#[ fightforbetter feat. hayley. ]

[cursedbcrn-a]

@fightforbetter​ said “ You’re so much older and wiser. ”

          Hope was barely able to stifle the scoff that crawled up her throat. That much was obvious given that she had been wandering the world for centuries without the woman before her. There was still a part of Hope that wondered if she was dreaming, whether this long life was just an elaborate hallucination brought on by fever. It would make more sense in some ways instead of actually facing Hayley. 

Her voice sounded different, or maybe it was the same as it had always been and she had just forgotten over the years. She had lost count of how many times she had imagined the final evenings she’d shared with her family, the ones before the battle where she experienced her first death. There was the crackle of the logs in fire, and the sound of her father’s boisterous laughter as he joked around with his siblings. The itchy feeling of furs that covered her skin and her mother’s humming, an aimless melody that rose above the rest of the ambient noise. Most other details had faded over the years, but she still held onto that singular moment on the hardest days.

Blinking harshly when she realized that Hayley was still expecting her to carry on a conversation, Hope opened her mouth and shut it again to think before blurting out something that would probably come across as insensitive. “And yet neither of us have aged a day,” she says with a smile, just a hint of mirth curling around her lips. “It is a bit annoying though. I’ve lived entire lifetimes, seen things most people couldn’t fathom, and they treat me like some brainless child. Perhaps eternal youth isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.” There is a naked tiredness in her voice, and it weighs down her shoulders like an invisible burden. “When did you first find out about... all of this?”

[silencedrage]

@fightforbetter​​ said “As broken as you may feel, you are still so strong.” ( leah and hayley )

            Leah didn’t respond, choosing instead to stare into the woods. The urge to leave behind the conversation and just shift into their wolf form was strong, but knowing Hayley, she’d just get chased down anyways. Avoiding their emotions came second nature to Leah, because facing them meant facing a lifetime of issues that no one had ever bothered to parse through with them. However, Hayley was one of the first people in their life who genuinely seemed to give a damn about the thoughts behind the rage that constantly simmered at the edge of their psyche. “Strength doesn’t mean shit.” The response was a little more gruff than Leah had intended, so they tried to explain further. “Just that... the cold ones are strong. The pack is strong.” My father was strong. “And they’re all still broken in their own ways.” Huffing a sigh, Leah sprang to their feet and began to shimmy out of their pants. “I’m going to go for a run. You can join if you can keep up.”

[nightsprince]

🍒 + fightforbetter

SEND ME A URL FOR POSITIVITY feat. @fightforbetter

ahhh such an incredible hayley !! hayley marshall deserved BETTER on the originals and the vampire diaries and that's exactly what this mun gives her. they portray her so beautifully and it's a joy to get to read all of their quality writing on my dashboard, i'm so happy that we're mutuals !!

[cursedbcrn-a]

@fightforbetter​ / plotted starter

          She hovered. Hayley Marshall had always hovered over her daughter, but said daughter was now finding the trait more annoying than endearing. She had understood why her mother was so protective of her, especially when she was small and weak and a perpetual target for people who would harm her, but she wasn’t that girl anymore, even if Hayley didn’t want to see it. Inadu’s power was just that, power. Her ancestor had used it for darkness, for her own personal gain, but power wasn’t inherently good or evil, just a reflection of the person who used it. And to have her family treat her like a ticking time bomb only made Hope feel like they expected her to be evil. 

Like they expected her to be her father.

Dr. Saltzman had made it clear what he thought of Klaus, and Hope could understand why he felt that way given their history, but it hurt more seeing the wariness in Hayley’s eyes. She knew her parents’ relationship was not traditional, but she thought that they at least trusted each other. Maybe they did, but it was Hope she didn’t trust. 

So many of these thoughts bounced back and forth around her skull until she finally addressed the hybrid who had been lingering in her doorway for the better part of five minutes. “Did you need something or are we back to perfecting your Edward Cullen routine? Pretty sure he used the window for that though,” she said dryly, not looking up from the grimoire she was paging through until she finished skimming the spell that had caught her interest for a brief moment. “Seriously, mom, what do you think I’m going to do? Have a temper tantrum and level the city? We do still have to live here, you know.”

[cursedbcrn-a]

@fightforbetter / no humanity hope s.c.

           “Mamaaaaaa, oooooooooh,” Hope sang along as Bohemian Rhapsody faintly played in the background. She turned to face Hayley as the hybrid walked up. “Didn’t mean to make you cry...” There was a flash of fang and Hope vamp-sped over to the couch and beckoned to one of the compelled human girls waiting nearby. She slit open her wrist and let it bleed freely into two cups before healing her and sending her off for some privacy. “Drink, mom?”

[cursedbcrn-a]

@fightforbetter​ // plotted starter

           Her ears had been ringing for the past hour, or at least it felt like an hour, but as she looked around, Hope realized that she hadn’t even moved an inch since her name had been called out over the microphone. Her face was plastered up on the large screens, and Hope was belatedly glad that she didn’t look as bewildered as she felt. The possibility of getting reaped was always present, even if they didn’t need to take any tesserae out with Hayley’s salary. But that was the crux of the issue, wasn’t it? Just being Hayley Marshall’s daughter meant that the likelihood of Hope’s name coming out of the bowl was higher than any amount of tesserae was worth. 

A few Peacekeepers began to make their way towards her, and Hope forced herself to take a step forward. There was no way in hell that she’d have footage of her getting dragged up onto the stage. She was better than that, stronger than that. A blank expression slid across her face as she strode down the path and up towards the makeshift wooden stage that was meant for this ceremony. She made the customary small talk with the Capitol chaperone, and leaned into the microphone to state her name for all of the viewers not from District 7. 

“Hope Mikaelson.”

She could only imagine the uproar in the Capitol and she wondered whether he was watching. Did he even care? But when she looked out over the crowd in District 7, she was met with blank stares and more than a few hostile gazes. The kids she’d grown up with hadn’t liked her much, considering that she lived in one of the nicest houses in the District, and she hardly ever went to bed hungry. But Hope knew what the price of those luxuries were, and she would rather have a pinched stomach every night rather than have to watch her mother leave for the Capitol when summoned. 

The rest of the reaping ceremony went by quickly, and Hope didn’t bother to learn the name of her fellow tribute. It would be easier to kill him if it came down to it if she wasn’t attached. The Peacekeepers shuffled them into City Hall, brusque and uncaring and they shoved Hope into one room and the male tribute into the next. Feeling entirely like a rat in a cage, Hope paced the length of the room while she waited. She’d made it through three laps when the door opened and her mother burst in. 

“Mom!” she gasped out, and Hope nearly tripped in her haste to reach out to her. Even though they had both known this was coming, she knew how hard this would be on Hayley and as she hugged her mom, Hope made a silent promise that she would do everything she could to make it back here. “I’m okay. It’s going to be okay.”