#HOWEVER. However. I have a headcanon. Sprung to life while writing them in fact

[lustrethings]

It's very important to me that you understand that "their relationship had deteriorated into their own private hunger games" implies not only they were hunting each other, but also that they were both scared of each other and fearing for their lives

[obeiii-mee]

I am not sure if the request is open- fanfic or headcanon an angst of mc sacrificing her life to return Lilith to them and lilth come back so she told she's only here becuz the mc bought her back how would the demon brother cope with it- it is okay if you don’t want to write it :)

I haven’t written any angst yet on this blog so I don’t really know how this is going to turn out. I don’t know how MC would be able to bring Lilith back so I’ll just figure something out as I write along. It’s hard for me to write the brothers suffering help me-

I want to make it clear that I don’t know if it’s possible for a human to do something like this but for the sake of this request let’s roll with it. Lilith is back and MC sacrificed their life for that to happen. I really don’t think any of the brothers would react well because Lilith and MC aren’t the same person. They love both of them very much but they wouldn’t be able to make one suffer just to bring the other back. All the HCs are related, happening on the same day, in the same way. Lilith reuniting with her brothers one by one starting with Lucifer. Hopefully this makes sense but I don’t really have my way around words so——

This is obviously too long so I won’t be able to write for all the brothers in one post. Instead I’ll write about Lucifer, Mammon and Levi in this one and then continue this on another post. So this is part one. Thanks for the request!

Pt. 2

————————————-

The Brothers Reacting to MC sacrificing themselves to bring Lilith back, Part 1:

Lucifer:

-OK, realistically speaking, it should have been impossible for Lilith to be brought back. She lived as a human and died, that’s it, you can’t reverse something like that. But you really didn’t want to give up, seeing the way the brothers acted whenever the topic of their sister was brought up was too much for you to handle. So you kept looking and searching for spells, magical objects, anything you could get your hands on that could help. You even spoke to Solomon about it in secret, away from Lucifer’s prying ears. You were too determined to be swayed away from the task.

-Of course, after a long time of searching, you found exactly what you were looking for. And of course in order for Lilith to be brought back to life once again, you would have to give something in return; your life. It was a hard pillow to swallow but after hours of arguing back and forth with yourself, you decided to do it. For the sake of all the brothers and their happiness. It wasn’t the quickest of deaths but it definitely didn’t hurt nearly as much as it should have. And once your soul had officially been diminished, Lilith was given a tangible body and teleported to DevilDom. That also meant that she was completely aware as to why or how and she wasn’t exactly happy. It was an indescribable moment full of misery and despair for her. She was back and her descendant payed the price for it.

-Lucifer didn’t really believe his eyes when he first saw his long dead sister on their couch, supposedly staring at nothing. He first assumed that he was daydreaming which seemed like the most rational option at that point. Due to all the paperwork he had to finish by the end of the week, he had been rather sleep deprived and it made sense that he started hallucinating. After all, Lilith was on his mind quite a lot. But then she noticed him and she sprung into his arms before he could even get a word out. It always used to be like this. Her running straight into him just to show her affection back when they were both angels and happy.

-She was real, not a dream or a fiction of his mind and he didn’t know how to feel about it. He was torn, as if all of his emotions were threatening to come out at once and he didn’t know how to handle that. Lucifer uses logic for every situation he finds himself in, but this time, it was thrown out the window. It didn’t matter why or how or when. All that mattered was that she was here and he got to see her again after all these millenniums of dealing with the slow torture of having to carry the burden of her death by himself. He was ready to go get his brothers, the rest of his dysfunctional family and obviously MC had to come along too, them being just as important to him as everyone else. But Lilith grabbed his sleeve.

-His sister told him everything. Ranging from MC’s sacrifice to her waking up in DevilDom and to her wandering around until she found the House of Lamentation. His brain stopped working the moment the words registered with him as Lilith rambled on with her story. He almost wanted to ask her if she was joking but he knew her better than that; his little sister was never one to joke about something so grave.

-Lucifer always knew that their exchange student was a bit of a nutcase and definitely special in their own way. Considering how often they went to the extremes and overdid every little thing that had to be done. But this...this was something entirely different. They gave up their own life for them, for Lilith to come back and they did this because of him and his siblings. The second time MC had been ripped away from him, without even the satisfaction of saying goodbye because they were way too good for his family and for DevilDom in general. He wanted to scream and cry and curse his father even more so than usual for this cruel turn of events. Any more of this emotional suffering, and his heart may as well stop pulsating. MC died and he couldn’t help them in any way, he couldn’t stop them from making this mistake because he had just gotten over Lilith’s death and had begun to heal from the trauma. And now you left him as well.

-Lilith forced him to sit down and let him deal with his internal breakdown while she thought this out. At this rate her brother was either going to wind up in a blind rage and pop out another Satan or drown himself in depression and anguish. But Lucifer, despite the range of emotions conflicting him on the inside, tried remaining as calm on the outside as possible. Lilith was right there. He shouldn’t cry in front of his sister, he never did. He was always supposed to be the role model, be the strong protector that she could lean on if she needed help. With a single tear running down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away, he got up, abruptly much to the protest of Lilith and began walking toward the door.

-He had to tell his brothers. The news would break every single one of them and he couldn’t do anything about it. He had the responsibility of going to every single one of them and privately discuss this because god knows what chaos would ensue if they were all in a room together with Lilith. He would have to talk to Lord Diavolo, get another exchange student down there but...not yet. Not yet. He had to tell his siblings first. His younger brothers that he swore he would protect with all of his being since he couldn’t do so with Lilith. And now he had to go and break their hearts while his own lay shattered on the floor.

-But first, he was going to go and cry by himself, locked away in his room, so he can regain the power of speaking with everyone properly. And he would just have to accept the fact that MC will forever be stuck in his heart, with no means of getting them out.

-Who would have thought a human like you would stir up these feelings within me?

Mammon:

-It was his fault. It was always his fucking fault. Whenever something bad happened to you, the first person Mammon blamed was himself. How could he not? He was in charge of you after all, he was supposed to be your protector and guardian during your stay in DevilDom. Honestly, at first, he didn’t really care about you. Your whole existence and the fact he had to babysit you was irritating more than anything. But it didn’t take long for him to get attached to you, he fell and he fell fast. Soon enough, he was about ready to just dedicate his entire being to you (and money, we don’t forget about money). You were his human. So how did he fuck it all up?

