has been gone for an entire day," Maleny rolled her eyes, "I think he forgot I'm still in here."

Hayley shrugged and walked over to a table where she spread her sheets out, "It's his wicked way of showing he cares."

"Yeah but it's understandable," Maleny walked towards her, "You're carrying his unborn child," she placed down the smaller sheets on the table and sighed, "But me? I'm just the freak that can be an asset to his power. I'm nothing."

Hayley smiled knowingly and glanced back, "I wouldn't say that. Do you know how difficult it was to get Klaus to tolerate the fact I was pregnant? The very first time he saw me in this place, I was captured by witches, on the verge of being killed and he did not care. He walked away. And then you show up and so easily get his attention."

"I'm...sorry?" Maleny felt the need to say. All that sounded awful and it made her feel guilty.

Hayley chuckled, "It's not your fault. I'm saying this so you see that you're not 'nothing' to Klaus. You have something he liked - something that even his own child didn't have."

"Don't say things like that, please," Maleny closed her eyes, feeling even worse then, "I am never worth more than that baby you're carrying, okay? It's never my intention."

"I believe you," Hayley raised her hands to show neutrality, "If you did, you would have already done something to me."

"I wouldn't," assured Maleny, preferring to leave things crystal clear, "I'm just here for help. And, right now, I'm not doing anything so can you please let me help you with those sketches?"

Hayley nodded, "Let's get to work, freak-that-can-be-an-asset."

Maleny raised an eyebrow as she joined Hayley in front of the tables, "Is that my new nickname now?"

"We'll see," Hayley shrugged, "depends on how long we see each other. Maybe I'll make a new one for you."

"Well, knocked-up-pregnant-wolf, if Klaus doesn't hurry up and come back then I'll be stuck in here forever."

"You know what?" Hayley crossed her arms, seemingly thinking, "You need to get yourself on vervain."

"Vervain?"

"Yeah, you're Cami's cousin and she broke compulsion. She didn't tell you about vervain?"

"We haven't exactly talked about this vampire stuff in detail," Maleny sheepishly smiled.

"Well, vervain helps you keep your freedom. No vampire can compel you to do anything and they can't feed off you either."

"Where can I get that?"

Hayley smiled, "We'll get some later, okay? Meanwhile, let's start investigating."

~ 0 ~

"Where the hell is my cousin?" Cami demanded from Klaus the moment they'd stepped out of the church St. Ann's, "I had to give my uncle some crappy lie about Maleny missing. Where do you have her? And I swear to God Klaus if you've hurt her in any way I will-"

"Calm down, Cami, I could do without the dramatics," Klaus rolled his eyes, "She's perfectly safe, tucked inside a nice room in the compound."

"Wh-what is she doing there?" Cami stepped forwards, already thinking the worst. It had been nearly a day since she'd last seen Maleny - the day they used to put their plan of Davina's rescue in action - and Cami was growing agitated and worried that her cousin was no where to be seen nor found. After the fight at Rousseau's she'd attended to Marcel which had taken some time into the night and while she tried phoning Maleny she never received an answer nor call back. The only thing that ran through Cami's mind was 'Klaus has her'.

"I thought it'd be best if she stayed in there until we find Papa Tunde again," Klaus finished explaining to Cami, "Seeing as she decided to put herself in ridiculous danger she could very well be in the enemy's hit list."

Cami nearly had to do a double-look after hearing that, "You're...protecting Maleny? Why? Why would you do that? What do you want from her?"

"I am looking out for my interests," Klaus corrected before she got any more ideas.

"She is none of your interest," Cami snapped angrily, thinking back to Marcel's story, "She is my cousin and she will stay out of your 'interests'," she put air-quotation marks, "and anywhere else that includes you. Marcel told me how Maleny is apparently so similar to a woman you used to date back in the 20th century so I need to leave it clear for you: stay away from my cousin. She is not a replacement for what ever it is you lost in the past."

"Camille, you clearly have no idea what is going on - I am not looking for a replacement," Klaus found it amusing how worked up Cami was, "This goes beyond anything you could ever believe," he decided to keep the extended lifespan of Maleny hidden from Cami for the moment. The less people that knew about the not-so-human, the best for him and his plans. Plus, Cami was just a human and she could put herself in a lot more danger with no one around to save her.

"I demand to see her right now," Cami declared.

"I'll have to suggest that happens on another occasion."

"I wasn't asking, I demand," Cami articulated very finely for him, "You owe me for a lot of crap in the past and now it's time to start repaying. Leave Maleny alone, she has no business being in any of your dilemmas."

At that moment, Marcel approached the two with a cellphone in hand, looking at Klaus with a bit of a shocked face, "It's Diego."

"And?" Klaus raised an eyebrow, "Has he got news?" Marcel could only nod as he handed the cellphone over. Klaus took the phone and spoke into it, "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Either our witch problems are over, or they're just get started," came the alarmed voice of Diego from the other line.

Without a word, Klaus hung up and looked at Marcel, both men leaving Cami with no words. Cami, indignant at the action, called after them, "Hey!? You don't just leave me like this!" she sighed and looked around, a bit ashamed at the looks she was getting from the others. Quickly, she hurried off to her work, unseeing a certain resurrected witch going up to her uncle.

~ 0 ~

Hayley had finished giving Maleny the last piece of scotch-tape Maleny had needed, the brunette woman deciding to go ahead and put together the smaller sheets of paper Davina had made sketches on just like Hayley had with the larger ones of Celeste.

"What is it?" Hayley questioned when Maleny had finished the taping. Hayley glanced at Maleny and found her staring at the picture with a stunned face and very pale skin, "You okay?" she set a hand on Maleny's shoulder, "What is it?"

"It's..." Maleny slowly began to come out of her stupor as she took a step closer to the table, her finger running along the hair section of the sketch, "...it's me."

Hayley made a confused face as she looked between Maleny and the sketch. The sketch looked nothing like Maleny, the woman on the sheets had longer hair and a completely different face.

It could not be Maleny.

~ 0 ~

Elijah was crouched down beside Papa Tunde's corpse as he examined the corpse, Marcel and Klaus behind with a bit of a thin patience. Klaus started pacing around the compound with a sarcastic deep sigh, "Can I get you anything, brother? A magnifying glass? A pipe, perhaps?"

"You have a theory you'd like to share with us, Niklaus?" Elijah looked up with a less than amused face.

"Back in the day, the witches wanted to send a threat, they'd just kill a chicken and leave it on your doorstep," Marcel remarked.

"It's rather a large and ominous chicken, wouldn't you say?"

"Papa Tunde defeated Rebekah with ease, almost got the two of us as well. If he was supposed to be the prize fighter, why leave him for dead in our front yard?" Klaus shook his head, feeling like an idiot for being unable to figure out the master plan of the witches.

Rebekah arrived with a serious expression, "You all may want to hear this," she declared and made all three men look back at her, "A girl literally exploded from a grave today as Sabine was giving a tour of the city of the dead. It was Monique Deveraux."

"What?" Klaus frowned.

"The tourists thought it was part of the show, but the witches are celebrating like it's some kind of bloody miracle."

"Maybe it is. They think that all hope is lost, but now suddenly a Harvest girl is resurrected," Marcel began, the glint of hope slowly making its way onto his face, "This is how we're gonna get Davina back-– kill the witch who took her place."

Hayley emerged from the room Maleny was compelled to stay inside of and held the taped-up sketch of Celeste, "Maleny and I have a theory on who one of them could be. Celeste. I mean, it's got to be. Davina was trying to tell us, she was drawing pictures of Celeste. She was warning us that a great evil is coming."

"First, Papa Tunde returns to settle old scores, now your murdered lover is back. This isn't witches attacking vampires. They're declaring war on us," Klaus said with an irritated sigh.

"Maleny is up there?" Rebekah had caught the name in Hayley's words with quickness, "Tell her to come out, I need to have a word with her."

"I would if she actually could," Hayley gave a small glare to Klaus, "You do remember you put her in there, right?"

"I do recall," he assured.

"Look, she's shaken up about the other sketch Davina made, I think someone should talk to her," Hayley looked at the rest, seriously needing someone to go in and talk to Maleny.

"What other sketch?" Elijah questioned.

"The ones on the smaller papers."

"I thought it was just the quote," Elijah shot an irritated look at Marcel.

"I thought it was too," Marcel raised his hands in defeat, "I never saw those sketches. Only the Celeste ones."

"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" Hayley called back the attention, "She's claiming the sketch is of her and yet I see another woman. I think the lock-down is getting to her."

"We have to see this sketch," Elijah looked at Klaus, "Now shall you be the one to do it and perhaps release her from the compulsion or shall I?"

Klaus rolled his eyes and headed for the stairs, leaving a very confused group below. When he entered the room he saw Maleny standing in front of a table where sheets of paper were placed on. The woman seemed to be frozen as if she was in shock about something.

"She drew me," Maleny spoke quietly, not turning back or giving any looks. Her eyes were glued to the sketch in front of her, "How can Davina have done that if she's never seen that woman? She drew me..."

"Now, we haven't established that the woman is you," Klaus said as he walked towards the table, already guessing just which woman Davina had drawn. He stopped beside Maleny and looked down at the sketch to see the first Maleny he had met as a human.

"Yes it is," Maleny quietly argued, "That's me," she tapped the paper.

"Davina said something about you, or at least pertaining to this sketch before we'd met," he picked up a corner of the sketch, "'It's magic that's owned yet at the same time not owned."

"What does that mean?" Maleny looked at him with confusion.

"I don't know, I would've thought you might have known something."

"I don't," she whispered and looked down at the sketch.

"Alright, alright, don't fret. There's plenty more to worry about," Klaus turned to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You can leave the room now."

Maleny frowned and pushed his hand off her, "That is the last time you ever compel me, do you understand? I doubt you did that to any of the other me's in the past. Why am I different?"

"It was a means for protection," Klaus rolled his eyes, weary of the same conversation repeating itself so many times today.

"If you want me protected then do it another way. I am not a puppet, Klaus. Don't treat me like one," Maleny shook her head and headed for the door. Upon going up to the rails, she saw Papa Tunde's corpse below and gasped, "What the hell is this?"

"Your previous not so secret admirer," Klaus sarcastically told her.

"You mean the one you killed," Maleny reminded, "I swear you need anger management classes," she mumbled.

"Maleny, can we have a word, please?" Rebekah called from below, having overheard the small bit Maleny said.

Maleny nodded, already knowing what was going to happen. She could only hope that the blonde wouldn't react too badly after she heard...

~ 0 ~

"You must be freaking kidding me," Rebekah let herself fall back on the couch of the study room. Maleny stood across with a shameful face as her head bowed, "You tricked me," Rebekah raised an eyebrow, "Thought I could give you something about Davina? Maleny!"

"I'm sorry but...no, I'm not sorry," Maleny decided to correct herself, "Because what happened to Davina was an injustice and I can't sit down and just take it. I needed to do something and, well...you were the only one I saw. Heck, even Cami went along with the plan and tried getting something out of Marcel."

"Who, by the way," Rebekah pointed, "is pretty peeved that you're here and locked up."

"Cami?" Maleny sighed when Rebekah nodded.

"Just a heads up, you may want to tell your cousin what's going."

Maleny sat down across on the couch, "I can't. She'll think I'm a liar. To her, I'm her adopted cousin who's she had so much fun with as kids. In reality I'm a centuries old witch trapped in a poor, innocent woman's body."

"How do you mean?" Rebekah raised an eyebrow, "The least you could do after tricking me is telling me what you needed from my brother. You said something about my brother killing Papa Tunde in the past - how could you have known that? I doubt Klaus decided to share that with you since it had to do with his special friend."

Maleny deeply sighed, "Alright, Rebekah, here it is: this body is not mine," she gestured to herself, "In reality, I am Maleny Rowan - the girl your family knew back in the old days before you became vampires."

"Impossible," Rebekah wasted no time in refusing, "Maleny disappeared and I'm pretty sure I know who it was."

"I doubt it," Maleny shook her head, "Look, I have dreams of the women that your brother, Klaus, has ever 'felt affection for'," both she and Rebekah shared a small laugh when Maleny put her air-quotation marks up, "And this body you see," she pointed at herself, "is probably another one of the innocent women I've inhabited in the past."

"Maleny Rowan," Rebekah whispered, Maleny nodding, "But that's...that's impossible."

"I'd say so too but then again I don't really know what's going on," Maleny said, "I can't remember that life and I keep dreaming of all these other women as if..."

"They were you," Rebekah narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"It's not 100% clear but what else is there? I have to be those women in the past. I just don't remember how this all started nor who did it and why. I told Davina about this and she said she would help me..."

"And then she died," Rebekah understood, "So getting Davina back isn't only because it was an injustice but..."

"No, it is," Maleny quickly cut in, "Above all is the safety of my friends. Davina was a sweet girl and she didn't deserve to die like that. But I won't deny that if she did came back to life I would benefit a bit more than the others."

Rebekah smiled, "So why not get another witch instead, hm? Doesn't have to be a New Orleans one to crack this mystery."

"I trusted Davina from the moment I met her. I can't trust another with this secret."

"But you told my brother and he's not the trustworthy kind."

"I told you and I barely know you," Maleny countered.

"Touche," Rebekah reached for the wine on the table beside her, "Well you've got me on your team if you need anything. Though don't expect anything about my little conspiracy team. I think it's broken."

"More than broken I should say," Elijah entered the room, "Gone forever I'd say."

Rebekah rolled her eyes, "Still mad?"

"About what?" Maleny curiously asked.

"I discovered my sister's plans on Klaus," Elijah explained.

"Ah, understood," Maleny leaned back on her spot.

"I take it you didn't come in here for a drink so you might as well tell me what you need," Rebekah crossed her arms.

Elijah nodded, "Clever sister of mine. I don't believe Hayley is safe here and I'd rather she be in the plantation should anything go wrong here..."

"Are you worried about Hayley, or whether or not you can trust me?" Rebekah countered.

"It's precisely because I trust you that I'm asking you to do this."

Rebekah swayed her head as she pretended to think about it, "Here's a novel idea- why don't you let Hayley decide for herself? Why are you dictating her fate?"

"I can see this is a family issue so I'll just be on my way..." Maleny slipped up from her spot and headed for the doorway.

"Actually I'd prefer you join as well," Elijah stopped her in her tracks.

Maleny glanced over her shoulder, "Me? I can do just fine on my own. Besides, I've got plenty to do here with Davina's sketches."

"For the same reason, if you are who we believe you to be-"

"I am," Maleny grew tired of having to repeat that.

Elijah studied the woman for a moment, spotting something he hadn't seen before, "I can't help but notice a certain chain around your neck."

Maleny's hand flew to the golden chain around her neck, the pendant hidden underneath her blouse, "Why do you speak about it?" she remembered Davina's words about the perception filter around the necklace. How could they have seen through it?

Elijah looked at Rebekah for agreement. Rebekah leaned forwards and looked at Maleny's neck, sure enough seeing the chain, "How did we not notice that before?" she blinked.

"Someone's cast a very powerful spell on you I can almost smell it," Elijah shook his head at Maleny, the woman looking between the two siblings with nervousness and confusion.

"What's going on?" she stepped back, slightly afraid.

"The spell's stopped us from seeing it," Rebekah stood up from the couch and joined Elijah's, both staring endlessly at Maleny.

"And consequently Niklaus," Elijah added.

"I swear to God if neither of you tell me what's going on I'll slap the hell out of you," Maleny huffed and crossed her arms.

"The necklace," Rebekah finally pointed, "Where'd you get it from?"

"Hm?" Maleny looked at her falling chain on her neck, "I don't know. It's the only thing I have that belongs to the real me. It's my mother's but that's all I know."

"I just don't understand how this works," Elijah said to himself as he pondered on the topic for the moment, "You just jumped into another body-"

"Excuse me but from everything I've heard, your little girlfriend has been doing the same thing. Only Celeste actually knows how to do it on her call. Maybe I should ask her questions..."

"Don't you dare," Elijah warned with a pointed finger at her.

