barelyxlived-blog

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It was pleasure writing with you all, and I wish you all the best. Friendships made don’t always end when the group door closes, so don’t see this as an end but as further chances for more writing, laughs, and life in just a new forum.

You guys are wonderful and will all do awesome things. Go live those lives to the very fullest! Kisses to you all, it was an honor.

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We’re better than they are

I suppose I don’t know much to say of this past week, and the end of the life I was ready to begin living on my own accord. Be careful what you wish for, as they say...

Finally having the freedom I desperately craved, I didn’t get far before the cruelty of time found me. I’m only just learning who’s to blame and of the spell that took away my life. However, we are to live independently here, with a job and everything. I’ve not had to work for anything in a thousand years, and now I must, almost as a human does. I never imagined that would be so hard.

I came here with nothing, and that was more frightening than I’ll ever let anyone know. My brothers were nowhere to be found, I was forced to make my own way in this new world. Good thing I was never much for damseling.

Sage D’Aubigne: our district officer here in the Clarion Loess District where I first found a semblance of the life I had been accustomed. He has found my company of real interest, often asking of my past, of how I came to be a vampire from magic alone. I believe he has become rather fond of me these last few days, and I of him. He is quite charming and brilliant, there is little of the happenings here he does not know. His features are especially handsome too, I must admit. I don’t mind having his companionship to pass the lonely days without my family. Sage has allowed me any job I want here, and I have found his influence is extraordinarily powerful here, moreso than I expected when I first sought him out. 

I told him I wanted to work alongside him, and I wanted the museum. I was granted both. My job is as the curator of the museum in this district, where Sage carefully selects each exhibit and artifact to display. We will see each other quite often, and I do expect he’ll continue to listen to my opinions and suggestions more and more as the days pass.

My life of comfort is restored, and the Mikaelson name will once again hold the power it once did. However, I have long since tired of the constant battles, so we will be known for our intellect and authority, not for our violence and ability to induce fear.

I’ve had enough of kings fighting kings. It is time for a queen.

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- Queen Ravenna, SW&tH. (requested by @stebekahs)

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“Terrifying,” Rebekah murmured dryly, “do you scare away many predators with that one?” The girl looked helpless (though likely misleadingly so) it was a mix of laughable and sad to the Original. Then again, they were all a little bit more helpless down here than they were used to. “Fortunately for us both, I don’t need a haircut. If you don’t want my hard-earned money, you can give that scissor thing a try. Either way, I’ll walk out of here with what I want.”

@barelyxlived 

“Hello?” Melissa paused and winced after she realized how ‘stereotypical-horror-movie-pretty-female-lead’ she sounded. “Look, these scissors are very sharp, okay. And I’ll  .  .  .  give you a really bad haircut!”

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…just so that she isn’t afraid anymore.

(requested by anon)

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Probably going to reach out to start a few new things here and with Pietro because I love new things and my attention span is like this:

so if you want to do a thing (this goes for either character of mine), give me a shout.

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The Red Light District wasn’t Rebekah’s favorite place to be, but too often, she had discovered that the missing could be found here. It was another brother she sought when she caught that glimpse of the one she never expected she would see again in the flesh. Elijah was certain, but Rebekah had fear there was no one left to save him with the rest of the family trapped down here. Her heart seemed to want to leap straight out of her chest as she slowly began to approach, pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming this time. She was pretty sure she wasn’t.

Taking the last seat beside him, she was silent while her voice failed her with burning throat. It was definitely him, her beloved brother, her-- “Nik?”

OPEN

Laying low was relatively easy when no one thought to look for you. For the better part of two weeks, Klaus appeared aimlessly and unexpectedly to old faces. Instilling fear, and the dread of possible hallucinations became his own sick, twisted game. There were a few places Klaus could venture without being seen. And believe it or not, the Red District (where he lived) happened to be his private haven. The natives could be compelled to forget him if any discovered that he was more than a simple apparition drawn up from inner-cast paranoia.

He was sitting alone in a local pub when the last empty stool beside him was overtaken by someone he may or may not have recognized.

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“don’t be a bitter bitch be a better bitch” haha that’s where you’re mistaken fool I can multitask and will excel at both

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“I’m not sure you could afford it if I’m being honest, unless your way with men gets you impressive tips too,” she said, giving the girl a dose of a reality check. The elitism of Rebekah’s own beliefs bled through only a little. She intended to live well and continue to prove her family was simply better and more deserving of nice things, but if Elena wanted to rebuild trust, Rebekah thought she ought to give a good shot at it within reason. “If you don’t embarrass me, then perhaps we’ll work something out. Because no one should go out looking like that.” She motioned up and down at her wardrobe with a small scrunch of her nose, “we’ll fix it.”

Elena glanced down at her jeans and sneakers, the tips scuffed up from constantly digging her toes against the concrete. Fashion hadn’t ever been a huge interest or concern for her, surprising for a cheerleader, but true. It just never seemed to matter, especially after her parents died; she figured Rebekah would probably be at ease in a department store. And maybe she owed her one normal teenage girl day after the whole homecoming fiasco. “I guess you’ll have to take me to the Clarion Loess District.” She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I promise not to embarrass you too much.”