-That day, he was supposed to be with you. At least one of the brothers had to be with you at all times, per Lucifer’s orders, to make sure you could circulate DevilDom without getting killed. He had one job to do. Follow you around until you got bored and wanted to go home. Then, since you were left with the rest of his brothers, he could go do his thing. But a modelling gig had come up rather abruptly and he had to go get ready for a few shots. Mammon, being a simp great companion and actually a lot smarter than people give him credit for, was really hesitant at first. He didn’t really want to leave you alone and offered to turn the job down. He would never admit it, but his human was way more important.

-However, you insisted it was fine, encouraging him to go and implying you would be alright for an hour by yourself. Besides, you had something to check and would probably be home in no time. He couldn’t really argue back so he reluctantly agreed and left you to your own devices.

-And that was the last time he saw you.

-After his shoot, he couldn’t find you anywhere. Not at home, not in Majolish, not at any of your favourite places. He wasn’t worried at first because he thought you were with one of his siblings. But half an hour later, he was getting panicky and pushing himself over the edge. Sitting alone in his room, pondering on where the fuck you could have been while also debating as to where he should look for you first. He really didn’t want to bring the subject up with Lucifer because he feared his reaction and the possibility he would forbid Mammon from helping him search for you.

-And just as he had conjured up a master plan, Lucifer walked in. With Lilith behind him like it was regular Tuesday night. Her presence wasn’t acknowledged for a few moments, he was too concentrated on Lucifer’s face, scared out of his wits that he found out you were missing and now he was about to face punishment. His older brother didn’t look angry though. Grave and sad, but mostly solemn, like he was holding back. Then it clicked that his loving sister, the one that was supposed to be dead, was standing next to him. Mammon jumped. Physically jumped backwards and fell off the bed in surprise. If there was one thing he disliked more than giving his money away, it would be thinking about Lilith. His memories with her brought him nothing but tears.

-Lilith smiled, in an honest and slightly upset way, seeing her brother’s antics after such a long time made her feel a sort of nolstagia she didn’t think she would miss. Mammon was still staring at her like he’s just been told he had to give all of his money to the witches. He kept switching his gaze between her and Lucifer, as if confirming with him that she wasn’t a ghost while he kept his eyes wide in horror.

-“Stop that Mammon. Your gawking is giving me a headache.” Lucifer snapped, more ferociously than usual which was odd. Mammon thought he looked more tense, rigid but he didn’t push the subject. He wanted to get up, walk up to Lilith and touch her, see if she was real. And then he wanted to hug the living daylights out of her. But he froze on the spot until Lucifer finally managed to spit out that Lilith was, indeed, back. And then Mammon sprinted straight into her arms like a fired bullet, not planning on letting go for a long time. His sister just smiled again, happy to see her needier brother again and to know that despite being a demon now, he hadn’t changed all that much. That moment was sort of euphoric and he grasped onto it for as long as he could.

-Then came the devastating news that would hit Mammon in the gut harder than a moving truck.

-MC was gone. Forever. Forever, forever. Never to be seen again. Gave her entire being up for Lilith to come back to life. Lucifer told him but his eyes and voice seemed to be elsewhere, as if he struggled to show emotion in his voice during his monologue because he was directing those emotions somewhere else. Lilith tightened her grip on him, preparing for a meltdown, or even an angry fit, anything could be expected from this brother of hers in particular.

-Oh there was a meltdown alright. His reaction was immediate. He started shaking, uncontrollable trembling that he couldn’t stop no matter how hard he tried to and his vision blurred and swayed as if he was drunk and his nails were digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. Everything felt unstable and he couldn’t take MC’s face out of his mind, like their face was printed onto his brain for keeping purposes. His throat dried up and besides the stream of tears rolling down his face, Mammon started sweating. In the span of a minute, he’s gotten too immeasurably hot and now he was sweating even though he lives in hell and should already be used to this kind of warmth.

-He became unresponsive after that. Not even Lucifer could get through to him. He just sat there, like a broken shell. His brother was speaking to him about things, replacements and a bunch of shit he wasn’t interested in. He didn’t want to hear any of it. He just wanted his human back, even if it meant he had to serve the witches for the rest of eternity. After a while, both of them left. Lucifer giving his shoulder a squeeze, something he hasn’t done in forever but the gesture was somehow comforting. It showed that his older brother was suffering too and he could tell from his voice alone. Lilith hugged him one more time and pecked his cheek and he wanted to grab her hand and keep her there because even though she literally just came back, he needed his sister to stay with him as he went through this. Mammon let them leave.

-He’s more closed off than before. He still steals shit all the time but it’s out of pity for himself more than anything else. He also took a bunch of your belongings too, something to remind him that you existed once. That you had a presence and changed his life and his brothers for the better. Mammon breaks down at the most random of times whenever he’s reminded of you and these sometimes take hours before he finally calms down. Somehow Lilith is the only one who happens to have an effect on him. Her presence at least helps. But not by a lot.

-Stupid human, letting him be an idiot and allowing him to leave you all by yourself. Stupid Mammon for being such a moron and letting the one person that understood him beyond the surface of the Avatar of Greed and actually associated him with being more than just scum, die. Stupid MC, leaving him all alone...

-He just hopes you’ve made it to the Celestial Realm...but seeing as you died in DevilDom, he doubts it.

Levi:

-Levi was sort of used to you showing up late to his gaming sessions. He didn’t blame you really, his brothers were sure to try and grab as much of your attention as possible so it makes sense you forgot about little old him. Except you never did. Sure you came by later than planned, but you always came no matter what so maybe he wasn’t giving you enough credit.

-Maybe he should have tried calling you, or even just texting you to see what you were up to. That’s why he had a D.D.D to begin with after all. But he didn’t. He assumed you were with Mammon or reading with Satan somewhere. Maybe sleeping with the twins. Levi reasoned with himself that you were probably fine and just got caught up on something on the way home. Yet the pit in his stomach kept growing with every minute that passed and before he knew it, he was pacing around the room.