"Only kidding," Maleny raised er hands and groaned, "but seriously, I'm telling the truth. I don't control this body jump thing and I can't remember how it works."

"Rebekah take her with Hayley," Elijah ordered after a moment of silence, "And not one word to Niklaus, understood? As far as he knows you will be with Camille," he told Maleny.

"No!" Maleny shouted firmly, "I'm not going anywhere. I just finished telling your brother I am not a puppet you can control!" but Rebekah started heading for her with a twisted smile Maleny knew would be the end of it all, "Stay away," she warned and backed away, "I'm not going anywhere! I haven't seen Cami nor ucle Kieran and I'm most certainly not leaving to some plan-"

Rebekah snapped the woman's neck.

"Rebekah," Elijah scolded, appalled at the action. He truly wished his siblings would have better, more peaceful, ways to get people to quiet down.

"Oh calm down," Rebekah had caught Maleny's temporary unconscious body in her arms and set her on the couch, "She's immortal, remember? Or can at least cheat death. Which ever way, it's pretty useful, don't you think?"

Elijah could roll only his eyes at his sister's nature but decided to focus on the impending issue before them. He walked to Maleny and carefully took out the pendant that hid underneath her blouse, both he and Rebekah studying it intently.

"It is," Rebekah breathed.

"But how?" Elijah questioned, letting the pendant fall back to its place.

"Don't question it, just be thankful," Rebekah knelt down beside Maleny's side and took the pendant in her fingers, "I remember it like it was yesterday. Abigail had given it to Maleny on her seventh birthday. After she died, Maleny never took it off. It's her, Elijah, it's really her."

"But her appearance..."

"Is not hers" Rebekah finished and looked up at him, "Someone put her in that body. There's something sinister going on here. We have to tell Klaus about this."

"And prove it how?" Elijah raised an eyebrow, making Rebekah halt in her desires, "This woman looks nothing like the Maleny we knew. Maleny was a witch in those days, and yet not immortal. This woman..."

"But we know it is," Rebekah stood up, "Just the way she's piqued our brother's interest in less than a night. She has that quality we haven't seen since..." she stopped in her thoughts when something entirely different came up, "...Maya," she whispered.

"Listen, we don't have time to figure out the whole puzzle at the moment," Elijah shook his head, "Just take her and Hayley away from here. And do try and not snap her neck again, please?"

"Yeah, fine" Rebekah rolled her eyes and took Maleny into her arms.

"And not a word to our brother," Elijah called in reminder.

"Don't understand why but alright," Rebekah glanced over her shoulder.

"Because I would not like to give hope and then snatch it away from him. She could very well be lying."

"I don't think she is," Rebekah smiled and looked down at Maleny before finally leaving.

~ 0 ~

By the time Maleny woke up, she found herself in the backseat of a car and heard the recognizable voices of Rebekah and Hayley. With a deep anger, Maleny sat up and flung the car door open before hopping on the ground with her hands on her hips, "Rebekah Mikaelson I'll kill you!" she declared.

"Wouldn't be the first to try," the blonde casually remarked.

"Nor the last," Hayley added.

"I said I didn't want to go!" Maleny marched towards Rebekah, "Why did you ignore me and..." she crinkled her face at the remnant of a small pain on her neck, "...snap my neck?" she put a hand on the side of her neck.

"It'll go away, don't worry," Rebekah waved her off.

"By all laws, you should be dead," Hayley studied Maleny with curiosity.

"Says the wolf who was impregnated by a vampire hybrid," Maleny shot back.

"Ouch, she wins that round," Rebekah smirked at Hayley.

"You are lucky I have a party to attend to," Hayley playfully wagged a finger to Maleny before turning and walking towards the plantation house.

"Party? What?" Maleny looked at Rebekah, "You know what, doesn't matter," she raised her hands and turned back to the car.

"I wouldn't if I were you, you're not going anywhere," Rebekah called, halting Maleny in her steps.

Maleny groaned, "You can't do this to me, you know," she turned around, "Klaus may have been able to compel me but I'm on vervain now. I can leave whenever I want to."

"You want to know about that necklace around your neck?" Rebekah crossed her arms, a hint of a smirk on her lips when Maleny stepped closer, "I know all about the owner, the true owner, of that necklace. Stick around and perhaps I'll talk about it," with that, Rebekah headed to the house.

Maleny looked around, unsure of what to do next. As far as she knew, the necklace belonged to her true self...only she didn't know who that was exactly. Perhaps...she could stick around for a minute or two to talk about it...

~ 0 ~

"The story begins back in the old days, very old days," Rebekah said as she and Maleny walked nearby the plantation house, leaving Hayley momentarily to talk while the wolf-woman saw to her party preparations, "There was this girl, her name was Maleny Rowan, and she was a witch. Her mother was close friends with my own, Esther. Maleny's mother was a powerful witch in our days and it seemed like her daughter would soon follow in the paths."

"I didn't know all that," Maleny whispered, looking at her hands with curiosity.

"She didn't either until she was around six or seven," Rebekah continued, "That's when she started noticing. So, her mother gave her a necklace..." her eyes drifted to the chain around Maleny's neck, "It was the color of gold with an oval pendant on it," Maleny lifted the pendant, "It had the symbols of Maleny's mother, Abigail's name, marked on it. It was a gift of encouragement to Maleny, she was nervous when it came to magic. Her mother thought it could be a symbol of their connection to each other as witches, mother and daughter. Though through that it turned into a much more sentimental value after Abigail passed away."

"Oh my..." Maleny looked at the pendant, sure enough seeing said symbols.

"Maleny was devastated. She had no idea what to do with her magic, all uncontrolled and no one to teach her. Her father was a pest and a menace to her. He hated her for God knows what reason," Rebekah rolled her eyes, "But my mother took Maleny in as her own and guided her throughout the years, teaching her how to be the witch that would continue her family's bloodline."

"That...sounds kind of nice," Maleny tried to hide her smile the best she could from Rebekah.

"Maleny was the most protected woman during our human and early vampire days," Rebekah grew serious all of a sudden, "...even from her father."

"What do you mean?" Maleny noticed the serious face Rebekah now wore, no more playful smirks nor expressions, "What happened?"

Rebekah looked down for a moment, "It was...bittersweet."

Maleny blinked, her gaze falling ahead as Rebekah spoke, for a moment seeing her words played into action...

Maleny Rowan ran through the woods in near sobs, her dress torn at parts and stained with blood. The sun was just casting down when she reached a small lake. She dropped to her knees and reached her hands inside the lake, lightly splashing water on her face. The red blood stained her fingers the more she urgently rubbed her face.

"Maleny! Maleny!" she heard Rebekah's calls.

Maleny gasped and tried even harder and faster to rid herself of the redness on her skin. But it was too late, Rebekah had found the girl in no time just by the scent.

"There you are, the village has already started the celebrations," Rebekah hurried up to Maleny and grabbed her by the arm, "For once, they're not making hard-eyes at us."

"I'm fine here," Maleny said in a trembling voice.

Rebekah noticed the shaky girl and the way Maleny avoided her look, "Maleny?" Rebekah tried looking at her but Maleny kept turning her head. Rebekah rolled her eyes and used her vampire-strength with ease to force the girl to stand and face her, "Oh my God," she breathed at the appearance of Maleny, "What on earth...?" she looked Maleny over with shock and yet it faded quick when she put the pieces together, "What was it for this time?"

Maleny's gaze slowly fell to the ground, "I, um...I accidentally burned his hand a little," she shut her eyes before tears developed again, "It's my fault, I should've made sure everything was cold enough before I gave him the food..."

"Wow, he must have beat you senseless for you to think it's your fault," Rebekah shook her head, "This is not going to stay like this, oh no," she declared and bit her wrist before holding it to Maleny, "Drink. I'm going to make sure this doesn't repeat itself."

"No!" Maleny opened her eyes and pushed Rebekah's wrist down, "I don't want anymore problems. Anything you do only makes him angrier. There's nothing to do but be better," Maleny nodded, barely managing not to quiver her lip like a child due to her struggle of withholding her sobs.

Rebekah immediately thought of a better idea, "You stay here, alright?"

"Where are you going?" Maleny asked in a whisper.

"You just be a good girl and stay here until someone comes and gets you," Rebekah put her hands on Maleny's shoulder and looked her in the eye, "Stay here," she instructed through compulsion, "I know how you like running off. Do not do that, understood?" Maleny nodded in obedience, "Alright, I'll be back," Rebekah promised and sped off.

Rebekah had stopped talking when she noticed Maleny seemed a bit distance, her gaze locked ahead of them, "Oi, are you listening?"

Maleny blinked, snapping out of her vision-trance, and looked at Rebekah, "I saw it," she whispered, her eyes watering as she replayed the vision in her mind, "I saw her...I saw..." she put a hand on her cheek, nearly swearing she could feel a sting where the other Maleny's bruise had been.

"You saw how awful she looked?" Rebekah asked, Maleny nodding, "Then you can only imagine what happened next."

"Did you...?"

Rebekah shook her head, "I could've done something, but I figured the best way to get revenge on Maleny's father was by calling in the one person who could really make the man suffer," she smirked, "I still don't regret it."

"What did you do?" Maleny dared to ask.

"The old Maleny wasn't an idiot so don't tell me you're one," Rebekah gave her a faint smile, "I called in my brother. I found Klaus and I told him everything. Up to that point, Maleny had always talked down the murderous instinct my brother developed after being turned. But then again, Maleny had never looked the way she did before that night," Rebekah swallowed, "Part of my decision to tell Klaus was because I feared for what could become of Maleny's life if someone didn't stop her father."

"So then..." Maleny blinked when she put the pieces together, all the meanwhile Rebekah beginning to smirk again.

"Oh yes," she nodded in confirmation.

"Oh my god," Maleny put a hand over her chest, her eyes wide, "He...he killed my father. That's awful!"

Rebekah scoffed, "Believe me, that man had it coming."

"No one can have that power," Maleny frowned at her, "No one ought to kill someone...what on Earth would make you or your brother do that?"

Rebekah gave a simple look and lightly sighed, "You're starting to see the visions, see what came after and then come and talk to me," she walked off back to the plantation.

Maleny could only think for a minute or two before deciding that nothing could ever be worth the senseless killing.

~ 0 ~

"Hey, nice of you to be join us again," Hayley greeted as soon as Maleny crossed through the front doors of the plantation house, the brunette just coming down the stairs, "I thought Rebekah may have eaten you or something."

"Oh ha ha," came Rebekah's voice from the kitchen, "I'll have you know I have taste!"

Maleny raised an eyebrow, "If she wasn't immortal, she'd be dead," she mumbled to Hayley who chuckled.

"No but seriously, I was beginning to worry," Hayley said as the two walked in further into the house, Maleny taking a look at everything she saw, "Rebekah said something about you having some visions alone, or..."

"They don't come on command," Maleny sighed absently.

"What are they exactly?" Hayley asked, a bit bashful for still being unable to grasp the issue of Maleny. She'd been explained by Maleny herself before leaving the house to take a walk with Rebekah. But it was brief and quick which didn't leave Hayley enough time to ask questions.

"I call them dreams and visions but in reality they're more like memories," Maleny explained as she walked around the living room, taking in every last detail of the room, "It's the memories of the previous lives I've lived in another body.""

"Yeah, but are they Klaus' or the respective woman?"

"I would not know how to answer that," Maleny faintly smiled and shrugged, "I mostly see it from a third point of view."

"And how do you feel about that?" Hayley raised an eyebrow, Maleny glancing with a confused expression, "Clearly, I know the identity thing to the core, I don't know who exactly I am, but...I'm talking about those visions/dreams things...you get to see all that. How does that make you feel?"

"Um..." Maleny shrugged again, "...I mean, I have this journal where I write them all down. It's sort of my way of releasing all my thoughts that I can't share with anyone. But I guess if I had to describe it, I'd say I feel I'm invading someone's privacy," she swallowed hard.

"Okay," Hayley raised her eyebrows, "That's not exactly what I thought I'd get as a response."

"If she's anything like someone I knew then you can definitely expect those types of answers from her," Rebekah strode into the room, hands on hips, "So," she looked at Maleny with an expectant look, "Have you seen the vision?"

"I told you, I can't see them on command," Maleny sighed and turned away.

"Don't bother her," Hayley whispered to Rebekah, "She has enough to deal with."

"Actually, there is one thing I've been trying to answer," Maleny suddenly spoke again, her back to the two women, "Rebekah, you said Maleny Rowan was a powerful witch, well...what if this body was of a witch too? Could I conduct magic? Or is my magic transferred?"

Rebekah tilted her head as she considered the idea, "I don't know, perhaps."

"Because I was thinking about what Davina wrote in her sketches of me. The magic that I own isn't really mine..." Maleny tried to explain the in the easiest way she could, "Maybe the magic I have now belongs to the owner of this body. Or maybe it's my original magic but-"

"Stop before you confuse yourself even more," Hayley chuckled.

Maleny sighed, "I really need to talk to Davina."

"You and me both," Rebekah mumbled and returned towards the kitchen.

~ 0 ~

As Hayley's werewolf party was ongoing, Maleny struggled to get a decent phone call out to Cami or even Kieran. She walked just a bit off to the side of the house, covering one ear so she could hear what the crazy phone-line was saying. She was having a real hard time focusing on anything ever since she and Rebekah had spoken earlier in the day. Her hand constantly found itself on the necklace she wore, as if it was holding onto the last real piece of her true identity. She felt so uncomfortable, so...troubled. On the one hand, she was a bit joyful to finally have some answers on her visions, but on the other she felt like she had lost (or was beginning to lose) what she had at the moment. Yes, the O'Connell's weren't her real family and none of the memories implanted in her head nor the human's were real, but she felt the love from them. She knew Cami loved her as an actual cousin, Kieran the same as a niece. She knew their love didn't come from implanted memories, but their core of beings. What they felt was real and what she felt was just as real.

To go back to being Maleny Rowan meant to have no family. She never considered that idea. She survived all the way to the present, but her family hadn't. Her mother died and her father was a pest who'd also died in the end. She had no siblings and as far as cousins or aunts and uncles, she wasn't really sure she had any. She'd be alone.

Apart from that, she learned she'd accepted that Klaus killed her father. What kind of person was she, then? To be completely okay with her father's murder. Why would she like to accept to being alone?

"You shouldn't be out here on your own," a voice said from behind.

Maleny had only time to make half of a turn before something hard and cold slammed on her face, making her fall to the ground unconscious.

~ 0 ~

In the plantation house, Hayley and her newest friend (and apparently betrothed) Jackson, found themselves in quite a predicament with all the possible exits of the house had been mysteriously shut and locked.

Hayley, who currently had her cellphone out with Elijah on the other line, hurriedly walked into the piano room with Jackson behind her, "We have to get out of here," she said urgently.

Jackson grabbed the piano stool and tried smashing it on the window, only to find the glass very much intact while the stool broke into pieces. Flames of fires grew around the exterior of the house and soon inside, burning down the curtain and part of the carpet. Quickly, Jackson snatched a tablecloth and poured the water of a vase onto it before pressing it to Hayley's mouth, "Here, breath through this," he instructed.

Hayley could only nod as she coughed, wondering where the hell Rebekah and Maleny was at the moment. Suddenly, Elijah crashed through the windows and quickly took Hayley into his arms before speeding out of the house. He set her on the ground while she continued to cough, "Where's Rebekah?" he urgently asked as he looked around, "And Maleny?"

"I don't know," Hayley shook her head, "Rebekah went off with one of them. Maleny was alone, but...I don't know. Elijah, my friend is still in there."

Elijah sighed and returned for the man inside the house, really rather be searching for his missing siblings instead, plus the apparently missing not-so-human.

~ 0 ~

Later on would find Elijah at the site where his sister had been apparently attacked by several wolves, only the corpses of the animals and Rebekah's jacket left as proof of the catastrophe.

"Missing something?" he heard Sabine behind him, in reality Celeste of course. Elijah turned to find her accompanied with Bastianna and Genevieve - more resurrected witches - all looking a tad pleasant at the events much to his irritation, "You won't hurt me," Celeste laughed, "I'm the only one alive who can break the curse on Hayley's family. And Genevieve knows where your sister is. Bastianna has Klaus, tucked away someplace safe. He's suffering horribly, I might add. And all because you chose to save the little wolf instead of your own blood."