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“Long story short, he’s sitting in a time out of sorts. So enjoy what little taste of freedom you can get before whatever hit the Other Side, gets the prison worlds too.” She still wasn’t happy to see Katherine of all people, but she could play nice if she needed to. “Wonderfully, I curate a museum in close connection with Sage D’Aubigne. Keeping my life as comfortable as I’m used to, and what about you? Is gold-digger considered an occupation here or did they make you choose something else?”

“Klaus is MIA? Oh if that’s not music to my ears.” A sly smile spread across her lips. “Well in that case, how is independent life treating you, Rebekah? What’s new?” Katherine asked, maybe the original could provide some information of value. 

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“If being the word of choice,” she teased back, deciding he needed a healthy deflating of ego every now and again. Kept his game up. “You need to work on wooing yourself a musician, we can take turns providing the musical entertainment since these bloody bastards have something against proper electricity, and you haven’t earned my piano skills yet. I honestly don’t know how Kol is going to manage all this time without his beloved iPod.” 

She eagerly accepted the drink, he was right: the stronger, the better. Not like she wanted to be invited, but would it have hurt them to try? “Why do you think I came to see you? Besides your excellent bar-tending,” she took a sip before offering him a playful smirk, “but I could have brought you back an official Damon-hater t-shirt with matching mug for those days of self-loathing. Guess we’ll both be disappointed. Cheers.” Tossing back the shot, she was going to make them regret leaving her out, even if they never knew about it. “And we’ve got eternity for all the revenge we want, lucky us.”

project sleepover

“If I’m going to charm any women into my place, I can tell you the last thing we’ll be doing is playing any sort of music,” he winked her way, his cocky demeanor shifting through as a facade; something Damon has become particularly good at doing. “But, while on that subject. You play anything, since I wouldn’t mind a little music,” a small laugh spat out with the shifted grin on his lips.

“Ouch. Sounds like it’s going to be a pretty strong drink with a morning after to follow,” he jested, continuing to fixing the drink thoroughly. While he wasn’t the best at customer service, his drinks were enough to make up for it. Pouring the results into matching goblets, he handed one her way. “Well, I can promise you we’ll have a much better time. Plus,” he shrugged his shoulders. “You wouldn’t want to join the cult of Damon haters. Nothing’s a bigger buzzkill than hating the party,” he threw back a shot he had set with glasses. “Cheers to sweet, sweet revenge and everything in between.”

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She didn’t know why she hadn’t expected him to be here, but she couldn’t have been happier to have him around again. For a moment, she could forget her family problems and worries and just enjoy a drink. No pressures, no looking for another shoe to drop. It was almost like having that freedom she craved so badly. “Oh, I don’t want to keep you,” she said softly, even though she didn’t mean it in the slightest. 

Agreeing to the museum, she felt a flutter of excitement in her stomach. She’d didn’t have the chance to show off what she had done to people who actually cared about what it meant to her. “You’ll love it, I’ll give you a personal tour myself...it’ll be fun.” Taking a sip, she had to ask what was weighing on her mind a lot now that she’d found Kol and Jared. “What was it like? The Other Side?” She asked, needing to know the place that had kept him, kept her brother for all that time. “I came straight here, so I never saw it.” 

Smiling as she settles into one of the seats at the bar, Jared was pleased to see that she would be sticking around his work station for awhile. His job was by no means dull, but he always enjoyed having some company while he worked. Especially if said company happened to be a beautiful girl like Rebekah. Taking a quick look around to see if anyone needed another drink, Jared returns his attention to her. He didn’t believe that any lesson worth learning would ever stick with Klaus, but he nods regardless.

“I’m not surprised. If anything, I think it suits you,” he objects with a soft chuckle. “Couldn’t have said it better myself. I’d actually argue this place is less hell-ish than the other side.” This might be a version of hell, but he agreed that it didn’t have to be all bad. Jared himself had been trying to make the best of it, even if he wasn’t doing the greatest job of it right now. Maybe once he was able to rise in the working world and buy a better place. “I’d like that. I’ll have to stop by the museum one of these days while you’re working. I’ve never been to one before, so you can show me the pieces you’ve hand-picked for the exhibits.”

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She supposed he expected her to be grateful for the little olive branch with its passive-aggressive strings she was offered. Well, she was a bit because it could have been worse, but with trying to keep Elijah from starting a war and giving up on happiness completely, she didn’t have time to flog herself before Kol daily too. “We have a chance to start over as a family, and we’ll all too busy with our own ideas to actually be one. So yes, I’m in a bit of a mood,” she snapped as she downed a good drink from the bottle.

She let him have his dig at her methods with only an eye-roll, as she really needed his full attention on this, which was hard enough with Kol being Kol. “Well he seems off to me. All this fuss over what happened to Nik and trying to keep the family together, he is unraveling at the seams. On the night of the ball, I had a horrific nightmare...and I’m starting to think maybe we all did. Whatever was put in his head, I think he’s bearing it alone, and he’s losing a grasp on his control. Which you are not to manipulate, is that clear? You are going to help me distract him with happy things....I think he needs a companion. Someone outside the family to keep him company.”