-He heard Mammon having a breakdown from somewhere, and at first, he really had an overwhelming urge to check in with him and see what the problem was. Maybe something happened to MC. Maybe something happened to his older brother. Levi has a dislike for him sure, but he still wouldn’t want Mammon to suffer, no matter how much money he owes him. He didn’t leave his room. He assumed he was crying because the witches were at it again or maybe because he lost all of his money at the casino or even because Lucifer was punishing him for something.

-Then, a knock came on his door and he jumped to his feet faster than he had ever done so before. Password and all long forgotten, he opened the door to his room expecting to see you. Instead, he came face to face with his oldest brother, which disappointed him beyond measure. He was about to mumble something about MC and whether he had seen them at all that day but something stopped him. Behind Lucifer, just barely visible since she is slightly shorter than him, was Lilith. His reaction was definitely interesting.

-“Oh-I....holy crap, this is just like that anime where the protagonist’s dead sister comes back as ghost and starts talking to him. Oh shit, am I going insane or are ghosts are actually real? And not Lilith, Lilith doesn’t deserve to live the rest of eternity as a ghost-“

-“Shut up Levi.”

-“Sorry.”

-Lilith slowly walked out him and hugged him, which debunked Levi’s theory. She wasn’t a ghost! She was real and she was hugging him! He missed her so much, he was actually still doubting the fact that she was back. Levi tried pushing her out of his mind so many times because it hurt too much to think of her and now she was right here in front of him.

-The moment didn’t last though. Lucifer had to interrupt. He himself was shaky, still processing a bunch of things and on top of all that, he had to break his brothers’ spirits. The words came out eventually and Levi’s reaction was a lot slower than Mammon’s. He couldn’t process it as well and it felt like his life was put on pause, like in one of his video games. Lilith was holding him, as a sort of support system but Levi just kind of drifted in another world.

-Sure, he missed his sister dearly. But that didn’t mean he wanted MC’s life to be exchanged with hers. It was such an unfair choice really, making him choose between two people he absolutely adores. Except he didn’t make that choice. You did. And it changed everything.

-Ever since you left, he hasn’t had as much energy in playing games or even watching anime. He can’t find himself sitting for too long, he always has be to pacing and chewing on his fingernails. Everything seemed pointless without you here. Nothing was right. Watching anime by himself wasn’t as enjoyable even though he used to do it for a long time before you even came to DevilDom. He doesn’t have the energy to participate in Ruri chan contests either, though sometimes he makes an effort to. In a way to satisfy himself knowing that you didn’t die for him to mope around all depressed.

-He just sort of lays in his room all day, speaking with Henry 2.0 occasionally or just trying to relax in his bathtub. But it never works. Your voice keeps ringing in his ears. He misses you terribly and his sleeping schedule probably worsened since he can’t sleep now at all, thanks to all the nightmares he gets every night, featuring you of course.

-Out of all the things the world could have taken away from him, it just had to be his Henry didn’t it? Maybe he was just cursed from ever finding a true friend like you....

Hey, yeah I’m not dead. Just been working on this for a while now. This is obviously too long already so I can’t write for all the brothers at once. I’ll do a second post continuing this ask soon but for now I’ve written and edited this for the eldest three. Sorry it took so long and that I only managed three of the brothers. I’m still working on the following four. Thanks for reading! Part 2 should done soon!

[heffrcns]

william schofield x wife reader (headcanons)

this is another request, so i hope you all like it <3 (not to be confused with the will x stenographer headcanons, this is a completely separate request and i’m still considering a part 3 for the stenographer ones!)

also THANK YOU for the amazing support and feedback over my last few pieces, it’s really appreciated :,) enjoyyy

will, or as he was currently known: lance corporal schofield, was counting down the days until he could return to you

well, more like praying every morning that it could be the day that the war ends

because he couldn’t count down the days to something that he didn’t know the date of

back home, you were doing the exact same

hoping, praying, pleading that any day your front door would open, to reveal your beloved husband

and the worst part: it had only been a few months since he left

and recently, you’d been getting sudden waves of sickness, that would come and go whenever they felt like it

even the idea of getting your hands on favourite food, which should of been a dream due to rations, made you feel queasy

you ignored it at first, blaming it on the fact you felt uneasy at the thought of will being out there, fighting for his life

but it got to the point where it got so bad, you had to do something about it

so you went to see your local doctor, deciding maybe it was for the best

just to be on the safe side

you went there expecting just to be told to rest, and that it would pass within the next couple of days

which was the exact response you got - after a few tests were taken that you’d get the results back for a few days after

so a few days passed, nothing unusual happened, except a wave of your reoccurring sickness feeling

but a completely different kind of sickness hit the pit of your stomach when you opened the test results, originally not thinking much of them

pregnancy: positive

no no no no no

your mind clouded with so many thoughts, worries, queries, etc, that your brain couldn’t keep up with itself

before the panic started to fully set in, you decided to read down the paper a little more

it says approximate length of pregnancy: 12 weeks

which, after some quick mental arithmetic, you figured was about right

will left about 11 weeks ago, which adds up perfectly

‘but it hasn’t worked out perfectly, has it?’ you thought to yourself

that was precisely the problem

will left 11 weeks ago

and you were there, now pregnant with his baby, and he can’t be there to share the moment with you

so you had to write to him

immediately

without a second thought, you frantically grabbed a piece of paper and a pen, beginning to scribble away

your handwriting had never looked messier, but you didn’t care as long as it was readable

will had to know as soon as possible

because although you wished nothing more than to tell him in perosn

this was the next best thing

so as soon as the rushed yet so very important letter was complete, you sprung off to get it posted

already, even with just a walk to the post office, you couldn’t help be aware of the tiny human growing inside you

and you thought about how your bump would be showing very soon

with the child of you and your beloved husband

okay so, it of course took a short while for your letter to finally reach will

he was expecting one sometime soon anyway, as you promised to write to him as regularly as possible

but oh boy, was he not expecting what this particular one had in store

a smile reached his face when one of the officers handed him the letter with his name on, instantly recognising your handwriting on the envelope

so he wasted no time into ripping it open, looking forward to reading about what you’ve been up to

you started your letter as you usually would

telling about what you’ve been doing, asking him how he is, etc

but he instantly noticed your shaky writing, causing his eyebrows to furrow in slight confusion

he then read further down, to where the reasoning behind your shaky writing all become too clear