"Where is Maleny?" he demanded, the only one not accounted for in Celeste's explanation.

"Collateral damage," Celeste casually shrugged, "She'll wake up soon, with a nasty bruise on her head. But you know, I died because of Klaus so by all logic she should die this time around just for kicks."

"Leave her, leave my family alone," Elijah warned before deciding to lunge for the woman.

Celeste raised her hand and forced him down to his knees with a shrill scream of pain, "Maleny is someone else's problem, she'll die soon enough. This right now, though, this is between your family. I guess "always" isn't forever, after all," she laughed as he went down unconscious again.

~ 0 ~

After Hayley had bid goodbye to Jackson for the full moon was about to end, she heard the low grunts of another person nearby and quickly became alarmed, "Elijah? Is that you?" she called, stepping back.

Instead of the man in suit, she found Maleny stumbling forwards with a hand on her head, stained with red from what Hayley assumed was blood.

"Oh!" Hayley rushed to the woman's side, lowering her hand to find the rather large cut on Maleny's head, "What happened to you?"

"Funny, I could ask the same about you and..." Maleny looked at the burnt down plantation house.

"You're a bit cheeky, do you know that?"

Maleny shrugged, "Ow..." she winced when Hayley accidentally touched the cut.

"Sorry," Hayley quickly backed away, though returned as soon as Maleny stumbled again, "So what's the deal? I thought you were immortal or something?"

"You said it, unable to die, not immune to injuries," Maleny gritted her teeth at another sharp pain in her head, "Someone is going to pay for this, I swear."

"I was thinking more of death," Elijah emerged from the woods rather displeased he'd been knocked out again.

"What is going on here?" Maleny asked with a tired sigh.

"Someone is going to die and I'm going to get both my siblings back."

"They're gone?" Maleny asked, glancing at Hayley who was equally confused.

"Not for long, that I can promise," Elijah muttered and headed off with the two women behind.

~ 0 ~

"I see it's all better now," Hayley was checking over Maleny's head injury, both now in the compound once more.

"Yeah, vampire blood always seems to do the trick," Maleny sighed, "Though I really wish Elijah and I stopped meeting like that. This is how rumors start."

Hayley chuckled, Maleny never seemed to take her issues with bitterness like most people would, "You can go see Cami any moment you want now," Hayley informed.

"I'd rather not see her right now," Maleny shook her head, smiling at the face Hayley was making, "Yeah, I know. The woman complains about being hauled away from her family and now that she's free to go she doesn't actually go."

"Pretty much," Hayley nodded.

"I don't want to worry her. She's going to ask where I was and I don't really want to tell her I was with Rebekah because then that would lead me to tell her she, along with Klaus, have disappeared. I just need some time to think of something to tell her, then I'll go."

"You really care about her don't you?"

"Adopted or not, real or not, Cami and Kieran are the only family I have in this world right now. I don't want to lose them, nor let anything happen to them."

"Come and be on lock down with me again, then," Hayley teased with a smile.

"We've gotta stop meeting like this too," Maleny chuckled, getting Hayley to laugh as well until a shout from Elijah cut them both off.

Immediately, Maleny stood from the couch and rushed after Hayley, the woman apparently much faster than one would think in her current state.

"Elijah! You're back," Hayley exclaimed.

"Did you find any..." Maleny stopped when both saw Elijah without a shirt and covered in tattooed names, "I thought you were going to find Sophie Deveraux...not get tattoos," she frowned.

"She's dead," Elijah declared rather calmly as he studied the names he could see on his arms.

"She's dead?" Maleny repeated in confusion, "How?"

"Let's not waste time, Maleny. I need you both to make a list of these names."

Maleny nudged Hayley beside her, snapping the woman out of her stupor and sending her a smirk, "Hayley, would you go and examine that? I'll get a pen and paper."

"You bitch," Hayley murmured in a mock scolding before heading over to Elijah.

Maleny meant to walk out of the room when she bumped into Marcel who carried the pen and paper, "Never mind," she sighed and turned back.

"Sabine? Elijah, what is this?" Hayley was looking at the name sprawled on Elijah's wrist.

"I believe they represent the names of the women Celeste inhabited for the past two centuries," he responded.

"That's called a Devinette. It's like a kind of riddle. Witches use them to teach their kids. Solve it, and it disappears," Maleny blurted absently, garnering the stares of everyone.

"How did you know that?" Hayley raised an eyebrow.

Maleny opened her mouth but found she didn't have the answer, "I...don't know. Guess it's something that I just remembered," she said, slightly excited.

"You, I've been meaning to talk to you," Marcel pointed at her.

"Another time, Marcel," Elijah called, "Time is of the essence at this point."

"I'm with him on this one," Maleny took the pen and paper, "We have a riddle to solve and I like riddles."

"But what's the point of all this?" Hayley sighed, heavily confused.

"Celeste forced me to make a choice between yourself and my siblings, and now she means to mock that choice, taunting me with a childish game," Elijah frowned, "The longer the game, the more they suffer. To find Klaus and Rebekah, we need to solve this riddle. The solution lies somewhere in these names."

Marcel noticed a name on Elijah's arm and blinked, "The name next to Sabine... Annie La Fleur, she's the witch that was shunned from her coven just over a year ago. Never knew why, but I can find out."

"Then go do it," Maleny shooed him off.

Marcel gave her a short, hard look before walking off to do the task.

"Well he doesn't like you very much," Hayley took the pen and paper and started scribbling down the names.

"He's suspicious about me. I would be too if I was him," Maleny crossed her arms, her hand one again reaching to the pendant of her necklace, "I'm a big question mark and I could turn out to be dangerous."

"You weren't," Elijah could almost scoff as he recalled the Maleny he knew back in the day, "You couldn't hurt a fly...and you tried miserably."

"You and Rebekah keep giving me these points about a woman you knew and yet none of you will tell me what happened to her. Neither of you tell me in detail who she was - who I am. Rebekah gave me this story and I hate it, it was the wrong story to tell. Did you know that Klaus killed my father?"

"There's a shocker," Hayley mumbled, still busy writing.

"That man was cruel," Elijah began but Maleny's sigh cut him off.

"You're going to defend the action?" she raised an eyebrow, "Out of all people I would think you'd be so far on the other line of this."

"I don't condone it but after seeing how much that man hurt his daughter, I think there was no other choice."

"But that wasn't yours, Rebekah's, nor Klaus's choice! Rebekah said that that Maleny had no one else but her father. How could making her an orphan be right?"

"Because she wouldn't be alone after that," Elijah answered calmly despite the half-shouting woman in front him.

"Who could take the place of family? Could anyone take the place of yours?" Maleny countered, knowing damn well that to Elijah family was literally everything, "You talk about family and yet you're alright with letting your brother take away someone else's?"

"Until you recover all those memories I don't believe you should be angry. You've yet to see it all."

"Then tell me," Maleny pleaded, "This is an endless game with you Mikaelson's. Tell me all about it."

"Time, Maleny, remember? We cannot waste even a second of it," Elijah reminded as Hayley finished jotting down the names, "Besides, I think it should be Klaus who tells you about you," he smiled, "Out of everyone he knew you the best."

Maleny sighed and conceded, she could tell that from the visions she'd seen. If anyone knew Maleny Rowan it was Klaus. And he was missing. Once again, she had to wait.

"Now you two look at that list and the women, while Marcel and I go after that Anne LeFleur," Elijah instructed as he picked up his shirt to put it back on.

As he left, Hayley gave Maleny a comforting smile, "I get it, I get it all."

"But you've already found your pack," Maleny sighed, "You know you're not alone. You have them and you have your baby, but me? I've got nothing."

Hayley sadly watched the girl sit down, real family or not Maleny really was alone in the world. She didn't have anything, not even her true identity.

~ 0 ~

"It's not answering," Maleny sighed as she handed Hayley back her cellphone, Maleny's having broken back at the plantation.

Maleny decided to call Cami and tell her that she was alright and simply looking into universities, but found that the only response she was getting was her voice mail. It worried Maleny and made it harder to stay away for the moment. Even Kieran wasn't answering and he always did. Something had to be going on.

Suddenly, Hayley's phone rang and Maleny immediately looked over Hayley's shoulder to see the ID.

"Sorry," Hayley half-smiled, "Elijah," she took the call.

Maleny shook her head and took the laptop Hayley held to continue their study on the women Celeste had inhabited. Maleny couldn't help but feel like this situation paralleled her own. According to Elijah, Celeste used a body jump spell to take over different women bodies. Maleny wondered if the spell Celeste used to jump bodies was the same spell Maleny was currently under. But in the end, Celeste planned it on her own. Maleny did not - at least she didn't remember planning it.

"She killed herself?" Hayley's voice brought Maleny out of her thoughts.

"A suicidal witch," Maleny noted, "Wonder if that's the recurring theme for Celeste."

Hayley put the call on speaker for Maleny to listen, "Yes, drowned herself in the Mississippi, to be precise. Celeste was clearly tired of the body and ready to take Sabine's," Elijah was saying.

"How do you know that?" Hayley asked.

"Because she leaped to her death from the very location Celeste and I had our first kiss."

"Oh that's poetic," Maleny rolled her eyes, "You know, a deranged-vendetta sort of way."

"All these names, these lives, stolen that Celeste might take her revenge. I suppose we have no choice but to see where they take us. I have to go. I'll call you back."

"Elijah, wait!" Hayley cut in before the call died.

"What is it?"

"Ask Marcel if he knows anything about a name on that list- Brynne Deveraux. Sophie said that it was her family's bloodline that put the curse on the Crescent wolves, but Celeste said that she was the only one that could break it. If Brynne Deveraux was actually Celeste when she cast the spell, then maybe Celeste can still break it."

"I'll see what he knows."

"Elijah, I'm really sorry that you're going through this. If I had known that Celeste made you choose who to help–"

"You were going to die in that fire Hayley along with my brother's child. There was no choice."

Before Hayley could remark, the call died. Maleny teased her right after, "Isn't that lovely?"

"Shut up," Hayley elbowed her and took the laptop back, Maleny laughing much to the woman's dismay.

~ 0 ~

Hours later would find Elijah and Marcel returning, Elijah just slightly ahead to be able to inform Hayley of the familiar Deveraux witch before Marcel could hear.

Marcel caught up quick and simply got to business, "Find anything about Clara, the mystery witch?"

Maleny had the laptop on her lap as she'd taken over much of the research, letting Hayley take a needed break. She looked up and shook her head, "There isn't much of her. She was just a nurse at the Fleur-de-Lis Sanitarium," she looked down just as Marcel froze in panic, "Anyone recognize her?" she gestured for them all to look at the screen as she clicked on a closer up of the mysterious witch.

"No, I don't," Elijah responded first, and then he noticed Marcel, "Marcel?" the man seemed far more alarmed now, "Marcel? Do I need to remind you that Niklaus and Rebekah are somewhere suffering horribly? If you know something, talk."

"The Sanitarium. That's where you'll find them," Marcel breathed.

"Are you sure?" Hayley asked, "How do you know?"

"I just know."

"Yes, but how?" Maleny raised an eyebrow.

Marcel looked away for a moment, driving Elijah's patience to far more dangers thin line, "Marcel?"

"If I'm right, you need to know exactly what we're walking into. We did something, Rebekah and I... I think the witches are trying to use it against her. It was, uh... something that you're not gonna like..."

Hayley and Maleny exchanged concerned glances, things were already at their pique...what more could there be?

But then Marcel spoke and explained how he and Rebekah had tricked a poor witch named Genevieve in 1919 into bringing Mikael to New Orleans, the tricked witch apparently being one of the resurrected witches in possession of Klaus and Rebekah.

To say Elijah was furious would be a severe understatement, "For the better part of a century, I have wondered how Father found us, what foolish mistake that we had made to destroy our time in the one place that we could finally call home. Did you know, I even blamed myself for a time, Marcellus?"

"Elijah," Hayley cautiously called but was blatantly ignored.

"Niklaus treated you like a son," he stepped forwards.

"Rebekah," was all Marcel had to say as if it was the excuse for any action he'd do, which in reality was, "I loved her. I still love her. All we ever wanted was to be together, but as long as Klaus was around, that was never gonna happen. But hey, I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, huh?"

"When Klaus learns the truth, there will be no end to his rage. I will not let my sister suffer that wrath."

"Then we need to get to them before he learns the truth," Marcel said, unaware that the inevitable had already happened.

"Hayley, Maleny, you two stay here," Elijah turned and pointed at them.

"Actually, I wanted to-" Maleny had tried to say but Hayley covered her mouth and put on a sweet smile.

"We'll stay," she said.

"I mean it," Elijah warned.

"So do I."

Maleny pushed Hayley's hand down and gave the brunette a hard look, misunderstanding why Hayley was accepting their roles as weak humans...ish, so easily. But Hayley looked back with a nearly pleading look which made Maleny huff and nod, "Fine, we'll stay."

"Thank you," Elijah nodded and looked back at Marcel, coldly speaking to the man, "Let's go and for your own safety you should pray that both my siblings are still alive when we find them," he hurried out of the room.

"Yes, sir," Marcel mumbled and followed.

As soon as the two men were off, Hayley stood up and looked around, "Alright, so this is where we part for the moment."

"What are you up to?" Maleny asked, remaining sat.

"I'm hunting me down a certain witch," she informed as she headed for the doorway and looked back, "I know you wanted to go somewhere else too. So, this works for both of us."

"Truthfully, yes, I have to go see Cami now. It's late and it's been about two days since she's heard anything from me. Plus..." Maleny paused for a moment, "...neither she nor Kieran have responded to my voicemails now. I'm worried."

"Then off we go," Hayley nodded.

Maleny stood up and sighed, "I won't be coming back though. There's something I need to do."

"Oh?"

Maleny took a breath, "The woman with Klaus during that time, Maya Sterling...she died there and I don't know why or how. I need to find out."

"Are you sure you want to keep doing that?" Hayley frowned, "Honestly, it seems to me like the deeper you get into that stuff the worse it is for you."

"It's my only chance of breaking this...curse," Maleny couldn't think of anything else to describe her situation, "This spell, whatever it is, it's got me seeing these different women for some reason and I want to know how to stop it. I am Maleny Rowan and this is not my body. I want to know how long has it been since I've been jumping bodies."

Hayley took a sigh for the woman and shook her head, "That probably won't end well," she murmured before leaving as well. But then again, what, in New Orleans, ever turned out to be good?

#klaus mikaelson x oc #klaus mikaelson x original female character #the originals #the originals imagines #noblecrescentedit #klaus mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #Camille O'Connell #hayley marshall #davina claire

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doeeyeddarlingxo · 4 years

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Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 14

The Myriad Misadventures of a Midgardian Queen-In-Training - Chapter 14

AO3 | Previous | Next

Word Count: 1733

Pairing: Loki/Reader

Rating: T

Myriad Misadventures - Chapter 14

You’re late. The first event of the whole goddamn competition, and you’re running late. If it gets you disqualified, great, but what if it gets you vaporized, or vanished (or something)? With those lovely images in mind, you race down the hall, sliding to a stop just outside the ballroom doors.

The music floats through the door, along with enough chatter for you to estimate how full the ballroom actually is - too full for comfort. But you’re dressed, and you’re here - and, besides, you didn’t run down however many flights of stairs to get here just to turn around and run.

So you breathe.

And you step forward.

And you place a hand on each of the doors, pushing gently until they open in front of you.

Immediately, your stomach drops. There are even more people than you’d expected, all in opulent animal costumes - a menagerie of guests. By the bottom of the staircase, a woman in a snakeskin ensemble clinks glasses with a man dressed as a mouse; the dance floor is teeming with feathered headdresses and fur coats, hair teased and makeup applied with a heavy hand.

The herald mistakes your intimidation for fear of tardiness. “Don’t worry, milady, you’ve arrived just in time. May I have your name?” You tilt your head at him questioningly. “To announce.”