Given her outburst and unnecessary roughness in handling his wardrobe, Kol had struck a nerve with her. He was used to the dramatics, however. If she was strongly opposed to his coldness, then she would simply have to get over it. She was getting off easy as far as he was concerned. He could have been far worse. “Someone’s a tad touchy today,” he comments with a snicker before his bottle is taken right out of his hand. Barely living here a day and she was already feeling entitled to his booze. Some things never changed. 

“Well, I’m sure you earned it somehow,” he comments, allowing her to interpret that however she pleased. If he had to guess, it was less charm and more shallow but that was none of his business. Grinning at her, Kol settles beside her on the bed once more before she gets down to the real reason she came in here. “And here I thought you had come solely for the booze I provide. Elijah seems perfectly himself to me, though we’ve only seen each other in small doses. Earlier he scolded me for having my feet on his antique table before proceeding to express concern about the devil incarnate. Why do you ask?”

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She had known a number of men with a knack for flattering words and grand speeches for her trust, and as he started, she stood expectant of the same. Shaking her head, she replayed their meeting in time with his apology of sorts. She hadn’t even noticed as he pocketed her wallet, to busy with this new bloody life-size death she was navigating. That should have been something she caught, and yet she just blathered on about manners and finding brothers, she had missed it. He must have thought her a total fool.

As he spoke of her kindness making him realize parts of himself again, she felt her fierce resolve waver a little. This was definitely up there on the list of top 5 apologies she’d ever received, most men didn’t even bother with one. Then again, most didn’t live to give one. She continued to avoid looking him in the eye and seeing whatever sad, apologetic puppy eyes he had for her because she had a poor habit of falling for that. Glancing down at the wallet, she opened it to find he wasn’t lying. Everything was there.

Attempting to step around him as he moved in front of her, she stopped against better judgment. Rebekah looked up at him and cursed herself for it because to her, he appeared sincere...and she bought it. “I don’t hate you,” she said after a moment to process all he’d confessed, “I don’t trust you, but I don’t hate you either. Betray me again and when I find your brother, I’ll be delivering your heart in place of you.” Her heart had soften toward the boy and his plight, and her first real attempt to freely trust in this new world had blown up in her face. “But you didn’t have to give it back, and you did...with everything intact. So maybe that makes you worth a second chance in my book. Please don’t make me regret this, I have more than my share of bad decisions and I really am trying to overcome those here. You aren’t the only one who doesn’t want to be like they were before we all got dragged down.” She refused to be the fool of the past, this was her chance for independence and freedom. All she hoped for was to not repeat what she’d left behind. “Well, we’ve got a lot of work to do if we’re going to find your brother, don’t we?”   

Rebekah was nice to him, despite all of his arrogance and sarcasm, she saw past it and was able to have a decent conversation with him; more than that, she trusted him with things. She showed him the pendant and told him of its origins, shared with him stories of her family, and her boss; he owed her the truth about the first time they met. That it was no accident and that she was his target. But when she took the wallet and turned her back toward him; running her delicate fingers over the objects on display – a pang of guilt crawled up his throat and threatened to choked him. He wanted to apologize to her but the words were lost on his tongue. He wasn’t good with apologies or showing emotion and so he wasn’t sure where to start. 

Thankfully, she gave him the opportunity by speaking up and asking how much he took from her. Filled with a rush to vindicate himself, he took a step forward and lightly touched her arm so that she would look at him. “Nothing. I swiped it from your pocket and took it home, fingered through it, and felt nothing but guilt after you said you would help me find my brother. I’d rather be broke than lose your trust. I know I screwed up big time… but I don’t wanna be like this anymore and I think you could help me with that. Through your kindness, I’ve seen parts of myself I thought were long gone. I would have taken everything from you – including that pendant in the display case,” that would have been the old Jake. He would have come back during closing hours and robbed the place. But being in Rebekah’s company as she toured him around the museum made him feel ashamed of those thoughts. He wasn’t sure what it was – but the same thing happened when he met Cassie. Through her unwavering guidance and acceptance he fell for Cassie and rethought his whole vendetta against witches. That was happening again with Rebekah, and vampires.  

Jake looked up at the security team, still watching him with dagger-like eyes. He gave them a wry smile before stepping in front of Rebekah, so that she would be forced to see him. All of him. “I don’t want your money, Rebekah. I don’t even want your forgiveness. I don’t deserve it. You have every right to hate me. Talk to my friend Adam, he’ll let you join his I-hate-Jake club. What I do need from you, is for you to see that I mean it when I say I’m sorry and that I won’t ever deceive you again.” He made his enemies with Marcel, and his circle, and everyone else in this hell hole. If he kept it up, there will never be anyone out there willing to help him. And doing this alone, while cursed, proved to be nearly impossible these past few weeks. 

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@heplaystowin

“It’s always been me.”