‘oh and by the way, i have some big news... i may or may not be pregnant. with your baby. you’re going to be father, will. we’re going to be parents. so please come back to me soon. come back to us.’

and will? well, he spontaneously combusted upon reading those words

he was going to be DAD?!??

the biggest, widest grin spread across his face, as he felt like the entire world stopped around him

he held the letter to his chest, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, picturing you at home, pregnant with his baby boy/girl

which is when he thought - he definitely wants a girl

a beautiful baby girl that takes after her mother, but still has some of his features to show that that’s his daughter

his ray of sunshine

will was so deep in thought that he didn’t even notice blake approach him

“what’s got you looking like the cat that got the cream? your girl send you a raunchy photo or something?” tom smirked, trying to peer at the letter still held against will’s chest

“no, i’m going to be a dad. y/n is pregnant” he beamed, oh how that sentence felt so good leaving his mouth

the other lance corporal’s eyes widened is shock, before matching the grin that was still on will’s face, holding his hand out

“oh wow, congratulations! that’s amazing”

“i know, right” will shook tom’s hand, “i’ve never wanted to be able to escape this place more than i do now, not even during that battle the other day”

“soon, will. it’ll be soon, i’m sure” blake affirmed, giving a determined nod to his companion

will returned the gesture, before blake walked off, probably going to tell all the other guys about his friend’s exciting news

blake did love to tell stories

will however, stayed put

he read over the paragraph again, heart pounding at the thought of starting a family with the love of his life

he was thinking about getting some paper to write back, to tell you just how exited he was about the news

but he stayed there a little longer, his grip on the letter tight, as he pondered over the words that he read again, and again

oh, how he couldn’t wait to return home to his little family

thank you for reading - i’m deciding to post it now, so i don’t overthink every single bullet point i’ve written lmao

masterlist

[carneaderunt]

𝙿𝙸𝙴𝙲𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝙰 𝙿𝚄𝚉𝚉𝙻𝙴.   how two wrongs make a right.

                            𝚊𝚔𝚊.    how the two fragmented   &   distorted versions of qetsiyah’s immortality spell can combine to make someone a true immortal.

                            first up on my meta rewrites   ,   i’d like to address probably my favorite headcanon i’ve ever come up with over the past five years of writing kennedy.   it all starts with a simple question   ———   𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙴𝙽 𝙸𝙵 𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙳𝚈 𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝚅𝙰𝙼𝙿𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙱𝙻𝙾𝙾𝙳 𝙸𝙽 𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝚂𝚈𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙼   ?

                            so i first posed this question in october of 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟻   ,   sometime around the beginning of season seven of 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜.   i discussed my theory on what would happen   &   asked for any alternative ideas from my followers at the time.   it’s an interesting theory to look back on because i had been toying with the concept in my head for several months prior to making the post   (   i think since about may of that year   )   ,   &   little did i know at the time that later on in season seven   ,   kennedy would be dealing with this exact scenario.   originally   ,   i had no set plans on when   &   truly 𝚒𝚏 i would put kennedy through such an ordeal   ,   but the opportunity arouse in 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎   &   about a month later   &   with some helpful plotting with my dear friend @crazyimpulsive​​   ,   it was decided that kennedy did in fact die with vampire blood in her system at the end of the episode.

                            so before i delve into how kennedy dies in 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎   ,   let’s first look at why i’m posing this question in the first place.

                            for all of its flaws   ,   the mythology of the vampire diaries is vast   &   very interesting.   like most twenty-somethings i know   ,   i went through a vampires    /   werewolves   /   witches   /   &   other supernatural entities phase that sprung from the popularity of those characters   &   tropes in the media at the time.   i’m not saying i ever grew out of it because   ,   well   ,   i’m still here aren’t i   ?   but i was a little less interested in high school when i first started watching 𝚝𝚟𝚍 in vampires than i was in middle school   ,   &  so when i got to silas   &   amara   ,   a lovely couple of immortals in ancient greece   ,   well   ,   i found them a lot more interesting than i thought i would   (   𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍    ).   what was more interesting than the characters themselves was the powerful immortality spell qetsiyah had developed   ,   which had been the originator for vampirism spell that runs through the blood of most of our favorite characters.

                            a spell that   ,   if kennedy died with vampire blood in her system   ,   would also now be running through her veins too.

                            okay   ,   cool   ,   awesome   ,   problem solved.   kennedy’s a vampire   ,   right   ?   no   ?   okay   ,   well why wouldn’t she be   ?

                            first   ,   let’s recall how the vampirism spell was created.   esther modified qetsiyah’s original spell.   ayana   ,   the bennett witch who was friends with esther   &    mikael   ,   refused to perform the spell believing it a crime against nature.   if i remember correctly   ,   it’s unclear whether esther had come across the spell or if ayana had informed her of the spell before warning her against it.   but what is clear is the spell is 𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 from qetsiyah’s immortality spell.   it’s basically a knock off   ,   generic version   ,   was probably poorly translated from the original greek   ,   some of the ingredients had to be changed   ,   etc   ,   so instead of creating immortal beings like silas   &   amara    &   starting a new line of doppelgängers in their wake   ,   it made the mikaelsons vampires.   &   every person from then on who died with vampire blood in their system would go into transition   ,   which upon the consumption of human blood would transform them into vampires.

                            so 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 + 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 = 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗.   𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 + 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 = 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎.   simple enough.   but what happens when you add another spell into the mix   ?   a spell that would halt the process of becoming a vampire.

                            does 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 + 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 + 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 = 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗   ?

                            let me explain why i don’t think it would.   first   ,   because the reincarnation spell used on this blog is part of my own personal mythology i wanted to add into the 𝚝𝚟𝚍 universe   ,   it needs it’s own breakdown.   the gist of the spell works like this   ,   because kennedy has the spell on her soul   ,   when her body dies   ,   her soul moves onto her next life   &   body   ,   which appears identical to her last   (   this is mostly for convenience sake sake   &   also because some myths of reincarnation do include the person looking the same.   as for the scientific details   ,   i suppose somewhere along the line kennedy   ,   evelyn   ,   &   eliza can trace their lineage back to the petrovs but i have not expanded on how yet   ).   i’ve never discussed the specifics of what happens to her soul between her last life until her next   ,   but my current theory   (  which i hope to expand on later   ,   i need to rewatch the stuff involving alaric   &   matt   &   the gilbert ring   )   is that her soul lingers on the other side during this time with all the other deceased supernatural creatures    (   this of course begs a separate question about what would happen post-season six if kennedy had died 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 vampire blood in her system since the other side is 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 destroyed   ).   during this time   ,   she has access to her memories still   (   &   perhaps even her former ones   ,   you’ll have to give me a pass on the details bc all my hcs regarding reincarnation + the other side have been lost on skype   )   ,   &   when it’s time for a new incarnation to begin   ,   her soul is pulled into her new body   &   her memories are gone again   ,   with hints of it sometime lingering around.

                            this particular form of a reincarnation spell can trace its first use   ,   of course   ,   to the 1400s when irina   ,   a bennett witch descended from the same line as qetsiyah   &   ayana   ,  created it.   like most bennett witches we know   ,   she got tangled up with the petrov lineage   ———   but instead of befriending amara’s doppelgänger   ,   she was friends with anastasia petrova   ,   kennedy’s first incarnation.   the two were best friends   &   told each other everything.   as we know   ,   ana was pretty much a two-faced bitch to most of the people she knew.   but never to irina.   irina was the only person ana was whole-heartedly genuine with.   she never lied to her.   she never betrayed her.   she told the girl everything there was to know about her   ———   her fears   ,   her loves   ,   her regrets.   irina was her confidant.   irina helped her learn more about magic after katherine stopped sneaking around   &   learning traveller spells behind their father back.   while katherine had begun seeking out attention from pretty men   ,   anastasia had continued seeking out more knowledge on witchcraft   ,   &   irina was always there with a helping hand   ,   trying to guide her to use it properly   &    respectfully.   because of their deep friendship   &   all the honesty ana put into it   ,   irina was faced with a terrible choice.   when the bennett witch had a terrible premonition about anastasia’s violent death   ,   she decided she had to do something to stop it.   she searched   &   searched for a way to prevent ana from dying but every trail turned up dry.   eventually   ,   irina came across a family heirloom   ,   an ancient translation of an immortality spell   ,   different from the vampire spell   ,   more permanent.   like with the vampirism spell   ,   some of the ingredients had been changed   &   some of the words had been translated wrong.   reading over the spell   ,   the witch was aware of what it would do   ———   it would not make anastasia immortal per say   ,   but instead it would allow her the chance to live again   &   perhaps make make amends to all the girl had wronged in her current life.   the bennett witch brewed the spell with one special addition   &   slipped it into ana’s drink one night.   two weeks later   ,   the entire petrov family had been slaughtered   ,   &   there were no signs the spell had worked.   anastasia’s soul didn’t pop up again until the 1800s in a small town in virginia   ,   a town where a few years later   ,   another bennett witch would be make an appearance.   the small addition irina had made to the spell   ?   an insurance policy that would link ana’s soul to the bennett line   ,   so when the time came to break the spell   &   restore balance to nature   ,   a bennett witch would be able to remove it.   however   ,   because of how much time had elapsed between irina    &   emily’s interactions with ana’s incarnations   ,   none of the bennett witches ana’s soul met had any idea how the spell came to be or how to break it.   little is known in-universe on how ana was able to reincarnate other than there was a spell   &   a bennett witch performed it   &   then linked it to the bennett bloodline.   it is only after kennedy’s death that katherine offers up what she has learned of the spell having researched it throughout the years since meeting eliza gilbert.

                            in summary   ,   just like the vampirism spell   ,   the reincarnation spell on kennedy’s soul is also derivived from qetsiyah’s immortality spell.   so what would happen if someone were to die with both of these fragmented   &   distorted versions of the spell were to co-occur   ?   would one win over the other   ?   would neither work at all   ?   they’re 𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 the same spell   ,   resulting in an imperfect form of immortality   ,   both with the ability to still die   (   vampirism with a stake   ,   reincarnation via a human death   ).   so what if instead of the two spell competing with another   ,   they instead completed each other   &   fused into one spell   ?   my solution to this problem is that the spells fit together like pieces of a puzzle   ,  combining to fix what had been distorted   &   fragmented until they form the complete   &   proper immortality spell the qetsiyah created all those years ago.

                            so if the 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 = 𝚊 + 𝚋   ,   the 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 = 𝚊   ,   &   the 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 = 𝚋   ,   then 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 + 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 = 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕.   meaning our previously forever reincarnating witch would no longer be a witch   &   she wouldn’t transition into a vampire either   ,   but instead would become a proper psychic immortal.   it would be just like she took the elixir silas   &   amara took.

                            which is really the gist of it.   i was gonna talk about how kennedy dies in 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 but this post is long enough   &   i have a drabble on it already that i just need to spruce up before publishing again   ,   so i might do that later this week instead.   there is the caveat that because kennedy’s lived four different lives   &   the whole other side memory wipe thing i mentioned earlier   ,   that when kennedy wakes up after dying   ,   she doesn’t have any of her memories   &   there’s a whole process of having to trigger each incarnation’s set of memories in the order of who lived first to who lived last   ,   so we take a brief pause on the other nonsense occurring in season seven get to see ana   ,   eliza   ,   &   evelyn for a bit before finally reuniting with our lovely kennedy   ,   except she gets to keep all of those memories from her past lives this time as well.

[missjackil]

Season 8

I’ve seen a lot of discussion about Season 8 lately, most of you hate it, or at least the first half. Understandable really, it was a train wreck! I will go on record to say that yes, Sam was very OOC for not looking for Dean, but it’s canon, so we do have to accept it. 

I do think however, I may understand what Carver was going for with it. I’m not saying it was executed well, but from what all happened in the previous seasons, I think it was very important to establish who the brothers are to each other. Looking back through every season before this one, though there were some very good broments a lot the way, there were a lot of unnecessary fights, lies, insults and mistrust. How could they really sell to us how deeply they love each other while they keep hurting each other so badly? 