“In a moment.” You want to take a second to scan the scene. Everyone is masked except for the other Chosen girls: there’s Rosa by the punch bowl, in her sexed-up bunny getup, though you can’t help but notice she has more skin on display than fabric. Rhea looks serenely, but alert, dressed as a cat; Irina, of course, chose a horse, her hair braided on the sides so that the back is loose in a mohawk-esque “mane.” Juliette is a koi fish, you think, the myriad of brightly colored fabrics setting off her fiery locks to perfection. Lexie is a wolf, Sapphire a fox (or maybe Sapphire’s a wolf, and Lexie’s a fox - it’s hard to tell from here), and Li appears to be a panther, sleekly magnificent in a black-and-gold ensemble, all chatting on some of the couches in the back.

Everyone looks so much older in person than in their pictures; not old old, but mature. Sexy. Like they know what they’re doing. You're left standing there in the doorway in your soft browns and tans, feeling young and foolish and very, very small.

“And what are you?”

Of course. You attempt to conceal your discomfort at his proximity - he’s barely two inches away. “A deer...my lord.”

It comes out as more of a question - getting used to court-speak is going to take more than a few days - but Walden laughs it off. “How charming.”

“Thank you. Your costume…” He is, in fact, costume-less, clad only in his typical uniform. “That is to say, you look very...nice?” Maybe if I’m nice, he’ll leave me alone?

“Thank you, thank you. You know, Lady (Y/N) - no need to look so shocked, it wasn’t hard to recognize you at all - for the past few days, I have been unable to dismiss you from my mind.”

“Oh?” Don’tpanicdon’tpanicdon’tpanic

He leans in, his lips brushing your ear. It’s too public a setting for you to defend yourself - you can’t do anything but stand there, paralyzed. “In fact - ”

“Miss, your name?”

Thank God. “Um, (Y/N). Of America. I mean, the United States of America.”

He nods, turning to announce it to the room. Before you emerge from the shadows, Walden leans in one more time. “Be sure to save at least one dance for me.”

You pretend not to hear him, smiling as brightly as you can as you make your way down the stairs. Most, if not all, of the heads in the room turn to watch your descent. To your relief, the staircase is short, and your moment in the spotlight ends quickly, too quickly for your nerves to really kick in.

“Now that all of our Chosen ones have arrived, we will begin our first partnered dance of the evening!” calls the announcer. “Gentlemen, now is the time to seek out the lady of your choice.”

“Milady?” The owner of this new voice stands behind you, looking down with a charming grin. “May I have this dance?” Where do I know that voice from?

“Of - of course.” You take his offered elbow and allow him to lead you to the dance floor, where a slow waltz has begun. His cape is covered in large black feathers that gleam green where they catch the light. Beneath it, he wears a well-fitted suit, with a black top hat and black feathered mask obscuring the entire top half of his face - you can barely see his eyes at all. “You’re a raven.”

He nods. “And you?”

“A deer, my lord." There, you think triumphantly, that sounded almost natural.

He appraises you with raised eyebrows, mildly amused. “More fawn than doe, I should think. You’re far too young to be here.”

"Excuse me?" You’re more than a little insulted. Yes, you are the youngest of the contestants here, but you don’t look that young. More than a few times, salesclerks at home have mistaken you for a college student, or an intern. Maybe it's just the costume. “I’m sixteen. Old enough - according to the paperwork, at least.”

He smirks. “Ah. So you’re Lady (Y/N), then.”

“I - yes. Yes, I am, my lord.” You say the last bit with a smidge of resentment - this man is obviously a member of the court, the very people that decided upon the age minimum. Who is he to criticize you? "And you are?"

He laughs, twisting back to look at you as he leads you onto the dance floor. "You already told me."

"What?"

"You guessed my costume already."

"I asked who you are, not what. I'm talking names."

"Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of a disguise?" he asks, gesturing to his outfit and mask.

You purse your lips to the side, shrugging. “I’m just trying to level the playing field a bit.”

He skims the room, his gaze lingering a moment on each of the other women. “I’m not the one you’re competing against.”

“Excuse me?” Did I ask for your sass? You only stop dancing for a moment, but it’s enough for you to stumble when he continues to move. He practically carries you the next few steps, sweeping you around the room as you clutch him for balance, until he finally leads you to the edge of the floor so that you can have a second to collect yourself.

“Your wit is matched only by your grace, I see,” he quips. You glare at him. "I promise you, Lady (Y/N), you will know my name by the end of the evening."

"You swear?" You extend your pinky. He stares at it, unsure of how to respond. I guess they don't do pinky promises where he's from. You blush - how immature must you seem to him? "It's, um, an American thing, I guess. You stick out your pinky finger, like this, see, and then we hook them together like that - " A spark of electricity jumps from his finger to yours, and you both flinch. Almost immediately, you turn up to meet his gaze. His hat has slipped back, revealing the glimmer of a faint smile in his startlingly green eyes.

His eyes. His voice.

Holy -

"You - you're - "

He cocks his head. "Am I?"

"You - "

"The next dance is about to start, my lady." Instead of protesting, you allow him to place your hands for you - one in his, the other on his shoulder. He is a good dancer, you have to admit - like I have anything else to compare it to. At least, he keeps you afloat, leading you gently but firmly through the second waltz.

And the third.

And the fourth.

By the fifth, you don’t care that your feet are aching in your kitten heels, or that your hair is beginning to come loose from the delicate “ears” your maid braided it into. Because you - you, (Y/N), average 20th century teen from New York - are having a good time. Because this alien king turns out to be quite the conversationalist, though he may be a bit blunt at times. Because you only have two options at this point: stay cool, or freak out, and as much as you'd like to choose the latter, it's a little late for that.

Besides, he really is a good dancer.

“So, um, Your Maje - ”

"Shhh." All at once, he steps forward and pulls you even closer, pressing one finger to his lips. "We mustn't ruin it for the rest of the crowd, don't you think?"

You nod mutely, all too aware of the lack of space between you two. Even through the fabric, his hand is cold on your waist, but not unpleasant. He lets his other hand drift down from your mouth, gently tracing the line of your collarbone until it disappears beneath your sleeve, at which point he simply runs his hand down your arm in one long, slow stroke. It’s done absentmindedly, like he isn’t even aware of the hypnotic effect he has.

You take a step back, blinking away the dizziness. "We’ve been dancing for a while, don’t you think? Maybe we should - "

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, we will commence the unmasking! Partners, please line up across from each other. Men on this side..yes, there we are..."

You look up at him with fear-widened eyes, and he, reading your expression, nods. “Come, I’ll show you.” As you cross to the middle of the dance floor, he leans down to whisper to you, "It's quite simple, really."

“Do we really have to?” you whisper back, eliciting another laugh. You attach yourselves to the end of the line. It actually is pretty simple, as long as you follow his lead - he bows, you curtsy, and that’s basically it. Then, both men and women reach up to carefully untie the strings of their masks in one hand, holding them in place with the other until the official signal is given.

When the masks finally come off, everyone in the ballroom gasps. For the first time since you’ve arrived, you feel everyone’s eyes on you - only this time, their gazes aren’t going anywhere.

#loki #loki x reader #loki/reader #fanfiction #fanfic #loki fanfic #loki fanfiction #loki laufeyson #myriad misadventures #doeeyeddarling #fish fork

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pfenniged · 5 years

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♠ ACE REPRESENTATION MASTERLIST ♠

Sherlock Holmes.

Jughead Jones [in the reboot solo comics -coughcoughthanksriverdale-]

Let’s face it. Mostly everyone’s favourite literary characters are asexuals, but when faced with most asexuals in real life, people tend to get...

Weird.

‘Why don’t you like to go out?’

‘You just haven’t met the right guy.’

#WHYISITANYOFYOURBUSINESS

To be blunt, we lack the representation that other orientations have. For example,I’m twenty-six, and I didn’t have half of the resources/ representation growing up that is available today. Which is why this year, in my twenty-sixth year of life, I am proud to have experienced more asexual media/representation than I ever have before.

Which ALSO is why I knew I needed to make a list for my own health and myself to show that there IS positive representation out there, and show those aces younger than me (and maybe even older than me, if you’ve been struggling with your sexuality or lack thereof as long as I have) that we exist, and we are not simply ‘freaks’ to be judged and chided.

Which is why.

I am proud to present.

THE GIGANTIC HUGE UBER LIST OF ACE RESOURCES [trumpets]

This includes a list of historical asexual/demisexuals, young adult literature/ resource books, cute merchandise, asexual books currently being released in 2019, and additional resources. ♥

( P.S: I also labeled these if they feature any sort of intersectionality, such as POC protagonists, bisexuality/lesbianism, or any intersectional aspects to try to give people the biggest and broadest representation within the asexual field we can.

I also tried to include the literature that had the most positive representations and dispelled as much of the ‘myths’ about being asexual as possible, and presenting us as regular people in a strong powerful light, who just happen to be asexual. Some of these include dispelling myths around ‘YOU JUST HAVE TO TRY IT,’ ‘YOU’RE NOT REALLY QUEER,’ ‘THERE MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOU,’ ‘YOU MUST HAVE EXPERIENCED ABUSE,’ ETC. Anything dealing with dispelling absolutes. For example, I was sexually abused when I was a child, but I now know that even though I could have issues with sexuality due to trauma, my asexuality/ demisexuality is completely separate from my past, and I am proud to come to that conclusion. I hope I can help others to come to that conclusion, too.)

Lastly, I also put my own comments in brackets besides copied book descriptions/ biographies if I had anything else to contribute; hopefully someone besides myself might find this helpful! ♥

Historical Asexuals/ Demisexuals:

Emily Brontë: Emily Brontë was a very private person and as such it’s impossible to be entirely certain of her sexual orientation. Some Brontë scholars believe she died a virgin, never having had physical relationships with men or women. However, most Brontë scholars think that the content of her novels would suggest she may have been asexual, but she was not aromantic.

J.M. Barrie: The man who wrote Peter Pan into existence, was reportedly asexual. His marriage was never consummated and ended in divorce when his wife cheated on him. Because of his relationship with his neighbor children, and the subject matter of his books, some speculated Barrie was prone to pedophilia. Those who knew him closely vehemently deny Barrie ever exhibited such behavior. Instead his lack of sexual relationships was more likely due to his asexuality.

George Bernard Shaw: Renowned playwright George Bernard Shaw was a man far more interested in intellect than sex. He never consummated his marriage (also at the request of his wife, Charlotte Frances Payne-Townshend) and was a virgin until 29. Shaw told friends he appreciated the ability of sex to produce "a celestial flood of emotion and exaltation" but only as it compared to the "conscious intellectual activity" he strove for with his work.

Isaac Newton: Isaac Newton's supposed asexuality is based on his recorded behavior and lifestyle. He had strict religious views, never married, was obsessive in his scientific careers, and supposedly died a virgin. Whether he truly lacked sexual attraction or was simply too immersed in making massive scientific discoveries to have a sex life is unsure.

T.E. Lawrence: Tragically, T.E. Lawrence – a man immortalized in the film Lawrence of Arabia – was sexually assaulted while held prisoner during The Great War. His lack of sexual and romantic relationships in life were mostly attributed to this trauma but some scholars argue he may have been asexual. He had no documented relationships with men or women. Most notably, since it was the turn of the 20th century, Lawrence was known to be non-judgmental of homosexuals. His personal orientation may have motivated his tolerance.

Florence Nightingale: Interestingly, though "the Florence Nightingale effect" is a situation where a caregiver develops an attraction to the patient they are caring for, the effect's namesake, Florence Nightingale, was likely asexual. The famous nurse never married and instead chose to devote her life entirely to her work. She even refused a marriage proposal from a suitor who had been pursuing her for years. Nightingale rarely discussed her personal life and the term “asexual” was not widely used at the time, but asexual activists and scholars strongly suspect she lacked sexual interest.

Nikola Tesla: Nikola Tesla, the revolutionary engineer who was instrumental in the invention of electricity, also lived a life of celibacy typical of asexuals. He showed very little interest in sexual relationships throughout his life, preferring to focus on science. Many asexuals describe their lack of attraction as a blessing allowing them sharp focus. Once again, we have a person who could have been too busy (and brilliant) to focus on relationships, but who's asexuality likely allowed him to be busy (and brilliant). [Fun fact: I am actually related to ol’Nikola. Sometimes it’s nice to even think about someone in my family being asexual, because it makes me feel like we’d both be able to get along together when we get fixed in our little studies, research, and schemes ♥]

Frederic Chopin: Famed composer and pianist Frederic Chopin is supposed to also have been asexual. While he lived with writer George Sand, she noted in her biography that their connection was affectionate without being sexual. She described their affair as “eight years of maternal devotion," also noting, “He seemed to despise the courser side of human nature and...to fear to soil our love by further ecstasy.”Whether Chopin was uninterested in sex, or had reservations about consummating the relationship for other reasons, is unclear. Many scholars believe the famed pianist lacked sexual desire altogether.

John Ruskin: Victorian art critic John Ruskin was known to be particularly uninterested in sex. Though Ruskin was once married, he reportedly showed no interest in getting physical with his wife. Typical of other asexuals on this list, his marriage ended having never been consummated.

Cute Pins/ T-shirts/ Merch Representation:

Ace and Anxious Mug

Asexual Hearts Mug

Ace and Anxious Sweatshirt

Netflix and Actually Chilling Sweatshirt

World’s Okayest Grey Sexual Baseball Shirt

Ace Illuminati Pin

Asexual Flag Pin

Asexual Pride Flag Pin

Asexuality ‘Nope’ T-Shirt

‘Space Ace’ Astronaut Pin

Asexual ‘I Am Valid’ Heart Sticker

LGBTA+ GameBoy Sticker

‘I Put the A in the LGBTA’ Shirt

Young Adult Fiction/ Books about Asexuality:

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann: Alice's last girlfriend, Margo, ended things when Alice confessed she's asexual. Now Alice is sure she's done with dating... and then she meets Takumi. She can't stop thinking about him or the rom-com-grade romance feelings she did not ask for. When her blissful summer takes an unexpected turn and Takumi becomes her knight with a shiny library-employee badge, Alice has to decide if she's willing to risk their friendship for a love that might not be reciprocated-- or understood. [A bisexual POC protagonist; adorable fluffy, easy and sweet read].

All Out: The No-longer-secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages: Take a journey through time and genres and discover a past where queer figures live, love, and shape the world around them. Seventeen of the best young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens. [This features several different types of queer stories, from transexual freedom fighters, but also a very sweet asexual love story set in a seventies roller rink with a POC protagonist].

The Pride Guide: A Guide to Sexual and Social Health for LGBTQ Youth by Jo Lanford: Jo Langford offers a complete guide to sexual and social development, safety, and health for LGBTQ youth and those who love and support them. Written from a practical perspective, the author explores the realities of teen sexuality, particularly that of trans teens, and provides guidance and understanding for parents and kids alike. [Although this is a little rudimentary, I found it a great resource even in my twenties for someone coming out, or to slowly but carefully come out to those who may be uncomfortable or not understand asexuality, or not see it as a valid sexuality or lack thereof].

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Katie Ormsbee: Natasha 'Tash' Zelenka has found herself and her amateur web series plucked from obscurity and thrust in the limelight. And who wouldn't want fame and fortune? But along with the 40,000 new subscribers, the gushing tweets, and flashing Tumblr gifs, comes the pressure to deliver the best web series ever. As Tash struggles to combat the critics and her own doubts, she finds herself butting heads with her family and friends - the ones that helped make her show, Unhappy Families (a modern adaption of Anna Karenina, written by Tash's eternal love Leo Tolstoy), what it is today. And when Unhappy Families is nominated for a prestigious award, Tash's confusing cyber-flirtation with an Internet celeb suddenly has the potential to become something IRL if she can figure out how to tell him that she's a romantic asexual. But her new relationship creates tension with her friend Paul since he thought Tash wasn't interested in relationships ever. All Tash wants to think about is the upcoming award ceremony in Orlando, even though she'll have to face all the friends she steamrolled to get there. But isn't that just the price you pay for success?