In this essay, I may come down hard on both brothers at times. Please dont take it that I hate either or that I’m a stan for one or the other. I love these boys... flaws and all, so if you’re okay hearing your fav isnt always perfect (whichever bro that might be) please continue :)

In the beginning of Season 8, we have this strange, awkward, and OOC clusterfuck that we all blame bad writing for. And it was, I agree, and so do Jared and Jensen, but they both love where it led and are proud of the finished product. 

I’ll start with the major OOC elephant in the room that is Sam not looking for Dean. He never really gives us a reason, even though later in the season he says that his whole world imploded, came raining down on him and he ran. We have to keep that as the only canonical reason as to why he didn't, so we only have headcanons to fill in the blanks. My main concern with it really is just that I am sure that Sam would have at least established Dean was dead for real, before moving on. There were no bodies, or even any blood, to indicate that Dean might be dead. I do believe that Sam would have or should have at least bought an Ouija Board , but then what could he do? Everyone he knew who could help him was dead. All the lore books they’d been using for 7 years were burned up in Bobby’s house. All that was left was Dad’s journal which had very little information in it. So he accepts Crowley’s words “You are in fact truly on your own”, fixed up the Impala and drove. 

I don't believe Sam was suicidal. Crushed yes, depressed as hell but he won't kill himself without helping people in some way. Same with Dean. They may have wanted to die and would welcome death many times, but they're selfless martyrs, they won't eat a bullet or drive off a bridge, unless it was for a greater good. So Sam didnt look for Dean, because “Dean wouldnt want that” as we saw how pissed Dean was at Sam in S4 when he thought Sam sprung him from Hell, Sam had to remember that.  Sam also knows he wanted Dean to have a normal life when he was gone, and Dean was nearly successful. Also, in the very same episode that Dean apparently died in, Bobby told them both upon leaving, “when it’s your time... go” So Sam most likely thought Dean would be proud of him if he moved on. That IS why Dean taught him how to fix the Impala a few years back right?

So Sam tries to move on. I hated Amelia, but I dont think we were ever supposed to really like her or “ship” them, we were supposed to feel the fakeness, how awkward and just wrong it was. Sam never looked content with her, even though once she stopped treating him like trash, he smiled a lot, he never seemed happy. She was nothing more to him than a grief partner and a physical distraction. He probably enjoyed playing house though, having a dog, getting a paycheck, but it wasn't really his life. 

Meanwhile, Dean is in Purgatory with Cas and Benny, fighting monsters every day all day for a year. And this isn't a bad place for Dean honestly, he even referred to it as his “happy place” later, but it wasn't home, and Sam wasn't there. So in addition to slashing monsters all day, Dean was trying to find his way out to get back to Sam and their life. 

Dean comes out and finally, he meets back up with Sam. The reunion hug was amazing! One of my favorites. they both looked genuinely happy to be with their brother again, but it was sadly short-lived.  When Dean told Sam he wasn’t dead, he was in Purgatory, you can see the color leave Sam’s face. Like “Shit, I fucked up, I should have looked for him.” and then comes Sam’s big reveal that he got out of hunting. Watch how he says this. He’s not hiding it, he’s kind of cheerful about it, not like when Dean came back from Hell and he knew he was doing something Dean would be pissed at, he may have THOUGHT Dean would be pleased that he tried to move on, but obviously, Dean was not. 

Im not blaming either of them for what they felt. They’re both justified in it. Sam felt like Dean would want this for him, and Dean felt like Sam was out there looking for him, or at least missing him terribly, and needed to get back. Imagine if you will, as each other's spouse. One goes off to war, goes MIA and is presumed dead, though no body is found. It may have been established beforehand that if anything happened to the soldier, that his remaining spouse is to move on with their life. However the soldier isn't dead, he’s a POW and he busts his ass for a year to try to get home. You bet he’s going to be pissed off when he gets home to see his spouse DID move on and didn't even ask for proof he was dead first. 

Now we have Dean angry with Sam, Sam feeling guilty, but not willing to take the griping, so he’s going to fire back, and start threatening to leave. We have known from day 1 that Dean doesn't want Sam to abandon him. But he feels like Sam abandoned him in Purgatory, and now he’s trying to abandon him in the real world. 

I feel like, at this point, Sam felt like he had the upper hand. He had the “Stop nagging me or I'm out” card, but he didn't know Dean had a card left to play either. He had the “Leave me and I'll replace you” card.  This takes us to when Sam met Benny. Sam had been looking at schools again, weighing his options, so Dean thought it was time to introduce him to Benny. 

Dean hadn't seen Benny since they got back, so had he and Sam been in good graces, I don't think Dean would have run out to help him when he called, or at least he wouldn't have been secretive about it, but they were on shaky terms and if Sam wanted to play emotional chicken with him, Dean can play this game too. There was no reason at all for Dean to have told Sam to meet him at the dock. Dean had his car, Sam had to steal one to get there. Sam rushes because he thinks Dean needs him, and now he’s not answering his phone, and Sam is panicking. Dean had told him he was on this hunt with a friend, but Dean doesnt have any friends right? Certainly none he can trust to have his back in a hunt right? Dean must be in trouble! However, when Sam gets to the dock, Dean is pulling up with this big dude. The camera focuses on Sam and Benny’s hands long enough for us to notice that Benny’s hand is bigger than Sam’s. Sam turns from pissed off brother, reluctant hunting partner, to jealous spouse in 60 seconds. He goes for his blade, he’s going to kill this bastard! Dean shakes his head.... “no”. Sam had no idea Benny was a Vamp at that point, he was going to kill his replacement. Dean got this, oh so smug look on his face “Go ahead and leave me.... but don't think I’ll be alone”.

I'm going to leave it there because I don't want to analyze the entire season. What I want to show you is that Carver must have wanted to deconstruct the entire relationship, look at each piece of it, and show it to us, and then put it back together by the end of the season. By the end of Sacrifice, we learned Dean doesn't want to be without Sam but is willing to let Sam go and live his normal life, but to do that Dean wants to go out saving the world so Sam and everyone else can be safe. Sam doesn't want to be without Dean, but he thinks he's lost Dean’s trust, and he’s been replaced by Benny, Cas and holds Dean back from doing what he wants, so he’s going to save the world, even though it’s going to kill him in the process. 