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire: The story is set in a boarding school for teenagers who have passed through "doorways" into fantasy worlds only to be evicted back into the real world. It serves as something of a recovery center for boarders who find they no longer fit in, either in the "real" world or their own uncomprehending families. For a fortunate few it is just a way station until they can find their ways back to the worlds they do fit into; for others, it's the least bleak choice in what may be a life-long exile. This unhappy ending for the students takes a terrifying turn when some of their number start turning up dead. A small group joins together in an attempt to expose the person committing these murders before it is too late to save the school, or even themselves.

The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality by Julie Sondra Decker: What if you weren’t sexually attracted to anyone?A growing number of people are identifying as asexual. They aren’t sexually attracted to anyone, and they consider it a sexual orientation—like gay, straight, or bisexual.Asexuality is the invisible orientation. Most people believe that “everyone” wants sex, that “everyone” understands what it means to be attracted to other people, and that “everyone” wants to date and mate. But that’s where asexual people are left out—they don’t find other people sexually attractive, and if and when they say so, they are very rarely treated as though that’s okay.When an asexual person comes out, alarming reactions regularly follow; loved ones fear that an asexual person is sick, or psychologically warped, or suffering from abuse. Critics confront asexual people with accusations of following a fad, hiding homosexuality, or making excuses for romantic failures. And all of this contributes to a discouraging master narrative: there is no such thing as “asexual.” Being an asexual person is a lie or an illness, and it needs to be fixed.In The Invisible Orientation, Julie Sondra Decker outlines what asexuality is, counters misconceptions, provides resources, and puts asexual people’s experiences in context as they move through a very sexualized world. It includes information for asexual people to help understand their orientation and what it means for their relationships, as well as tips and facts for those who want to understand their asexual friends and loved ones [A good beginning place to start if you’re considering your asexuality. Also provides reassurances about the most common stereotypes concerning asexuality].

Young Adult Fiction/ Books about Asexuality Coming Out in 2019:

Switchback by Danika Stone: Vale loves to hike, but kind of hates her classmates. Ash is okay with his classmates, but kind of hates the outdoors. So, needless to say they are both fairly certain that the overnight nature hike with their PE class is going to be a hellish experience. But when they get separated from the group during a storm, they have worse things to worry about than bullies and blisters.Lost in the Canadian wilderness with limited supplies, caught in dangerous weather conditions, and surrounded by deadly wildlife, it's going to take every bit of strength, skill, and luck they can muster to survive.

Not Your Backup (Sidekick Squad #3) by C.B. Lee: Emma Robledo has a few more responsibilities that the usual high school senior, but then again, she and her friends have left school to lead a fractured Resistance movement against a corrupt Heroes League of Heroes. Emma is the only member of a supercharged team without powers, and she isn't always taken seriously. A natural leader, Emma is determined to win this battle, and when that's done, get back to school. As the Resistance moves to challenge the League, Emma realizes where her place is in this fight: at the front. [This is a third in a series, but the main character has recently come out as asexual at the end of the last book].

If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann: Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to her favorite place—Misty Haven and her granny’s diner, Goldeen’s. With her family and ungirlfriend at her side, she has everything she needs for one last perfect summer before starting college in the fall.…until she becomes Misty Haven’s Summer Queen.Newly crowned, Winnie is forced to take center stage at a never-ending list of community royal engagements. Almost immediately, she discovers that she’s deathly afraid of it all: the spotlight, the obligations, and the way her Summer King wears his heart, humor, and honesty on his sleeve.To salvage her summer Winnie must conquer her fears, defy expectations, and be the best Winnie she knows she can be—regardless of what anyone else thinks of her. [Another POC protagonist and promises to be a cute summer read in the vein of Gilmore Girls. Claire Kann’s first book was the adorable ‘Lets Talk About Love’ which reads as an asexual rom-com. This also promises to be absolutely precious.].

Immoral Code by Lillian Clark: Ocean's 8 meets The Breakfast Club in this fast-paced, multi-perspective story about five teens determined to hack into one billionaire absentee father's company to steal tuition money.For Nari, aka Narioka Diane, aka hacker digital alter ego "d0l0s," it's college and then a career at "one of the big ones," like Google or Apple. Keagan, her sweet, sensitive boyfriend, is happy to follow her wherever she may lead. Reese is an ace/aro visual artist with plans to travel the world. Santiago is off to Stanford on a diving scholarship, with very real Olympic hopes. And Bellamy? Physics genius Bellamy is admitted to MIT--but the student loan she'd been counting on is denied when it turns out her estranged father--one Robert Foster--is loaded. Nari isn't about to let her friend's dreams be squashed by a deadbeat billionaire, so she hatches a plan to steal just enough from Foster to allow Bellamy to achieve her goals.

The Last Eight by Laura Pohl: Extinction was just the beginning in this thrilling, post-apocalyptic debut, perfect for fans of The 5th Wave series. Clover Martinez has always been a survivor, which is the reason she isn't among the dead when aliens invade and destroy Earth as she knows it.Clover is convinced she's the only one left until she hears a voice on the radio urging her to go to the former Area 51. When she arrives, she's greeted by a band of misfits who call themselves The Last Teenagers on Earth.Only they aren't the ragtag group of heroes Clover was expecting. The seven strangers seem more interested in pretending the world didn't end than fighting back, and Clover starts to wonder if she was better off alone. But when she finds a hidden spaceship within the walls of the compound, she doesn't know what to believe...or who to trust. [I’ve read there is also aromantic representation in this book too, so helpful for the Aros out there as well ♥]

LGBTA+ Comics with Possible Asexual Representation/ Influence:

Lumberjanes: At Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together…and they’re not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! [I LOVE THESE COMICS SO MUCH I SWEAR THEY’RE SO DAMN CUTE ♥]

The Backstagers: When Jory transfers to the private, all-boys school St. Genesius, he figures joining the stage crew would involve a lot of just fetching props and getting splinters. To his pleasant surprise, he discovers there’s a door backstage that leads to different worlds, and all of the stagehands know about it!All the world’s a stage…but what happens behind the curtain is pure magic!

Check, Please!: Check, Please! is written and drawn by Ngozi Ukazu. Eric Bittle—former Georgia junior figure skating champion, vlogger extraordinaire, and amateur pâtissier—is starting his freshman year playing hockey at the prestigious Samwell University in Samwell, Massachusetts. And it’s basically nothing like co-ed club hockey back in the South. For one? There’s checking.It’s a story about hockey and friendship and bros and trying to find yourself during the best 4 years of your life. [You can also read the cartoons online; it’s actually started by Tumblrite/ Yale Grad who is positively adorbs and I follow her on Instagram and I’m sort of obsessed with her/ it’s about hockey. CANADAAAAAAAA [x]]

And Lastly, Extra Online Resources For Asexuality:

UCLA LGBT Campus Resource Center: Asexuality

The Trevor Project on Asexuality

Campus Pride: Asexuality

The Canadian Centre for Gender Diversity and Awareness

Asexuality needs to be a recognized as its own, unique sexual orientation, Canadian experts say

Asexuality.org

Hopefully this helps! ♥♥♥

#resources #lgbta #lgbt+ community #asexuality #demisexuality #representation #reading #literature #merchandise #masterpost #my resources

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noona-clock · 6 years

Text

Something’s Brewing❄️☕ - Part 8

Genre: Coffee Shop!AU

Pairing: Jungshin x You

By Admin B

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

One week later, Jungshin’s brother dropped you off at the airport far too early in the morning (Jungshin had, of course, paid him by filling up the fridge and pantry before leaving since he would be staying at the house with Simba while you were gone). You were, unsurprisingly, very chipper and eager to go. Jungshin was still waking up.

You checked your bags before heading to your gate, and with about an hour to kill, you fished your Kindle out of your bag and began to read.

“What’re you reading?” Jungshin murmured, leaning his head on your shoulder and closing his eyes.

“It’s called Manhunt. It’s about the search for John Wilkes Booth right after he assassinated Lincoln.”

“Mm, cool.”

“I’ll wake you up when it’s time to board,” you whispered, kissing his forehead.

“Thanks.”

You felt the exact moment when Jungshin fell asleep; his head got a bit heavier on your shoulder, and then a few moments later, he started breathing more deeply. You smiled to yourself, reaching over and very gently resting a hand on his thigh.

Ugh, you just loved him so much. You were so freaking excited about this trip.

When the flight attendant came over the loudspeaker to announce it was time to board, you put your Kindle away then reached over to pat Jungshin’s cheek.

“Jungshin,” you whispered.

His brow furrowed, but his eyes stayed closed. “Hmm?”

“It’s time to get on the plane, honey.” You kissed his nose, kind of forgetting there were people around.

He let out a sigh, sitting up a little. “Okay,” he croaked.

You boarded not too much longer after that, finding your seats and putting your carry-on bags up in the overhead compartment. Jungshin, ever the gentleman, allowed you to sit in the window seat. He really didn’t care about sitting next to a stranger, and he could always lean over you if he wanted to see the view.

Once you were seated and buckled, Jungshin slid down in his seat so he could lower his head onto your shoulder again.

“Awww,” you chuckled softly, bringing a hand up to pat his cheek. “Sleepy baby.”

Jungshin reached up and took your hand, linking his fingers through yours and holding it in his lap. This made it difficult for you to put in your earbuds and listen to music, but did you move your hand away? Absolutely not.

The plane took off without any delays, thankfully, and you were on your way to New York in no time.

The flight was a little less than two hours long, which was honestly the perfect amount of time for you. You weren’t terrified of flying, but you didn’t enjoy it, either. You listened to your music the whole time to help keep you relaxed, and holding Jungshin’s hand helped, too (even though he was asleep for all two hours).

Of course, when it came time to do your skincare, holding his hand wasn’t very helpful. But, again, did you move your hand away? Absolutely not.

When you finally landed, you put your free arm across Jungshin’s chest to keep him from falling forward. He woke up immediately, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

You took one earbud out, smiling over at him. “Morning,” you said softly. “We have arrived.”

“Really?” he murmured, sitting up straight and looking out the window. You were, indeed, back on the ground. Not that he’d been awake when you’d left the ground, but he trusted you.

“How was the flight?” he asked, stretching out his arms as well as he could.

“Not too bad, actually.”

“What’d you do? Did you get any sleep?”

“No, I just listened to music and had my own little spa.”

“Say what now?”

“I did a sheet mask and put on some heavy duty moisturizer. My skin always gets so dry after flying, so I learned to bring some skincare with me and do it on the plane.”

“Can’t wait to see that on the way home.”

“Hey, you can use some if you’d like. Not that you need it. Your skin is amazing.”

“Is it?”

“Um, yeah. Trust me, it is.”

“Hmm. Well, thanks, I guess.”

You slowly got off the plane after getting your bags back down, and picking up your checked luggage proved to go no more quickly. All in all, the whole process, from landing in the airplane to getting a taxi outside the airport, took almost an hour.

Finally, around 1pm, your taxi arrived at The Library Hotel. You had been excited before, but now you were truly in a state of heightened anticipation. You followed Jungshin inside, wheeling your suitcase behind you, and standing next to him at the front desk. You marveled at the lobby, itching to explore the rest of the hotel and especially to see your room.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Lee,” the hotel clerk smiled after Jungshin had handed him his driver’s license. “Your room is ready, so let me get your keys… You’ll be on the 9th floor as you requested, room 900.001.”

“Thank you very much,” Jungshin smiled, taking the keys as the clerk handed them to him.

“Ninth floor?” you asked as you headed toward the elevator. “You requested? Which topic is on the ninth floor?”

“You are so impatient, you know that?”

“Yes.”

“The ninth floor,” he said once the elevator doors had closed behind you. “Is the history floor.”

“Really?!” you gasped, smiling.

“Of course. I wouldn’t let you stay on any other floor.”

“Have I said ‘thank you’ for this trip yet?” You knew you had, at least ten times, but you couldn’t help yourself from saying it again.

“Yes,” he laughed, leaning in to kiss you quickly before the elevator doors opened again.

You found your room easily enough, and Jungshin slid the key into the key slot.

“M’lady,” he said, opening the door and holding it open for you. “Your royal suite awaits.

You entered, biting your lip to keep from smiling like an idiot - though you were fairly sure you were failing miserably. You found the bookshelf by the bed, immediately heading there to see what kind of books were there.

“Ooh, World War I, World War II, the Civil Rights movement… This must be the 20th Century room.”

“I wasn’t sure which one you wanted, and there was no specific American History room…”

“No, this is perfect,” you assured him. “I am not going to complain about anything on this trip. I’m just so thankful you’re taking me.”

Jungshin came up behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and resting his chin on your shoulder.

“You deserve it, my love.”

You turned around in his embrace, sliding your arms around his neck. “I don’t deserve any of this, especially you, but I don’t care at this point. I’m just rolling with it.”

“Will you stop saying stuff like that?” He squeezed your waist, frowning down at you. “It’s not true!”

“Okay, sorry. I will, I promise.”

“You owe me a kiss.”

“Yes, sir.” You stood on your toes, tightening your hold on his neck and pressing your lips to his. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Are you as starving as I am?”

“Oh, no doubt about it. There’s a burger place over at Bryant Park not too far from here. Also, a sushi place if you’re feeling sushi.”

“Sushi sounds amazing, actually.”

You fished your favorite pink baseball cap and your glasses out of your bag before you left; you hadn’t put on makeup and was now too lazy to even bother. So a hat and glasses it was.

Your first afternoon/evening went as well as you could’ve hoped; your sushi was amazing, and since the restaurant was so close to the New York Public Library, you popped in to have a look around.

Jungshin took quite a few pictures, mostly candids without your knowledge, but he did have you pose on the steps of the library, and you took a couple selfies. You also usurped his camera and took some pictures of him, too. New York City was just the perfect backdrop for pictures.

After spending at least an hour in the library, you headed down Fifth Avenue to do some shopping.

One thing you really loved about Jungshin was that he actually liked shopping. He didn’t get bored when you went into a store, and he gave his honest opinions about things you picked out.

You hit up Zara, Urban Outfitters, Barnes & Nobles, and finally H&M, refraining yourself from doing any major damage. You were here for an entire week, after all, and it was only the very first evening.

On the way back from your mini-shopping binge, you passed a sandwich shop called ‘Wichcraft, and you decided the name was too clever to pass up. It was already dinner time, too, so it really was perfect.

With stomachs full of sandwiches, you and Jungshin headed back down Fifth Avenue toward your hotel. You were both fairly exhausted from your flight and your afternoon excursions here in the city, so an evening spent cuddling in bed sounded more than delightful right about now.

You arrived at your hotel, put your shopping bags away, got ready for the night...and then promptly fell onto the bed.

“Well, I would say we made good use of our time today,” you said, yawning.

“I would agree. Two good meals, a historic landmark, and shopping? We’re basically pros at this tourist thing now.”

“We are!” you laughed, rolling onto your side to face him. “I can but also can’t believe this is our first trip together.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mm,” you nodded. “I can believe it because we haven’t been anywhere else. But I can’t because it feels like we’ve been together forever.”

“And yet it’s only been six months.”

“Right?! Crazy.”

After you talked a little more, you begged him to get out his laptop and upload the photos he’d taken. You wanted to share one of you at the library on Instagram.

You had, of course, been posting a lot to your Instagram story, as had Jungshin, but the pictures Jungshin had taken looked so good.

You picked one of the candids you didn’t hate (one of you putting a book back on the shelf) and had him AirDrop it to your phone. Once you had added all the filters and adjusted all the settings to your liking, you typed out your caption.

You chuckled as you wrote, hiding your phone from Jungshin and telling him he’d have to wait until you finished, just like everyone else.

Finally, you pressed the ‘share’ button, causing the notifications to pop up on Jungshin’s phone.

yourusername just shared a post

yourusername just mentioned you in a comment

He immediately liked the picture, as usual, before reading the caption.

yourusername Observe! A rare sighting of a pink-headed Y/N in her natural habitat. #thatbooknerdlife #belleismyspiritguide @nypl | Photo by @leejungshin91

“How do you come up with captions like that?” he asked, chuckling.