Dean had told Sam that he didn't burn Benny’s body when he killed him, and Sam said he understood, and he might need him later. 

So I hope you can see why I feel Carver did this. I for one knew that Sam and Dean loved each other, but I honestly didnt see this “nothing comes before you” type bond before S8. So he took everything, from the very root, in the beginning, and laid it all out on the table for us, before giving us this epic defining moment in the Church between Sam and Dean. Sam would rather die than lose his place with Dean, and Dean would rather kill them all and let the world burn than to lose Sam, 

So even though I think the beginning was poorly executed, I do appreciate what it was showing us and I love the finished product. There hasn't been a more defining season in the whole series. As much as you might hate S8, you probably wont ever put the church scene out of your mind, and what led up to it. So, in my humble opinion, rocky start Mr Carver, but well played 🙌

[theboardwalkbody]

Penny Dreadful and the Modern Day Time-slip AU Headcanons/ficlets: Chapter 1 -  Caliban VS Bookstores (and also he discovers Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and decides Victor has some explaining to do). 

Summary: Somehow the main PD characters fall through a time-slip and end up in the Modern Day world. It’s loud and boisterous and abrasive. New technology, terms, fashion, and so much more is there for them to learn about. 

Caliban finds himself at a bookstore, looking for something to remind him of home; looking for something to comfort him. He stumbles across what is arguably the most frightening thing he never even imagined, however, and it leaves him wanting answers.

Bookstores have always been a place of comfort. Books of poetry piled to the ceilings offered solace and spoke to his sense of loneliness and isolation. But not these modern day bookstores. Shiny covers full of bright and colorful photographs seemed childish and gaudy. He knew he should never judge a book by it’s cover and yet he found himself doing it anyway. The flashy covers that gave away all the stories secrets weren’t even the worst of it. No, it was as if the book store went from a place for the lonely seeking thrill, adventure, and romance - a place where the scholarly and educated sought to connect to prose and perhaps another soul - and was now instead a place for children to socialize. Groups of teenagers hanging out drinking beverages that were supposed to be coffees and teas but had names quite unlike any coffee or tea he had ever heard of from the coffee shop located inside the shop (an idea that was incredible but one he felt didn’t have the charm he thought it would) were often loud and could, quite frankly, be rude. Too many times did he hear laughing and snickering from one particular group every time he passed by the shelves opposite them. It appeared to him they were not here at all for the books but simply for their coffee’s and for the status they felt it gave them. The children’s sections were endearing at first. A place for children to learn to read and have every story for every level of reading all in one convenient location but, and perhaps this was more so the fault of the parent rather than their own, they were often rowdy and uncontrolled. Crying, screaming, and tantrums were jarring to the ear and were too much distraction to allow for a pleasant reading or browsing experience. Made worse by the fact their cries could be heard across the store.

Still, his adoration for poetry and prose drove him to continue on rather than leave. He was determined to find something in which to pre-occupy his mind and soothe his soul with. Something for him to get lost in, or perhaps something to allow him the comfortable feeling of home in this new and frightening age. He stumbled among a discounted novel section - the books here had covers that were solid and plain and made of leather (well, okay, faux leather). They were new but tried to pass off as old. It was the closest thing he could get to what he was expecting so he lingered in the section. “Classics” the section was called and most of the stories were collections of works and discounted. The works of Charles Dickens were complied into one edition of a book, a selection of some of Shakespeare’s greats were bound together in a collection of their own, a collection of three works about vampires were in another. Shakespeare pulled at him and he picked up the thick book. It would offer him comfort and familiarity at least. But he found that behind it there was an entirely different book, misplaced by some careless patron or employee who perhaps wasn’t paying attention. Red faux leather with black font and trim, the title: Penny Dreadfuls. Always appreciative of macabre and horror he placed the works of Shakespeare down a moment so he could pick up this new book and see what it might contain. 

He carefully opened the cover and read from the table of contents; works by Poe, of course, The String of Pearls; a work he was familiar with as it had given rise to Sweeney Todd, the play production he had become fond of during his time as a stagehand; a few authors names he couldn’t quite place and one name and title that was so jarring he could have sworn his heart had stopped, though the concept was absolutely impossible: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Two name’s he was all too familiar with but which made no sense with their given context: Shelley and Frankenstein. He knew of a Percy Shelley, his works he was most fond of, but he had never heard of a Mary Shelley. He assumed it was a married name, but he was unaware Percy had married. Most shocking, of course, was the name Frankenstein - written there in ink clear as day on the page was a name he both loathed and knew with such intimacy. 

His hands trembled as he hastily turned to the page indicated to be the start of the work. He skimmed over the words, falling into a false sense of security as names, dates, and circumstance he did not recognize passed by his gaze. Something about a boat, a man near death, a sailor writing home to his wife - perhaps the names had been a coincidence and nothing more. However, he finished skimming the prologue and got to chapter one and began catching key terms and growing once again at the same time fearful, confused, and enraged with each familiar term. The narrative was told in first person and he was trying with all his might to forget about the coincidence of the locations, of the sequence of events, of their familiarity to what he knew about the man he knew as his creator until the moment when the narrator was named. Victor. He was reading the story of Victor Frankenstein. 

In his panic and rage he had forgotten completely about the safety and security of the works of Shakespeare. He tucked the hardcover anthology under his long coat and stormed out of the shop. On his walk back to the place they had managed to secure for themselves to get out of the cold he skimmed through the pages with anticipation and dread, hoping he wouldn’t find what he ultimately figured he would. And alas, he did. A creature. A creation. An abomination. All his names except for the one’s he chose for himself. He snapped the book shut just in time to look up and see he had almost collided with a man standing at the street corner waiting to cross the road. He stopped and waited to cross as well.

“Those are good stories,” the man standing there said when he saw the cover. “Barnes and Nobel, right? They’ve got good collections. I like the old-timey feel to those editions, though.” Caliban didn’t reply. He wasn’t in the mood for small talk. It didn’t seem to deter the young man, however, who kept on carrying the conversation. “Bram’s stories are cool, of course, I mean, Dracula and all. But, let’s be real, Frankenstein is the real reason for that collection. I’ve got like, three editions of it, the covers are cool.” Caliban glared at the man. “There’s more?” “Editions? Yeah of course,” the man laughed. “One of the one’s I also got at Barnes and Nobel has like lightning on the cover and the pages are colored silver, it’s pretty cool. Hey - have you read it yet or no? I guess I should have asked that first.” He wanted to laugh. Has he read it yet? He lived it. He shook his head, “I know it, lunatic playing with life and death as though he is a god, a creature neither living nor dead condemned to eternal suffering while his creator never once has to suffer like the thing he gave life to suffers.” The young man, not put off by the harshness of his voice, smiled, “yeah man! See you get it! So many people just see those old school black and white films or like hear about it from references in Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein and shit. Frankenweenie and like you know, the Halloween shit. Green dude with bolts in his neck - thinking that the monster is Frankenstein and shit and not realizing Frankenstein is the doctor. But you get it man! Yeah, you’ll love it. It’s such a great book!” Half the things the man said only furthered his confusion but he only added them to the ever growing list of questions he had that there would be hell to pay for should they not be answered and instead said, “No, Frankenstein is the true monster.” He had had enough of the conversation and was sick of waiting for the light to change, he turned and detoured around the block.

He reached the hole-in-the-wall room of the inn they’d managed to get and slammed the door open, startling those who chose to remain inside rather than explore their surroundings at that particular time. Among them was Victor, who’s head snapped up from it’s position cradled by his arms folded on top of the dresser he had propped a chair in front of, just the very person he wanted to unleash hell itself upon. Too bad he couldn’t. Sir Malcolm Murray and Ms. Vanessa Ives had also apparently chosen to stay in, or perhaps had gone out and already returned. 

Victor looked worse for wear. He was in the beginning phases of withdrawl and was currently in a situation where he was clueless and had no means of obtaining his next fix. Caliban felt no pity for him. He tossed the book at him, aiming for his head, and was disappointed when the heavy book collided with the wall just shy of his creators head instead. It left a hole behind where the corner had hit the drywall. If Victor hadn’t have moved it most likely would have broken his nose. 

“What the --” Victor began but Caliban cut him off. “What is that?” Caliban shouted. “A... book?” Victor answered like he had been asked the most stupid question in the world.

Caliban growled in response and made to cross the tiny room with the intent of wringing the wiry man’s neck but Vanessa sprung up from her seat on one of the beds and stood in his path. 

“Mr. Clare,” she said calmly, “what is wrong?” He didn’t cross the boundary line she’d created between him and Victor with her own body but he did look around her and direct his next instruction at the man who liked to pretend he had all the answers, “read it.”

Victor picked up the book and turned it right side up so he could read it. “Penny Dreadfuls,” he read out loud for the benefit of the other two occupants of the room who were, undoubtedly, just as confused as him. Sir Malcolm’s attention was on him but Vanessa held Caliban’s gaze steady, her presence seemed to calm him. 

“Open it!” Caliban growled, impatient. 

Victor opened it and turned to the table of contents. “Poe, Stoker, Doyle, Mary Shelley’s --” he cut himself off and the silence it left behind was almost tangible.

“Read. It. Aloud.” Caliban said.

Victor swallowed, his throat felt like it had closed off and he was having a hard time breathing. “Mary -- Mary Shelley’s... Frankenstein.” He whispered his own name as he couldn’t muster anything louder. He realized his body was shaking. He was thankful he was sitting down.

Vanessa had turned around to look at her friend. Caliban moved around her and loomed over Victor. Luckily Vanessa’s presence helped to dissipate some of his anger - certainly helped curb his murderous intent - but he still wanted answers. 

“How?” he asked. “I-I- I don’t know,” Victor stammered. “How can you not know?” Caliban asked. “I know just as much as you about this!” Victor yelled at him, then added, softer, “I don’t know what this is. I don’t know how... have you read it?” Caliban replied, “I skimmed it. It’s about us. You creating me. You creating a bride for me. It’s not all right. But it’s right enough.” “Anyone else?” Victor asked, as he looked up and saw Vanessa and Malcolm’s eyes focused intently on them.  “No,” Caliban answered, catching what he meant. “But there’s more.” “What do you mean?” Victor questioned. “I spoke to a man about it. He said there’s more editions. Something about films and chipmunks meeting you or me and something called Frankenweenie,” he answered. Victor looked as if Caliban may as well have been speaking a different language, “What?” Caliban shrugged, “Apparently most people think I’m you.”  Victor groaned.  “You’re not the only one who’s disgusted by the thought!” Caliban growled, his anger rising again.

“May I see it?” Vanessa spoke up to draw their attention away from each other.

Victor hesitated but Caliban ripped the book from his grasp and handed it gently to her. For some reason he felt more comfortable with it in her possession than in anyone else’s. 

“Do either of you mind if I read it?” she asked. Neither of them answered right away.  “Maybe it will give us answers,” she explained. “Unless one of you would like to read it instead?”

Victor felt the bile rise in his throat at the thought. He didn’t want to read about his life. It was either accurate or it wasn’t but one thing he knew: if it mentioned him piercing the veil that separated life from death and creating life anew than it told enough of his misdeeds and he was not keen on reading about all his errors in print. He knew them well enough.

Caliban considered it but ultimately decided it would be for the best if it was Vanessa who read it. He had no interest in knowing his creator any more than he already did. He had no interest in reading about some version of his birth. He lived what he lived and had no interest in the past. 

When neither of them answered in protest she concluded, “then it is settled. I’ll read it on your behalf.”

The tension in the room defused and the atmosphere began to calm down. 

“I am curious, however,” Sir Malcolm spoke up, “what the hell a Frankenweenie is.”

Vanessa smiled along with Sir Malcolm but Victor groaned again and hung his head, this time out of some sense of embarrassment. Caliban sneered and looked away but only because he was trying to hide his own smile creeping at the corners of his mouth. He was still confused and upset by his discovery but he decided he was going to have to look into the situation more closely some other time when he had more resources available to him.