“Who knows where thoughts come from? They just appear.”

You got a notification then, picking up your phone to see Taylor had left a comment.

cnbluefan This is so cute!!! @leejungshin91 is such a talented photographer. I’m already loving following along with you guys! Makes me want to visit New York! Can’t wait to see more pictures and posts on your stories. P.s. your captions are the best 😂

You read it out loud to Jungshin, and he knew right away he had to reply!

leejungshin91 @cnbluefan I literally just asked her how she comes up with these captions!! 😂🤔 also thanks for the compliment 🙏

Jungshin posted his own picture of him walking up ahead of the camera, the busy streets and buildings providing a nice backdrop. He couldn’t think of a caption so he simply put

leejungshin91 🏃🏙 #nyc

📸 by @yourusername

You put your phones away then, and you picked out a book on the Kennedy assassination from the bookshelf by your bed.

“It’s story time,” you smirked, lifting up the covers and snuggling under.

Jungshin chuckled, rolling his eyes a little as he cuddled up to you. He, of course, fell asleep as you were reading, but you really didn’t expect anything different.

The next morning, you awoke around 7. You’d woken up a few times already, but it had been too early for you to justify actually getting up. Now, you started to slip out of bed to take a quick shower, hoping not to wake up Jungshin.

You didn’t even manage to set one foot on the floor before your plan was destroyed. His arm was laying across your middle, and when you sat up, he let out a sleepy groan and tightened his hold on you. Letting out a sigh, you laid back down, turning to face him.

“I need to take a shower,” you whispered, even though you knew he wasn’t fully awake.

“Mm,” he hummed, his brow furrowed.

God, he was so cute, what were you supposed to do?

...Well. You could think of one thing.

You scooted closer, your noses brushing, and you gently placed your lips on his. You let one hand roam down his chest until it got to the hem of his t-shirt, your fingers slipping underneath. You needed to take a shower anyway, and he needed to wake up, so…

You continued to kiss him, managing to push him onto his back so you could straddle his hips. When you took his hands and put them on your thighs, you finally felt him stir.

“Good morning,” you murmured against his lips before tugging at his lower lip with your teeth. He groaned softly, just barely kissing you back. You moved your hands back to the hem of his shirt, lifting it up and eventually getting it over his head.

“What’re you doing?” he muttered, his voice thick with sleep.

You bent over him, placing your lips on his bare shoulder then moving them down to his chest. “Kissing you,” you answered, your lips brushing against his skin.

“But it’s so early.”

“Okay, I’ll stop.” You sat back up and moved to get off him, but his hands - still on your thighs - tightened their grip.

“I wasn’t complaining. Just stating a fact.” His eyes were fully open now, and his fingers danced their way up your thigh, playing with the hem of your pajama shorts.

“So, I can continue kissing you?” you asked, innocently twirling the drawstring from his pants around your finger.

“Please do.”

You resumed kissing his chest and shoulders, but that only lasted for about thirty seconds before Jungshin flipped you over onto your back and had his way with you…

Over an hour later, you and Jungshin were on the hunt for a good breakfast spot. You were both wide awake and feeling refreshed after a shower, and you were feeling particularly good about your outfit and makeup today. You were just wearing a plain white t-shirt with a light leather jacket, ripped jeans and your white Converse, but you felt so chic for some reason.

Maybe it was your purple lipstick. Come to think of it, it probably was. Purple lipstick always made you feel just a bit more confident.

After finding a quaint coffee shop not too far away and feasting on croissants and hot, caffeinated beverages, you started on your adventures for the day.

Today was art museum day; you had plans to visit The Met and MoMA, and if you had time later, The Whitney. You had found some cool-sounding restaurants for lunch and dinner, and any and everywhere you went was sure to be picture and Instagram worthy.

As far as first days of a trip go, this one was pretty perfect. You walked all the way up to the Upper East Side, strolling along the edge of Central Park before arriving at The Met.

You admired all kinds of historic art, and the place was so huge you spent over two hours there.

As you headed back down to MoMA, you decided to walk through Central Park to take some pictures. You spent quite a bit more time there than expected what with all the beautiful scenery and opportunities for pictures (plus, you’d had to trek over to the other side of the park to see the John Lennon memorial), and by the time you were headed to MoMA, both of you were absolutely starving.

You checked your phone and saw one of the places you’d found earlier, PizzArte, was just around the corner. Everything sounded good to you right now, but pizza sounded especially good, so it wasn’t a tough decision to make.

As you ate, you looked up all the musicals and plays currently on Broadway, hoping you could get tickets for something tomorrow afternoon or evening.

“OOH, Anastasia!!!!” you cried when you saw it on the list.

“Like the cartoon movie?”

“YEAH! I forgot that already opened! Can we go see that, please?!”

“Whatever you want to see, we will see,” he assured you, winking.

“Well, except Hamilton. Tickets aren’t available until November, I checked.”

“But we’ll still go see the theater.”

“Right! Excited about that! Okay, let’s look at tickets…” You found some fairly good seats for relatively cheap, so you bought them quickly.

And you consequently spent the next few hours being way too excited about it. Including when you were in MoMA. You admired the art respectfully, of course, but every so often you would tug on Jungshin’s sleeve and whisper ‘We’re going to see Anastasia tomorrow.’

When you exited your second art museum of the day, you decided to make your way back to your hotel for a breather. You still had plans to visit one more art museum down on the other side of town, so you needed to recharge before heading out for the evening.

As you were resting up in your hotel room, you obviously took the opportunity to go through all the pictures you’d taken and post your favorites on Instagram. You chose one you had taken of Jungshin at the pizza place as well as two of your favorite pieces of art from the museums and a selfie of the two of you in Central Park.

yourusername Day ☝ in NYC: Pizza ✅ Art museums ✅ Central Park ✅ Good times ✅

Jungshin decided to save his Instagram post for later, opting instead to call one of his assistant managers at The Grind to see how things were going. He ended up talking to him for a while, and if you weren’t back at the hotel doing nothing, you would’ve been kind of annoyed. He was supposed to be on vacation, after all. But you weren’t doing anything important, so it really wasn’t a huge deal.

Once you felt fully (well, almost fully) rested, and your phone and camera batteries were all charged, you headed to the nearest Subway station to make your way toward Greenwich Village where the Whitney was located. You were also looking forward to going to Chelsea Market since it’s where all the Food Network studios were, and Jungshin was excited to walk along the High Line and take more pictures.

Since The Whitney was open until 10pm on Saturdays, you decided to hit up the High Line while it was still light outside. You were a little disappointed to find it was just a glorified sidewalk, but Jungshin had too much fun taking pictures with the greenery and the buildings. He was so cute and happy, you forgot you’d even been disappointed in the first place.

Dinner was next on the schedule, and Chelsea Market did not disappoint. You had Asian inspired tacos and marveled at the warehouse aesthetic of the building. There was even a spot with pretty fairy lights hung on the wall that was the perfect background for a picture.

Jungshin forced you to stand in front of it, telling you what to do and how to pose since you really had no idea. You basically had your own little photo shoot right there, but the pictures turned out awesome, so… Totally worth the public embarrassment.

You eventually headed toward The Whitney (though you made a quick stop in a Sephora on the way there because -- Sephora), taking in the sights and sounds of Greenwich Village on the way. The Whitney was definitely one of the “cooler” museums; smaller and in a more hipster location while also featuring lesser-known modern artists. But it was just as awe-inspiring as The Met and MoMA, and you were glad the two of you had made time to visit.

You hopped back on the Subway after exiting the museum, heading up toward your hotel in Midtown. It wasn’t quite dark outside yet, but you’d had a full day and were both ready to settle in for the night.

Jungshin, of course, uploaded all his pictures from his camera as soon as you got back into your room. He was extremely pleased with how they’d come out, and he honestly had a hard time picking which one(s) to post. He knew he could post more later as some #TBTs, but still.

After much debate and some input from the model (a.k.a you), he decided on posting two pictures from the fairy lights room in Chelsea Market. They were two very similar pictures: close-ups of you, except one was a more casual pose, one hand on your hair by your ear and your eyes downcast as one side of your mouth pulled up ever so slightly in a half smile-half smirk, while the other was one of you genuinely laughing. You’d been laughing at yourself, of course, but for all anyone else knew, you were laughing at something funny Jungshin had said.

He edited the pictures to make both your lipstick and the fairy lights behind you pop before uploading them to Instagram.

leejungshin91 When you find a girl who puts up with your photography obsession (and who just so happens to look stunning on camera) 👌😍💜 @chelseamarketny

You just rolled your eyes when you read the caption, fighting off a blush. “Whatever,” you murmured.

“What do you mean ‘whatever’?” Jungshin exclaimed, tackling you back onto the bed. He kept you pinned there until you admitted you were pretty and photogenic which didn’t take long once he started tickling you.

You were able to free yourself after quite the struggle, darting into the bathroom and locking the door so you could get ready for bed. When you emerged, you went to your suitcase and grabbed your laptop and earbuds, bringing them with you to the bed.

“What’s that?” Jungshin asked, eyes wide and brow furrowed.

“...My laptop?”

“Why do you need your laptop?”

“Because I want to catch up on my YouTube subscriptions.” It had been a couple days, and you were sure you had more than a few conspiracy theory videos and makeup tutorials to watch.

“But… I wanted to cuddle.”

“I can cuddle and watch YouTube at the same time! It’s called multitasking.”

“Okay,” he sighed, lifting up the covers for you. You snuggled in, plugging in your earbuds, only sticking one in your ear on the opposite side of Jungshin.

You propped your head and shoulders up against your pillow, Jungshin lying down beside you, resting his head on your arm and his own arm across your stomach.

He tried nuzzling your neck, caressing your side with his thumb, wrapping his leg over yours, but your focus never wavered from your videos. Finally, he tilted his head and started kissing your jaw, savoring the feel of your skin against his lips. You simply brought a hand up to cover his face, though you did say ‘I love you’ very sweetly.

Obviously, he was getting nowhere, so he decided to just look at his phone until he got sleepy. He knew not every night had to be fun, but still. He couldn’t help but be a tiny, teeny bit bummed.

Tomorrow was a new day, however, and you had talked about doing typical tourist things - Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Ground Zero, and the like. He was quite looking forward to it.

Even though You and Jungshin didn’t get the next morning started off in exactly the same way as the previous one, it still turned out to be an extremely enjoyable day.

You did end up being the epitome of NYC tourists, complete with ending the night seeing a Broadway show - which was fantastic, by the way. You kept grabbing onto Jungshin’s arm because you loved this movie growing up, and seeing it on stage was a bit emotional for you.

You decided to walk back to your hotel after the show since it really wasn’t that far, and the night was beautiful. If only you could see the stars; then it would be perfect.

“So, what was your favorite part of day two?” you asked as you waited to cross a street, clinging onto Jungshin’s hand and arm.

“Hmmm… I really enjoyed the Empire State building,” he said, though he looked like he was still thinking. “Ellis Island was really cool, too, though. ...Yeah, I think I liked those two the best. OH, I also really liked where we went for lunch.”

“George’s! Yeah, that was delicious.”

“What about you? What was your favorite part?”

“Anastasia,” you replied immediately as you started to walk across the street.

“I figured,” he chuckled, glancing over at you. “It was really good.”

“I would like to see at least one more while we’re here,” you said, furrowing your brow as you tried to remember which shows were playing. Besides Hamilton.

“We can look tonight and see what we can find.”

“Okay!” You squeezed his hand, skipping a little bit in excitement.

“You’ve been in a really good mood since we got here,” he pointed out, smiling.

“Well, yeah. I’m here with you doing all this fun stuff. How could I be in a bad mood?”

“You’ve got a point.”

You tugged on his hand, pulling him closer to you and kissing him quickly as you walked. “I love you,” you said softly.

“I love you more.”

“Oh, god. NO. We are not starting that again.”

“Sorry! Sorry, I won’t, I promise.”

When you got back to the hotel, you looked up the other shows on Broadway, finally deciding to see School of Rock on Tuesday night. You were both a big fan of the movie, so it had been an easy decision.

“You sure you won’t tell me what we’re doing tomorrow?” you asked again, trying to look extra cute and adorable to try and break him down.

“I’m sure,” Jungshin replied for the seventeenth time. “We’re doing it early on in the day, so you don’t have to wait too much longer.”

If you couldn’t coerce him by being cute, maybe you could go the other way on the scale.

You closed the lid of his laptop, moving it to the side table before you straddled his hips. “There’s something else I don’t want to wait for…” you said softly, brushing your lips against his.

“I’m still not telling you.”

“Damn it!”

“But I will gladly take what you were about to offer.”

“You can wait.” You moved off him, getting under the covers and lying down facing away from him.

He simply shook his head, smirking to himself before settling under the covers, too.

The next morning, you didn’t wake up until 8 (though you did wake up a couple times during the night). You were still the first one awake, though, and since Jungshin wasn’t cuddling you at the moment, you were able to get out of bed and take a shower without disturbing him.

Jungshin woke up not long afterward, turning his head to see the bed was already empty save for him. He could hear the shower running in the bathroom, and he entertained the idea of going in there to join you… But then he thought better of it. He would probably end up telling you all the surprises he had left in the trip, and that would be no bueno.

Instead, he got out his phone and waited for you to emerge. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long, because right after he pulled up Instagram he heard the water turn off. The door opened a couple minutes later, and Jungshin glanced up from his phone to smile at you.

“Morning, sunshine.” It was the first time he’d spoken, so his voice still sounded a bit groggy.

“Morning!” You replied, “How’d you sleep?”

He watched as you sat down at the desk near the foot of the bed to do your makeup, admiring your outfit - a striped shirt, black ripped jeans, and a light wash jean jacket. “Same way I always do,” he replied. “What about you? Did you wake up at all?”

“Yeah, a couple times. Around 1 and 4, I think.”

“You know you can always wake me up if you need to. If you need me to scratch your back or something.”

“I did think about it, honestly, but you were totally knocked out. You looked so cute.”

Jungshin blushed, finally getting out of bed to go brush his teeth and get changed. “No, really, you can wake me up. I’m not grumpy when I wake up.”

“You’re right, you’re not. Huh. I never really noticed that.”

“I’m not really a morning person, but I’m not grumpy in the mornings, either.”

You did your makeup while Jungshin got ready, putting on everything you normally did. But when you got to your lipstick, you were stuck.

“What do you think, babe?” you asked, taking out a red lipstick and a pink lipstick. “Red or pink?”

Jungshin came up behind you, resting his hands on the back of your chair. “Definitely red. Red and black is a classic combo.”

“Red it is.” You put the pink lipstick away then opened the red, leaning in toward the mirror and applying it carefully.

“You look really good today,” he said, looking at you in the mirror.

“Aw, thanks.”

“I mean, you look good all the time. But today you just look… There’s something about that outfit. And the red lipstick is the perfect touch.”

“I feel like guys always like red lipstick,” You pointed out, standing up and turning toward him. “Usually when I wear it, a guy will comment on my makeup. And that never happens.”

“Guys are weird.”

“I know, right?”

You headed out once you grabbed your purse, planning on going to another nearby coffee shop for breakfast.

“So,” Jungshin began when you left the shop with your pastries and drinks. “We need to be at The Battery by 11.”

“The Battery by 11. Okay.” You immediately started trying to figure out what you could be doing, but you had no idea. You figured it was probably a tour since you had to be there by a certain time.

“The Battery is down near where we were yesterday, down by where we got on the boat for Ellis Island and stuff. So, let’s head down there now, and I’m sure we can find stuff to do while we wait.”

“Sounds like a plan, my man.”

You went back to the same Subway station as yesterday, following the same route you took previously. You looked up what else you could do, and you gasped when you saw the National Archives were across the street.

“Yes, we can go.”

“You are literally the best boyfriend in the whole entire universe, I’m not even joking.”

He chuckled, blushing a little bit as he reached over to pat your knee. “You do tell good jokes, though, just for the record.”

When you arrived down in the Financial District, you headed right to the National Archives. You were so in your element, it wasn’t even funny. You even got into a conversation with an employee there which Jungshin had never witnessed before - you willingly talking to a stranger, that is.

Jungshin noticed when it was 10:30, and he tried to tell you it was time to leave as delicately as he could. But he knew you wouldn’t be disappointed when you reached your final destination.

“Will you tell me what we’re doing now?” you asked once you were outside and headed toward Battery Park.

There really wasn’t any more time to keep it a secret, was there? He took your hand, biting back a smile. “We are going on a tour called ‘Hamilton’s Wall Street.’”

“As in... Alexander?”

“That’s the one. We’ll get to see important places on Wall Street and around this area and hear about what he did.”

“Nuh uh, that is so cool!” You squeezed his hand, jumping up and down a little as you walked.

You were enraptured the moment the tour started, hanging on the tour guide’s every word. And when he asked a question about something - anything - you always knew the answer. You quickly gained the reputation of being the nerdy smarty pants in your tour group, and Jungshin was so proud.

You talked a while at The Battery before moving on to Federal Hall and Trinity Church. The tour ended at Fraunces Tavern, a place Hamilton apparently frequented, where you ended up just staying for lunch. Once the tour guide left and you and Jungshin were sitting at your table to eat, you reached over to take his hand.

“That was unbelievable,” you said, smiling widely. “Thank you so much for doing that.”

“I thought you would like it.”

“No, I didn’t like it.”

“You loved it.”

You just smiled again, nodding your head once as you tangled your feet with his underneath the table.

Once you finished lunch they headed toward the Brooklyn Bridge, one of your favorite things in all of New York. On the other side, you headed toward Brooklyn Bridge Park and decided to just relax and take it easy. You still had three more full days left in the city; plenty of time left to be busy. Now it was time to slow down and live in the moment.

You didn’t take your phones out, Jungshin barely took any pictures. You simply walked, talked, sat, admired the scenery, and enjoyed each other’s company.

That is, until you got hungry. You whipped out your phone then, finding a Polish diner nearby with really good reviews.

After feasting on kielbasa and pierogis, you figured out a Subway route to get back to your hotel and hopped on the next train heading midtown to settle in for the night.

Your trip was just about halfway over now, and you could safely say it was one of the best vacations you’d ever been on.

You couldn’t wait to see what the next few days had in store.

Part 9

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fictionfromgames · 5 years

Text

Book of Void fluff (ATLA/LOK)

Weiyong did his best not to blink or stare into the flashes as dozens of bulbs went off in front of him. Journalists crowded along the path, jockeying for the best angle as world leaders or their notable subordinates made their way through.

“Avatar.”

Fire Lord Oshi’s voice called behind him, snapping Weiyong out of his thoughts.

“Fire Lord Oshi,” he quickly turned and bowed, “How have you been?”

As he righted himself, Weiyong saw two new additions to the young man’s face, slashlike tattoos starting at the jaw below his ears and sweeping up to his cheeks, ending parallel to his eyes.

“I’ve been alright,” Oshi gestured with one hand, “Kinda been on a ‘spiritual retreat’ in the boondocks.”

“Well it looks good, kid,” the Avatar smiled. The Fire Sages in tow, however, frowned.

“Or uh, your highness.”

The reporters flocked as they met, prompting the two to pose congenially. He hadn’t seen Oshi in a few years, basically before adulthood, and even though they regularly corresponded, Weiyong realized he really missed his young friend. They clasped hands and nodded toward the lenses.

“Hey, do you wanna watch from my box?” Oshi inquired, still looking out into the crowd.

“Dunno if it’s the diplomatic thing to do or not, but yeah, I’d like that,” the middle aged Avatar replied.

“It’s not like Kamala’s gonna mind, right?” Oshi was done posing, ready to move on.

So he’d noticed too. The distinctive lack of yellow robes meant a political protest from the Air Nomads. Weiyong frowned. They’d been issuing requests and pleas to stop the launch of Tenshin 1, but to no avail. The overwhelming response from the United Republic, as well as the telecom giants across the world, was that it needed to go up. The world was struggling for another technological surge on the level of Old Republic City, and instant global communication was seen as one of the keys to moving forward. Everyone but Kamala and the Air Nomads had seemed eager. Weiyong had mostly wished they were there in an act of solidarity.

“Sir?” an OWL agent looked to him.

“Oh, sorry, uh, yeah, I’d like to spend a little while with the Fire Lord, if that’s manageable.”

The White Lotus agent mumbled into his radio and issued a curt nod.

One of the Fire Sages had to stand, but for the Avatar, it was an easy deference. It was a little crowded due to the teams of security, but they all fit.

“How’s things back home?” Weiyong asked.

“Eh, same as when I was out and about,” Oshi waved, “Still kinda seeing some problematic employment numbers, but crime is at least not increasing. More reports of Void Spirits, but they don’t really bother anyone.”

“You know I’ve still never seen one?” Weiyong’s brow creased.

“Really? I’ve had one visit anytime I’m studying,” the Fire Lord looked surprised, “You’d think spirits would feel pretty comfortable around the Avatar.”

“Maybe the airbenders are right and something’s off about ‘em,” the elder man suggested.

“They’re harmless as far as I’ve seen,” Oshi shrugged, “I just figure if there’s anyone to be curious about, it’s you.”

“I’m not that interesting.”

*******

More stuff

Intelligence Agencies

The Office of the White Lotus retains its status as an international entity, and offers a Secret Service type force for the Avatar. As a subset of the United Republic, they struggle to stay ahead of the game, having discovered moles from various nation states around the globe. Their strengths rely more on chi blocking, technology, and public relations than on spy games, which means their efforts are more reactionary and investigative than anything.

The Dai Li forms an overarching network of spies, drawn from individual agents from every former Earth Kingdom state. From police, to military officials, to scholars and a few politicians, they form a covert group that manipulates each of the independent states at the highest levels, often instigating border wars to maintain the facade that the Earth States are definitely their own thing and not another rehash of the old monarchies. Effectively, the shadow government that secretly unites them.

The Fire Nation is fairly adept with their own. The Order of the Blue Spirit is an organization that was formed by the Fire Sages that began as an informal group of vigilantes aimed at eradicating nationalist factions dedicated to Fire Lords from the Hundred Years War. They have thus remained removed from the attention of the Fire Lord, and later the Ministry as a way to ensure a power hungry figurehead couldn’t repeat the travesties of the past.

Lately, however, they’ve taken on more subversive roles, both as spies and secret police. Abroad, they clash with the OWL and Dai Li to further Fire Nation economic interests, as the situation at home is getting more precarious. Strike breaking has been one function that has been gaining traction, as society decides what a “functioning modern economy” actually means.

Fire Lord Oshi

Mid twenties, a little less serious than is expected, Oshi came to prominence when traveling with the Avatar. Then Prince Oshi was an endearing, younger brother figure to Weiyong, who as mentioned kept in touch ever since.

Oshi has actually met Blue Spirit agents on these adventures, but neither he nor the Avatar managed to correctly identify them with the group itself.

The scars on his cheeks are gifts of the Sun Warriors, who he studied under for about half a year, in order to understand them in a more personal way than the clinical reports he’d receive from the department tasked with their protection. He met a potentially serious love interest whom he intends to return to, and was accepted as warrior in their tribe.

Master Kamala

Head of the Air Nomads, with degrees in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Kamala is deeply immersed in the science and spirituality of space. An earlier ally of Weiyong, they often differed on priorities, but are longtime friends, and helped shape the goals of Avatar’s Peak. Now a world class scientist, Kamala has actually laid the theoretical groundwork for the satellite program, which would have been fine, until the appearance of the Void Spirits.

For whatever reason, no one listens to airbenders.

Void Spirits

Inspired by the “Mormnock” entry in the Legend of the Elements book, Void Spirits are vaguely humanoid blob spirits who seem to observe and sometimes mimic a lone individual’s habits. They disappear or generally flee when confronted, or even merely observed directly by the target of their interest, and have caused curiosity rather than harm.

Air Nomads are extremely wary of these visitors, as they seem to perturb other spirits, and have an unearthly aura about them. To draw on mid 20th century mass UFO sightings, Air Nomads (and other very spiritually attuned humans) have started speaking out, claiming they’re not from "our”world, or even what we know of the Spirit World-- they’re from space! As such, they don’t vibe with more terrestrially based spirits, don’t understand bending as we do, and are generally curious about what we’re doing here. They have avoided the Avatar entirely, as a beacon of Earth’s spiritual and material forces.

The way I envisioned them arriving is via spirit/electromagnetic phenomena, like the “Spirit Roads” or “northern lights” were in Book 2 of Korra, and that the Air Nomads would see humanity’s reach into space as a potential avenue for these beings we don’t really comprehend. You can flip the script on the Air Nomads as well, saying that their astronomical research and spiritual grasp into the void is equally or more likely for the attention of these visitors. In any case, magical interplanetary travel is an easy way to introduce aliens as opposed to the regular tech based sci fi, and I feel is a bit more in tune with the setting.

If you’d like to use them as Book level antagonists, this could be the “apocalyptic event” that so many ATLA futurists envision for the setting. Void Spirits on both the “street” and “kaiju” levels would probably decimate humanity unless it were united against it, and even if they were, who would be left to pick up the pieces? For giant monster battles, the Deep Spirits could probably be roused in defense of the Earth, because even if they despise what humanity is doing, look at these freaks and what THEY’RE doing, right?

Weiyong and building an Avatar

RAW, multi-bending characters can happen, even willy nilly. You could easily make a tri-bending antagonist if you like, but the way to get all four elements is one of two ways-- switch Playbooks and take new moves from there (a bare minimum of 5 Improvements and 1 Advanced Improvement), or find a Master Shaper character to teach you the basic Moves.

I feel like this doesn’t gel so much with the Avatars we’ve seen, who could kind of figure some small things out themselves, especially Korra, who was bending everything but air as a small child. So for brand new, 0 Improvement Avatars, I suggest the following:

Pick one Shaper Playbook, and have the other three elemental Moves available to use, but the three others all roll at a strict -1 until they either take the appropriate Move or learn it from a Master, at which point they roll from their typical stats.

The Avatar State is a bit different in the mechanics too, having to build up a unique stat AFTER having accessed the Worldshaper sub-Playbook and purchasing the Move. I say, give ‘em the move, but stick to the fact that they have to wage peace to gain Spirit in order to use it.

For those who haven’t read Legend of the Elements, basically the Avatar Move gives that character a sixth stat, Spirit, and it starts at 0 and can even drop to -1, because the game punishes the Avatar for committing soulless wanton violence. I love that, and see that as fitting given the fact that Raava is the other half of the Avatar spirit. When you enter the State, you use Spirit as the stat for every bending roll, regardless of the element, which I also really enjoy, because it can get up to +3, and it means that whatever your character wasn’t so great at before is rightfully ignored by the power of the Avatar State, even as a brand new character.

It also means that the Avatar themselves has to play peacekeeper more often, so it’s not a character for people who want straight up bending wars. You can be more lenient in cases of constant unavoidable conflict, giving the Avatar kudos for at least trying, or for other reasons entirely, such as in a Void Spirit induced apocalypse and a need for a more active Avatar. It’s up to you and your players to determine how often this is necessary or fun.

Weiyong Character Sheet

Natural +1 Hot +1 Solid +2 Keen 0 Fluid +1 Spirit +2

Moves

Earthshaping Metalshaping Airshaping Fireshaping Watershaping Iceshaping Astral Projection

Sub-Playbook moves Lavashaping Chosen of the World Spirit Sealed

Fortune 2

#original content #avatar #atla #legend of korra #lok #avatar the last airbender #avatar rpg #avatar the last airbender rpg #legend of korra rpg #legend of the elements #fluff #rpg fluff #worldbuilding

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sickdaysofficial · 6 years

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Love Like Ours

Sickdays Aug 17th: Public Illness

Written by @empresskaze

Tags: headache, overworked, dizziness, migraine, illness, whump, sick fic

Characters: My OCs Liam and Gabriel

~~~~

Love Like Ours

“The uprisings in Russia in the first half of the 20th century, most notably the revolution of peasant farmers uprising against their feudal lords, whose land they toiled, greatly tied into the events of Orwell’s Animal Farm. He used animals as an allegory to retell the end of feudalism, however the use of the pigs…

Gabriel paused a brief wave of dizziness engulfed him; hand tightly gripped the back of the chair. His vision blurred slightly a few quick blinks the room came back into focus.

Heaving a heavy sigh Gabriel massaged his forehead wishing the Advil he’d taken earlier curbed his throbbing headache.

“Professor?” A girl’s voice broke the silence. Gabriel glanced up to the faces of his students staring back; he’d momentarily forgotten he was still in class.

Running a hand through his hair he turned hoping to conceal the blush burning his face. Clearing his throat he took a quick breath, “Apologies class, where was I?”

“Pigs. The same girl replied her face breaking into a smile.

The professor stared befuddled then remembered. “Quite right.” Gabriel ignored a few giggles coming from his students. Struggling to maintain his composure while finishing the lecture he finally made the last 20 or so minutes of class free time meaning a good majority of students left. Not that Gabriel minded sitting behind his desk head leaning against his hand, eyes closed.

“Professor Herondale?”

His hand slipped at the voice, “Hmm?” He looked up, “Oh Trenton? How can I assist you?” Gabriel forced a smile.

“Are you feeling okay?” The young man with short blonde hair, oval wire frame glasses over his dark blue eyes asked looking quite concerned.

“Oh fine fine, bit of a headache is all.” Gabriel lied through his teeth. He could tell the English student did not believe him. “Maybe a slight fever. I, uh, didn’t sleep too well last night.” He flushed embarrassed about admitting all this to a student.

“Need anything?” Trenton adjusted his bag over his shoulder.

All Gabriel wanted was a nap, “No no perfectly fine.” He forced another smile. “Just study for the exam next week if you could.”

Trenton agreed, hoped Gabriel felt better soon and exited the classroom. Resting his head in a thunk on the desk the feverish professor remained that way for several minutes until the realization of probably falling asleep and waking up there tomorrow became too much to ignore. Throwing on his coat he nearly reached the door before back tracking to the desk grabbing his briefcase.

Exiting Baker Hall, Gabriel headed down the path towards his office not all looking forward to working in the dusty mess. Pushing open the outside door he stumbled on the stairs catching himself at the last moment. Muttering a curse under his breath he proceeded down the hall to his office. Entering his tired eyes noticed something rather peculiar, a person sitting on his desk. Gabriel blinked as sandy blonde hair and a black hoodie appeared in his vision.

Bewildered at the sight before him Gabriel scratched the back of his head. He stared at the figure smiling back at him then confusingly looked around the room just to make sure he’d entered the proper office.

Convinced his exhausted body was in the right room he frowned checking his pocket watch, “Now you’ve done it Gabe, your feverish state is creating hallucinations of your dear Liam.”

“Gabriel Lane you’re simply adorable.” Liam hopped off the desk.

The professor’s mouth dropped. “Dearest, oh my, forgive my comments, it’s only… I’ve had a right miserable day, didn’t sleep well, nearly drifted off in class, I didn’t….” He paused feeling Liam’s warm comforting embrace surround him. The stress of the last several days evaporated like steam from a bath, his throbbing head leaned against Liam’s as his partners fingertips gently grazed the outline of his face. “I…what was I saying again?” He brought a hand up running the back of his fingers over Liam’s cheek. Liam cupped his face, their lips met Gabriel let an audible sigh escape, disappointed when his partner pulled away.

“Love, you’re burning up.” Liam kept a hand on Gabriel’s face.

“I know dear, felt quite awful the past few days.” The professor finally walked over to his desk. Setting his briefcase down he noticed something. “You cleaned, didn’t you?” He smiled forcing his eyes to focus.

The neat freak returned the smile, “Guilty as charged.” He stepped over to the desk. “Gabriel cancel your class tomorrow, I’ll take you home you need rest.”

The professor scoffed while removing his coat, “I’ve told you before my job I cannot freelance.” A quick wave of dizziness forced Gabriel to support himself against his desk. “I’ve an exam next week, need to prepare for it.” He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “Besides I’ve one more class tonight, must…” He slumped into his chair massaging his temples furiously. “My kingdom for relief.”

Liam knelt down to Gabriel’s computer. “Ok here’s the deal,” He started typing on the ancient keyboard. “I’ll accompany you to your last class, keep a watchful eye on you from the back or assist if needed, then…” His voice trailed for one moment as he read over what he’d written before continuing, “You’ll send out an email stating your lone Friday class is cancelled.” Liam emphasized the lone part. “We’ll head home bright and earlier tomorrow or tonight if possible. I’ll help you with your exam preparation and you can rest in those adorable blue pajamas of yours.” His brown eyes sparkled as he finished the layout of his plan. “I’ve already formatted your Cancelled Class reply, we can send it tonight.”

Gabriel sighed stifling a cough, “Well, dear you know I’m not keen on cancelling and I don’t…,” He paused momentarily a quizzical look graced his weary face. "How did you access my email?“

“You never log out.” The writer giggled.

“Log…out?” Gabriel’s reaction forced Liam to cover his mouth with a hand though he was sure the smile leaked out the sides.

“Here I’ll explain.” He started but Gabriel waved a hand.

“No need too. I wouldn’t understand anyways.” He grumbled.

“Oh stop, you’re brilliant love, look.“ Liam motioned to the green scale screen. "See the button that says Log Out? If you click it you won’t be signed in anymore.” Liam was going to advise Gabriel to do this but then realized who really would ever want access to his prehistoric computer. “I’ll show you.” He logged out of Gabriel’s email.

The professor’s brow crinkled, “Now I’ll need to access it again.” He replied tiredly pinching his forehead between his thumb and middle finger.

“I can do it.” Liam smiled at the look he received. “I know your username; it’s the beginning part of your email, standard college practice. I used it for your Skype remember. And I pretty much guarantee I can guess your pass.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened, “Alright then, confirm it.”

Liam pressed his lips together and typed in the username. His eyes then shot to Gabriel as he slowly typed M I C H A E L in for the password. Hitting enter Gabriel’s email popped up. The professor brought a hand up covering his beet red face.

“Told ya.” Liam said with a hint of smugness. “My dear Gabriel Lane you are quite predictable you know.”

Gabriel remained quiet folding his shaking hands together. Small beads of sweat formed around his hairline.

Liam pushed up from the desk. “It’s alright love. Honestly it was an easy guess.”

Gabriel sighed closing his eyes, his color drained from the blush leaving him paler than when he’d first entered the office. “That doesn’t mean I wanted you to know.” He turned away.

Realizing this entire situation had inadvertently upset his ill boyfriend Liam tried to explain. “Gabriel it’s fine, I figured that was your pass months ago, makes sense…considering when you got your email. I’m going to take a guess the reason you never changed it is you don’t know how.”

The professor wiped a stray tear and nodded, “Affirmative.”

“Let’s forget about that for now. It’s not important.” Liam rushed to change the topic as Gabriel’s eyes became pools. “What about my plan?” He crouched down setting his hands on his boyfriend’s knees.

Exhaling the professor leaned back in his chair. His mind lost in a fog of pain and exhaustion, he wouldn’t admit it to his Liam but Gabriel wasn’t even sure he’d survive the final class. Running a hand from the top of his head down to his chin he merely gave a halfhearted shrug. “I must lessen his infernal headache first.” Opening the desk drawer he rummaged for a bottle of painkillers, tapping the bottle until two fell in his hand. He swallowed them without any water as Liam watched, then rested his arms on the desk laying his head in them. “Wake me in half an hour.” His request slightly muffled. Laying his coat over him Liam set the alarm on his phone but only to vibrate. A few minutes later Gabriel snored softly while Liam stroked his hair.

****

In all their time together Liam never had actually seen Gabriel teach, it was quite something. The subject matter might not have been the most interesting but his boyfriend morphed from the shy introverted Gabriel to the confident Professor Herondale. It reminded Liam how Gabriel acted when destroying Bryce that thought alone drew a smile.

Even severely under the weather, Gabriel’s tone grew stronger than normal while lecturing his class, today on different cognitive abnormalities of the brain. He was posed walking from one side of the class to the other maintaining eye contact with students, asking questions, promoting discussion.

However with about 30 minutes to go fatigue set in, Gabriel fumbled a few words, used his chair more as support and could no longer hide the fact he was sweating due to his fever. Mopping his brow with a handkerchief he forced himself to finish up his current thought.

Liam sat edge of the chair, knee twitching, ready to dash if needed. He’d promised Gabriel not to move unless asked for but it was getting harder and harder to endure watching his visibly ill boyfriend work.

Finally just as Liam could not take another minute, Gabriel pulled out his pocket watch.

“Forgive me class but I must cease for today.” The professor sat on his desk rubbing his forehead, “You’re dismissed.”

Liam ran down the auditorium style stairs, bypassing the students exiting, to Gabriel’s side clasping a hand on his arm.

“Gabriel Lane?” Liam failed hiding the worry in his voice. Sweat beads ran down his boyfriends face the edges of his grey hair glistened, Gabriel removed his tie and undid his top shirt button.

“I’m spent my dear.” Gabriel laughed drawing Liam in.

“Come love, let’s go home.” Liam took Gabriel’s coat, briefcase and arm leading the professor out of the hall.

No surprise Gabriel fell asleep immediately on the train ride back to Newhaven. Thankfully he’d taken medicine which Liam hoped would reduce his fever. Coat draped over his frame Gabriel’s head lay in Liam’s lap, the writer lovingly gazed down at his sleeping boyfriend. Never had five hours on a train seemed like heaven.

#illness #whump #fever #headache #sickfic #sickdays 5 #17 august 2018 #public illness #submission #empresskaze

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sleemo · 6 years

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Jedi master Mark Hamill geeks out with Bill Hader

— Interview Magazine Nov 9, 2017

From the time of the ancient Greeks, humanity has been fascinated by the struggle between good and evil, often led by an archetypal chosen one who blazes a path of glory by separating himself from the pack. As a young actor toiling between auditions, Mark Hamill’s moment of destiny came when he took a break from TV fare such as General Hospital to read for a role in a little sci-fi film helmed by a young director fresh off an Oscar-nominated hit called American Graffiti (1973). When Hamill was cast in the original 1977 Star Wars as Luke Skywalker, an orphaned farm boy growing up on a desert planet, no one—chief among them Hamill himself—knew that the film would become one of the most influential and profitable franchises ever made.

When the announcement came a few years back that Hamill would reprise his role as the Jedi Knight in J.J. Abrams’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), along with his original co-stars Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, fans went wild. But while Hamill’s screen time was relegated to a small appearance at the end of that film (Skywalker, in ascetic seclusion on a remote planet, is discovered by a young woman who exhibits strong signs of the Force), the second installment of the new trilogy, next month’s The Last Jedi, is squarely focused on Skywalker’s journey.

On a late September afternoon, the comedian, actor, and Saturday Night Live alum Bill Hader (who was a vocal consultant for the droid BB-8 in The Force Awakens) called up Hamill from the Sony lot in Los Angeles to geek out about that iconic galaxy far, far away.

MARK HAMILL: Hi, Bill!

BILL HADER: Hey, man!

HAMILL: I’m a big fan of yours. My kids tell me that you came to my house before you were on SNL.

HADER: Yes! I was a PA on Empire of Dreams, the documentary about the Star Wars movies, and I came over to pick up some pictures of you. I sat in your living room, and I believe it was your wife who brought down the pictures, and I was like, “Oh my god, Mark Hamill’s so rad.”

HAMILL: Was I not there?

HADER: You weren’t. I didn’t want to touch anything, and the whole time I kept apologizing for my existence.

HAMILL: Were any of my kids there? Nathan or Griffin or Chelsea?

HADER: No, but when I first moved to L.A. in 1999, Nathan and I ran in the same circle for a bit. I had a friend who had a massive crush on him. I remember once we had to go to this bowling thing because Nathan was going to be there. [sirens wail in the background] Sorry, I’m robbing a bank right now. Hold on.

HAMILL: [laughs] I saw your tauntaun and Jabba the Hutt impersonations on YouTube. It’s a talent of yours I had never seen. I like that you keep alive the legacy of some of the actors that I love, like Vincent Price. I’ll be talking to people your age and younger, and I’ll mention Lee Marvin [Hamill’s co-star in The Big Red One, 1980] and a lot of them will go, “Who’s Lee Marvin?”

HADER: Oh, my god.

HAMILL: It just goes to show how fleeting fame is.

HADER: I remember I was at Comic-Con once, and I looked over and there was this long line for, I don’t know, the stars of some lesbian vampire series from Mexico, and then all by himself was [stop-motion animation and special effects master] Ray Harryhausen.

HAMILL: Did you go talk to him?

HADER: Yeah! I was like, “Oh my god, you’re Ray Harryhausen.”

HAMILL: He’s always been an icon for me. I was so into that stuff as a kid. I mean, The 7th Voyage of Sin-bad [1958] and Jason and the Argonauts [1963] and First Men in the Moon [1964] and on and on and on. I lived for that stuff. I got to interview him once on the floor at Comic-Con for Comic Book: The Movie—he was the quintessential gentleman of another era.

HADER: Were you always a fan of this stuff?

HAMILL: I was a total freak for these kinds of movies. As for getting the role of Luke Skywalker, I really stumbled into it. Just last year, I saw that they included our audition tapes as a DVD extra, and I saw William Katt’s and Robby Benson’s and Kurt Russell’s tapes, and they were all great. It seems so arbitrary that I was anointed.

HADER: Was it true that they were casting for Carrie [1976] at the same time?

HAMILL: When we auditioned, it was a total cattle call, where they didn’t even tell us about the movie—we just went in and talked for a few minutes. Brian De Palma was looking for actors for Carrie and sitting next to him was George Lucas. Since Lucas didn’t speak the whole time, I thought he was De Palma’s assistant. I didn’t know what he looked like! So I did my thing, and a couple of weeks later, I went to my agent, and there were six or seven pages of audition material for me. By the time I got the part, I assumed that Harrison Ford was the lead, because he’s a traditional leading man. I thought I was going to be his sidekick, you know, like Captain America and Bucky.

HADER: Or Batman and Robin.

HAMILL: Then I opened up the script, and at the time it said: The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as Taken From the “Journal of the Whills,” Saga I: Star Wars. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought, “How are they going to do all this?” Robots, the Death Star, all of it—it blew my mind.

HADER: Did you have confidence that they could do it?

HAMILL: You have to believe. But it’s always a little disconcerting—what you imagine in your head and what you see on set.

HADER: Describe a moment on set when you went, like, “Wait, these are the Sand People?”

HAMILL: The lightsabers, for a start. George referred to it as the most expensive low-budget movie ever made. At one point, Fox screened raw footage to some people, because they needed more money to finish it. Imagine it with no effects, no music, no nothing. The general consensus, because it played so horribly, was that they should just shut it down and take a tax loss. It was only [20th Century Fox executive] Alan Ladd Jr. who saw the potential and gave us his blessing. I think they gave us like a million and a half more. Do you remember seeing it when you were young? Did it scare you, or did you love it?

HADER: I remember going to see Return of the Jedi [1983] on my fifth birthday—the people tearing the tickets were dressed as stormtroopers—but the first image I can remember on a movie theater screen is that close-up from Empire [The Empire Strikes Back, 1980], of Han in carbonite. I flipped out, and my dad had to take me out of the theater. Then he told me the whole thing on the ride back; he was like, “Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s dad!” And that’s how he said it—not his father, his dad. [laughs] What was it like, back then, leading such a massive franchise?

HAMILL: It was kind of like The Prince and the Pauper, where one day you’re nobody and the next you’re partying with Andy Warhol. It was surreal. I came from a big enough family, so I didn’t let it get to my head too much or change my view of the world. The first time I went to the Oscars was like that, too. It wasn’t really me walking the red carpet. It was like watching a movie of a Hollywood premiere. You have to have an intellectual distance from it, because it’s so atypical from your everyday life. I’m sure you feel the same way. You can’t sit in the park and people watch anymore, that ship has sailed. Star Wars ebbed and flowed, but I never expected it to come back, certainly not with this intensity. Carrie and I were in Orlando, with fans. It’s just astonishing the passion and affection that they have for all of this stuff. It’s overwhelming. You can get emotional about it because it’s so personal, the way they relate it to their own lives.

HADER: Batman, too. [Hamill has served as the voice of the Joker in animated series, films, and video games, starting with Batman: The Animated Series in 1992.]

HAMILL: That’s a whole subgenre of comic book nerds who know that I’m a nerd, too. I’m one of them, so they love the fact that I’m not posing.

HADER: What is it like working with [Last Jedi director] Rian Johnson or J.J. Abrams, people who grew up with Star Wars? Is it ever weird to be told things about your character, when you know him better than anyone else?

HAMILL: With J.J. and with Rian, it’s the first time that the fan generation has grown into being in the position that they are. I was surprised in many ways how they saw not just my character, but the overall piece, because you get really possessive over the years. But Rian, what a blessing that guy is. He is unassuming and amiable. I’ve never seen him raise his voice. I’ve never heard him curse. I never heard him humiliate anybody else in front of the entire crew.

HADER: [laughs] When the first trilogy ended, did you feel a sense of relief? I know when I left SNL, it was a big relief.

HAMILL: It was exhilarating. It felt like senior year of high school. You know those last moments when you’re clearing out your locker? You’re going to miss all these people you know, but there’s the exhilaration of what comes next. It’s like jumping out of an airplane and hoping for the best, hoping your parachute opens. I was lucky that a lot of pressure was taken off financially; I didn’t have to do stuff that I didn’t want to do, so I indulged myself. I always wanted to do theater, so I did lots of theater. I got to do a comic mockumentary, and I wrote a comic book, and I discovered that the Joker gave me a whole new career. I didn’t expect to be the Joker, of course, but with voice acting, it liberates you to play characters you’d never do in a million years because you’re physically not right. You can show up looking like hell, you don’t have to memorize your lines because you can read them right off the page, and you get to play the most fun parts. You come in and you kick everyone’s ass and you get your own ass kicked, and then you go home.

HADER: I do animated things, too, and they’re so much fun. But do you get tired after a session?

HAMILL: Oh, yeah. It’s a real workout. But it’s so entertaining. It’s like going to a really great nightclub act and getting paid for it.

HADER: I really liked The Big Red One. What was that like?

HAMILL: I was a huge Sam Fuller fan. Within five minutes of meeting him, I went, “Holy Christ, I’ve been drafted!” He got up on his feet and he started telling me the story of that film, with the explosions and the rat-a-tat-tat, and I was mesmerized. He had such charisma, such magic. He was a firecracker, like Yosemite Sam. I was traumatized when it came out because, even though it got good reviews and takes its place among the great war films, it wasn’t what we all hoped for. They cut it down to an hour and 50 minutes, to the point where it was so incomprehensible. Now, of course, it’s been restored to its proper length. If anybody’s reading this and is thinking about watching the movie: make sure it’s the two-and-a-half-hour version! Not that truncated version. I wish Sam were alive to have seen that because that would have made him happy, and he deserved it. Like any great artist who is ahead of the time, he was not welcome in Hollywood at a certain point.

HADER: There was a great documentary about him called The Typewriter, the Rifle, & the Movie Camera. That was when I first heard about him.

HAMILL: Was I in it?

HADER: You’re not talking in it, but there’s a clip from The Big Red One in it.

HAMILL: Okay, yeah, I remember that one. I hope you and I get to work together some time.

HADER: That would be awesome.

HAMILL: I have been loyal to Saturday Night Live from the very beginning. When it first came on, I said, “We’d better enjoy this because it’s for sure going to be cancelled. This is only going to last one season.” So I started taping them all. I had no idea it would become such an institution. I guess we can both relate to getting lucky and hitting the jackpot.

BILL HADER IS A COMEDIAN, ACTOR, AND WRITER. THIS SPRING HE WILL STAR IN THE HBO SERIES BARRY, WHICH HE CO-CREATED.

— Interview Magazine

#interview #mark hamill #bill hader #star wars #cast #luke skywalker #interview magazine

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